2012 Calendars

Just a reminder to all our friends that Wolfgang has TWO classic motorcycle calendars available this year. For over fifteen years I’ve produced a Classic Triumph calendar, first with Bobby Sullivan, then with Randy Baxter of Baxter Cycle fame. This year we have a second vintage calendar: The Classic Norton Calendar, done with help from Baxter Cycle. Though one is filled with Triumphs and the other with Nortons, both calendars share the same format: 16 by 24 inches when open, printed on heavy paper, illustrated with pure motorcycles taken by yours truly. Rather than use studio photos, we like to shoot the bikes in their natural environment. Everything from rural Iowa to small-town Florida and scenic Nevada. Both calendars can be purchased at www.wolfpub.com, just click on Calendars on the upper left hand corner of the home page and the rest is easy.

A Weekend in Iowa

Sometimes it’s nice to get the hell out of Dodge for a day or two, and on Friday afternoon I put the mighty Ranger on I 35 with the nose pointed toward the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, instead of takin’ it all the way to the crescent city, I took a right turn at Des Moines, and continued on to the big metropolis of Marne, Iowa, home to Baxter Cycle.

A sunrise Commando in the wilds of Iowa.

Randy Baxter and I hit it pretty hard and pretty early on Saturday. First we parked a 750 Commando on the edge of a field, with dull yellow corn stubble in the background. Next up was a very neat little Triumph Bobber. The crew at Baxter Cycle started with an old Triumph frame equipped with a period correct hardtail section. After powder coating the frame red, they installed a unit-650cc engine and transmission that Randy scored at a swap meet last year. The rest of the pieces just kind of fell into place, but each one, from the aftermarket chrome tank to the chrome fenders and the handlebars, fit the bike perfect.

Randy Baxter’s little Bobber sits just right, and could easily have been built in 1970.

A 1977 Silver Jubilee found its way into the back of Randy’s work truck for the next photo session. Parked against an old farm building, the photo became a study of grey on grey. Half the fun of these little safaris is finding the old building or the nice backdrop, and making it work. Sometimes it means setting the tires on 2X4s hidden in the grass, and other times it means stealing planks from an old fence to make a platform for the bike.

Last, but as the announcer would say, “not least” is the yellow Norton. Though we missed the fall colors, we did find a few hardy Oaks it the nearby park that managed to hang onto their leaves. The muted colors of the Oak leaves really made the yellow jump, and we deemed the last photo shoot, and the whole day, a success.

Built in limited numbers, the Silver Jubilee was designed to honor the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.

Sometimes you just gotta borrow a picnic table from the obliging Parks Department.