The December 1979 issue of STREET CHOPPER magazine was filled to the brim with remarkable bikes of the day and enticing show coverage for those poor riders who couldn't make the event - plus a few record-breaking feats. Sturgis coverage was the first article, and by the looks of things, people were having just as good a time back in '79 as they are now. Plenty of pages were devoted to the event - you can even see some old photos of Arlen Ness, Dave Perewitz, and Donnie Smith working on bikes and enjoying a few cold ones.
STREET CHOPPER went international and made it over to Manchester to check out England's largest custom show: "Unique is the name of the game to the British set, but what is most impressive to us is that most of the super-radical machines are completely hand-fabricated from the flames to the blower."
And of course we had to mention the "World's Record Ride" where the Harley-Davidson Association got 19 people on one bike and rode it around for 15 seconds making it into the Guinness Book of World Records. The stunt was pulled off in the KTLA television station parking lot while a camera crew captured the feat on film.
The "1st Annual Biker Art Show" took place in 1979. Bob Phillips of the MMA of Los Angeles and the Pasadena Arts Center got together to display works by David Mann, Gary Littlejohn, and others. The Sunday show attracted a live KNBC broadcast that highlighted the tank art, photographs, oil paintings, and watercolors as well as the several hundred bikes that were set up outside the gallery to be judged in several different categories.
As for the bikes in this issue, "Dragon Fire, Mean, Green, and Lean" started out in black and white but did get a full page in color later on. As the nameless author wrote, "There's nothing like a low-slung Sporty with the guts to lay down a thick strip of black rubber." Owner John James took the '68 Sportster engine up to 74 inches with the addition of Daytech cylinders, Sifton cams, some headwork, an S&S carb and Drag Specialties pipes and mufflers. The centerspread was Chopper Specialties Shovel constructed from one of the shop's kits and a fine example of just one of several different styles that were rolling out its doors at the time.
And now you know, back in '79, Sturgis knew how to party hard, people were breakin' records, displaying art, and going abroad. Until next month, that's enough "Back in the Day."