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AUCTION TO SUPPORT HAITIAN FOLKS–Considered one of the most inspiring people on television for her role as trainer and life coach on the NBC hit series The Biggest Loser and star of the upcoming NBC show, Losing It With Jillian, leading health and wellness expert, Jillian Michaels , is taking action to motivate people to donate money towards Haiti.
Starting today, Jillian will be auctioning her Yamaha FZ1 motorcycle from Season 4 of The Biggest Loser on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotorsbidding will be held over the course of five days, with all proceeds going towards the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
“The current destruction in Haiti is devastating,” says Michaels. “ Haiti holds a special place in my heart and I knew that I had to do something to help. I hope that the money raised from the auction of my bike will provide some relief to those suffering.”
Please visit the auction site to read a letter from Jillian and view images of the bike and candid pictures of Jillian from when she was traveling through Haiti .
Letter from Jillian: When I was 28 years old and at a major cross roads in my life something in my heart called me to Haiti . I was soul searching, lost, confused, looking for direction. I was in Haiti for roughly 3 weeks. I traveled the entire country from Cap-Haitien through Port-Au-Prince down to Jacmel. I went there not knowing what to expect and even slightly scared for my well being. What I found was shocking. The people were the most kind, loving, open and generous souls I had ever met. Even with nothing, living in shanties, they would literally give you the shirts off their backs. They brought me into their homes. Fed me soup. Shared their stories and their culture. Showed me the true potential of the human spirit. They showed me how to cultivate the fabric of resilience, and gave me an overall perspective on life that changed me forever.
You may remember on my return to Biggest Loser for Season 4, I rode up on the most insane motorcycle. This motorcycle was a fully customized Yamaha FZ1. Hand painted for me by Troy Lee. It was customized to the point of being nearly unrecognizable. It has titanium pipes, belly pan fairings, modified mirrors, iPod and iPhone capabilities, and a special alarm. You name it, the bike has it. This bike is special to me. It holds tremendous sentimental value symbolizing my return home to Biggest Loser. I find it only fitting that it’s sale helps benefit the people who took me into their homes.
I am auctioning it off to a new loving home and all the proceeds will be donated to www.clintonbushhaitifund.org
Happy bidding and lots of love,
–Jillian Michaels
EASYRIDERS SHOW SERIES HITS SACRAMENTO–Nasty weather didn’t deter the diehards at the Easyriders Show in Sacramento this past weekend. The place was packed on Saturday afternoon. With 250 bikes on display, there was plenty of bling to keep riders entertained.
Carl Brouhard Designs from Grass Valley, CA took Best of Show with his 2010 Rigid Board Track, 6-speed in an 8-Ball chassis.
“Mongo” Kelly blew the judges away with his meticulously detailed 2005 Dyna FXDXI. After laying this bike down on Priest Grade Road, a twisty bitch of a road near Yosemite, Mongo put his bike through 40 different modifications. The best score on this bike is the 175 m.p.h. speedometer, which Mongo plans to test out this summer at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He hopes to get his 150 m.p.h. license on this bike.
–River Rat
New from Dakota Digital and sold by Biker’s Choice, 2000 SERIES SPEEDOMETER/TACHOMETER TANK MOUNT WITH INSTRUMENT REPLACEMENT AND DIRECT ECM PLUG-IN–
Designed to fit all single gauge tank mount applications
255 MPH speedometer is already calibrated
Odometer with 2 resettable trip meters
Resettable miles to service with warning (user settable countdown) and hour meter
Clock with 12 hour format
Quick response bar graph tachometer with adjustable shift point warning
Gear position indicator compatible with 3-7 speed transmissions
Various indicators can also be displayed such as turn signals, high beam, neutral, low oil pressure, low voltage and security indicators
Voltage readout
Cruise on and engaged indication
Automatic turn signal canceling compatible
“Wait to start” and “check engine” light
Several performance calculations include: 0-60 time, high speed and high RPM recall, π mile time and speed
Chrome front bezel with non-glare scratch resistant lens
Machined aluminum housing
Case diameter: 4-1/4”, bezel: 4-5/8”
2-year manufacture’s warranty
For information on this or any other product we carry, visit www.BikersChoice.com or visit one of our many dealers.
Happy Riding!
–Carmen
THINK NINO 925 FOR VALENTINES DAY–BadAss cuff bracelet with the flaming skulls facing off with one another in an infinite stare. Adjustable fits 7 1/2″ to 10″ wrist.
