Photos by Gino Mortillaro

Choppahead brought the A-Team van to the Greasebag and brought on the smoke shows. That was only the beginning of the jackassery.

I know I’ve talked about the amount of swag at the greasebag a couple of times, but it still blows my mind at how much stuff we give away. I had originally thought the value of the swag pile was between $3000 - $3500 - that’s a lot of swag. However, I just did an actual estimate of almost everything we gave away (and I’m pretty sure I forgot a few things) and the final amount came to over $5000.

Damn.

It’s a little hard for me to wrap my head around that. The generosity of all of the sponsors is unbelievable. None of the sponsors are big corporations with marketing or PR budgets - they’re small businesses and shops (in many cases 1 man shows) who are stepping up to the plate to support the scene and grass root events. It’s because of their donations (and you guys buying raffle tickets) that we can keep the show free for everyone to come to. I know I’ve said it before, but I will continue to say thank you to all of them. Their generosity and involvement gets me real stoked on the community that we have going on. In an industry that can be full of sketchy and shady bullshit, its awesome to be surrounded by stand up dudes (and gals) who are putting out quality products and supporting the community at the same time. So thank you to all the sponsors and please make sure to check out their websites and support their businesses. These guys are helping keep the scene alive in all the right ways, if you’ve got a few dollars to spend, give them the support back. (full sponsor list on greasebag.com)

As for the actual raffle - man, that shit was nuts. The amount of big prizes was unreal and the number of t-shirts was insane. I remember looking down at the swag table in the middle of the day and it was still full. That’s when I started giving away multiple prize packs - 5 shirts at a time became the norm towards the end, some folks walked away with whole new wardrobes. There was a lot of stuff I really didn’t want to part with (the helmet, seat, oil tank, grips, saddle bags, tail light, striped panel, paint discounts…I could go on) but to be honest, it did feel good to give that stuff to folks who were genuinely excited about it and would put it to good use. 70+ winning tickets were pulled when all was said and done. There were quite a few people who won multiple times which just goes to show you - the more tickets you buy and the earlier you buy them, the better your chances are. HR continues her 3 year streak of winning big, which also goes to show you that a little luck goes a long way (although all the tickets she bought really helped her chances).

As with every other aspect of the Greasebag - this was the best raffle in greasebag history. The bar was set real high this year, looks like I’m going to have to hustle twice as hard next year to raise it again.

The turn out for the bike show this year was incredible. A total of 33 bikes entered and the competition was pretty stiff. As I explained at the show, the judging rules are pretty simple: my favorite 12 bikes got a trophy. No classes, no people’s choice, no judges panels or other bullshit - my favorite bikes win, end of story. Picking the 12 this year was definitely harder than in the past just because the quality and character of the bikes keeps going up - that, in and of itself gets me stoked and psyched up to do it next year. Without further delay, the winners of this year’s Greasebag Jamboree Bike Show:

Dave Schlitter • 1970 Triumph TR6C • Trophy Sponsor: Acme Choppers

Bob Caiado • 1948 HD EL • Trophy Sponsor: Chop Shop

Chris Bernardi • 1956 Triton • Trophy Sponsor: Lowbrow Customs

John Mansun • 1973 Honda CB450 • Trophy Sponsor: Kickstart Cycles

Lock Baker • Speed Fetus • Trophy Sponsor: Cycle Source Magazine

Clark Perry • 1968 Triumph Bonneville • Trophy Sponsor: Licks Cycles

Chris Balan • 2002 Sportster • Trophy Sponsor: Troy Fab

Rob Merrill • 1979 Yamaha XS650 • Trophy Sponsor: 47 Industries

Krazy Karl • 1950 HD Panhead • Trophy Sponsor: Limpnickie Lot

Brian Haskell • 2002 HD Softail • Trophy Sponsor: Biker Radio Magazine

John Donahue • 2009 Acme Choppers XS650 • Trophy Sponsor: Tanks By Tigman

Nate Burke • 1993 Sportster 883 • Trophy Sponsor: E-Fab

I’m still trying to shake the fuzz out of my head after what can only be described as a killer weekend. The Greasebag was awesome - the turn out, the bikes, the vibe, the crowd, the weather - all of it was incredible. Hands down, best Greasebag yet - I’m stoked that it just keeps getting better and better. Expect a proper write up towards the end of the week, once my brain regains the ability to function at 100% capacity.

