steveb leatherworks: the blather

I can find something to love with almost any two-wheel machine. I mean, I look at bicycles with the hairy eyeball for chrissakes, so when i come across any kind of motorcycle, i stop and scope it from stem to stern..just as i would if i were to judge it in a show – short of running my hands over the welds and looking under the tank and fenders. Street bikes are really interesting and fun, if you look at them through a different lens, try to figure out their story, look for the tiny little custom touches that make a bike “mine”.

So I was walking the west side one day and run across this road warrior – a Honda VT110 Shadow, well worn and with a few scars and special touches that warranted a quick go/see…it was hiding across the street, so i crossed over to introduce myself.

ya see, I owned a bike like McCheese here – I loved my Shadow 1100 back in the day – except for its 4speed paint-shaker vibes, it was a great bike for someone not having much money, wanting a “sit-in-it” framed bike that had a wee bit of the class craved. It wasn’t the “real deal”. but thats’ always been ok with my crew – as long as you were riding, you were in the club. I sold that beeotch for $500 more than i paid for it,  losing the Honda logos and painting the tank straight black was key.

Anyway – McCheese here has some custom touches: saddlebag supports, luggage rack, progressive shocks, crash bars and windshield, third generation JC Whitney mirrors, original seat and a lost cover or two. My kind of bike. I particularly dig the tin foil edging…Saeng, best pay attention.

This great bike, gets a Gold in this weeks street bike show. Now for all you Metric bike haters – there is rarely a sighting of a HD that is parked or left on the street in NYC, unless it is owned by a fierce individual who has slathered it with all sorts of scary and easily identified skull/wing iconography. A parked HD gets pinched in a heartbeat in NYC, so no one in their right minds leaves his pride n’ joy on the street.

Besides, we should have open minds, right?  LOL