On the Roam (2024) s01e01 Episode Script
Revival of the Rumble
1
[Jason Momoa]
This is my dream.
[soft music playing]
It's a quest,
marked with all of my wildest
most ambitious ideas,
impossible pursuits
that I've had in my head
for decades.
It's living on the road
always on the roam,
endless searching.
I'm a vagabond,
a dirtbag,
I'm a roamer,
hungry for inspiration
wherever it presents itself,
training my eye
to see the world
through the lens
of individuals
who have inspired me greatly.
Legends,
mentors,
and friends.
Their obsession
is the story
and their art is the gift.
This is On the Roam.
["Wherever I May Roam"
playing]
And the road
becomes my bride ♪
I have stripped
of all but pride ♪
So in her I do confide ♪
Off the beaten
path I reign ♪
Roamer, wanderer ♪
Nomad, vagabond ♪
Call me what you will ♪
Wherever I may roam ♪
Wherever I may roam ♪
Yeah ♪
[Jason] For as long as
I can remember,
I've always been drawn
to, like, old bikes
from the '20s and '30s.
Since the moment
I heard my first bike
and I rode on one,
I was like,
"That was freedom."
The way that I feel
when I'm on the bike
and how focused and
I really sink into
my machine and I love it,
and you get in tune
with it, so
I want to do that
with the bikes that
are broken,
let's bring them back to life.
Most of them are in museums
or private collections
never to ride again,
just to appreciate.
That's a thing
of the past,
and I, I just
I love that,
but I want to ride it.
I've been searching
for builders
to revive these machines
that have been sitting
for a century.
I want to see these bikes
rumble and come alive,
and I want to ride them
like they're meant
to be ridden.
[soft music playing]
This all started
in Maggie Valley,
where there's one of the most
prestigious collections
of rare bikes,
Wheels Through Time.
Good times,
Moonlight raising
From the grave ♪
So, you're just saying
where you're just, like,
look in that cabinet
and go, like,
"All right,
I'm overwhelmed."
[Matt] Oh, yeah, man,
there's a
-[Jason] You need
to spend so much time
-shop in the back.
and you can see it,
and you don't actually
see it yet.
Matt Walksler is now the owner
of Wheels Through Time
and he has such a wealth
of knowledge about bikes.
I'm lucky
to call him a friend
and learn everything
that I can from him.
I grew up
riding dirt bikes as a kid,
and just always had
kind of a need for speed
and you know that
thrill that you get
from going fast
can't be replicated.
[Jason] When I walk through
Wheels Through Time
the amount of inspiration
that comes from these
100-year-old bikes
is just surreal.
[Jason] Hey.
You guys see this?
Whoo!
It's, in my opinion,
it is the holy grail to me.
I love this one.
[inhales]
Is it 1930?
[Matt] 1930.
That's number nine,
and the one in front
of its number ten.
They're consecutively
numbered.
Nine and ten. This is
How many are there
in the world?
[Matt] I think
they made 20 of them
and there might be
ten of them left.
-Ten of them?
-[Matt] It's hard to know.
Ten of these left
in the whole world.
I think most of the things
that I really love happened,
you know,
in the '20s and '30s
where there was
board track racing,
and these hill climbs and
[indistinct commentary]
I never got to experience
any of that and
generally,
I'm too big of a guy
to ride on any
of those bikes anyway, so
The DAH was built
by Harley-Davidson
strictly for the purpose
of racing and climbing hills.
It was and still is
an incredibly powerful bike.
The factory
made a certain amount
and then a lot of them
get scrapped.
I think there's probably
like eight of them left
in the world.
A lot of people have never
even heard of this.
I mean,
this is so specialized.
-Guys like us
-Yeah.
we couldn't even
buy this back then.
Still, why has this not even
been duplicated or replicated?
Is that because,
like, the valves,
the people who had
the eight-valves
who had JDH's could,
you know,
they patented it all out,
so they keep replicate those,
because, you know,
I mean, like,
how how does that
How do you go about
doing that?
-It's huge cost.
-[Jason] Yeah, huge cost.
It's huge cost.
No one would voluntarily
take that apart
-[Matt] That's right.
-to go make the motor.
Yeah, and if you got one,
-you don't want to let
somebody copy it.
-Right.
Because if you do, then,
what there was only four of,
now there's five of.
Well, in order to pull
this design off,
you gotta buy a DAH
and have to take it apart,
pretty much
3D cast everything?
So while visiting
Maggie Valley,
I realized
I wanted to recreate
one of these DAH bikes,
and then race 'em.
I brought my friends,
Nick Toscano
and Brian Charles,
two amazing humans
two amazing bike builders.
I mean, at first, when Jay
asked if we could do it,
I think we both said yes
thinking that it wasn't really
actually ever gonna happen,
and then all of a sudden,
we're like, "Oh, shit.
We have to do this."
[chuckles]
[Jason] Nick and Brian's
passion and knowledge
of bikes is so unique,
and I've been
looking for a project
to do with them
for a long time.
I think it'll be so much fun
to be able to take something
and not have to
These are sacred,
you want to keep them,
maybe start them up
every once in a while,
but I want to,
I want to ride them.
-[Matt] Yeah.
-So, I wanna make a
-[Matt] Mm-hm.
-make a group of homies
that just get to go
ride these things.
I just love the idea of
bringing that type
of event back.
But we needed the blueprint,
a bike we could reproduce,
part for part,
and that led me
to Jeff Decker.
Well, even before
Jason told me
what he wanted to do,
he wanted some motorcycles
that I wanted,
and I didn't know what
why he wanted them,
and I told him
they weren't for sale.
I thought he was crazy.
I thought, you know,
"Yeah, I know you got
a lot of money but,
you know,
it's not happening."
[Jason] I saw these
two bikes at his house
and they floored me.
They were just like
this mirror image
of what I would want to be
if I was a bike,
and I was very afraid to ask,
because I didn't
want to be insul
I don't want to
insult him in his home.
I think over time
he kind of saw
where my passion was
and and, uh,
he understood
what I wanted to do.
[Jeff] I don't know what it is
about the slant artist
and hill climbing,
but it's always been
the most romantic
of all the racing for me.
Maybe it's the ugliest.
If you think of a bull rider,
that's hill climbing.
[Jason] People would come
from all over
to witness these events.
They were some of the most
dangerous races that were
happening back then.
There's nothing
about the geometry
that make them
street friendly ever.
They weren't sold
to the public.
There were a dozen
of these made.
[Jason] There's
a generation gap
with a lot of people
who ride that
you just don't get to see
these board tracks
and it's such
an older generation.
I think Jeff has really,
he always embraced it.
[Jeff] My dad was a car guy
and I always got to,
you know, learn how, like,
dirty and despicable
and horrible
motorcyclists were,
so that's what I dreamed
to be, you know?
[Jason] Jeff's, uh,
like an artist
through and through.
He's just like a living
He does everything
with art and passion.
I feel like I try to do that.
Probably a little dirtier
version of him.
[Jeff] I'm no athlete,
and certainly
not a mechanic but,
there's something about that
that I've always been
drawn to and so,
the way I could
express myself was art.
I didn't have art galleries
that ever supported me.
I had to go to swap meets,
and just trade my art
for dirty motors.
You know, I was Jack
and the Beanstalk,
I got never cash,
I got motorcycle parts,
but I was clever enough to get
the right motorcycle parts
and then I could trade up.
I failed for 20 years
and then realized
I was doing pretty good
as a failure.
[Jason] Jeff's art
just blows me away.
We share the same passion
for hill climbs and DAH's.
And you can see that
come through in his work.
[Jeff] I've had these things
and I've put them on a shelf
and let them gather dust
but I never imagined
that they'd get dust
on a hill climb.
This team he assembled
to put 'em together,
is really mind-boggling.
