Slab City Aftermath

Whoa. What a weekend. Thanks to everyone who rode out for the wildest event we've done to date. I took the exhausted kegs back to Ballast Point today. These guys were so generous to hook us up and the fact that the kegs lasted as long as they did is proof of the high quality.

I also took a trip down to visit Lowbrow Custom's Kyle Malinky in the hospital today. He went down in a corner outside of Julian on Saturday morning and ended up with a painfully broken jaw and foot. He's been through surgery and is doing fine, but will have his face wired shut for about six weeks. He and Tyler will be flying home to Ohio tomorrow. Good luck dude, heal up soon!

We'll be uploading more photos and stuff over the next week, but here's a few for now.

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Vantastic Monday + Holiday Deals!

Not only does Shawn at Imperial House lay down some fine lines, he also has a rad Econo that is just about done. Check it.



This year, Shawn is doing a cool holiday promotion. Tell your old lady about this so she can get you a custom done-up lid just in time for Christmas. $175 for any flake lid, including Mega flakes, and $155 for all others! Up to 3 color striping, and limited lettering and leafing all for the same price! If you wanna go nuts, just email Shawn and ask for additional pricing. Tons of work already to be done for the Christmas season, so don't wait til' the last minute. He will complete helmets on a first come first served basis!
**This offer good until December 19; in order to meet all deadlines!
**Prices include shipping to the lower 48
**Will ship internationally for actual shipping costs
**Limit 2 helmets per person at this special pricing.
Check out www.imperialhouse71.com for samples of what he can do!
Feel free to contact Shawn at shawn@imperialhouse71.com with your requests.
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Big Thanks to Ballast Point

Just got back from Ballast Point with six kegs. This is primo stuff gents, and big thanks go to Temecula Terry for hooking us up with Mike at Ballast. I had to have a pint or two of the Sculpin Cask while I was there, they twisted my arm. Yum! Mike might ride out Saturday so give him and TT a hearty thanks if you enjoy some of the beer.
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Slight Route Change

I messed up on the first map, we're taking a slightly different route down the old 395. Probably doesn't matter much, most people know the way or are navigating on their own. Just in case you are riding with us and want to know the exact route, here is a revised map with gas stops listed for you small tank dudes. I'll also bring a handful to the pre party tonight. On the way to Ballast Point in a few minutes to load the van with kegs, ye haw!

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Got Wood?

One word: Airshocks!
Slab City, here we come...
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Picture Booth

We've often thought it would be cool to have more pics of the people who go to the kinds of events we throw. You know, something better than the drunken snapshots we all take. Well, photographer Wes Drelleshak is into the idea too. So, at the Riot this weekend if you see a guy setting up some gear and lights, shooting people and bikes, it's Wes D, and you are welcome to join in. He'll be doing professional-quality shots of riders and their bikes, and we'll publish them here on the blog and on his once we get back and he sorts it all out. It'll be neat to see what kind of collection of people and machinery we end up with so by all means, roll your bike over and get in front of the Chopperatzi!

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End of the Road

Well, the Braha 2000 Roadtrip finally came to an end Monday.

I posted a big long conclusion and some photos over on Chop Cult and am just too lazy to do it all over again on here.

Check it here.

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Slab City Riot Trophies

BF Josh had the brilliant idea of getting these little Avon decanter lids painted up as trophies for the Riot this weekend. The classes are simple, we're going to pick three bikes we like, be they Jap, HD, Brit, whatever and each one gets a little helmet as a momento. We might even fill 'em up with some Old Spice if we can find any. Big thanks to Jaymes at Blue Moon Kustoms for spraying on the flake and his buddy Calico for striping 'em up.
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Slab City Riot Route

View Larger Map

Here's a map to Slab City from Temecula, and here's a link to the ROUTE.

San Diego dudes, note the link up points where the 76, 78 and 79 meet up. If you feel like riding with us but not going all the way north, just estimate the time it'll take us to get to those intersections and meet us along the way.

