The Container Yard Classic 2010

We live motorcycles - not labels. Some think it odd - the eclectic hoard of Crotch Rockets, Sportys, and broke-ass Yamahondas. Icon is an enlightened look into the future. A fun ride of heavy-wristed abuse and irreverent attitude. We have never felt the need to discriminate over displacement, cylinder configuration, or country of origin. The bikes of Icon are crafted with a unique methodology: creation of the new from the ashes of the rashed.

The current batch of Icon customs are based on our fondness for the dirt oval. And for choppers. And for cafe racers. All of these genres are conscripted into our ranks. Enter Cold Dead Fingers, Anemic, The Snakecharmer, and both lastly and leastly, The Kitten. Armed with large knobbed tires we sent this batch of air-cooled combatants to war in the gravel strewn outskirts of North Portland. A zesty enterprise of gas spewing tanks and dust choked nostrils. A course dictated by rusty containers and disgruntled longshoremen, backlit by a blistering August sun. An event that would eventually become known as the Container Yard Classic. No one would survive alive.

Deep in the heart of NE Portland the battle rages - Team Icon vs. The Bikes of Icon 

Empire Mobile Lab

Uh-oh, looks like somebody just got themselves a new ride. By somebody we of course mean Team Empire. And by new we obviously mean old as hell. Witness the all new (to them) Team Empire Mobile Domination Stunt Headquarters of Doom. 

And for Our Next Trick...

If you thought the conservative motorcycling minions hated the Slabtown magazine ad - wait until they see it plastered in large format across the side of a derelict Chevy cube van. And then parked in front of their suburban Washington house - yeah, we're looking at you Shaw.

Is it weird that wide format vinyl printers turn us on?

4 foot tall cartoon hooker ass - Icon - always classy

Load 'em Up

Sometimes you gotta know when to hold 'em. Sometimes you gotta know when to load 'em. After 47 kicks with no love you call in the Sprinter Van for a midtown extraction. The life of an Ironhead rider is never easy.

Cold Dead Fingers will ride another day...maybe.

The Kitten

Back in 2008, when gas was close to four bucks a gallon, people got scared…. people got real scared. Would this mean the end of bikes as we know them? Is it time to buy an electric? Should we move to Canada? Some of us went so far as to downsize our daily rider just to save a few pennies for Friday at Slabtown. Others just downsized our wife’s rides so we could continue on in 1100cc bliss. 

Enter the Kitten. Purchased new by an Icon employee to replace his wife’s Suburban as the family grocery getter, it only took a long winter and a little time on E-bay before it faced the inevitable grinder.

230cc’s of unsalted Honda butter. Good for 100mpg and 71.3mph.

Rendering the bike worthless

 Our patented handlebar-weakening process - you know, for fun

Jason Britton sampling the kitten's flavor

They ask: “Why would you do this to a perfectly good bike?”  We ask: “Were you just talking?”

 The true test of any bike comes during the SFRC “Alley Sweeper” Urban Enduro.

Hobo cake from the back-alleys of NE Portland

Headfirst into a wall at 35mph - this is why removing the cross-brace from a set of Renthals is a bad idea

Maybe if we park it nose first the wife won’t notice

Bars

Some new 1" bars just showed up - is this a sign that another Icon sportster build has begun? 

I'm guessing it's gonna be a flat tracker of some kind (I know, I know - trackers are so fat tire...)

Long, Tall, & Fugly

In a post back in the early days of the Icon blog we told you that we like all bikes (except bmw’s of course.) If memory serves, a Frisco Chop was mentioned as a style we tolerate. Pictured below is the bike from which that language arose. Two years in the compound just to get a big v-twin stuffed into a rigid frame with little regard to anything but the correct color of flame-red-orange-flake-pearl to be applied. Shown here undergoing the traditional Slabtown inauguration ceremony. Let the faithful know, we have a new pope.

Grant peers down at his creation - at last becoming aware of how hideous it actually is

Dressed for success, Grant admires the ritual abusing of his creation by various Icon staff

Dog Daze

So the Icon Garage Team walks into Slabtown and there's this dog sitting at the bar. The dog looks at them and says "are any of you a doctor?". The Garage Team answers with a unanimous  "No". To which the dog responds "I didn't think so". 

