steveb leatherworks: the blather

NYC is the last stop on the train for alot of stuff. Alot of this stuff gets sold by the ounce, gram or dollar. These 6-8″ diameter, 6-8″ tall Aspen/Birch chunks of whatever you want to call it wood is pretty pricey at this rate. $7.50 for a chunk…a branch is $55… amazing what city folks will pay for country folks trash thats […]

  this is it – the best!   I am ending this series on NYC Hot Doggery with a shot of the one and only – Nathan’s Famous. Still the best, and if you’ve never caught a parking ticket trying to get one of their dogs – you’ve not lived a large and “durty” life.  Shame on you!  Let me know next […]

I got started on this hot dog thing, now i can seem to let it go..ha!… finding out that my obsession with all things NYC and hot dog, is well settled in my DNA as a NYC native. I came acrosss this shot of Ebbets Field (Brooklyn, you knew that right?), during a game of some sort, (baseball perhaps?) on Shorpy’s.  Unfortunately as we found out […]

Saw this BMW, parked in the garment center under one of those “overhead” plywood deals. Chained up, ridden regularly – but treated well, this is a prime example of an NYC warrior.  Enough dings and dents to ward off the trophy spoilers, enough class to warrant a second look. Good stuff!

Now we all have our guilty pleasures when it comes to “forbidden food”.  As a NYC native, I’ve got a few “best of breed” forbidden foods:pizza, fried dumplings, Cuban & pastrami/corned beef sandwiches, Challah french toast, Sopressata sausage, Eggplant/Chicken parmigiana, all kinds of crazy stinky cheeses..you know – stuff you just know is bad for you, and most of the […]

I’ve never really been much of a car chat guy. I could never really talk the  “dropped a-frame 357 hemi, with the  44 magnum, topped off a dually quadratic SU hydra dive slap stick gear box…, but only in 1967”    kind of gear head jive talk. That stuff almost smells like Sports talk to me, another lingo laden sub-language I’ve […]

 The Flatiron Building is without a doubt one of my favorite landmarks, beautiful architecture and a cool location. When the lighting is right (as it was today) it is a dramatic sight to behold and since they cleaned it up some few years ago -it is a snarky hi-tone beautiful son-of a beeotch. Furthering my trek west, I […]

I read  every motorcycle magazine I can get my hands on (Hot Bike, Cycle Source, American Iron, American Cycle, Ironworks, Barnetts, Koptieri, Hardcore Choppers, etc). I don’t read Easyriders as it is crap, a bad blend of Playboy and a played out biker mag. I’ve been reading like this since I was in my 20’s. My first subscription […]

Been seeing lots of scooters lately. I am rethinking my position on them due to the fact that you can pretty much park them anywhere (yank the license plate when you do, an old NYC trick) and they let you stay above ground to get around, thereby avoiding the subway and other odious methods of NYC travel. They are good on […]

Wandering around the city (with eyes open) causes me to reflect on the hard life everything in the city experieinces. This is no place for pussies, or pussy bikes. If you ride in NYC, you’d best be bullet proof, cause this place can put a hurtin’ on ya if your not up for it. Bikes […]

More in the continuing series of NYC street food…  I dont know why it has me fascinated..but it do! I love the Big Shitty, there is absolutely a million things to see everywhere you look. If you take the time to look…  

Round these parts – getting your winter wood can be a hit or miss proposition. It can go wrong in a few places: the wood can be green and burn “hissy”, not good for the chimney, the wood can be cut to the wrong size for your application, ever try and get a manly man log into a small […]

Saw this chop out at the Duck. Good to see someone flying the Root Beer flake with traditional flames. I am not a big fan of this kind of frame geometry, but it is obvious someone took care to make a nice looking chop. They get props for riding it when the roads are crappy and the weather , […]

I saw this on the COC blog, believe it was posted by noot.  Kind of stopped me for a few reasons. The bike…a basket of a Sportster, a baby, a young wife…like this chap didnt have enough going on…right?  He took on the rebuild of this bike himself, hmmm, looks to me like he has a new house too, a […]

Ya got to have tools when you tear into a bike, like Freddy’s Fat Boyee. an of course ya got to have a clown like me getting in the way with his camera. Ha ha!

The boss had her foot fixed today. No fun, with a capital No. But, she manned up and went through with it like a champ, I am not a big fan of screws and plates, thinking they belong in wood and the china cabinet, not in our bodies, but in this instance – it is a good thing. Send her […]

The Duck is an old barge-y, boat-y thing that was converted to a “local dive bar” years ago. It is situated under an overpass, on a little unloved plot of land. The Duck is cool, and is mine an Freddy’s favorite Sunday afternoon “shot & a beer joint”. There aren’t too many of those left… […]

I thought i’d keep it simple today and share an idyllic scene found locally. I’ve been using this image as a screensaver and thought all of you might like it too…enjoy and right-click away!!

*consider this a public service announcement or something, i want some brownie points damnit* Freddy was tearing into the Fatboy shortly before i came over to help him. This mechanical madness and associated activity is in preparation for the bikes first major rebuild since its birth in 1990. The bike is a bit overdue for some love and so…on the lift it goes, for total strip-down. Bike is on the lift, […]

I used to make alot of cuffs for folks. Que Pasa, my old friend, likes cuffs to support his meatloaf sized paws when he is playing bass in his band Taboo, a Santana cover band. I used to wear them when i road tripped on the FXR, along with ear plugs and a Home Depot weight lifters belt. […]

I was at the International Motorcycle Show a few weeks back and happened upon the Star Motorcycles booth/display.This is a Yamaha company doing a Lexus/Toyota thing and i must admit, the Star bikes look very nice, if thats you’re thing. For better or for worse, there is not much of a chance of me owning a Star anytime in the future. I got H-D in my blood, as silly as […]

Reconnected with an old “online friend “the other day after a 15yr hiatus, Nelson Kanno – man about town, Hawaiian annoyer of motorists,  chopper aficionado, bike journalist, lifestyle expert, ya now – a character par excellence I am looking forward to communicating with Nelson and his Church of Choppers crew in more depth – but for now, enjoy what a tasty bike Nelson […]

Had a chance to take my first flight in a small plane today. What a thrill! It is so freaking different than flying  on a jet, I cant tell ya. One of my oldest best friend homeboys from the NYC ‘hood Ron is a Tucson resident and a pilot. He invited me and Erl to take […]

Spending time in Tucson..enjoying the Amerincan landscape. If these views dont make you feel a bit patriotic and proud, you best check your pulse, pilgrim. If you’ve got a pulse and this still doesn’t give you a tingel of pride…may i suggest you move…like to Uranus or something….