Pre-Party get together 6:00PM till whenever, Friday Night at Sweet Lumpy's. Note new address on 3rd St.

We are leaving the Swing Inn at 8:00AM on Saturday morning.

Weather looks nice and clear. We'll cook up a bonfire after dark to kill the chill.

See you then!

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Bitchin' Camaro Fail

Saw this dude high-centered tonight at Lowe's.

No idea how he got on there but he was still trying to figure out how to get some traction and get off the planter when I came back out.

Nice work, cool guy!

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Windows of Opportunity

Jim sent in these pics of his Sporty rocking the new 4130 Chromoly Window Bars.
Not a ton of mods to this bike, but look how clean it is.
Nice work Jim, and thanks for the pics.
For more photos of bars and parts on customer bikes, check out this little slide show:
Biltwell Customer Bikes
If you'd like yours to be featured, send your pics to me here.

Happy 234th Birthday

Happy B-day to all you jarheads out there.
This pic came from our friend "Coach" who's deployed with the 11th MEU right now.
Stay safe Devil Dogs.
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Vantastic Monday

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Rider Down

We left the Old Mill in San Quintin this morning, hauling balls out the seven miles of sandy dirt road to get back to the highway and onward to Ensenada, the final stop of the trip. Keegan took off a little early and wadded it up over one of the bigger bumps in the road. He's OK. Thankfully he was wearing a Bell Moto3 helmet, boots and a jacket. Otherwise it would have obviously been much worse. He's pretty bruised up and has a couple small scrapes but is otherwise fine. So lucky. This pic was snapped just a minute or two after I rode up on him and found him sitting on his bike just like this on the side of the road. Keegan is a great guy and it sucked to see him choke on an extra large slice of humble pie like this, but I'm really glad he's alive and not hurt much worse. The Sporty, well, it's not so fortunate.

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BANANA SEAT FITMENT TEST MULE NEEDED

Attention SoCal Sportster owners: We need to get our hands on a pre-rubber mount (86-03, if memory serves me) H-D Sportster in essentially stock trim from the tank back: stock rear fender, stock seat (Hugger, Lowboy or otherwise), etc. for fitment testing on our new Banana Seat. We did this with Chris from Blue Collar Moto a couple months ago, and now we have a second generation of this seat. If you're coming to the Biltwell pre-party this Friday the 13th and you own a bike that meets our requirements, please come to Biltwell HQ any time between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm. What we've got to do won't take a half hour tops, and there's a free t-shirt and some stickers in it for you. If more than one guy shows up, we'll pick the most stock set-up and use them as the test mule. If you're willing to volunteer, please email  me. Thanks!

Flickr Found: NZ Goodness

Some neat stuff in this dude's sets. RickW.

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The Green Bean

Some other neat Patchwork stuff here: FLICKR

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Random Photos from Today

The only riding I did today was on a nice loaner 9'0" longboard...

In the words of Arto Saari: "Pinnacle"

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Custom Biltwell Lids

Josh at Old School Helmets is doing some fine customizing work on our humble hoods. His art is dope and his prices are right—what more aggressive selling proposition do you need? Check it out here.

DicE #29 / Go Kat Go #13

Go get your partytime on in PHX.

Details.

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Vantastic Monday

Vans are ghey. Mini trucks are where it's at.

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¡Viva La Paz!

Sorry for the lack of updates, we haven't had wi-fi since crossing the border. We spent the first two days in Quatro Casa's about 160 miles south of the border. There is a small surf hostel there, complete with a tight but very skateable pool. It's a little under ten miles of dirt road to get into the camp, not too bad, but a definite challenge in a couple spots. Only a couple little spills, nothing major. We shot some fireworks off, had a bonfire, complete with a few memorable antics. We stayed an extra day and waited for Keegan to show up. He had a video premier Thursday night and rode down solo to meet us for the rest of the trip.

