from https://www.financialexpress.com/ Top Gun 2 is set to release on 26 June next year. That is still a lot of months before Captain Maverick’s glory takes over our screens. So, until then, here’s a look back at the coolest Tom Cruise motorcycle moments that have been and well be. Top Gun is about to relive on our screens soon and we can’t wait to see Maverick being nothing but magnificent behind the joystick of a fighter jet or behind the handlebar of a pretty iconic Kawasaki. Yes, Top Gun 2 movie trailers have confirmed that Kawasaki GPZ900 will be back on the silver screen. Tom Cruise is one of the most revered motorcycle people in Hollywood. The other hotshot motorcyclist would be Keanu Reeves but let’s just focus on the Cruise missiles for now. Kawasaki GPZ900R – Top Gun Tom Cruise has been doing it for decades – including motorcycles in his films. Years before a lot of us were even born, Cruise rode the Kawasaki GPZ900R for the big screen as Captain Maverick in Top Gun 1986. If you like motorcycles, this one is every bit of a celebrity as Mr Cruise is and we’ll also see it in the upcoming Top Gun 2. Kawasaki H2 – Top Gun 2 Sticking with Top Gun 2. As the GPZ900R was the fastest production motorcycle back in 1986, Maverick had to ride the fastest production motorcycle in today’s day and age. Hence, the supercharged Kawasaki H2. The other good thing about seeing these motorcycles share the screen with Tom Cruise is that he does most of the riding himself. BMW R nine T Scrambler – Mission Impossible Fallout The chase scenes make up a huge of reasons why we love Mission Impossible films. MI: Fallout had Cruise riding a BMW R nine T Scrambler on the streets of Paris and around the Arc de Triomphe against the flow of the traffic. Fun fact: an electric bike was used to film the tracking shots of the chase scene. BMW S1000RR – Mission Impossible Rogue Nation This one was perhaps the coolest chase scene of all Mission Impossible films (if you’re not still swooning over 2000 Mission Impossible 2 Tom Cruise). Rogue Nation had a load of BMW Motorrads but we love the crooked-faced S1000RR doing high-speed corners with a Tom Cruise on it. Triumph Speed Triple – Mission Impossible 2 We’re mentioning this one twice because we haven’t stopped swooning over it. This chase scene with Cruise on a Speed Triple and the baddie on a Daytona remains on the top of the list of MI film chase scenes. The dual ‘bug-eye’ headlamp design and polished frame gave the bike a strong streetfighter look that became the trademark of the series, especially the shot where Cruise emerges from a cloud of flames astride the Speed.

by Christopher Weston from https://www.hitc.com/

The eagerly-anticipated Top Gun sequel is shaping to be something spectacular.

The new Top Gun: Maverick trailer has fans pumped and wanting a motorcycle!

Tragically, director Tony Scott passed away back in 2012, but he left behind a surefire cinematic legacy. His greatest achievement arguably remains 1986’s Top Gun, yet he also gave audiences the likes of True Romance, Beverly Hills Cop II, Man On Fire, The Last Boy Scout, Enemy of the State and more.

There has long been talk of Tom Cruise’s Maverick returning to the big screen in an adrenaline-fuelled sequel. However, after the unfortunate departure of Scott, it looked incredibly slim.

Nevertheless, it’s clear the team strived to get the follow-up made, with Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) taking the helm of Top Gun: Maverick.

With new and familiar faces set to make an appearance, we simply cannot wite to dive into this one…

“His exploits… are legendary.”

The highly-anticipated Top Gun: Maverick is set to be one of the biggest Summer blockbusters of 2020 and the new trailer has given us a sweet taste of what to expect.

It’s packed with brilliantly shot and orchestrated aerial sequences – it is Top Gun after all!

The technology now at our disposal is clearly being utilised very well, with the film boasting a slick and glossy look, even when tracking some seriously impressive stuntwork.

All eyes are on Tom Cruise, which is a given, but with a film of this calibre, there is inevitable stress on the vehicles and machines which make it all possible…

Almost immediately, the motorcycle being ridden by Maverick at the start of the trailer has us attentive.

Look familiar? It should!

