Articles/IndianLarry

Indian Larry Desmedt

April 28, 1949 - August 30, 2004 - Aged 55, RIP

Noted bike builder, stuntman, NYC icon...

Early Days

Born Larry Desmedt in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York in 1949. He became interested in motorcycles at an early age and was inspired by the legendary artist Von Dutch. As a teenager he bought his first motorbike, a 1939 Harley Knucklehead, for $200. He took it apart and spent the next nine months learning how to put it back together again. As a young mechanic in New York City, he was renowned as the go-to guy for wrenching on Indian motorcycles and Indian Larry was born.

His early days were troubled... Larry was convicted of bank robbery and spent 5 years in Sing Sing, and struggled with alcohol and drug abuse in his youth.

Old School

Larry decided to leave his tumultuous early life behind and focus on his bike building talents. He later moved to California to apprentice under legendary hot rod builder and pop artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.

Known for Old School his bikes were pan head powered, jockey shift, hard tail, springer front end, no front brake or fender, and his signature question mark logo... Although, when Larry once broke his right foot he began to include electric starters.

Larry founded the Gasoline Alley custom motorcycle shop in New York City in 1991. His "Old School" choppers quickly won renown in the motorcycling world. The Coney Island Psychoholic Side Show debuted in Richmond, Va at the Cycle Expo 1998, it featured English Don and The Coney Island characters Combustable Kira, The Pain Proof Rubber Girls, Fredini The Great and his soon to be wife Bambi The Living Mermaid. The event spawned all the rest of what came to be known as master builders. celebrity Builders and feature builders at events across the country. No one ever came close to the character and quality or the public appeal of Indian Larry.

His 1996 motorcycle "Grease Monkey" was named Easy Rider magazine's Chopper of the Year and he was a winner of the Discovery Channel's Biker Build-Off trophy. After his death another Discovery Channel's Biker Build-Off episode a tribute bike was made, with his symbol on it - the question mark. Indian Larry is credited with re-popularizing the old school of "Bobber" custom motorcycle popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

Death

Indian Larry was performing a motorcycle stunt at the Liquid Steel Classic and Custom Bike Series in Concord, North Carolina on August 28, 2004. In the stunt, Larry was standing on the moving motorcycle. As the stunt progressed the bike began to wobble out of control and he was thrown from the motorcycle sustaining serious head injuries. He was then taken to the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina where he died on August 30, 2004 from the head injuries sustained in the mishap. Larry was not wearing a motorcycle helmet at the time of the accident.

You can find his old shop on line at http://indianlarry.com