[soft music playing]
I don't think it's been
captured since the 1930s,
and if you even
look back to then,
it was on some film camera
that was, you know,
probably shot pretty poorly
and that's all we had
to go off of.
To be able to use my talents,
my crew use their talents
to be able to direct
and shoot it in the
the way that I want to
and make people feel it
and really be a part of it,
that's it.
[soft music playing]
Just the thought of doing
a period accurate hill climb
with all original bikes,
and all my friends together,
it's something
I never thought was possible.
You know, when you look
at an old bike,
it's had so much passion
and love and hard times and,
they've seen so much
and I just feel like
I want to hear them.
And I know I can't
ride all of them but
I'm gonna try.
[soft music playing]
[engine starts]
I've been lucky enough to be
welcomed into the bike
community
and introduced to some amazing
craftsman along the way.
There's just so many people
that I've met
that have opened their hearts
and I I love
And you find
at the root of it how
what kind of artist
they really are
and their stories and so
that's just,
it's just so beautiful.
We raced quite a bit
against each other
-and became friends.
-Oh, yeah, yeah.
You're the, probably
the only guy I talk to
-So
-[chuckles]
We don't have time
for anything
I don't have time
for anything,
it's just like talk to you,
and then talk to my wife.
That's it.
Nick's funny.
Nick's always like
Nick kinda has like a
Soprano/De Niro face, like
And he always kind of like
doesn't want to say that
he can do it.
"It's possible.
It's possible."
And Brian Charles are like,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
we can do that."
Yeah, he's very positive,
like, he said,
"Brian Charles
is, like, game."
Jason's great.
[chuckles] Um,
he's like, uh, energy,
he's like a force of will.
Working with Jay,
he's such a lovable guy,
he's got this awesome vision
of, like, everything.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Fuck, yeah,
I want to do that."
But then, like,
you get home, you're like,
"Fuck! Why did I say that?
Shit! That's gonna
be stressful."
His character
and motivation helps,
you want to,
you know,
make yourself better.
[soft music playing]
[Jason] These guys,
they need to make four
of these bikes a year,
but there's such a one-off
and a small space,
I want to celebrate that.
I want to celebrate
those artists that are just
doing it out of
their back shop.
[soft music playing]
[soft music playing]
[honks horn]
In my journey to create
rare bikes to be ridden,
I was led to Mike Silvio
to build a never before seen
1936 bike.
[Mike] No way!
[Jason] Yeah, yeah.
There's only
There's only
a little bit left,
[indistinct conversation]
Hey your place is beautiful.
-This town is just
-[Mike] Yeah, get over here.
[Jason] When I got to
meet Silvio,
he was just so
He's hilarious, man.
He's so much fun,
um,
wealth of knowledge.
I love him to death.
[Mike] When I met Jay,
I had an absolute blast and
and met a guy who is
overly passionate
about antique bikes and
in love with them
just like I was
and we immediately
hit it off.
Jason's been in and around
the industry for a good while
and his name's coming up
left and right.
Holy moly!
This place is beautiful.
[Jason] He's built
this museum.
He's uh,
he's wonderful at his craft,
and he's got a museum of
One day, he might inspire me
to have a museum.
That's original paint?
[Mike] That's original paint.
That's the bike that
started it all for me.
Oh, man!
When I was little,
I always wanted to have, uh,
you know, I wasn't really
raised by my father but
and wanting to build a bike,
um, build a car
and wrench on that,
you know, I didn't have
that opportunity growing up.
Yeah, I think it's
one of those things
I always wanted to do,
and so definitely
building a bike
was something huge to me,
and at 19
is when I'd saved up
enough money
and I bought my first Harley,
and, um
and when you get old Harleys,
you learn how to
work on bikes.
And then you also
get to meet a lot of friends,
and it brings you
into a community
and takes you around the world
and meet more friends.
[Mike] The antique
motorcycle community
is a very, very small
close-knit group of people.
And that's the best part is,
you're growing
relationships with people
that are like-minded,
that are curators,
that are builders.
-Right here.
-Here it is.
I've never
I've never seen this.
I bought it and had it
shipped straight to him, so
pretty goddamn excited.
Whoa!
How does it look?
My gosh!
Look at that.
[Mike] I've always
worked with my hands.
I've always been the
I used to get in trouble
when I was a kid
for taking stuff apart.
I'd get a new toy and I'd
had to take it apart to
figure out how it worked.
When I got involved
with motorcycles,
I wanted to
know everything about it.
[engine starts]
[engine revving]
[inaudible]
I love it.
[Mike] I get
just as much satisfaction
out of working on a bike
as I do riding the bike.
-[Jason] Food!
-I know, it smells great.
-It smells good out here.
-So how was the house?
-How was it?
-God
Was it Was it like
[Jason] Me and Mike Wolfe
are both from Iowa.
You know, I respected his
his art form, and just,
he is such a wealth
of knowledge
and, you know,
he perpetuates and keeps
all the information
from all the old timers,
but now, just like,
it it sucks
because of a lot of people
that are just passing on
with all these beautiful
history and stories and, um,
I think Mike is definitely
that connection to it.
[soft music playing]
[Jason] Good.
-Whoa!
-[Mike W laughing]
[Jason] Holy shit!
We all walked away alive.
The bikes are good, we're not.
Bikes are good.
-Too much fun.
-[indistinct conversation]
You know, I get to spend
time with these guys
and they open up their homes,
and and you get to see
what inspired them
and inspired their styles,
and ultimately,
it's just all these artists.
All right. First time
I'm gonna see this, Mike.
[Mike W] I've never seen
a pink '36.
I've been asked to build
a lot of different bikes
a lot of different
colors, man.
Bro!
Yeah.
I've always wanted
Pepto Bismol.
Oh, okay.
That looks beautiful.
-[Mike W] I'm trying
-I know you don't like it.
[Mike] No, I do like it.
-Don't lie, don't lie.
-I do.
No, here's the thing, you
you, you I
-I've never
-[laughter]
[Jason] "If you've got
a bunch of spare parts,
would you be cool
if I buy 'em off you
and we'll go make a '36?"
"Hell, yeah!"
"Awesome.
Who's your builder?"
-"Silvio."
-"Who's Silvio?"
"Mike Silvio, look it up."
My momma raised me
on Elvis, right?
I have a '55 pink Cadillac
that I've had in my whole
that I've had
since I was early 20s.
I still have it.
I've always wanted
a '36 knucklehead.
You have two,
you have the original paint.
Well, when Jason
showed up and
presented this
opportunity to me,
I was floored. I was stoked.
I couldn't have been
more excited
because he's a great
friend of mine.
I got a little nervous
when he told me
he wanted a pink '36.
[Jason] I think out of
all the '36s I have,
I don't have
an original frame.
This is the first.
-This is a
This bike will be
-[Mike] This will be
every single piece on this,
thank you to Mr. Wolfe.
[Mike] That was one of
the first things
that really stood out.
When I first met Jason,
everything was pink.
His shoes, his clothes,
his jackets,
his keychain to his car.
He was the one, like,
"Let's build this '36.
I wanna make it pink,
it's my favorite color."
Um,
he's like, "Yeah." I'm like,
"Are you cool with that?"
Then he's like,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah,
let's do that."
[Mike W] I can imagine,
the people, they're going to
find this bike
and they're going to
look at it and go, like,
"Who the hell painted
a '36 knucklehead pink?"
You know?
[laughing]
[Mike] That is a
original '36 knucklehead
speedometer.
-That is a rare essential part
right there.
-Bro.
-Muah.
-[Mike] Yeah.
I've always wanted
one of them.
Just being with my friends too
and watching them do it,
there's a certain satisfaction
you get out of using
your hands.
[Mike W] Silvio is a guy
that people come to and say,
"I want to do this.
I want to build that."
