1971 Bad Trip Honda Chopper - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1971 Bad Trip Honda Chopper - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, vintage magazine article.
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Photography: Robert Hegge
Space age Honda
With the motorcycle market being
dominated by Honda, we are starting to
see more and more of these Oriental
machines getting the way out custom
touch. Joe Mathew's Bad Trip is one of
the most out of sight Honda customs to
come down the pike in a long time.
Joe's interest in motorcycles has been
influenced by his father who has owned
one all of his life, though he has never
had one like the Bad Trip.
In an effort to build a combination
show and go custom Joe has increased
the displacement to 530cc's and in-
stalled a high performance cam. The
outside of the engine has received just
as much attention. All of the cast parts
have been buffed and polished and all of
the other metal pieces are chromed.
Excepting the shorty pipes, the rest of
the powerplant has remained standard.
The fantastic space age design is all-
Joe's idea. All the sheetmetal and fiber-
glass molding was done by Joe also,
and there's no question that it's some of
the wildest work we've seen. Joe was
also responsible for extending the spring-
er forks and filling in and extending
the neck.
The wild saddle design and seat work
were done by Butch Brashear of Cincin-
nati. The superb painting was flawlessly
applied by Pat Jones, and the pin strip-
ing was done by Wes Gaunce. The
combination of these two artists' work
has resulted in a truly unique product.
Not one square inch of the molding,
fenders or chassis escaped the touch of
Pat and Wes! The painting and striping
put Joe back ,000. with the total
investment running ,600 and nine
months time. The result of the painting
won Joe the Best Use of Paint Award in
its first showing.
Joe will have more work cut out for
him in the future. One of his first tasks
will be building shelves to hold the
trophies that Bad Trip is going to take
home. Joe likes a lot of attention, and he
and his machine are going to receive
more than their share whereever they...
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