A Pioneer Of Far Out Paint Jobs & Bodywork In The 1950's
Dean Lanza of echo park Los Angeles became very well known in the late 1950's for his customization of motorcycles and parts from gas tanks, custom fenders, frames and was also performing very "far out" paint jobs in the late 1950's.
If you wanted a show-stopping, one-of-a-kind radical show bike in the Southern California area during this time period, chances were that you commissioned Dean for your project.
Dean Lanza's Quicksilver was just something completely out of the norm. It is the 'holy grail' of Dean Lanza builds.
Dean Lanza Painted The Captain America And The Billy Bike From The Movie Easyriders
Dean was very well known in the Hollywood community and provided his services to movies such as Cycle Savages 1969, The Naked Angels, and The Wild Angels with Peter Fonda in which he built the "Snapdragon" bike that Peter rides in the movie.
The bike was built and painted by Dean Lanza and Von Dutch did the Snapdragon art on the gas tanks! In the later 1960's Dean was responsible for painting the Easyriders bikes, "Captain America" and "The Billy bike" both of which helped define American motorcycle culture.
Dean also had built the axed tank on our beloved Droopy's Knuckhead that he rode till he passed away last year. He painted the first version of Droopy's bike that was green as well. He also built the insane show bike the "Iridescent".
Yet one of Dean's greatest accomplishments and one of the only bikes that he ever kept until the end was his masterpiece. "The Quicksilver". Built in 1960 Dean was extremely ahead of his time by producing such a completely original, never-before-seen drag/show bike.
Just incredible lines and beautiful stance.
Dean started by cutting the frame in half to make way for the custom oil-in-frame system that holds two quarts underneath the backbone, front wishbone leg and the seat post. The Quicksilver sheetmetal is very unique and shows his skill in master metalworking.
A custom gas tank was made out of one half of a Mustang tank with a custom filler cap that holds 6/10ths of a gallon. The fender and the gas tank both have skilled metal working with scooped and dished fins.
Check out the detailed metal shaping and line work in the paint on the rear fender.
Dean was no pinstriper, so he went the long route home when it came to accomplishing his lines on this build. Every different color line on the Quicksilver was laid out separately painted, then re-taped and the next line was done. He repeated this process over and over.
Dean recalls it took him 3 weeks working around the clock just to lay out all of the lines on the Quicksilver sheetmetal. It took him a full year to build this masterpiece and it is amazing with the amount of ingenuity and masterful art like work that he was able to complete in such a timely manor.
The gas tank only holds 6/10ths of a gallon.
From the extremely rare Indian Junior Scout hillclimber fork (extended 3"), to the 1948 Harley Panhead engine with dual carb cylinder heads, this custom motorcycle has rare and complex parts everywhere you look.
Dellorto racing SSI carbs, remote float and a Wico magneto in the generator hole being used as a alternator charging system with a small battery mounted in the stock coil position... Nothing was easy to achieve Lanza's final goal of the Quicksilver!!!
Just wow would you just look at that motor.
A New Standard For Show Bikes
When Dean and his Quicksilver hit the motorcycle show show circuit in 1961 people could not believe their eyes.
A new standard of "show bike" had been evolved. The Quicksilver was such a one-of-a-kind piece, and so ahead of its time that it was still being featured in magazines and winning countless trophies 12 years later on the show circuit in 1973.
Dual Dellorto Carbs
It is amazing now in 2015, which is 12 years after the passing of famed Dean Lanza, that his life's work is resurfacing again now back into the hands of the people who have studied and glorified his work.
I am just a caretaker of the Dean Lanza collections and I have been able to identify, authenticate and find some of Dean's greatest accomplishments from different people and places across the United States and also have located three of his well known bikes that are currently in Japan.
I am hoping by this article reaching the hands of collectors that we may be able to uncover more of his works of art by learning his style and sharing with the world. At my shop in Northern California I currently have three Dean Lanza bikes and two more that are under construction being restored. I look forward to share the bikes and the works of Dean Lanza with the world! Who knows what the future is to bring for the unknown artifacts still to be uncovered out there!
Words by Ryan Grossman
Photos by Ken Nagahara
Ryan with another one of Dean Lanza's builds.
3 of Dean Lanza's bikes.
More detail shots of Quicksilver
Seat? who needs a seat when you're on a drag bike.
A glimpse at that Indian Junior Scout front end and shortened bars. So far a head of its time.
More of that front end.
Inside the gas tank scallops.
Another look at all that line work.
Those are some drag bars. Check out that sunken gas cap too. 
Dean Lanza Knucklehead
Dean Lanza Triumph.
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