When it comes to art deco design on two wheels – the undisputed king is Randy Grubbs. He’s the man who built Jay Leno’s tank car, the Decoliner and the Decoson – all of which are wonderfully shiny testaments to what can be achieved with a little bit of metal and a large hammer, if you know what you’re doing.
Sadly, I do not know what I’m doing. Which means the below video by Randy Grubb would come in very useful if I ever decided to embark on the weekend project of creating my own art deco motorcycle helmet. If I’m honest, this project would end in tears, but I never let personal incompetence get in the way of ambition. Most of us would never get anything done if we did.
This might be a good point for me to tell you not to actually go riding your GSX-R with a bent sheet of metal strapped to your head, as you’ll die in a spectacular and rather messy fashion whilst Charles Darwin nods knowingly to himself.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
This trike is a combination of two of America’s great early workhorses – the Harley-Davidson Servi-Car and the Model T Ford. It was built by Sanders Antique Auto Restoration in Rockford, Illinois using an original 1947 Harley-Davidson Servi-Car and a Model T Ford pick bed which was shortened and sectioned to fit the chassis. The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car…
The Continental R-670 is a 7-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine that was used in planes, blimps, tanks, landing craft, and armoured vehicles – mostly during the Second World War. The most famous aircraft fitted with the R-670 was the Boeing-Stearman Model 75, a single-engine biplane that made use of a large centrally-mounted engine – over 10,000…
The Biltwell Gringo has long been a favorite for those seeking a classic full face motorcycle helmet built to modern safety standards, but up until now it’s only been available as a DOT certification level helmet. Helmets built to DOT safety standards aren’t usable in Europe, Japan, Australia, and many other world markets – but the…
The Cord 812 SC Phaeton, and its non-supercharged sibling the 810, have been held up as possibly the best examples of American automobile design from the pre-WWII era, and of the 20th century as a whole. The Cord 810/812 – History and Specifications The design brilliance of the Cord 810/812 is more than skin-deep, the…
The new Trip Machine Helmet Hanger is an all-in-one solution for storing your motorcycle jacket, helmet, and keys when you’re not using them. It’s common for people to store their helmets on desks or table tops when not in use, this has the unintended consequence of sealing off airflow to the underside and it can…
The De Tomaso P70, later known as the Ghia DeTomaso, was a joint project between two independent icons of the motoring world – Alejandro de Tomaso of Argentina and Carroll Shelby of the USA. The project was founded to develop a race car able to compete in and dominate the then-new United States Road Racing…