And they'll usually hand him
a transmission, a carburetor,
or an engine,
or sometimes he's lucky
and he gets a whole bike.
I can just imagine
him going by,
65 miles an hour,
and somebody standing
on the corner going,
you know, "That was
That was like a tsunami
of badassery."
[Jason] I mean,
this bike is like,
it's that ultimate moment
where you go like,
"I can't believe
I have an original.
Every part on it is original."
I love the idea of taking
all these little pieces
found by Mike Wolfe,
gathered from all over
this beautiful country,
and then bringing them
together with Silvio.
With Wolfe
and Silvio, it's
He's got a phenomenal
place, too.
This guy's just a
He's a whiz, man.
I love him.
I'll see you in six months,
and you better have
my fucking shit done.
-Do you understand?
-[laughter]
[soft music playing]
You know, the idea of taking
a very expensive 1930s bike,
disassemble it,
scan it all,
and then have to do
all the castings
and basically build it
from scratch.
No one would buy
a bike like that
and take it completely apart,
but we did.
-[Brian] Oh.
-[man] How's it going?
-We got the motorcycle.
-[man] Yeah, yeah, it's here.
-The parts are here.
-Finally. Tell me about it.
-1930 DAH
-Whoo! That's pretty sweet.
Harley-Davidson.
Super rare.
[Brian] You gotta think, like,
you know,
these bikes back then
were handcrafted
and handmade
with the entire force
of the motor company
behind a small group
of people.
I mean, every single
part of this,
for as much
you might have worked on,
100 motorcycles before,
but this is such a challenge
because nothing existed.
Feel like you ♪
A digital representation
of a part that can't be,
-you know,
uh, reproduced easily.
-Yeah.
Getting that digital footprint
or fingerprint in is always
really smart.
So then we're going to
be able to copy these
and even get the original
casting marks
and everything
right down to the T.
[soft music playing]
Let their hearts
hangout so they can
write you ♪
[Nick] As we're
building these bikes,
you run into little things
that don't quite add up
or don't fit right.
You know, every little part
was handmade
and all right,
you put something together,
"Oh, this part doesn't fit.
All right, we'll get
these scanned
and we'll have the prints
and then we'll go
to the foundry
and make that."
[man vocalizing]
[Randy] Hey, uh,
we can be anywhere else
on this planet,
any other square.
But it is right here
where we stand.
This is it.
This is what we do.
This is it. So, appreciate it.
As my wife say
and I always say,
"If it's not sketchy,
it ain't fun."
-[all laughing]
-That's not how we live.
-[all laughing]
-That's not how we live.
[Jason] I think having
all these bikes together
and all these men
who I call friends
together is actually
You know,
that's the accomplishment.
Building this world
for my friends
to capture this
and we can put together
something,
that's amazing
and that right there
is like done.
Accomplished it.
I had this dream
to be able to take
all of my friends
that I have ever met
in this community,
bring them together,
and then race each other.
And what came out of it
were the Roamers.
[rock music playing]
Fire for the hills
Pick up your feet
and let's go ♪
Head for the hills
Pick up steel on your way ♪
And when you find a piece
of them in your sight ♪
Fire at will
Don't you waste no time ♪
[Jason] They are an incredible
bike group
whose brotherhood
and love for bikes
runs deep.
They have an unbelievable
sense of camaraderie
and when I met them,
it was like being welcomed
into a family.
I wanted to make my own
something for my buddies,
something special, so
-Brian Cannon,
-Is there a smaller outfit?
We got medium
Medium there-ish.
There's a rebellious nature
to the motorcycle community.
I'm just a fan, really,
of it all.
The trees can't grow
without the sun
in their eyes ♪
And we can't live
if we're too afraid to die ♪
[engine revs]
Hold on tight
Yes, hold on tight
You're too slow ♪
[Jason] We all have
a deep-rooted love for bikes.
And I love the idea
of building an event
where we could all share
this passion together.
One of my favorite parts
of the bike community
is how small it feels.
You meet one person
and suddenly
you have all these people
who share the same love
as you do.
[inaudible]
Through Matt Walksler
I met Buzz Kanter,
a legend
in the bike community.
He published in a lot of
top motorcycle magazines.
And he has a deep knowledge
of vintage bikes.
So, this is
Tell me a little bit about it.
It's an original paint,
original 1927 Harley,
with under 800 original miles.
It's over 95 years old
and it's travelled
less than 800 original miles.
It's a holy grail bike.
-You guys ready?
-[Nick] I'm ready.
Dream come true.
[Jason groans]
Original everything.
Holy shit!
The 1927 JD is just
unbelievable to look at.
It's hard to explain
just how rare this bike is.
It's like looking
at a time capsule
from 100 years ago.
[Kanter] Anyone
who gets close to this bike
and looks at it
can see the amazing
paintwork, the craftmanship
that can be duplicated today,
but without the feel,
without the soul.
[Jason] I love things
from the early 1900s
in every way.
I think
there's a whole different
way of just things
being built.
[Nick] You know,
first dirt bike I think
I had it is when I was 13.
I saved up enough money
from cutting lawns
and bought my first dirt bike.
Of course, it didn't run.
So, I had to take it apart.
Learned that way,
put a new piston in.
So, like, right off the bat,
I was a mechanic.
[Jason] Something I love
is taking a museum piece
like this
and not just staring at it,
but starting it.
To do that with a bike
this rare is unheard of.
-[engine sputtering]
-[Jason] Oh.
-Oh!
-[all cheering]
[engine revving]
[screams]
[groans]
The bike was preserved
so well. It had vegetable oil
in the tank so that wouldn't
rust out overtime.
We fired it up
and it just smoked up
the entire shop.
How many races was this in?
How did it get the paint
like that?
There was the soul it holds
and how much
sweat and friction.
Just knowing that Nick
brought that bike back to life
with his son there
experiencing his first ride,
uh, that's beautiful.
[inaudible]
And that feeling,
that's what I'm chasing
when I find an old bike.
[gentle instrumental
music playing]
Oil, right there.
I hear it, hear it.
[Mike] Coming in.
It's in here.
[Jason] Love you, brother.
-Shit.
-[laughs]
-Let's oil it.
-You guys ready?
-Yeah.
-All right.
-Yes.
-It's ready.
Oh!
-Wow!
-Wow!
Holy shit!
Look at this.
[Mike W] I mean
[groans]
Ooh. Boy it look good.
Lookin' at the Pink 36,
I was blown away.
Pickin' all these pieces,
and then having Silvio
put together my
first stock 36
and then you design it
the way you want it.
To go from a wild idea
to this finished bike
Then, I get to rip it around
with my friends
on their 36s
there's nothing better.
[gentle music playing]
All right. So
This is the first time
I'm gonna see the DAHs.
Little surprise for me.
[man] Rule number one.
[chuckles]
Oh, damn!
Bro
I've built and seen
so many beautiful bikes
and this is the most
amazing moment
I'm seeing, these bikes.
That's beautiful.
It's hard to believe
that this all started
from one idea
of just seeing a DAH
brought back to life.
But now, standing in front
of them,
being able to ride them,
it's an absolute privilege.
[inaudible]
It's pretty amazing to go,
that bike right there.
We got Jeff Decker
coming in to buy
that from him
"Can we make some of these?
Cause if we can
If we have this,
we can make our own bikes.
And if we're making our bikes,
we can make DAHs and DARs
and there's only
one DAR out there."
Sixteen months later,
just so we can race 'em.
-Yeah.
-So, we can all get together
and race these 'cause
all those pictures
you see of
All those guys in 1937
having a good time on
these bikes,
I'm like, I wanna do that.
Why can't we do that?
Seeing these bikes
lined up in front of me,
ready to race
with all my friends,
I just can't believe
we pulled it off.
[engine starts]
[indistinct chatter]
I just wanna say thank you
for for selling me this
and then also passing down
the history, and, like,
you know, I know
you love this bike,
but it means a lot
that I you know,
I feel I have
the vision to make
something like this,
where we're all together.
