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

FARMYARD PARTY • GOOD NEWS IS BECOMING ABIT OF ARARE OCCURRENCE THESE DAYS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TOBIKES AND THE LIFESTYLE WECHOOSE TO LEAD, BUT THE 37TH FARMYARD WAS FULL OF GOOD NEWS; SOME UNEXPECTED, SOME PLANNED.

“2 PAIRS OF PANTS HELPS…” • ME AND JAS (COOKIE)’VE BEEN BUILDING BIKES FOR YEARS, BUT THIS ONE WAS BORN FROM A RALLY CONVERSATION WITH JOHN FROM BIKERSMAG, WHO’D ALREADY SEEN JAS’ RED ONE, AND ASKED WHAT PLANS WE HAD FOR NEXT BUILD? “WELL” WE SAID, “WE HAVE IDEAS…”, BUT HE INTERRUPTED AND SAID “I BET IT’LL BE MENTAL!” SO WE HAD TO THROW OUR THOUGHTS IN THE BIN AND START AGAIN.

“2 PARTS OF PANTS HELPS…” • REALLY, THIS FEATURE’S ARSE-ABOUT-FACE AS THIS BIKE WAS BUILT BEFORE DAD’S BLACK ONE, BUT… IT CAME ABOUT AFTER A MASSIVE MENTAL BREAKDOWN. WHILE WAITING FOR DOCTORS I NEEDED TO BE SOMEWHERE TO START AGAIN; TO DO SOMETHING THAT I HADN’T DONE IN A WHILE THAT I ENJOYED – BIKE TIME IN THE GARAGE AWAY FROM EVERYTHING; JUST BIKES, PARTS, STUPID IDEAS, STANDING AROUND IMAGINING.

EARLY HOOK UP • THE EARLY HOOK UP’S QUICKLY BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED EVENTS ON THE UK (VINTAGE) CHOPPER SCENE. EVERY YEAR IT MARKS THE UNOFFICIAL START OF THE CHOPPER SEASON, SETTING THE TONE FOR WHAT’S TO COME IN THE MONTHS AHEAD. IT’S A PRECURSOR TO THE MAIN EVENT, THE HOOK UP, HELD EVERY AUGUST IN THE HEART OF BEAUTIFUL WALES, BUT’S BECOME AN EVENT IN ITS OWN RIGHT, DRAWING RIDERS AND BUILDERS FROM FAR AND WIDE.

BABY BLUE • AFTER FINISHING MY PANHEAD BOBBER I WANTED TO BUILD A TRIUMPH, AND I’D BEEN COLLECTING TRIUMPH UNIT 500 PARTS FOR A WHILE AS THEY WERE (NOTE THE ‘WERE’) STILL RELATIVELY CHEAP COMPARED WITH PREUNIT OR UNIT 650/750 PARTS.

LUCKY 7S MCC CUSTOM & CLASSIC BIKE SHOW • WELL, WE WERE WARNED I SUPPOSE… ALL WEEK THE FORECAST FOR OUR CUSTOM & CLASSIC BIKE SHOW AT THE CHERRY TREE IN STAKEFORD WAS FOR HEAVY SHOWERS. AND IT TURNED OUT THEY WERE RIGHT BUT, AS THEY SAY IN SHOWBIZ, THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

BARE-BONED BEAUTY • ACOUPLE OFISSUES AGO WE SHOWED YOU SIMON HOPE’S Z1000 DIGGER, AND MENTIONED THAT HE HAD, AND I QUOTE*, “A RATHER GLORIOUS 45 HARLEY (AS IN CUBIC INCHES, NOT YEAR OF MANUFACTURE) WHICH WE’LL SHOW YOU AT A LATER DATE”. THIS, LADIES N’ GENNULMEN, IS A LATER DATE, AND HERE’S HIS 45.

CASSINGTON BIKE NIGHT • MOST PEOPLE WHO GO TO BIKE NIGHTS GO TO ONES LOCALLY, DON’T THEY? MOST WITHIN A TEN-OR TWENTY-MILE RADIUS, MAYBE THIRTY IF IT’S NECESSARY – VERY FEW GO TO ONE 200 MILES AWAY, DO THEY? NO, THEY’RE FAR MORE SENSIBLE…

SKINNY 'SPLITTER • THERE IS, I DON’T KNOW IF YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WE OVER ‘ERE ON THIS SEPTIC ISLE CALL ‘FILTERING’ AND WHAT THE SEPTICS* THEMSELVES CLASS ‘FILTERING’ AS.

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DRAGSTALGIA • DRAGSTALGIA, THE NOSTALGIA-BASED EVENT FOR VINTAGE AND VINTAGE-STYLE DRAGSTERS, BOTH TWO-AND FOUR-WHEELED, AT SANTA POD, BRITAIN’S ONLY REAL DRAG STRIP THESE DAYS, IS AN EVENT I’VE WANTED TO GO TO FOR YEARS.

TANK ART • Art is, as all artist types’ll say, subjective – based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions, and over the next few issues we’ll demonstrate that. Here’re a few more tanks and muddies spotted this and last summer.

AYEAROF CUSTOM BIKING… • HOKAY, SO LAST MONTH I WAS BLITHERING ON ABOUT HANDLEBARS AND GETTING OLD AN’ SHIT, WASN’T I? WELL, THIS MONTH IT’S GOING TO BE THE SAME, BUT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.

BSA BANTAM350 • ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS NAMES IN BRITISH MOTORCYCLING HISTORY’S BACK! IT’S NOT A 125 THOUGH, OR EVEN A 175 – NO, IT’S AN A2-LICENCE FRIENDLY 350, AND IT’S PRETTY DAMN GOOD.

BSA SCRAMBLER • IT WAS ALMOST A NO-BRAINER, WASN’T IT, THAT...