Vintage Chopper Action, or Fun with Joe and Steve

I was blown away when Joe Hurst sent me these photos from 1968.


This was Joe's first Harley. While building it sometime around 1967-68, Joe met Dick Allen who rebuilt the heads. Joe said Dick just had a big smile when he first saw the completed bike.


Another view of Joe's Purple Panhead. Note the braced sissy bar. I call it the "South Bay Swoop". This style of sissy bar was to become a standard feature on most south bay choppers and I had always attributed it's design to Dick Allen, but Joe was actually the first to run one. The design on the tank was a stylized 13.


This and the following photos really blew me away. Joe's old friend Steve Drale is on the left. Steve's dad was once the mayor of Torrance, CA.


A film package was placed on the ground to serve as a starting mark to let the fun begin.


This photo is just too much! Everything about it is way cool. The look, the angle, the kids. To me, it rates as one of the best vintage chopper photos ever!.. and is likely my favorite wheelie photo of all time. Joe said his forks took a pounding from doing this.


Steve's slick Panhead. The neighborhood kids got a real treat that day.

This Month's Header-Under The Influence

I did this drawing sometime in 1973 and you can clearly see the influence of the two bikes below.

Much of the general design was inspired from Joe Hurst's White Bear, but I used a Cone Motor instead of a Generator Shovel.

The bike from the center spread of Big Bike Magazine Sept. 1972 was the other source of influence. Borrowed from it were the rear fender, polished mags, rectangular headlight, pullbacks, and much of the style of the paint. It was also a South Bay bike but had more of a AEE Choppers look rather than the Dick Allen/Fats South Bay Style. The photo looks to be taken at the break water in King Harbor Redondo Beach, CA. with the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the background.

The Chrome Frame Chronicles

The story of Dick Allen's/Joe Hurst's Chrome Frame Bike is complex and varied. At one time, Joe pulled the running gear out to put in the Green Bike. A buddy with an unfinished bike then asked if he could ride it (the Green Bike), to Northern California. Joe said, "is your motor and trans done"? When his friend answered, "yeah", Joe told him he could put it in the chrome frame roller for the trip. Sometime later, Joe put it's motor and trans back in and sold it.

This is probably right before Joe sold it. It was originally fitted with a H-D Sprint tank. Here it has a larger Super -Glide tank.

After it was sold and painted blue by the new owner. Looks good. Just about any color will work with a chrome frame.

Joe got it back years ago. Here's how she sits today.

Chrome Frame Confusion

After seeing the Chrome Frame Lives post, Bruce Parrish sent this photo and said, " I see the South Bay saga continues. This is the tank I painted for the Chrome bike. As I remember it was for Doc . He had something similar to this eagle a few years earlier". (Note that the bike is in the house next to the Christmas Tree.)

When I posted Joe's first version of Dick's chrome frame bike, I purposely left out this cool photo and was saving it for another day. As I remembered it, Joe told me that Bruce repainted it for him based on the Eagle he did for Doc.

Joe later sent this photo showing how it looked when he got the bike from Doc in '73. It was originally pearl white with yellow tips. Bruce said he didn't do this version and did not come up with the Eagle Scallops concept but instead had traced it for the silver to black version.

Joe liked the motif so much he used it once again on his green bike. What makes things even more confusing is that this bike seems to have all the drive train components from the Chrome Frame Bike including the oil tank with the peg mounts. (Note the neck, and it's similarity to the one done later on Bruce's Funny Bike.)

Joe's thinking of using the Eagle design again on the latest build of the Chrome Frame Bike, but with a new twist.

The Chrome Frame Lives

Captain America may be the most famous chopper ever, chrome frame or not , but before Captain America there was Dick Allen's chrome frame chopper. Dick's chopper was another one of those bikes that everybody seemed to dig.

In an earlier post , I mentioned that the Shovelhead that once powered Dick's chrome bike ended up in Joe's Hurst's Hustler. Which brings up.... what ever became of the chrome frame?

This collage serves as a refresher, shows some changes, and helps to illustrate a few things.

Joe Hurst has it today. Jim Andrews got it from Dick and then it went to Doc Holiday. It had been stolen at one time too. Joe got it from Doc around 1973, kept it until '84, and then he got it back in '86. It's hard to keep all the years and facts straight but like many bikes (or parts of them), they seem to find their way back to Joe.

I posted this shot of Joe's pad before in hopes that someone would have recognized the twisted cross sissy bar and rear fender.

