Hey,
I wish I knew where to start this brisk morning. I attended a CRA (Community Redevelopment Association) steering committee meeting for the Wilmington, California Industrial Area. I sat in the back, ate my free breakfast, and listened as they discussed a homeless program, closing the Bonnie Lee (drug haven) Hotel, diesel truck idling regulations, and modifications to some of the local streets. Here’s what struck me. We are becoming a very highly regulated society. If you are going to build a manufacturing plant in this region here’s a rough list of the agencies you’ll need to deal with: the City of LA, planning commission, the CRA (this one), the Wilmington Neighborhood Council, the EPA, OSHA, AQMB, and CARB (California Air Resoures Board). That’s just scratching the surface.
Get this, the city is kicking off a new homeless program. The plan is to find homeless and discuss options. You can’t kick them out, but you can give them free housing, medical care, job training, or if they like their spot under the palm tree on the corner, leave them alone. Hang on! Let’s hit the news. Should we give in or return to our old outlaw ways:
LICKS HOLIDAY FORK BOOT COVERS– Looking to transform the front end of your bike, but can’t part with a lot of cash? The Retro style fork gaiters are the perfect solution. The fork boot covers are made from high quality durable rubber that will last for years. They are collapsible and will conform to any size or look you?re after.
The Licks Fork Boot covers are adaptable to 35mm or 39mm down tubes and will accent the front end of your Sporty with class!
AMCA Brings Kick-start Demo Back to Daytona– Rallygoers will get a chance to test out some old machinery during Bike Week in Daytona, thanks to a unique exhibition by the Antique Motorcycle Club of America.
For the second year in a row, the AMCA will host an Antique Bike Show on Wednesday of Bike Week (March 3 this year) at the Limpnickie Lot, which is a place where young custom-bike builders show off their work and talent. The show is open to all motorcycles at least 35 years old.
But the exhibit will also include an interactive feature that debuted last year, the AMCA Kick-start Demo bike display, in which visitors will get a chance to fire up two authentic antique motorcycles?a 1946 Harley Knucklehead and a 1945 Indian Chief. The bikes? owners, Matt Olsen and Rocky Halter, will be on hand to guide visitors through the process of setting throttle, spark advance and choke controls before kicking the V-twin engines to life.
?It seems like whenever I?m out for a ride on an old bike and have to stop for gas, a crowd of curious onlookers gathers to watch me start the thing,? says Halter. ?What better way to teach people about old bikes than to let them try one out for themselves!?
The AMCA Bike Show and the Kick-start Demo will run from 1 to 5 p.m. March 3 at the Limpnickie Lot in the Stone Edge Skate Park, 1848 S. Ridgewood Ave. in South Daytona. Trophies will be handed out for best Antique Chopper, Bobber, Survivor and Restored, so bring your old bikes out!
If you can?t make it to the festivities on Wednesday, then make sure that you mark Friday, March 5, on your calendar and check out the Cycle Source Ride-in Bike Show. The AMCA will sponsor an antique class in this show, also based at the Limpnickie Lot.
The Antique Motorcycle Club of America is the nation?s largest organization for vintage-bike enthusiasts. Its sister organization, the AMCA Foundation, is dedicated to preserving the history of motorcycles and educating the public about the heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit www.antiquemotorcycle.org.
Sucker Punch Sally’s Adds Paul Devine as Director of Sales and Marketing–Scottsdale, AZ (December 7, 2009) – Sucker Punch Sallys, prominent bike-builder renowned for their old school and no-nonsense style of bikes, is proud to announce an addition to their qualified and accomplished team of professionals. Paul Devine, a former and integral part of the executive team for Harley-Davidson Motor Company is joining the predominant masters of Old School as their new Director of Sales and Marketing.
Devine formerly held a variety of leadership roles in marketing, licensing and business development for Harley-Davidson. He also has extensive experience in the power-sports industry including training, coaching and mentoring sales. He brings an unparallel passion for the V-Twin industry and is a self-described motorcycle fanatic who has been riding motorcycles since he was 8 years old.
“I have always had a motorcycle and have logged hundreds of thousands of miles in the saddle,” Devine says with a smile.
Devine currently lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife, Amy and two young sons. In addition to riding, he also takes time to enjoy music, golf, hunting, fishing, camping and traveling. Prior to working with Harley-Davidson he directed industrial graphics for Fujifilm.
Devine is eager to get started promoting the award-winning bike manufacturer synonymous with retro style and quality construction. His first item of business will be creating and further generating an awareness of Sucker Punch Sally’s unique brand by meeting their vast array of satisfied customers and dealers. He also plans to actively increase their distribution channel by signing up new dealers to be a part of the one-of-a-kind Sucker Punch Sally’s experience.
