Okay,
Senator John Brueggeman is flying in tonight and we’re working on his Ducati for his ride to Montana. We’ll show you soon. Billy Lane is flying in, in about a week, to ride his flathead to Sturgis. Jeremiah is pounding on our bathroom and getting his Shovel bobber ready for the ride to Sturgis. I’m welding nails to impress Michael Lichter into displaying my welding skills in his Thunder Road Art Exhibit. Plus I’m trying to get Todd’s Cycle to fill out a tech chart so I can write his bike feature.
Wait, there’s more. Where’s my To-Do list? I need to fix a Hamster Kendon trailer for the trip. Yeah, I’m a trailer Queen this year. First year I’ve ever pulled a trailer to Sturgis or any other event, although I remember about 1976 and pulling a funky box fulla bikes to Daytona with the entire ER crew stuffed in a motorhome. What a trip that was. We’re hauling the Salt Shaker, my Sturgis Shovel and Caleb’s bobber, another bike for the Mike Lichter display. Mike owes me a year’s supply of Coronas and limes. Let’s hit the news:
SSINSTER CHOPPERS WINS CHOPPER CHALLENGE–That’s cool he did a helluva job in the desert with rattlesnakes slithering through the shop. But this competition was quirky. Viewers only got one week or two to vote on Alan Lees? bike or Yaniv Evan from Power Plant in Hollywood, so how could they compete against guys who could work the voting booths for months. Ah, what the hell, its television.
RAY WHEELER, THE GOD OF W8LESS ROTORS SURVIVES S&S 50TH– I think Ray really wanted to have his picture taken in La Crosse. It was pretty funny, there he was after the event was over in a huge empty tent with his broken and very swollen foot all bandaged up after a wreck on the way out, hobbling away to find his ride back to California, with a huge smile on his face – and I heard him saying to himself something to the effect, isn’t this livin’ the dream!!!
–Michael Lichter Photography, LLC
Studio phone 303 449-3906
Cell phone 303 517-1726
Email mike@lichterphoto.com
MySpace page http://myspace.com/lichterphoto
Ray Wheeler survived to ride another day, from the Bikernet Headquarters home. He’ll be in Sturgis at the Bikernet Brouhaha running the Tattoo Competition. W8Less rotors is sponsoring our show with sets of rotors for class winners and gift certs for specialty awards like Best Paint. Be There! No charge to enter your bike Friday morning at Thunder Road.–Bandit
FROM D&D – MORE MPG & HP FOR 2008 BAGGERS–Exhaust pipe manufacturer D&D saw a need to improve performance and economy in a package that is economical for the 2008 Harley Bagger rider. The results are in? 6.3 mpg and 10 HP increase over stock.
D&D’s Test Program D&D mapped out a 106 mile test that consisted of the same route, same gas station, same pump, with the motorbike set on cruise at 70mph. The stock results were 42.24 mpg; stock air cleaner w/Super Boss Slip-ons delivered 47.24 mpg; and Super Boss Slip-ons with Screamin? Eagle air cleaner delivered 48.5 mpg!
In another independent test we sent a set of Super Boss pipes to Tilleys H-D in North Carolina and they produced dyno results of an increase of 10 HP and 10 Torque with the Super Boss Slip-ons and Screamin? Eagle air cleaner.
D&D is building some of the most advanced exhaust systems that increase performance, improve economy and deliver value to your billfold.
Lowering The Performance Entry Point If you have a 2008 fuel injected Bagger then performance is a big issue for you. Dave Rash, The Pope of Pipe, delivered a bolt-on solution that produces power and torque right out of the box without a tuner. Just add the slip-on and high-flow air kit and you are good to go.
Hacienda Brothers? Arizona Motel & Tour Update —Dave Gonzalez of the Hacienda Brothers is currently on tour supporting the band?s new release titled Arizona Motel. The tour is also a tribute to his fallen Brother and musical partner Chris Gaffney. Dave Alvin, Gaffney?s longtime friend, will be joining Gonzalez as a special guest for the Austin Continental show on July 19 & the Northern California shows Aug 7-9 (for a complete list of show dates scroll down to the bottom). The CD was just released on June 24th and here?s a sample of rave reviews already coming in:
Philadelphia Inquirer
?This is the last Hacienda Brothers album, with good reason – lead singer Chris Gaffney died of cancer in April at 57. It’s also the best Haciendas album, as Gaffney and his fellow front man, Dave Gonzalez, continue to explore a hybrid of their own dubbed ‘Western soul.’