This first version built by Joe in the early seventies is probably my favorite of all his bikes second only to White Bear. The tall sissy bar and full fender isn't what you'd normally think would work with with the long springer, or what was hip at the time, but somehow, it all works... and to think, at one time I didn't even like chrome framed bikes.

A little later in the Mid Seventies, it got the black treatment and the forks were modified using Honda 750 rear shocks for hydraulic dampening.

Flash forward to December 2010. It's been on the back burner for about the last 20 years, but Joe is now working on it's come back. This time as a Panhead.

That's Dick's original rear fender. The seat was re-upholstered years ago, but it Dick's old seat pan too.

The modified Dick Allen springer. Joe says it's now mounted on the frame. Those Shovelhead cases on the shelf are from Joe's White Bear!

Joe still has the 6 quart oil tank that Dick made. Since all previous versions of the bike had a magneto, there was no need for a battery. Sadly, it probably won't be used this time since Joe is using a five speed with electric starter. The upper holes are for passenger pegs as pointed out in the Choppers Magazine Wheeler Dealer article.

Joe has about everything he needs for the engine and trans so hopefully he'll get it together soon. I'll keep you posted.

Earing Mike's South Bay Chopper, or Ask and You Shall Receive?

I said I'd like to see more of the bike, so I get a call from Joe Hurst saying, "you asked for it".

Mike still has his bike and as you can see, not only is it almost unchanged, but it also looks fresh as ever. The beautiful forks deserve a double take as they are narrowed and extended Harley (by Mike), with Dick Allen rockers.

While not having all of the exact same styling cues, the look and stance is definitely South Bay. The Sportster headlight, Hunt magneto, 12 spoke mags, and D.A. rockers do add to the recipe. Go back and look at Joe's White Bear, Foots bike, or Bruce's Funny bike, and you'll see it was all in the family of friends.

Compare this shot with the one in the last post and it drives home how, other than the paint and the plug wires, nothing has changed!

While repainted, the tank retains the Ride to Live and Wings theme. The frame is fantastic. Note the seat area. It's been stretched, raked, and molded with metal before chroming. The sissy bar doesn't have the normal South Bay Swoop, but instead has an almost invisible fender following support bar. The oil tank reminded me of the Funny Bike's tank and it's no coincidence since it was made by Bruce's mentor, Steve Davis.

My thanks go out to Mike and Joe for sharing this cool ride.

The Joe Hurst Blog presents: The Blue Bike

Since becoming friends, Joe has sent me a lot of cool photos and for awhile there, the blog was in danger of a coup d'état. Since it's been awhile, and the threat has subsided, it's time to share some more from his archives.

Circa 1970. Joe just calls it the Blue Bike but, it's actually the Hustler redone with less rake, a shorter springer, a Harley Sprint tank, and of course, blue paint.

Great roadside shot. I'm loving the pan too.

A bit later with fish tail up-sweeps.

Joe out on the road. This photo is interesting for two reasons. 1. Joe's wearing one of those cool Harley shirts with the psychedelic font from a page in a 1970 parts and accessories catalog as posted here in Dec. 2009. 2. He's also wearing one of those heavy duty wide leather wrist/watch bands. Joe says he had it made with a cover to protect his watch, and as far as he knows, was the first to wear one. Did Joe invent them? At one time they were quite the rage. I could easily see how they might make a comeback... at least within the retro chopper scene.

Joe in Iowa

After the last post, it only seems natural to bookend it with this shot of Joe Hurst on White Bear.

Joe (circa 1973), in Iowa on a cross country trip with Dick Allen. Note the added double sissy bar with auxiliary fuel tank. White Bear is still the ultimate South Bay Chopper in my book.

Gunther's Knuck

A little while ago, Joe Hurst sent this shot of a buddy's Knucklehead from an old car/bike show.

Joe was a judge at the show and gave it First Place in it's class. When some others protested it was favoritism, Joe replied, "show me a nicer bike"!... they couldn't.



Looks cool, I'd like to see the whole bike. Dig the paint and the skinny matching seat.

Ridondo Beach

That's Joe's Hustler. It says any extension to 15", but many of them (including on Loco-Motion), were longer. I'm guessing it was a higher price point from 15" up. From the Dec.69 Choppers Magazine.

White Bear 120

This really cool photo was among the first batch of shots Joe Hurst sent me. It was taken at Bonneville on the way home from his cross country trip with Dick Allen in 1973, hence all the gear he's packing. Joe says once they were on the salt, they just "got it on". It was taken by Dick's female passenger. Dick had Sportster gauges (speedo and tach), on Loco-Motion and said it was pegged at 120 mph.