Any day or night is good times at the Slab - except Mondays - those are kinda fruity

Satchel bellies up - don't judge him until you know all the facts

Enjoying Slabtown's "Cocktail Hour" - if you lay your head on the bar long enough someone will eventually bring you a bowl of cool tap water

The Slabtown Chronicles "The Delivery"

For those of you just joining the Icon Blog we welcome you. For those of you already following our daily moto-centric commentary welcome back. We're starting April off with an animated short from the mind of our very own Lukas. Set in the steamy underworld of Slabtown it chronicles the Metal God's rise to fame...kinda. Even if it doesn't really explain the Metal God at least it's entertaining and worth three minutes of your company's time. As always stay tuned to the Icon blog for daily updates, behind the scenes drama, special product releases, and general industry irreverence. Better yet - become a follower and add the Icon stream of digitus to your already overwhelmed infofeed... we'll send you a sticker in return.

Paging Dr. Z

The DRZ400 is a formidable machine, known for it’s fear inducing power, engineering prowess, and stunning beauty.


Ok, that’s a lie. But that's not to say it’s a moto without merits. 


The most dubious honor that any bike can hold is a place in Icon's slabtown stable...especially for more than a few months. Most Icon steed are ridden hard and put away seized. And then sold for a loss on Craigslist. But not the DRZ.

This fine specimen has outlasted the rest and lived well beyond it’s life expectancy; passed down through three generations of wheelie squids, supermoto spackers, and maintenance averse luddites - she stands as a yellow homage to the overbuilt and underpowered.

She was beautiful once - well beautiful for a DRZ

The abuse came mercilessly.....

....and often

Help me Slabtown Joel....you’re my only hope....crackle, repeat, hologram fade.......

Be On the Lookout

There is some TomFoolery going on in sparkplug land.

Ol' Number 42

So we received a few 'concerned' emails recently about the direction of the Icon brand. It seems that some of our recent blog posts might lead a casual observer to believe that we've gone Harley. Well nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that Icon has always had a great love for all brands of motorcycles. Except for you BMW, we do not love you. Other than that we truly do love them all. To prove our point check out this beauty - the pride of 1979 - the Yamaha IT400. Yep, in excellent condition these works of enduro art fetch damn near $800. Ours though was far from excellent. In fact she was soiled and foul and bordering on scrap. But she did run and came with a uniquely 'distressed' title. I'll never understand why some people feel the need to store their vehicle documentation in their ass crack.  Anyways back to the Slabtown headquarters of Icon she came. We've been hacking away at her decrepit chassis for over a year now. We're pretty sure we can get her into Concourse D' Elegance form in time for the spring opener. Fingers crossed. Stay glued to the shortwave for updates.

In her factory light blue and yellow she was quite sassy...

...after 30 years of offroad abuse and a antique white latex paint job, not so much - though the hand painted '42' is race 

Icon's old world craftsmanship at work. Stock pipe moved from an uppie to a downie. New (to us) XS400 front, YZ400 rear and RD400 top. Now we just need a seat from a DT400 and bam! - connect four (hundo).

Some fine tank artwork - it was originally done as a joke -  than we found out there is actually a motorcycle apparel company called 'Dragon Rider'. We sh*t you not. They are either the coolest or lamest brand ever. Me thinks the latter. 

Puddle Cutters

Representatives of the Puddle Cutters have crossed the 405 barrier and are now in the Slabtown territories. Let's hope that this one was lost and not a pre-scout indicating invasion. Blood will be shed...

Kawazuki

Strange how the tables of fortune can turn. How thin the line is between good and evil. Such is the case with the Icon Kawizuki. Starting life as a proud '79 Kawasaki KZ1000 police bike it patrolled the streets of Portland with a self righteous air. Until one seemingly small infraction, just a bit of oil blow-by, would allow the judicious Kawi to fall into the clutches of Icon. Originally we were going to chop it in our Slabtown based shop, but certain codes of the Geneva convention prevented such actions. So we sent it off to a secret Icon garage in Lithuania. It was there that this bike would learn its true fate. For all those dollars Icon staff had spent on impound fees, the forced trips across state lines to answer for unjust charges, for the humilation of unwarranted reckless tickets - the price of retribution would be high. 


And so the interrogation began. Without even asking a single question the stock swingarm was brutally removed with a torch. It's smouldering remains sent back to the factory as notification of the horrors that would ensue unless our demands were met. Our list was long and their reply insufficient, so the mechanical brutality was intensified. Cylinders were bored to very limit of their capacity. The stock front end, pathetic and weak, was subjected to lengthy verbal humiliation before being unceremoniously yarded. Even the wiring harness would be slashed and cut into a grotesque mockery of it's formerly handsome self. 


