Remember Easyriders Magazine September 1984
It has been 30 years since the September issue No. #135 of Easyriders magazine was published in the USA. The September 1984 cover immediately starts with „Rowdy In The Rain“.
Yes, it was a time when you were already somebody if you had a pair of leather pants that you could wear while cruising on your Harley. Despite the best greasing, they eventually became so saturated with water in the rain that you could really talk about having a wet ass. Brown's Plating Service advertised on the inside cover—it's hard to believe, but the store still exists today!
A specialist company that has been at the same address in the USA since 1968. It is a family business, and most of the employees have been there just as long, so you could say it's one big family.
In the early seventies, they settled in the Chopper era dedicated to chrome plating and refining parts, they are still very successful in what they do today.
In 2013, I was able to get a bike with upgraded parts from Brown's Plating Photographing in Florida, overall a very nice piece of work. But we're talking about the Easyriders issue #135 here, but still, it's great to find such an impressive company history on page two.
„Now YOU Can Be A Motorcycle Mechanic...“
is the next headline, which is a call to see what you need to do to become a real professional mechanic in the USA in 1984. You will be trained to earn money with mechanics. Just send in the postcard, and the training will apparently even start at home. You will be trained in a short time and then you can really make a profit. I'll send the postcard and see if this school still exists. They'll be amazed.
MEXIGALI RIDE
Things aren't always what they seem, not even when the situation appears to be a simple case of black and white.
Dan
„I ride a lot,“ says Dan., That's right, he rides 450 miles north on his Panhead to have breakfast. In 1984, Dan Huntsinger rode the Mexigali, a 1955 Panhead that was rebuilt by Cycle Delight in Denver in 1979.
At 10,000$, the bike wasn't exactly cheap in 1984. But he got his money's worth out of it, so why let it gather dust in the garage? With its springer fork and front wheel that took some getting used to, it was a typical chopper of its time, but you really have to like the front wheel.
The Biker and the Baby (by Jerry Childress)
It's a nice story, but I'm more impressed by the illustration that accompanies it, showing a biker holding a baby in his arms. The picture was drawn by Arvidson in 1984, before Photoshop or anything like that existed, so the effort that went into creating a story like this is remarkable.
TOP PRIORITY
He makes do with the time he has. The common riding season is packed into a tight five months, May through September. I can hear it now, the wail from the hardcores, “I ride all year long!“ Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I walked a mile for a Camel.
These are the stories that were written about a cool bike. It's just a small selection, but often the pictures were allowed to speak for themselves and tell a story from the biker's life.
But Donnie Smith's bike from Minneapolis was quite impressive. Eagle MC England installed an SU Turbo Rivera in the bike in 1975, and 74 cu in was enough.
The farms and buildings are very striking, with the color combination of red, silver, and gold reflecting a certain exclusivity. Donnie Smith also wanted to show that his business was doing well, so he needed an extraordinary bike to go with it.
Forty for the Road
What could this mean? It's about boobs, as the cover says: „Entertainment for Adult Bikers“ – now that's a statement!
Pugs of all kinds—there was apparently a special contest, something that would probably no longer be possible in the US today, as a lot has changed. But in 1984, they were still being bred, people weren't squeamish back then, and the best thing about it was that it was all real!
UNREAL AT ANY SPEED | ARLEN NESS
What an awesome bike! The elaborate candy purple paint job with murals and striping by Horst, which is commonplace today, was definitely something special in the 80s. The paint job is truly extraordinary!
The entire bike caused quite a stir at the time, with its striking air intakes suggesting that the machine needs a lot of fresh air for its low-compression turbo to build up sufficient pressure in the turbine.
The exhaust gases are shot out along the shortest route, which is something you want to see when the Arlen Ness machine rides over sandy ground, causing a hint of a desert storm.
The XLCH engine is from 1966 and the bike was rebuilt in 1983 by Arlen Ness / Ken Puccio. The owner at the time was Dave Kerwood from Dunsmuir, California.
DAVID MANN
He is an integral part of the scene, and even today he is David Mann still very popular, his pictures are seen around the world. In the September 1984 issue, there was a poster of him in the centerfold, the Easyriders imprint and his logo, which is a picture for the wall.
What makes this special is that David Mann died in September 2004 at the age of 64. Since 1972, he had been regularly featured in the centerfold of EASYRIDERS magazine with a poster, all of which are now considered cult classics.
Considering that Easyriders had a very high status in the USA at the time, he could already be proud of that.
But that's generally different in the US than it is here. There, artists in this field are real stars, whereas here that's hardly conceivable. The prices paid in the US for a painting by a renowned artist from the scene are enormous. Here, they would starve, even if we think the paintings are great.
FAMILY AFFAIR by Tom Benson
Today we look at Sons of Anarchy On television, at that time it was the short stories in magazines that told of biker parties in saloons, also accompanied by elaborate graphics, which were probably the perfect short stories for bikers in the restroom. Because it doesn't take longer than that to read them, habits will certainly have developed.
HEIN GERICKE
And finally, who would have thought it, but on the back cover of the 1984 edition there is a large advertisement for Hein Gericke! And indeed, the company has been active in the scene since 1970.
Browsing through this issue, it becomes clear that 1970 was truly a pivotal moment in the chopper era, when many things began that are still going strong today!
There are a few more photos to go with it. I think this little glimpse into the #135 Easyriders issue is something different. The magazines are still available to buy, both old and new! And that's a good thing!!!
Image rights belong to the respective authors, Wolf, Pete Chiodo, Easyriders, Arvidson, Kim Peterson, Rip, Deanna Curtis, Oak View, David Mann, Dutty Daggan.