-So, just thank you for--
-No, absolutely, man.
And I'm happy
that it turned out this way.
-So beautiful.
-Yeah. And this is probably
the only time.
Uh, there's never been
four DAHs
running at once together.
Never.
[Nick]
Building something that
nobody's ever done before
turned out to be
a hell of a lot more involved
than we actually thought.
[Brian] Nobody's ever
ridden these things.
Maybe a handful of people
in the entire world
over the course of time
have ridden one of these.
It was just like a pipe dream.
It's one of those things
where you're, like,
"Uh, wish we could do that.
Can we do that?"
"Oh, we're gonna do that.
All right." And then,
it all sinks in for everyone.
[inaudible]
[Nick] You know,
I get my own vision
of a bike
and to put a motor together
and that whole anxiety,
like, how's it gonna run
and then when it fires up,
like, uh,
it's the greatest feeling.
[engine misfires]
[engine starts]
They are so rare
and the way it feels,
they're, like, in a way
they sound, they sound
like these lions.
We woke up at 5:30
this morning
and we started 'em up
and it just sound like this
It's just this
pride of lions
growling in the dark.
[Nick] It's been
a lot of buildup.
It's, like
What are we gonna be
doing with these?
What are we gonna be
doing, like,
where are we gonna be riding?
How are we gonna set 'em up?
[Brian] I mean, whether or not
it was on our end,
or on, you know,
the filming schedule,
or just, you know,
the logistics of everything,
I mean, I think anything
could have gone right, so
It's been very challenging
and obviously taxing
on everyone
because we wanna
make all these things
come true.
And here's the big thing.
Like, it's all me.
It's all my heart.
It's everything I wanna do.
You're literally watching
everything that I love.
And, so, that's scary.
It actually got to the point
where I didn't know
where we were gonna
race these.
I knew I wanted to race these.
I figured it would be easy
to find a hill
'cause we've done it before.
But it actually all
kinda opened up
with, uh,
a dear friend of mine.
I was over at his house
at Thanksgiving
and he told me
that he had a track.
And I was, like, "What?"
And we went and saw his track.
And it just I called
I called my partner Brian.
I said, "I got it.
We have the track."
And I'm telling my friend
about it.
And he's going,
"I don't know if you can race
these old bikes in through it"
And also, the risk is,
there's so much dust here
that it's very fine dirt
that it gets in the motors
you're blowing up 100
plus thousand dollar bikes.
You risk a lot for, uh,
you risk blowing them up,
to, uh, to show the world.
But it's worth it.
[engine revving]
I had this crazy idea
to take uh,
this one very rare bike,
the DAH.
Took it apart and we made
three of 'em.
This hasn't happened, uh,
since probably the 1930s.
Generals gathered
in their masses ♪
Just like witches
at black masses ♪
Evil minds
that plot destruction ♪
Sorcerer
of death's construction ♪
In the fields
the bodies burning ♪
As the war machine
keeps turning ♪
Death and hatred
to mankind ♪
Poisoning
their brainwashed minds ♪
Oh, Lord, yeah ♪
[rock music playing]
[music stops]
[engine whirring]
[Jason] Getting to see Decker
do a hill climb with the bike,
that started
the entire journey,
it was surreal.
The slant artist.
[shouting] Hey, Decker!
That was so cool, man.
He didn't think he was
gonna be doing that
two years ago. [laughs]
All right.
First one of the top
out of these three
between Ken and Charles,
and, uh and Toscano,
five grand,
and it goes to wherever
you wanna donate that
to a charity.
Five grand on this one,
all right?
It's the first one.
You guys ready?
Let's get cameras ready.
-[engine starts]
-[rock music playing]
I'm growin' up ♪
I'm gettin' real big ♪
They're gonna put me
in the goddamn redwoods
next to ♪
Next to
General Sherman, baby ♪
I got a Ma that hides
under the staircase
and she don't wanna come out ♪
She got the brain
but I got the biscuit ♪
Come on, lady
Open your mouth ♪
I found a number
called into the doctor ♪
Givin' her the pills
for free ♪
She's at the bottle
shakin' from the handle ♪
Tie a little arm 'round me ♪
I'm growin' up ♪
How many times you're
hidin' in the basement ♪
Hangin'
from the bathroom floor? ♪
Lookin' at your back
and lookin' to the ceiling
still you gotta ask for more ♪
Well, I found a number
called into the doctor ♪
Givin' her the pills
for free ♪
And she's at the bottle
shakin' from the handle ♪
Tie a little arm 'round me
let's go ♪
Tie 'em right around me ♪
Tie 'em real good ♪
We're getting real
right here ♪
Let's get it all
right up now ♪
That's right ♪
Come on ♪
Stand up
Stand up straight ♪
Stand up straight ♪
[music stops]
[gentle music playing]
[Jason] These bikes,
they're like paintings.
These incredible works of art,
and they've just been
sittin' there.
This is, uh, it's really
a dream come true for me.
'Cause I wanted to make
this show about
all these artisans,
and, um, you guys
are the top for me.
You know, I love
all these old bikes.
I don't
Sadly, I don't know how to
build these by hand.
But I appreciate you guys
so much.
And I love ridin' and really
being a filmmaker,
I love having my friends
What I'm good at,
capture what you guys
are great at.
[Jeff] I treat these
like delicate things
that aren't to be touched.
And you guys
are hammering these things.
And these are better
than the originals.
It's unbelievable.
And to see them treated
the way they were
meant to be treated,
you know, it's something
of another level.
[Terry] The group that you've
brought together
that we got to play
with a last few years,
it's just family.
It's amazing!
The the people
from all over come together,
like-minded,
and it's just
you guys are amazing.
-[Jason] Thanks, Terry.
-[man] Yeah.
-Absolutely.
-We love you, man.
[Jason] Taking something
that's never been ridden
since the '30s
and then making four of 'em
and racin' em,
they've never even had
four of 'em together, ever,
to race.
It's so cool. And so much fun
and the people that are
creating them are just,
I can't believe
I'm doing this,
and I'm, like,
I can't believe
I'm doing this.
And I hope people get inspired
by that going, like, "Yeah.
that shit's possible."
It's not possible? I'm, like,
"Hmm, is it?" Let's go do it.
Let's try.
[Brian] I hope my memory
is good enough that I never
forget it. [laughs]
That's pretty much. It's been
really, really amazing.
I mean, when I'm gone,
it'll still be there,
hopefully.
Like to leave something
to my kid.
He gets to see this.
'Cause he's only
one years old now.
So, he also sees the process
of what we've done,
and, yeah, something to
for my kid to see.
It's really wild
to see 'em all come alive.
And, especially,
when you've got, you know,
a dozen motorcycles
firing at once,
they're, like, hyper tuned.
And it really is,
these monsters, you know,
barking at each other.
[Jason] Before I got into
acting, I was bussing tables,
and I was working
at a surf shop.
I was 19 years old,
just wanted to climb and surf.
When I, you know,
got into acting on the show,
I didn't make much money.
And I lived with my dad.
I was, like, all I wanted
was a Harley.
And I wanted a Panhead
and I finally got it.
I just knew I wanted one.
I've ridden tons of dirt bikes
biked my whole life.
But I didn't know
anything about it. I just knew
I loved that sound,
I loved the way it felt.
I wanted to learn it,
I wanted to, like,
just dive into
the culture of it.
But all I wanted to do
is go across America.
And I wanted to
just, to go to all
these destinations
and just be, like,
all right, here's just
my life is in the saddle bags
and I was just this vagabond
I wanted to have my Harley.
You could be on a new bike
and I could be
on this old one
we're on the same road at the
same moment and it's just,
it's such a high
to be on something
that's so old.