CGSociety’s 25th CGChallenge – B-Movie: Attack of the 50 foot CGChallenge–The CGSociety down in South Australia is searching the world for entries to its latest Digital Art competition: “CGChallenge XXV: B-Movie, Attack of the 50 foot CGChallenge”. Since the dawn of movies there was always a creepier, scarier, and unintentionally funnier cousin to the big budget blockbusters: the B-grade movie. Cinema screens around the world flickered with startling images of wolfmen, zombies, nuclear-mutated monsters, and, bug-eyed aliens who had a penchant for probing. The 25th CGChallenge “Attack of the 50ft CG Challenge”.
The CGSociety want A-grade art which celebrates the B-Movie genre. This could be a monster about to attack, an animated scene/trailer for your own imaginary B-Movie, a creepy set piece oozing with fog and the threat of the unknown, or a movie poster with a suitably corny title splashed across it. Let your imagination run riot! However, ensure that it embodies the cheesiness and sense of fun that is the essence of the B-Movie. Many prizes from companies like Autodesk, Luxology, Pixologic and our exciting new partner Dell, await those brave enough to wade into the murky swamp of B-Movie glory.
So…, if you are one of the creative types, visit their website at www.cgsociety.org and get on it, otherwise enjoy the poster they came up with to promote the competition – which is pretty cool with the babe and the bike and all.
– – C.S. Berg
Garmin Launches Streamlined zumo 220 for Motorcycles–Garmin today announced the zumo 220, dubbing it a rugged and affordable touchscreen motorcycle navigator that includes text-to-speech guidance, lane assist, Bluetooth headset compatibility and on-road/off-road travel options. “zumo 220 streamlines the design – and the price – while keeping the most popular motorcycle-specific features at your fingertips,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Compact and waterproof, zumo 220 makes two-wheel navigation as stress-free as possible for riders on any budget.”
Whether riding under a blazing sun or a tranquil moon, the zumo 220 is claimed to benefit from years of hands-on experience and countless miles of motorcycle expertise of Garmin’s zumo team. With a 3 inch color touchscreen that is both rugged and responsive, zumo 220 provides the information needed at a glance in an easy-to-read format while on the go. zumo 220 displays speed limits on most major roads and articulates turn-by-turn directions through spoken street names, such as “turn right on Main Street,” via the built-in speaker or through a compatible Bluetooth helmet or headset. Built to withstand the demands of the open road, zumo 220 is waterproof, glove-friendly and resistant to fuel spray.
For spontaneous road trips or detailed route planning, zumo 220 is intended to make life easier with preloaded street-level maps of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico along with more than six million points of interest including gas stations, lodging, restaurants and other locations. While riding, trip information such as speed, heading, altitude, and a customizable fuel gauge, can directly be accessed from the device’s motorcycle console page. In addition, with the zumo’s trip planning tools, owners can create and customize routes via computer and then transfer the saved route directly to the zumo.
The zumo 220 is expected to be available in March 2010 for an expected suggested retail price of $599.99 and comes with a motorcycle mount and an automotive mount included. For more about features and availability, as well as information about Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com.
– – C.S. Berg
Greatest Road Software Releases First iPhone App fro Motorcyclists–Greatest Road Software have just announced the release of the first iPhone and iPod touch app to help motorcyclists find, rate and exchange the best motorcycle roads around the world. The new app, Greatest Road, promises to make looking for great places to ride simpler and more intuitive.. The app allows users to choose a location on a map, zoom in or out, and look for nearby road stretches. Each road stretch has a rating indicating how fun, twisty and scenic it is and what shape the road surface is in. With open-ended comments, riders can tell others about highlights or report on a current hazard. Road stretches are all contributed, rated and commented on by other bikers.
Another goal of the developers of the app is also to make getting together with biking buddies to decide on a route and giving each other directions easier. Whether in a cafe, bar, restaurant, race track or just about anywhere else, bikers can exchange a road description between iPhones or iPod touches, or email it to themselves or others in the commonly-used gpx format. The gpx files will work with many of the popular, standalone GPS devices.
“For less than the price of a good map or a bandana, our customers get live, worldwide maps and routes with the commentary that only other motorcyclists can bring.” says Daniel Pifko, founder and CEO of Greatest Road Software. “Whether on cruisers, dual sports, sport bikes, adventure bikes, touring bikes, customs or any other road bike, bikers with an iPhone or iPod touch will find Greatest Road to be the most indispensable tool they use for getting on the road.”
Customers in 37 countries can now buy Greatest Road from the App Store. The app will show road stretches in all supported countries, irrespective of where it was purchased. For more info go to www.greatestroad.com.
Motogadget Goes Classic With New Tiny Tachometers–Motogadget from Berlin, Germany, have just launched two new design editions based upon their Motoscope Tiny, an analog tachometer with only 49mm (1.9in) diameter: The Speedster and Vintage. Both new tachs are inspired by the streamline design of 1950s.
