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SUMMER ISSUE OF ENTHUSIAST IN HOMES–The Summer 2004 Enthusiast landed in readers? mailboxes this week announcing the new 2005 Harley-Davidson and Buell models.
Also included in this issue is a special ?Enthusiasts? article on two Vietnam veterans who found each other years after the war ended and are now friends and riding companions. Regular departments include the editor?s column, new Genuine Harley-Davidson Motor Accessories and MotorClothes items, Harley-Davidson news, letters from readers and photos of Harley People.
HARLEY-DAVIDSONS SEIZED AT POLICE CHECKPOINTS–A carefree cruise to a Harley-Davidson Rendezvous in Duanesburg turned into a nightmare journey for two Delaware County men after the state Department of Motor Vehicles Auto Theft Unit seized their motorcycles.
Jim Healey, 35, of Walton and Dave Bailey, 35, of Hamden were about a mile from the Rendezvous on June 25 when they passed through a state police vehicle checkpoint.
They were pulled over and told that their motorcycles might be stolen because the vehicle identification numbers had been altered.Their motorcycles were loaded onto a flatbed truck, Healey said, and they were left standing on the side of the road.
After more than six weeks with no word about the status of the investigation or when the motorcycles would be returned, the men hired lawyer Terence O’Leary of Walton to help them reclaim their property.”We just thought they were checking registrations and inspections, so we were surprised when they motioned us over,” Healey said.
Healey said the men were told to scrape paint off the frames of their bikes to make the vehicle identification number tags more visible.Healey, who has owned his 1971 Harley-Davidson Sportster for four years, said an officer compared the numbers on his VIN tag with a template.
“He said my numbers appeared to be altered because they didn’t fit the profile on the sample he had,” Healey said. “My numbers matched my registration and the numbers on the frame matched the numbers on the engine, but they seized the bike anyway.”
“This motorcycle is my American dream,” Bailey said. “It’s the first one I ever had, and I planned on keeping it to pass on to my children.”
“We wouldn’t be fighting this if we had done anything wrong,” Healey added. “How can New York state just snatch your stuff?”
Investigator Ken Theobald, of the state police Auto Theft Unit, said Tuesday that if the motorcycles have not been returned at this point, they probably wouldn’t be.
“We take great pains to ensure that we are not seizing bikes without cause,” Theobald said. “If there wasn?t a good reason for the seizure, they would have had their motorcycles back by now.”
“Antique-car collectors, street-rod builders and anybody else who has ever changed a transmission or an engine is in danger of having their vehicle seized,” Bailey said.
Christine Burling, DMV public relations spokeswoman, said Tuesday that if the motorcycles are found to be stolen or unidentifiable, the owners in most cases can’t get the motorcycles back. The vehicles are sent to a state police impound where they are issued a replacement VIN and are auctioned off.
Inv. Antoine Rainville of the state DMV Division of Field Investigations Auto Theft Unit signed the vehicle impound receipts for the motorcycles. Rainville gave each of the men a business card with his phone number on it, but Bailey said repeated messages left on Rainville’s answering machine have not been returned.
–from TBear
SCREAMIN’ EAGLE DRAG TEAM MAINTAINS MOMENTUM IN MEMPHIS–Hines is Top Pro Stock Bike Qualifier and Pads His Season Points Lead. MILLINGTON, Tenn. (Aug. 22, 2004) ? The Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines drag racing team increased its points lead in the Pro Stock Bike season championship at the 17th Annual O’Reilly Mid-South NHRA Nationals where riders Andrew Hines and GT Tonglet each advanced in elimination rounds. Hines rode his Screamin? Eagle V-Rod to the top qualifying spot for the seventh time this season and advanced to the semi-final elimination round for the fourth consecutive NHRA event.
Hines was quick from the start at Memphis, posting a run of 7.132 seconds at 188.17 mph in his first qualifying run on Friday, an ET and top speed that were not topped throughout the weekend. Tonglet qualified eighth with a pass at 7.226/184.09.