I think there's nothing
like it in the world.
[gentle music playing]
[Jason Momoa]
This is my dream.
[soft music playing]
It's a quest,
marked with all of my wildest
most ambitious ideas,
impossible pursuits
that I've had in my head
for decades.
It's living on the road
always on the roam,
endless searching.
I'm a vagabond,
a dirtbag,
I'm a roamer,
hungry for inspiration
wherever it presents itself,
training my eye
to see the world
through the lens
of individuals
who have inspired me greatly.
Legends,
mentors,
and friends.
Their obsession
is the story
and their art is the gift.
This is On the Roam.
["Wherever I May Roam"
playing]
And the road
becomes my bride ♪
I have stripped
of all but pride ♪
So in her I do confide ♪
Off the beaten
path I reign ♪
Roamer, wanderer ♪
Nomad, vagabond ♪
Call me what you will ♪
Wherever I may roam ♪
Wherever I may roam ♪
Yeah ♪
[Jason] For as long as
I can remember,
I've always been drawn
to, like, old bikes
from the '20s and '30s.
Since the moment
I heard my first bike
and I rode on one,
I was like,
"That was freedom."
The way that I feel
when I'm on the bike
and how focused and
I really sink into
my machine and I love it,
and you get in tune
with it, so
I want to do that
with the bikes that
are broken,
let's bring them back to life.
Most of them are in museums
or private collections
never to ride again,
just to appreciate.
That's a thing
of the past,
and I, I just
I love that,
but I want to ride it.
I've been searching
for builders
to revive these machines
that have been sitting
for a century.
I want to see these bikes
rumble and come alive,
and I want to ride them
like they're meant
to be ridden.
[soft music playing]
This all started
in Maggie Valley,
where there's one of the most
prestigious collections
of rare bikes,
Wheels Through Time.
Good times,
Moonlight raising
From the grave ♪
So, you're just saying
where you're just, like,
look in that cabinet
and go, like,
"All right,
I'm overwhelmed."
[Matt] Oh, yeah, man,
there's a
-[Jason] You need
to spend so much time
-shop in the back.
and you can see it,
and you don't actually
see it yet.
Matt Walksler is now the owner
of Wheels Through Time
and he has such a wealth
of knowledge about bikes.
I'm lucky
to call him a friend
and learn everything
that I can from him.
I grew up
riding dirt bikes as a kid,
and just always had
kind of a need for speed
and you know that
thrill that you get
from going fast
can't be replicated.
[Jason] When I walk through
Wheels Through Time
the amount of inspiration
that comes from these
100-year-old bikes
is just surreal.
[Jason] Hey.
You guys see this?
Whoo!
It's, in my opinion,
it is the holy grail to me.
I love this one.
[inhales]
Is it 1930?
[Matt] 1930.
That's number nine,
and the one in front
of its number ten.
They're consecutively
numbered.
Nine and ten. This is
How many are there
in the world?
[Matt] I think
they made 20 of them
and there might be
ten of them left.
-Ten of them?
-[Matt] It's hard to know.
Ten of these left
in the whole world.
I think most of the things
that I really love happened,
you know,
in the '20s and '30s
where there was
board track racing,
and these hill climbs and
[indistinct commentary]
I never got to experience
any of that and
generally,
I'm too big of a guy
to ride on any
of those bikes anyway, so
The DAH was built
by Harley-Davidson
strictly for the purpose
of racing and climbing hills.
It was and still is
an incredibly powerful bike.
The factory
made a certain amount
and then a lot of them
get scrapped.
I think there's probably
like eight of them left
in the world.
A lot of people have never
even heard of this.
I mean,
this is so specialized.
-Guys like us
-Yeah.
we couldn't even
buy this back then.
Still, why has this not even
been duplicated or replicated?
Is that because,
like, the valves,
the people who had
the eight-valves
who had JDH's could,
you know,
they patented it all out,
so they keep replicate those,
because, you know,
I mean, like,
how how does that
How do you go about
doing that?
-It's huge cost.
-[Jason] Yeah, huge cost.
It's huge cost.
No one would voluntarily
take that apart
-[Matt] That's right.
-to go make the motor.
Yeah, and if you got one,
-you don't want to let
somebody copy it.
-Right.
Because if you do, then,
what there was only four of,
now there's five of.
Well, in order to pull
this design off,
you gotta buy a DAH
and have to take it apart,
pretty much
3D cast everything?
So while visiting
Maggie Valley,
I realized
I wanted to recreate
one of these DAH bikes,
and then race 'em.
I brought my friends,
Nick Toscano
and Brian Charles,
two amazing humans
two amazing bike builders.
I mean, at first, when Jay
asked if we could do it,
I think we both said yes
thinking that it wasn't really
actually ever gonna happen,
and then all of a sudden,
we're like, "Oh, shit.
We have to do this."
[chuckles]
[Jason] Nick and Brian's
passion and knowledge
of bikes is so unique,
and I've been
looking for a project
to do with them
for a long time.
I think it'll be so much fun
to be able to take something
and not have to
These are sacred,
you want to keep them,
maybe start them up
every once in a while,
but I want to,
I want to ride them.
-[Matt] Yeah.
-So, I wanna make a
-[Matt] Mm-hm.
-make a group of homies
that just get to go
ride these things.
I just love the idea of
bringing that type
of event back.
But we needed the blueprint,
a bike we could reproduce,
part for part,
and that led me
to Jeff Decker.
Well, even before
Jason told me
what he wanted to do,
he wanted some motorcycles
that I wanted,
and I didn't know what
why he wanted them,
and I told him
they weren't for sale.
I thought he was crazy.
I thought, you know,
"Yeah, I know you got
a lot of money but,
you know,
it's not happening."
[Jason] I saw these
two bikes at his house
and they floored me.
They were just like
this mirror image
of what I would want to be
if I was a bike,
and I was very afraid to ask,
because I didn't
want to be insul
I don't want to
insult him in his home.
I think over time
he kind of saw
where my passion was
and and, uh,
he understood
what I wanted to do.
[Jeff] I don't know what it is
about the slant artist
and hill climbing,
but it's always been
the most romantic
of all the racing for me.
Maybe it's the ugliest.
If you think of a bull rider,
that's hill climbing.
[Jason] People would come
from all over
to witness these events.
They were some of the most
dangerous races that were
happening back then.
There's nothing
about the geometry
that make them
street friendly ever.
They weren't sold
to the public.
There were a dozen
of these made.
[Jason] There's
a generation gap
with a lot of people
who ride that
you just don't get to see
these board tracks
and it's such
an older generation.
I think Jeff has really,
he always embraced it.
[Jeff] My dad was a car guy
and I always got to,
you know, learn how, like,
dirty and despicable
and horrible
motorcyclists were,
so that's what I dreamed
to be, you know?
[Jason] Jeff's, uh,
like an artist
through and through.
He's just like a living
He does everything
with art and passion.
I feel like I try to do that.
Probably a little dirtier
version of him.
[Jeff] I'm no athlete,
and certainly
not a mechanic but,
there's something about that
that I've always been
drawn to and so,
the way I could
express myself was art.
I didn't have art galleries
that ever supported me.
I had to go to swap meets,
and just trade my art
for dirty motors.
You know, I was Jack
and the Beanstalk,
I got never cash,
I got motorcycle parts,
but I was clever enough to get
the right motorcycle parts
and then I could trade up.
I failed for 20 years
and then realized
I was doing pretty good
as a failure.
[Jason] Jeff's art
just blows me away.
We share the same passion
for hill climbs and DAH's.
And you can see that
come through in his work.
[Jeff] I've had these things
and I've put them on a shelf
and let them gather dust
but I never imagined
that they'd get dust
on a hill climb.
This team he assembled
to put 'em together,
is really mind-boggling.
