Gone but not forgotten .....

[WVEngraver]

This forum sure is hot with some fantastic work by great artisans. I'd like to introduce you all to one more who is no longer with us. He was my friend.

The CCA Colt collaboration is outstanding and it being a state theme, it got me to go through some old photos of a West Virginia Theme Chopper completed over 3 years ago which I had the honor and privilege to be a part of.

There is a special place in my heart for "state themes". When you witness the emotion, that projects like Mike's Colt or this motorcycle, draw out of people ... you understand. I am a firm believer that love and pride of your state is love of your country.

Built by the late Robert "Bear" Parsons and The Temple of Steel bike shop. This week marks the 3rd anniversary of his untimely death. Bear was one of the most talented artists I ever worked with. With a degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta, he could paint, sculpt and fabricate. He was a natural.

Because of the circumstances three years ago, this motorcycle was rarely seen outside of the state. Most of these photos have never been shown except for a couple on my web site.

In my opinion, it is one of the finest motorcycles ever built. No boobs, bones or skulls ... just a fantastic merging of hand painted murals, hand fabricated steel, sculpted steel and hand engraving .... poetry in motion.

Please no condolences as this is a celebration of Bear's life and his last completed project.

Enjoy the photos. Each scene features West Virginia landmarks and official state wild life.




New River Gorge from a hawk's eye view and the bridge over the rear fender.



Hand engraved hastelloy series, stainless steel axle cover with the Temple of Steel logo.



Below is the black bear, cardinal and state flower.



The grist mill ....



The tank panel and many of the other engraved parts are fabricated from Hastelloy C. A highly corrosion resistant stainless alloy. Tuff to cut. The eye of the Brooktrout fish is a ruby ... it is also right over Charleston.



Bear fabricated the air cleaner and sculpted the dome from steel. The gold paint is actual gold from the capitol building restoration which was being completed at the time.



Timing cover .... made from 303 stainless with 24K gold inlay.



The primary belt guard ... fabricated completely from hastelloy with the "WV" cut out for the engraved gold insert.



The rear fender and the coal miner was completely fabricated from steel. There is a piece of polished coal, from West Virginia's first mine, under the pick axe. The gold shield on the miner's chest commemorates the West Virginia coal miner. The license plate was a special issue and a gift from the DMV ... with West Virginia being the "35th" state admitted to the Union. Also, the miner's helmet lantern is the LED tail light.

During the construction of the bike, on two separate occasions, we had widows of miners who had lost their lives in the mines visit just to see this. It was pretty emotional to say the least.



Seneca Rock mural on the fender as well as Blackwater falls. The state seal embroidered on the ostrich skin seat.



The photogenic Governor Joe Manchin III ...

[JJ Roberts]

Chris...That has got to be one of the most beautiful motorcycles I have ever seen..."A Work of ART" a labor of love...I am in awe about everything! Where is it on display?

Yours truly,
JJ

www.jjrobertsengraver.com

[WVEngraver]

Hi JJ .. Bear was one of the best I've ever seen. He sat with a brush and hand painted these scenes right on the bike from memory. He was crazy with the passion.

After Bear passed away, the West Virginia Lottery raffled off the bike. The profits went to the Shriner's Children's Hospital in Charleston.

As to the whereabouts of the bike ... I have no idea. Probably sitting in someone's garage.

I hope that one day, it is donated back to the state and displayed at either the WV historical museum in Wheeling, the Cultural Arts center in Charleston or the Tamarack Foundation in Beckley.

----

[jlseymour]

WOW Chris That made my eyes water, Fantastic...
Maybe it will come up on the forum who has it in their garage...
They or who may have interest for our collectable art...
Gosh gust to seeit woud be Kool...
Thanks Chris for sharing this fanstic
Jerry

[Gail]

Quite a sight, Chris. I can only imagine how great it would look in person.
Thanks for sharing.
gail

[Daniel Houwer]

Nice pictures, Great bike, Grand painting and a big Bear lost.
Thanks for showing and sorry for the loss of this Bear.

Daniel.

[Dave London]

Fantastic Great photos and engraving, one of a kind that for sure. Bear will allways be remembered in his Art. Dave

[plat955]

That certainly must have been a labor of love! Beautiful and alot of different aspects of craftsmanship on one canvas. Love it!

[CarlW]

Chris,
Thats about the best looking bike I have ever seen. Thanks so much for posting. It is absolutely stunning. The guy was a true artist, in all ways. Sounds like he could do anything and the pictures prove it.

[ron]

Chris , that is just fantastic art work from both of you guys , thanks for sharing it with us , now you have to join the CCA with me and Mike and be part of the engravers in this club . we would be honored to have you with us .. Ron p

[robertmm]

Chris,sorry for the loss of a friend,brother,artist very view can ever say that about someone.Thanks for shareing.

[Roger Bleile]

Paul senior eat your heart out Did you ever notice that OCC never uses hand engraved parts on their bikes. Nice work Chris.

Roger

[MikeDubber]

I'm always amazed that beautiful art like this exists - and that there are so many wonderfully creative people who are dedicated to producing Masterpieces for the rest of us to enjoy.

Mike Dubber

[gordonhd55]

Sorry for the lost of your friend "Bear",Chris.That bike is absolutely beautiful."Bear" seems to been a very skilful hand fabricator, engraver & painter. The artisan world has lost a "master".Thank you for telling us about your friend and showing the pictures.

[WVEngraver]

Mike, I've been meaning to ask you .... are you by any chance "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona" in the picture you are using for your avatar? I've never done the yearly Harley Davidson ride but I hear that's one of the cool things they do on that trip.

Roger ... speaking of OCC, Bear's previous bike before this one was the "Metal Messiah". It beat OCC in the big Baltimore, Maryland bike builders show in 2004.

Their stuff looks great on TV and that's it. A couple of Miller Welding P.R. execs saw this bike when they were here in Charleston for a conference. They said the bike OCC built was terrible and not worth the $150K paid.

-----

I'm happy everyone enjoyed the photos. Bear sure would have been. This is the first time in three years I have looked at them and talked about them. I swore off motorcycles and ventured into engraving guns and jewelry .... never thought I would do another bike part again. Time does heal up things ... a little.

All things in life - success, failure, glory and life itself is fleeting. What people remember are the emotions that connect them to a project. Having part in a project that accomplished that was worth a lifetime.

[Peter]

Thanks for posting those pictures and letting us know of Bear. I had not heard of him before but that is one of the finest bikes i've ever seen.

No surprise his bike beat OCC. They USED to fabricate some nice bikes but they seemed to go the way of Jessie James and once they achieved notoriety, they stopped doing what got them there?

It would be interesting to know what happened to Bears bike.

Peter

[Charlie]

That bike is worth walking across the road to look at.

[monk]

the greatest gift of all-- that's not just art, that's love-- to the people who live and work there. i don't think i've seen anything with such a "reaching out", from 1 individual to an entire populace, such as that !

[Mal]

awesome work , the attention to detail is amazing , would have been inspireing to watch him work

[Dale338]

Chris that is beautiful work of art!! Im Blowin away