The motorcycle he’s riding is a Kawasaki Ninja GPZ900R, which he rode in the previous film in a race with a fighter plane. It’s one of the many throwbacks that features in the trailer, tugging on fans’ nostalgia.

However, it won’t be the only one we see him handle in the sequel. As highlighted by Fox News, one of the trailers also treated audiences to a homage to the 1986 film, with Tom Cruise and co-star Jennifer Connelly riding on a $32,500 Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon.

The shot is a recreation of one featuring Tom and previous co-star Kelly McGillis, who will not be returning. It’s all a trip down memory lane!

Excitingly, the same source notes that Kawasaki markets the vehicle as the most powerful supercharged production motorcycle in the world. So, Maverick’s need for speed sure is in check.

All the elements for me to enjoy TOP GUN: MAVERICK are present: that score, practically shot dogfights, Tom Cruise riding motorcycles, Anthony Edwards’ ‘stache surgically grafted onto Miles Teller’s face, that one guy from that Linklater movie. There’s even erotic beach sports!
— Jacob Knight (@JacobQKnight) December 16, 2019

A number of fans have flocked to Twitter to offer their take on the sequel so far, with one recently writing: “All the elements for me to enjoy TOP GUN: MAVERICK are present: that score, practically shot dogfights, Tom Cruise riding motorcycles, Anthony Edwards’ ‘stache surgically grafted onto Miles Teller’s face, that one guy from that Linklater movie. There’s even erotic beach sports!”

One viewer joked: “I’ve seen two trailers for Top Gun 2 and I know nothing about the plot except Tom still likes planes and motorcycles,” while another similarly added: “Reaction to Top Gun trailer: People with AARP memberships need to wear helmets on motorcycles!”

We look forward to seeing this one land!

 

I spent a lot of money and time rebuilding an old 41mm wide glide for my 1969 Panhead build. It was one of those crazy builds, fulla twists and turns, but the glide haunted me.

It wasn’t long enough. I would have liked it to be 2-over for a better stance for a rider 6’5” tall. I squeaked another inch out of it with spacers over the springs. Of course, it rode like shit. I adjusted it, but it still rode badly. Maybe I’m getting old, but I don’t like that excuse. This bastard rode hard even with the wide, soft, cop solo seat.

Then the glide actually broke down. I lost the mechanical brake springs. They broke on the way to a Seal Beach car show. I limped home never daring to use the front brake for fear it would lock up and send me flying over the bars. I wanted to run a vintage mechanical brake set-up for the old look. In the past I was always able to make mechanical brakes work fine.

Finally, I started to notice how the lower aluminum leg jerked on the brake side. It needed new bushings. I reached out to Larry Settle, of Settle Motorcycle Repair in Harbor City. He knew of an old guy who rebuilt lower legs, but he might have retired. That was going to be my next move, tear the front end apart and ship it out, to have the lower legs rebuilt. Plus, they leaked. That also bothered me.

Then I got a call from the masterminds at Paughco. They recently developed a new springer configuration, because so many overseas manufactures stole their classic, flat side design. They came up with a solid, round-leg springer sort of in keeping with the early springers, before the VL or the big twin taper-leg springers. I love the Paughco taper-leg springers. They are classic. This one is distinctive in its simplicity.

There are several benefits of Pauchco’s 50-years of building springers. They are contained in the tree construction, the bends of the legs and the rockers. These front ends are meant to be ridden long and hard.

They also make a stock length front end and a 3-over, which I went for, when I made the deal to trade my glide for a new Early-styled round-leg Paughco springer. We made the clandestine swap at the recent David Mann Chopperfest, behind one of the old WWII buildings, so Dave Hansen wouldn’t see us and tax us for making deals without his approval.

I also attacked the rear of the bike with an old buddy seat, spring system to give the rear some suspension. It was a leap of faith that worked out like crazy, but I will get to that.

I requested the front end without chrome or powder, because of my patina effort. I painted the bare parts with a light coat of Rust-oleum primer and then a coat or two of Rust-oleum satin black. No matter how many times I’ve looked at that word in my long lifetime, I can never remember how to spell Rust-oleum.

