A Lesson In Speed

Iron Man Vs Bruce Lee

More Mooneyes Pictures

Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally

So Sunday I drove down to Venice to check out the Vintage Motorcycle Rally with my daughter again.  When we pulled up there was bikes lined up down Venice Blvd.  The weather was comfortable and not as hot as Saturday down at the Mooneyes show.  Lots of cool bikes on display.

The view down Venice Blvd

I ran into Scott Parker.  Haven't seen him in awhile so it was good to chat with him.  He was enjoying the show and doing the same thing I was.  Getting photos for the blog!  Check out his shots at Church of Choppers.

Jason from By Hand and By Brain was down there checking out the show and drinking a cold one.  We are going to do a photoshoot of his bike sometime this week.  

RIP Arturo Gatti

Sinners Liberty Party 09

So last Saturday Liz and I got out of the house for a little bit to go to the Sinners Liberty Shindig to mingle with some friends.  

Goose of Baltazar Belts, Denver Dan and myself.  If you read the story I did on Cole, Goose is the one that showed Cole how to make the center piece on his tank. Check out Goose's stuff here.  http://www.baltazar.la/

Steve rode down with Irish Rich from Denver for the show.  Always great to see those two guys. Thanks Steve for representing.  

None other than Scott of Scooter McRad's!  Check his blog.

Scott, me and Pac Man.

Denver Dan and James Intveld.  If you haven't heard of James Intveld he is an amazing singer.  We've seen him perform a couple times now.  We are in the process of possibly doing something together in the near future too. Should be really interesting. Movies, guitars and motorcycles.  Stay tuned.

My buddy Kyle from Hawaii.  Kyle is also the man behind Death Machine.  It was great to see him and Rhiannon.  Kyle was leaving for the east coast for some skateboarding tour after the party.  

Last but not least the lovable, Chopper Dave and Dre.

Mooneyes BBQ Show

Went down to the Mooneyes BBQ show this past Saturday.  Not a big turn out compared to last year.  Maybe because it was hotter than hell out there. My poor daughter was melting so we took photos and left.

I just went over to Blue Collar Moto blog and saw more pics from the Mooneyes show.  Looks like he went at a better time with  a lot more people there.  Check out more photos from the show there.

Brittown The Movie

I had lunch with Scott Di Lalla yesterday and he gave me a copy of their second movie they put together called Brittown.  If you haven't seen it yet check it out.  You can buy it at www.choppertown.com.  They are working on a third movie due out soon.

El Diablo Magazine Feature

Alex Patrocinio from El Diablo online magazine did a feature on me. Go to www.eldiablomagazine.com

Dago's Speed Shop-Part 3

A little bit about Rene Astengo
Rene grew up around motorcycles and hot rods. His Dad and Uncles were into motorcycles and Rene was 19 years old when he got his first 59' Panhead. He bought it off an old biker in Torrance. He started out tickering around with VW’s doing mostly all the mechanical stuff on them. From the VW’s he then evolved into working on motorcycles. Several years later he started Dago’s Speed Shop out of his garage in Whittier. This was about the time his son Diego was born and Rene named the shop after him. “Growing up around bikers they would never say “San Diego.” So the shop name evolved from my son’s nickname Dago.” Even before he started Dago’s Speed Shop Rene had some sort of project going on. “I’ve always had the side gig thing going with the cars and motorcycles. My friends and I always kind of blur the line between lowrider and custom. I do most of the suspension stuff. That’s my thing, fabricating. It is just my hobby and I love it.”

Rene and his 59 Panhead when he was 19.  Photo Courtesy: Rene Astengo

Thank you for tuning in.  I am working on another story to post soon.  Scott Di Lalla and his Triumph.

Dago's Speed Shop-Part 2

The second bike I shot was his 68' Sportster XLCH he had built along with his nephew. This was a build that allowed Rene to work along side his nephew and paved the way for his nephew to a new career. “I ended up with the motor from another deal that I had. The motor, the frame and the chrome swing arm were also other parts I had. I bought a bolt on hardtail and when I bolted it on it just looked terrible, it just didn’t flow at all. So I said “fuck it” and stuck it in the corner and worked on other projects. Then one day I was looking on eBay and came across this Sportster frame. It’s actually a 70’s Corbin frame and it’s kind of rare. I was like “Dude! Look at that frame.” Rene had just found his frame for the bike and he had to have it. “Once I got the frame I just had to build it up. It all came from the frame. That whole thing happened because of that frame and everything just evolved from there.”








Some of the parts Rene fabricated were the sissy bar, handle bars and the oil tank. “The story behind the oil tank is I made a round oil tank out of some mini scuba tanks. I just cut the ends off them and I spent so much time in getting them together. After I got it all together and put it up there on the bike it just didn’t flow with that tank and the angles of the bike.” So Rene put that oil tank aside and worked on another one that fit the look of the bike. “I had already built the pipes so I had to modify that oil tank to fit and I liked the way it looked.” The cap on the oil tank was also modified to match the cap on the gas tank.” The front rim is a Hap Jones WM1, side mount Bates headlight, Morris Fairbanks magneto, the rear fender is a stock narrow glide where Rene cut the center out. The seat is hand made out of leather. “Scott Craig did the paint and Danny D did the hand lettering on the tank.” Rene had originally had the tank painted and put the factory stickers on it. “It didn’t look right so I had it redone. We stripped it down and Danny hand painted the lettering on it. He staggered it to match both sides.”




The bike took about 6 months to build and is currently featured in DICE magazine. It also took first place at the Grand National Roadster Show. “I was just happy it was there and was surprised it won.”
Rene wanted the Sportster to get recognition not only for himself but for his nephew. Building the bike together was a great bonding experience between the two. Rene wanted his nephew to know that good things can come out of a bad situation. After the bike was done Rene had talked to his friend Eric over at Advanced Design Fabrication about his nephew. He told Eric that his nephew did good work and he has now worked with Eric for about a year. “Everything works out for a reason.”


Final part tomorrow.