Article And Photos By: Jeremy Johnson – www.garage71.com
Originally Published In The April 2012 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
How do you describe a guy that has very few words? Blu is one of those guys that lives the life and is the life of motorcycles and hot rods, period. I heard about this cat a few years ago. He was like a long lost warrior that you only hear stories about. I figured when I met him he was going to have some kind of hallo or some shit hanging over his h e a d . But that really was not the case. I heard stories that he had choppers and hot rods and was the cool cat in town. When I finally did hook up with him, it turned out that he was just a down to earth dude that keeps his style the way he wants it. I’m pretty sure he has never even owned an Evo bike much less a Twin Cam. He says that he can ride and fix old shit on the road but when this new stuff breaks, it just leaves you walking. The last time I saw Blu, he was driving a 1959 Apache Chevy truck, wearing overalls, and drinking Pabts, not because it was cool but because it was cheap. Blu, like me, says damn the West Coast, we can do cool shit on the East Coast. This dude has been chopping tops and dropping cars since he was a kid, and I mean young; he has a natural talent when it comes to cars and bikes. Like a long forgotten book that somebody drug out, he just has a flavor for the past. This bike kind of started out of necessity and boredom, I guess you could say. He has been living in a pretty busy area for a while and felt like it was time to get the hell out of town. Personally I think he wanted to live closer to the Big Mountain Run location. So, he and his old lady found a house north of Atlanta and the only way to pay for it was with cash. Blu, being selfemployed, didn’t have a ton of money sitting around but had shit loads of parts and talents. So what’s a guy to do but build a bike and try to sell it. The only thing that Blu sent out on this bike was the motor. He sent it down to Slim’s Garage in Atlanta; Slim’s one of the best motor builders in Atlanta.
Other than that, he did all the work from top to bottom at his home shop; you can’t beat this guy. Blu told me that he wanted to build a bike with vintage parts and do it the right way without being gay and shopping on eBay. So, he hit just about every swap meet around town and then some. This is where he scored the Paugcho wishbone. The wheels were found laying on the shop floor so he figured they would work. He dropped the tunnel into the wassel tank to give it the Frisco look and u s e d an old spare t i r e cover to make t h e rear fender. It doesn’t matter how many times you use a tire cover, they still kick ass and look good. The horseshoe oil tank was cut down to where it would stay inside the frame rails to keep everything nice and tight. The seat pan was a cheapo that he has had for years that he used to mock-up bikes and figured it was time to use it. He sent the seat down to another friend of his, Ben Price, and he laid out a bitchin’ stitch on the cover. The forward controls were made out of a bunch of junk he just had laying around. Blu is known around town for being a painter; this guy is the metal flake man. He has been laying bass boat flake sine he was 14 when it wasn’t cool to own a metal flake paint job. So, with Blu doing the paint, and then swapping the motor work for one of his paint jobs, he didn’t have to put out a lot of money for this bike. He proved that you can build a badass bike with out having to use eBay to get cool parts. It’s great to see a guy build a bike without doing the blog shit and using online resources. He really wanted a simple bike to sell and pay for his house. Turns out that the bike didn’t sell but his 1959 Apache did. Last I talked to Blu he said he was keeping the bike and riding it. This build says a lot about his style and that he believes in motorcycles; it’s just simple and all that is needed. If you’re lucky, you will see this bike blazing around North Georgia in the next few months and I’m pretty sure that he will be at Big Mountain Run. If you need some paint work on your next chopper, shoot Blu an email blu55pan@yahoo.com. I’ll bet he can help you out with something just as cool as this bike.
Blu’s Basement Rocker Tech Sheet
Owner: Blu Johnson
City: Georgia
Fabrication By: Blu
Year: New
Model:
Value: Make A Good trade Or Offer
Time: Priceless
ENGINE
Year:
Model: Genny Shovel
Builder: Slim’s Garage
Ignition: Mallory
Displacement: 80ci
Pistons: New
Heads: Stock
Cam(s):
Carb: S&S
Air Cleaner: Custom
Exhaust: Straight and Loud
Primary: Open BDL
TRANSMISSION
Year: ? Early
Make: HD
Shifting: 4 Speed
FRAME
Year: Unknown
Make: Paughco
Rake:
Stretch:
FRONT END
Type: Springer
Builder: D&A
Extension: No
Triple Trees: Really
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Spoke
Size: 21”
Tire: Cheap
Brakes: None
Rear Wheel: Spoke
Size: 16”
Tire: Shinko
Brakes: Disc
PAINT
Painter: Blu
Color: Root Beer
Type: HOK
Chromng: Old
Molding: Must You Ask
Graphics: Really?
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Rafters
Risers: Catalog Bullshit
Hand controls: None
Gas Tank(s): Wassel
Front Fender: Do You See One
Rear Fender: Spare Tire Cover
Seat: Ben Price
Foot Controls: Hacked Up Jap and Harley
Speedo: Lost It
Headlight: Guide
Taillight: Repop Crap
Oil tank: Cut Up Horseshoe
Photographer: Jeremy Johnson