October 22ND, 2008, Bandit asked me to fill in for him at the Media Only event at Big Dog Motorcycles' release of the '09 models. Bandit had a previous business commitment that he couldn't shake, so I gladly accepted his offer. Actually he could shake her and wanted to. I suppose that was the purpose of the meeting, some shakin' goin' on.
I know of the Big Dog reputation and their substantial market share in the V-Twin world, but have never ridden a big ass high performance bike with a huge and pissed- off S&S motor some with those rear tires the size of fucking Texas! And, these beasts are nine feet long…I ain't real use to this kind of stuff, but, wudda fuck. I was thinking this situation may prove to be real interesting, and it surely was.
I like to dive into something blind, because it sure as hell makes life a tad more fun. Most of the better magazines and V-twin web people would be there for the unveiling, which for me opens the door to meet new friends and also catch up with old ones, a success on both fronts. All had to drag their sorry asses out of hotel beds and get to the Costa Mesa, California dealership by 9:00 am.
This new “Dog” dealership, Big Dog Motorcycles of Orange County, California, has only been open for six weeks, and I have to say it was sa-weet…..nice job on their part. I pulled up and the place is buzzing like a bee hive, with editors from all over the country. I shot the shit with a few familiar faces and met some new ones, a Motley Crew, no egos or butt holes. In between the left side of the building and the Big Dog custom big rig was a long, two across, line of brand new shiny-ass Big Dog bikes. I didn't even count 'em, there was no time, maybe thirty. I was immediately impressed with this glistening line-up like 30 full fledged customs waiting to be photographed for an Easyriders calendar, but where were the girls?
Now it was time to go inside, jump upstairs to the conference room for the speech and slide show about the new bikes. It was 15 years ago that Big Dog Motorcycles first took to the road, swiftly gaining status as a design icon and leader in the high performance high-style motorcycle niche. Each new model has brought new benchmarks in terms of design, engineering, riding capabilities and comfort. Seven models make up the 2009 line, some entirely new.
They plied us with food and drink. Then showered us with a bunch of free goodies. Definitely one of the more fun, easy and informative tax write off conferences I've attended.
“This year we have seven models,” said Paul Hansen, the marketing director. “They include the four pro-street, and two chopper model lines and one all-new touring model.”
Paul introduced us to six new models, including the all-new Bulldog and teased us with the touring model, reminiscent of Bandit's and Jesse James Touring Chopper from 1998. The touring model won't be launched until December 2008.
The ProStreet model Line-up for 2009 will include the award-winning Pitbull, top-selling Mastiff and will be joined by two all-new models: the highly styled, lower priced Coyote and striking new flagship of the line, the Wolf, to commemorate Big Dog's 15 years.
The Chopper line-up includes their fatest tire (330/17) two-model gang. The Ridgeback is 9 feet long, the most outrageous chop in the line-up and the K-9, America's number one chopper. Both of these bikes are stretched by radical history, have 1.5-inch hefty frames and 39 degrees of rake, but the Ridgeback is rigid and the K-9 a Softail configuration, has hidden rear shocks.
Half of the crew was hung over due to excess at a particular hotel bar the previous evening, including yours truly. We were then told that we would be riding the new bikes most of the day with lunch being served at Cook's Corner (a famous SoCal biker bar I have spoken of in the “road tests” section here on Bikernet).
Paul took a few more Burnin' Daylight minutes to tell us about the 2009 Big Dog upgrades. “A new tri-cam 121-inch polished, electronic fuel-injected engine is exclusive to the 2009 Wolf, delivering nearly 2,000cc of punch to the new model,” Paul said. “The rest of the line-up comes equipped with fully-polished 117-inch engines.” All Big Dog motorcycles have signature BDM balanced-drive primaries and 6-speed transmissions. “The clutch, redesigned in 2008, dramatically reduces lever effort for smooth and easy gear engagement. New for 2009, the primary compensator sprocket ensures a smoother, quieter ride.”
