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Auténtica Harley-Davidsons

April 28, 2014, 5:31 pm
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Based on its tank badge, panhead Duo-Glide is a 1960 model.

   "Auténtica Cuba" is the theme of a brilliant advertising campaign by Cuba's Tourism Ministry.
   You may have seen the billboards (unless, of course, you live in the United States). Hands sorting dominoes on a weathered table; children racing through a colonial plaza; ballet dancers stretching and reaching at rehearsal. The images convey the tones and textures of an island nation that offers far more than palm trees and beaches.
   A photo of the annual Harlistas rally in Varadero would be a natural addition. What could be more authentic than this gathering of flatheads and knuckleheads and panheads, of 45 cubic-inchers and 74s, of springers and Hydra-Glides and Duo-Glides?
   And where could such an assembly be drawn not from specialty shops and guarded collections, but from the streets where these honest old machines still serve their owners daily?
   Nowhere but Cuba.


Another Duo-Glide, with an eye-catching colour scheme.





Pre- and post-blockade? A flathead springer and a later panhead.








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Riding three up

May 4, 2014, 9:26 am
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I suspect it is as illegal in Cuba as it is elsewhere to have three people on a motorcycle (unless you have a sidecar), but you see it regularly. Fortunately, this Harley-Davidson Duo-Glide is a family-sized bike.

Older Flathead Harley-Davidson lacks the Duo-Glide's coil-over-shock rear suspension, but its rider-family appears comfortable.







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Article 0

May 11, 2014, 9:20 am
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Raked flathead was the only full chopper at the rally.

Want some road presence? Add a goat skull. 

Components represent several decades.

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A proud and happy crew

May 24, 2014, 10:00 am
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The venerable Latino Americanos Motociclistas
Association is well represented in Cuba.
   The Harlistas are as convivial a group of bikers as you will ever encounter.
  They offer you a beer.
  They're happy to answer questions about the age of their machines and the challenges of keeping them running.
  They smile even as visitors hop on their bikes and pose for photos.
  Doesn't get more mellow than that.
     











The Harlistas rally in Varadero, a resort area east of Havana, has become a spring tradition.

All aboard: Spectators are welcome to touch the bikes and even climb on.

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Latecomers

May 30, 2014, 9:15 am
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Not every Harley-Davidson rumbling around Cuba dates to the pre-revolution era. Several machines at the Harlistas rally were from more recent decades. How did they get to the island? Oh, probably by boat.

Front disc brake is one clue that this Heritage Softail Classic is a modern model. Introduced in the mid-1980s, the Heritage Softail remains in production today. 

Foreground: '65 or later Electra Glide; background: Harley Sportster.


Like the Heritage Softail, the Road King that arrived in 1994 pays homage to the big-twin Harleys of the 1940s and '50s. This one could be a 2008 Road King Classic.







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Not every Harlistas rides a Harley

June 13, 2014, 10:03 am
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BSA tank badge looks like a one-off, and the tank itself appears to have been sourced from some later bike. Certainly the seat and front fender are replacements, and the oil cooler is an add-on. But frame and separately lubricated crankcase and twin-cylinder overhead-valve engine confirm this as a BSA is from the pre-unit era. I'm thinking it's a 650 A10, as built by the famous British manufacturer between 1950 and 1962.


Another representative of the golden age of British motorcycles was this much-festooned Triumph. Underneath all the fringes and stickers, it looked largely original. I feel fairly safe in calling it a late-1950s T110 Tiger 650, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.





See also:

That's No Old Plug


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His chrome away from home

June 18, 2014, 5:47 pm
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Mike Norgard and his Hydra-Glide: Cuban heritage with some Canadian shine.
   And not every Harlista is Cuban. Havana-based oil industry consultant Mike Norgard is a Canadian who came south to share the knowledge he acquired in the oil fields of Alberta.
   He acquired his 1951 Harley-Davidson Hydra-Glide "in pieces" three years ago in Havana. Now the Harley that may well have originally served the Batista-era military is a showpiece with flawless chrome and gleaming white paint.
   Mike says his regular trips back to Edmonton were a big help in the restoration project.
   "I'm lucky," he says. "I can bring parts home and get them plated."




