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BIKER PROS IN THE NEWS–Biker Pros Wins Roadmax Transmission Contract with Biker’s Choice
Southlake, Texas – December 29, 2004 – Biker Pros, the supplier of Roadmax transmissions for the American motorcycle builder, has completed negotiations with Biker’s Choice to become their primary transmission supplier.
Walter Clark, Vice President of Biker’s Choice, said, “Biker’s Choice is on the lookout for high-value high-quality products. Roadmax provides value to the dealer through healthy gross margins, and to the end user with a quality product that is competitively priced.”
Roadmax transmissions are designed for OEM replacement, kit bikes, as well as high-performance and wide-tire applications. Roadmax transmissions are thoroughly tested and have passed a rigorous pre-delivery inspection.
“A significant share of the custom bike market wants and needs bigger engines, more horsepower, bigger tires and right-side transmissions,” stated Bob Kay, President, Biker Pros. “Roadmax is the biker’s choice for these high-performance custom motorcycles and show quality choppers.”
“We conducted our due diligence in evaluating the product line,” explained Clark. “The performance, quality, fit and finish is exceptional. So much so that we replaced our own proprietary transmission with the Roadmax. All of our kit bikes come equipped with Roadmax.”
Biker’s Choice is one of the world’s leading distributors and marketers of name-brand parts, accessories and apparel for the American motorcycle aftermarket. Biker’s Choice is run by dedicated, life-long bikers who understand the American motorcyclist.
“We are delighted to have Biker’s Choice on our team,” said Kay. “They provide high quality products and deliver after-the-sale service that dealers need and deserve. The crew at Biker Pros is looking forward to working alongside them to build a winning team.”
Biker Pros is serving the American motorcycle builder with a range of high-value products and services that assist builders in improving motorcycle performance by providing high quality parts, troubleshooting powersports operations and building and marketing exclusive products by builders for the v-twin marketplace.
Contacts:
For further information please contact the Biker Pros Press Office:
Jeffrey Najar: 760-765-4734, pr@bikerpros.com
For information on Roadmax transmissions please contact Bob Kay: (
(817) 421-1333
bkay@bikerpros.com
BIKERNET CARIBBEAN REPORT–Well, I guess this is the last news of 2004. In a couple days we will be fucking up checks with the wrong date. Some will be tossing and turning with a nasty ass hangover, and some will be welcoming whatever the year brings and saying farewell to whatever the old year did and what we did not like.
I remember saying last week that I was not going to rant, although I did a bit, this week for sure I won’t. I know you guys follow the rants, but we still have 52 more weeks for that, so let’s take this one to just say what I want to say.
I don’t really know if it’s just me or whatever has being going on, but this Holiday season did not feel like Holidays at all. I remember, and remembering is not such a good thing, when as younger guys our Holidays started the 18th of Dec or so and ended by the 18th of Jan or so. Sure back then our worst worries was a book report or something along those lines. But as soon as school was out it was time to go party, sleep late and party some more, then go surf, or maybe travel and keep on going. Just a slight reminder, Puerto Rico winters are almost the same as the summers, weather does not dictate a marked difference. Although there’s still 24 hours to a day, and forever will be, it seemed like we had a lot more time. Time to go get gifts, party, surf, sleep and basically just be bums.
But one thing that always marked any Holidays was the difference in the people?s spirit. We would go in the water (to surf) and everyone we knew at the lineup would say the Feliz Navidad de rigueur, it was kind of a brotherhood. We got to see people that we had not seen in some time (Winter being the big wave season) or just our friends who went to school abroad and came back home. The same goes to going riding, a bunch of us would gather, get our bikes and go everywhere on them, and I mean every fucking bar, party, wedding or whatever it was. I still remember a few years back that we rode our bikes every single day through the whole Holiday season, and it never rained.
Part of all that was the different family parties up in their “country” houses or farms. We would ride up and then come back to the city to party some more. As we got a bit older, it was cool to get together with friends who came back from college, and even cooler when they brought fellow female classmates to spend their vacation here. We had a very tight circle of friends, in the thousands, everyone kind of knows everyone here. Alas, we grow up, there’s shit that needs to be done, our parents age, people get married, you know, what we call life. Things change, people change, people leave us, people die and some are born. Time is still those 24 hours, but we don’t seem to find the actual time to accomplish half of what we were able to. We compromise, move, get new shops, have debts, kids, and all the stuff that we already know, but are we still the same people of years ago?
That is a very good question, and something that we need to ponder with this upcoming year. In this trip that we call life we find new friends, do different things and we loose friends and family. It?s all part of a process or master plan that someone with way more power than us has schemed. I guess that’s part of why I hate my birthday; while I get older, I know a lot of the people I love will get older as well, and only time will tell when they won’t be with us no more. Life is a gamble.
