Page 78 - 100% Biker (January 2020)
P. 78
TRAVEL FEATURE
SPIKE AND BOB’S BIG
SWEDISH ADVENTURE: PART 5
In 1979 Hasse took Caprice to the Norrtälje show for the first
time, but he had changes for the bike in mind and, during the
winter, he picked up a jammer frame and a set of 20-inch tubes.
WORDS & PHOTOS: SPIKE
his was the beginning of his trouble with the Swedish Around this time Bosse Jensen painted the bike while
police. They pulled him on his way back to Sweden Hasse named her ‘Capricious Delight’ which was a
from Denmark and declared that the bike was unfit reflection of the old Shovel’s unpredictability. As fellow
to ride due to what they decided was too much trail! lovers of the Shovel motor we can relate to that, while many
T They were actually right—Hasse knew 100mm of trail with peanut-sized tanks will also appreciate the mileage
was best and his 20-inch overs were sitting at a rake that he has done on the bike with its limited 9-litre capacity
went way beyond this, but she looked really cool! Even in tank. It spent ten years in the 1980s and ’90s touring
Sweden 20-inch overs were not common then and that’s through Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, France and
what drove Tolle to develop a working long fork, complete even landed at Harwich to visit Stonehenge and on to the
with the correct trail. Famously, Tolle challenged cops to Channel Islands where he likened disembarking the ferry to
compete on a designated track on their best police bike riding up a wall on the chopper! Caprice was no show pony.
against him riding his long forked BSA—and he won! (That Meanwhile in UK we read the story and studied the
old BSA still exists by the way.) pictures that kickstarted a soulful journey with idea as
Hasse deraked his frame and fitted 12-inch overstock to where or when it would end or take us. But while we
forks—still radical for the time—but the police had the were self-learning in Scotland and trying to build our own
young Dane in their sights and frequently stopped him. But Swedish choppers, poor Caprice had actually broken her
help was on the way when, in around 1981, a new group neck! On the way back from a European tour, the frame
called SFRO was formed by dedicated bikers who would snapped at the front tank mounting, meaning that Hasse
work with the authorities to help homebuilders get their had to destroy Bosse’s sweet paint in order to repair the
bikes legal on the road. To date some 20,000 bikes have frame and replace the tank.
been registered using this assistance. As I mentioned before, Hasse, along with five others, still
On our ride out to Norrtälje with
Hasse and Caprice. Running repairs at the Twin MC clubhouse.
78 | 100% Biker | issue 256 | www.100-biker.com
