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| Batman. artist Walter Alter liked to turn wrench and ride motorcycles, a skill set that kep himself, his VW bus and a lot of Lambrettas alive. |
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Batman's real ride built from a basket of parts in grandma's back yard in Kentfield where the Batcave began. Triumph T6 Thunderbird. Brando rode this model in "The Wild One" |
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| First pre-Batcave scooterist - Rickie Puke, leader of punk band "The Pukes" doing what he was famous for. RIP Rickie. |
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Jim Gilman and his early Lambretta LD outside his Texas St. garage pre-Batcave scooter shop. Batman and Jim would wrench and talk endlessly about anarchy and revolution. |
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| The amazing "Valhalla" stash of Lambrettas in a rotting warehouse on Monterrey's Cannery Row before it got gentrified. |
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You had to step around the gaping holes in the floor where you could see the surf lapping the rocks. Not sure who ended up with this bonanza. |
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| One of Batman's several Lambrettas acquired during the Batcave years. This rat ride was ported and jetted with baffles removed from exhaust - loud and zippy. |
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Work area of the Batcave. Back then, Batman rarely paid more than $100 for a scooter. Now they sell for $3-6,000. his illegal, hand built basement apartment was to the right. |
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| Looking out the door of the Valencia St. garage that became the Batcave. the Batvan scooter ambulance sits waiting for a rescue call |
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Interior of the Batcave residence looking toward the door that opened onto the workshop. To the left is the hot plate and refer, right is the bookshelf. |
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| Batman on his early Series 1 Li 150 with a 200cc motor and a barely visible plexiglass wind screen. |
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Batman posing for a magazine photo. Fire inspector said "we like what you're doing, keep the welding tanks away from gasoline". |
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| Scooter rally - South of Market. |
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Scooter rally - Fleishacker pool, SF Zoo. |
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| Scooter rally - Whale Bldg at the foot of the Golden Gate Park Panhandle. Many scooter rides began here in this Bank of America parking lot. |
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Scooter rally - Bank of America building had a huge humpback whale painted on it, hence the name" Whale Building" |
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| Scooter rally- Outside the Batcave, 959 Valencia St. between 19th and 20th. |
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Scooter rally- Downtown SF |
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| Batvan interior. Owned and operated by Batman for over 35 years. He rebuilt 7 engines and replaced 2 transaxles in that period. |
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Batman with Batvan. Brakes went out in 2013 and rear ender was the end of "Lulu". Lulu rescued a lot of scooters from doom. |