But not all is gloom, we have very good days, we live by accomplishments, some very large some very little, but every single day that we manage to go to sleep, and then wake up in the morning (or later as is my case) we have accomplished something. We have gained, be it money (which is irrelevant) be it knowledge or be it growing as human beings.
I really don’t understand my position in the motorcycle industry, but I would have never , ever imagined that I could reach where I am right now (where ever that is). I’m sure many of you have goals to reach, which can be similar; no matter what you do or what it is, time is against all of us, but also time is the only thing that we have to be able to grow…. what a contradiction.To those who sometimes feel despair, there?s an old Spanish saying that loosely translates into God tightens the grip but won’t strangle.
There’s many things to thank for; there are many good friends who are not with us anymore. The New Year seems like just a change of numbers, but depending on what we make of it, it could actually be life changing. Simply we can never give up, we grown day by day, ’till we can’t grow no more, and that my friend is when we cease to exist. The friends that are gone are missed every day, but that brings us closer to the ones that are still with us. The same goes with family, bad times makes us stronger and the bond tightens.
I really don’t feel like bringing anyone down for the New Year, but I guess it’s just something that was making me think, and you know that means trouble. The day after Christmas I went surfing with a couple friends, and it was a strange feeling that started all these thoughts. It triggered the memories. But you know what? As familiar faces started paddling into the lineup, the feliz Navidad started rolling again and I did realize one thing, we can’t go back since we have a whole new set of friends, life and loved ones to live with into the future.
Don’t get me wrong, I am really looking forward into the New Year and what will happen, what will we reach, the trips, the builds, anything and everything that life throws at us. One thing for sure, it will always be interesting and it will always be a challenge.Maybe I will have more time, maybe I’ll finally make it to Japan, back to Hawaii or whatever, but most important is health.Anyway…Since I guess I?m getting boring, to everyone here, all the readers, my family, my friends, customers, girls, those who hate me, their mothers and everyone and anyone, the best New Year ever !!!!!
Give your good looking girls a big kiss for me, and thanks to everyone that in one way or another has affected my life in 2004 , for good or bad. I will see you all next year.
Jose De Miguel ? Bikernet Caribbean Reporter/Philosopher
More bikers are dying as boomers rev ’em up–
The Arizona Republic
The number of motorcyclists dying on Arizona roads has dramatically increased in the past five years, in part because new riders and veterans who haven’t ridden for years are hitting the streets without proper training, experts say.
A flock of new urban professionals and older returning riders are ill-prepared to handle the rigors of more powerful bikes and crowded streets, they say. Add to that unlicensed riders, alcohol impairment and inattentive motorists, and it means more deaths and injuries.
The number of Arizona motorcycle fatalities jumped 46 percent, with 111 deaths in 2003 compared with 76 deaths in 1999, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of Arizona Department of Transportation data. Nationally, the number of deaths is up 73 percent from 1997 to 2003, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The peak year for Arizona motorcycle fatalities was 1979, with 134 fatalities, three years after the state’s short-lived helmet law was repealed. From 1979 to 1986, there were more than 100 motorcycle fatalities each year, according to Jim Williams, ADOT traffic records manager.
Experts still say helmets are vital, but today they’re just as likely to point to the type of people taking up riding to explain the increase in accidents.
“There’s an influx of retired folks that rode when they were in high school and gave it up, raised a family and now are returning, but the motorcycles and the dynamics are completely different,” said Dick Studdard, chairman of the Arizona Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council.
Arizona has seen a 37 percent increase in motorcycle licenses and registrations in the past five years, according to the state Motor Vehicle Division, but fatalities are rising at a faster clip. “It is part of what is going on nationwide,” Studdard said. “It is not just more motorcycles, it is more untrained motorcyclists.”
Arizona Motor Vehicle Division spokeswoman Cydney DeModica agrees that training is lacking. “What we are seeing is young professionals who have kind of adopted motorcycles as their hobby, and they are able to afford the really upscale bikes,” she said. But a lot of them are skipping the training.
“They are new to motorcycles and don’t realize they can be virtually invisible to a large SUV and not as easy to see as a car, SUV or pickup truck, simply because they are smaller,” DeModica said.
“Hold up a deck of cards, flat side toward you. This is a private passenger car… Turn the card sideways, and this is a motorcycle.”
Dr. Scott Petersen, St. Joseph’s Hospital medical director of trauma services, said the mortality rate of motorcycle crash patients has remained about 5 percent over the past several years, with most dying in the first 24 hours from head injuries.
