Free Departments

Bike Building Boot Camp or A Crash Course In Chopper Building The 50th Team.A rare e-mail address flashed across my in-box. Jesse James from Monster Garage wrote, “Wanna help build an Old School Chopper?” I wrote back, “I'm not a master builder, you have a number of talented builders at West Coast Choppers. I'm just […]

There's always a lot of squawkin' about what a true chopper is. Some guys swear it's a chopper if it's a motorcycle with long fork$$$$$. Others believe it's an anti-social statement in the form of a motorcycle. The descriptions and beliefs on the subject are endless, and (this being America) there ain't a damn thing

Editor's Note: Below is a story from Tim Conder, and old friend, bike builder, custom painter and all around artist. After the story I'm running his bio to give you the entire scoop on the man. Enjoy–Bandit.I just worked a 16 hour day crankin' on a paint job for some football player. I think I'll

I planned a weekend getaway with my son Logan for some time ago, and the weekend had finally arrived!Young Logan was due to get out of school at noon on Friday. I needed to rescue his young self and scramble through gravel for 1.5 hour into Port Alberni, from our home in Bamfield, on Vancouver

My Robin in front of Flora-Bama on the Beach. Well kids, it is time for another blithering installment of “The Travels of Rigid Frame Richard”. This one doesn't involve a quest to “Clothe Poor Girls”. What a shame. I hit Pensacola, Florida for my niece's graduation. It was great to get to visit but tough

One of Ben & brother Chase's early mechanical efforts. Some people call motorcycles a lifestyle or a hobby, while others call them status symbols. I called motorcycles a barrier. I am the daughter of a mechanic and a fanatic, Mark Deacon. I am the sister of a protege and a follower, Ben Deacon (14-year-old). I

Photo by www.vixenstars.com   Ain’t no use in lookin’back…  Jody’s got your Cadillac. Ain’t no use in goin’ home…Jody’s got your girl and gone.. Your left, Your left, your left, right,BRAVO!!! One helluva run, but Jake Kincaid wasglad it was over. It had taken nearly fourmonths, but he’d done it. He rode themodified Super Glide through

The Devil Can Ride: The World’s Best Motorcycle Writing edited by Lee Klancher is 28 stories compiled to represent the best of motorcycle journalism. This is a highly entertaining collection of motorcycle stories that is well worth a look. There are some gems here that you might be hard pressed to find anywhere else.  

Just before Christmas 2005, the company I had worked hard to make successful, closed its doors for the last time. I was fortunate, though, I snatched a job offer prior, but it required leaving Texas and moving to Virginia. I never thought I would leave Texas, but you gotta pay the bills and that’s where

Chris Kallas art available in the Black Market. Chris Kallas and Greg Parigian Inglewood, CA 1968.In Feb. 2005. I got a call from a childhood friend that I hadn’t seen or talked to since 1969.We used to build models of choppers and make modifications to our Sting-Ray bicyclestill his family moved away. It's strange talking

My first time on a Harley was October 26, 2005. I was 35, and newly single. The tall, smiling guy I’d met on a plane two days before showed up on a 1999 Road King. I’d spent two hours getting ready, and all that preparation was about to be destroyed. I was a motorcycle virgin.

About six months ago I got my first Harley. It is a 2003 XL883R.I love it and like all proud Daddies’ I want the rest of the world to think my baby is as wonderful as I do. Now I think some do. Living in Jacksonville Fl, it’s a short ride to Daytona. So my

Heading out this morning on my way to work, bundled in layers and heated gloves, I was still a little concerned about how cold it might be as the temperature was a crisp 42° F and 60 mph down the road for 30 miles can be chilly.My fear was quickly overcome, and I have to

Gaspar Trama, motorcycle instructor par excellence, and one of the finest humans I have ever had privilege to know, passed away Tues, July 11, 2006. He went into the hospital for abdominal pain last Saturday, they found colon cancer, operated successfully, and he died later of a heart attack. (The leading cause of death for

Last year at this time I was pretty much doing the same thing I am now. Working every day trying to balance the bills, the family, the gym, writing, and getting in the occasional joy ride rather than just commuting back and forth to and from work. I really had no idea I would be

Me and ChaCha.(True story-Dates might be off a little.)I named every bike I ever had, since the first 20-inch bicycle to the present.What’s this all about, ya say? Read on and you’ll learn valuable advice. If ya do learn, send me a dollar.If ya don’t, no charge.December 2003– Unfortunately, divorce is inevitable. She fuckin’ dumped

OK, first of all, Robert and I decided to leave on the 30th of May, so we could both spend time withour wives that Monday. We'd been working a major shutdown at the JOB and needed a getaway ride. I got to our meeting spot an hour before Robert. This gave me time to reflect,

Feel like riding your new bike across the country during the winter? Photo from Bob T.I’ve had a few new Sydney Netriders ask me about how to keep warm on the bike during the winter months.So I thought I would put up some suggestions and a few tricks learned over the years.Some of them might

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge will award to me on the day.” ~ II Tim. 4:6-8In Loving Memory of my sister, my best friend and my right hand

I don’t know where to start. A riding buddy shows up at the Bikernet Headquarters with a modified ’54 Lincoln and asked for some help. So we quit working on bikes and tinkered with the stripped Lincoln with the rebuilt engine and a Carter carb from Highway Patrol Cruisers of the era. Of course, the

It had been a great day, as far as workdays go. It was Friday at last, and I had just finished lunch at home and cranked up the old Harley for the ride back to work. It was early summer, about 95 degrees, and it felt good cruising at 60 mph down the two-lane highway.

I found myself between jobs. The company I worked for the past 4 years was closing down at the end of the year and my new job wasn’t scheduled to start until February. It would require us to move from Texas to Virginia, but that’s what you do sometimes to pay the bills. Preparations needed

The Ace Café, 1969.There’s a place in London that is the heart and soul of British motorcycling history. The bikes have changed, the mode of dress has changed. One thing remains; it’s THE place you have to visit if you are ever in the UK.The Ace is the Iconic soul of English biking!Closed between 1969

Atlanta to Birmingham, Al. 22-23 Oct 2005: It was a nippy October morning in Atlanta, right around 30 degrees. Lovely day for a ride with my buddy. I shoulda got the hint the night before when he called and was waffling on a route. We were scheduled to meet at 8am near Dallas, Ga. I