[soft music playing]
I don't think it's been
captured since the 1930s,
and if you even
look back to then,
it was on some film camera
that was, you know,
probably shot pretty poorly
and that's all we had
to go off of.
To be able to use my talents,
my crew use their talents
to be able to direct
and shoot it in the
the way that I want to
and make people feel it
and really be a part of it,
that's it.
[soft music playing]
Just the thought of doing
a period accurate hill climb
with all original bikes,
and all my friends together,
it's something
I never thought was possible.
You know, when you look
at an old bike,
it's had so much passion
and love and hard times and,
they've seen so much
and I just feel like
I want to hear them.
And I know I can't
ride all of them but
I'm gonna try.
[soft music playing]
[engine starts]
I've been lucky enough to be
welcomed into the bike
community
and introduced to some amazing
craftsman along the way.
There's just so many people
that I've met
that have opened their hearts
and I I love
And you find
at the root of it how
what kind of artist
they really are
and their stories and so
that's just,
it's just so beautiful.
We raced quite a bit
against each other
-and became friends.
-Oh, yeah, yeah.
You're the, probably
the only guy I talk to
-So
-[chuckles]
We don't have time
for anything
I don't have time
for anything,
it's just like talk to you,
and then talk to my wife.
That's it.
Nick's funny.
Nick's always like
Nick kinda has like a
Soprano/De Niro face, like
And he always kind of like
doesn't want to say that
he can do it.
"It's possible.
It's possible."
And Brian Charles are like,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
we can do that."
Yeah, he's very positive,
like, he said,
"Brian Charles
is, like, game."
Jason's great.
[chuckles] Um,
he's like, uh, energy,
he's like a force of will.
Working with Jay,
he's such a lovable guy,
he's got this awesome vision
of, like, everything.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Fuck, yeah,
I want to do that."
But then, like,
you get home, you're like,
"Fuck! Why did I say that?
Shit! That's gonna
be stressful."
His character
and motivation helps,
you want to,
you know,
make yourself better.
[soft music playing]
[Jason] These guys,
they need to make four
of these bikes a year,
but there's such a one-off
and a small space,
I want to celebrate that.
I want to celebrate
those artists that are just
doing it out of
their back shop.
[soft music playing]
[soft music playing]
[honks horn]
In my journey to create
rare bikes to be ridden,
I was led to Mike Silvio
to build a never before seen
1936 bike.
[Mike] No way!
[Jason] Yeah, yeah.
There's only
There's only
a little bit left,
[indistinct conversation]
Hey your place is beautiful.
-This town is just
-[Mike] Yeah, get over here.
[Jason] When I got to
meet Silvio,
he was just so
He's hilarious, man.
He's so much fun,
um,
wealth of knowledge.
I love him to death.
[Mike] When I met Jay,
I had an absolute blast and
and met a guy who is
overly passionate
about antique bikes and
in love with them
just like I was
and we immediately
hit it off.
Jason's been in and around
the industry for a good while
and his name's coming up
left and right.
Holy moly!
This place is beautiful.
[Jason] He's built
this museum.
He's uh,
he's wonderful at his craft,
and he's got a museum of
One day, he might inspire me
to have a museum.
That's original paint?
[Mike] That's original paint.
That's the bike that
started it all for me.
Oh, man!
When I was little,
I always wanted to have, uh,
you know, I wasn't really
raised by my father but
and wanting to build a bike,
um, build a car
and wrench on that,
you know, I didn't have
that opportunity growing up.
Yeah, I think it's
one of those things
I always wanted to do,
and so definitely
building a bike
was something huge to me,
and at 19
is when I'd saved up
enough money
and I bought my first Harley,
and, um
and when you get old Harleys,
you learn how to
work on bikes.
And then you also
get to meet a lot of friends,
and it brings you
into a community
and takes you around the world
and meet more friends.
[Mike] The antique
motorcycle community
is a very, very small
close-knit group of people.
And that's the best part is,
you're growing
relationships with people
that are like-minded,
that are curators,
that are builders.
-Right here.
-Here it is.
I've never
I've never seen this.
I bought it and had it
shipped straight to him, so
pretty goddamn excited.
Whoa!
How does it look?
My gosh!
Look at that.
[Mike] I've always
worked with my hands.
I've always been the
I used to get in trouble
when I was a kid
for taking stuff apart.
I'd get a new toy and I'd
had to take it apart to
figure out how it worked.
When I got involved
with motorcycles,
I wanted to
know everything about it.
[engine starts]
[engine revving]
[inaudible]
I love it.
[Mike] I get
just as much satisfaction
out of working on a bike
as I do riding the bike.
-[Jason] Food!
-I know, it smells great.
-It smells good out here.
-So how was the house?
-How was it?
-God
Was it Was it like
[Jason] Me and Mike Wolfe
are both from Iowa.
You know, I respected his
his art form, and just,
he is such a wealth
of knowledge
and, you know,
he perpetuates and keeps
all the information
from all the old timers,
but now, just like,
it it sucks
because of a lot of people
that are just passing on
with all these beautiful
history and stories and, um,
I think Mike is definitely
that connection to it.
[soft music playing]
[Jason] Good.
-Whoa!
-[Mike W laughing]
[Jason] Holy shit!
We all walked away alive.
The bikes are good, we're not.
Bikes are good.
-Too much fun.
-[indistinct conversation]
You know, I get to spend
time with these guys
and they open up their homes,
and and you get to see
what inspired them
and inspired their styles,
and ultimately,
it's just all these artists.
All right. First time
I'm gonna see this, Mike.
[Mike W] I've never seen
a pink '36.
I've been asked to build
a lot of different bikes
a lot of different
colors, man.
Bro!
Yeah.
I've always wanted
Pepto Bismol.
Oh, okay.
That looks beautiful.
-[Mike W] I'm trying
-I know you don't like it.
[Mike] No, I do like it.
-Don't lie, don't lie.
-I do.
No, here's the thing, you
you, you I
-I've never
-[laughter]
[Jason] "If you've got
a bunch of spare parts,
would you be cool
if I buy 'em off you
and we'll go make a '36?"
"Hell, yeah!"
"Awesome.
Who's your builder?"
-"Silvio."
-"Who's Silvio?"
"Mike Silvio, look it up."
My momma raised me
on Elvis, right?
I have a '55 pink Cadillac
that I've had in my whole
that I've had
since I was early 20s.
I still have it.
I've always wanted
a '36 knucklehead.
You have two,
you have the original paint.
Well, when Jason
showed up and
presented this
opportunity to me,
I was floored. I was stoked.
I couldn't have been
more excited
because he's a great
friend of mine.
I got a little nervous
when he told me
he wanted a pink '36.
[Jason] I think out of
all the '36s I have,
I don't have
an original frame.
This is the first.
-This is a
This bike will be
-[Mike] This will be
every single piece on this,
thank you to Mr. Wolfe.
[Mike] That was one of
the first things
that really stood out.
When I first met Jason,
everything was pink.
His shoes, his clothes,
his jackets,
his keychain to his car.
He was the one, like,
"Let's build this '36.
I wanna make it pink,
it's my favorite color."
Um,
he's like, "Yeah." I'm like,
"Are you cool with that?"
Then he's like,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah,
let's do that."
[Mike W] I can imagine,
the people, they're going to
find this bike
and they're going to
look at it and go, like,
"Who the hell painted
a '36 knucklehead pink?"
You know?
[laughing]
[Mike] That is a
original '36 knucklehead
speedometer.
-That is a rare essential part
right there.
-Bro.
-Muah.
-[Mike] Yeah.
I've always wanted
one of them.
Just being with my friends too
and watching them do it,
there's a certain satisfaction
you get out of using
your hands.
[Mike W] Silvio is a guy
that people come to and say,
"I want to do this.
I want to build that."
And they'll usually hand him
a transmission, a carburetor,
or an engine,
or sometimes he's lucky
and he gets a whole bike.
