MEETING JB & LEARNING OF HIS MC ROOTS
William Bryant aka "JB" aka "Still Bill" used to live near me in American Canyon, California. He was a tall gentle quiet man. A man with a ton of motorcycle and chopper history right in my own back yard. He was getting ready to relocate to Florida under the warm sun. I made sure to get some photographs of him and hear a little more about his history and incredible life before he moved.
Vagabonds established in Oakland, 1966 an all black motorcycle club. Photo from JB's archives.
BLACK BIKER CLUBS OF CALIFORNIA
Richmond, CA is located in north of Oakland, about 20 miles away. To this day, Richmond is known for grittiness, majority blue color, high crime rates and rich in biker history. I would imagine that even more in the late 60’s and the 70’s. East Bay Dragons of east Oakland are famous for being the black only MC in the Bay Area, but there were several more black only clubs around back in the day. ”WICKED WHEELS”, “ROGUE RUNNERS”, “VAGABONDS”, “CHOSEN FEW” to name a few. And then there was a club called SONS OF SATAN who JB was a part of.
JB's family in front of his 1968 Triumph Bonneville
JB's first Panhead chopped up and starting to go back together. Photo from JB's archives.
AFTER A WRECK, A CHOPPER WAS BORN
One of the renditions of JB's Panhead chopper. Photo from JB's archives.
JB hanging out with his club brothers and girls and catching some shade on a hot summer day. Photo from JB's archives.
THE START OF JB'S CLUB LIFE
After living in San Francisco for a while he moved to Oakland, and then eventually to Vallejo. That's where and when JB’s club life started. In the early 1970’s, JB joined an all black motorcycle club named “Sons Of Satan”. This club had only one chapter, with was located in Richmond, CA. The time was chopper’s golden era, so many were chopping their rides, joining clubs and raising hell all over the US. This particular club was formed by 16-17 members, and it wasn't only Harley choppers allowed.
The members rode different makes and styles of choppers from Honda CB750's, Triumphs and yes, Harley's. The main rule was they had to have their ride chopped or at least customized to their likings. These guys enjoyed the run to Fresno, attend dances that were held at other club houses, and customize and paint their bikes all the time. You can see from his old photos below, it just doesn’t get much cooler than this.
JB cutting a rug and rocking his Sons of Satan cut. Photo from JB's archives.
In the late 1980’s, JB retired from the club but his old cut and his old tank hangs on the wall of his garage. His old front end still sits in the corner of the garage as well. These days he rides around his 93" 1972 Harley-Davidson FLH Shovelhead chopper, and keeps himself busy working on his bikes and trucks at his new home in Florida.
Words and photos by: Ken Nagahara
VINTAGE CHOPPER AND MOTORCYCLE CLUB PHOTOS FROM JB'S PERSONAL PHOTOS
JB current day with his 72 FLH and yeah its still chopped!
JB and his old cut in front of one of his truck builds.
JB's 1972 Harley-Davidson FLH Shovelhead Chopper.
Front patch on JB's cut.
One of JB's chopper tanks he used to run. Party!
Couple of JB's front ends.
One of JB's really clean as hell Shovelheads. Photo from JB's archives.
JB's Panhead chopper and his lady. Photo from JB's archives.
Drag racing choppers. Photo from JB's archives.
Sons of Satan allowed more then just Harley-Davidsons, check out this killer CB750. Photo from JB's archives.
Such a cool photo! Photo from JB's archives.
As cool as it gets right here.
Choppers baby!
Check out this killer Ironhead Sportster gold digger show bike.
JB with his 72 FLH and his old Sons Of Satan Cut. Legend.
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