“Okay” proclaimed Hansen (the marketing director for the dog), meeting over, go down stairs and pick out the bike you want to ride today! We all signed our waivers and stampeded down the stairs to the bikes. Coffee spilled, chairs knocked over almost like the last day of school when you're in the seventh grade. It was hilarious.
I spotted the one that caught my eye, the new lower price-point Coyote. Running to it, I knocked down small children (even though there were no small children there). I slammed my helmet on the bar in a gesture that would say “mine, mutha fucka's.” The Coyote has a price tag under $24,000 and was designed for rider ease with enhanced agility. The rake is still 39 degrees but with only a 2-over front end and 4.25 inches of ground clearance. It struck me as not being intimidating or super long, but solid, straight as an arrow and ready for battle.
Everyone put their shit on and fired-up the caravan of angry bikes waiting for the Big Dog guys to jump into the camera car and lead us. The thunder from the bikes had most employees across the street on Harbor Blvd. come out of their shops to see just what in hell was going on. Were they being invaded by Soviet tanks or something? Naw, it's just us.
It was glorious. Harbor Blvd. is a big, and very busy road. We all pulled out and the group was immediately separated by a red light. Group A made the light and didn't wait for Group B. That's against the Code of the West. I, of course was locked in group B. Scott McCool from Paisano Publications led our group. A veteran of bike launches, he has attended more than ten of these Big Dog events, plus, it didn't hurt that only he had the cell phone numbers to the Dog staff in the camera car. Group A must have been testing the claim that Big Dog 117-inch engines and right side drive transmissions launch them from zero to 60 in less than four seconds. Not bad for big choppers and they average 42 mpg.
Scott, Mr. Experience, then took us in the wrong direction on Bake Street. We all pulled over and Scott called the camera car kinda yelling at them to pull over and wait for us. His delicate nature allowed them to share the correct directions. Have you ever seen fifteen, nine foot long choppers with 220-330mm rear rubber trying to hand u-turns at the same time? A sight to behold, for sure. Even the 45 degree rake Wolf leaned delicately under new guy handling and cruised through the turn.
I eyed the Wolf rider on the new model built around a 23-inch chromed front wheel and a 20-inch 220 rear with 7-inch backbone stretch and a 3-over 41 mm fronted end. It was impressive, but that 121 inch 56-degree, tri-cam engine with a 4.25 by 4.25 bore and stroke engine for a 21 percent reduction in vibration, 30 percent fewer parts and 22 percent more fin area for cooler running was damn intriguing.
We met up with group A and were now all as one again heading for Cook's Corner for some lunch. It was a real fun ride, cruising alongside scooters that would have won shows 15 years ago. And you can now buy them with state of the art fit and finish and complete custom paint jobs off showroom floors and ride them across the country.
You must understand that Cook's is always loaded with bikes on Wednesday Nights and the weekends. During the week, it's only a hand full of locals that pop in for breakfast or lunch. Here we come and fill the joint with Dog bikes and very hungry riders. I almost felt sorry for the Mexican dudes working the grill. Their eyes almost popped out of their heads thinking this would be a lite day for them. They really had to change gears, which they did, and got us all fed real quick like.
As Bandit says “we're burning daylight”, so it's time to start riding these hills. Most thought the plan was to ride to Black Star Canyon and do a photo shoot. Wrong. Once again all plans were thrown to the wind. When we took off, we noticed that not all were present. We pulled over in the canyon and waited, kicked the dust and waited some more. It was late October and hotter than hell. It's California, go figure.
I finally chimed in with, “fuck this, lets go back to Cooks”, which we did. Once back at Cook's, a Dog staffer told us that the rest of the group went up the hill for photos and will be right back. Okay, we'll hang and wait. We were afforded the opportunity to ride any of the other models, but I stuck with the Coyote. It seemed to fit me, felt secure and like a bullet on the road with the 250/18 on the rear with hidden shocks it was easy to maneuver.
