Choppershotz

ChopperChick:Cammie

2012-01-17T02:06:00.000-08:00

Van Halen - Tattoo

2012-01-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

ChopperChick:Chelsea from ChelseaLand!

2011-06-21T19:15:00.001-07:00

1978 CX500D by Doc's Chops!

2011-04-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

What we have here is something special, the bike is a 1978 cx500d. 500cc watercooled v twin well ahead of it's time for 1978, shaft drive, electronic ignition, they were much more popular in Europe, used as police bikes, postal delivery bikes. Legend has it,there is a proud owner of one of these with 278,000 miles on it! The person responsible for 'putting Humpty back together again' is Greg Hageman. Greg's been working on bikes for over 30 years, the last 11 spent at a HD dealership, He's a Master of Technology level 5 mechanic, I say MECHANIC because he works on everything, before the harley dealership he worked at an idependent Euro car shop. Greg is an Iowa farmboy and has a barn full of 25 or so classic bikes waiting for restoration for cafe building. He says he also digs scrambler type bikes and plan on some classic "scrambler" style builds. to see some of Greg's past build chek'em out here: http://community.webshots.com/user/softaildoc

*Images photographed with a Nikon D3 and nikkor 70-200VR lens. All lighting is via the Nikon CLS System , shooting with a combination of one SB900,two SB800's and four SB600's.

Paul Jr. Designs new bike unveil in Daytona!

2011-03-14T07:07:00.001-07:00

Paul Jr. Designs does it again with a new bike build for CrankyApe.com! During a week of fabulous weather, bikes, beaches and babes. Paul Jr. and the Discovery Channel unveiled a new bike at J&P Cycles Superstore at Destination Daytona. The lucky client of this beautiful blue machine is CrankyApe.com. The unveil started with Mikey riding in on a red vespa in,wearing an Ape suit. Mikey introduced Vinnie - who rode in on a PJD customized Fatboy. The Fatboy was bought by Mikey,customized by Vinnie and it is to be auctioned off with all the proceeds going to a charity. Then to great fanfare he introduced his brother,Paul Jr. who rode in on the Cranky Ape bike. Customary with all PJD designs, a lot of work was put in to the details. From the Cranky Ape logo stitched into the seat, the barbed wire wheels and the Cranky Ape colors, this bike was beautiful from head to toe. Stay tuned for more great work from PJD!

Being Kool!

2011-03-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

Santiago Choppers KZ1000 Auctioned Off for $45,000 @ Mecum

2011-02-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

RSD Cafe Sportster

2011-02-23T07:22:00.000-08:00

2011 HD Blackline Annonced

2011-01-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

Harley Davidson wants you to pretend you are in the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club!
Actually, a pretty nice little softail to add to the 'Dark Custom' Line. The only thing I question is that if they are trying to the young new rider, is this bike gonna make since when they can get a nice little 48, Nightster or Iron. Still with a few tweaks (mirrors,turn signal position), someone with the right cash could make this into a fun ride. Time to grab your SOA jacket, and ride!

ChopperChick: Jakki Kitchner

2010-12-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

Cafe Racer / Santiago Chopper Pt.1

2010-12-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

Cafe Racer / Santiago Chopper Pt.2

2010-12-14T21:16:00.001-08:00

Cafe Racer / Santiago Chopper Pt.3

2010-12-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

The Norley from Santiago Chopper

2010-12-12T17:11:00.001-08:00

In the tradition of the now famous Breitling Bike Cafe Racer, Motorcycle Builder/Artist Alan Bernard of Santiago Chopper has done it again. The beautiful machine that you are looking at here is another genius cafe' build and newest production bike to be added to the Santiago Chopper Line up. It's called The Norley. This bike is much more than just a combination of two motorcycle industry greats, Harley and Norton. The bike's power plant is that of a Harley Davidson Sportster 1200. If you want Alan to custom build you one, he can also use a 883 Motor, and a Buell motor ('86-'03). The entire front end of this bike including the wheel is off a Paul Smart Ducati. The rear wheel is from Storz Performance. The tank is from JW Cycles, and the seat is a Santiago Chopper/JW Cycles Hybrid. if you want one of these bikes, you can get one for 19,500.00. If you provide the donor Sporty, it will run you 14.500.00. You can order a custom 'frame kit' that includes the frame,gas tank, seat,oil tank, swing arm and rear set for only 5600.00. You can see more images, and get more info on the brand new site http://www.norleycaferacer.com/ To get in touch with Alan just give him or Christine a call at 813.677.1676

*Images were photogaphed by erick runyon/choppershotz. Erick uses Nikon equipment, and the Nikon CLS Lighting System.

TMobile Commercial - 2007 Kawasaki ZX10

2010-12-05T05:29:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed this hot little number pop up on your TV scren lately. No, not the girl...the motorcycle.This 2007 ZX10 was made by a company out of Orange County,California called VIP Alliance. The bike was painted by Buddah Paint. The bike took a toal of 4 days to build. The girl? her name is Carly Foulkes.

Thanks Jesse.It was a great ride!