Country Standard Time
?The final Hacienda Brothers album perfects everything that Gaffney and the band had blueprinted on their previous two studio albums (and brought to magnificent life on their live album, last year’s ‘Music for Ranch & Town’). Featuring production from legendary boardsman Dan Penn on four tracks, this may well stand as the best work in Gaffney’s diverse and long discography simply because it seems to draw on all of the sounds and styles that he touched in his career.?
Los Angeles Times
?This third, and final, album from the group Gaffney formed in recent years with ex-Paladins guitarist, songwriter and singer Dave Gonzalez includes several stirring examples of Gaffney’s ability to hop musical fences. His rich baritone — part oak, part gravel — sounds equally convincing on the Waylon-esque ‘A Lot of Days Are Gone,’ written by Gonzalez and Jeb Schoonover, the western swing of Hank and Curly Williams’ ‘When You’re Tired of Breaking Other Hearts’ or the Southern soul of Gonzalez and Dan Penn’s ‘Used to the Pain.’
Arizona Motel is available at www.haciendabrothers.com
BRASS BALLS AND IRONWORKS WORKING SIDE BY SIDE AT BIKERNET BROUHAHA– Dar Holdsworth and Marilyn Stemp (mstemp@triadbiz.rr.com) of IronWorks Magazine will be working the Bikernet Booth on Friday.
–Jeffrey Najar
BIKERNET INVESTIGATES CAPITAL OF FLORIDA– Subject: Re: Tallahassee Law EnforcementAs you’ll see in the news today and in the morning, Tallahassee Police Chief Dennis Jones agree to assist us so we can do the escorts.
Dear Sheriff Larry Campbell,
I am a Patriot Guard Rider, whose mission is to honor fallen soldiers. Last Saturday, Master SGT Shawn Simmons, a Green Beret, born and raised in Florida, was laid to rest. Some 50-60 Patriot Guard Riders spent Saturday away from their own families to honor this fallen soldier and his family. It was our honor to be there, provide support to the family, and to escort the funeral procession to his final resting place.Our own Patriot Guard provided road blockers, who rode ahead and blocked intersections so that the funeral procession could proceed without interruption. Several of them were threatened, shouted at, and had drivers attempt to drive around them to cut in anyway.
But this is not about us, or what we do. It is about the very distasteful fact that Leon County Sheriff and Tallahassee Police will not provide an escort. And it is all about the respect and honor SGT Shawn Simmons deserved.I have attended funerals and homecomings with the Patriot Guard for about a year and half now. And I am appalled at the thoughtlessness and disregard of this issue that I know you are aware of. Nowhere else I’ve ridden, in surrounding counties or in Georgia, is police escort refused for such a worthy cause. Is your life so all encompassing that you cannot see what a dishonorable thing this is? In our own state capitol?
I have lived in many other states, and have NEVER seen local law enforcement refuse to provide an escort. All of those towns provided an escort for any military funeral, and some for motorcycle rallies as well. We aren’t asking for rally support, only escort for soldiers who come home in a casket. Those who fight for our freedom so far from home have not asked us for anything but respect. Will you continue to deny them such a small thing?
Somehow I don’t think LE in this city would deny a police escort for one of your own. This morning I attended a press conference at the capitol, and no less than eight motorcycle officers showed up to spend about an hour there, parking their bikes in a neat row for the media cameras. The escort we needed on Saturday would have taken approximately 20 minutes of time for half as many. Apparently media coverage ranks above SGT Shawn Simmons too.
We will not continue to look the other way. I personally will visit every church in Leon County that has police traffic control every Sunday and tell these God worshipping people how Leon County cannot provide a police escort for the most honored of citizens in this country, but they can direct traffic on every major artery so these people can leave church unhindered. I will pass out flyers to every home in my neighborhood of Killearn Lakes and tell them all how our County LE cannot lift a hand to change this “no-escort” policy for military personnel, but churches, press conferences, sports teams, and politicians are excepted.