The stylish and elegant Speedster features an old-white face with the hand made from brushed steel. The ring holding the glass is available in matte black or polished. The vintage ups the old-school look a notch, featuring an aged face with a cracked look. The hand and top ring of the Vintage are made from brass and aged in a handmade process.
With both versions, display and lights are not visible when the ignition is turned off, thereby contributing even more to the authentic vintage look when the bike is parked in front of your favorite bar or in the show corral.
For more information on Motogadged, please visit their website at www.motogadget.com. Motogadget parts and accessories are available either directly from them, or, in the USA, through Spiegler Performance Parts at www.spieglerusa.com.
Motus Motorcycles Completes World’s First Direct Injected V4 Engine —Motus Motorcycles has been working secretly with Katech Engines to develop the world’s first direct-injected V4 engine. Named the KMV4, the engine is developed to be an advanced, high performance powertrain designed for Motus MST motorcycles. Now undergoing extensive durability testing, the KMV4 is also claimed to be the first American V4 ever built for a production vehicle.
Alabama-based Motus intends to compete with foreign manufacturers currently dominating the popular sport touring segment. Sport tourers blend the two largest motorcycle segments, sport bikes and tourers, by combining comfort and performance. To be competitive in the performance oriented world of sport touring, Motus is determined that a proprietary engine is needed.
“To create the ultimate sport tourer, we had to either work around the shortcomings of available engines or develop a purpose built engine for our application,” said Brian Case, Vice President and Design Director at Motus.
Domestically made street bikes are all currently powered by v-twin engines, which did not meet performance or efficiency targets for the MST concept. “The domestic motorcycle market is dominated by air-cooled v-twins, but to be successful in the long term, the MST has to present clear improvements over existing technology and not be another ‘me too’ product,” said Case.
After a global search and lengthy discovery process, Michigan-based Katech Engines emerged as the clear choice to help Motus design and build the KMV4.
“When researching quality engine builders, Katech was identified as a powerhouse of engine durability, engineering, and manufacturing,” said Lee Conn, President of Motus. “Katech has over fifty endurance racing championships, experience developing new engines for OEM’s, and access to the most advanced engineering and prototyping technologies. We couldn’t be happier with our decision to retain Katech for the KMV4.”
“Katech is thrilled to finally announce our involvement with Motus,” said Fritz Kayl, co-founder of Katech. “The KMV4 is an exciting project that fits well within our capabilities and experience. We incorporated technology from our race programs to increase durability, performance, and efficiency. We are ahead of schedule and are refining the KMV4 into the most reliable motorcycle engine made,” said Fritz Kayl.
“We didn’t focus on maximum horsepower; we focused on heightening the rider experience. To us, that means tons of torque over a wide RPM range, low vibes, high efficiency and bulletproof durability. Enter the KMV4, a liquid cooled V4 with DI,” said Case.
Ohio Technical College To Feature Airbrush Show at World of Wheels, Pittsburgh–Ohio Technical College will take its “Evolution of Life Fuel Your Future Road Show”, a custom airbrush demonstration that tours high schools around the country, to the Championship Auto Shows’ World of Wheels at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 22 to 24, 2010. OTC’s airbrush road show features a 75-foot tractor trailer that the school has transformed into a mobile classroom complete with practice airbrush stations and school videos.
Famed professional airbrush artist Richard Markham, who is an instructor for OTC’s Custom Paint and Graphics program, will give live airbrush demonstrations as he paints the outside of the tractor trailer rig and shares details of the school’s 12-week course that teaches airbrushing, 3-D paint effects, exotic paint, chameleon colors, flames and pinstriping. Markham’s famous custom cars The Devil’s Ride (1934 Ford 3-window Coupe), the Ice Car (2000 Toyota Celica) and the Pumping Iron (1932 Ford) will also be on display for students to check out during the event.
Students who come out to the World of Wheels event will have the chance to win one of 14 scholarships that will be given out by OTC, who has partnered with Championship Auto Shows to encourage high school students to consider jobs in the automotive industry. Additional activities throughout the weekend include Airbrush tattoos, Matco tool giveaways and Weekend Airbrush Class giveaways.
For more information please visit the Ohio Technical College’s website at www.ohiotechnicalcollege.com.
– – C.S. Berg
Pin-Up Girl Raises Money for Veterans Healthcare —Pin-Up-In-Chief Gina Elise, creator of the award-winning “Pin-Ups For Vets” Calendar fundraiser project, presented a $15,000.00 check to the Portland, OR VA Hospital to improve rehabilitation programs for Veterans. This was Elise’s third donation to a VA or military hospital since she began her pin-up project in 2007.