We sent a point man up the hill and he returned with the news that one of the editors was pulled over by the cops. Ten minutes later, another point man was sent to investigate and reported back, “the cops now have the editor in the back of police cruiser.”
Turns out that since the bikes were shipped from Kansas some didn't have dealer plates, and someone forgot to give us insurance papers. The cops didn't find this funny at all. The camera car with most of the Dog staff drove up the hill to iron things out, only to return a later 'cause the cops started hassling them.
Paul Hansen stayed at cook's acting as the base commander. At this point, I shoved out the Coyote longer kickstand that stood up the 665-pound bike. I pulled Paul aside and told him, “look, yer in my backyard, I know these Orange County Sheriffs. If they find out there are 25 choppers down here at Cook's without papers, they're going to come down here and start busting all of our balls.”
With this new revelation, Paul yelled to the troops, “Everyone mount up and head back to the dealership.” Just like in the morning, the three stooges mentality breaks out. Everyone running to the bikes while putting their gear on and yelling. “I'm going back the way we came”, “I'm going on the toll road.”
I didn't care which direction we rode. I wanted to ride this beast from one coast to the other. I yelled that I was going straight down El Toro Road to the freeway! All took off in all directions of the compass. I coughed from laughing so hard as I easily slipped that locomotive into gear, lightly eased out the clutch lever and soared down the canyon.
After a very high spirited ride back on the 405 freeway, listening to the double-barreled exhaust sing my song, I arrived back at the shop and found most made it back safely. Upstairs again to the conference room which had food and drink for the troops. We were supposed to have a 3:30 debriefing meeting but the Dog staff was still up in the hills trying to rescue our comrade.
Scott rolled in and reported that the cops let our brother-of-the-wind go and even let him ride the bike back, amazing. With this, I noticed it was getting late and there would be no closing meeting. I wandered around the showroom and gazed at Big Dogs, finer than most show-winning customs in the '80s. They've come along ways. In the case of Big Dog it's not just the fine components and performance, but the details. These bikes weren't built with off-the-shelf parts, but custom and signature components as if handcrafted to win the next Grand National Show. I had to return to my elderly parents and distribute lots of medication. I said my goodbyes to Scott and some others, the glistening Coyote cooling in the parking lot and hit the road.
I had no idea what time the rest made it back to the shop but I must say, it was a real fun and crazy day. Thanks to the staff at Big Dog and to Keith Ball for letting me get on this crazy train. It was a blast and I was very impressed with the bike they let me ride. I would really like to do a road test of the Dog bikes…are you listening Paul Hansen?
Orange County Big Dog
2115 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa.
–Jon Towle
It was glorious. Harbor Blvd. is a big, and very busy road. We all pulled out and the group was immediately separated by a red light. Group A made the light and didn't wait for Group B. That's against the Code of the West. I, of course was locked in group B. Scott McCool from Paisano publications led our group. A veteran of bike launches, he has attended more than ten of these Big Dog events, plus, it didn't hurt that only he had the cell phone numbers to the Dog staff in the camera car. Group A must have been testing the claim that Big Dog 117-inch engines and right side drive transmission launch them from zero to 60 in less than four seconds. Not bad for big choppers and they average 42 mpg.
Scott, Mr. experience, then took us in the wrong direction on Bake Street. We all pulled over and Scott called the camera car kinda yelling at them to pull over and wait for us. His delicate nature allowed them to share the correct directions. Have you ever seen fifteen, nine foot long choppers with 250-300 rear rubber trying to hand u-turns at the same time? A sight to behold, for sure. Even the 45 degree rake Wolf leaned delicately under new guy handle and cruised through the turn.
I eyed the Wolf rider on the new model built around a 23-inch chromed front wheel and a 20-inch 220 rear with 7-inch backbone stretch and a 3-over 41 mm fronted end. It was impressive, but that 121 inch 56-degree, tri-cam engine with a 4.25 by 4.25 bore and stroke engine for a 21 percent reduction in vibration, 30 percent fewer parts and 22 percent more fin area for cooler running was damn intriguing.