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Mountain of a motorcycle

June 30, 2014, 8:57 pm
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The Ural: Three wheels on the ground, another as spare.
   While the Harleys drew admirers, this Ural 650 stood alone. Russian machinery gets scant respect in Cuba today.
   Yet to someone who hadn't run across a Ural before, the big three-wheeler was worth a closer look.
   It wasn't, I think, as old as it first appeared. Based on the pre-war BMW R 71 – see the horizontally opposed cylinders? – the Ural has had the same basic design since production began in 1942 in Irbit, at the edge of the Ural Mountains. The sidecar-equipped bikes were intended to give the Red Army mobility against fast-moving German troops (themselves sometimes on BMW three-wheelers).

A mobile Red Army. IMZ-Ural photo.
.
   This one could have been made any time before the 650 cc Ural engine was upgraded to a 750 in about 2000. Probably, however, it dated to before 1989, when Cuba lost the support of a dissolving Soviet Union.
   With its stability, traction (both rear wheels are driven) and remarkable cargo capacity, the Ural is known as a near-unstoppable workhorse, well suited to rough Russian (and Cuban) roads. Some 3.3 million have been built over seven decades for both home and export markets, and production continues, though today in fairly limited numbers, at the now privately owned IMZ-Ural factory in Irbit.
   The Ural is prized by many for its classic looks and rugged constitution, and derided by others for its archaic technology. In Cuba, it doesn't appear to have many admirers.

Ural is one of the few manufacturers today of motorcycles with integrated sidecars. Perhaps it's the only one.




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The power of patina

July 10, 2014, 9:17 pm
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Late 1940s flathead, on display at Harlistas rally in Varadero.
  "Patina" gets mentioned a lot these days. In its broadest sense, it's the visual evidence – faded and peeling paint, blossoming rust – of the effects of the environment on a surface over time.
   Many who love old stuff – cars, motorcycles, furniture – treasure patina, and not just because it separates the reproduction from the authentic. With its unique patterns and textures, patina can turn the mass-produced item into something individual, a piece with its own story to be pondered even as that story continues to evolve.
   Plus, patina is free. Not every classic vehicle owner can spend thousand on that perfect (for a day) paint job, but all can elect the default: just let it rust in place. It's probably fair to say that cost was a larger factor than aesthetics in the rat rod movement that surfaced in the early 1990s.
   Of course, not all patina is honest patina. Just as unscrupulous dealers have long "antiqued" dressers and chairs by beating them with chains and dipping them in solvents, so too do some owners subject their vehicles to acid baths and other indignities to try to replicate overnight the testimony of decades of sun and rain, heat and cold.
   When I first noticed this pockmarked Harley-Davidson, I wondered if had been "antiqued." But after studying its many scars and rust bubbles, its cracked leather and tarnished brightwork, I decided that here was a genuine survivor.
  Also, when I thought about it – what Cuban could ever desire to to make something look old?


Scarred or not, this survivor had its admirers.


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Article 4

July 29, 2014, 8:15 pm
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   Their name translates to "all mixed up," but members of To'Mezclao certainly seemed sure of themselves at the Harlistas gathering in Varadero. The popular group is known for a blend of styles, from cumbia to hip-hop to reggaeton. See a video here of To'Mezclao performing live in Havana.

Reason to smile: A handsome Harley from 1955 or '56.





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The quintessential old Harley

July 30, 2014, 5:48 pm
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Mid-50s Harley has no saddle bags or other adornments to obscure its classic silhouette. 
    Here's that Harley-Davidson from the last post, sans band members. It wasn't the oldest or rarest Harley at the meet, but it was my favourite – a 1955 or '56 (they're pretty much identical), finished in honest black and carrying, to my mind, just the right amount of chrome.
   With 74-cubic-inch panhead engine, it could be a standard FL model, but given its Cuban heritage – plus the purple auxiliary headlamps – I'm guessing it's the police-issue FLE that was tuned for traffic control duties. The hand shifter for the gearbox is another clue: a majority of civilian buyers were opting for Harley's new foot shifter in the mid-50s, but police and military customers remained loyal to the hand control.
   This is the last of my Harlista shots – at least for now. Time to turn back to cars and trucks. Maybe some buses, too.