Then I lashed the front end with some bicycle chain and smoothed and dinged the edges of the top triple tree. Paughco designed a new top tree to allow their risers, to be installed in the rear legs with1/2-fine thread studs or bolt common risers to the 3.5-inch center-to- center glide-like holes. I decided to go with the rear legs and cut the heads off ½-inch fine stainless bolts and made studs out of them.

I screwed 1-inch of the studs into the rear legs and had an inch for the Paughco classic brass risers. I used stud-green Loctite in the legs and ran a nut down to hold them firmly into place overnight. I removed the nut when I installed the brass risers.

I installed the bottom bearing over the small dust shield against the bottom tree. I found a piece of thick 1/8-inch wall, 1.25 O.D. tubing and used it as a tool to drive the Timken bearing over the raised bearing surface on the solid neck stem. I also fed as much grease into the bearing as possible. For some odd reason, I had to clearance the dust shields to make them fit over the solid Paughco stem.

Back to the grease. I’m still using a large tin can of military bearing grease. I’ve had it since the ‘60s. About five years ago, someone gave me a new full can. I’ll bet I never get to it in my lifetime.

I was recently given some cool CMD Extreme Pressure lube tubes. We used it on Frankie’s FXR neck bearings, but in the heat, it started to drip and run down the leg of the front end, annoying. The old Navy bearing grease is the shit.

Okay, so I slipped the neck shaft with the lower greased bearing into place against the greased race in the neck cup and spun on the crown nut against the top bearing and upper dust shield, after it was clearance. Here’s another benefit of classic Paughco construction. A lot of frontend manufacturers dodge using a threaded nut between the top tree and the neck bearing.

It comes in so handy while installing a front end. It holds it in place to allow you to position the top tree comfortably. It also allows you to adjust the bearing tension. Then you can install the top tree and the top nut and tightened the hell out of it without messing with your bearing adjustment.

The Paughco front end comes with the rockers mounted and in place. No adjustment necessary. They are lubed and ready to rock.

I removed the solid brass, 4-inch Paughco dogbone risers from my old stainless-steel bars and was careful to install them on the stainless studs watching for the studs to turn or not. I tightened them down and adjusted the rubber mounted dogbone to align with the bars. Then I installed the bars once more.

I grabbed one of James old Dyna front wheels and used it to mockup the front end. Steve Massicote from Paughco recommended a left ‘88- ‘99 single-piston H-D Softail caliper on an 11.5-inch rotor with a 2-inch center hole to fit a pre-’99 Harley hub. He shipped a solid aluminum hub to Black Bike wheels.

Black Bike Wheels has helped me out a couple of times. I remember taking a dinged steel rim spoked, 21-inch wheel to them. The technician popped the unit in a vice, smacked it with a soft hammer and it was golden. They also built the 23-inch wheels on my flat-sided tank, factory racer. Amazing wheels.

They expanded and moved to Van Nuys, California. They now manufacture any-sized spoked wheels for any make or model motorcycle. They build their own hubs, rims, and spokes. They can lace and true anything and powder, polish or chrome any of their products.

In this case, we are going with a used, dull, aluminum, 19-inch rim and unpolished stainless rim, for the patina look. So, there’s some old and some new to this beast. I will add an old pre-’99 factory rotor to a Paughco aluminum hub, which we might black out, or Paughco was going to send me a hub cap, I could flat black and add a little rust.

We’re getting close, but I had to take it out on the road and see how it handled with the sprung seat. I took the seat bar out, because it was going to smack the fender. I added a straight piece of steel to the center and it gave me an additional 2 inches of travel. I’m still going to do something to protect the fender.

Okay, so this puppy hasn’t run in a couple of months but fired right to life. I maneuvered around the shop and into the street for a test run. What an amazing difference. The turning radius was way better and it blasted around the rough streets without an issue. What an amazing difference in ride and handling.

Don’t get me wrong. You can’t beat a glide for top end runs and the twisties, but for a classic cruiser, this puppy now hit the spot.

Hang on for the wheel and disc brake install.

–Bandit

Funky Panhead Sources:

S&S

Biker’s Choice

STD
www.STD.com

JIMS Machine

Lowbrow

Mallory
www.mallory.com

Accurate Engineering
www.accuratengineering.com

Bennett’s Performance

Paughco

Departure Bike Works
www.departurebikeworks.com

Spectro Oils

Chopper Dave
www.chopperdave.com

Black Bike Wheels
www.blackbikewheels.com

The Holidays are all about time with loved ones!

