Back Street Heroes

Back Street Heroes is the UK’s biggest-selling and best custom bike magazine. We cover all styles of custom bikes and the custom biker lifestyle.

EDITORIAL

ALL (SEVENTY) SIXES & SEVENS • BACK IN 1975, WHEN I WAS A SPOTTY YOUTH LIVING ON A FARM IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, THE NEAREST BUS STOP A MILE-AND-A-HALF AWAY, AND A PUSHBIKE MY ONLY TRANSPORT, MY ONLY THOUGHTS WERE GETTING MY HANDS ON A MOPED TO SAVE ALL THAT PEDALLING.

KAOS AT THE CASTLE • WHEN THE NIGHTS DRAW IN, THE ROADS GET SALTED, AND THE CAMPING GEAR GETS PUT AWAY, WHAT DO BIKERS DO FOR ENTERTAINMENT?

UNORTHODOX ENGINEERING • NO, NOT THE BOOK OF SCI-FI TALES BY COLIN KAPP, EXCELLENT THOUGH IT IS, BUT THE WONDERFULLY ECLECTIC BIKES BUILT, AND RIDDEN, BY PAUL CLARK…

OGRI MCC’S KICKSTART RALLY • AS’S BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED ON THESE PAGES OVER THE YEARS, AND IN GENERAL LIFE, TOO, THERE EXISTS AMONG BIKERS, ESPECIALLY OUR KIND OF HAIRY BIKERS (ALTHOUGH, OF COURSE, WITH THE ONSET OF YEARS MOST OF US’RE A LOT LESS HAIRY THAN WE USED TO BE… ‘CEPT IN OUR NOSES AND EARS), A MINDSET THAT’S BEST SUMMED UP IN THE MOST FAMOUS LINE OF THE RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE SONG ‘KILLING IN THE NAME’.

SITTIN’ PRETTY • FOR MANY OUT THERE, BOTH OWNERS AND ASPIRATIONAL OWNERS, THE FIRST HARLEY-DAVIDSON ANY OF THEM OWN IS, YES, YOU’VE GUESSED IT, A SPORTSTER. THERE’RE A NUMBER OF REASONS FOR THIS, OF COURSE, BUT THE MAIN ONE IS THAT THEY’RE CHEAPER THAN BIG TWINS… ALTHOUGH THAT AREA’S A LITTLE GREY THESE DAYS, ISN’T IT?

PERCHANCE TO DREAM • “I LIKE OLD SCHOOL STUFF; SIMPLE, SOLID, HONEST CHOPPERS, BUT I’M HAPPY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MODERN PERKS IF IT MAKES FOR A CLEANER BIKE (ALL TUCKED AWAY, OF COURSE). FOR INSPIRATION I ONLY LOOK BACKWARDS – LOVE THE CHOP LOOK FOR WHAT IT IS, AND EXPLORING INTERESTING WAYS OF DOING STUFF WITHIN THOSE TRADITIONAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES.

NO FLASH IN THE PAN • WE’VE ALL HEARD TALES OF BIKES BUILT DURING THE COVID LOCKDOWNS, AND THAT’S NOT REALLY SURPRISING, IS IT, WHEN, SUDDENLY, MANY OF US FOUND OURSELVES ON A GOVERNMENT-ENFORCED EIGHT-WEEK* PAID HOLIDAY.

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2023 • THE BIGGEST CUSTOM SHOW IN THE WORLD!

BACK STREET HEROES

Pay just £3.83 per edition • That’s a 23% saving when paying by direct debit

A LIFE IN THE CUSTOM WORLD • AS I SAID LAST ISSUE, MOST OF US IN THE CUSTOM WORLD, MESELF INCLUDED, HAVE REACHED A TIME IN OUR LIVES WHEN WE START TO LOOK BACK AT THE PAST WITH SOME FONDNESS – BACK AT WHAT WE DID IN OUR FORMATIVE YEARS, AT THE BIKES WE HAD, THE BIKES OUR MATES HAD, THE PEOPLE WE HUNG AROUND WITH, THE SH*T WE GOT UP TO…

A LIFE IN THE CUSTOM WORLD PART 2

HONDA CB1000R BLACK EDITION • ONE OF THE MAIN… COMPLAINTS ISN’T THE RIGHT WORD TO USE… THINGS ABOUT NEW BIKES THAT PEOPLE COMMENT ON IS THE FACT THAT THEY’RE SO QUIET THESE DAYS – SO, SO QUIET. THE CB1000R, IN THIS BLACK EDITION, THOUGH, IS THE EXCEPTION TO THAT…

BUILD IT YERSEL' • WE’RE GETTING THERE; ELECTRICS AND FETTLING’RE WHERE WE’RE UP TO WITH THE PROJECT BUILD.

MR BRIDGES MOTORCYCLE DIARIES • IN THE LAST EPISODE OF THIS, I USED A PICTURE WITH THE TANK BALANCED ON THE FRAME. THIS’S VERY STUPID AS THE TANK’LL FALL OFF AND, INEVITABLY, ACQUIRE A HUMUNGOUS DENT, WHICH’S WHY I USED DUCT TAPE AROUND THE TOP TUBE AND THE MOUNTING TAB ON THE TANK TO PROVIDE A LITTLE EXTRA SECURITY.

INFESTED WITH BIKERS! • RECENTLY I BOUGHT AN OLD HOUSE UP NEAR THE CANAL – A LOVELY OLD SEMI-DETACHED VICTORIAN TERRACE. EVERYTHING WAS FINE AT FIRST, AND IT REALLY COULDN’T HAVE BEEN BETTER. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS WAS BEFORE I DISCOVERED THE HOUSE CAME WITH A HIDDEN PROBLEM; ONE THAT DEFINITELY DIDN’T SHOW UP ON ANY SURVEY. IF ONLY I’D KNOWN, I CERTAINLY WOULD’VE NEVER MOVED IN. FOR THIS WAS NO ORDINARY HOUSE, THIS HOUSE WAS…

GARRY STUART RIP

OPENFACE...