Mister Freedom

Mister Freedom is a retail space/design studio created by Christophe Loiron, French expatriate to California in 1990.

Van bubble visor

The concept operates at the current Hollywood, CA location since 2003.
The brick building at 7161 Beverly Boulevard is filled with a huge inventory of vintage clothing, footwear and accessories for men and women from the 1850’s to the present. The store also offers rare textiles, vintage books as well as antique props for deco. This extensive eclectic collection of vintage items is collected around the world and updated daily with new finds. Customers must bring a king size wallet couse the prices of the products are insanely high but also insanely nice :)

Van bubble visor

The 1200 sq ft mezzanine is Christophe Loiron’s private creative space and prototype room. From this atelier come Mister Freedom® original samples and creations, including:
Original graphic T-shirts - Canvas, denim, ticking Bags - Customized vintage clothing - Belts - Limited edition creations - One of a kind items And more…

Van bubble visor

Mister Freedom® also collaborates with Japanese manufacturing experts “Sugar Cane Co” (of Tokyo based “Toyo Enterprises”) for a full line of clothing, made in USA and Japan.

Van bubble visor

Van bubble visor

Van bubble visor

Van bubble visor

Van bubble visor

Van bubble visor

Van bubble visor

Van bubble visor

Van bubble visor

Do you read me?

Via: landships

Gallery: Atlas Picture cards.

Picts via: atlas picture cards

Atlas Editions Motorcycle cards were released between 1992 and 1995 through mail subscription only and have been out-of-print since 1995. The cards measure 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches (approx. 14 x 14cm) and they are printed on a glossy card stock and they are all in full color. The cards are printed in the USA and are copyrighted Edito-Service, S.A. The card backs include a great history of the featured bike including many great facts and specifications.

These subscription cards were delivered to buyers by mail in "decks" sent week to few weeks. The buyer could then remit payment which would continue the subscription. There are 88 decks (or packets) of cards with 20 cards per deck for a total of 1,760 cards.

Musée Mécanique's Steam Motorcycle.

Via: musee mecanique sf

Built in 1912 by Mr. Niles Gillenwaters in Sacramento, California. He built only one, and it never went into production. Lovingly restored by Mr.David Sarlyn of Berkeley, California, it is part of the Daniel Zelinsky Collection at the Musee Mecanique in San Francisco.

Here's how the Musee got hold of the Gillenwaters steam motorcycle:

I seldom sell, but I love to trade. I did a lot of trading with George Whitney, Sr.; we traded music boxes and pianos back and forth. I made one trade with George Whitney that I will never forget. I had lunch with him every third Thursday and Mr. Whitney sat at the same table that he sat at for 20 years. I remember he had a scotch over ice, shrimp cocktail and a minute steak. I tried to copy him, but I couldn't keep up with him on the drinks. Well, one time I had quite a few drinks, and I was feeling no pain and George said, "Ed, you have a 1904 Franklin, do you want to trade it?" And I said, "George, what will you give me for it?" Well, I don't really remember the conversation, but I do remember shaking hands with him and Mr. Whitney telling me, "Ed, you are the proud owner of a steam motorcycle."

Later, we had dinner again and he asked me who got the best deal in the trade. I said, "I don't know, George, you tell me." He said, "Ed, I got the best deal. I got a Franklin that's running and you got a motorcycle that isn't, and needs repair." I told him, "That's funny, George. I thought I got the best of the deal because I got the only steam motorcycle, perhaps, in the whole world." He called me up a few weeks later and asked if I wanted to trade back again. That's when I knew I had a good deal because recently, I received an unsolicited offer of $250,000 for the motorcycle"

Rapide...

Via: the vincent

Rescue me.

French police motorcycle with an ambulance sidecar attached. Circa 1900. Via strange police

The Black Rider.

Via: Otto Nero

Velox Man.

Another great picture from our friend in Italy-ottonero

modernmechanix: Speedy Motor-Cycle Car Runs on Two Wheels.