?That 7.13 was the best pass we’ve made since the 40 pounds was added to our V-Rods,? said Hines. ?It’s a totally different bike than before, but we’re figuring it out.?
Both riders advanced easily through the first elimination round on Sunday. Tonglet (7.249/182.85) beat Chip Hunter (7.373/182.85), while Hines (7.213/184.55) dispatched Lloyd Straus (7.335/183.16).
The two Screamin? Eagle riders faced each other in round two. It was the third time Hines and Tonglet have raced head to head in eliminations, with each scoring a prior win. Tonglet (7.465/160.44) got a better start, but Hines (7.319/183.07) passed him at the 60-foot mark to take the win and advance to the semi-final.
In the semi-final round, Hines faced Matt Smith. Both riders played the late staging game, but Hines ended up with a very late start, posting a 0.238-second reaction time versus 0.028 for Smith. Hines then shut down his Screamin? Eagle V-Rod mid-run, for a 10.052/85.36 time to 7.290/179.92 for Smith.In the final round, Smith jumped the start by 0.010-second to hand the event win to Antron Brown.
The win moved Brown into second place in the Pro Stock Bike points race, but Hines actually gained ground on his rivals at Memphis. After 11 of 15 rounds, Hines leads with 964 points?196 points ahead of Brown who?s in second place with 768 points. Angelle Savoie drops back to third place with 765 points; Shawn Gann is fourth with 746 points; Craig Treble is fifth with 736 points; and Tonglet is sixth with 640 points.
?We have a championship to win and it’s all about going rounds at this point,? said Hines. ?We know what we need to do, I feel confident in my riding, and the Screamin? Eagle/Vance & Hines team is working really hard.?
?The Screamin? Eagle team is getting back in its groove, having adjusted to the mid-season rules change,? said Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso. ?We have both riders in the top-ten in points and the team is racing with a lot of confidence right now as we roll into the Indy Nationals.?
The next Pro Stock Bike event on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series is the 50th AnnualMatco Tools NHRA U.S.Nationals, Sept. 1-6, at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind.
The Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Bike team is sponsored by Dunlop, Ford Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned, Matco Tools and S100.
DOHERTY UPDATES SPACER KIT FOR ? AND 1-INCH APPLICATIONS– This new MASTER BUILDER WHEEL SPACER kit just introduced by Doherty Machine provides all the convenience of their original kit plus additional sizes for popular applications. Doherty?s updated kit includes a total of 54 spacers ranging in size from ? wide to 3-inch wide. Each kit includes all sizes in both ? and 1-inch I.D. That?s a total of 27 spacers in each axle size! Machined from T-6 billet aluminum bar stock, Doherty spacers are polished to a high luster finish. For easy identification individual sizes are labeled on separate compartments. A must for professional and novice builders alike,
Doherty?s MASTER BUILDER WHEEL SPACER KITS can be ordered direct from Doherty by calling 800-956-9409.
Catch Doherty on the Web at www.DohertyMachine.com
2004 STURGIS CRIME WAS DOWN SINCE I DIDN’T ATTEND–The South Dakota Highway Patrol is reporting less crime at the 64thAnnual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, compared to previous ones. Here areThe numbers:
Troopers say they were called to four fatal rally-related accidents.A total of nine have been associated with the biker event. ThereWere 107 traffic accidents, eighty of those involving injuries. Asfar as drug offenses go, the Highway Patrol reports 238. Nearly 300Drivers were arrested for drunk driving. There were seven confirmedStolen motorcycles, and a average of 200,000 people a day hit theRally.
These numbers are only from the Highway Patrol.
–Rogue
NEW BIKERNET BABY–With all the new technology regarding fertility, a 65 year-old woman was able to give birth to a baby recently. When she was discharged from the hospital and went home, her relatives came to visit.
“May we see the new baby?” one asked.
“Not yet,” said the mother. “I’ll make coffee and we can visit for a while first.”