This year, go beyond the simple gift by offering them the stunning experience of one of our enchanting shows.

Need some ideas? Check out VOLTA in Los Angeles or one of our shows in Las Vegas!

If you ever get a chance to see one of these shows, don’t miss it. They are amazing.–Bandit

Buy tickets

As the automobile sector in the country prepares to embrace electric mobility with open arms, there are significant challenges to overcome. Meladath Auto Components offers a middle ground service of converting your regular automobile to a hybrid electric one.

The recent air pollution crisis in the capital city caused an inevitable hullabaloo in the region leading to the announcement of a public health emergency by the government.

The clamour to tackle air pollution in India and across the world largely center around getting more electric vehicles on our roads and limit the use of vehicles powered by internal combustion.

However, a rapid transition to electric vehicles in a country of 1.3 billion people is not a feasible option. The move is likely to cause a huge dent in the automotive industry and will leave massive amounts of vehicle waste.

Seeking an easier solution to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles with comparatively lower consequences, Rakesh Meladath Karunakaran along with his wife Winnie Gangadharan formed Meladath Auto Components in 2016, which can convert your regular petrol scooter into an electric hybrid scooter.

The two-in-one scooter

We are in an era where most mobility solutions are driven by fossil fuel, be it petrol or diesel. With the world looking at alternative fuels, electric vehicles are often considered the panacea.

“The problem is not in adapting the electric mobility solution. The issue would be what to do with the existing mobility solutions running on fossil fuels on the roads today,” Karunakaran told ET.

The 39-year-old former Mahindra and Mahindra employee believes that migrating to e-mobility solutions will lead to the challenge of vehicle waste management.

Despite a slowdown, according to a report by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the first nine months of FY 2019 showed a 5% growth year-on-year among premium scooter sales at 49,80,326 units.

“Promoting EV sales with subsidies will also add to the other problem like increasing vehicle density on road without removing the existing vehicles. This will put tremendous pressure on the limited infrastructure and existing problem of traffic congestion,” he explained.

Bengaluru-based Meladath’s e-kit is a retrofittable conversion kit for petrol scooters. The kit, once fitted in a petrol scooter, turns the vehicle into an electric hybrid scooter. As the name says ‘hybrid’, the scooter can be driven in both- electric and petrol mode selectively.

Karunakaran explained that in electric mode, after one charge, the scooter can be driven upto 40 kms after which the rider can switch to the petrol mode.

Further, the kit can be adapted to a scooter without any modifications and is a job of a maximum 30 minutes. It is also reversible, which means the electric hybrid scooter can go back to being a petrol-only scooter without any welding or cutting or fabrication job.

“This feature will kill the range anxiety of the present buyers with unlimited range at disposal and no lead time to recharge the battery to continue commuting,” he said.

The kit is universal and can be suited for most scooters with 10-inch and 12-inch steel wheel. It includes a removable lithium battery which can be charged with domestic power socket or regular power plugs, therefore, preventing the need of a charging station or a charging port near vehicle parking.

According to the entrepreneur, the idea will have a significant impact towards a healthier environment. The idea has the potential to help achieve 15% reduction in Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, which will further enable the target achievement of Indian Government by 2020.

Untapped potential

While the product is yet to be commercialized, the firm has registered their brand as ‘Ezee Hybrid’ and received over 30 dealership interest across PAN India, Karunakaran said.

Talking about entering international seas, he said, “We have the potential to deploy our Innovation in 11 countries of Southeast Asia like Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam where the petrol scooters are widely used and most scooters are similar to the scooters available in Indian market.”

Dimitrov Krishnan, Vice President, India Business at VOLVO Construction Equipment India has been a mentor to Meladath since its early stages. “Karunakaran’s idea on electro mobility for the common man with the conversion kit for petrol scooters is an industry moving one and needs to be supported by all in the transportation ecosystem. The team deserves a good reward from the market for their innovation and I am sure it is just a matter of time when that happens,” Krishnan told ET.

