Help Save The Sabbath motorbike Fighting Fund

Hi. Firstly, I gotta say if you’re doing ok but can afford to support only one thing, then don’t worry about the Motorbike and give to Shelter, a local food bank or Cancer Research. We have to look after one another now.

If, however you have a love for Black Sabbath or Motorbikes, like to lend a hand, or just be a total hero, then if you’re prepared to read a little I’ll tell you why I’m asking for your help.

The Black Sabbath Harley featured in the 2019 Birmingham Exhibition “50 Years of Black Sabbath”, was originally built on a shoestring budget and took me 5 years to complete. Many bike builders these days have fantastic budgets and access to machine shops to pimp up their ride. This was built largely in my shed with the help of good friends.

The bike was given praise by the band and fans alike… Not because it was an amazingly expensive and immaculate gold plated toy of some rich kid, but because it was a road bike that had seen plenty of action and paid tribute to every era of the band. And I was able to use her to pay tribute to another fan’s lost daughter ( see picture above )

At the start of 2020, after the exhibition, I was unexpectedly made redundant, coinciding with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. I decided to try and live off the money whilst sorting my health out, but devoted a large proportion of it to getting the Black Sabbath bike into the shape I’d always dreamed of had I ever had any money.

As I’d gone as far as my skills would allow me, I gave the bike this time to a well known bike builder to realise the vision.

Due to lockdown and his daughters health, I gave all the money up front to try and help him and push the work through.

However, things didn’t work as expected. The Company I gave the bike to, kept it for 2 years with constant promises and delays causing huge upset as well as missing opportunities such as a family interest shoot by the BBC as my Sister Paula had passed away in 2021 and the bike became also a tribute to her, containing her ashes in what was to be a purpose built cartridge. The bike builder holding it promised completion many times but 2 years on, countless disappointments, even another engineering firm jumping in and making the metal tribute to my sister that goes on the bike, and even me struggling to get parts back from another company he had subbed parts out to who then went into liquidation, the bike now needs more work than ever before as well as a number of concerns about parts missing.

The final nail in the coffin was finding a FB group of over 140 people, some highly respected in the bike building world who had been ripped off by this same builder.

So… Having lost the money to this individual, the bike needing even more work than ever before and this colliding with my partner and I losing both our jobs as big names like Honda and Debenhams either collapsed or left the country. I know I need a little help here to stand a chance of ever getting the bike back on the road. Especially with the world in the present state. So this fundraiser is for possible further legal costs as well as getting her on the road after this 2 year wait.

I’m not usually one for accepting favours or help and with everything going on in the world, I feel bad asking, but there are two driving forces here for me: Firstly, I can’t stand the idea that this, now 7 year journey of building her and meeting great skilled people and having parts donated from the band’s tech guys and Laney Amplifications and others connected with the band, should just end here in complete but undeserved failure and upset. I need that tribute to my Sister “Ride in Peace” to be completed and seen.

Secondly I have been unable to ride for the last two years, with the bike being kept from me. These two years have been the worst and bought sickness, family death, job loss and now the ruining of my pride and joy bike. So much bouncing from expectation to despair that I just need to get her back, fixed and ride her everywhere to see friends, Sabbath fans and regain some of the lost 2 years. The worst of years. I am keen that no other individual loses precious riding time, life or money so if things go further, we can get the legal folks responding on this, to look at how we get justice and stop this ever happening, or the individual advertising and working under his current or future names. 

If you can help get the bike restored and on the road for spring 2022, I’d be indebted and always up for her being used to help other charities.