do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

"Built this bike out of 2 bikes confiscated out here in Afghanistan, the first one was ridden up to a vehicle check point by a suicide bomber and it failed to detonate…EOD tore the wiring harness out and the frame was screwed.  The other donor was a drug bike that an insurgent was using to try to out run US forces.  The motor was fried.  We took the two and chopped them up to make one cool little “suicide bobber” we call her our “Helmand” Davidson.  (Helmand is the province we Marines are responsible for out here in Afghanistan).  It’s basically a Chinese knock off of a Honda CB 125.  We chopped the shocks and plasma cut the springs to make seat springs, the head light is a casing off of a military DC 10 bulldozer, the struts were made out of tent poles..everything that wasn’t needed to make her faster was ripped off and it has been up to 65 MPH so it runs strong.  I miss my Bikes at home and this makes my third tour out here since 2009 (33 months in country) a little bit more bearable… FattyB…."

everything about this is pretty great

from the backtalk inbox...

I have been getting some of the strangest bikes in the backtalk inbox...

And I love it! This thing is far fucking out! Why isn't anybody building trikes with little houses on the back anymore? s


"Enclosed is a picture I found of my old bike (the outhouse). The 45 flathead was geared to carry me and my ol lady I went through alot of clutches ,otherwise the little flathead was very reliable. The interior was carpeted and the outside itself was plywood and panel. The little flathead rode like a dream.          Paul S."

Keep sending me your bikes at backtalk@ironcross.net

Do it today!

whoa

"Didnt build this bike Eli from Portland OR did but I bought it beat it And love it
and The Horse hope to see itg in the Back Talk"

Backtalk Revisited

"I bought this stock (pretty much) from Sportie Specialties in Fullerton, Ca. (home of Fender guitar). I did all the work in an Anaheim cul-de-sac using a semi truck for an air compressor and throwing welding leads under a fence at night after a truck terminal manager would go home.

It's my skateboard hauler. I park it at the bottom of a hill then hitchhike with my board to the top then sk8 to my bike. I'm 52 and this keeps me feeling young. Hope you read, Thanks, you have the best biker/chopper mag! -Steve Barham"

Backtalk Revisited, Sweet Shovel

Lookin' good!

Backtalk Revisited, Micky Lynn

"Bike: 1982/80 Ironhead Owner: Micky Lynn Built by: Micky Lynn Photographer: Dirty Brandon"

Thanks for sending these into backtalk, Micky!

Remember, we're always on the hunt for bikes for backtalk, so send your photos and words my way! backtalk@ironcross.net

Nick From NZ

I met Nick on the Long Road this year-- you'll see me make mention of him in the LR coverage in issue #123. Mighty fine chap indeed! He was working a particularly cleaver plan in where he flew to the states, bought a newish Dyna, rode it all over the place for a month or so, had it shipped back to NZ, sold it, and used that cash to fund the entire trip! Brilliant! He kept telling me about this long pan that he rides back in NZ, but I never caught a glimpse of it until this morning when he sent me this photo of him and his daughter sittin' proud. Fucking slick ride Nick, I dig it!

Backtalk Revisited-- The Whizzer Wizard

It seems so rare now-a-days to get any backtalk submission in the mail, which is probably a good thing, because it would be a huge pain in the neck to have to scan photos and re-type every letter for every single bike submitted in to backtalk. In fact, I actually removed our mailing address from the "submit your bike" portion of the backtalk pages and replaced it with the backtalk e-mail maybe 3 or 4 issues ago? Either way, we work almost 100% in a digital world over here at the magazine, so every once in a while it is refreshing to get a chance to peal away from the screen and hold a sheet of paper that someone spent some time scratching their thoughts all over. Something about the mail submissions just set them apart from everything else we come across. It's usually stuff from people so far out there that they don't even have an e-mail address, which is awesome by the way.

Anyways, this fellow took the time to sit down and write out a great hand written note, mostly in cursive, but some parts in standard script, or in all caps to really get the point across, which I love, about how much time and energy he put into building up this little motor and putting it in a crazy bike contraption thing that took him two years or something like that to build and that tops out at 50 mph. Also, did you know that they just recently stopped teaching cursive in grade school to kids? Anyway, enjoy the note.