I can just imagine
him going by,
65 miles an hour,
and somebody standing
on the corner going,
you know, "That was
That was like a tsunami
of badassery."
[Jason] I mean,
this bike is like,
it's that ultimate moment
where you go like,
"I can't believe
I have an original.
Every part on it is original."
I love the idea of taking
all these little pieces
found by Mike Wolfe,
gathered from all over
this beautiful country,
and then bringing them
together with Silvio.
With Wolfe
and Silvio, it's
He's got a phenomenal
place, too.
This guy's just a
He's a whiz, man.
I love him.
I'll see you in six months,
and you better have
my fucking shit done.
-Do you understand?
-[laughter]
[soft music playing]
You know, the idea of taking
a very expensive 1930s bike,
disassemble it,
scan it all,
and then have to do
all the castings
and basically build it
from scratch.
No one would buy
a bike like that
and take it completely apart,
but we did.
-[Brian] Oh.
-[man] How's it going?
-We got the motorcycle.
-[man] Yeah, yeah, it's here.
-The parts are here.
-Finally. Tell me about it.
-1930 DAH
-Whoo! That's pretty sweet.
Harley-Davidson.
Super rare.
[Brian] You gotta think, like,
you know,
these bikes back then
were handcrafted
and handmade
with the entire force
of the motor company
behind a small group
of people.
I mean, every single
part of this,
for as much
you might have worked on,
100 motorcycles before,
but this is such a challenge
because nothing existed.
Feel like you ♪
A digital representation
of a part that can't be,
-you know,
uh, reproduced easily.
-Yeah.
Getting that digital footprint
or fingerprint in is always
really smart.
So then we're going to
be able to copy these
and even get the original
casting marks
and everything
right down to the T.
[soft music playing]
Let their hearts
hangout so they can
write you ♪
[Nick] As we're
building these bikes,
you run into little things
that don't quite add up
or don't fit right.
You know, every little part
was handmade
and all right,
you put something together,
"Oh, this part doesn't fit.
All right, we'll get
these scanned
and we'll have the prints
and then we'll go
to the foundry
and make that."
[man vocalizing]
[Randy] Hey, uh,
we can be anywhere else
on this planet,
any other square.
But it is right here
where we stand.
This is it.
This is what we do.
This is it. So, appreciate it.
As my wife say
and I always say,
"If it's not sketchy,
it ain't fun."
-[all laughing]
-That's not how we live.
-[all laughing]
-That's not how we live.
[Jason] I think having
all these bikes together
and all these men
who I call friends
together is actually
You know,
that's the accomplishment.
Building this world
for my friends
to capture this
and we can put together
something,
that's amazing
and that right there
is like done.
Accomplished it.
I had this dream
to be able to take
all of my friends
that I have ever met
in this community,
bring them together,
and then race each other.
And what came out of it
were the Roamers.
[rock music playing]
Fire for the hills
Pick up your feet
and let's go ♪
Head for the hills
Pick up steel on your way ♪
And when you find a piece
of them in your sight ♪
Fire at will
Don't you waste no time ♪
[Jason] They are an incredible
bike group
whose brotherhood
and love for bikes
runs deep.
They have an unbelievable
sense of camaraderie
and when I met them,
it was like being welcomed
into a family.
I wanted to make my own
something for my buddies,
something special, so
-Brian Cannon,
-Is there a smaller outfit?
We got medium
Medium there-ish.
There's a rebellious nature
to the motorcycle community.
I'm just a fan, really,
of it all.
The trees can't grow
without the sun
in their eyes ♪
And we can't live
if we're too afraid to die ♪
[engine revs]
Hold on tight
Yes, hold on tight
You're too slow ♪
[Jason] We all have
a deep-rooted love for bikes.
And I love the idea
of building an event
where we could all share
this passion together.
One of my favorite parts
of the bike community
is how small it feels.
You meet one person
and suddenly
you have all these people
who share the same love
as you do.
[inaudible]
Through Matt Walksler
I met Buzz Kanter,
a legend
in the bike community.
He published in a lot of
top motorcycle magazines.
And he has a deep knowledge
of vintage bikes.
So, this is
Tell me a little bit about it.
It's an original paint,
original 1927 Harley,
with under 800 original miles.
It's over 95 years old
and it's travelled
less than 800 original miles.
It's a holy grail bike.
-You guys ready?
-[Nick] I'm ready.
Dream come true.
[Jason groans]
Original everything.
Holy shit!
The 1927 JD is just
unbelievable to look at.
It's hard to explain
just how rare this bike is.
It's like looking
at a time capsule
from 100 years ago.
[Kanter] Anyone
who gets close to this bike
and looks at it
can see the amazing
paintwork, the craftmanship
that can be duplicated today,
but without the feel,
without the soul.
[Jason] I love things
from the early 1900s
in every way.
I think
there's a whole different
way of just things
being built.
[Nick] You know,
first dirt bike I think
I had it is when I was 13.
I saved up enough money
from cutting lawns
and bought my first dirt bike.
Of course, it didn't run.
So, I had to take it apart.
Learned that way,
put a new piston in.
So, like, right off the bat,
I was a mechanic.
[Jason] Something I love
is taking a museum piece
like this
and not just staring at it,
but starting it.
To do that with a bike
this rare is unheard of.
-[engine sputtering]
-[Jason] Oh.
-Oh!
-[all cheering]
[engine revving]
[screams]
[groans]
The bike was preserved
so well. It had vegetable oil
in the tank so that wouldn't
rust out overtime.
We fired it up
and it just smoked up
the entire shop.
How many races was this in?
How did it get the paint
like that?
There was the soul it holds
and how much
sweat and friction.
Just knowing that Nick
brought that bike back to life
with his son there
experiencing his first ride,
uh, that's beautiful.
[inaudible]
And that feeling,
that's what I'm chasing
when I find an old bike.
[gentle instrumental
music playing]
Oil, right there.
I hear it, hear it.
[Mike] Coming in.
It's in here.
[Jason] Love you, brother.
-Shit.
-[laughs]
-Let's oil it.
-You guys ready?
-Yeah.
-All right.
-Yes.
-It's ready.
Oh!
-Wow!
-Wow!
Holy shit!
Look at this.
[Mike W] I mean
[groans]
Ooh. Boy it look good.
Lookin' at the Pink 36,
I was blown away.
Pickin' all these pieces,
and then having Silvio
put together my
first stock 36
and then you design it
the way you want it.
To go from a wild idea
to this finished bike
Then, I get to rip it around
with my friends
on their 36s
there's nothing better.
[gentle music playing]
All right. So
This is the first time
I'm gonna see the DAHs.
Little surprise for me.
[man] Rule number one.
[chuckles]
Oh, damn!
Bro
I've built and seen
so many beautiful bikes
and this is the most
amazing moment
I'm seeing, these bikes.
That's beautiful.
It's hard to believe
that this all started
from one idea
of just seeing a DAH
brought back to life.
But now, standing in front
of them,
being able to ride them,
it's an absolute privilege.
[inaudible]
It's pretty amazing to go,
that bike right there.
We got Jeff Decker
coming in to buy
that from him
"Can we make some of these?
Cause if we can
If we have this,
we can make our own bikes.
And if we're making our bikes,
we can make DAHs and DARs
and there's only
one DAR out there."
Sixteen months later,
just so we can race 'em.
-Yeah.
-So, we can all get together
and race these 'cause
all those pictures
you see of
All those guys in 1937
having a good time on
these bikes,
I'm like, I wanna do that.
Why can't we do that?
Seeing these bikes
lined up in front of me,
ready to race
with all my friends,
I just can't believe
we pulled it off.
[engine starts]
[indistinct chatter]
I just wanna say thank you
for for selling me this
and then also passing down
the history, and, like,
you know, I know
you love this bike,
but it means a lot
that I you know,
I feel I have
the vision to make
something like this,
where we're all together.
