Allright kids, this here is the story passed down to me by the elders. Right or wrong, this is how I heard it and have no reason to dispute it.....
About '76 or '77 a MC out of the upper midwest was running a wicked fast dragbike and consistantly destroying rear wheels. A guy outta Illinois, by the name of BIRD, says, "I can fix that". So he machines the hubs of solid drag car wheels to adapt bearings and fit on bikes. BAM! problem solved.
In about '77, Wubbzey, who's an old friend of Birds, says "I wanna run one of those on my street bike and start selling them to bike builders around the St. Louis area".
Later in that summer, at a bike rally in Wisconson. Willie G. approaches Wubbzey's bike and inquires about the solid rear wheel, saying he really digs the look and how did Wubbzey do it. Wubbzey points over at Bird, who's also in attendance, and says "he machines the hubs to make it all work".
Willie G. wanders off, and in 1980, H-D comes out with a cast version of a solid rear wheel. Bird never got a dime.
This is an early article about one of Birds bikes, check out the verticle oil tank also. Webbsey and Bird are still friends and Willie G. is still snooping around chopper builders, doin' what Willie G. does....
