I recently had woken up to the buzzing of my cell phone vibrating itself off my nightstand. While I am a part-time writer for the world renowned Bikernet.com, I actually have a full time regular job which requires that I work rotating shifts; half days and half nights. I was trying to get some sleep as I had just laid down after my 9th straight night on shift when I heard the phone rumbling across the imitation wood grain.
Who in the world could be calling me at 6 in the morning? I was sure I would answer one of the many perfectly timed, “Oh sorry, I have the wrong number.” Nothing pisses me off more than being woken up by idiots. I looked down and saw the name K. Ball on the receiver. What in the world is he calling me for at 4am California time? I contemplating letting him hear my voicemail but figured I might as well answer, as he would just call back until he heard from me.
“Yes sir,” I tried to sound only half-asleep, like it would matter to him.
“Mr. White, Mr. Ball here. I need you to get working on a new story. I sent you a few e-mails and all the pertinent information. Give me the works. I expect it in 6 hours and it better be good.” The line went dead. He is such a talker, you know?
I put the phone down and rolled over to get some sleep when I heard the familiar rumbling again. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough my phone was lit up like a new LED taillight at a red light. I reached for it and immediately barked into the phone,“I just got off graveyards asshole! I need some sleep so I’ll call you later!”
I heard a muffled breathing on the other end that sounded like someone had dropped the phone. A few short breaths followed by my mother’s voice came over the receiver, “Oh, I’m sorry honey. I was just going to leave a voice message telling you Happy Father’s day. I’m sorry.”
Goddamnit my life is turned upside down and here I am yelling at my poor mother! I swear I’m going straight to hell.“Mom, damn! I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.” It didn’t matter, I had already made her cry. I tried to soothe things over, but it was all for naught. The damage had been done and I was proving once again that I am a world-class asshole. I hung up the phone and tried to go back to sleep when once again the phone began vibrating straight through the table and into my brain.
“What the fuck do you want?!!” I screamed into the phone while trying not to actually get out of my now very comfortable sleeping position.
“Hey Goddamnit! Get your ass up and read your e-mail. I need this story now!” Once again, the line went dead. I knew he would keep hounding me for the next few hours, so I drug myself to the computer to see what he needed me to write about. I needed coffee and a bowl of oatmeal to get my brain working.
I opened my e-mail and found three forwarded e-mails from a Mark Saunders. Turns out he is an employee at the U.S. Postal Headquarters working at the press office that publishes stamps. He was lead to Bikernet by the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I guess that Hall of fame thing came with a price? Anyway, he alerted us to the unveiling of 4 new stamps at this year’s Sturgis Rally. All 4 stamps are to commemorate 4 stages of the modern motorcycle. The subjects are based on 3 actual motorcycles that will actually be on display with the stamps at this year’s rally.
The country has begun to cash in on the whole motorcycle craze as of late, I guess it was only a matter of time before the government stepped in line for their slice of the pie.
I called Bandit and asked what did he want me to do with this as I had already seen the press release and stamps in the news on Bikernet.
“Research the process it takes to get onto a stamp. Don’t call me again, I’m trying to get some sleep.” Following the well-known pattern of his, the line went dead. I was glad it did too, I probably would have said some shit that would make his lanky ass climb onto one of the 100’s of bikes he owns and drive to Houston to kill me.
I checked a few numbers in the e-mails and sent George Tsunis, owner of the ’65 Electra Glide, an e-mail requesting an interview. Knowing it was only 8 am in NY, I figured it would be a few hours before he responded. Surprisingly, a reply came back within a minute.
“Call me. Phone-Number.”
Cool! I might be done with this story quicker than I thought. I decided to read through the rest of my notes and e-mails to see if I could get any information that might be useful before questioning Mr. Tsunis (pronounced Tewnis).
I did discover that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)gets in the neighborhood of 50,000 stamp suggestions annually. That’s somewhere around 164 suggestions every working day. What are the chances someone would send in a request for a motorcycle stamp and it get selected? Well I guess one in fifty fucking thousand! Actually, 20 to 25 get selected, but that’s still pretty bad odds.
The USPS contacted the Smithsonian inquiring about what models of motorcycles to choose from. They wanted to illustrate the evolution of the modern motorcycle with 4 distinct models that had changed the industry at their respective times. The four rides selected were a 1918 Cleveland, a 1940 Indian Four, a 1965 Electra Glide, and finally a conceptual chopper; four instrumental rides that were representing the best of their respective eras.