That said, some thanks are in order. First, thank you to everyone who came out and supported the event, who put their bike in the show, who bought raffle tickets, who was there and made it as good as it was. There is a lot of things this show is about to me, but the hanging out, having a good time and sharing knowledge without any bullshit attitude or elitism is always at the top of my list - so thank you for being part of that and contributing to the good vibes.

Thanks to all the vendors who came out and waited through the slow morning start before things kicked off.

A huge thanks to all the sponsors that donated swag for the raffle, without those guys, we’d never be able to cover the costs associated with putting on this event and keeping it free for everyone to be a part of.

Thanks to Lisa and crew at the White Birch Campground who were very extra great and put up with all us dirtbags. I think we’ve got a winning spot for future camping at the GB.

A huge thank you to my friends and family who stepped up, worked their asses off and helped me out all day long. Matt, Stacy, Gino, Raff, Dave, Evan, Dave K, Wayne and the entire crew at Acme - there is no way the day would have gone as well as it did without your help.

Finally, the biggest thanks goes to my wife, who put up with my insanity, obsessiveness and constant absence for the past 5 months as I got ready for the show. I am humbled by her understanding and support.
Full write up later this week or early next. If you took photos or video at the event, please get in touch, would love to get copies of it all to post on the site. email me at grail21@gmail.com

GET THERE!

Live Updates at:
knucklebuster.wordpress.com/

Van is packed and ready to head up tonight to start the initial setup. Few final details before the show:

Weather
We’re looking for on weather for Saturday and Sunday so don’t let today’s torrential downpours scare you, the weekend should be fine for the show and camping. Temps in the mid 70s and finally a bit of sun after a week of gray. Saddle up and get out there. If you wake up Saturday morning before your ride up and see a few drops, don’t let it scare you off - it should clear up as the day moves on. Regardless, show is on, rain or shine.

Swap Meet
The response this year on the swap has been great, and if all the reserved vendors show up, we’ll be cramming them in wherever we’ve got space - we should have a full house (and then some) on this front. I’ve still got vendors calling me last minute trying to get space, so I’m packing them in tightly. From the sound of it, there are a couple guys coming out of the woodwork for the chance at some free space, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

For those of you that are riding up, I have some room in the back of my van and can bring the stuff back to MA for you to pick up at a later date. You can pick up your stuff in Salem, MA, Framingham, MA, Marlborough, MA. So you can drop some dough on greasy parts even if you don’t have a way to bring it home on your bike.

Camping
Lisa has been having some problems with the main line at the campsite, so if you’re planning on camping for the weekend and you haven’t reserved your space already, drop me an email and I will let her know. I have her cell phone, but don’t feel comfortable giving it out without her knowledge. Just let me know how many spots you will need and I will relay the information to her. We should be able to accommodate some last minute additions, but if you know you’re going to be there, just let me know so we can plan ahead.
Email me at grail21@gmail.com with the subject line “camping”

Additional details:
Camping Location (15 minutes from Acme): Laconia White Birch Campground - 148 Beanhill Rd, Belmont NH
Cost: $25 per person, per night - this includes firewood.

Choppahead Vol. 3 World Premiere Screening.
Just got the projector yesterday, we’ve got a huge wall in the shop to project it on - stoked on this. The Choppahead guys will be there along with their crew, so I’m sure they’ll get into some sort of jackassery (camera in tow, gotta make a Vol. 4 you know.)

