Apparently breakdowns inspire you!

Once upon a time in the West!

While autumn was painting our lands in rust on the other side of the world, in California, the sun never stopped shining. With the _"Kustom Surfers"_ and journalists from **Moto Heroes and Kustom Magazine**, we were totally out west. Having arrived a few days earlier in Los Angeles, we were waiting to pick up **Fred Fosse's 1940 Indian Scout** from Kustom Surfers, which would represent France in a motorcycle and Hot Rod race. Legendary races on a beach where all signs of modernity were forbidden, which suited us perfectly. _During the journey between Paris and LA, the bike was roughly handled, with a split handlebar and ignition problems (Fred, correct me if I'm wrong). With 48 hours to go before the race and after all the effort put into organizing this trip, it was impossible for the entire team to give up on this project, which had mobilized the Kustom Surfers for a year._ For once, there was no question of relying on me; I stutter in English that even Google Translate struggles to understand. Fortunately, **Charlie Lecash** (a journalist) is a regular in Los Angeles, and like any good journalist, he has his contacts on the ground. From phone calls to phone calls, from garage visits to workshop visits, we finally got a contact lost in the middle of nowhere, far from surfer beaches and other tourist traps... It's worth noting that it was a weekend. The Indian in the back of the Ford Econoline V8 was followed by a family SUV hiding a supercharged V6, carrying the entire team. We cruised... Here we were, worried, rolling along asphalt ribbons delimited by yellow lines in the middle of a movie-like landscape that reminded us all of a memory without ever having set foot in it! _A scent of forgotten America reigns here, a landscape painted in pastels of yellow, ochre, and azure... Country music echoes from car radios in vehicles from another era! An empty school bus crosses the landscape aimlessly, windmills attached to hangars turn with a rusty clanking sound. A charmless roadside diner welcomes large Kenworths with gleaming chrome._ A small industrial zone with 4 white sheet metal buildings, cars awaiting quick restoration, a tractor as old as the orphaned 1963 Cadillac Superior in the middle of a field, all paint a postcard of deep America. The workshop is indeed there, the guy whose name I've forgotten sees a troupe of French people with exotic faces and behaviors show up at his place; he welcomes us in shorts and in a cool way. It's not a motorcycle repair shop; it's a welding company with dirt bikes inside! We take out the bike and let the expert do his job; he's communicative and friendly, he works fast, he's meticulous and not afraid of my big Nikon... he finds it amusing. The welding is perfect, Fred tries to start his Indian-head bike... Even our shamanic prayers are useless; it coughs and smokes like a peace pipe. So the boys dismantle, tamper, fiddle, tinker. _It's the ignition... Everyone is desperate. Damn, who can find an ignition for a 1940s Indian Scout._ Despite all his experience, the workshop guy admits defeat and struggles to find us a solution with his iPhone glued to his ear; we didn't ask for so much, yet he does it... We go get beers, it's the only compensation he grants us, so we get friendly and promise to stay in touch, and then everyone leaves in silence because even if the story is beautiful... It's tragic for someone who wants to achieve a dream. 37 miles on the "one-one" separate us from Ventura "The shop" where the Indian specialist is waiting for us, but that's another story; meanwhile, it's very quiet in the Econoline V8, we drive along the coast listening to music and car and soda ads... **Once upon a time in the West!** Text & images: Laurent Scavone [caption id="attachment_1418" align="aligncenter" width="667"] Fred Fosse of Kustom Surfers on his Indian Scout / GF 1940 Sweater[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1412" align="aligncenter" width="1800"] Fred (left) and Charlie (right) on the Indian Scout[/caption] Here are some images from the trip between this famous garage and the race venue. I hope you'll enjoy these pictures of frankly insane motorcycles and cars! Laurent Scavone [caption id="attachment_1425" align="aligncenter" width="667"] Charlie Lecach, journalist and Harley Davidson specialist[/caption]