Via modernmechanix.com;

"WHETHER it’s a car or a motor cycle would be hard to say, but the inventor of the novel vehicle above declares it has the advantages of both. In motion, it rides upon two wheels, guided by a steering wheel. The driver experiences a pleasant swaying sensation as the machine tips like a plane or motor cycle for the turns. When the driver stops, a pedal lowers a pair of small auxiliary wheels at the sides for support. The photograph shows the odd gas buggy being driven by a mechanic in a tryout run at Miami, Fla. Another model has a seat for a passenger mounted behind that of the driver."

The "new" 1929 Motorcycle-The Majestic.

The Vintagent's scoop with a never before seen scan of the The Majestic

A amazing bit of history Via The Vintangent:

"The concept of the Majestic was to create a two-wheeled conveyance which more resembled a car (think Art Deco Honda Pacific Coast), with full enclosure over all mechanicals (for cleanliness and styling), and hub-center steering via links and rods. The machine pictured (at Montlhery) uses a 350cc Chaise engine with vertical overhead valves, and the gearbox in unit. Note the cranked induction pipe and very high exhaust - the head is almost an inverted sidevalve design. Other engines were used by the New Motorcycle company; JAP (350/500cc ohv and sv singles), Train (4-cyl 500cc ohv), Chaise (unit construction 350/500cc ohv), and the 4-cylinder 1000cc sv Cleveland engine pictured in the magazine scans from 'Motor Cycling' on July 10, 1929.

I have to say, this scan (above) is a bit of a scoop over both 'The Art of the Motorcycle' and Tragatsch's 'Illustrated Encyclopedia of Motorcycles', as neither one mentions the use of the Cleveland engine (and I suspect the 'AotM' article was written using 'IEoM' as a reference!). Tragatsch gets his details a bit wrong by suggesting the bikes had rear suspension; the chassis ends in a pressed-steel rigid mounting for the rear hub. He also called it "another assembled machine [fromFrance]", which gives short shrift to the brilliance and originality of the concept- the entire machine, barring the engine, was unique and manufactured for this purpose - only ancillaries like lights, seats, etc, were bought-in; even the hubs were custom-made, as there wasn't another hub-center steered machine of its scale. The nearest rival in specification is the Ner-A-Car, which was never as grand, and used lightweight engines - the Majestic aspired to be a motorcycling Grand Routier; a large, comfortable, and stylish tourer.



The New Motorcycle was designed by Georges Roy, with a production run from 1929-34(?), and is a brilliant Art Deco sculpture, with a swooping unbroken line from the curved front wheel beak to the sporty abbreviated tail. The side panels are punctuated by louvers like a racing car (and the bike pictured is painted Bugatti / French racing blue). As the entire chassis is pressed thin-gauge steel, the overall weight is fairly low - I would estimate from hefting and pushing one around that it weighs 350lb. The chassis is constructed using two mirror-image side pressings, rivetted together by firewalls at the front and back of the engine, with further strengthening panels beneath the engine, plus the two large, fixed top panels. The whole structure, much like a monocoque car (or a late Cosworth /Norton racer), is extremely rigid. The central engine cover is removable for access (as shown in the engine pic), and as mentioned the side members are totally louvered to keep the engine cool. There's plenty of room in the engine bay for a large motor, or even a radiator for a water-cooled machine. The petrol tank sits under the front bulkhead.

Details show the arrangement of the steering and front suspension; vertical rods allow sprung movement (probably undamped), and the steering rod can be seen connected to the central hub by a 'c' shaped lever. The inside of the hub is pretty complicated, as it must incorporate very large bearings, the swiveling steering mechanism, and the front brake.

They were called 'the New Motorcycle', as clearly any far-seeing person knew that an enclosed motorcycle was the future...and how right they were, although a few decades ahead of time. Ascot-Pullin, Velocette (LE), Vincent (Black Prince), among many others, had similar ideas. Nowadays it's easy to buy an enclosed motorcycle, but Yamaha and Bimota are the only recent builders to address hub-center steering (many writers still consider it the future of moto-development).

The period magazine scans show a slightly different chassis layout for the Cleveland engine, using a frame much like a car - 'c' section steel channels running from the front to rear wheels, with the bodywork dropped on top. I don't know whether this was a one-off (not that many Majestic were made) for the Cleveland experiment, or perhaps this is the original frame design which evolved into the monocoque. My guess - the Cleveland was the prototype, as the magazine mentions the debut of the marque with this engine at the Paris Motor Show."