A few pictures, of bikes that I like, that have participated in the European Championship of Bike Building. I like the European style in bike building better than the American because they actually ride their bikes. (Not so many trailer queens over here ;o)
I can’t say that I like everything the Harley factory is making these days! Many of the new Harleys are ugly as hell (the Rocker-C for instance is one of the ugliest bikes on the market today;o) But once in awhile the designers at H-D come up with something cool. And this time it’s a Sporty. I have always been a Sportster fan, and I was very disappointed when H-D decided to put rubber mounts on the Sportster engine and at the same time making the bike almost as heavy as a big twin! Anyhow I have to admit that the new Forty-Eight is one of the nicest looking Sportys to ever come out of the factory. It still has the bullshit rubber mount on the engine (which in my opinion takes away the Harley feel of the bike) but its cool looking and has lots of attitude! 
Well, I promised that I would post some pictures of my best (and only) friend latest project. He’s the one with the Sporty Chop somewhere else on this blog… This time he started with an aftermarket Softail frame bought on E-Bay. Chopped it and welded in a solid “twisted steel” downtube. Then he bought a pile of new Panhead part from another pal in Iceland and somehow managed to put that together and get it running ;o) Chopped and welded the gas tank. Made the oil tank and fender and so on… Short story long, another true garage build from my friend Sævar. Not bad for a second bike and the first one to be build from scratch. You rule my (only) friend… 
In 1994 I went to Norway and Denmark with my bike (a Suzuki Intruder) to visit my brother in Kristiansand and to go to a Pink Floyd concert in Copenhagen. I took the ferry from Iceland to Bergen in Norway, which is a 2 day trip. I rode from Bergen to Kristiansand via a little mountain village called Hovden. At the local (and only) gas station I saw this bike. A nice looking Pan-Shovel. A quick snap shot of the bike and off I went. Well in 2001 I went with my Panhead the same way, but this time to Iceland via Hovden. And I stopped again at the same gas station to fix some oil leak from the push-rod covers on the pan. Well out came a big man with an even bigger smile and asked if I needed some engine oil.. It turns out that he was the manager at the gas station and had a Harley Fat-boy. Well I told him about the nice Pan-Shovel I had seen in 1994 and he told me that it was his and that he had sold it.. Well a short story long, we are good friends today and he still has the Fat-Boy but not the gas station ;-)
Ok… Been away for a few days. About time to post something on this blog of mine ;o)
There was a bike show.. The year is 1993 and I’m only 20 years young, dreaming about having a Harley. In those days there were not so many Harleys in Iceland. (20-30 maybee) The Police had a few and most of the private once where old Police bikes. With a few exceptions. The Ironhead chopper in the picture is actually rebuilt in Iceland that same year. The bike was imported from Sweden a few years earlier with a Honda CB 750 engine in it. The Pink FLH is not a Police bike either. The bike came to Iceland when it was new and it was originally pink & white (got to love the sixties ;o). The person, who owns it today, saw the bike when it was standing at the Reykjavik harbour in 1969. He, at a fairly young age, decided that this was the bike to have! A few years later he bought the bike and had it for a few years before he sold it. Well, as we all know, motorcycles should not be sold only bought! So he had his regrets and after many years he found the bike again in rather poor condition. After 6 long years of restoring every single part, the bike finally looked the same as it did when it came out of the factory (or even nicer)! He still owns the bike today and it’s still in mint condition! The Henderson is another story. That bike was found buried in the ground. The bike was imported to Iceland in 1918 by Espholin Co. which was the Henderson dealer in Iceland at that time. The bike was registered until 1938 and found again in the early 90s. The photo of Ingólfur Esphólín on the Henderson is from the book “Þá riðu hetjur um héruð” The history of motorcycles in Iceland. 
John ”Jonna” Lillegård is, with out a doubt, the godfather of the chopper culture here in Norway. The last 8-9 years I have had the pleasure of being able to call him my friend ;o) The man is a wandering history of the Scandinavian chopper culture. He started his chopper carear in Carolina MC Sweden in the seventies. In 1979 he started Carolina MC in Oslo (capitol of Norway) later they chanced their name to Customizers MC. In 1983 Customizers MC dissolved in to 2 clubs, Rabies MC and Company MC which is the club Jonna rides with today. The bike he rides is a 1952 hardtail with a 1340cc Evolution engine. Jonna ordered the engine from the Factory in August 1983. The springer forks are designed by Jonna and build by Calles in Sweden. They are 29,5 inches over stock.
A true chopper hero in my books!!
Click on the Joe Bar drawing at the bottom of the blog, and you will find out more about Jonna ;o)
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In 2003 my good friend Sævar from Iceland came to visit me when I was living in Trondheim, the biker capitol of Norway. I had found a bike for him in that needed some love and caring. The bike was an ’86 Sportster 883 that had been chopped a few years earlier, and had been standing inside a mountain since then. 
Maybe it’s about time to post some pictures from the resent past… as in this year ;-) In June, me and my lovely girlfriend Peggy went (for the first time and definitely not the last) to the 35. annual Custom Bike Show in the town of Norrtälje in Sweden. The quality of the bikes on display was breathtaking and I personally liked the bikes from Finland. They think outside of the box and are not so stuck in the brand of bike or a certain style of bike. They reuse old parts, stock parts and just about anything they can get their hands on… Respect! 
The Icelandic police department has been using Harley-Davidson in their service for many decades now. This restored ’59 Duo-Glide is the only vintage bike that the Icelandic police department has not sold or thrown away. It stands hidden away in a stairway at the police headquarters in Reykjavik. At least it did back in 2004 when I got the chance to take this picture.
There were lots of cool bikes at Super-Rally in Sweden 2004.. Hell there are many cool bikes at every Super-Rally each year! This cool pan-shovel chopper is one of many...
It’s not every day that you get to see a seldom motorcycle like Vincent. To se a Vincent chopper is most likely something you never get to se! Well, one autumn day in the year 2003 I got the chance to se Norway’s one and only (I assume) Vincent Chopper! This bike belongs to a bloke named Nils Arne. I personally don’t know the guy but was allowed too take a look at his wonderful bike (and snap some pictures;-) And yes it is a wonderful bike! And it’s the only one just like it! Therefore much more rare than an original Vincent!!
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