The folks at the USPS press office found a 1918 Cleveland in Todd Rafferty’s “The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Motorcycles.” Wanting to get in touch with a current owner of such a ride, Todd was able to lead them to Penny Nickerson, also the current president of the Long Island Antique Motorcycle Club. Come to find out, she had already agreed to have her bike “Olive” pose for a stamp back in 2003. The reason nobody had heard or seen any evidence of this was because of a nondisclosure agreement she signed agreeing to keep the secret until the stamp unveiling set for December of 2005.
The bike was actually discovered by Penny in a barn of a previous boyfriend. Doesn’t that figure, she gets the priceless motorcycle and he probably gets an alimony bill every month! Just kidding…not really. She told the guys with the USPS how Olive had actually been a dispatch cycle used by the U.S. Army in WWI. So not only is it a cool looking old bike, but it’s a bad motherfucking war veteran as well. Hoorah! The guys discussed the other bikes they had planned for the stamps when lo and behold, Penny’s club had the exact bikes they were looking for.
Calls were made. Dates were set. Stories were told. It gets a little confusing as to who started what after this. I talked with George Tsunis, and he led me to believe it was one of the 3 that were selected for the stamps that actually made the initial suggestion for the stamps way back in 2003.
Wait a minute, you mean to tell me you made a suggestion, the postal service researched it and went to the folks at Sturgis and the Smithsonian, and they ended right back on the doorsteps of the original person who had made the suggestion to begin with? Whoa! What are the fucking odds of that happening? 1 in 50,000, a Million, a trillion? Really, who gives a shit, it ends up we are getting 4 stamps with motorcycles on them. I really could give a shit less how they selected what they did, I just think their cool.
Of the four bikes, the only one that isn’t represented by a real bike is the “chopper”. The chopper is a conceptual creation by the stamp artist, Steve Buchanan. While I do think the bikes all look cool, I was a little disappointed that they didn’t choose an actual chopper from the '70s. Denver Choppers comes to mind. I’ll bet Mondo has a couple of gems stored in the back that would have looked better than the chopper that was rendered. Seriously, that thing looks like one of those mini choppers you see on every street corner with their funky little tanks.
The stamps will be unveiled with the bikes at the 66th annual Sturgis Rally. You can attend the dedication and unveiling of the new stamps at the Sturgis Post Office in front of the Community Center at 8:30 am on August 7. A 10-ft. image of each stamp will be unveiled with each motorcycle on display. The stamps will be available to the public on August 8, 2006.
All photos courtesy of Mark Saunders USPS.
[copyright sign] 2006 USPS Used with permission. All rights reserved.
The four bikes listed with their individual characteristics. Owner information included.
1918 Cleveland-
The Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio built the single-cylinder Cleveland Motorcycle depicted on this stamp. This motorcycle was reputed to be able to travel 75 miles on a single gallon of gas and reach speed up to 35-40 mph.
The bike was surprisingly light at 150 pounds and cost just $175. Because of it’s lightweight durability and low price, this was a very popular motorcycle in it’s hey-day.
The bike used for the stamp is a Cleveland A2 owned by Penny Nickerson of Long Island, NY.
1940 Indian-
The famed Indian Motorcycle Company built the Indian 4 depicted on this stamp. The 1940 entry is a deluxe, four-cylinder motorcycle known as the Four. The skirted fenders that partially covered the wheels became a trademark sign of the Indian that followed up to the final Chiefs built in 2003.
The fenders coupled with the leaf-spring front end are trademarks that can be seen on custom bikes even today.
Michael and Larry Speilfogel of New York City own the bike that modeled for this stamp. It is depicted in the deep red color often associated with Indian motorcycles.
1965 Harley-Davidson-
With features such as whitewall tires, extensive chrome, large fenders, and spacious fiberglass saddlebags, the H-D featured on this stamp is considered by many to be one of The Company’s most iconic and prolific.
Known as the Electra-Glide, this model was first manufactured in 1965 sporting the brand new push-button electric start motor.
George Tsunis, of Port Jefferson, NY, owns this motorcycle.
The Chopper circa 1970
The name “chopper” derives from the process of removing, or “chopping”, unnecessary or unwanted components from a motorcycle. The term often indicates an extensively customized motorcycle with such features as a stretched frame, stepped seat, and ape raised handlebars. Typically, the frame has been stretched with an extended-length fork leading to the front wheel.
The stamp artist was in consultation with professional chopper builders to invent the chopper depicted on this stamp.
So remember, support the USPS. Interestingly, I learned the USPS receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. Hey, they have delivered our parcel since 1775. Let’s all do our part to support one of the longest lasting American services left.
See you in Sturgis. Take care and ride free while we still can!
