torsdag 22. desember 2016

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR



Folkens, det er på tide å legge fra seg skiftenøkkelen og starte med håndvask om det skal være noen reel sjanse for rene hender til jul.
Vi ønsker alle våre venner fra hele verden GOD JUL & et GODT NYTT ÅR.
Vær trygg der ute.
Sverre og Øyunn aka AMcN



Folks, its due time to lay down the monkey wrench and start washing your biker hands if they are going to be clean for Christmas.
Wish all our friends from all over the world MERRY CHRISTMAS & a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Stay safe out there.
Sverre & Øyunn aka AMcN

mandag 24. oktober 2016

Pic`s from Yesterdaze!


My friend Kåre found this old photo from the early fifties when visiting an old relative who is living in one of the nearby valleys.
This is amazing as I thought in all modesty I knew pretty well by now what Harley`s had been where in my neighborhoods, but no.

This late fourties 45" / 750 cc is most likely a private import from US, maybe the first owner over here bought it when working in the merchant navy?
I like this bike, with the Chevron and rails on the front mudguard, the windshield with a rosette and of course the pennants (the one visible is from Grimstad, like 100km`s from where this photo was captured..

Damned, how am I gonna get some sleep tonight, I will wonder what happened to this old hog.

onsdag 19. oktober 2016

Pics from Yesterdaze!

Here are another group of photos from when motorcycling was a sport for the few.
Those pictures are all captured at various locations in Norway from early twenties to mid thirties, the heydays for American Motorcycles in Norway.
Enjoy.


K171, an early Indian pre 1914 with the IOE (inlet over exhaust) Hedstrom engine. This picture is taken in Kristiansand, a nearby town from where I live. Wonder what happened to this Indian motocycle?


A2569, a Harley single from late twenties and its proud owner.


Whow this young lady rider show us a nice smile. No wonder, she tour her Harley VL from 1929 / 30 around Southern Norway.   I like the way the pennants from the towns visited are attached to a line from the handlebars to the bottom of the fork, a cool detail. Gravel roads have stained the bike with dust and sand, no asfalt back then.





fredag 14. oktober 2016

Pics from Yesterdaze.

Below two photos shot by a professional photographer for Steen & Strøm in Oslo in 1921.
Steen & Strøm offered those latest fashion Motorcycle clothes for the discerning motorcycle rider and passenger of the day.







onsdag 12. oktober 2016

Pics from yesterdaze.



Harley Davidson with registration D545 still have the skies mounted even if there is no snow in sight.


R315, a mighty THOR!


Harley Davidson F1074 seems to be a pretty new machine in this picture, its paint job is still glossy. My guess is this is a Harley 1918 model with sidecar. Both rider and passenger keep very serious facial expressions, wonder why?


More autumn riding pics.

Have pooked around on the computer today, found some more pictures from an evening ride in September with Cay and Rune.
A very good ride and a couple of pic`s worth sharing.





søndag 9. oktober 2016

Pics from Yesterdaze!


Another good looking Injun PP from Sontum & co. in Christiania (now Oslo).
The rider have a pretty cool attitude when he is looking into the camera, he owns a motorbike. The young lad to the left would for sure have wanted to own one, his eyes tell me so.
If the gal is ready for a ride or impressed of the Injun is harder to tell. To me she looks as if she is quite stressed, when she grabs the coat of her boyfriend with a firm grip.


Fur seat cover from Trque-leathers in Japan

The end of season was not as cold for my butt as it used to be thanks to Hiro @ Trque Leathers (http://trque-l.com/) and this nice fur seatcover he made me.





End of season!

OK folks. I am afraid the end of this year`s motorcycle season is here now. It is below freezing point during nights and the salt plagues will soon start again.

There is thing that sure is true, I dont ride my bikes on salted roads anymore, period.

Below some pics from autumn rides with and without company.











tirsdag 6. september 2016

Letters

To me, shaping a piece of metal by filing is good mental therapy. I am planning a new custom mudflap, guess whom is going to get one.



torsdag 1. september 2016

A 1939 61" / 1000cc Knucklehead Special Sport Solo named Hans!

OK, why is my 1939 EL Knuckle called Hans, you might ask.
The obvious cause is Hans was the name of the guy that bought this motorcycle back in 39, just before the WWII started, tough times indeed to invest in such an expencive motorbike.

Hans was the one that hided the bike away in Sweden during WWII, to prevent the enemy in enrolling it to their forces as they did with most vehicles and motorbikes.
And he was the one that kept this bike untill his passing in the late seventies and took such a good care of it, that it still have it`s original paint and most of the parts that it came out of the factory with.

He must have been very-very fond of his bike, no doubt about that.
The second owner Per continued the heritage of maintaing this jewel until he recently passed it on to me, an honor indeed.

