Well, the June 1981 issue of STREET CHOPPER was certainly flashy with plenty of over-the-top choppers to encourage the decade of excess. Leading the pack was the cover bike, "Enter the Dragon, A Privateer Comes Out on Top When Faced by the Finest." Bruce Lee of San Pablo, California, (no, not the famous one) started out with a Ness rigid frame, which was fit with a custom tank, hand-fabricated by Bob Monroe and a modified Ness fender assembly. Bruce also dismantled and completely plated the '52 panhead motor. Regardless of your personal taste, you gotta admit the end result was quite a display of craftsmanship.
Another crazy creation featured was "Kettenkrad, The Motorcycle Tractor!" STC was certainly into playing dress up, but then again, for a bike as wild as Mike Harding's '42 NSU Kleines Ketten Kraftrad, anything less would look out of place. This baby can even pop wheelies-small ones. Not bad for a cumbersome motorcycle/tractor hybrid.
"For some unknown reason the boys at Sportsters of San Jose decided to name this fine unit 'Cheap Piece'-that is the bike. Now they may have something going the rest of us don't, but I hardly think this immaculate Sporty or the fine lady straddling it would classify as a cheap piece." Fine words from the author of the feature titled-no surprise "Cheap Piece." Sam Newsom and Kevin Dunwoody collaborated on the build selecting staggered duals from BUB, an Arlen Ness Rocket tank, and BACC fender.
An interesting little section STC offered back in '81 was "Keep it Warm." Readers sent in pictures of their bikes and the ladies who chose to raise the temperature a few degrees by modeling along with it. At the time of this writing, most of our staff has just returned from Daytona Bike Week. Upon return, one comment was, "It was incredible. At one point, the streets were so crowded that you literally could not move on the sidewalk." Considering how popular the event has become, it's a trip to see a headline like, "Daytona '81, Will There Be An '82?" Twenty years later, the question seems like a joke but we're sure there are plenty of readers who have stories that tell otherwise. At the time, The Man had cramped everybody's style so bad that it just wasn't worth the effort any-more. Until '81 that is, "Daytona's Back!"
A triumphant headline for the party had returned even better than in past years, and the city had decided to ease off of the motorcycle community. There were plenty of pages dedicated to the good times including our very own beauty queen, Miss STREET CHOPPER. Looking back over the event coverage, you can see how Bike Week was cemented into Daytona's history. We'll leave you with your own memories until the next installation of Back in the Day.