Raffle
The swag is unreal, I’m kind of shocked at the number of big ticket items that came in, and are still coming in. You can see everything on the site here: Greasebag Swag

I’ll be pulling winning tickets every 30 minutes with the first round of stuff going up at 10:30am - so we’ll be giving stuff away all day long (not all at the end). Get there early and you’ll have a better chance at bringing home some sweetness - giving away some of the big prizes early too, so don’t thing all the best stuff is going to be saved for last.

Booze
I’ll repeat what I wrote before - both the show and camping are BYOB. I’ll help organize some beer runs since I’ve got the van, but that won’t happen until the main show is over and we’re just hanging or heading over to the camp spot. While at the show and on Acme Choppers property, keep things low key - i.e. pour it in a cup. I’ll have some solo cups to give away, so just come ask for one. At the campground this won’t matter, but while we’re at Acme we’ve got to keep things somewhat on the DL so we don’t get hassled by the 5-0. Again, feel free to bring some to SHARE with friends, but if we find you selling any you’ll get thrown out ASAP. Let me re-iterate SELLING ALCOHOL IS NOT ALLOWED.

Friday Night
For anyone in the area Friday night, feel free to come down to the shop and hang out. Friday nights are usually chill - we hang out at the shop, do some last minute prep and go hang up some signs. I’ll be there after 7pm till late, so if you’re in the area, stop by.

Directions:
Anyone want to join me for a Friday night sign hanging session? I’ve got about 50 signs to help direct people to the show to hang up all around the bike week area, so finding the spot shouldn’t be an issue.

The directions are pretty straight forward, the shop is on 106 inside the O’Shea Industrial Park. Directions can be found here: http://greasebag.com/directions/
When you’re on 106 look for the big sandwich board arrow sign to direct you into the industrial park.

Last minute / live Updates
From Friday night through the weekend, I’ll be updating the Knucklebuster Live blog as much as I can. Check there for any last minute news / addition / updates: knucklebuster.wordpress.com/

Four more days until the Greasebag, but the swag keeps coming in. I thought last year was pretty crazy with all the stuff we gave away, but this year kills it. Check out the latest:

Ribbed Oil tank by 7 Metal West


Custom painted panel & a $400 Gift Certificate towards paint by Blue Moon Customs

Formed leather saddlebag by Heyltje Rose

Plus, there is more swag on the way. Unbelievable. The genorisity of the sponsors always humbles me. Many thanks to all of them, without their support, it would be nearly impossible to put this show on.

Check out what the dudes at Choppertown sent over for Greasebag raffle:
(3) Copies of Brittown
(3) Copies of Choppertown FTW
(1) Copy of The original Choppertown
(3) Copies of the Brittown soundtrack
A few shirts and a bunch of stickers.

Rulers! It goes without saying that I’m a huge fan of all their work. Huge thanks to Zach and Scott for their generosity. If you haven’t heard, they’ve got a new flick coming out called the Harbortown Bobber which looks absolutely killer and should be out in July - stay tuned for more info on it.
For now, go check out their websites: choppertown.com and www.choppertownnation.com

NEW LOCATION!!
Acme Choppers has moved to a new shop in Laconia, and the Greasebag will be following them there. The new shop is located at 14 Lexington Dr, Laconia NH. It’s on Rte 106 - only a few miles away from the old location and away from the traffic jam that rte 3 always is.

Directions:

From the South
Take 93N to exit 23 - Rt 104
Coming off the exit, take a right onto RT 104
Follow RT 104 for 8 miles till it ends, take a right onto RT 3
Go a 1/2 mile and you come to a rotary, take your first right onto Rt 106
Go 7 miles, the O’Shea Industrial Park / Lexington Drive will be on your right, look for the big Gresebag Sign
After pulling onto Lexington Drive, take your first left, Acme Choppers is at the end.

