Possibly the most positive general thing I can say about this whole debacle was that the bikes were a lot more interesting than last year so I guess that’s a good thing. But, the high drama, and there was more of it than on a whole season of American Chopper (yes, I watch that religiously too like any motorcycle-related TV show) was just a bit too much without really getting into it. Where were the cameras when Uncle Grumpy (you know who I mean) was supposedly fighting or about to with the Fast ‘N Loud guys back at the hotel before the show? Now that would have been entertaining and maybe would have been more of a true championship. Throw Jr. and Sr. into that mess and it would have been worth a pay-per-view.
As far as the bikes go, I’ve got to give props to Jesse for his build even though he got an extra six-and-a-half weeks to build it. Maybe a sporty bike is not your cup of tea and that’s fine, but it was an interesting build anyway. Especially since he built it all by himself with the help of his crew and some industry notables. Yup, all by himself. Hey, I don’t even care that he got help, but ol’ Jesse made such a big deal that he did this all himself that he should be called out on it. My only surprise was not seeing Erik Buell doing some work in the back ground, but then what would Erik know about making a Harley-powered sport bike like Jesse’s that had never been built before? Man, Jesse I want to love you for all the good stuff you’ve done for motorcycling and you’re an extremely talented bastard, but you are a miserable man who’s got the world by the balls.
I gotta adoit I did love the part about inviting Jr. down to Austin to learn from you and if I were Jr. I’d jump at the chance. Yeah, he could stand to learn a lot of your skills. Unfortunately, all I can think of is when you traveled to Fay Butler’s home to learn metal shaping from the master of metal, you did learn some metal stuff, but you missed out on the most important lesson you could have ever learned from Fay. What’s that you ask? How to be an gentleman and an honorable person like Fay without all the ego bullshit. Hey, maybe you just don’t have it in you and probably never will, but you might ask Fay if you could go back for a few days and get a bit of humanity.
As far as Paul Sr. and Jr.’s builds, all I can say is thank God for Vinny, Cody, and especially Brendon Thompson as far as PJD’s bike went while Sr. owes everything other than his tradewmar “bolting on the gas tank” to Jim Quinn and Skeeter Todd for saving his ass from having to crawl around the floor like a nut on that flame-throwing snowmobile again. Quinn and Skeeter (along with the rest of the crew) deserve a raise and a pat on the back for not humiliating you again. As I mentioned before, Jr. ─ do yourself a big favor and call Jesse’s bluff. Maybe you could teach him what it’s like and why it’s good to have feelings other than feelings of rage. I wouldn’t suggest bringing Rachael with you if you go, though.
And last, but not least, kudos to the team that got my vote, the lovable lads from Gas Monkey Garage. Maybe that wasn’t the wackiest, wildest design ever, but it was done according to the rules and hit all the right notes for me. I can way more than appreciate wild stuff and done my fair share of riding them too, but if it came time that I needed a bike to get out of town, I’d choose Aaron Kaufman’s design hands down. Hey, I’m even liking the pink. You may have gotten second place, but you’re still #1 in my book.
P.S. You may have noticed I didn’t have any photos of the build-off bikes, so I had my dogs Helen and Lemmy stage what I think went on back at the hotel between Mr. James and Mr. Rawlings.