-So, just thank you for--
-No, absolutely, man.
And I'm happy
that it turned out this way.
-So beautiful.
-Yeah. And this is probably
the only time.
Uh, there's never been
four DAHs
running at once together.
Never.
[Nick]
Building something that
nobody's ever done before
turned out to be
a hell of a lot more involved
than we actually thought.
[Brian] Nobody's ever
ridden these things.
Maybe a handful of people
in the entire world
over the course of time
have ridden one of these.
It was just like a pipe dream.
It's one of those things
where you're, like,
"Uh, wish we could do that.
Can we do that?"
"Oh, we're gonna do that.
All right." And then,
it all sinks in for everyone.
[inaudible]
[Nick] You know,
I get my own vision
of a bike
and to put a motor together
and that whole anxiety,
like, how's it gonna run
and then when it fires up,
like, uh,
it's the greatest feeling.
[engine misfires]
[engine starts]
They are so rare
and the way it feels,
they're, like, in a way
they sound, they sound
like these lions.
We woke up at 5:30
this morning
and we started 'em up
and it just sound like this
It's just this
pride of lions
growling in the dark.
[Nick] It's been
a lot of buildup.
It's, like
What are we gonna be
doing with these?
What are we gonna be
doing, like,
where are we gonna be riding?
How are we gonna set 'em up?
[Brian] I mean, whether or not
it was on our end,
or on, you know,
the filming schedule,
or just, you know,
the logistics of everything,
I mean, I think anything
could have gone right, so
It's been very challenging
and obviously taxing
on everyone
because we wanna
make all these things
come true.
And here's the big thing.
Like, it's all me.
It's all my heart.
It's everything I wanna do.
You're literally watching
everything that I love.
And, so, that's scary.
It actually got to the point
where I didn't know
where we were gonna
race these.
I knew I wanted to race these.
I figured it would be easy
to find a hill
'cause we've done it before.
But it actually all
kinda opened up
with, uh,
a dear friend of mine.
I was over at his house
at Thanksgiving
and he told me
that he had a track.
And I was, like, "What?"
And we went and saw his track.
And it just I called
I called my partner Brian.
I said, "I got it.
We have the track."
And I'm telling my friend
about it.
And he's going,
"I don't know if you can race
these old bikes in through it"
And also, the risk is,
there's so much dust here
that it's very fine dirt
that it gets in the motors
you're blowing up 100
plus thousand dollar bikes.
You risk a lot for, uh,
you risk blowing them up,
to, uh, to show the world.
But it's worth it.
[engine revving]
I had this crazy idea
to take uh,
this one very rare bike,
the DAH.
Took it apart and we made
three of 'em.
This hasn't happened, uh,
since probably the 1930s.
Generals gathered
in their masses ♪
Just like witches
at black masses ♪
Evil minds
that plot destruction ♪
Sorcerer
of death's construction ♪
In the fields
the bodies burning ♪
As the war machine
keeps turning ♪
Death and hatred
to mankind ♪
Poisoning
their brainwashed minds ♪
Oh, Lord, yeah ♪
[rock music playing]
[music stops]
[engine whirring]
[Jason] Getting to see Decker
do a hill climb with the bike,
that started
the entire journey,
it was surreal.
The slant artist.
[shouting] Hey, Decker!
That was so cool, man.
He didn't think he was
gonna be doing that
two years ago. [laughs]
All right.
First one of the top
out of these three
between Ken and Charles,
and, uh and Toscano,
five grand,
and it goes to wherever
you wanna donate that
to a charity.
Five grand on this one,
all right?
It's the first one.
You guys ready?
Let's get cameras ready.
-[engine starts]
-[rock music playing]
I'm growin' up ♪
I'm gettin' real big ♪
They're gonna put me
in the goddamn redwoods
next to ♪
Next to
General Sherman, baby ♪
I got a Ma that hides
under the staircase
and she don't wanna come out ♪
She got the brain
but I got the biscuit ♪
Come on, lady
Open your mouth ♪
I found a number
called into the doctor ♪
Givin' her the pills
for free ♪
She's at the bottle
shakin' from the handle ♪
Tie a little arm 'round me ♪
I'm growin' up ♪
How many times you're
hidin' in the basement ♪
Hangin'
from the bathroom floor? ♪
Lookin' at your back
and lookin' to the ceiling
still you gotta ask for more ♪
Well, I found a number
called into the doctor ♪
Givin' her the pills
for free ♪
And she's at the bottle
shakin' from the handle ♪
Tie a little arm 'round me
let's go ♪
Tie 'em right around me ♪
Tie 'em real good ♪
We're getting real
right here ♪
Let's get it all
right up now ♪
That's right ♪
Come on ♪
Stand up
Stand up straight ♪
Stand up straight ♪
[music stops]
[gentle music playing]
[Jason] These bikes,
they're like paintings.
These incredible works of art,
and they've just been
sittin' there.
This is, uh, it's really
a dream come true for me.
'Cause I wanted to make
this show about
all these artisans,
and, um, you guys
are the top for me.
You know, I love
all these old bikes.
I don't
Sadly, I don't know how to
build these by hand.
But I appreciate you guys
so much.
And I love ridin' and really
being a filmmaker,
I love having my friends
What I'm good at,
capture what you guys
are great at.
[Jeff] I treat these
like delicate things
that aren't to be touched.
And you guys
are hammering these things.
And these are better
than the originals.
It's unbelievable.
And to see them treated
the way they were
meant to be treated,
you know, it's something
of another level.
[Terry] The group that you've
brought together
that we got to play
with a last few years,
it's just family.
It's amazing!
The the people
from all over come together,
like-minded,
and it's just
you guys are amazing.
-[Jason] Thanks, Terry.
-[man] Yeah.
-Absolutely.
-We love you, man.
[Jason] Taking something
that's never been ridden
since the '30s
and then making four of 'em
and racin' em,
they've never even had
four of 'em together, ever,
to race.
It's so cool. And so much fun
and the people that are
creating them are just,
I can't believe
I'm doing this,
and I'm, like,
I can't believe
I'm doing this.
And I hope people get inspired
by that going, like, "Yeah.
that shit's possible."
It's not possible? I'm, like,
"Hmm, is it?" Let's go do it.
Let's try.
[Brian] I hope my memory
is good enough that I never
forget it. [laughs]
That's pretty much. It's been
really, really amazing.
I mean, when I'm gone,
it'll still be there,
hopefully.
Like to leave something
to my kid.
He gets to see this.
'Cause he's only
one years old now.
So, he also sees the process
of what we've done,
and, yeah, something to
for my kid to see.
It's really wild
to see 'em all come alive.
And, especially,
when you've got, you know,
a dozen motorcycles
firing at once,
they're, like, hyper tuned.
And it really is,
these monsters, you know,
barking at each other.
[Jason] Before I got into
acting, I was bussing tables,
and I was working
at a surf shop.
I was 19 years old,
just wanted to climb and surf.
When I, you know,
got into acting on the show,
I didn't make much money.
And I lived with my dad.
I was, like, all I wanted
was a Harley.
And I wanted a Panhead
and I finally got it.
I just knew I wanted one.
I've ridden tons of dirt bikes
biked my whole life.
But I didn't know
anything about it. I just knew
I loved that sound,
I loved the way it felt.
I wanted to learn it,
I wanted to, like,
just dive into
the culture of it.
But all I wanted to do
is go across America.
And I wanted to
just, to go to all
these destinations
and just be, like,
all right, here's just
my life is in the saddle bags
and I was just this vagabond
I wanted to have my Harley.
You could be on a new bike
and I could be
on this old one
we're on the same road at the
same moment and it's just,
it's such a high
to be on something
that's so old.
I think there's nothing
like it in the world.
[gentle music playing]