Non V-Twins
Sixth Street Specials
Story and Photos by Rodent
Is this the last real old school traditional motorcycle repair shop still standing? Nestled in next to a nondescript church is a building with 4 or 5 steps up to the front door and a steel shuttered entrance to a basement. No sign except there is a Kendon motorcycle trailer chained to the street side wall and usually a couple of chained up bikes under covers in the street in front of the building.
The proprietor and chief wrench, Hugh Mackie, is an escapee from Scotland who ended up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in Alphabet City near the corner of 6th Street and Avenue C some twenty years ago. He became the go-to guy for old British bikes. Hugh has carved quiet a niche for himself in the New York City motorcycle scene. Paul Cox, Keino and the late Indian Larry are known to have spent time at 6th Street Specials.
On New Year’s Eve I was invited to party with Hugh and a bunch of his friends at the shop. Space was cleared and a band was set in place for the festivities. Thanks Hugh, your kind invite spared me from partying with hundreds of thousands of people that I don’t like in an area with no toilets and 10,000 paranoid cops who wished they had the night off. Since I’m not a drinker, Hugh steered me to a coffee shop right up the street which I enjoyed almost as much as San Francisco’s Café Trieste. Thanks Hugh for turning me onto it and maybe I’ll say a few nice things about your funky, traditional motorcycle shop.