CC And Company

A) 1970's Broadway Joe Namath as CC Ryder, motorcycle mechanic.
B) Ann-Margret as Ann McCalley, fashion journalist.
C) CC Ryder joins band of desert biker hooligans.
D) Hooligans pick-up writer Ann who is stranded by side of road.
E) New recruit Ryder is smitten with kitten.
F) William Smith as Moon, the leader of these savages known as The Heads, isn't exactly giddy about the sparks that are flying and decides to pour cold water on their fire.
G) Ann and Joe Willey don't like being cold or wet so she climbs on back of his AMF era Harley and they head out of Dodge.
H) Wayne Cochran and The CC Ryders do their Mitch Ryder best.

imdb.com

Easty On A Bonney

Clint Eastwood with Tish Sterling resting from a chase scene on a 650 TR6 in 1968's Coogan's Bluff. The tale of an Arizona cop sent to NYC to bring back a bad dude played by Don Stroud (who also gets some reel time astride a 500cc, T100R, Triumph Daytona). This film was also the inspiration for 1970's McCloud with Dennis Weaver which I absolutely dug the absolute crap out of right up there with Rock Hudson, Susan Saint James and Nancy Walker in
McMillan and Wife.

Coogan's Bluff is in New York City and is the name of a cliff off a hillside somewhere around 155th street.

Photo: dailymail.co.uk and imdb.com

Ace Motorcycle And Scooter Company

Ace is great little shop tucked back in off Jackson Blvd. in Chicago. The type of destination you pop into on a Saturday afternoon just to ogle all the scoots. My guess is you won't walk out without a tee-shirt. Or who knows, you might want to bring a trailer, or a helmet even, or two.
I didn't want to( actually couldn't) squeeze in to take a better pic of this Yama-bobber so your getting kind of an ass shot. It's a killer ride though.

Quick And Dirty

As the story goes, McQueen was able to get Paramount Studios to underwrite the Silver Vase team trip to East Germany to represent America in the 1964
International Six Days Trials by hiring Cliff Coleman and Bud and Dave Ekins as bodyguards to accompany him while he attended the European movie premier of
Love With A Proper Stranger.

Bud Ekins is well known, not only for his motorcycle riding and racing prowess, but for his stints as a stunt double. And it is Ekins who was filmed jumping the fence in The Great Escape.

In the 50s and 60s, Steve McQueen's scooter of choice was often a Triumph. And it was a Triumph he rode during the '64 ISDT. It also appears his riding gear of choice was the Barbour International, or the Barbour Suit as it was called. An oil or wax coated jacket and pants. A range originally designed by Duncan Barbour, son of a son of, THE J. Barbour And Sons in the 1930s to help keep motorcycle riders dry. Leathers, if fit snug enough, were often worn underneath.

Credits:
motorcyclemuseum.org
pentonusa.org

Birmingham Small Arms And The 441 Victor Special

Next to his late sixties, folksy record collection, the next cool thing my brother brought home from college was a '69, BSA 441 Victor Special. Jeez, just the name was cool by itself. Much cooler than say, Honda 305 Super Hawk. Because everybody had those. But nobody had a BSA, at least not in our town. It actually looked kinda like a dirt bike with its high suspension and fenders. And come to find out, that's actually it's claim to fame.
Having won 2 back-to-back 500cc World Motocross Championships in '64 and '65, is how it acquired the "Victor" status. But alas, in '67, the single stroke-low torque, brutish Brit lost out to the up and coming lighter and quicker, 2 stroke CZ.
My brother, on many levels, was just way ahead of the pack.

credits:
motorcycleclassics.com
motorcyclespecs.co.za

Streets Of Heck

I'm kind of a nut for Brit bikes. Ever since my brother Tim came home from college on a BSA, 441 Victor Special. The bike pictured above is my '67, Triumph 650 Bonneville. Named after all the time trials it won on the salt flats in the 1950s.. The look of the bike is referenced from 1950s flat-tracker style.
It was built by period bike specialist, Justin Kell. Notably, it was Kell who was brought in to do all the bike prep and stylizing for the most recent Indiana Jones flick. He also created and built all the bikes for the 2008, Larry Bishop-Quentin Tarantino collaboration, Hell Ride, which did a quick giddy-up to DVD. The movie is an homage to 60s biker noir. Tarantino picked Bishop, not only for his stints in Kill Bill, but because Bishop himself starred in such gems as: The Savage Seven, The Devil's 8, Angels Unchained and my sunday school favorite, Chrome and Hot Leather.
Justin can be seen in the special features segment of Hell Ride, describing why which actor is on which particular bike.
On an equally important aside, Justin also has a motorcycle inspired gear shop called Glory Sales And Service on Hollywood Blvd., just East of Vermont, that handles vintage motorcycle racing suits, Lewis Leathers, Davida Helmets, Aviator Goggles, Barbour, RedWing Boots, Levi's, Nudie Jeans and his store's namesake brand of denim, Glory Utility.




Top Photo is my scoot from JK

Bottom Photo Of Michael Madsen on a Springer-Sporty-Bobber
From hellridethemovie.com Starring Larry Bishop, Michael Madsen and Dennis Hopper