(click the letter to make it larger)

Got some original artwork or nearly illegible letters to share? Send em' our way in the snail mail:

Backtalk
51089 Milano Drive
Macomb, MI
48042

Backtalk Revisited

Got this one in the Backtalk inbox a little while ago and have been meaning to put it up here. Crazy engineering on that bike and an amazing will from one man to get himself back on the road again. Here's to you, Tyler!

"Good day, I'm Tyler Deith from Canada, and here is my freshly built wheelchair accessible Harley reverse trike. After spending 10 years or more on my ass due to a mishap on a motorcycle, I've poured a decades worth of dreams and ideas into this one awesome trike. There is very little available commercially that fit my needs. First thing being that I need a fully accessible ride, which means no transferring in and out of my chair. It makes sense that when I get there, wherever "there" is, i'll need my chair there too. My research showed that two wheels up front is far more stable than two in the rear. The over all layout was done using masking tape on the floor. This lead to the making of a large I-beam jig that held the pieces in place and allowed me to rotate the assembly as it went together. The purchase of a tube bender, lathe, milling machine, mig welder and the help of a few excellent friends made the build possible. It is equipped with a 1990 80 C.I. Evolution, push button electric Pingel shifter and a Baker 5 speed with reverse. I can drive it right from my chair and it takes only seconds to wheel in and out. This is the only bike of its kind on the planet. Hope you dig it, -Tyler Deith."


Remember to send your submissions to Backtalk@ironcross.net and you just might get your ride in the next issue of The Horse!

Frank's Friday

Found this in the backtalk inbox this morning, and I want more! Really diggin' on the crazy franks n' sporty tank look...

(update: last week I asked everyone to send in what they got to backtalk, but the backtalk inbox was stuffed! Well i just cleared it out, completely emptied it, so if you got something you want to share, send it over NOW and I promise i'll take a look at it. CHEERS!)

...backtalk revisited...

"New Jersey PAN/SHOVEL living in Alabama! Not much to say about it other than its an 88c.i. stroker with a 4 speed trans. This engine has been in my family for over 20yrs, finally got my hands on it and built this! -Anthony Romano"

Coming to backtalk #122...

Straight outta backtalk 121...

send your submissions in to Backtalk@ironcross.net, let's see what ya got!

The Craigslist Weirdo

If you are one of those individuals who searches craigslist daily for some super deal on a mislabeled Harley for stupid cheap, then there is a good chance you've come across some real weirdo's out there. Every interaction i've had off of craigslist has its own flavor of strange. Its just the way it is. Sometimes it hilarious, some times its a steal of a deal, and other times it just feels down right sketchy.

These videos aren't about selling or buying motorcycles on craigslist, but they are about the generally high weirdo factor involved. I had a good laugh, hope you can too.

backtalk revisited

more junk!!! boy oh boy how I love the Backtalk inbox...

backtalk revisited

Holy crap! Look at this thing! Nuts!!!

I love opening up backtalk e-mails every morning and seeing what our average reader does with their own two hands. Please, if you have something you'd like to share, send it over to backtalk@ironcross.net and i'd love to put it in the rag! (And remember, some of the best backtalk entries get picked for full features!)

backtalk revisited

Coming soon to issue #119's backtalk...

Backtalk Revisited

Let me just say, i've really enjoyed editing backtalk for the past few months. I get to come in each morning and pour over emails from people all around the world showing me photos of their bikes. The spectrum of rides I get to see each and every day is a real treat, and I get a kick out of being able to pick out my favorite ones and share them with all of you.

The best is when bikes get picked out of backtalk for full features in the mag. Just recently, I asked a few guys who sent their stuff in for backtalk, to send in more photos for a full feature. Its that kind of stuff that gets me through the winter blues, getting so stoked on other peoples builds and then sharing it with the world.

But every once in a while, you get some real outlier e-mails... I almost felt back about this, but then I thumbed through some of the early Horse mags back when we would print "coon-tail" bikes, outright ridiculing some of the atrocities that could be found en mass during the height of the OCC styled turd era, and then I didn't feel so bad. Shit, all I'm doing here is showing how this guy set himself up! Couldn't help myself, cracked me right up!

cuttin' loose

JT sends these in from Alabama... Thanks JT!

Bastard

found this in the Backtalk inbox this morning.... awesome!