Thirty minutes had passed, and another relative asked, “May we see the new baby now?”
“No, not yet,” answered the mother.
After another few minutes had elapsed, they asked again, “May we see the baby now?”
“No, not yet,” replied the mother.
Growing very impatient, they asked, “Well, when CAN we see the baby?”
“WHEN IT CRIES!” she told them.”When it cries,” they demanded? “Why do we have to wait until it CRIES?”
“Because, I forgot where I put it…”
–from A. Friedman
TOP FUEL STREET DRIVE BY BDL– THE new Top Fuel Street Drive belt system from BDL features a massive3-3/8 ins wide drive belt.The belt is part of a bolt-on package, containing all the parts necessary for the conversion.
The kit allows the installer to replace the chain on Dyna and Softail models from 1990-up, including those with Twin Cam engines.
The belt is a 14mm x 85mm item, to the same specification used by Top Fuel drag race bikes for its essential qualities of strength, durability and reliability.
BDL also supplies the 6-3/8 ins Kevlar clutch and its system specific pressure plate.The clutch unit uses nine friction plates, 11 steel plates and nine springs, which fit a 7075 anodized billet aluminum hub.
The system is said to be capable of handling the output from any size engine on the market.
BDL offers two kits, TF-1000 includes an integrated side guard; TF-2000 has a reversible outboard bearing support.
BELT DRIVES LTD
Orange, California, USA
Tel: 714 685 3333
Fax: 714 685 3339
E-mail: bdlusa@aol.com
www.beltdrives.com
BIKERNET QUOTE OF THE DAY–“In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of citizens to give to the other.”
~ Voltaire
–from Rogue
http://www.bikerrogue.com
BIKERNET GRAMMAR LESSON– What gender is it? If you’re like most people, common everyday items look neutral to you. But what you may not know is that many of them have a gender.For example……..
1) Ziploc Bags — Male, because they hold everything in but you can see right through them.
2) Copier — Female, because once turned off, it takes a while to warm up. It’san effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can wreckhavoc if the wrong buttons are pushed.
3) Tire — Male, because it goes bald and often it’s over inflated.
4) Hot Air Balloon — Male, because to get it to go anywhere you have to light afire under it, and of course, there’s the hot air part.
5) Sponges — Female, because they’re soft and squeezable and retain water.
6) Web Page — Female, because it’s always getting hit on.
7) Subway — Male, because it uses the same old lines to pick people up.
8) Hourglass — Female, because over time, the weight shifts to the bottom.
9) Hammer — Male, because it hasn’t evolved much over the last 5,000 years, but it’s handy to have around.
10) Remote Control — Female…… Ha! You thought it’d be male. But consider this — it gives a man pleasure, he’d be lost without it, and while he doesn’t always know the right buttons to push, he keeps trying.
–from Skooter
IT’S A WRAP–Ah, but there’s so much more exploding from the new Bikernet Headquarters. Another philosophical treat from Tim Conder is waiting his fine illustration. Coverage of the 2004 Boogie will happen tonight along with another Lucky Devil springer front fender tech. Might try this on my chopper. The Best of Show winner from the Choppers Only show is being written as soon as we have builder confirmation. Sturgis reports from Jose, Rogue, Harley-Davidson and Frank Kaisler will hit Bikernet next week. We’ll also post another 2004 Sportster tech and goddamnit, finish up the Goliath.
That’s not all. Two more hot articles will see the launch pad. A report from Rogue on Accurate Engineering engine building capabilities is in the works as well as a motorcycle safety article on squirrels and city riding(?).
That’s it, except to tell ya that Layla and I ride daily to insure she has enough experience by next week for a group American Rider test. We’ve invited four short or small riders to roadtest the four Harley models designed specifically for more dimunitive riders with low centers of gravity and short front ends. We’ll report on the excercise in the near future.
Okay, that’s enough. Kick back, then fire up that beast and cut a dusty trail. She awaits.
–Bandit