OK time flies fast and there have been other projects, but finally I have got Hans mechanical sorted as well as adjusted so that he now works as good as a swiss watch.
Having spent some time on the road with Hans my impression is; what a great bike the factory was able to make back in 1939, almost 80 years ago.
The motor is very strong, easy reving and runs oh so smoth, and the bike handles very well on curvy roads with its 18" wheels.

I look forward to getting to throughly know Hans through many many mil on the road ahead.

1939 Knuckle facts;

EL Special Sport Solo production figures - 2695
All EL`s off 1939 where high compression models.
Among the 39 EL`s "one year only details where the Linkert M5 and the four speed gearbox with neutral located between second and third gear, and the tank mounted shifter gate for this.











torsdag 21. juli 2016

The Gravelrun 2016


The Gravel Run 2016 official sticker.
Last year the Gravel Run was an one day ride, a ride those who participated enjoyed a lot.
During the winter it was decided to make another Gravelrun for 2016, now a three day event. Start would be as last year, Friday morning from Villy`s workshop. The finnish too would be as last year, at my workshop where we decided to run a party from Saturday to Sunday. I am lucky enough to have plenty of room in my workshop (if I clean it all up) to run an indoor party, and I have a paddock outside with room for many tents. The route this year did only follow some of last years roads, those where the first part from Villy`s place on Friday. The total length of the ride would be roughly 240 km`s, most single lane gravel roads, and three of the stages was to be ridden on privately owned roads where I had got permission to use the roads.
Norway have a lot of private roads, unfortunately most of those are behind locked gates, and most owners are not very positive in letting anyone use their roads. Thanks to my persuasion abilities we got the needed permissions, and those roads where amongst the most thrilling we rode during the event.


Participants starting to arrive at Villys place.


Those BMW`s and Zundapps are made for seriously bad roads.


Grunde`s Panhead might very well have been the least gravel friendly bike in the pack, still though even more impressive to ride such a bike on such demanding roads.


The Rival`s scooter club brothers dont mind narrow roads and gravel, even if rolling along on wheelbarrow wheels!!


My "Not so dirty nine" W is my favorite bike on gravel roads.


Stig on his Norton.


Håmsø and wife with their BMW R75 wermacht geaspanne. It is really cool to know Håmsø bought this bike a sa teenager in the late sixties, and kept it ever since.


Time for lunch Friday.


Runes 27 J and Geir Arnt`s Ariel WN-G, Grunde`s Panhead in the back.


Another view of first stop Friday.


Jostein`s BMW wermacht R75 all alone along the route.


My W parked in the middle of the road while I check the roadmap for directions.


Finally at the Friday nights camp, Rune and Grunde seem to be ready for a beer.


Barbeque and beer. As this is Norway in May, evening temperature does not make enyone tempted to a swim.


Open fire!


The wermacht bike campground.


Saturday, Geir Arnt get tecnical issues with the Ariel rear stand.


More tecnical entertainement, now Rune`s Schebler makes the fun.


Oops, a big rock hit the exhauts pipe on one of the Zundapp`s.


Cay, and Injun Chief.


OK, hate to admit, I`m the one with problems. My oil lamp lit, this even if there was oil return to the tank. I decided to continue, and in a while the lamp went off again.


Runes J along the route Saturday.


Grunde and Panhead having crossed one of the steel bridges we crossed that still are paved with planks.


Jostein and BMW, just room enough over the bridge.


Stig`s Norton with gravel road grime and dust.


Geir Arnt`s Ariel start to get the right patina too.


Waiting for the rearward riders, we are now getting closer to the finish and some of the riders start to act as if this is a race not a ride.


The ariel need a rest, good to have a pine to rest against when the rear stand is broken. 


Another stop, this time we visit a remote farm where the owner does not throw away any old vehicles. This is in todays society only possible if you live as remote from modern society as this guy does.


One of the motorbike sheds, here are Jawa and a wermacht Victoria, and who knows what.


Old US made truck.


More US truck.


This is the local cinema, and NO its not a joke.


Another bike shed, wouldnt mind getting this old ULH back in bussines as my ride, sigh!


Riders who have reached the finnish line at my workshop. When we arrived we got a very positive surprise. Vegard was allready there, he had ridden all the way from Eastern Norway on his W (the one with a lot of luggage) to join our party!!



Another pleasant surprise was that the danish brothers Thomas & Rasmus came by on their way home after having purchased two Harley R models in Telemark, two great bikes that they had been lucky enough to get purchased.
Hrrrrm, wish there had been any locals interested in paying a fair price for those, to keep them in Norway, second best option is our danish friends. 


Campground next to the workshop.


Food is getting ready, cooked over open fire!


Øyunn & Britt Wenche, in charge! 






We look forward to Gravelrun 2017.