But he said the hospital has seen an increase in helmet use, from 30 percent of patients in 2002 to 48 percent in the first half of 2004. And he said the presence of alcohol in the blood of patients has decreased from 26 percent in 2002 to 22 percent in 2004.
“The trend is in the right direction. Maybe motorcycle drivers are getting to be a little more responsible,” Petersen said. “The good news is, helmet use is going up, and we are getting the message across despite the fact we have repealed our helmet law.”
But few topics are as hot in the motorcycle world as a helmet law. Advocates say they save lives while detractors say wearing a helmet is a matter of personal freedom.
Arizona doesn’t have a helmet law for adults but does require one for riders under 18. Twenty states, including Washington, California, Oregon and Nevada, require helmets for all riders.
“I feel unsafe when I wear a helmet because a helmet is going to weigh too much and impair my hearing and vision,” said Ray Huston, 57, of Glendale, the state vice chairman of the 1,200-member Modified Motorcycle Association of Arizona, a rights organization.
“We feel we are adults, and we can choose how we ride.”
Richard Fimbres, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said the absence of a helmet law draws some riders to the state.
According to ADOT data, 67 of 111 motorcycle riders and passengers who died in crashes in 2003 were not wearing helmets. Nationally in 2003, 52 percent of fatally injured motorcycle riders were not wearing helmets, according to NHTSA. In 2002, helmet use is credited for saving the lives of 1,005 motorcyclists, and an additional 579 more could have survived if all motorcyclists had worn them, NHTSA estimates.
Rogue
BIKERNET BLOND MOMENT–Jody the Blond runs crying into the house.
“What’s wrong?” gasps her best friendCarol.
“It’s my boyfriend,” gushes Jody. “He was working on theengine under the hood of his car when the lid came down and cut off afinger!”
“My god,” shrieks Carol. “Did it amputate his wholefinger?”
“No, thank goodness,” sniffs Jody. “But it was the one justnext to it!”
Rogue
BT SHIFTER REPORT–Bandit, Hope you had a great Christmas…..
I am off his week, so with all the rain we are having I finally got aroundto putting on my Hand shifter….Stone shifter and 1918 foot clutch…
Changed to a solo seat, now just waiting for the P-pad to get here.
Have a great New Year
Bob T.
2005 COLORADO MOTORCYCLE SWAP BUILD-OFF–Bandit-I wanted to let you know that the bike that Redhill Motorcycle Werx is building for the 2005 Colorado Motorcycle Swap Build off, valued at $50,000, will be raffled off on March 5, 2005 to benefit the Tiny Tim Center in Longmont Colorado. We will be selling 1000 tickets at $50 a piece between now and then which can be purchased at Redhill Motorcycle Werx or you can purchase them over the phone at (303)823-6363, we expect to sell them quickly so get your tickets today!
The Bike:
I don’t want to give too much away but the fenders, tank, oil bag, exhaust as well as a large portion of the frame were handfabricated in the shop at Redhill by Scot Ross and his team of builders. You can be sure that you haven’t seen a bike like this before and it will have a BIG engine assembled in house and the paint, done by Phil Greff of Black Canyon Custom Paint will be unique with a lot of detail. As with all of there bikes it will be a head turner.
The Shop:
Redhill Motorcycle Werx, located off Highway 66 in Lyons, caters to all motorcycle enthusiasts, stocking everything from t-shirts to transmissions. There exceptional service department has incorporated a power commander dynomometer and has an in house paint shop, Black Canyon Custom Paint. They have participated in the Cherry Creek Arts Festival the “Art On Two Wheels Exhibit” for two consecutive years, bringing the art of motorcycles to the masses. They were recognized nationally in 2004 as a Dealernews Top 100 motorcycle shop . Redhill has also been seen on all of the local Colorado television stations, featured in Southwest Scooter News, Sturgis Rally News, Quick Throttle Magazine, Rocky Mountain Rider and Thunder Press along with being photographed by world renowned motorcycle photographer Michael Lichter and featured in the January 2004 issue of the international motorcycle magazineV-Twin.
The Charity:
Since 1956, the Tiny Tim Center has been a valuable and vital resource for young children with special needs and their families from the Longmont area and surrounding communities. The Center offers equal educational preschool experiences to ALL children, regardless of disabilities or challenges.
The Center also specializes in working with children with special needs birth to 12 years of age – offering pediatric language and motor therapies in the home or other community sites as well as working with a local teen parenting program.
Tiny Tim is a one-of-a-kind jewel providing nurturing, structure and a safe learning environment for our most precious resource – our children.
If you have any questions about the bike, the shop or the charity, please send me an e-mail of call me at (970) 227-3588.
Thanks,
Ken
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