Meet the BIKES of GIRL MEETS BIKE
Jan 09, 2013
THE MOTORCYCLES
1991 Moto Guzzi 1000s (owner Eric Tretbar)
949cc
stock Le Mans V engine
large valve head
40mm del Orto carburetors
stock cam
Bub conti replica exhaust
40mm Motocicliveloci clip-ons (Milan, Italy)
Agostini rear sets
aftermarket headlight
euro-spec seat
This is director Eric Tretbar's personal bike since 1995. Purchased with a handshake and a $150 deposit, this green monster was one of the first 1000s's in Minneapolis, home of more of them than anywhere else for some reason (Mississippi water, we believe). This Guzzi has been back and forth to L.A. a number of times, out to New York, to England to the Isle of Man TT, through the chunnel, down to its maker in Mandello, Florence, through Switzerland, down the German Autobahn where it did 130mph all day, then a weekend rest at the crazy Motorcycle Loft Hotel in Belgium after overshooting the entire country by 100 miles (Luxembourg goes by quickly at 130!). Actor, Ruth Menard, nicknamed it "the garbage truck" during production, unaccustomed to the Guzzi's cranky ways. But by the end of production, she confessed: "I think I kind of like it now."
1972 Norton Commando (owner Kris Konig)
883.5cc
Megacycle 560-20SSS cam
lightened rockers
chromoly pushrods
lightened and balanced crank
Keihin 35mm PWK carburetors
60Hp rear wheel
stock frame
added front brace
3rd isolastic head steady mount
GSXR front forks
SV650 brakes
GL1000 hub
18" WM4 rim
Fabricated swingarm, KZ650 hub, 18" WM6 rim
Before lending his mad creation to the production, owner and builder, Kris Konig, issued a 5-page dossier on how to start, ride and maintain his high-strung menace (note the message on the swingarm). Though known for his sensitivity and charitable acts, Kris knows how to cut the purple phrases out of a technical manual and get down to business:
"NORTON NOTES - STARTING: I usually stand to the side of the bike on the center stand for starting. Turn on both fuel petcocks. Cold engine, pull both chokes, stage the kick starter, turn on ignition, and KICK (PUSH) ALL the way through the stroke like you mean it and have 100% confidence that you are starting this motherf*cker. A slight crack on the throttle during the kick is recommended. If you are a pussy about this the bike will not start, the lever may kick you back and sprain your ankle, and maybe you should not be riding my bike in the first place."
I guess I should have read this manual more closely before I kicked about 3/4 way through the stroke with 45% confidence while only HALF meaning it, and got a giant slap straight into my ankle 5 days before shooting. I then hobbled through 6 weeks of production, only learning to properly start the bike during the racetrack scene in which Kris starts the bike from the side with a motion I can only describe as suave (the scene where he starts the bike for Kat). I said: "Oh, THAT'S how you start that thing." Kris said: "It's all in the notes--you didn't read them, did you?" I said: "I did, but you never said to do it SUAVE!"
1968 Trimph Bonneville Rat Bike (FAR RIGHT bike - owner Cory Huseby)
744cc
JRC connecting rods
short stroke crank
Megacycle cam
1972 oil-in-frame, bobbed and braced
GL1000 front end
CNC machined triple clamp
racing springs
Black Diamond valves
mild porting
duel 36mm flat-slide Mikuni carburators
tuned intake and exhaust lengths
Rickman production racer aluminum tank
custom seat from Norton original
1969 Triumph Tiger (FAR LEFT BIKE - owner Kris Konig)
all stock
1972 Honda CB350
ace bars
stock engine
sawed-off mufflers
loud and irritable
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