There’s a certain kind of pain that only shows up when you’re deep into an old bike project at midnight, covered in grease, running on bad coffee, and telling yourself this time it’s all gonna seal up right. I know because I’ve lived it. A lot of us have. You finally wrestle the engine back into the frame, hook everything up, hit the starter, and the thing barks to life like a bad ass machine that’s been waiting forty years for another shot. You stand there grinning like an idiot.
Then you see it.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Oil. Fresh oil. Sneaking out from a gasket surface you swore was good.
I say she’s from 1977, but “The CheMistress” is quite a concoction of parts. As it sits now, it is an 88” Shovelhead motor with S&S internals inside 1977 Harley cases with an Andrews B-grind cam, and the trans is a close-ratio, 4-speed cowpie inside an STD case.
Being that we've been preaching that vintage Japanese bikes are a solid starting point for your Bug Out Transportation. We thought it would be fun to share with you some of the men and women of the Mad Max Run who are already one step ahead of the game.
Whether it's cars or bikes the name of the game is pre-1950's. You won't ever see anything even as "new" as a Panhead or Shovelhead out there. The 45" flatheads make up a big chuck of the bikes but the big twin flatties and knuckleheads is where the action really heats up out there. Along with the old Harleys you can often see a strong presence of early Indian motorcycles as well asHenderson, Excelsior and many more. No matter what the bike each rider brings their own unique flair to the event, something that brings spectators back again and again.
As the Mama Tried motorcycle show progressed they sought to include the option of a variety of entertaining spectacles surrounding the event happening in all different parts of the city of Milwaukee. From the pre parties, after parties, Flat Out Friday, Harley Davidson Museum and several other "moto-happenings" you would think, how could it get any better?
