Orange You Something Special?

Ed “Big Daddy’ Roth Roth was a key figure in Southern California’s kustom kulture and hot-rod movement of the late 1950s and 1960s.  In the mid-1960s Roth began customizing motorcycles. Mainstream motorcycle magazines refused to run his articles and ads, so he started his own publication called Choppers, which featured articles on extending forks, custom sissy bars, etc. It was a small, black and white publication that ran from 1967 to 1970, and was the first magazine ever to exclusively feature custom motorcycles, or choppers. 

Roth's legacy lives on today with a range of products including Roth metal flake paints. For e-bike customizers or anyone else, these brilliant paints are available in rattle cans that we proudly carry here!

Nigel built his R80 not just in homage to his hero but as he imagined Ed would have built the bike had he been around today.

The concept was for a low, fat bike that went quick but was comfortable to ride, the look had to be pure hot rod.  The ’79 donor received a /5 police-spec tank which was chosen for the huge area which it provided for paint. Roth Tropi Cali orange flake was the chosen coverage. It is a fabulous paint perfectly capturing the era, style and location of Roth’s work. 

Imagine what you could do with a large electric bike battery such as the Super73 S-2 or R series! Other bikes such as the Michael Blast Outsider, Monday Motorcycles, or Huck Cycles feature tank/battery covers just waiting for a delicious flake drenching!

The orange eye-juicing did not stop at the tank: a pair of 16 by 3 inch Morad rims received the Roth Tropi Cali Orange flake treatment before being laced to the BMW hubs with fat stainless spokes.  These were then shod with 16 inch 500 Avon Gangster white walls, perfect on this machine. The total effect is a beautiful orange creamsicle delight.

Attribution: Garth Charlton via The Bike Shed