7/8/15

Photos and Recap of Born Free 7

Born Free Continues to be the pinnacle of custom motorcycles shows touting a vintage feel.  In any other arena, show or local bike night, any one of the thousands of bikes at Born-Free would hold our attention as the only "cool" bike we saw that day.  At this show, you're senses are numbed by a vast sea of bikes that are all "cool".  So many great bikes that it's actually possible walk by a knucklehead chopper without breaking step.  How absurd is that!  If you saw this bike in any other location on any other day, you would geek out, you would wait for the owner, you would take photos.  But due to its surrounding it can become a chameleon, just another in the crowd, just another knuck.  

I hear people say Born-Free is just more of the same. More of the same choppers, more panheads, more knuckleheads, wassell this, Bates that.  To some degree that may be true.  But, you have to step back and regain the perspective of normalcy.  These choppers and vintage motorcycles we enjoy are still rare and only being built, ridden and restored by a small collective.  The scene is not blown out, or played out.  It may seem that way when 30,000 people of similar mindset gather for a weekend surrounded by thousands of bikes that play to our senses.  If the estimated 400 remaining wild Siberian Tigers were all chilling in Oak Creek Canyon and you spent a weekend with them, you might think, “Damn there’s a lot of freaking tigers in the world...endangered species my ass.” But, spread them back out across Russia, and they're rare as hen's teeth. It’s the same with these bikes; they are not in every garage across America.  They are still unique.


Once a year Born-Free turns us upside down and puts our minds in overload. People start talking crazy. Then, we return to our normal life or maybe attend a local bike show and realize the scene is definitely not played out. We are still a small group of individuals who enjoy building and riding motorcycle inspired by a previous era.  Thanks to Mike and Grant for providing an event that gathers those people.  Here’s a small recap of some of the machines that make Born-Free great.
-Zach































5/3/15

Throttle Addiction Rabbit Ear Pull Back Handlebars

We're pretty excited to finally bring our new handlebars to market.  Its been a long development road but they've hit the streets and are ready for your chopper or bobber.  We are keeping it simple and started out with two great designs; the Rabbit Ear pull backs, and the basic Tee Bars.  We wanted to take a minute a focus the Rabbit Ear handlebars.
These bars are our take on a classic chopper handlebar design.  They feature precision CNC mandrel bends, TIG welds and are constructed from 1" Chromoly tubing.  Each set bolts up without the use of risers and are designed to fit the standard Harley Davidson 3.5" triple tree riser spacing.  The base bungs feature a 1.25" diameter flange which provides a larger contact surface and a more solid mounting point.  They have an 10" rise, 22" width and 11" pull back.  The Rabbit Ears are only available in Chrome, and retail for $99.99.

9/4/14

Haifley Bros. Bates Style Solo Seats

The Haifley Bros,  Kelly and Doug, are turning out great products from there small shop in Phoenix Arizona.  These two hard working midwesterners are some great guys working with their hands making cool shit.  I am super excited to carry their products on TA.  They're best known for there Bates style solo seats.  I think these are the best reproductions you can find.  The guys do a true tuck and roll pattern out of top quality leather topping it off with a chrome plated 16 ga steel pan.  Throttle Addiction stocks the bates style solo seats come in two versions, 1" and 2" thick black tuck and roll.  If you value quality, craftsmanship and supporting hard working independents, then a Haifley Bros seat is for you.





8/21/14

Photos from Born Free 3

The Born Free show has developed into something insane.  The first show I attended was Born Free 3.  The current show dwarfs the size and magnitude of the event held in 2011, but at the time, it was like nothing I had ever seen. Now, there are decent vintage custom motorcycle shows held around the country, but in my mind, Born Free will reign the American supreme.