La New Wave of Custom Motorcycles non è un movimento di massa, ma piuttosto una nicchia con alcuni leader in grado di creare e diffondere i trend, e una miriade di follower più o meno ispirati, dal meccanico preparatore nella stagione invernale (quando i tagliandi non sono in tanti a farli), al ragazzo che si mette di buona lena sulla Guzzi del padre, ferma da 20 anni in un pagliaio. The Greasy Hands Preachers è un documentario che celebra i nuovi custom motorcycles builders, i più noti, d’accordo, ma che in realtà diventano i portavoce dell’intero movimento. Le riprese, la scelta delle musiche e la fotografia ricordano il primo “On Any Sunday”, quello del ’71, trasportando lo spettatore in un viaggio ideale all’interno della scena. A differenza del capolavoro di Bruce Brown, The Greasy Hands Preachers si sofferma anche sulla filosofia alla base degli stili di vita e di lavoro dei moto-artisti, i quali non risparmiano considerazioni, talvolta molto profonde, sul perché hanno scelto di fare della loro passione il mestiere della vita.
[The New Wave of Custom Motorcycles is not a mass movement, but a tiny niche. Within this group of passion-driven folks, you can find leaders, that are few builders who make the new trends, and a bunch of followers, from regular mechanics (who preferably customize bikes in the Winter season when there is not maintenance to perform on new Ducatis or BMWs), to the 20 years old boy who goes through the restoration of his father’s Guzzi. The Greasy Hands Preachers is a documentary that celebrates the new custom motorcycles builders, the most famous, ok, making them the spokesmen for the entire movement. Shooting style, music and photography remind us of the first “On Any Sunday”, transporting the spectator in an ideal journey in the middle of the scene. However, The Greasy Hands Preachers focuses on the philosophy who drive custom builders in their life and work choices. What we can hear are thoughts and considerations, often very profound, about the reasons why they decided to make of their passion the center of their life].
Ci sono tutti i più noti in The Greasy : dall’Europa con El Solitario e Blitz Motorcycles, all’America e all’Australia con Deus Ex Machina, Roland Sands e SS Classics. Il vero protagonista, per quanto ci riguarda, è il grandissimo Shinya Kimura, costruttore perfetto e artista straordinario, le cui moto non sono solo delle opere d’arte, ma dei missili testati sui laghi salati di Bonneville.
[Every famous builder is on The Greasy Hands Preachers: El Solitario and Blitz Motorcycle from Europe, Deus Ex Machina, Roland Sands and SS Classics from Australia and the United States. The real protagonist, however, is the master moto-artist Shinya Kimura, perfect builder and tremendously creative mind, whose motorcycles are not only pieces of art, but racing machines for Bonneville Salt Flats].
Shinya Kimura (back) on Bonneville Salt Flats
David Borras from El Solitario M.C.
Roland Sands and his ’74 Husqvarna CR
Roland Sands showing us how to ride
Something we shouldn’t try at home
Shinya Kimura getting his bike fine-tuned for Bonneville Salt Flats
Blitz + El Solitario gang ride
Valeria Libano from El Solitario
The riding fella. Not any riding fella
Shannon Sweeney of SS Classics
Riding around Skye Island in Scotland (sooner or later, make sure you plan a trip there)
El Solitario’s ride
Sidecar on Bonneville Salt Flats
All photos have been framed from The Greasy Hands Preachers documentary. The Greasy Hands Preachers documentary is available worldwide on Vimeo On Demand and distributed in Italy by Rodaggio Film Distribution. Several Italian movie theaters have already expressed their interest in screening The Greasy Hands Preachers from July 2015 on. Stay tuned!
