Painting
by Alain Panneton
For the 2009-2010 show
season I have a project I
can really sink my teeth into:
“Blade”. With its sharp edges
and sleek lines, this bike will be
an homage to Blade the Vampire Killer, a hero right
out of the Marvel mythology. Thinking it would be
interesting for you readers, I decided to document
my approach in painting this beast.
Before starting a project I always do a bit of
research. My goal here was to use as many aspects
as I could to make the theme of the bike as recognizable
as possible. First and foremost, Blade is a
vampire. And where there’s a vampire there’s
usually blood. So there will be blood! Vampires
are also immortal, so this bike cannot look as if it
came out of a showroom, without forgetting it is
supposed to be used as a war machine. To give it
an old and faded look, I will use over thinned water
colors. To those elements I will add tribal signs,
some in reference to Blade’s tattoos and others
that will refer to more primitive signs we can see
in the movies.
Technical
by André Bobinas
“ When I say Whoa, I mean
Whoa! ”
That is what comes to my
mind when I think about brakes. Those
infamous words out of Yosemite Sam’s
mouth just before he smacked a horse
or camel on the head with a shovel:
or better yet the smell of my burning
running shoes when I wedged them
between the front tire and fork of my bicycle
when I was a kid; That was many moons ago!
Harley-Davidson brakes have evolved through the years starting
with mechanical drum to hydraulic drum brakes and then from
one-sided floating piston to opposed piston brakes < picture 1>.
The first versions of drum brakes were not very efficient. They were
installed on bikes until the early 70’s and needless to say “urgent
stops” were virtually impossible. Hitting them as hard as you could
to slow down and looking for an exit space was usually standard
procedure. Talk to any old time biker; they usually have tons of
old white knuckle stories about that. The last generations of drum
brakes were hydraulic assisted. They were used only at the rear
wheel and this was Harley’s best attempt with this configuration.
After drum brakes came disc brakes, which we still use today ...
Our Readers
Ever since Mr. Claude Huot
acquired his Harley-Davidson dealership,
Blanchette has been known
for its special projects. Starting with
his series of FLH Special Editions in
2005 and continuing with many high
profile choppers, Huot always pushed
the envelope. One of his favourite
motorcycles, the Road Glide, has been
the subject of many projects. Popular
in the States for its manoeuvrability
and clean handling, the Road Glide is
gaining in popularity here in Quebec.
“Why not modify a Road Glide by make
it longer, lower and more powerful?”
he thought.
Claude started by making the rear of
the frame – which is removable on the
2009 models and later – 75mm longer.
To do so, he lowered the front and rear
suspensions by 35 mm. His goal was
to make the motorcycle more stable
at high speed by making the wheelbase
longer and by lowering the center
of gravity. The front of the bike would
be less likely to lift under acceleration
with all the added power transferred to
the rear wheel.
Show it!
Show us your pics!
Send photos of your bike, your trips, your
parties, Memories, events, etc.
The funniest will be published. Winner of the year will get full page (once a year).
You must leave your name, address and phone number at the back of each photo
with short description. If you include a pre-stamped and pre-addressed envelope
we will send it back to you.
Send digital photos to :
pascal.richard@v2revolution.com
Postal address :
REVOLUTION MOTORCYCLE MAG
1302, Avenue Garden, Mascouche
Québec J7L OA4
Old School
Ted
Hector’s
Thunder
Road
Motorcycles and
the World’s Fastest
Indian Jr. Scout
You know what the best part
of my job is here at Revolution
Magazine? Well I’ll tell you.
Meeting people like the person
you are going to read about in this
month’s Old School column. As a
Canadian magazine we go out of
our way and bring you the best of
what this great big country has
to offer when it comes to
people who live for the
love of custom motorcycles.
I personally
enjoy bringing
you the unsung
heroes, the
p e o p l e
w h o
have accomplished amazing things in our world
of two wheeled machines. Yet so many of us
have no clue as to who they are. That said I have
to thank my buddy Allen McMurrer for pointing
me in the “western” direction.
Interview
The Michael Lichter
Experience
Who is Michael Lichter? I guess
I can understand if the name
doesn’t sound familiar to you
especially if you’re a guy that
doesn’t read the fine print. But ask
any bike builder about Michael
and his work and I can guarantee
you that he will know exactly who
you’re talking about because I’m
sure that he would love to have
Michael shoot one of his builds.
Even though the name might not
register, I’m sure that one of his
pictures will. Pick up a motorcycle
magazine and chances are you
will see one of Michael’s event
pictures and if you’re lucky one of
his motorcycle spreads. I jumped
at the occasion to write this
article when I heard that Michael
Lichter was going to contribute
quarterly to Revolution Magazine
with either an article or pictures. I
think this is an incredible addition
to an already great magazine. So
I wanted to tell you who Michael
Lichter is, which is both an honor
and a pleasure for me.
I don’t even know where to
start. You see Michael has been
photographing motorcycles and
motorcycle events for over 30
years now and his work has
graced the pages of numerous
motorcycle magazines and motorcycle
oriented books. Michael is
not only a photographer but also
the curator of many exhibits that
showcase motorcycles