Bootstrapped through personal savings and family money, Meladath received its first set of funds from ELEVATE 100, Karnataka government’s flagship initiative for startup development in the state, in May 2017. Among its mentors also include M Lakshminarayan, Chairman of the board, WABCO and Veerendra BK, MD, Lamda components.

Adding another feather in its hat, the firm was recently listed in one of the 15 winners of the Social Alpha Energy Challenge 2.0 by Tata Trusts.

Karunkaran said that the firm is now looking to deploy a pure electric scooter, which will be a Made in India product, as it is being built with ingenious power-train components such as Brushless DC (BLDC) electric motor, BLDC Motor controller, lithium battery pack, lithium battery charger and throttle.

“We are also working with the technology of charging the battery while the scooter is driven on petrol without hampering much on the petrol efficiency,” he added.

by Nayely Palafox from https://5newsonline.com

PRAIRIE GROVE, Ark. (KFSM) — The Prairie Grove Police Department was in a high-speed motorcycle chase that they ended because the motorcycle’s speed was deemed unsafe to continue.

At approximately 9:06 p.m. last night (Dec. 14), Officer Franks attempted to make a traffic stop on a blue “sport” style motorcycle.

The motorcycle had been traveling westbound on Hwy 62 at approximately 70 mph on a 55 mph zone.

The motorcycle passed the officer and accelerated rapidly to 80 mph.

Officer Franks turned on his lights and siren and the motorcycle began to pull over. Before the motorcycle completely stopped, it made a u-turn in front of the officer, flipped him off and sped away turning eastbound onto Hwy 62.

The high-speed chase then began with the motorcycle reaching speeds of an estimated 160 mph. Sargeant Belew immediately joined the pursuit and Officer Cluck joined soon after.

The motorcycle continued into Farmington where Farmington Officer Talley and Detective Collins joined to assist.

The motorcycle sped through multiple intersections driving around slower moving traffic with “no regard to safety or human life,” according to Prairie Grove PD.

The pursuit continued into Fayetteville where the chase led the officers northbound onto I-49. Once they hit the interstate, the motorcycle reached speeds that officers deemed unsafe to continue the pursuit.

They decided to end the chase near Porter Rd. exit and AR State Police were notified.

Polish manufacturer of custom motorcycles Game Over Cycles (GOC) in cooperation with Yamaha Motor Poland is pleased to announce the unveiling of a unique vehicle created from a Yamaha motorcycle. Based on the revolutionary Niken tricycle Game Over Cycles built a unique custom bike, which is world’s first fully customized Niken. Its first public presentation took place between 06-8.12.2019 in the German town of Bad Salzuflen during the CUSTOMBIKE-SHOW 2019, the largest trade fair for modified motorcycles in the world, where in the custom bike competition GOC Niken won the “Craziest Bike” award.Niken debuted on the global market in 2018 and is based on a unique Leaning Multi Wheel (LMW) technology developed by the Japanese company.

Except for two front leaning wheels the extraordinary construction of the motorcycle consists of four steering heads and dual-tube upside-down forks. Game Over Cycles is a company known for modifications carried out on American brand motorcycles, but this time the Rzeszów based company decided to work on the Japanese model. The head of GOC, Stanisław Myszkowski, commented on the genesis of the company’s latest project: “Niken to many people is revolutionary, to others a controversial bike. This is exactly how people also react to our custom bikes, that’s why I got interested in it right from the beginning. In terms of technology nothing should be changed in this machine. The Japanese technical solutions at the highest level provide Niken’s great driving abilities, but from the first moment I saw it live, I felt we could modify its appearance and give the machine a little different character. To achieve this  we changed the whole body. All plastic elements have been replaced by aluminum, thanks to which the vehicle’s shapes have become more sharp, even aggressive, without losing its aerodynamic properties. Bearing in mind Niken’s speed one can say, that now this motorcycle cuts the air almost like a samurai sword “- laughs Myszkowski.During the work on the motorcycle a special challenge was the combination of machine functional mechanisms with its appearance. While creating a different aesthetics of the vehicle, the designers had to build and adjust all new body parts in such way, that in every position of the motorcycle, both when turning and leaning on both sides, nothing would collide with each other. Niken’s front suspension moves in many dimensions, so proper balance between the new visual elements and the original driving solutions was the most challenging part of  motorcycle’s modification.GOC’s custom Niken refers to the country of its origin not only by the name, but also by the presence of Japanese language on the construction. The Game Over Cycles crew incorporated onto the vehicle Japanese characters denoting the name of Niken model, as well as a thought written in Japanese and taken from the Yamaha brand philosophy, which means “Courage to set higher goals without fear of failure” (失敗を恐れず、もう一段高い目標に取り組む).