2010-11-01T20:22:00.001-07:00

They say nothing is forever...and I guess, there's always truth in that statement. Jesse James opened West Coast Choppers in Long Beach, California in the early 90's. He quickly made a name for himself as the motorcycle industry's Premier bike builder and figure head. Making custom choppers that were priced in nearly in the 6 figure bracket, Jesse James become the bike builder to the stars. If there was any one person responsible for turning the motorcycle industry 'right side up'. It was this man. West Coast Choppers quickly became more than a 'brand name', but a 'lifestyle' to many. His popular Long Beach facility was dubbed 'The Graceland for bikers'...Kids wanted to go to Disneyland, Dads wanted to go to WCC. We all know that in the past year, he (and ex wide, Sandra Bullock) have had to go though a tough time. Jesse James had to make some life changing decisions. One of those decisions was to close up West Coast Choppers and move to Austin,Texas where James is also the owner of a well known car customizing shop called 'Austin Speed Shop'. It is not known whether he will continue to create beautiful motorcycles in his new Austin home, or close the chapter on that part of his life for good but I personally want to thank Mr. James for giving me the inspiration and the motivation to build a bike of my own. Just after Michal Jordan retired, I remember reading a newspaper headline that read, "Thanks Michael, it was a Great Game". On a personal note, I wanted to say - Thanks, Jesse...it was (and continues to be) a GREAT ride.
*Photos courtesy of West Coast Choppers

Quaker Steak and Lube:10th Anniversary Party!

2010-10-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

What a perfect day for a party! Today Quaker Steak and Lube celebrated its 10th year of hosting bike events with Born to Ride Magazine. The vendors were a plenty, and the parking lots were full of fellow bike lovers. I was there with my newest bike 'Psycho Monkey'... A six month project that started out as an 2008 HD Nightster. (More to come in a future post) Until next time, keep the rubber to the road!

Meet Carpy! (The King of Honda CB750K!)

2010-10-13T05:13:00.000-07:00

Hey all you Honda CB750 lovers out there! if you need about anything to trick out your scoot, or bring her back to its original shine...this is the man to contact. Meet Steve 'Carpy' Carpenter. This guy has a website just LOADED with information and custom parts for the wonderful Honda CB750K model of yours. This is more than just a website... but a great source of information and ideas as well. (if only there were a magazine out there as cool as his site). Carpy's Cafes is located in Anaheim,California. you can check out his offering of rice rockets and parts at his site - http://www.cb750cafe.com/ 714.854.7264

Cafe Racer TV Promo: Airing on Discovery HD Theater October 13th @ 9PM EST

2010-10-08T04:20:00.000-07:00

Sam says Ride!

2010-09-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

Putting my photoshop skills to work! Seems like EVERYBODY is into Cafe Racers!

My Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, Labor Day Weekend 2010! The wife was away over the weekend, giving me a lot of free time to get caught up on my 'Honey-Do list'...Actually, its not her that makes the list, but me. I figured it would be a good time to get the garage cleaned out (completely) then paint the walls, coat the floor. the relevance of telling you all this is that I am doing this is to prepare for my big arrival - no, not the 'Mini Me' do in December... I'm talking about the arrival of my two other loves...My 1973 Honda CB750k3 and my 2009 Harley Davidson . The HD has been in the shop since June 14th. It was completely disassembled, and rebuilt from the ground up. The modifications are too many to list, but I WILL post a feature as soon as it returns. (I'm hoping in the next week to ten days) She just returned from paint, in the photos above... My Honda is a recent acquisition and it looks to be a lot of fun. The two photos above are as it sits right now. I was given an extra tank, and THIS is how I spent my weekend...stripping the 37 year old tank of its horrible excuse for a paint job (ie:not factory). It looked like someone shot it with about 10 spray cans of gloss black spray paint... added a sticker to it, then sprayed a (rattle can) clear coat on it. I was surprised (I shouldn't have been) to find the extensive amount of Bondo underneath. I'm not going to do much to the Honda except, change the 'sparkle orange' gas tank and side panels for a simple black. (I'll store the orignal tank and panels for safe keeping) I'm adding some 'clubman bars' for the classic 'cafe look'... Other than, I'll just work on keeping her clean and well ridden. I'll add more pics later (of both projects) as I make more progress. If you can't wait to see how my rides turn out...go see Carpy's really cool website on Honda 750s http://www.cb750cafe.com/ His work is 'Jaw Dropping', as well as inspiring. (actually he's the reason I bought the 750!) Until then, see you on the road.

