Friday, May 21, 2010

yes, gumball!!

i mean, cannonball!

 at D of iron dinasour's in northern cali.

昨日インディアンを取りに行ったDの仕事場の外にて。
Dは前に会った時は40年代のバイクもレストアしていたけど、
現在は10年代、20年代モノに専念し ているんだ、と言っていた。
ナックルとかは新しすぎちゃって、だって。
ナックルが新しすぎる・・・凄い世界に迷い込んでしまいました。

on the 1/3 way home...
shinya was already sleeping with her
in the van.
 
北からの帰り道、待ちきれずに一緒に寝てみる木村氏。
N美氏も早く来て寝たほうがいいよ、インディアン娘と一緒に。

watch her with a dreamy eye...
in the van.

完璧に自分の世界に入り込む木村氏。
まだまだ、あと300マイルはあるよ、アズサまで。

we got home and put her
right next to 1925 JD. 
age difference = 10 years

 チャボに到着。1925年のJDの隣に置いてみる。


throttle is on the left side!

スロットルが左側・・・こわひ。

in 1918, japanese police started to take in indian motorcycles. around the same era, shinya's grandfather bought the very first indian motorcycle as a private citizen in japan. wow! his grandfather used to tell shinya about it and shinya's favorite part was that grandpa fell off from the bridge to the river with his indian!!

had been struggled with a modern bike for a while, shinya says he really appreciate the simplicity of old motorcycles. when he saw this indian he thought about his grandpa and about this "pre 1916 motorcycle cannonball endurance run" that he has had on his mind for a while. coast to coast in 16 days with pre 1916 motorcycles. pretty crazy but he loves the idea. plus, when it comes to the "race" whether if it's on the salt flats or on the dry lake or on the road, he says he enjoy being surrounded by all these experts and specialists that he could be a rookie again and be just one of the motorcycling enthusiasts. will learn a lot from them. we are very excited!! play hard!

という事で、バイク版キャノンボールに参加することになりました。1916年以前のバイクのみ参加資格があるというもので、9月中旬に東海岸を出発して16日間で西海岸はサンタモニカに到着するという競争です。なかなかクレイジーでアメリカンなスケールのレース。最初は冗談だと思っていましたが、参加者はすでに100組、しかも皆さん本気で優勝狙ってます。すでに合宿とか始めちゃってるツワモノもいれば、まだバイクがバラバラの人もいたり・・・最近モダンバイクと格闘してボロボロのアメリカ在住バイク馬鹿代表の木村氏がこの話を持ちかけたら、バイク馬鹿日本代表jam'z garageのN美氏が快く賛同してくださったので、エントリー決定です。チーム・チャボ&ジャムズもインディアンの整備、朝練、合宿、そして忘れがちなルートの確認など、少しずつ始めたいと思います。ボンネビルの後間もなく、東へ向かいます。まずは東海岸までバイクを運ぶにあたり、チャボバンが持つのか、というのが大きな課題となって立ちはだかっておりますが・・・しかし持つべきものは同じくらい馬鹿な友達。N美氏、万歳!!

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Shinya..can you be my teacher...huhu

Anonymous said...

what a lovely story about his grandfather and what a lovely couple he makes next to the indian




carlito

JYUMOKU said...

Inspiring!! Cant wait to see.

malcolm said...

Shinya! I love this bike, but please stay away from the 'clincher' tires. If you get a flat at speed, the tire will wrap itself around the forks and axle, causing a quick, hard crash. Read this:
http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/2009/01/death-of-vintagent.html

Miss you guys.

drsprocket said...

Just left Dave and Deb of Iron Dinosaur. Friends for a long time. I rode with clinchers on my 1928 Excelsior Super X for over 15 years and never had a problem. You just have to keep about 50 psi in them and make sure they are seated on the rim properly. I rode 60 mph all the time. Hope you can make it up to our Dixon national meet on the 18th and 19th of June. It's only about 30 miles north of Dave's place.

Bastybikes said...

That is a beauty ! very nice condition ! keep on the good work :)

Matt Olsen said...

Shinya! I am so excited that you got a bike for the run. Dave and Deb are great people! I am building a 1914 sears for the cannonball check out the progress at www.pre1916scramble.blogspot.com I am so excited that you are coming with!
best,
Matt Olsen

menacing ayu said...

limabiru: shinya said, "i'm still learning."

carlito: aren't they sweet?

SWTCH: tons of things needs to be done by september!

malcolm: what a tragedy...thanks for sharing. we miss you, too.

drsprocket: thank you for your comment! we'll try to make it for the Dixon national meet!

Bastybikes: thanks!!

Matt Olsen: looking forward to seeing you and your 1914 sears on the road!!

Alastair said...

That thing is so cool.

menacing ayu said...

Alastair: Thanks!