Magdalena Piskorz, Yamaha Motor Poland General Director comments on the project: “Since the beginning of cooperation with GOC I have been extremely impressed with Staszek’s talent, his unconventional approach to customization and out of this world ideas that have been appreciated around the world for years. I am glad that for the latest project he chose this model, so innovative and unique for Yamaha. Working with such professionals is a pure pleasure. “The motorcycle was first presented between December 6-8, 2019 in the German town of Bad Salzuflen, where CUSTOMBIKE-SHOW – the largest trade fair for modified motorcycles is held every year. According to the organizers, this year’s event was visited by 32,000 people, over 300 exhibitors took part and over 1,000 custom motorcycles were presented. Every year the finale of the event is one of the most prestigious custom bike competitions in the world, in which GOC custom Niken won the “Craziest Bike” award. Bike’s all aluminum parts were handmade. Work on modifying the motorcycle consumed 1,400 man-hours and their detailed scope is presented below.

Elements modified by GOC:
– steering wheel cover together with the brake fluid container housing
– brake and clutch levers
– mirrors
– speedometer cover
– front fenders
– rear fender with the rear section of the motorcycle
– Akrapovic exhaust element
– frame holding the seat
– seat base
– fuel tank
– air filters
– cooler and its cover
– battery box
– engine and suspension covers
– front lamp covers with lens sleeves

Elements without lacquer and polished to the bare aluminum:
– all wheels
– rear fender handle
– rear swingarm
– whole front suspension
– footrest holders
– engine covers
– whole frame

Leather seat: WB Line

 

——————————————

Yamaha Motor Poland (official name Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. – Poland Branch) is the official distributor of motorcycles, scooters, ATV and side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, power products and Yamaha marine equipment on the Polish market. Yamaha has been present in Poland since 1996 and currently has 34 dealerships in Poland. Yamaha is a leader of motorcycle sales in the country. According to the data of the Polish Automotive Industry Association, in 2018 Yamaha once again took the first place among premium brands in the ranking of the new motorcycle first registration with the enigne over 50 cm3. This year the brand also leads in the ranking, maintaining almost 12% market share).

www.yamaha-motor.pl

 Game Over Cycles (GOC) is a Polish custom motorcycles manufacturer formed in 2012. The Rzeszów based company is known for its original creations, such as The Recidivst – world’s first tattooed motorcycle. Machines created by Game Over Cycles have won awards at some of the world’s biggest custom bike competitions. The company has already won 22 awards, including 15 international ones, of which as many as eight trophies were received at the European Bike Week (EBW), the largest motorcycle festival in Europe. The company also won awards in the birthland of the customization, so the US. In 2017 The Recidivist received first place trophy in the “Most Unusual” category at the Rats Hole Custom Bike Show – the most prestigious custom bike competition in the world organized every year at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally – the world’s largest motorcycle rally (South Dakota, USA, 490 000 participants in 2019). Since September 2018 the company has been running GOC Yamaha Rzeszów – the only official dealership and authorized Yamaha service center in south-east Poland.

www.gameovercycles.com

 

 

by Aaron Pruner from https://www.sfgate.com

“So I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area, and I just kind of thought, well, what do I know?” showrunner Nichelle Tramble Spellman (“The Good Wife,” “Justified”) explained during Apple TV+’s press junket for “Truth Be Told,” the newest drama to hit the fledgling streamer’s lineup.

What does Spellman know? A lot, to be honest. And, while “Truth Be Told” examines the impact of media on public opinion and the ripple effect true crime leaves in its wake, the showrunner delves deeper, using the character of Poppy Parnell (played by Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer) as an in-road to pay homage to her real-life hometown, Oakland. In the show, she examines big topics, like the class differences that exist in cities separated by a few simple bridges, and tells stories based on the nonfictional locals, like the real-life storied motorcycle club, the East Bay Dragons.