More Loco

Dick on a their (the South Bay group's), annual cross country trip. Probably about 1973. These were some of the first photos Joe Hurst sent me, but I never got around to posting them.

Here's a pretty good shot of Dick and his Knucklehead chopper Loco-Motion. For such a well known bike, there aren't many good photos of it.

I believe this one is in Iowa.

Ed Roth's Hustler Photos Uncut and Uncensored

Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit... nothing was censored, but these photos have never really been seen before.

Awhile back, In the midst of an unrelated email subject, Joe Hurst surprised me with Ed Roth's original photos for the Hustler feature in Choppers Magazine. As it turned out, Ed gave Joe the photos after it was in the magazine. The first two photos (below), were not published. I did a post on the Hustler feature last Dec. and although the last three made the magazine, I'm posting them again since they are much bigger, much better (than the bad print quality of the magazine), and uncropped.

Here's a cool one. It's an alternate to the shot Roth used to open the article. Yes the angle of the one used is better, but it has that big finger print on it. Like Roth said in the feature, "those forks really shine!"


Another photo that didn't make it.


The sissy bar in all it's glory. This one and the two below were featured, but the top of the sissy bar and the groovy trash can got cropped out.


Besides the details of the Phil Ross stitched seat, Jim Andrews bike "Grapes of Wrath" (upper left), is easier to spot in this large print.


The money shot, large and uncut. Joe later had the big SU carb polished to match the other shinny stuff. As mentioned in the first post, the engine came out of Dick Allen's Wheeler Dealer.

I think it's pretty cool to see these behind the scene shots all these year later.
Thanks Joe!

A Rare-it-"T" and the "Z" Man

When Bruce Parrish told me he still had a Dick Allen T-shirt, I told him he had to send some photos.

This may be the Holy Grail of vintage chopper T-shirts. I find it interesting that it says California. Perhaps, so Dick could use the same design no matter what city his shop might move to.

I'm not sure if this is a dark photo of the same shirt or a black one. Bruce designed Dick's lettering and drew the art. Joe Hurst said Dick looked like the Zig-Zag man and says he suggested using his head on the art, but Bruce said it was from a cigarette (I never heard of and can't recall the name), that Dick like to smoke. I have to admit, it looks like the Zig-Zag Man to me. Bruce, send me the name if you get a chance.

I don't know about the T-shirt art, but....

Update: Joe called and said the cigarettes that Dick smoked were (sounds like), Shebeedees or Zabedees). That's what Bruce had mentioned. When Bruce told me I did a search, but came up empty. I now found Azadbidi, a brand of bidi cigarettes. That's likely it. Bidis (pronounced bee-dees) are small hand-rolled cigarettes manufactured in India and other southeast Asian countries.

These are not Azadbibi, but show the type. Azad's usually have an elephant on the pack. Bidis are tobacco wrapped in tendu or temburni leaf . Traditionally they are tied with string and come in flavors, like chocolate, mango, vanilla, lemon-lime, mint, pineapple and cherry.

The Hustler

.... and a little more Joe Hurst history.

This time from Choppers Magazine May 1969.

Roth liked nicknames and the bikes named for the features. Roth asked Joe if he had any nicknames, Joe said no.... then Ed asked, if he liked playing pool.... Joe said said yup.

The Hustler is pretty much the prototype of what would become the South Bay Style.

If I got it straight, this was Joe's second Harley and the Shovelhead was out of Dick Allen's chrome frame bike (Wheeler Dealer Chop. Mag. Oct.'68). Joe always laments, the funds from selling his complete Panhead only got him an engine and trans.


Joe's the Godfather of the swooping double braced sissy bar and Dick Allen springers. This fork was the first one Dick Allen made. Actually second, the very first was for a Triumph, but Joe jokes, that doesn't count! The first few Dick made had Harley spring perches and top trees, later versions were completely fabricated from scratch.

From the shadow of the sissy bar, I was able detect the bike next to Joe's was his friend Jim Andrew's Grapes of Wrath. It was featured in another issue.


The tank featured a stylized "13" as on his former Panhead. The seat maker's credit is an error, Phil Ross stitched it up. As Irish Rich pointed out, this front view of the forks was used for the ads in this issue and others.


Here's the cover of the issue it was in. Not Joe's bike, but I know you guys enjoy the Choppers Magazine stuff.

Prior to this feature, the Hustler had tall stacks and had won First Place in the Street Bike Class at the Trident's custom car and bike show. More on that later.