To check out their complete line of bikes, dealer info and SPS news visit www.suckerpunchsallys.com .
–Sarah Wozniak
HOT LEATHERS TEAMS WITH FULLER HOT RODS–Manchester, CT- Fuller Hot Rods and Hot Leathers have teamed up to become the number one purveyors of cool. Hot Leathers has been working overtime to produce a line of high-end apparel for the award-winning hot rod motorcycle builder and designer, Bryan Fuller. The new Fuller apparel line conveys gritty personality, distinguished taste, and robust durability.
If you love the bold and original merchandise that has become synonymous with Hot Leathers, you?ll love the all-new designs available through our new line of Fuller clothing and accessories.
The creative minds at Hot Leathers have developed a line of clothing that embodies Fuller?s motorcycle savvy and Hot Leathers? unbeatable design and selection. Customers can now peruse this exciting and original line of clothing which includes men?s long sleeve and short sleeve design selections, a mechanic?s shirt and jacket, hats and knit cap, as well as ladies t-shirts.
Fuller Hot Rods, the inspiration for this new line, has been building innovative and award-winning machines for over five years. Bryan Fuller?s mastery and prowess in bike-building has set him apart from other builders. He?s currently the co-host the oldest ?how-to? car show on SPEED ?Two Guys Garage?, and caught the eye of Hot Leathers, who is always on the lookout for design inspiration. ?We?ve been looking to partner with a bike builder who shares our tastes and passion,? explains Hot Leathers? retail operations manager, Andy George. ?Bryan is the perfect fit and our type of guy. We?ve created strong designs that highlight Bryan?s hot rod roots.”
?I?ve been looking to expand my existing apparel line and am stoked to have partnered with Hot Leathers,? says Fuller, ?They have been an industry standard for years. We collaborated on some great designs that I know everybody is going to love.?
THE BOYS IN NORCAL KNOW HOW TO PARTY–Get on a Bagger and ride like you stole it. Amazing Stuff… Watch Slow Joe do his thang.
GET MORE FUN IN BIKERNET STUDIO.
–Jeff Najar
WHY DO YOU RIDE WITHOUT WEARING A HELMET–As we begin a new year, I thought we?d re-visit the question some bikers are being asked consistently: Why do you ride without wearing a helmet?
Wearing a helmet has limited benefits. However, let?s talk about some mostly unknown points, and bring them to light.
First, to simulate the impact a helmet experiences while your head is in it during a crash, the DOT requires helmet manufacturers to drop the helmets on an anvil at 4.7 MPH to 13.4 MPH. Some of the research I?ve read even tries to sell the idea that if you?re traveling at 67 MPH and crash, your head encased in a helmet will impact somewhere at the equivalent of hitting an anvil at 11 MPH! I think most of us are much more intelligent than that. Hell, I?m almost insulted at that assumption!
Since the government has spent years and so much money to convince us, the ones that actually ride, that helmets are the next best thing since sliced bread, consider this: helmets can offer a false sense of safety. Many will hate to admit it, but if they look deep inside, they?ll admit that when they?re riding with a helmet on, they possess a belief on some level that if they are involved in an accident, the helmet will keep them from harm. I know years ago when I laid my Kawasaki GPZ750 down at 55 MPH, I ended up with road rash. I was riding stupidly I did have the feeling that the helmet would save the day. Yeah, I walked away from the accident. Not because the helmet saved my life for a reason much simpler than that: my head never hit anything during the accident.
Wearing helmets have additional drawbacks such as limited peripheral vision. They often prevent riders from turning their heads to check traffic. They limit many of the necessary preventive measures a helmetless rider has access to, because he is not restricted. There is the inability to hear and sense dangerous movement around them. For year spinal cord injuries, we more prevalent than head injuries. Spinal injuries are often exacerbated because the ride was wearing something heavy on his head.
This conveniently brings me to my next point. For years, we keep hearing that the majority of fatal motorcycle accidents involve bikers not wearing helmets. They never seem to break down the type of fatality that caused the tragedy, just that it involved a motorcycle, involved a death, and did not involve a motorcycle helmet. Therefore, a majority of the pro-helmet people have been hanging their hats on these statistics.
However, that ends now. In late 2008, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) reported that ?58% of motorcyclists and their passengers killed WERE wearing helmets.” Specifically, the DHSMV further stated that of all the 2007 motorcycle-involved accidents in Florida, 57.39% of them resulted in an incapacitating injury in which the riders/?drivers? were wearing a helmet. It appears the helmet wearers are now a MINORITY. Statistics no longer support the anti-helmet choice advocate?s claims.
