2017 Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally Report

This past Saturday marked the tenth installment of one of Southern California’s favorite vintage motorcycle events, the Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally. Established in 2007, the Venice Vintage Motorcycle Club (VVMC) is comprised of a band of motorcyclists faithful to and united by the love of riding and maintaining old machines. They’re dedicated to the preservation and celebration of motorcycle culture and everything that goes with it.

For 10 years the VVMC has been orchestrating this rally, complete with cold beers, hot BBQ, live music, a pinup girl contest and, oh yeah, more ogle-worthy vintage and custom bikes than you can imagine. The day started off with a group ride up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu before turning back to Venice for the festivities, just a few blocks from the beach. This year’s pre-event ride saw several hundred riders and even received a police escort, making it extra convenient not having to stop at any red lights or stop signs.

This year was the third VVMR I’ve attended, and after saying hello and exchanging pleasantries with friends and some of the VVMC members, I couldn’t wait to be left alone to nerd out on the plentiful array of non-stock, custom bikes that were littered everywhere. There were tons of café racers, trackers, scramblers, bobbers, choppers and other one-offs that each had their owner/builder’s unique touch.

I’ll start things off with the event’s crown jewel, a 1950 Triumph Thunderbird Bobber dubbed “El Dorado,” curated and built by the VVMC. Farin Hoover, a VVMC officer and bike builder, explained they wanted to do something a little different for this year’s build. Inspired by the vintage bikes at The Race of Gentlemen, they decided to build a hardtail. They found the Triumph on Craigslist and purchased it from Rooster Machine, a custom bike shop in SoCal. The bike had good bones but its engine was leaking out of every place imaginable, so the VVMC had it torn it apart and every part of the parallel-Twin was meticulously gone through.

Wes White, a Triumph guru at Four Aces Cycle Supply, handled the motor rebuild, and Lucas Joyner of The Factory Metal Works fabricated a hardtail section made to the VVMC’s specs. The rest of the design and fabrication was done in house by VVMC members. The frame, rear fender and gas tank are powdercoated ‘Illusion Dorado’ by Safeway Sandblaster, and there is no chrome found on the bike, it’s all nickel plated. The seat was sourced from River Seat Co., and Sonny Boy laid down the pinstriping. This custom scoot could be all yours with the purchase of a $10 raffle ticket… and a lot of luck.

Another showstopper, was the extensively custom engineered ‘Skyway’ R80 Boardracer built by Jeremy Hutch of Hutchbilt. Acquired from a friend, the bike began its life as a 1979 BMW R80 that Hutch had radical plans for. He explained that a combo of the board-track racers of the 1910s and ’20s, mixed with an iconic ’80s Skyway BMX bike and famed white plastic Tuff Mag wheels played a huge role in his inspiration for the bike’s build. It came as no surprise that the bike also won the Best in Show Custom award later in the day.

The R80 features a Yamaha R6 front end that’s been lowered by 35mm and dual disc brakes that were fitted to BMW R65 mag wheels painted to replicate Skyway’s BMX wheels. Not a fan of exposed wires or cables, Hutch wanted a clean and simple cockpit. The handlebars have no levers and feature an internally wired throttle as well as a twistgrip clutch from Exile Cycles. For stopping power at both ends, the brake pedal operates two master cylinders mounted side by side. He also converted the rear drum brake into a hydraulic disc unit with an internally run steel-braided line. As for the paint job, the inspiration came from a pair of socks (yes, like the kind you wear on your feet) that Hutch had, resembling BMW racing colors in a Mexican blanket style pattern.

How about this year’s Club favorite Best in Show winner – a 1934 Cotton 25J. It has a 490cc overhead-valve, twin-port, JAP motor with exposed valve springs. The most interesting part of the bike however is all the controls on the handlebars that you have to take into consideration. From left to right (see pic), you’ve got your front brake, throttle, choke lever, compression release, twist-grip timing advance and finally your clutch lever. There’s a lot to grasp here, especially for someone like me who can barely walk and chew gum at the same time.