| INDIAN LARRY MEMORIAL | ||
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"Indian" Larry Desmedt (April 28, 1949 - August 30, 2004) was a noted bike builder, stuntman, and innovator in the world of custom motorcycles. Indian Larry's final moments occurred during a taping of a televised motorcycle building competition. 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, he 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. Two books were published on Indian Larry in 2006 including "Indian Larry: Chopper Shaman," by Dave Nichols with Andrea "Bambi" Cambridge and photography by Michael Lichter as well as "Indian Larry" by Timothy White. His autobiography, Grease Monkey, The Life and Times of Motorcycle Artist Indian Larry, written shortly before his death, is scheduled for publication. Indian Larry contributed and innovated in the business of vehicle customization. Although no matter how ground breaking his creativity proved to be – Indian Larry was an icon in classic styling. His “retro theme” served to keep alive what was at one time, a dying passion and a fading beauty of mechanics and aesthetics. Larry
was invited to be a guest on the Regis Philbin show and also did his
famous
daredevil stunts during David Letterman's Late Night show. Larry went on to do a few
more shows for the
Discovery Channel's Biker Build Off series. He was featured on the
cover of The
Horse/BackStreet Choppers Magazine numerous times as well as Easyriders
and just
about every big time motorcycle magazine from as far away as Japan and
Finland.
It
was during the weekend last of August 2004 that Larry finished his
latest and
most spectacular creation, the Chain of Mystery bike for another Biker
Build
Off. With Larry in the lead riding the bike that he and his talented
crew built
in just 10 days, they rode from NYC to the Liquid Steel show in
Charlotte, NC. At
the show on Saturday, Larry entertained a crowd of 8,000 fans by
performing his
famous stunt show. After thrilling the crowd by riding through a Ring
of Fire
on his bike, He got on his personal ride, the Grease Monkey and did
just one
more stunt to please the crowd. He stood up on the seat and surfed the
bike
down the track. The bike slowed down and Larry was thrown. He suffered
a severe
head injury as a result and passed away in the hospital the next night
surrounded by his wife and friends. Larry
left us all too soon. He rode free with the wind in his hair and the
sun on his
face. Larry was the kind of person that wanted every one around him to
be
happy. He didn't have to perform that last stunt. He just did it to
give
pleasure to all the people who came out for the show. People who knew
him best,
knew what a good genuine person he was. Builders who shared Larry's
vision will
look to his example for years to come. The people who loved him and
knew him on
an every day basis will miss his smile and warmth the most. The entire
world
has lost one of nature's noblemen. |
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