Easy Rider and Chopperguy

Back before the chopper resurgence, there was a man who helped me build a real old school chopper. The bike was stolen and now that man is gone as well. This is in response to the simple and sugar coated obit in the old home town newspaper.

Tom Gordon had a true passion for Ironhead Sportsters. It was contagious. He would trash talk big twins, Hondas, and Ducatis with equal disdain. He'd also shut them down at the drag strip. For Tom, Ironheads were the best motorcycle around, period.

Tom was an asshole. He cared more about getting his drag bike ready for Sunday than he did about fixing your shit. We all knew that and tolerated that because he was so damned passionate about it. He didn't run Motorcycle Specialties because he loved working on bikes. He needed a way to finance his own hobby and since he was already in the shop, well... Which meant you could always find him in his little tin shed by the railroad tracks. Never call ahead, he didn't answer the phone.

You could always stop by and ask him questions. He'd have an answer.

Me: What should I do for turn signals?
Tom: Are you building a fucking bagger or a chopper?

.....

Me: I'm trying to think of a good color for the bike.
Tom: Are you gonna ride it or stand in your driveway washing it all day? Paint it black.

.....

Me: Like my new truck?
Tom: About time you got rid of that old rattling bucket of bolts.

Tom was arrogant, opinionated, and a wee bit racist. I forgave the latter as he grew up in a time where institutional racism was still allowed in the United States*. Those old imprints can be hard to reprogram, especially for someone as pigheaded as Tom. As far as being arrogant and opinionated, those qualities require no apology. It suited him.

At his core Tom Gordon was quintessential biker trash. He was exactly what every poser Harley rider wishes they were, and none of them will ever be.

* Racists under 60 can fuck off. They have no excuse.