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Article 2

July 31, 2014, 5:09 pm
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  I know, I promised no more motorcycles for a bit. But at least it's not a Harley!
  I've come across a number of these Cushman scooters in Varadero. Must have been a dealer there, back in the 1940s and '50s.

Cushman Corp. of Nebraska produced heavy-duty scooters like this from 1936 until 1965.





See also:




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A day at the beach

August 4, 2014, 8:11 pm
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Sunshine cruiser has lost a few grille teeth and some side chrome, but still looks smart. 
  For 1953, the Bel Air was Chevrolet's new top-of-the-line model. Chevy built 24,000 Bel Air convertibles that year, plus another 5,600 convertibles in the one-step-down 210 Deluxe trim level, not one of which originally came in the bright metallic pink of this Bel Air in taxi service in the Varadero resort area.

 Guess Chevy just didn't realize how rockin' it would look.
   










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Caristas – a blog about the classic cars of Cuba

August 7, 2014, 6:02 pm
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   Forgive me for being obvious, but it appears that a certain arbiter of all things Internet has trouble categorizing this site unless its ever-roaming spiders are hit over their tiny robotic heads.
   So, spiders, know this:
   CARISTAS is a blog about the classic cars of Cuba.
   CARISTAS is a blog about the vintage cars of Cuba.
   CARISTAS is a blog about the old cars of Cuba.
   CARISTAS is also a blog about driving in Cuba, and car owners in Cuba, and the occasional side topic like motorcycles and trains and bridges and sometimes even history and politics.

  And now, patient readers, here's a photo I hope you'll enjoy.

Outside the paladar, a little Lada with a big pipe.






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Why stop at one big pipe?

August 16, 2014, 2:09 pm
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When you can have two big pipes?

Lada 2107 with a few custom touches.



Of course, you can always skip the replacement pipes and go right to the swoopy-doopy spoiler.


Lada 2101 with a whole bunch of custom touches.






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You KNOW you want to see more of that green Lada

August 22, 2014, 6:02 pm
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And who am I to deny you?

While Canada, Britain and other nations got the export model Lada with four headlamps (and later, square headlamps), the two-headlight Russian domestic model was among Lada variants that found their way to Cuba.

Based on the Fiat 124, Lada's square four-door was produced from 1970 until 2012. 


Rear bumper brackets are bent, but the rest of this Lada 2101 is in great shape.
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Trading (car rides) with the enemy

August 31, 2014, 5:45 pm
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A Dodge, or at least a Dodge-ish, in mid-rebuild in Havana.
   For the American car buff, it's a conundrum. One day, yes, relations between the U.S. and Cuba will improve to the point where any U.S. citizen can legally travel to the island just 150 kilometres beyond Key West. 
   But that reconciliation, the car buff knows, can only come as part of broader political and economic changes that almost certainly will have modernized the Cuban vehicle fleet by the time he can visit.
   Those old Cadillacs and DeSotos and Packards he's heard so much about? Too late, amigo. Crushed most of them last year.
   Note, by the way, that Cuba does not bar American visitors. It's the U.S., under the Trading with the Enemy Act, that forbids its citizens from making any monetary transaction in Cuba, thus effectively preventing them from setting foot on the island.
   There are ways around the ban, however.
   Some Americans simply use Canada or Mexico as a stepping-stone to Cuba. They know Cuban customs officers rarely stamp passports (and won't if requested not to), so they won't need to do any 'splaining when they cross back into the States.
Priddy: Savvy host.
   Others with family or business connections in Cuba – and despite the embargo, the U.S. and Cuba do plenty of business together – are permitted to travel to the island directly. Journalists, researchers and the clergy also get a pass.
   For the car buff, however, the ticket to old-auto heaven is the "people-to-people educational exchanges" that licensed U.S. groups and businesses are allowed to offer. The subject matter of these tours needn't be particularly academic; the idea is to build cultural ties between Americans and Cubans. (How this doesn't constitute "trading with the enemy" is a conundrum in itself, but nobody will accuse the U.S. of being uncomplicated.)
   History and art are popular themes for these exchanges, and now tour organizer Earthbound Expeditions is offering what may be the first with classic cars as a key focus.
   Scheduled for Oct. 11 to 19, the tour includes stops in Miami, Havana and Trinidad. Participants will ride in vintage vehicles, meet members of Cuban car clubs and, of course, spend time in prime car-spotting spots like Havana's eight-kilometre Malecón. They'll also drop by Ernest Hemingway's Finca Vigia home, eat in paladars and visit museums and a national park.
   And an added attraction: renowned automotive "spy" photographer Brenda Priddy will serve as host of the group. Priddy is personable and travel-savvy, she loves old cars, and you need only look at her work in the pages of the world's top auto publications to know how capable a photographer she is.
   Who better to lead a group of camera-toting car nuts on a dream holiday?
   At $3,950 a participant (based on double occupancy), the excursion isn't cheap. That covers accommodation, most meals, bus travel within Cuba and a charter flight from Miami.
Americans who make their own way to Cuba know they could get a week in a posh, all-inclusive resort, including a return flight from, say Toronto, for half that sum. And still see old cars.
   But for those who want to play by the rules, here's a chance to see and ride in old cars and meet their owners, all while travelling in the company of fellow enthusiasts and knowledgeable guides.
   A last chance? Probably not. But one day, it will be too late.

