Open House in Hells Kitchen

Open House in Hells' Kitchen.

English Dons' SD.Cycles offers NYC.

bikers a haven in Manhattans' Hells' Kitchen.

Word and pics by Genghis.

Ain't motorcycling fun? Chock full of pleasant surprises? The other day, Patty anI headed over to Mabels' garage so we could ride to SD.Cycles' open house. According to English Don the reason for the special occasion was "To thank all of our friends and customers for supporting us". I can dig that, man. I was only too happy at the prospect of partaking of SDs. food and grog! Merrily went me ol' lady and I to start the Mabes up.

"Whi-i-i-r! Whi-i-i-i-i-i-i-r-r-r-r! Whi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-r-r-r-r-rrrrrr-ah! Click! Click! Click!" Shit! The fucking battery just expired, and my broken leg is still mending from last Mays crash. Oh well! Just another happily predictable day in the life of a happy biker-camper. In words of TE.Johnny Mitchell of the NY. Jets, "It ain't no surprise". The beauty of NYC. is that not havin' a viable set of wheels doesn't ground ya, man. There's allways mass transit.

SUBWAY TO HELLS' KITCHEN.

SD.Cycles at 540.West 38th. Street in NYC. is at the southwesternmost end of Hells' Kitchen. Patty didn't feel like a trek on the A.train so I took the ride to English Dons' manor alone. When I arrived there, I noticed a horse being hosed down next to SD.Cycles' building. The shop is located right next to a stable. SD. also shares space with Cycle Therapy, a japbike outfit, and the combined space is fucking huge, man. Don took me for a tour in the freight elevator of the severl story building and it was impressive. There are four warehouse-sizes floors just dedicated to storage of motorcycles that the shop is working on or selling. This is in addition to the spacious shop and showroom area that SD. and Cycle Therapy share. Quite an enterprise. I saw several examples of the SD. trademark....a rigid looking swingarm featuring a four speed Big Twin frame with a flat fender rigidly attached to the swingarm. This style of bike is becoming more popular on the east coast.

As befits a party in Hells' Kitchen, there was plenty of food for all at the open house. The crowd included riders of custom Harleys and Sportsters from all over the NYC. area and a few black kids on fast japbikes from Harlem. Everyone got along and there were no visible attitudes. Just a lot of tire smoking and wheelie-pulling. I left just as the street was getting really crowded with SD. customers and friends. Snow and visiting Flynch showed up in time to get a few shots of Don doing a burn on a Sportster.

Since there are no Harley dealers on Manhattan Island it's good to know that you can pick up some plugs and oil from an independent shop like Dons'. Before he and Steg (Psycho Cycles) opened their respective shops Manhattan Harley riders had to cross the bridge or ride through a tunnel to attend to their scoots' needs. Provided their bikes started. At least I know that a new battery for Mabel is as close as the nearest subway stop!.