I don?t wish to preach doom and gloom about the helmet/no-helmet issue. Safety aside, one thing does remain true: we live and ride in the United States of America. As legal adults, as the individuals riding the motorcycles, and as some may say; the ones putting ourselves at risk, we should have the right to make our own choice if we wish to wear a helmet or not. Helmet laws are simply another way for the government to tell grown men and women what to do.
Oh yeah, in case you?re asked; this is not an issue tied to the seatbelt laws; those in cars don?t have to pay extra for insurance to ride without a seatbelt. FL law requires us to hold a Personal Insurance Policy to ride without helmets.
Helmet use is a choice. Let those who ride decide.
— Dave ?Lockdown? Rich
State PR/Communications Trustee,
ABATE of Florida, Inc.
BED ROLL BAG LETS YOU DROP THE HAMMER & GO–We designed this storage roll to cover all the bases, ’cause I don?t like a lot on my bike. The bag itself is about 2 feet long and 6 inches in diameter.The ends have zipper pockets for incidentals. I usually put my lock, keys, matches and chapstick in one end and slip maps, tickets, receipts and acouple of bungie cords into the other one. The entire length of the bag unzips for packing ease and I found I could pack enough clothes for a longweekend.
— Bandit
Got your Bed Roll Details… Right Here!
–Jeff Najar
Harley-Davidson Gift Cards Now Available Online–Just in time for the holiday gift season, Harley-Davidson Gift Cards are now available for purchase online by visiting h-d.com/giftcard Gift Cards can be purchased in any amount from $25 to $250 and are redeemable at 700 authorized, participating Harley-Davidson retail locations nationwide visit h-d.com/giftcard for a list of participating dealers), at H-D Factory Tour locations, and at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. The H-D Gift Card can be used to purchase most any products sold at H-D dealers including Genuine Parts, Accessories, MotorClothes, Official H-D Licensed Products, Rider?s Edge rider education training, etc. Harley-Davidson Gift Cards can be shipped directly, along with a special message or greeting, to the recipient or can be mailed to the purchaser. Harley-Davidson Gift Cards have no expiration date, no service fees, and there?s never a fee to use or activate the card. Lost or stolen cards can be replaced if the cardholder provides the gift card account number and proof of purchase.
THE BEST EVENT OF 2010, MOTORCYCLE CANNONBALL, IS SUPPORTED BY BIKERNET.COM, Gentlemen start your engines!–In Honor of Bud Ekins. Motorcycle Cannonball Coast to Coast Antique Motorcycle Race.
This year’s Cannonball we are honored to dedicate to our friend Bud Ekins. Aside from an accomplished racer and stuntman, Bud loved pre-1916 motorcycles and rode them every chance he got. He always encouraged me to make the cannonball a reality. He was a pioneer, a hero, and just one of the guys.
Pope, Sears, Flying Merkel, Excelsior, Henderson, Indian, Triumph, and the Harley-Davidson?s Silent Grey Fellows. These are but a few of the vintage, pre-1916 motorcycles that will be thumping their way across these great United States for the Motorcycle Cannonball endurance run in September 2010. Riders will virtually dip their tread in the salty waters of the East Coast?s Atlantic Ocean as the officials wave the green flag, then come to rest some 3,320 miles later, at the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean?s West Coast.
Cannonball?s Course Master, John Classen, has painstakingly mapped out a route for the hearty men and women motorcyclists that squarely address the particular nuances of this ride. “Our route was chosen in order to avoid having the riders enter a single interstate whenever possible. We?ll have 12 hours of daylight each day, and a goal of having every rider check in at the day?s ending point 1 hour before sunset. We don?t want anyone having to deal with the safety issues of meeting up with the local wildlife after dark, and we are expecting some break downs.”
For more info go to: www.MotorcycleCannonball.com
IT’S OFFICIAL AN ONLINE BIKER SHOP HOLIDAY SAVINGS–K and G Cycles couldn’t decide what to put on sale for Christmas. So, they decided the only thing to do was to put the entire store on sale! Everything is priced up to 20% off retail prices and in-stock items will arrive for Christmas if you act now.