ChopperChick - Carrie

2010-07-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.santiagochopper.com/

Santiago Chopper's - 'Skinny Bastard'

2010-07-29T06:31:00.001-07:00

In the immortal words of Al Pacino in Scarface - "Say hello to my little frin". I would like to introduce to you yet another great Santiago Chopper build name 'Skinny Bastard'. As with all his builds at Santiago Chopper, Alan Bernard puts a lot of energy and passion into everything he builds. The bike is built around a Sofail Frame, Swingarm and shocks. The tanks is your classic sporty tank.The handlebars were built on site, in the shop at Santiago Chopper. Its powered by a 100 ci Revtech engine, and a 6 speed tranny. This particular beauty is going to a lucky guy out in Austria, but if you are interested in owning your own 'Skinny Bastard', you can get one starting at 13,995.00 (the model pictured cost 15,995.00) Give Alan or his assistant Christine (aka: the wife) a call at 813-677-1676 or via web at www.santiagochopper.com

Shinya Kimura - Behind the Scenes

2010-07-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a real nice 'short' on bike builder Shinya Kimura.Great camera work.

80's Flashback

2010-06-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

Even though we are called 'Choppershotz', we describe the purpose of this Blog "to capture the art, freedom and spirit of the machines we love" That means about anything cool with wheels. Here's our first example - I shot this back in the late 80s, and it was one the my past 'loves'...the 1985 Corvette. She was my first Vette (okay,the only Vette I ever owned) She was powered by the mighty engine that was 'Tuned Port Injection' The Vette was a fun car, but like other C4s out there, it had more squeeks and creeks than my Grandmother sitting on the porch in her rocking chair. (A lot more fun to drive though!) The photography details are unknown after all these years. I know it was shot with a Nikon F4 and a Nikkor 24-70 w/ a Cokin 'Tobacoo Sunset' filter (Just liked the one they over used in the epic movie 'Days of Thunder"!) along with something we called 'film'.

'freedom flight"

2010-06-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200 F2.8VR, Nikon SB900 Camera settings: Who the hell knows, I was just trying to keep my equipment from flying out of the back of the truck!

Debut of The ChopperChick!

2010-06-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

They say you never for get your first (ahem)Love. We'll hopefully you wont forget our very first Choppershotz 'Chopper Chick'! Meet Miss Carrie Sue. Carrie stopped by yesterday while we shooting Alan Bernard's bike (featured in the previous post) and is one many of the beautiful models we work with over at our commercial-glamour photography division of ePhotographics Group called 7imaging.com. If you have some time to kill, stop by our sister site (again, thats 7imaging.com) to see some breath taking images of all the great looking Playmates and Playboy models etc that we work with on a daily basis. (I know, life is rough) Anyway, we thought that mixing the bikes and cars we love, with the women we love, would make a perfect combination. So stay tuned. You never know who will be our next Chopper Chick!

Alan Bernard's Cafe Racer Build

2010-06-02T09:00:00.001-07:00

Well my friends check out this hot little Cafe a Racer. After almost a year of searching for a direction for this blog, I finally got my act together and decided to finally start featuring my work as a commercial photographer and the bikes, cars (or just about anything with a motor and/or wheels) that I think we could all love and appreciate. What a perfect way to start out with this beauty. The motorcycle was built by local, legendary bike builder Alan Bernard. Alan owns Santiago Choppers, which is based out of Tampa (and 10 minutes down the street from me) He started this project with a frame built by Cafe Racer Builder Extraordinaire' Georges Martin. Before Crotch Rockets became...'Crotch Rockets', George was the guy you went to to get that 76 Honda CB750Four to go faster than a speeding bullet (and to make it look like one too). So Alan, started out with Mr.Martin's frame as the skeleton, then added the guts of a KawKZ1000,and feet of a Suzuki GSRX to keep her firmly planted on the ground. This is one cafe racer that turned out to be a nimble little 'eye catcher'. This bike will be featured on The Discovery Channel in October in a Documentary Series on Cafe Racers. I look forward to photographing more 'works of art' by Alan in the future.

Photo Notes: These images were shot with a Nikon D3, and an 700-200 F2.8VR, and a 27-80 F2.8 The shot was light with the Nikon CLS lighting system (consisting of 1-SU800, 2 - SB800's and 4 - Sb600's. As always, No Pocket Wizards or Radio Poppers were used during the shoot. (And no animals were harmed during the shoot!)

Welcome to the world of Choppershotz!

2009-04-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all my friends on two wheels! Welcome to the very beginning of something brand new, Choppershotz!. Choppershotz, is going to be a Blog with the feel of an online chopper/HotRod magazine. There's a new breed of bike builder/car customizer out there, and they are building some incredible works of art. Some are already famous, and some 'soon to be' famous. I want to bring there stories, and there machines to you. Also, from my experiencees as a full time commercial photographer, I have seen way to many motorcycle images that just look, well... just not real 'thought out'. I hope to to raise the bar and feature 'state of the art' motorcycle photography. Last but not least, part of the Choppershotz will be dedicated to the photography of 'bikes and models' called 'Chopperchicks'. (every red blooded American man's dream) In keeping with the spirit of one of my glamour websites, 7imaging.com, We will feature top models in the industry with some of the top bikes in the industry. So, if you are into 'two wheels' or 'two heels', check us out at Choppershotz.There will be be something for everyone.This site should be 'live' within a month.

On a side note, if you are in Central Florida area and think you have a motorcycle/story worth sharing with us, and the rest of the world, please send me an email and photos to info@ephotographics.net