From the South - Alternate Route
This route is slightly faster but can be a bit more confusing to those unfamiliar with the area.
93N to exit 20 Rt-132/ US-3/NH-140/NH-11
Take a left at the light at the end of the off ramp
Follow Rt-3 for 8 miles (note: stay left at the Rt-3 / Rt-11 split)
Take a left onto N Main St / Rt-106
Go 2 miles, the O’Shea Industrial Park / Lexington Drive will be on your right, look for the big Gresebag Sign
After pulling onto Lexington Drive, take your first left, Acme Choppers is at the end.

From the North
Take 93S to exit 23 Rt 104
Coming off the exit, take a left onto RT 104
Follow RT 104 for 8 miles till it ends, take a right onto RT 3
Go a 1/2 mile and you come to a rotary, take your first right onto Rt 106
Go 7 miles, the O’Shea Industrial Park / Lexington Drive will be on your right, look for the big Gresebag Sign
After pulling onto Lexington Drive, take your first left, Acme Choppers is at the end.

Look for the Greasebag signs along Rt-3 and Rt-106 to help direct you.

Click here to get your own custom driving directions via google maps.

Not only has Lisa over at Cycle Source been a huge help with getting the word out about the Greasebag, but she also sent over this killer prize box for the raffle. “What’s the big deal - it’s a few copies of the latest issue” you say? Well each one of those copies comes with a free 1 year subscription to the magazine - and we’ve got 10 of them to give away! Cycle Source is easily in my top 3 motorcycle mags that are on the scene right now (along with Dice and GK). Great rag, great bikes and they continue to work at making it better. Good stuff all around.

Check out the Cycle Source website here: Cycle Source

The guys at Licks sent over this incredible box of goodies. Check this out… (4) sets of Metal Flask grips, a F.U Model A Tail Light, a distressed leather saddle bag AND a few shirts. It was like Christmas morning opening up that box… except I don’t get to keep any of it.

Mucho thanks to Todd, AJ and crew at Licks, make sure to check out their website for their huge selection of parts and swag: http://www.lickscycles.com/

One of you lucky jokers is going to walk away with this beauty. I really can’t believe I have this in my possession and I’m going to give it away. It is beyond awesome - a true work of art that you’ve got to see up close to truly appreciate. Helmet donated by Biltwell, striping by Shawn Long at Imperial House. Shawn is a ruler and really outdid himself on this one. Seriously… I can’t believe I’m giving this away.

So how do you make it yours? Gotta be at the greasebag of course!

The new Choppahead DVD is about to be unleashed on the world, and if the trailer is any indication, shit just got crazier. Knucklebuster is stoked to be a part of the DVD release festivities by hosting the world premiere screening at the Greasebag on June 13. Just in case you needed another reason to make the trek up to Laconia, we called the kings of jackassery and made it happen. We’ll have a projector set up, and shortly after the bike show awards we’ll start up the flick. BYOB and popcorn, and if you’re down with the after party, make sure you make arrangements with Lisa for camping. The party will not disappoint. Get stoked, we’re 2 weeks away baby.

Part 2 of this announcement is that Knucklebuster will be one of the official sponsors for the Choppahead release party going down on June 21 in Providence. Here’s all the info:

Choppahead Vol. 3 DVD Release Party
Presented by Choppahead and Iron Horse Magazine

Performances By:
Doom Riders
Mess with the Bull (featuring members of Scissorfight & Lamont)
Eddie & The Louvres
Iron Mustache (NE’s gnarliest Iron Maiden cover band)

WHEN: Sunday, June 21. 5pm-11pm - early show with secret after-party party.

WHERE: Club Hell (73 Richmond St. Providence, RI - www.myspace.com/clubhelllive)

WHAT: Booze, Motorcycles, Mayhem, Music & Give-Aways (in no particular order) ALL NIGHT!!! You know how we roll - you don’t want to miss this shit!

Again, this is sure to be a killer time, if you’re in the area, make sure you make it out to support our local boys, check out the sick bikes and partake in the insanity.

