The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
ICE ROAD RIDERS (2011)
Run Time: 9:03
Producer: W&W Cycles
Spin Doctor: Wolfgang Schmidt
Videographer: Matthias “Zilch” Grübel
Photographer: Klaus Hagmeier
Key Cast: Paul Jung, Peter Heilmann
FILM MAKERS
Before we unload the machines and kick them over let’s take a short trip back in time: why are we here anyway? Tuktoyaktuk is far from being the first W&W CYCLES destination of the challenging kind. 1995 there was the idea to close the Panamericana Gap between Panama and Colombia on Harleys. The ride got stuck in knee deep mud. But we made it out there and got back home with some breathtaking pics and some broken bits of machinery. 2006 there was the ride to the southernmost beer.
From Buenos Aires over bone shaking gravel roads fighting gale crosswinds down the infamous Ruta 40 to Ushuaia, Patagonia. And exactly right down there, under the influence of some of the southernmost beers of the world the question arose how the world may look like on the other end of the road. Because nobody knew it, we struck on a plan: we‘d have to go there one day.
SUMMARY
In February 2008 W&W Cycles started to ride the Mackenzie River Ice Road between Tuktoyaktuk und Inuvik on 2 Harley Davidson Motorbikes. At a minus record of – 42 °C the windchill reached -60°C for the riders.
The bikes (an original 48 Panhead and a 2006 Shovelhead, completely customized with parts available at W&W Cycles. Both bikes arrived prepared with specified liquids and studded tires and were anyway struck by the severe cold until treated in a heated – or more to say less cold – garage.
The video was filmed with a Panasonic DVX 100 in a Porta Brace Polar Mitten. A wideangle lens was brought but could not be used due to small but centered crystallizing water inside the lens.
The 1948 Panhead was displayed at the MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) in Manchester, as part of the exhibition “Culture, Customising and Harley-Davidson” (running until sept. 15th 2011)
Music: Ouverture “La Gazza Ladra” (“The Thieving Magpie”, “Die diebische Elster”) by Giacchino Rossini (1792 -1868). Music fully licensed to W&W Cycles through proudmusiclibrary.com. Music sounds familiar? You may have watched “A Clockwork Orange” lately!
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Sheesh … wrong bikes … wrong clothing …. very wrong music ( BTW why is a composition thats in the Public Domain .. and has been for decades … being licensed by much of anybody … never mind these wanna be hipsters …. oh yeah baby ….. thats an area I’m an absolute expert in …. for more reasons than I care to explain ) …
Wrong video …
Wrong wrong wrong !
Just because you can most definitely does not mean you should … especially when it makes you look like a class A dilettante and a ( bleep… fact is the only thing ‘cool ‘ about this … was the weather ! )
Apologies to my eyes ears and brain for the waste of their precious time are due !
😎
I hope you didn’t mess up your eyes, ears and brain for the entire 9:03 minutes to come to that conclusion.
“…wrong bikes” sounds like you would have had a better suggestion if only we had asked you. Let us know, we’re always up for a laugh.
Cheers and keep on commenting!
(btw: thanks for the post, Corinna!)
There is a long, long, long history of wacky people doing wacky things on wacky motorcycles, some that have even been captured on film, and i’m a big fan!
Several personal favorites by friends include when the organizers of the Dirtbag Challenge (a yearly challenge to build a chopper for under $1000 and ten ride it 100 miles). took their homemade rigid machines on and completed the Transatlantic Trail. you can find links to wacth Dirtbag, and Dirtbag II: The Rattler here: https://thevintagent.com/2020/04/10/quarantine-cinema-part-4/
and the infamous and epic “The Dumb Way Around”. A group of fellas took 1930’s nimbus sidecars around the world! it took awhile and when they completed the trip, they did it again! except for one soon to be dad…who realized he wouldn’t meet his daughter until she was a toddler if he did. They guys didn’t make a film, but you can still find a bunch about them on the internet, and I”m honored to have been able to host them in NYC for showers, tune ups and a few beers back in 2013.
Keep up the silliness, and don’t forget to share it with us!
Corinna