Norton Commando Sidecar by R&R

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The chassis was built by John Anderson from Auckland in 2002. As close as it could be made, it is a direct copy of an outfit built and raced by Ted Milner ( Manchester, UK ) in 1973 and then raced by Jerry Frith from NZ from 1975 to 1977. It was raced as a 950 Norton by Jerry for a couple of years before having an 850cc motor put in it in 2004. It was then raced very successfully by John Blaymires (NZ) until purchased by Robert Hood and Pat Crawford from Whanganui NZ in 2006. Source : http://rrperformanceengineering.co.nz/

Donald Judd

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Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928 – February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism (a term he nonetheless stridently disavowed). In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy. It created an outpouring of seemingly effervescent works that defied the term "minimalism". Nevertheless, he is generally considered the leading international exponent of "minimalism," and its most important theoretician through such seminal writings as "Specific Objects" (1964).

Thomas Bünnig's 1947 Nimbus

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Hi Frank, two years ago i was sending you some pics of my BMW R51/3 . This year i build a Bobber based on a Nimbus 2 with 750ccm and 22Hp from the year 1947. I tried to build the bike in the old shool way...i hope you like it ! Best regards, Thomas from Berlin, Germany

Los Angeles Apartments by Ed Ruscha

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Back in 1965, when artist Ed Ruscha was doing a lot of photography, he wouldn't have called himself a photographer. To be honest, he probably would have scoffed at the idea. His goal was to make books — and photographs were simply a means to that end. Born in 1937 in Omaha, Nebraska, Edward Ruscha was raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where his family moved in 1941. In 1956 he moved to Los Angeles to attend the Chouinard Art Institute, and had his first solo exhibition in 1963 at the Ferus Gallery. Source : www.npr.org

U.K Police Motorcycles

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Pictures © Ron Saunders

Of the British manufacturers themselves, Triumph motorcycles, built at Meriden, were used by some British and mainly Commonwealth police forces until 1983 when the factory closed. The police version of the 6T Triumph Thunderbird was nicknamed the SAINT, an acronym of "Stops Anything In No Time".

The police were showing a lot of interest in the Commando and so Neale Shilton was recruited from Triumph to produce a Commando to police specifications. The end result was the 'Interpol' machine, which sold well to police forces, both at home and abroad.

Honda 80s CB 450N

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Frank from www.rocholl.cc just finished the remodeling of his 80s CB 450N last week. Lots more to say about it. Hope you like it.

The Heart of Teahupoo

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 I wanted to come back on a post i did a few years ago about Teahupoo. Teahupoo, also known as ‘Chopes, is located on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti. The largest and main island of French Polynesia, Tahiti, is situated in the eastern South Pacific Ocean. Tahiti is pretty much in the middle of South America and Australia. If you have ever flown from Los Angeles, CA to Auckland, NZ, then you flew right over Tahiti. Are you ready for your next surf trip? Teahupoo is a world-class reef break spitting out left-handed barrels that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up straight. The main circus attraction of Teahupoo is when the tow-in surfers get a whiff of big swell. Any significant swell will turn this place into a surfer frenzy. Here is a picture of what Teahupoo looks like when the pro-surfer circus rolls into town. Source : http://www.surfblogspot.com/

The Boss

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No Comment

Allens Rivulet House - Tasmania

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Architects: Room11 

Location: Allens Rivulet, Tasmania, Australia 

Principal in Charge: Aaron Roberts 

Collaborators: Nathan Crump, Thomas Bailey, James Wilson 

Engineering: Aldanmark Consulting Engineers 

Site Area: 30 Acres 

Project Area: total 346m2, external: 113m2, internal: 233m2, decks: 83m2, voids: 30m2 

Project Year: 2006-2009 

Source :  http://www.archdaily.com

Photographs: Ben Hosking

BMW R100 RT by Hammer Kraftrad

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Quite a while ago Michael Hammer sent me some pictures of a motorcycle he built (BMW R80 Bobber). Back then he did build motorcycles just for fun but three months ago he went freelance and now he is trying to establish himself. His new project a BMW R100 RT on his website : http://hammer-kraftrad.blogspot.de
It's his aim to build bikes with clear lines that are reduced to the essential.

Ian Barry : The White, The Black, The Kestrel

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Ian Barry at The Michael Kohn Gallery .

I met Ian in 2008 at the Legend of the Motorcycles in Half Moon Bay and he is for me, together with shinya Kimura and Matt "Machine" my  favourite bike builder/designer of our era.

" The artist Ian Barry’s newest sculpture could easily be mistaken for a mere motorcycle. It is an impressive piece of hand-built machinery, but that’s not how Ian sees the newest creation in his Falcon Ten series. To him, his custom motorcycles exist on a different plane than the two-wheel conveyances people drive on public roads. His bikes are the gasoline-powered embodiment of living, breathing, moving art. "

Mike's Bikes

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Mike Soteros told me " thought you mite like my bikes ??? " , he's righrt i love thes bikes. Thanks Mike for sharing. Frank