A few years ago Elise started seeing news about under-funded Veterans healthcare programs and wanted to do something to help. She decided to produce a WWII-style pin-up calendar to bring in funds to support these Veterans Hospital rehab programs.
Along with raising money for hospitals, Elise has also made thousands of bedside visits to Veterans across the U.S. to personally deliver her “Pin-Ups For Vets” calendars and “Kiss A Vet” T-shirts. These gifts, complete with personal messages, are donated by supporters who purchase the gifts on Elise’s popular website, www.PinUpsForVets.com.
In addition to her visits to VA and military hospitals, Elise sends hundreds of “Pin-Ups For Vets” items to deployed troops around the world to boost morale. The troops have responded to Elise’s support by flying seven American flags in her honor over military bases.
“The troops have sent me hundreds of thank-you notes for the great morale boost that the calendars have brought them. It is important to let them know that they are not forgotten,” says Elise. The photos have been torn out of the calendars to decorate tents, and some of the photos have been carried with troops during missions to inspire and motivate.
Military units have put in requests for the pin-up calendars, and Elise needs to find donors to meet those requests. Elise says, “These donated gifts boost morale and improve Veterans’ healthcare. What better way to honor those who have served our country!”
SuperTrapp 2010 Product Catalogs Available–SupertRapp Industries just announced their new 2010 Product Catalogs for V-Twin, Dirt, Sport Bike and ATV. The 72-page SuperTrapp catalog is packed with everything from the new Mean Mothers Slip-Ons for ’09 – ’10 Touring Models, SE and Kerker Slip-Ons for ’95 – ’10 FLH / FLT as well as ’10 FLHX / FLTRX, 17 End Caps compatible with SE and Kerker Slip-Ons including 3, brand new black end caps, True Duals and FatShots Slip-Ons for Baggers, to the IDS2 for dirt bikes, Kerker Meg Series for sport bikes and the infamous MudSlinger for ATVs and everything in between.
In addition to over 150 different exhausts for V-Twins, 100 for ATVs and 100 for Sport and Metric bikes, the catalog features Dyno Charts, End Cap and Accessory options, Application Tables, Pricing, Web Resources, SuperTrapp Gear, Ordering Information, a list of Domestic and International Distributors and a step by step guide to assist riders in choosing the Universal Exhaust that will best fit their application.
SuperTrapp also manufactures an extensive line of Automotive Exhausts. The 2010 Automotive Catalog includes everything from the legendary Disc Only exhaust, to the infamous WaveTech exhausts as well as S/C’s, SuperMegs, SuperLight Stainless Series and Internal Disc Series. SuperTrapp’s Automotive Catalog includes End Cap and Accessory Options, Inlet Diameter, Number of Discs Included, Exhaust Length, Tunable Disc Technology, Diagrams, Ordering and Distributor Information.
Both of SuperTrapp’s catalogs are available in a downloadable version at http://www.supertrapp.com/resource/catalog_download.asp or to request a complimentary hard copy, simply e-mail SuperTrapp at Marketing@SuperTrapp.com.
– – C.S. Berg
LIFE IS STRANGE–But we all knew that. If it made any sense, it might be easy. We don’t know if all the storms have passed or not. The wind is whistling and the dogs are hunkered down in the shop.
I’m going to try like hell to launch our Bonneville 2010 Department tomorrow. We’ll see if the new webmaster and the stars are aligned. We discovered we can’t build a streamliner with the 45 flathead. With all the new rules a rider can’t ride an enclosed motorcycle, unless it has a complete sit down tubular frame, parachutes, and a fire system. Doesn’t matter if the planned speed is only 75 mph. So, we’ve shifted back to the air tech fairing for a partially streamlined 1940 flathead entry. Hang on for the reports.
Next week you’ll see the tech on Ray Wheeler’s Dyna hot rod. He’s hot to trot for the salt, with performance upgrades, and new pipes. Doc Robinson shipped a Headwinds shop tour report all the way from Australia. He toured the headlight making facility the last time he was in the states. He may be coming back soon and we will tour the BDL facility.
More sex ridden content is headed into the Cantina, and I can’t wait to write the story about Ross’ bike. It’s about time. Nyla’s bobber, built by Kent Weeks is destined to be featured in American Iron, and I have a couple of stories to write for the Cycle Source, on a Cannonball entry bike. It’s Sin Wu’s Birthday tomorrow. I better stop everything and shop for something special, super special. She’d probably be happy with a sunny day.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
