Wild Angels Dragon Bike Update

There's no way that this title would fly today.



Last December I did a post on the original dragon bike and showed these tanks.

Here's a direct link to that Original post

Sunday at the LB swap meet , I talked to the owner of what was left of the original Wild Angels Dragon bike. He informed me that he recently sold it. He wouldn't give any names but, says it's now been rebuilt and watch for it as it will surface soon at a museum. He said it's all been verified and photos were taken with Fonda etc. Several so-called experts confirmed that the tanks were painted by Von Dutch. It was supposed to be in Michael Lichter's Rebel Rousers Icons MC show at Sturgis this year but, he didn't think it will make it.... Well it looks like it might have?

Is this really it? Sneak peek from the Rebel Rousers show.

Inquiring minds want to know. Is this the original, how much of it, or another replica?

There are four problems with the bike as shown. 1. These tanks don't look right to me. They look repainted and like the after market ones which always look too fat at the rear. Perhaps, the original tanks weren't used because of the chips and were kept as a valuable relic of Von Dutch's work. 2. The original bike's license and tail light was on the right side (check the title picture at the top). 3. The ape hangers look too tall. 4. Not real sure about the thickness of that back rest?

I hate when they get stuff like this wrong and there's just no excuse.

One other thing seems to have been confirmed though. Big Scott, the owner of the Wax Museum replica and I were talking about the film bike and he mentioned how he thought it had a Bates sprung seat with a separate one piece pillion and back rest. It's was very hard to tell from the movie and stills. You could see the springs but not much else. It appears he is right.


I forgot to mention. A couple of weeks ago I was invited to the private reception on Aug.4th. If I had been able to make it to Sturgis, I would have been able to check it out first hand. Damn!

This Month's Header, Fast Times at Downey High

To many, August means Sturgis. I chose this month' art since it's a group of riders on a run.

It's hard to recall exactly how things went
The year was 1973, I was 17 and a senior in high school. We were given an assignment in the senior art class for a PTA contest called, "This is Our Country".

This page from the Jan. 1973 issue of Street Chopper served as the basis for the art.


Our Art teacher first assigned us to do a pencil drawing, then it would be done in watercolors.


This is probably the oldest painting I have. Up until that time I mostly drew with pen and pencils. I did several chopper themed artworks in my art classes that year.


April 6,1973. This photo ran on the "Women's Page" in the local paper called the Southeast News. Our school's principal is holding my art yet they put me in the back. It's hard to see but the award (shown below), is attached to the art.


April 1st. Not exactly the best day to tell somebody they won something. I thought it was pretty cool of the PTA to give an award to art depicting choppers.

Iron (Clad), Crosses

You may or may not know of the half track trike but this one's another story.

Still trying to figure out the nose art.