While we’re at it, everyone at K and G Cycles wants wish the entire world a happy and safe holiday season and a prosperous new year! Thanks to everyone who have made 2009 a year to remember and be proud of at K and G Cycles. www.kandgcycles.com
Custom Chrome and Cole Foster of Salinas Boys Customs Partner for 40th Anniversary 70?s Era Chopper Build– MORGAN HILL, CA ?12-02-2009Custom Chrome and Cole Foster of Salinas Boys Customs are pleased to announce that they have teamed up to produce another show-stopping custom ? a 70?s era custom and one of 2 bikes CCI has commissioned to commemorate their upcoming 40th Anniversary Celebration in 2010.
?I got a call from Steve Veltri and Holger Mohr about helping them celebrate Custom Chrome’s 40th Anniversary by building a bike to commemorate their 4 decades of commitment serving the American V-twin industry?, Said Cole.
The idea was to have one bike be representative of Custom Chrome in its early days and reflect what was being done back in the 70?s when they first started out. Kirk Taylor of Custom Design Studios was commissioned to work on the other half of the effort by customizing an earlier bagger project Custom Chrome had used in their 2009 catalog.
The plan was to build as period correct as possible a 1970’s chopper using parts and products from the CCI catalog. They started with a Paughco rigid frame, Jammer shovel style engine and a RevTech? 4 speed kicker transmission as the platform to build around. Then, 16″ & 21″ star hub wheels were sourced from the CCI catalog and mated to a Paughco narrow springer.
?The frame showed up while I was on a motorcycle safety tour with the USO visiting U.S. Navel bases in Europe. Aaron and Andrew chopped the frame out a few inches and raked the neck to 46 degrees? said Cole. Upon his return from the tour, it was rolling chassis and had the stance he was looking for. With a little over a month to finish the project and the pressure of having it ready for Michael Lichter to shoot for the upcoming anniversary catalog cover the Salinas Boys rolled up their sleeves and went to work.
?We dug deep into the catalog and picked out all the dinosaur parts we could find that matched the ’70s era theme we were looking for?. Here?s what they found: hydraulic rear drum brake, stock style forward controls, tin primary, horseshoe oil tank, mustang fuel tank and much more. ?We massaged and fabricated the Jammer and Custom Chrome parts to ensure they flowed the right way and gave the bike that true 70?s feel?. A fabricated seat pan was then sent off to Christine and the crew at LePera for leather.
The Salinas boys then went to work on the handlebars and sissy bar to make sure all the finishing touches were just the way they wanted them. Those and some other items were then sent to ?Sherms? for chrome plating to get just the right finish and they had them back in just 4 days! ?We pulled a few goodies out of our own stash of vintage parts too? said Cole.
After all of the fabrication and assembly work was complete components were sent Kirk Taylor for paint on the new old girl.
?It is quite an honor to have Cole Foster and Salinas Boys Customs put together such an era perfect bike to celebrate our upcoming anniversary? said Steve Veltri, VP of Sales and Marketing for Custom Chrome. Holger Mohr, CEO of Custom Chrome went on to add, ?We are very pleased with how the bike turned out and Cole and his guys hit the nail right on the head with this one.?
NEW BONNEVILLE RULES ADD AERO-DYNAMICS TO REAR FENDERS– Frank said you might be interested in a trade for the fender. I can send you some better pics tomorrow. I got the bike from freedom cycles in Orange its made from spun aluminum I would be willing to trade for a fully installed stock fender on my bike its a ’98 heritage FLST. Let me know what you think…
–Jeff
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH CLASSMATES ARE BONHOMIE–bonhomie bah-nuh-MEE, noun:
A good nature; pleasant and easy manner.
That bonhomie which won the hearts of all who knew him.
— Washington Irving, Oliver Goldsmith
And what of the salesman’s fabled bonhomie, the Willy Lomanesque emphasis on the importance of being liked?
— “How to Manage Salespeople”, Fortune, March 14, 1988
I would carefully study the exploits of positive role models like Peter Gabriel, Jimmy Carter, and Alec Baldwin, and attempt to emulate their radiant bonhomie.
— Joe Queenan, My Goodness: A Cynic’s Short-Lived Search for Sainthood
Bonhomie comes from French, from bonhomme, “good-natured man,” from bon, “good” (from Latin bonus) + homme, “man” (from Latin homo).
D&D DELIVERS THE HP – NEW VICTORY KINGPIN / VEGAS BOSS SLIP-ONS–BOLT & GO – Increase of 10ftlbs torque and 5-7hp without any further modifications. Just install and go. Easy bolt on installation, on average, takes less than a lunch hour. DYNO RUN
D&D spent significant time on the dyno to fine tune the performance and tone. We focus the performance on where you ride the motorbike, not at full open throttle where you might be for just a few seconds. We deliver power at the stop light and when you are ready to make a pass.
–Jeff Najar
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