David Mann Chopperfest, Ventura, CA
Manndatory!
Our eyeballs suffered from severe chopper overload at this year’s David Mann Chopperfest in Ventura, California. Chopperfest: that sounds like a promise for sure. But who in tarnation is David Mann? If you were around in the millennium before this one, and were using Milwaukee machinery for getting around, improving your social standing or just for plain, ordinary fun, you might have also been consuming legendary mags such as Easyriders or Choppers. Dave’s art usually populated these rags in the form of centerfolds that were easy to remove and even easier to stick to your cupboard or to decorate your room. As you can see from the few samples we managed to dig up, not always of the family friendly kind…
In the 21 years since Dave left us
for greener pastures, the Chopperfest has developed into a true highlight, with loads of custom bikes, many of them looking as if they had manage to ride out of one of his centerfolds right onto the Ventura fairground. The event is open to all brands, but as an antique and custom bike show naturally a lot of Harleys turn up. So we parked our own Baja Twins under the W&W marquee and went discovering Dave’s legacy between the bikes, the vendors, the art market, the swap meet, the beer and food stalls, the live bands …
We also had brought a few of our
rare remanufactured parts that can breathe new life into old hogs, and had a lot of good talks and a good time too. Dave’s World is alive and kicking.
