Church of Choppers/ FTWCo Hauler

Church of Choppers/ FTWCo have a new bike hauler and Jeff Wright, the founder of CoC, co-founder of FTWCo and builder of stunning motorcycles, hadpainted a Bultaco desert racer on the hood (bonnet).

Read Ryan Quickfall's interview of Jeff Wright in Sideburn 19.

FTWCo also have a new T-shirt, also with artwork by Jeff, of his own toolbox. Nice to see a Sideburn sticker on there. G

The Hell of a Coincidence involving Gas Huffer, Hairy Mary's, FTWCo and Sideburn 19

The other day I pulled some records off the shelf and played them for the first time in about 18 years. One was by Gas Huffer. I bought it from Bad Records in Leeds on 24 September 1994, 20 years ago. I know that because I always used to save the receipts and slip them into the plastic, protective sleeve I'd always buy at the same time I bought a new LP. Yes, quite the nerd.
Anyway, this Gas Huffer LP, One Inch Masters, on Epitaph, came with a free comic. In the comic the band go to Des Moines and play a gig at a club called Hairy Mary's. Back then, 1994, I didn't know how to pronounce Des Moines (it's Duh Moyne, by the way), but might've known it was in Iowa. I sure as shit didn't know Hairy Mary's was a real place.
Jump forward 20 years and the manager of Hairy Mary's (at the time Gas Huffer played there, and featured it in their comic), was Jeff Wright. Jeff Wright, the man behind Church of Choppers and co-founder of FTWCo. Jeff Wright who is interviewed by Ryan Quickfall for the current issue, Sideburn 19.
I keep having very weird coincidences. Am I a witch? G

FTWCo Visit

Last month I visited the Mid-West to go to the Mama Tried Show and took the opportunity to detour the six-hour drive to Des Moines, Iowa, for a flying visit to the new headquarters of FTWCo. I'd been to the old HQ a couple of years ago (on a cross-country ride). I arrived at 10.30pm and stayed talking till 3am with the two owners of FTWCo: Brad (aka Fatty. Red shirt) and Jeff Wright (the man behind Church of Choppers) plus the photographer and film-maker, Michael Schmidt (green shirt) who I was working with.
Their unit is an Aladdin's cave of creativity and good stuff.

Jeff's One Shot collection.

The back of the headquarters is for bike-building. The front is the admin and T-shirt printing. Jeff does 90% of the art. Brad runs the business side of things. 

Jeff's Honda CB1100EX. Hyperpro shocks; Over Engineering swingarm; RCD-Tec fuel filler; Yoshimura exhaust; hand painted tank logos. It had 2 miles - TWO MILES - on the clock, when I took this photo.

 Brad's ironhead Sportster street tracker.

 Jeff's slabside GSX-R project.

 Road-going dune buggy with a keg fuel tank.

Up for 30 hours or more and still laughing. I love FTWCo.

CoC Mixing It Up

I've always loved motorcycle builders that mixed different styles and genres of bike on one build and Jeff Wright (of FTWCo and Church of Choppers) does it better than most.

This is his latest build (though he always has four on the go). A Shovelhead that uses a Moriwaki ignition cover as a faux air cleaner cover, has proper brakes, RaceTech twin shocks and blows through a Racefit titanium Legend silencer. Jeff is a multi-talented mofo and made the stainless two-into-one himself.

If you don't check out the ever disparate, often surprising Church of Choppers blog (the daddy of all motorcycle blogs I reckon), you're missing out. G

The Best T-shirt Company in the World?

Probably. FTWCo.

Bikes I Like

Jeff at Church of Choppers Sportster. G

FTWCo On It

One of my favourite companies in the world, FTWCo, have updated their website. Go check it out at www.ftwco.com.
Pictured is one of their sponsored riders, Jordan Baber, Norton on the gas, front wheel off the floor. Bumpy track! G

Calling Des Moines!

We were sent this...

ICE RACING AT THE WELLS FARGO ARENA SATURDAY NIGHT!
Round #1 of the 35th Annual World Championship ICE Racing Series thunders into Des Moines' Wells Fargo Arena this Saturday night. The nation's top professional riders will be in town for the event competing on exotic state-of-the-art Manufacturers
World Cup Motorcycles and wild ICE Unlimited Outlaw Quads. Participants will battle it out on the treacherous solid ice oval track specially prepared inside the arena.
Just some of the standout riders headlining the explosive World Cup Bikes are none other than 2-time and defending ICE World Champion "Jammin" Jared Mees from Clio, MI. Jared's other major motorcycle racing accomplishment was winning the 2009 AMA
Dirt Track Championship on a Harley-Davidson XR-750 V-Twin. Also expected in Des Moines are 2009 ICE World Champion Kevin "The Viking" Anderson from Cambridge, MN; hard charger Tom "Freight Train" McGrane from Honeybrook, PA; "Captain" Kirk Cheney from Hastings, MI; "Fly'in" Bryan McKenna from Boston, MA; "Sideways" Sammy Wiggins from Gap, PA; Mark "The Ice Man" Cheza from Flint, MI; Adam Beldyga from Chesaning, MI and ice racing's wild & crazy guy Justin Hittle from Peoria, IL.

See more at Ice Speedway.com

Calling Des Moines!

The Grand National Championship rolls into Knoxville tomorrow still with six riders in with a theoretical chance of the title. The title race looks like this...
1. Jake Johnson 265pts
2. Joe Kopp 255
3. Jared Mees 246
4. Henry Wiles 239
5. Kenny Coolbeth 231
6. Sammy Halbert 228