Check the choppahead blog for updates: http://choppahead.blogspot.com/

Jeremy at LC Fabrications checks in with some serious parts for give away. Some of my favorite stuff yet. Jeremy is the guy that built the infamous Panster, as well as the TT Deluxe - both killer - and his custom parts fall in line with that same level of smart design and high quality. So what did we get? One of his brass porthole timing covers (as seen on the Panster), plus an oil filler plug AND a set of carb tops both for modern triumphs. Not to mention a bunch of shirts and a huge stack of stickers. Wow. Just wow. This kind of stuff always amazes me.

A huge thank you to Jeremy for all the swag - make sure to check out his site - he’s got a bunch of really cool parts available and they all kill it. http://www.lcfabrications.com

Andy at American Icon is a ruler. He tells me he’s going to send me a couple of shirts… so I figure 2, maybe three… not a dozen, plus a huge pile of stickers. Thanks to Andy and crew for the pile of killer designs.

If you’re looking for some slick new threads check out their store: American Icon Merch.

If you need some shirts printed, drop them a line: http://www.americaniconmerch.com/

47 Industries is one of the new greasebag sponsors this year and they don’t disappoint with their bitchin’ swag bag. Shirts, stickers and my favorite bit - axle plates! What kind of douche gets stoked on axle plates? That would be me - and hopefully you too since the show is all about celebrating the home builders and gearheads. Builder parts are my absolute favorite thing to give away because it gets right to the core about what the greasebag (and knucklebuster) are about - building.

As for 47 Industries… Mike (who runs the joint) is a wizard fabricator. If you need any kind of metal work, definitely put him on the list of folks to call, especially if you’re in the NY/NJ area. I know he’s expanding his product line as we speak, but he also makes lots of killer one-off bits, does all kinds of welding and is just an all around rad dude. Many thanks to him for helping out with the greasebag this year.

Check him out at http://www.47fab.com/

Last year Caleb at Cro Customs sent over a HUGE pile of shirts to give away, and this year he’s done it again. Tons of shirts, tons of stickers - stoked. We’ll be doling out some fine threads this year at the greasebag. Many thanks to Caleb for the swag - make sure you check out his site and his blog - his builds are killer. Cro Customs has always built bikes I really liked, but they’ve definitely taken it up a notch as of late - each build has been better than the last. I’m really looking forward to next bike coming out of the shop.

Check them out:
Site: http://www.crocustoms.com/
Blog: http://crocustoms.blogspot.com/

The blokes at Dice check in with a whole bunch of lovelies to give away at the greasebag. Shirts, hats, stickers and other fashionable accouterments. Many thanks to the DM crew - hopefully the whispers of a Boston issue release party will come true soon.

If you’re not aware of their stellar magazine, go subscribe now: Dice Magazine

Greasebag: Offical Campground Info
The place: Laconia White Birch Campground - 148 Beanhill Rd, Belmont NH
Cost: $25 per person, per night - this includes firewood.
Reservations: Call Lisa @ 603-524-7739 - leave a message; let her know you’re coming up for the Greasebag. She’ll call you back and get you all set. There will be some spots available the day of and I’m sure we’ll be able to squeeze a few folks in last minute - but better to reserve ahead of time so you know the space is yours.

The campground is a back-to-basics, middle of the woods kind of deal - not some fancy amenity rich country club. There are bathrooms and showers and that’s about it. This is a family run operation that has been around for a long time and is very biker friendly. I don’t think we could have found a better place to have the Greasebag after party / idiocy session / crash pad. Lisa and her crew sound like the perfect hosts for our kind of deal and are down with the sick party sesh - that alone is worth its weight in gold.

At this point, you’re on your own for booze and food (unless a sponsor wants to step up and make a donation), but we’ll have a van available to us so we’ll figure out store runs and what not.

I’m sure I forgot some info, so if there is anything specific, asks some questions or drop me an email at grail21@gmail.com