Colonel Custard

Yet another single speed bike apparently used for commuting. At least it has brakes. 

I do quite like the bars though.

Midget, Or 'Little Car'

This cute MG Midget was in a parking garage downtown, the person who owns it must live in the apartments above based on the presence of an oil pan to catch this leaky buzzard's leavings. The leather tonneau cover for the cockpit really caught my eye.

This is a late 70s model add indicated by the grotesque plastic bumpers. Despite the bumpers I think these little British cars are just the bees knees.

Kawasaki Bobber

When leaving the local pub last weekend I happened upon this Kawasaki bobber. It was  very dark so my phone's flash had to work overtime on these photos. Nevermind the dorky scooter in the background.

Red spokes, always a hit with the hot rod crowd.

Solo seat.

The best part was the lace paint job on the tank, despite this photo the paint was more of a root beer color than red or pink.

Middle Aged Men and their Middle Aged Cars

There appear to be some perks to being middle age. Movie tickets cost $3 less, you can lecture people about what life was like when you were their age, you can blend all your foods into a fine paste and no-one will think less of you for it. But by far the greatest part of the sunset years must be the fact that by that point in life you've made enough money that you can graduate from owning a car that just gets you around to one that just makes you happy. I was recently invited to be a guest at a meeting of the Santa Fe Vintage Car Club, and athough the meeting itself went on a little too long while members waxed-analytical about fuel-octane levels, some of the cars they brought with them made the whole thing worthwhile. Some of the highlights include:

 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix. 

Those cracks in the pavement are from the car's weight. (probably)

1930 Ford Five Window Coupe. 

The guy that owns it said that it's essentially his daily driver.

Factory-fresh 240Z that i snapped as it was leaving.

A 1942 GMC, according to its vanity plate, that was incredibly well restored.

A '46 Hudson next to a '49 Scott.

1948 Ford F1 with hardwood floors.

This is (believe-it-or-not) a 2013 Morgan 3 Wheeler with what is called a "stroked X-Wedge V-Twin" which apparently produces 150bhp in a car that only weighs 1,500 pounds. It's driven by a dentist in a helmet that I can only assume is to make sure his head is recognizable after the rest of him is incinerated in the massive fireball that will be this car after he drives it through a lamp-post at a hundred miles an hour.

Suicide Machine

A few years ago I bought some motorcycles from a man in Albuquerque's South Valley, a trio of Ward's Riversides (or Benelli's before they were imported), I still have two of them.

But while we were chatting about bikes he said he wanted to show me something, in one of his many sheds sat this beast.

Poor photo entirely the fault of the crappy camera phone

His story was that he had been trying to sell this motor and a prospective buyer told him it was worthless and could never be used so he might as well give up trying to sell it. So, to prove a point, my new acquaintance had used the frame of an Australian motorbike bolted to the motor, put a small gas tank where the seat would go, and would weave a rope into the fan on the side to pull start it. He would ride with his right foot resting on the shaft sticking out from the middle of the fan.

The motor was a cast iron, single cylinder of some high displacement, I believe he said it was named after a city, Chicago or Milwaukee perhaps, and had come from a tractor.

This is one of those too cool, wacky finds you always wish you had picked up when you had the chance, although I'm not sure he was interested in selling it anymore.

Binders full of scoots

From a summer show in Santa Fe:

Plenty of small displacement rockets

More after the break...

Custom Harley

Saw this cool custom while out bicycling. It has an attractive sissy bar, Frisco tank, straight and narrow bars with risers, and I believe it's an evolution series motor, unless somebody can correct me. Pretty bitchin' bike overall.

Greetings Starfighters

As an automotive enthusiast (anything that rolls or explodes really) I frequently take notice of rare, unique, exotic or just interesting vehicles out in the world. After many years of this, and the rise the cellphone camera, I have quite a collection of photos of whatever has piqued my interest on the road or in the lot. Check back often for some OK, some not so good, and some actually decent images of anything and everything I see out and about.