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Brittown - a British motorcycle documentary film

Tuesday, April 08, 2008



(There isn't any vintage Yamaha related info in this post, but I wanted to pass this on anyway... Chances are, if you dig old Japanese iron, you probably dig old British iron, too...)

Had the opportunity to borrow the documentary Brittown from my friend (and Bonnie rider) Brian this past weekend.

For those who haven't heard of it, this is a short synopsis from their website:

Brittown features legendary underground mechanic and Britbike connoisseur "Meatball" from the Hell On Wheels bike shop in Anaheim, CA as he eats, drinks, and sleeps British iron; using all his skill to transform an old 650 Triumph Bonneville motor into a barely-legal road racer.

Embracing the legacy of Steve McQueen, Meatball runs his old BSA in vintage motocross races, flies down the Willow Springs raceway on his Norstar, and conquers the So Cal freeways with the No Gooders motorcycle club while still finding time for his family and his rock band Smiling Face Down.


This movie wasn't what I expected at all. Far from some usual T and A biker flick or a long commercial featuring posers tinkering with stuff they really don't know about, these guys are the real deal: living, breathing, racing, and rocking out with British motorcycles.

The movie also has incredible production quality. It's funny, filled with interesting likable characters and good music, yet is quiet, genuine, even moving at times. It's very much a nod to On Any Sunday - but not a rehashing, rather one for this generation.

Highly recommended!

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Brittown - A British Motorcycle Documentary

Wednesday, October 10, 2007



Brittown is a feature documentary featuring vintage Triumph motorcycle racer and master mechanic Jeff "Meatball" Tulinius from the Hell On Wheels bike shop in Anaheim, California:

The film chronicles several months in Meatball's life as he runs his old BSA in vintage motocross races, embraces the legacy of Steve McQueen on his vintage Triumph Cub desert sled with the No Gooders motorcycle club, flies down the Willow Springs raceway on his Norstar, and uses all his skill to rebuild an old 650 Triumph Bonneville motor into a blazing road-ready screamer ... all while juggling his responsibilities to his family and his rock band Smiling Face Down.

From Scott Di Lalla and Zack Coffman, directors of the award-winning custom motorcycle documentary Choppertown comes their second intimate inside look at biker culture, Brittown: a British motorcycle documentary film.

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Three Fast, Three Furious?

Friday, October 27, 2006

I watched The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift last night. I know, I know... but what can I say, I'm a motorhead, and anything like this interests me. Despite the bad acting, the movie was actually pretty good, better than the other two - that's for sure. Anyways, I digress.

For a movie supposedly set in Japan, you would think there would be some motorcycles around somewhere. There were a few scooters... and a few bicycles... but as far as I could tell, only one motorcycle. And it was a chopper with NOS bottles for fuel tanks. A chopper! In Japan! The only motorcycle! Wha?

I guess I was hoping to see a little more sportbike-sportscar crossover in this film... o well.

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World's Fastest Indian T-shirt!

Monday, February 06, 2006



Paul Crowe from The Kneeslider just wrote to inform me that I'd won one of the shirts from their World's Fastest Indian-t-shirt giveaway... pretty swank! The shirt also has "I'm fast" emblazoned on the back. Excellent!

Thanks Paul! Keep up the good work over at The Kneeslider!

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"All my life I've wanted to do something big."

Friday, September 16, 2005



Unlike Supercross, and Biker Boyz, and Torque, which all pretty much sucked, this looks like a good motorcycle movie. Anthony Hopkins isn't the type to do crap films, and director Roger Donaldson has good stuff (The Recruit and Thirteen Days) before.

A full website is coming soon, but here's a short synopsis:

Anthony Hopkins stars as Burt Munro, a man who never let the dreams of youth fade. After a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle, Burt set off from the bottom of the world to test his bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. With all the odds against him, he set a new speed record and captured the spirit of his times. Burt Munro’s 1967 world record remains unbroken and his legend lives on today.

Here’s also a website about Bert Munro, subject of the film.

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Akira's cycle

Monday, April 04, 2005

This may have nothing to do with R5s, or with Yamahas, but it does have something to do with Japanese motorcycles... well, sorta. Someone actually made a full-size working version of the motorcycle driven by the hero in the Akira anime... and now someone's gone ahead and made one from a scooter!

In related unrelated news, check out the sub3wheelers... and you can hack together a cheaper version here...

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Hooligan film

Monday, January 31, 2005

"Hooligan" - this documentary is not a technical history of motorcycles. It is designed to shed light on an energized cult of inspired motorcyclists – past and present – who have been referred to as "Rockers," "Hooligans," "Ton Up Boys," "Coffee Bar Cowboys," and "Bike Boys." It is not about Harley Davidson riders, weekend cruisers, chopper builders or sport bike riders. It is about a lifestyle born from the coupling of rock ‘n’ roll and the magic of two-wheeled machines like Triumphs, Nortons, BSA’s, Motoguzzis and Velocettes. It is about stripped-down, old-school cafe racers; retro classics; bobbed fenders; clip-on handlebars; customs; and rat bikes. It is about the love and commitment necessary to restore and maintain them.

I especially like the tagline:
"Real bikes are built in garages."

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