Parnell is a fictional journalist who begins questioning her role in the incarceration of Warren Cave (Aaron Paul). As her posh lifestyle and public reputation get threatened, demons from Parnell’s past bubble up, leading Parnell to venture to her old Oakland stomping grounds. Spellman found this locale to be perfect for reminiscing on her childhood, in effect highlighting the profound influence a long-running regional African American motorcycle club, the East Bay Dragons MC, had on her forming identity.

Now in its 60th year of existence, the East Bay Dragons are one of America’s first-ever all-black motorcycle clubs. The group, which initially started out as a car club in the late 1950s, rides customized Harley Davidson motorcycles (also known as choppers) and is a well-loved fixture of West Oakland. In “Truth Be Told,” Spellman illustrates the juxtaposition of that kind of East Bay and North Bay life.

“I like the idea of driving across the [Golden Gate] Bridge,” she says. “So it’s just like, you know, money Marin and then you go over [the Bay Bridge] and it’s funkier, more bluesy Oakland. So we played with that, visually. When we’re at the family bar, it looks different than it does in Marin, where it’s very crisp. The music and the soundtrack are different … just to kind of show all the facets of this one character with Octavia.”

Part of Parnell’s character is rooted in her father’s life. Parnell’s father Leander “Shreve” Scoville, played by “This Is Us” star Ron Cephas Jones, is a former Black Panther who has put all his energy into family — both his biological one as well as his thriving biker community which, according to Spellman, is directly inspired by the East Bay Dragons.

“I remember them fondly as a little girl because they used to have this black family day picnic every year up in Nolan Park, and that was huge,” Spellman explained. “You look forward to it all year. So they were like all these tough biker guys and everything else, with all these kids around and it was a big Bay Area event and they were kind of the backdrop of my childhood.”

The East Bay Dragons formed in 1959, during a time when the image of a black man riding a motorcycle could provoke a strong reaction. They nevertheless built up a positive reputation in the neighborhood, supporting the Oakland area while giving voice to the oppressed during a time before the civil rights movement really took off. Their friendship with the Black Panthers may have caused confusion for law enforcement, oftentimes putting the bikers in contention with police, but that bond placed the crew in the spotlight which energized members of the East Bay community.

The MC previously inspired the fictional motorcycle club The Grim Bastards in Kurt Sutter’s wildly popular FX series, “Sons of Anarchy.” However, the representation of the biker group featured in the new Apple TV+ series feels further developed. Instead of getting a passing look at Sutter’s all-black biker gang, “Truth Be Told” gives audiences a nuanced understanding of the familial connection this motorcycle club has with Parnell. That conflicted bond she has with her father and his crew makes this story component resonate. They aren’t called The East Bay Dragons in the show, but the group inspired by the real-life MC deeply anchors the plot.

For Jones, playing the biker and bar owner not only provided him a fully developed character to sink his teeth into — something he refers to as “a dream role” — the subject matter helped him tap into his own New Jersey upbringing.

“I grew up with the same exact story, and there were the same black biker movements going on,” he revealed. “My dad had a little bodega restaurant in Paterson, New Jersey, and he would keep it open because there was a bar across the street where they all would congregate and celebrate. There would be black bikers from all over the country that would drive all the way to the East Coast. I remember staying up late making hamburgers and hot dogs for these cats into the wee hours of the morning to feed these guys after they would come from the club.”

“Soul on Bikes,” a book written by East Bay Dragons’ founding member Tobie Levingston, provided insight for both Spellman and Cephas Jones, who acknowledge their shared memories of the club as all positive. And for an MC, especially one featuring all black men during a notorious time of civil unrest in America, the representation given to this East Bay community is an uncommon one. Add in the cultural differences between regions separated by a few simple bridges, and Spellman found a personal formula that ticked off all the narrative boxes for her.

“I hadn’t seen it on screen and I just thought it was such an interesting flavor to add,” Spellman continued. “Meeting the Poppy character, and if we stayed with her an entire episode just in that environment in Marin, you would just have no idea.”

New episodes of Truth Be Told drop every Friday on Apple TV+.