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Bob T. dress for style in 1974.
BIKERNET CARIBBEAN REPORT GOES STYLE AND FASHION– I received a copy of Freeway magazine (from France) a few days ago. We had a small feature in it and it was pretty cool. The editorials by Zed are really good, but with my limited French I loose a bit of the “real content” .
They have a style of reporting events like Daytona, pretty much like what we do here in Bikernet. Whoever goes takes a bit and reports about it. The difference is that we all report our point of view, they do different angles to get the complete idea, needless to say in a very different way to what we are used to in the US. So once more you might be wondering what the fuck am I talking about ?
Here’s a synopsis of the article titled Gangsta’ Paradise. Eric was talking about the “look” of builders and industry people, and I mean younger, at Daytona (and every place else) The loose shirts, the baggie pants, sneakers, tattoos (well these are not exclusive to young), backwards caps, beanies, etc, etc. The old Heavy Metal which has been replaced by hip hop, or rap Ala Kid Rock, punk rock, or even Funk. The choppers sporting “pointy” objects, not the soft lines, the bullets and the brass knuckles. The kind of bikes being built now, rigids, with lots of rake and stretch and “gros pneu” or big ass tires, jockey shift and no nonsense approach (sort of a follow up on my less is more rant of last week).
But ladies and gentlemen, strippers and saints, this will be the first time that yours truly will take a serious approach at fashion in the bike world, or at least attempt to explain a point.If you think of a biker, most people think of leathers, boots, skull caps or bandannas and a bunch of crap attached to those leathers or hanging from any other article of clothing (for a pretty good example of the Faux bad ass look, check your local HOG or Main Street rally time)/ That can’t be further from the truth. So let’s keep on…..
Stylish gentlemen from the biker collection.
Sure leathers will save you from some road rash and sorta keep you warm and the boots and all that hoopla. But in reality, the ” biker” of today is a lot more than a riding individual. There’s booth’s to peruse, places to go, standing up for long hours, working at the shop, etc,etc. To top it off the space in bikes is less and less. Bulky stuff is out, stuff that can be used and be comfortable is the norm. So let’s take this shit apart, piece by piece…. Baggie pants and jeans, wearing those jeans that are so tight, restraining movement and making you sing soprano after a while, is out. We can live without them. Most of the younger industry people wear pants that are comfortable, can be dirty and can be used as much as wanted, but not because we are following a hip hop trend. Besides, why ruin a good pair of Levis (for special occasions only) while we can beat the shit out of some Dickie’s and replace them for less than 20 bucks? Shorts? No thanks been burnt enough.
Sneakers, while this is not new, it has changed a bit. I have seen Arlen Ness and other builders wear white sneakers for a long time, the only difference is that the ” newer generation’ prefers Vans or Pumas, so why is this? Try standing around for eight hours, which sometimes turn to sixteen or twenty in a pair of “shit kickers” or engineer boots. Yeah, you might as well wear stripper stilettos, because you will take the same beating. So if something happens we are not as protected as with boots, that’s correct, but I rather risk my ankles than kill them. And let’s not even talk about nasty blisters. Are we copying the young skateboarders, nope we are being smart. Plus their grip factor is excellent in these days of ” billet” and bare metal controls.
Shirts are the same issue, something that is (and most of the time) saying who you are and what you do, or who your friends are and what they do. It’s free advertising at its best. We wear it loose for all the above reasons, unless we are buffed and want to impress some chick. I prefer dark colors so the stains don’t show. It’s all a matter of convenience. Plus is the daily bread of most shops.Caps and bandannas, they have several uses. In places where’s there’s no helmets, the caps are what keep your hair in place.
Have you seen Billy Lane, his hair? He went the extreme way and grew da’ dreadlocks mon… It is a major bitch trying to get those knots out, needless to say painful, plus it protects us from the sun and becoming red necks. Even wearing the caps under the helmets prevent that awful smell that helmets gain after some time, you know what I mean, and presto, no comb, no nothing, just take that stupid lid off and look like a champ. The security blanket of the biker, the infamous bandanna, as many uses as a tie wrap or duck tape, best used to avoid those deadly needle like rain drops from our mugs, hold the hair in case of loosing the cap on the Freeway, and everything and anything. But please, they have no use whatsoever tied around your ankle or thigh, that’s really gay.
