For something a little more offbeat here at Motorcycle Info, we contacted Jesper Bram of the motorcycle blog HelmetHairBlog.com to do an interview with us. We enjoy Jesper’s blog and passion for motorcycling, including vintage motorcycles, and pinstriping artwork. Jesper Bram and the Helmet Hair blog are from Denmark.
Jesper is a graphic designer and is into pinstriping. Fans of American hot rods and custom car culture know very well what that’s all about. Von Dutch may come to mind, but there have been many other that have tried to master this art form too. Pinstriping and vintage motorcycles. We like it!
Here’s how the interview went that Jesper kindly took the time to do with us:
MotorcycleInfo: How long has HelmetHairBlog been active?
Jesper: Since 2001 I think. But it was in another form, and on blogger back then.
MotrcycleInfo: What inspired you to start blogging?
Jesper: First of it was actually just my private riding journal. But after a while I switched to writing in English and began to write about motorcycle stuff I found interesting. Thinking that other riders would probably find it interesting as well.
MotorcycleInfo: How did you come up with the name?
Jesper: Can’t really remember other than I wanted something that had a touch of irony to it. I like it best when things are not to serious.
MotorcycleInfo: I see that you are from Denmark. What are the laws or rules like in Denmark regarding getting a motorcycle license and riding on the roads?
Jesper: Not much different than everywhere else, except we have these insane taxes on vehicles. Basically you can take the US dollar price for at new motorcycle and multiply it with 180%, and I’m not kidding.
MotorcycleInfo: Do you see any new trends happening regarding motorcycles and motor scooters in your country?
Jesper: Yea, well. People are getting more and more into motards and vintage or vintage looking motorcycles.
MotorcycleInfo: What do you think helps make your blog as popular as it is?
Jesper: I think the main reason is that I only write what I would read my self. I’d rather only post once a week than spam post all sorts of press releases and common stories people can read everywhere else anyway. Besides that, there’s a good debate on certain posts where people really help each other out and share thoughts and ideas. I think that’s why it has the status it has.
MotorcycleInfo: How did you learn to ride motorcycles?
Jesper: Guess it started when I rode a moped in my teens. Transferring that to motorcycle riding when i was getting my license was easy. I’ve also participated in a number of track days. I almost think that should be mandatory for riding a bike to do at least once. I think I learned most and became a better and safer rider by attending track days.
MotorcycleInfo: Do you participate in any motorcycle-related events?
Jesper: As many as I possibly can.
MotorcycleInfo: Do you have a favorite style of motorcycle (touring, sport, cruiser, chopper, etc.)?
Jesper: I think I like them all. But I’m more leaned towards simple motorcycles like naked bikes and vintage bikes, than big touring bikes with GPS, Intercom and electronic gizmos.
MotorcycleInfo: What brand or brands of motorcycles do you prefer?
Jesper: Again, that’s a bit hard. There’s really no brands i don’t prefer. Maybe except those cheap Korean knock offs. I think I combine Honda with reliability and therefore wouldn’t hesitate to buy a Honda as a daily rider. But I could probably pick a bike from each brand that I’d like.
MotorcycleInfo: If you could go out and buy a brand new motorcycle right now, and cost wasn’t the major factor, which one do you think you would buy?
Jesper: Can I pick 10 motorcycles? If cost was not a factor I’d have to get a larger garage. But right now I’d get a KTM touring bike, a 600cc Kawasaki race bike, and maybe a small Aprilia motard. I already have a Honda 919 and a 73′ Harley. So those bikes would make my collection more complete 
MotorcycleInfo: Harley-Davidson is obviously very popular in the USA. Do you see very many Harleys in Europe or during your daily travels?
Jesper: Yea plenty, they’re just as normal as any other motorcycle.
MotorcycleInfo: Where do you get most of your ideas from to write articles about?
Jesper: Mostly form attending various motorcycle activities, and then stuff I come across online in all sorts of weird places.
MotorcycleInfo: Which one of your articles would you say has been the most popular or received the most comments?
Jesper: The one with most comments is the one about the Billy Lane incident, but it’s mostly people flaming each other. The most popular one is the one I wrote about my experience with the Honda 919.
MotorcycleInfo: Do you have any favorite motorcycle-related blogs that you enjoy reading?
Jesper: It varies what grabs my attention, but currently I like knucklebuster, and the one world studios blog “Motorcycles and movie making mayhem”. But that’s because I’m going trough a vintage bike phase and have been for a couple of years now, don’t know if it will ever end.
MotorcycleInfo: Do you have an other hobbies or interests besides motorcycles?
Jesper: Yes indeed. I picked up traditional freehand pinstriping back in 2004 and are very much into that. I’m in the baby steps of building a pinstriping website, www.pinstriping.dk. Right now there’s just some examples of the work I’ve done. But down the road I’ll probably start a blog there as well. Also graphic design has always had my interest, and I’ve worked as a designer in various companies since the early nineties. Oh! and I’d lie if I didn’t say that computer gaming is sort of a hobby as well. The other stuff comes first though so I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore gamer.
MotorcycleInfo: As a person from Denmark, what impression do you have, if any, of the American motorcycle scene or American riders in general?
Jesper: I know a few American riders through Helmet Hair and have had the great pleasure of meeting some of them. They are just as nuts as we are in Europe. That’s maybe the one thing I like best about motorcycle riding, it really brings people together from all places and all walks of life (you know I had to say that tribute to the movie of all movies).
MotorcycleInfo: Have you visited the US before, and if so, did you enjoy and specific city or place?
Jesper: I’ve been to Miami and San Francisco enjoyed both places very much. I have a dream of going to California within a few years to ride around for a couple of weeks visiting all the people I’ve been in contact with through my interest in old iron with wheels.
MotorcycleInfo: Do you have a favorite road or place that you like to ride to?
Jesper: Not really, just riding is enough. I consider freeways to mostly just transport. Nothing beats the twisties on a fast bike or long narrow roads on a chopper.
MotorcycleInfo: What have you learned from doing HelmetHairBlog.com?
Jesper: That blogging is more work than you think, but if you stick to it you can make a lot of good friends around the world that share your interests.
MotorcycleInfo: Any additional comments?
Jesper Bram: Maybe just a few thanks to you John for your interest in me and my blog. Ride safe.