Tour members will see Soviet-era survivors like this Polski Fiat 126p as well as American iron.


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Square the wagons!

September 15, 2014, 7:52 pm
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Most of this Chrysler is from the early 1950s, but greenhouse is more recent.
    From a quick gander, this could be a successor to the Chrysler PT Cruiser, maybe with some Chevy HHR tossed in. Same marriage of retro-round fenders and modern oblong passenger compartment.
   Closer study, however, soon reveals a majority presence of 1951 or '52 Chrysler, largely cleansed of chrome and with the addition of a blocky, late-model roof.
   Old-new wagons like this are common in Cuba. I suspect they are former sedans, their passenger capacity boosted by the addition of upper sheetmetal that in this case might have come from a Soviet-era utility vehicle.
   Some of the conversions are awkward; others, like this, are remarkably well executed. Check the clean transition between the Chrysler's rear fenders, body and liftgate, and the deftly reworked rear-door window frames.

Clean lines speak to a high standard of customizing.
   Of course, maybe this has always been a wagon, its rear quarters revised for who-knows-what reason. That would be a shame. The original rounded tail on an early-1950s Chrysler wagon is as sweet as anything on the road.

The 1952 Chrysler Windsor Town & Country / Wikipedia photo

Wagons are in demand for private bus duty in Cuba, prompting conversions such as this.




See also:

Once a woodie?
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Now that's awkward

September 17, 2014, 5:31 pm
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Squint, and altered Studebaker looks a bit like a Vista Cruiser. Or not.
   As mentioned, not every Cuban station wagon conversion is a vehicle of beauty.
   This 1951 Studebaker Commander (though wearing the full chrome '50 bullet nose) could never pass as a factory original – even if Studebaker had offered a wagon that year, which it didn't.
   Grafted-on bustle aside, however – OK, those industrial-strength bumpers also aside – it appears to be quite presentable.
   This one-of-a-kind Studebaker was for sale a while back on the Revolico classified ad site. Forget the asking price, but seem to recall it was hefty. Still, maybe not a bad deal for a buyer more concerned with function than style.

 Square bump-out boost space. Square bumpers boost presence.
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Also awkward

September 20, 2014, 3:45 pm
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Built for headroom and cargo space, but not for style.
   CARISTAS contributor Michael R. Roy photographed this rather rudely converted 1957 Dodge Custom Royal and its bemused-looking owner, who was perhaps waiting for a part or simply taking a mid-repair break.
   Many Cuban Dodges are reskinned Plymouths, the so-called "Plodges" that Chrysler sold outside the United States. But Chryslerclub.org tells us that the Custom Royal that was built in Canada, source of Chrysler's export models, was the same as the U.S. car, so this example is all Dodge.
   Or it was, until the family-truckster top was substituted for the graceful roofline with which this four-door hardtop was originally equipped.



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