I was not born and raised here, but I chose Tallahassee because I felt “at home” here. After only a year and half as a resident, I am wondering if I have made a serious mistake. Somehow I expected better of Florida’s state capitol.I strongly urge you to seek a change in this escort policy. Your “Commitment to Excellence” statement demands that you do. For if you do not, you are no better than those who threatened us last Saturday when asked to wait 5 minutes for the most honored of all American citizens to pass. And you will have lost all integrity in my eyes, my voter support, and that of anyone else I can sway in the that direction.
Sincerely,
–Ms. Dara “Sam” McLain
–from Rogue
New factory parts for Big Dog PitbullBIG Dog Motorcycles has increased its line of proprietary BDM Performance Products parts for its award-winning 2008 Pitbull motorcycle. The latest additions are a drop solo seat and drag bars.
The new parts will be of particular interest to riders at opposite ends of the size spectrum, as the leather seat lowers the saddle height 2-1/2in to 23in. For those riders looking for a longer reach the 1-1/4in diameter drag bars are 4-1/2in forward of the stock handlebars.
“With these new accessories you can make the look of the Pitbull more radical, the riding position more aggressive, and the feel of the motorcycle completely different,” says Paul Hansen, Marketing Director of Big Dog Motorcycles.
Additional parts available in the BDM Performance Products line include passenger seats and pegs, sissybars, touring bags and windscreens.
BIG DOG MOTORCYCLES
Wichita, Kansas, USA
Tel: 316 267 9121
Fax: 316 267 2597
E-mail: dealers@bigdogmotorcycles.com
www.bigdogmotorcycles.com
KRAWIEC BATTLES TO SEMI-FINALS AT NHRA MILE-HIGH NATIONALS–Krawiec Qualifies Number One, Hines Holds On to NHRA Points Lead.
MORRISON, COLO. (July 13, 2008) ? Screamin? Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Eddie Krawiec advanced to the semi-final round of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. For the second straight event, Krawiec also rode his Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycle to the number one spot in qualifying rounds. Screamin? Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines qualified fourth and lost in the second round at Bandimere. However, he retains his lead in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle season points race.
Krawiec made a 7.328-second pass at 181.74 mph in the third round of qualifying on Saturday morning to take the top spot at the high-altitude track, where the Vance & Hines team, which until recently was based in Colorado, has enjoyed much success.
?We were one-two right off the trailer on Friday, and had a great set-up all weekend,? said Krawiec. ?Our crew chief, Matt Hines, has won here in the past and so has Andrew, so we can really bank on that experience when we come to Bandimere.?
On Sunday, Krawiec coasted through the first two rounds as his opponents, Ryan Schnitz and Karen Stoffer, started early and were out on red lights. In the semi-finals, Krawiec lined up against the Snap-On Tools Suzuki of Steve Johnson, but never left the starting line.
?Right after I staged, the throttle cable failed and the bike just settled into an idle,? said Krawiec, who went out in the third round for the second event in a row. ?That?s really disappointing because we had a great bike and I felt comfortable and was making consistent starts. I?ve got qualifying figured out. Now I?ve got to get past the semi-final round.?
Hines also advanced through the first round when David Hope drew a red light, but then lost to Johnson?s 7.390 pass despite putting down a solid 7.423-second run and an outstanding 0.008 reaction time. Johnson lost to NitroFish Wear Buell rider Matt Smith in the final round.?I cut a really good light and made a clean pass, so it?s hard to get too upset about losing that round,? said Hines. ?I felt confident I?d be facing Eddie in the semi-final round, but Johnson just had a little more power. I?ll take the points lead to Sonoma, where we?ve run really well in the past.?
After eight rounds in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Hines has 668 points and continues to lead the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. Smith moves into second place with 630 points, followed by Chip Ellis with 569, Chris Rivas at 512, and Krawiec with 481 points. NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycles will race next July 25-27 at the Fram/Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.
The Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team is sponsored by Ford Truck, Dunlop, Matco Tools and S100.
THE MOST VERSATILE WORD IN ENGLISH–For Our First Lesson – Utilizing one of the most versatile words in the English language for fun and profanity.
See more great biker programming in the Bikernet Studio.
ALL NEW REDNECK SWAMP BIKES–from the Rogue high-dollar factory in Florida.
–Rogue
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