FILE THIS ONE UNDER "RESTRAINT, FUNCTION, PRACTICALITY, CHROME DON'T GIVE ME A BONE"
I've recently had the pleasure of 'meeting' some good people on the Fakebook caper, again, just like this blogging shindig, I swore I'd never get involved and just watch it from a distance, and yet again, not unlike the whole 'never own a Harley' thing I had going for nigh on the three decades, once I relented and caved in, I've found myself really enjoying it, learning lots, feeding the inspiration gland and, as mentioned, coming across some real straight-up, no bullshit crew willing to pass on their experience to a relative novice in the world of the Motor Company and it's pre '84 product.
'Pirate' from Alabama, is one such bloke, dunno how many bikes he owns but it's a few, including a rather tasty big inch chop and, the focus of this post, a super cool, understated, 93 cube '78 FX he's morphed into an FL, seen in this shot hauling the big unit down the highway . . . . I guess the slightly curious point for me is that you generally tend to hear about folk going the other way, turning FL's into the FX configuration and not the other way round . . . . Pirate's white shark is about restraint not "let's go crazy", particularly when so many of the FL's tend to be festooned with all the bells and whistles, the absence of chrome overkill on the front guard, no badging on either the tank or the battery cover, ultra useable, tight 'bars and no gumby lookin mirrors sprouting skywards, completely sympathetic indicators, the classic S&S aircleaner and standard diameter, straight pipes, these things really set this old jigger apart from the rest . . . . a definitive sleeper, less is more once again.
Like I said in the post title, I've never been one for fussiness, fripperies and new age fandanglements, as far as I'm concerned, save the coin for shit that matters, engine, suspension, frame, wheels and tires, concentrate on substance not surface, cause in the end, the old chestnut 'chrome won't get you home', is bang on the money . . . . something I reckon Pirate has well in hand and, front of his mind.
I've recently had the pleasure of 'meeting' some good people on the Fakebook caper, again, just like this blogging shindig, I swore I'd never get involved and just watch it from a distance, and yet again, not unlike the whole 'never own a Harley' thing I had going for nigh on the three decades, once I relented and caved in, I've found myself really enjoying it, learning lots, feeding the inspiration gland and, as mentioned, coming across some real straight-up, no bullshit crew willing to pass on their experience to a relative novice in the world of the Motor Company and it's pre '84 product.
'Pirate' from Alabama, is one such bloke, dunno how many bikes he owns but it's a few, including a rather tasty big inch chop and, the focus of this post, a super cool, understated, 93 cube '78 FX he's morphed into an FL, seen in this shot hauling the big unit down the highway . . . . I guess the slightly curious point for me is that you generally tend to hear about folk going the other way, turning FL's into the FX configuration and not the other way round . . . . Pirate's white shark is about restraint not "let's go crazy", particularly when so many of the FL's tend to be festooned with all the bells and whistles, the absence of chrome overkill on the front guard, no badging on either the tank or the battery cover, ultra useable, tight 'bars and no gumby lookin mirrors sprouting skywards, completely sympathetic indicators, the classic S&S aircleaner and standard diameter, straight pipes, these things really set this old jigger apart from the rest . . . . a definitive sleeper, less is more once again.
Like I said in the post title, I've never been one for fussiness, fripperies and new age fandanglements, as far as I'm concerned, save the coin for shit that matters, engine, suspension, frame, wheels and tires, concentrate on substance not surface, cause in the end, the old chestnut 'chrome won't get you home', is bang on the money . . . . something I reckon Pirate has well in hand and, front of his mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment