Hey,
Just a couple of days past Christmas and we’re scrambling toward the first. We thought we’d take a day or two off, but the content keeps flying at Bikernet, so I’m forced, by the gods of chrome, to keep up.
We’re just about to launch our new BikernetMetric.com section and we already have content rolling in on new models, a Kawasaki custom bike feature by Jim Waggaman and security for bikes during the winter.
I’m in trouble. I don’t know the models, the history or even the wrenches. The guys at JIMS are trying to develop tools for metric cruisers. Fortunately we have a team for Bikernet Metric, made up of two generations of metric bike owners, Bob Osias, the boss of MetricThunder, a parts distributor and shop, plus his son Matt will take on the job as editor. Jeff Najar will supply content for North Carolina and Josh Placa has Sedona, Arizona covered, the vortex of the Metric Revolution.
I ain’t doing shit. I’ve got my hands full with the American side. Me, Sin Wu, Renegade, Wilburn Roach, Wrench and Snake are staying put, right here. We’ll sit back with a bottle of Jack and a case of Coronas and watch. The section is due to launch on the 15th of January, unless the Digital Gangster, our Web Master Guru, goes on strike. Hang on for more hectic reports. Let’s hit the news:
HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA– El Bandito, Thanks for a great year. One does not have to live in the States to enjoy all the great biking stuff that goes on, although I would rather be there than here. Bikernet is the only ONE. You inspire me man. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
From the South African.
–Mikey.
pro1thunda@telkomsa.net
THE ROLLIN’ SIXES BIKER CODE OF BENEVOLENCE–You know when I started Rollin Sixes with Tim it was to build bikes and rods because god knows, I love it so, but it was to also make some money so we could help and give back a little. I’m not a selfish man. I don’t need it all ya know. Now the money thing isn’t where I want it to be, but damm I love when I can give back some. You know, right now, this day, I love where I am in my life, and I think that’s what really counts. I have to say it. I wasn’t doing it to have my pic put anywhere, but on the other hand I am real proud that you think we are worth being on the homepage.
–Thanks Brother
Jerry
Rollin Sixes Choppers
Thanks for this. Yes, we also struggle financially, but we couldn’t have a better life. We’re lucky Mofos to be able to do what we love and not work in a coal mine.–Bandit
Believe me I know how lucky we are. I stand at the graves of my family who were all coal miners. My great, great grandfather (Pappy) dug coal by hand. For every coal car that he filled up, he got 10 cents. He might dig 6 hrs of slag to get one car of coal. All he got paid for was the full car of coal. They were poor but proud people, who looked you in the eye when they spoke to you.
I still have his hunting gun. I can’t think of better folks to come from. I worked in a coal mine when I was 19 for a little over a year. I know how lucky we are to be able to do what we love, whether we make a ton of cash or not. We’re standing in the sun, riding by the moonlight, chasing broads and enjoying our freedom. It couldn’t be better.
–Jerry
SAVING AT THE PUMPS–Take these tips from auto experts and obsessive “hypermilers” on how to go farther on a gallon of gas.–By Katharine Mieszkowski
Dec. 24, 2007 With oil flirting with $100 a barrel, and $3 gas looking like the new normal, perhaps instead of resolving to curb your gluttony in 2008, you should pledge to train your car to be a fuel sipper. “Every time you get into your car and turn on your ignition you can save money,” says Bradlee Fons of Pewaukee, Wis., who teaches seminars on efficient driving. “It helps the country with national security and oil dependence, and it helps the world with global warming.”The most efficient way to save gas, as any “one-less-car” transportation activist will attest, is to leave your car in the garage.
When you’re in the market for a car, choose the most fuel-efficient model. That should get easier to do in the coming years as automakers comply with the just-passed law to move America’s fleet from an average fuel economy of 25 miles per gallon to 35 by 2020, a 40 percent increase.Yet there are also simple steps that every driver can take with an existing car, truck or SUV to save fuel simply by improving driving habits. “If you’re an aggressive driver, and many, many people are, you should become a moderate driver,” says Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com. Adopting a mellower approach on the road not only will ameliorate your road rage but could save you the equivalent of $1 a gallon, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, by improving your fuel efficiency as much as 33 percent.
Adopting a lower cruising speed can also help your car go farther with less gasoline. The efficiency of most cars rapidly declines at speeds over 60. In fact, every 5 miles per hour over 60 you drive is like paying an extra 20 cents a gallon for gas, according to the Department of Energy.
In stop-and-go traffic, strive to maintain one consistent low speed instead of accelerating and braking, accelerating and braking. To do this, drive in the slow lane, and maintain a long buffer zone in front of you, so you won’t have to slam on the brakes to avoid rear-ending the next car.
Any time you hear the engine revving high you’re gulping fuel. If you drive a stick shift, and you’re cruising along in third, shift to fourth, and hear the revs of the engine drop. Your car is the most inefficient when the engine is still warming up, so taking fewer trips by combining errands into one trip will save gas. Drive to your farthest destination, and then do the errands closer to home on the way back. When choosing your route, avoid hills if possible, so you won’t be wasting energy hauling thousands of pounds of steel up an incline.
If you’ve got 57 books in your trunk that you keep meaning to donate to the library, but never get around to doing, try this experiment: “Take all that stuff out, and put it in a wheelbarrow, and push it up and down the driveway once, and you’ll see how much energy it takes,” says Wayne Gerdes. Gerdes invented the term “hypermiler” to describe the obsessive drivers like him who strive to wring every last mile out of a gallon of gas, exceeding the EPA’s estimate of how far a car can go per gallon.
The more weight your car has to carry the harder it works, even though the overall gas savings are small, about 1 to 2 percent per 100 excess pounds eliminated, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Reed at Edmunds doesn’t worry too much about excess weight in the trunk, since he believes this tip was crafted back in the 1970s when New Englanders would keep 150-pound bags of sand in their trunks in hopes of getting better traction in the ice and snow in winter.
Avoiding excessive idling is also a must. Anytime you’re idling for more than 15 seconds, such as at a railroad crossing or when waiting curbside to pick up your child from school, turn off your engine, advises Fons, who co-founded the Milwaukee Hybrid Group, which gives tips on what he calls eco-driving. The bigger your engine, the more fuel you typically waste idling. But whatever car you have, when it’s idling it gets — duh! — zero miles per gallon. Idling is one of those bad habits that die hard.
Keeping your car tuned up can also bring some gas mileage improvements. Keeping tires properly inflated and frequently changing the air filter are the two biggies. “Gasoline is only one of the fuels the car burns,” explains Reed. “The other is oxygen, so feeding it with clean oxygen is very important.”
If you really get into saving gas, you can invest in a scan gauge, which costs about $170. It will inform you in real time what miles per gallon your car is getting. (Hybrids already come equipped with them.) Gerdes, who says he once got 127 mpg (over the course of 90 miles) in a 2004 Toyota Prius, believes drivers can realize a 15 percent savings on fuel overnight by buying and heeding a gauge.
It used to be said that driving with the air conditioner on was a big fuel waster. But in all but the oldest jalopies with primitive air conditioners, that turns out to be an old wives’ tale. “The air conditioners that we have now are highly efficient,” says Reed from Edmunds. “Yes, they do take more power from the engine, but we’re talking about 1 or 2 percent.” The alternative of driving with the air conditioner off and the windows open doesn’t offer a significant gain in gas mileage. On the contrary, when Edmunds conducted road tests to measure whether the altered aerodynamics of driving with the windows open impacted gas mileage, they noticed a decline in fuel economy if all the windows and the sunroof were open.
Driving experts say there’s no need to wait for years to benefit from the new fuel-efficiency law. We can see major gas savings now simply by backing off the accelerator and brakes. “Everybody and anybody can do this no matter what they own and drive,” says Gerdes. With practice, you, too, can become a hypermiler, and soon be shaming your lead-foot neighbors with your superior miles per gallon.
–from Nick Roberts
BREE IS ALWAYS CLOSE TO OUR HEARTS– Wishing you the best over this holiday season. I hope that 2008 brings you lots of happiness and success!!!XOXO
–Bree
www.breeonline.com
WHEEL WORKS FROM BUCK–Buck Lovell, Motorcycle photo artist and infamous biker dude recommends Wheel Works for the best in wheel and tire service. With a combined total of more than 90 years experience in street and custom motorcycle wheels and tires, the crew at Wheel Works in Garden Grove, California can supply the wheel tire combination you need and or provide expert advice on all forms of motorcycle tires and wheels from 1903 Indian to present day Harley-Davidsons.
All laced wheels are actually laced and trued in-house by Gary, the resident spoked-wheel expert to maintain optimum quality. If you can’t find the custom wheels or tires you’re looking for, chances are Wheels Works has them in stock for immediately delivery.
Buck says, “I’ve been buying all my motorcycle tires from Wheel Work for the last 20 years, this is the shop I’ve grown to trust for all my motorcycle wheel needs.”
The Wheel Works crew can be contacted at:
WHEEL WORKS
12787 Nutwood Street
Garden Grove, CA 92840
phone (714) 530-6681
FAX (714) 537-2317
Email info@wheel-works.com
www.wheel-works,com
GARAGE GIRLS BUILDING A BOBBER FOR A CURE– Jody Perewitz of Perewitz Cycle Fab, and Sara Liberte of RT’s North Hills Cycle are teaming up to build a “bobbah” motorcycle live on stage at three of the Northeast Motorcycle Expo shows produced by Kev-Marv Productions. Growing up as the daughter of icon motorcycle builder Dave Perewitz, Jody has been surrounded by motorcycles her whole life. It is no surprise that she has stepped into the limelight. Creating her own path in the industry, she has begun to mold her passion into some hot rides. In addition to designing and building motorcycles, Jody writes for the Perewitz blog,
Her partner in crime for this year’s charity build-off, Sara Liberte, has been confidently designing and building motorcycles for the last 10 years. Sara also has an artistic side that has produced the book “How to Repair and Maintain American V-Twin Motorcycles” and numerous photographs. She is a phenomenal photographer who has been capturing images of motorcycles, builders, and events for years. The two female builders will be working side by side to create a custom bike for charity.
Stop by to meet Jody and Sara, see them working and be entertained by their humorous antics as they build the bobber for a cure. You might even end up the lucky owner of this classic hard tail as “Bikers for The Cure” will be on hand selling $10.00 tickets. All proceeds will be going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. “This is something we are proud to be a part of, Bikers for The Cure are dedicated to helping out in the fight against Breast Cancer, and we are looking forward to meeting everyone coming out to the shows” stated the two builders.
The motorcycle shows will be in Hartford, CT on January 5th-6th, Reading, PA on Jan 25th-27th, and Boston MA, on Feb. 9th-10th. Stop by and witness two of the newest and hottest builders as they construct a bike for charity. You won’t regret it, but you will if you miss it.
For more information visit one or all of the following websites or call Perewitz at 508-697-3595
THE LATEST ISSUE OF CAR KULTURE DELUXE– I wanted to share our latest cover of Car Kulture Deluxe with you, it?s a killer issue out very soon.
We added 16 pages to expand our coverage of the traditional rod scene.
And please tell everyone to Ignore the Pie-sano rip-off of our Ol’ Skool Rodz title (www.olskoolrodz.com), as it’s a bad use of a tree.
Geno DiPol
Publisher
www.olskoolrodz.com
www.ckdeluxe.com
VINTAGE KLASS FIRST YEAR REPORT– Happy Holidays to everyone! We wanted to thank everyone for their support this year! We had a great first year and really look forward to 2008.
Come see us in January –
Easyriders Show – Pomona 1/5 & 1/6
Easyriders Show – Vancouver, WA 1/12
Easyriders Show – Sacramento 1/19 & 1/20
Arlen Ness Bike Show and Swap – San Jose 1/26 & 1/27
Hope to see everyone soon.
–Joel and Mary
Vintage Klass
NEW CLASSIC COVERS KITS TO DETAIL HARLEY-DAVIDSON MODELS– Dress Up Visible Engine and Chassis Fasteners with Plated Caps.
MILWAUKEE (Dec, 21, 2007) – Harley-Davidson owners can customize down to the last detail with Classic Covers Kits ($94.95 to $249.95) from Harley-Davidson Genuine Motor Accessories. Designed to dress visible hardware on the engine and/or chassis, each kit includes a selection of plated ABS caps and plugs to cover the exposed heads of socket head screws, hex bolts, Torx screws, 12-point screws and timer screws.
Each is easy to install without tools. Classic Covers Kits are available for Twin Cam 88/96 and 2004-later Sportster XL Evolution engines. Complete kits for 2004-later Sportster, and Twin Cam-powered Softail, Dyna and Touring models, include covers for both engine and chassis hardware.
See dealer for fitment details.
For additional information on Harley-Davidson Genuine Motor Accessories, see your local Harley-Davidson dealer or visit the Harley-Davidson Web site at www.harley-davidson.com. To find a dealer near you, call toll free 1-800-443-2153 in the U.S.A. or Canada.
V-TWIN EXPO ANNOUNCES 2008 SHOW SEMINARS– Agoura Hills, CA-The 8th annual V-Twin Expo is just around the corner, February 2, 3 and 4th, 2008 in Cincinnati, Ohio. For those dealers planning to attend, be sure to mark your calendar for one of the most important seminars you will attend. Survival of the Fittest features panelists made up of your peers answering questions that will help you not only survive in 2008, but grow your business.
V-Twin Exclusive — Motors-Motors-Motors
Sunday, February 3rd ~ 11:00am -12:00pm
Room 232 Duke Energy Center
Buy them – Build them – Tweak them, this seminar will cover everything you have always wanted to know about motors. A fast paced total audience question and answer format presented by the world’s top motor experts will help you increase not only your knowledge of motors but surely will help raise the profit margin in both your parts and service departments.
The V-Twin Expo will welcome over 500 exhibitors in 2008 and thousands of v-twin dealers in Cincinnati at the Duke Energy Center. The V-Twin Expo remains the one show to attend for v-twin dealers. “I attend the v-twin expo every year, it is the single most informative event there is. It gives me and my staff personal time with the people we deal with every day over the phone. It’s nice to put a face with a name; also it gives my store the competitive edge it needs” said Duane Easter of Cycle City in Tennessee.
2008 V-Twin Expo dates are set, be sure to mark your calendars and register to attend this industry leading v-twin trade show. February 2, 3, and 4th, 2008. Registration is just one click away at: www.vtwin-expo.com
The V-Twin Expo by Easyriders focuses exclusively on the V-twin motorcycle market, takes place in Cincinnati and is the v-twin industry’s premier trade show. It has steadily grown over the past seven years in terms of exhibitors, exhibit space and V-twin dealers attending the Expo. The Expo attracts dealers from the US, Canada and world.here is a shot of the little pink trike project I told you about. as you can see this thing came together great and even on time. hopefully the little guy will do good in rehab so I can build him a little chopper bike one day!
THE DEVIL GETS WARM AND FUZZY FOR CHRISTMAS– Here is a shot of Joe and I with the bike right before delivery. Joe does our leatherwork part time and was kind enough to strip it and reassemble the little guy’s bike. The kid’s folks just asked for any color other than pink, but I had to go all the way and personally gave it a seriously deep metalflake/red candy show quality paint job
HUGE AFTER CHRISTMAS LIFESTYLE SALE!DECEMBER 26 – 30th!–Lifestyle Cycles say’s HAPPY NEW YEAR with HUGE savings in our Parts and Apparel Departments!
ALL MEN’S LEATHER JACKETS: 20% OFF!
ALL MEN’S BOOTS: 20% OFF!
ALL MEN’S CHAPS: 20% OFF!
ALL MEN’S CLOTHING: 20% OFF
ALL HELMETS: 20% OFF!
ALL WOMEN’S CLOTHING: 20% OFF!
ALL WOMEN’S LEATHER JACKETS: 20% OFF!
ALL WOMEN’S BOOTS: 20% OFF!
ALL WOMEN’S CLOTHING: 20% OFF!
ALL PARTS: 10% to 30% OFF!
LIFESTYLE CYCLES
1534 N. State College Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92806
(714) 490-0155
http://www.lifestylecycles.com
BANDIT’S CANTINA CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SPECIAL–A man went for Christmas breakfast at his regular restaurant and ordered the Eggs Benedict. The order was served on a bright, shiny upside down tin clutch derby cover.
When he asked about the unusual presentation, the waiter replied, “There’s no plate like chrome for the hollandaise.”
–from Rev CarlR
BRASS BALLS WISHES EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW YEAR–During the season Holiday Season, we would like to take the opportunity to tell you how very thankful we are for your connection with us. We know we would not be here without our families, friends, customers, magazine editors, Bikernet.com, vendors and supporters.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Safe, Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
We have a lot of momentum heading into the New Year. Exciting things are happening. Stay tuned for future updates. We are extremely grateful for all the support and interest in our bikes.
–Dar HoldsworthDarwin Motorcycles
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