And now the most famous item of all–the chained wallet. Have you ever lost a wallet on the road? Now you know why. The Vest? Unless you are in a 1% club, or freezing your ass coming back from the Love ride, no way! Gloves? Mechanic gloves or dumpster, some protection from the cold and better yet from burning items on your bare bike. Someone has to stick their hand in there, better be prepared. Tattoos, self explanatory, being here since the start of the civilized world. Jackets? Any lighter jacket will do. There’s preference for working jackets, like Dickies. If they are good enough for guys who work day in and day out in them (and warm enough) they are good enough for me, plus they are easier to handle and stow than any big ass, heavy leather jacket, and save some cows as well.
So what do I make of all this? To some it might be a certain style of certain people (see Jesse James for a good example), but in reality this ” young guns” of the industry are being practical. Simple as that, and wearing stuff that is all around, as practical and uncompromising as the choppers we build.
Gotta get to the news since I got another piece to write for Glamour…..
And now to the news:
We have received a few e-mails from the boys in Iraq, pretty cool stories of stuff that we have not seen on TV (and are not compromising national security) There’s claim that one of the favorites web sites amongst the forces from Puerto Rico is ChopperFreak.com, even more we have heard that there’s a The Horse banner flying around some secret place in Baghdad, I still waiting for the photos and I will post them here as soon as we get them.
We also received an e-mail from a friend who is hand-fabricating miniature choppers out of wood, pretty cool and very detailed. They even come with a show case. You can reach Miguel at
And now to the hottest news of the week, we have received a letter from a lawyer requesting the immediate cease and desist of selling our “Priceless” shirt, (note* I can mention anything I want here since this is the news and protected by the Fair use Copyright act). They claim that our “version ” is too similar to the credit card ad. Since I have no desire to give a red cent to any of these guys I am not going to argue and take the shirts off my site. But, a little research and help from various friends has lead me to this:
The Copyright act 107 allows fair use as long as it’s a parody, the acclaimed “tarnishment” and dilution can only be achieved if the words are used in a repulsive or immoral manner to consumers, and the shirt does not compete with a Financial Institution which is what the credit card company is. As well the copyrighted words are ” PRICELESS” noted that it’s all in caps, and ” There are things money can’t buy for everything else there’s Mastercard (again this is protected for my use under the Fair use Copyright act, since it allows news reporting and parody). We ended our shirt with, ” There are few things money can’t buy, for other there’s always suicide.” If you read word for word, it’s not the same. You will be the judge.
More so, the letter claims it is only valid for Puerto Rico, so that means I could use it for the US. Now all this said, what has me in awe is How the fuck did they figured this one out ?
We are not that famous, and I know why. Someone here Snitched, and I have a vague idea of whom it was. I guess they are just envious of our vast success, while they are thieves in order to pay the bills. And I know they might read this… So here it goes: At least I’m not using false advertisements in my ads (which is punishable up to $10.000 in Puerto Rico). I’m not infringing on the copyrighted Harley-Davidson, West Coast Choppers, Screaming Eagle and such logos to promote goods without permission. Plus they are using the trademarked, West Coast Chopper logos, on business cards and print ads (while not being a dealer). They also copy shirts and caps with trademarked logos. You fuckers opened the Pandora’s box, now tighten your britches, motherfuckin’ Weasels !
We’ve heard of some recalls from Indian motorcycles and as soon as we get them we will let you guys know about them.
As we speak the Myrtle Beach rally is taking place, let’s see if we get some reports from the front, we received a letter from HOG SC of their intentions of leaving the “riff raff” piggybacking on the image of hog…. Let’s see what’s up with that. Also the boycotts’ results and damage done.
Also heard on the grapevine that our pseudo competitors are building a web site. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery….Have fun Suckas !
I’m glad to report that I have been hired to do a monthly editorial, kinda what I do here, you know, bitch and rant with no mercy whatsoever, on our local motorcycle magazine Bikerspot. It’s gonna be fun and I will make sure I piss a lot of people off. What the hell, they hate us anyway….Be prepared.
Ok, enough rant and bad blood, have a nice week end, enjoy the bike and go riding, Summer is across the corner, the rallies are starting to sprout, take a trip, send me a chick, do something……..See you next week…..Remember the only certain things in life are death , taxes and me giving someone or something hell, here in Bikernet.
–Jose, Bikernet’s Caribbean reporter
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