We met up with group A and were now all as one again heading for Cook's Corner for some lunch. It was a real fun ride, cruising alongside scooters that would have won shows 15 years ago. And you can now buy them with state of the art fit and finish and complete custom paint jobs off showroom floors and ride them across the country.
You must understand that Cook's is always loaded with bikes on Wednesday Nights and the weekends. During the week, it's only a hand full of locals that pop in for breakfast or lunch. Here we come and fill the joint with Dog bikes and very hungry riders. I almost felt sorry for the Mexican dudes working the grill. Their eyes almost popped out of their heads thinking this would be a lite day for them. They really had to change gears, which they did, got us all fed real quick like.
As Bandit says ” we're burning daylight”, so it's time to start riding these hills. Most thought the plan was to ride to Black Star Canyon and do a photo shoot. Wrong. Once again all plans were thrown to the wind. When we took off, we noticed that not all were present. We pulled over in the canyon and waited, kicked the dust and waited some more. It was late October and hotter than hell. It's California, go figure.
I finally chimed in with, “fuck this, lets go back to Cooks”, which we did. Once back at Cook's, a Dog staffer told us that the rest of the group went up the hill for photos and will be right back. Okay, we'll hang and wait. We were afforded the opportunity to ride any of the other models, but I stuck with the Coyote. It seemed to fit me, felt secure and like a bullet on the road with the 250/18 on the rear with hidden shocks it was easy to maneuver.
We sent a point man up the hill and he returned with the news that one of the editors was pulled over by the cops. Ten minutes later, another point man was sent to investigate and reported back, “the cops now have the editor in the back of police cruiser.”
Turns out that someone forgot to put dealer plates on most of the bikes and, forgot to give us insurance papers. The cops didn't find this funny at all. The camera car with most of the Dog staff drove up the hill to iron things out, only to return a later 'cause the cops started hassling them.
Paul Hansen stayed at cook's acting as the base commander. At this point, I shoved out the Coyote longer kickstand that stood up the 665-pound bike. I pulled Paul aside and told him, “look, yer in my backyard, I know these Orange County Sheriffs. If they find out there are 25 choppers down here at Cook's without papers, they're going to come down here and start busting all of our balls.”
With this new revelation, Paul yelled to the troops, “Everyone mount up and head back to the dealership.” Just like in the morning, the three stooges mentality breaks out. Everyone running to the bikes while putting their gear on and yelling. “I'm going back the way we came”, “I'm going on the toll road.”
I didn't care which direction we rode. I wanted to ride this beast from one coast to the other. I yelled that I was going straight down El Toro Road to the freeway! All took off in all directions of the compass. I coughed from laughing so hard as I easily slipped that locomotive into gear, lightly eased out the clutch lever and soared down the canyon.
After a very high spirited ride back on the 405 freeway, listening to the double-barreled exhaust sing my song, I arrived back at the shop and found most made it back safely. Upstairs again to the conference room which had food and drink for the troops. We were suppose to have a 3:30 debriefing meeting but the Dog staff was still up in the hills trying to rescue our comrade.
Scott rolled in and reported that the cops let our brother-of-the-wind go and even let him ride the bike back, amazing. With this, I notice it was getting late and there would be no closing meeting. I wandered around the showroom and gazed at Big Dog production customs, finer than most show-winning customs in the '80s. They've come along ways. In the case of Big Dog it's not just the fine components and performance, but the details. These bikes weren't built with off-the-shelf parts, but custom and signature components as if handcrafted to win the next Grand National Show. I had to return to my elderly parents and distribute lots of medication. I said my goodbyes to Scott and some others, the glistening Coyote cooling in the parking lot and hit the road.
I had no idea what time the rest made it back to the shop but I must say, it was a real fun and crazy day. Thanks to the staff at Big Dog and to Keith Ball for letting me get on this crazy train. It was a blast and I was very impressed with the bike they let me ride. I would really like to do a road test of the Dog bikes…are you listening Paul Hansen?
–Jon Towle
