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Meet the BIKES of GIRL MEETS BIKE

Jan 09, 2013

THE MOTORCYCLES

 Kat_walks_Guzzi_train.jpg        

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."

  dave_engler_norton_mounted.jpg       

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!"

 Hows_the_FNG.jpg

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   

Kat_on_Smoking_Honda.jpg       

1972 Honda CB350

ace bars

stock engine

sawed-off mufflers  

loud and irritable



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