“I was chopperless for about a month, and I just couldn't handle it. I searched around on Craigslist and found an ad that said, ‘Old school triumph chop. Ran in 1995 when I parked it bcuz of the helmet law. Price: $2500.’ I gave the guy a call and arranged a meeting to check it out after work. I drove 75 miles from OC to Hesperia in the High Desert to meet Rick and his bike.
"Rick was an old club guy with a garage full of bikes, and this time capsule was sitting right in the middle. Rick’s best friend bought it from Burbank Triumph in 1970. In those days California dealers were turning stock bikes into choppers, and this is one of them. Mechanics at Burbank Triumph bobbed the fender, repainted the tins, changed the bars and installed a Denver’s springer. That’s right--this thing came stock from the dealer with a real Denver’s front end. A couple months after trading in his Honda chopper for this Triumph chop, Rick’s buddy shipped out to Vietnam. Rick stored the bike for his friend, and every time he returned from fighting Charlie the two bro's would ride all over Southern California.
“Rick’s buddy shipped off to Vietnam for a third tour of duty, but in ’72 he was listed MIA. After getting the bad news, the original owner’s mother sold the bike to Rick, where it has been stored for the last 37 years. After hanging on every word of Rick’s story, I offered him two grand. Rick stared me in the eyes for a second and said, ‘Son, you just bought yourself a chopper.’”
In addition to his bike, Chris scored an extra sissy bar, some pegs and a box full of chopper artifacts. After some fresh gas, a little oil and very little elbow grease, Chris gave his Time Capsule Triumph a kick and it started right up. Well aware of his bike’s time and place in American history, Chris has said he might start smoking more pot in order to roll correct on this machine. According to Chris, sandals and board shorts might also be required for weekly cruises in the SoCal sun. If that’s not partying like it’s 1969, nothing is.
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RockinRyan
Also, I hate the helmet law as much as the next guy, but this dude stopped riding just because he had to wear a helmet? if you truly love to ride it's a pretty small annoyance.
rouser
NHMike
Loewe
trichardson21
Soames
CaveMann
justafurnaceman
philbey
LUCIFER
dannyb
Rich74
davidabl
Back then i think we felt that Triumphs were already cool without having to doanything to them. Dylan rode one,Steve McQueen rode one. On the other hand,Elvis and the guys who worked at Pep Boys or at the carwash rode Harleys. So you had to do something to them to make them cool.
As to the fallen,some things haven't changed in all these years. We're still
fighting colonial wars in faraway places. Only history will tell whether their
sacrifices were worthwhile (as in Korea) or not. Had we won in Vietnam the
country might not be any freer, happier, or better run than it is today.
davidabl
Back then i think we felt that Triumphs were already cool without having to doanything to them. Dylan rode one,Steve McQueen rode one. On the other hand,Elvis and the guys who worked at Pep Boys or at the carwash rode Harleys. So you had to do something to them to make them cool.
As to the fallen,some things haven't changed in all these years. We're still fighting colonial wars in faraway places.Only history will tell whether their
sacrifices were worthwhile (as in Korea) or not.Had we won in Vietnam the
country probably would not be any freer, happier, or better run than it is today.
davidabl
As to the fallen,some things haven't changed in all these years. We're still fighting colonial wars in faraway places.Only history will tell whether their
sacrifices were worthwhile (as in Korea) or not.Had we won in Vietnam the
country probably would not be any freer, happier, or better run than it is today.
matthewstone