In time the Kawazuki would accept what it had become - a monster. Powered by Kawasaki but suspended by Suzuki it found itself unfit for life within normal society. It would be insatiably drawn towards the dark city streets and deserted parking lots it once despised. A fringe dwelling aircooled beast who's only solace would be amongst it's former enemies. Indeed the hand of fate is fickle. 

The Icon Sporty Update

Someone once said "Cool is a journey - not a destination". And by someone we mean Icon.  So we continue on our journey - propelled ever onward by the rapidly growing fleet of Slabtown Sportsters.

From apes to flattracks to clipons the Ironhead formerly known as 'Cold Dead Fingers' continues to evolve. She has given up her dirt track aspirations in lieu of ruling the high banked ovals of the greater tri-state area. Therefore we will now refer to her only as the 'Iron Lung'. Is she fast? Son, you better ask somebody...

You may not recognize this beauty after her much needed face lift. Yes, this is the previously documented Shitester. Eight hundred and eighty three cubic inches of fury. She is what is commonly referred to as a mechanics special or in old english a 'Shitebox'. But not to worry - big changes are headed her way. Things are gonna change for her, I can feel it.

 

And making her grand debut is the 'Cast Iron Bitch'. Years in the thinking, weeks in the making - she's a '80/'83/'85 Ironhead powered oxymoron. Don't blame Hodaka for this creation - they had nothing to do with it. No, this fine bit of engineering is all Slabtown. Nothing says Anemic like the word Anemic written in tire pen on your frame. She's a fine steed no doubt and would make any Vans wearing, ollie popping, glittery helmed biker proud. Currently we are debating if we can add another bend to the jockey shift lever to increase her legitimacy. What's that you say? Hardtail drop seats are so fat tire. Dammit - that is time critical information - we need to get on a better tweet feed!

Haven't got your fill of the most noble of Harley's yet? Head on over to Quad Cam Bastards for a complete overload of Sportster love.

Deus Ex Bridgeport

My Dad used to own a production machine shop in Detroit. I would work summers there as an assistant to Fritz the Machinist. I learned enough about machining to make me a huge danger to myself and those within fly cutter range. It's strange how sentimental I get at the smell of coolant, machine oil, and hot steel chips. The perfume of the Industrial Midwest. -Kurt

Fritz's purple iron killer 

 

Fritz's old handwritten tap & clearance chart that I still use to this day 

Block Wars

This is a photo of the Dock Boys all posed up on their Excelsior circa 1915. The Dock Boys, hailing from the rough Front Avenue shipyards, were known for their quick temper, excellent balance, and trademark dapper hats. A few years back the Icon Garage Team had a turf war with this crew over the disputed Slabtown blocks. It was a nasty rumble. The Dock boys brought their preferred weapons of choice - stevedore profanity and oily spit. This was considered a formidable arsenal in the era of steam and donkey. But the Icon Garage Team had long ago learned that harsh language and a jaw full of Red Man was no match for 1/4" plate steel and pure will. The Icon Garage Team, wielding their Spec Plus machetes , made short work of the Dock Boys. And that is how Icon claimed the Slabtown blocks for their own. 

WTF is Slabtown Cycle Works???

The 'Slabtown Cycle Works' name and its various logo's appear on a multitude of Icon jackets. We've never really described what this name means or why we use it. So for those of you who stay up at night wondering wtf is Slabtown - read on.

Specifically Slabtown refers to a geographical location in northwest Portland. It's a mixed use/light industrial area north of Lovejoy running out to around Vaughn. The area got its name due to the 'Slabs' of wood that were often stored in the yards of it's poor immigrant inhabitants. A 'Slab' is the scrap of wood that remains when a log is trimmed down from a cylinder shape into rectangle. Nowadays the slab is turned into sheet product such as OSB or MDF, but back in the day they were coveted as cheap firewood.

So why does Icon use this name? Simple - our office is located in the heart of Slabtown - a mere block away from the Slabtown bar and discotheque. Slabtown Cycle Works is the custom bike building arm of Icon consisting of a group of Icon employees that comes together on nights and weekends to fabricate custom motorcycles. Though the Icon brand is most commonly associated with sportbikes - any genre of bike is fair game at Slabtown. We work on everything from sportbikes to street trackers to rat fighters to frisco chops. But really - Slabtown is a more a mentality than a location. A DIY low-dollar busted-knuckle approach to custom bike building. Anybody can be Slabtown. Anyplace can be Slabtown. Build whatever bike you can with whatever tools you've got. The result will be your child and in the end that is what counts.

So next time you see the Slabtown patch on the chest of an Icon jacket you'll be in the know. That knowledge and a $1.80 will get you a coffee at Starbucks.