Dirt Motos. The view at Quatros.

The central part of baja is very desolate, not a shred of skateable terrain and we mostly just hauled ass trying to carve out some miles. We stopped at Mama Espinosa's for the famous (if over-priced) Langosta burritos. From there we made it to Catavina where we stayed at a roadside hotel. In the morning we filled up from a make shift gas station and hit the road. San Ignacio is where many consider the "real" baja to start. The recent damage from hurricane Jimena was very evident, our original camp site was basically washed away. The road was clear though and the ancient town square was live with pre-Dias de Muerte celebration. Some kids were having an impromptu boxing match and Heath couldn't help but get in the mix. He held his own and made us proud. How outlaw would we be if we rolled into town and got asses kicked by a lanky 13 year old? Thanks, Heath.

Heath Kirtchart, aka El Falcones Azul, hates the sun.

Setting up camp in San Ignacio.

We came back in the morning, had some desayunos and the guys had what might be the earliest recorded skate session ever. We slept outside the night before and body clocks running on nature's schedule, we don't have much choice but to get up early and go to bed not too long after dark. These guys were just "warming up" and "pushing around" not going for banger footage, but I was still impressed. Heath nailed a big kick-flip off a shady curb cut and over a trash can, Arto pulled a wallie off one of the old planters and a couple geriatric locals started getting a little salty, so we loaded up and rode out of there.

Quick stops in Santa Rosalia and Mulege, both of which showed substantial hurricane damage, but the road was fine other than the typical potholes and occasional wash out over a vado. We took a good break a few miles south of Mulege at a beach called Santispac. The view of turquoise waters and white sands when dropping down out of the hills and into the valley where the cove called Santispac is located was sweet enough to get even jaded skaters stoked. These are dudes who have been all over the world and done a ton of fun stuff, so they are not easily impressed. We unloaded a cooler full of beer, stripped down to skivvies or trunks and jumped in the warm, shallow waters of the Sea of Cortez. After a night in the shady campground of San Ignacio, it was refreshing to get a long swim.

Harvey, aka El Diablo soy de Canada.

Two great Canadian kids, Ky and Harvey rode their sporties down from Victoria. These dudes ride hard whether it's skateboards or motorcycles and have been a blast to hang with. Harvey's XL had been leaking oil and making some noises and it finally gave up the ghost. Luckily the film crew wasn't far behind with the tailer. As luck has it, Ky's folks have a place in Loreto, and he got us in. Great place, right downtown but back far enough from the Malecon to be pin-drop quiet. I slept on the porch with Matt, Arto and the cool house dog Scooby. Thanks for the hospitality, Ky and Familia!

Cell phone pic from the bar tonight. Pretty much the best view ever.

Tonight we made it from Loreto to La Paz. Only about 230 miles, but Baja miles are different. The terrain is amazing right now. The positive result of the hurricane is that the landscape is bursting with growth, everything is green. Even the cows and horses are fat, though I wish some of them would graze a little further from the roadside.

Tomorrow is going to be some more morning skating here on the Malecon in La Paz and then onto El Pescador. Once we set up there I think some of us are going to head to Cabo, just to splash in the water at the absolute bottom of the peninsula. Another full day of skating the El Pescador park and then it's the long trek north.

Uno mas cervesas, por favor!

Strut Yer Shovel

Not just for Sporties. Gets you low for lots less dough. Struts aren't for everyone, but if you like 'em you'll be hard pressed to find any better than these. These ones look pretty sweet on Doug's Shovel parked out near El Porto.

10" eye to eye with 1/2" bores. $99.00.

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Vote for Pedro

Last spring's Biltwell Bash at Lake Skinner in our fair city of Temecula, CA, is included among Cycle Source magazine's best events of 2009. If you think a weekend of beer drinking and dirt napping counts for fun these days, please go here and cast your vote for our humble chopper hoedown. Thanks for the nomination, Chris Callen.