Hey,
I’m supposed to take Niacin at night to improve my good cholesterol and it works. Last night I took a half dose and a tab of acid. I needed a mood swing. I woke up this morning my old outlaw self. Who cares about the economy as long as we can ride and chase women? What the hell do we need all this material crap for anyway?
Let’s hit the news. I’ve got a new bottle of Jack Daniels waiting for me, my 5-Ball factory racer is coming together and the sun is shinning. Hell, tomorrow Doc, from Heavy Duty magazine in Australia, and I are riding out to Sierra Madre to straddle vintage bikes, like a 1912 Indian and a 1915 H-D. That should give him a rush before returning to his little island in the Pacific.
QUOTE OF THE YEAR FROM DAVE RASH–Dave Rash, the boss of D&D Performance Exhaust, said to me recently regarding life as a motorcyclist, “Motorcycles Safeguard against insanity. They are valium on 2-wheels.”
2009 V-TWIN EXPO REPORT– Here’s a very brief report on our meetings in Cincy. I attended and was on the panel of three seminars attended by between 50-70 folks each. In each case the subject of a SEMA council was bridged successfully. During our meeting on Sunday, with a room of 70 industry company owners and bike builders, we discussed a SEMA council. I was the moderator. The President of the MRF, Kirk Willard, spoke about legislative issues all over the world, Seth Doulton, a 30-year SEMA member and a member of ARMO for 8-years spoke about his SEMA experience, and we had two members of the MIC V-Twin committee there to discuss MIC goals, Ted Sands, from Performance Machine and Grady Pfeiffer from GH marketing.
At the end of the meeting every individual in the room lifted a hand in support of this effort. I will begin on a proposal this week.
I’m very encouraged after this weekend. I believe we have the opportunity to bring SEMA a substantial motorcycle network which will include the motorcycle aftermarket industry, the MRF with 250,000 members and 55 active state rights organizations, NCOM a similar organization and 30-years of legislative experience. I believe our challenges are similar to the aftermarket automotive side and we can help each other and deliver a stronger, more unified voice to legislative bodies.
–KRB
HARLEY-DAVIDSON DEBUTS NEW HOG MAGAZINE–Harley-Davidson has taken the best of Enthusiast and HOG Tales magazines and combined them into the all-new HOG magazine, a world-class magazine for a world-class brand.
Since the first publication of Harley-Davidson’s Enthusiast in 1916, more about motorcycling and the world in general has changed than has stayed the same. But throughout those 90-odd years, one thing has remained true: Harley-Davidson has produced magazines that give its riders a peek behind the curtain, informing them about its products, educating them about riding, and sharing their stories with legions of Harley riders around the world. In 1983, Enthusiast was joined by Hog Tales magazine, which grew from a single-sheet newsletter into a bimonthly publication serving a diverse audience of more than one million Harley Owners Group members internationally.
Building on a nearly century-old tradition, HOG magazine incorporates the best features of Enthusiast and Hog Tales in a bigger, bolder magazine that has the space to take enthusiasts deeper into the story than ever before, with more pages and better photography.
The premier edition of HOG incorporates many familiar features from its predecessors: like the Enthusiasts section, where enthusiasts can share stories and photos from riding adventures; great riding features; product reviews; the Intake section and Exhaust column; inspiring custom motorcycles; riding tips; From the Archives; and more. There are also new features like an expanded calendar section that encourages enthusiasts to seek out destinations for their next ride, inspirational profiles of Harley riders, and even more in-depth riding reviews of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
MYRTLE BEACH HARLEY-DAVIDSON TO CELEBRATE BIKE WEEK MAY 8-17–Local dealership Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson will host Cruisin? the Coast Spring Bike Week May 8-17, 2009 with events at the dealership and other locations outside Myrtle Beach city limits.
During the past year, event organizers and city officials have battled over new ordinances aimed at stopping two popular spring rallies ? Myrtle Beach Bike Week and the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest. The new city ordinances include stricter noise and muffler rules, a local helmet law, rules about parties in parking lots, a juvenile curfew and more. Despite the ordinances, Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson intends to continue its event, Cruisin? the Coast Spring Bike Week.
Check out www.myrtlebeachharley.com for information on events, biker friendly hotels and venues, new ordinances and maps. Also visit www.mbbikeweeks.com for more information as you plan your trip.
–from the Harley-Davidson Newsline.
BUT WAIT, A LETTER FROM THE MYRTLE BEACH MAYOR–Myrtle Beach is no longer the location for two long-running motorcycle events. After many years, our residents grew weary of three weeks of noise and traffic congestion each May, and they asked City Council to end the events. As a result, the Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Spring Rally and the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest will not be held in Myrtle Beach.
This was a difficult decision. Myrtle Beach welcomes visitors year-round, but the giant motorcycle rallies simply grew too large. Our staff, residents and businesses strained to keep up with these huge single-focus events. It may surprise you, but our economy is much healthier with a fully diversified visitor base, instead of a concentration on one or two extremely large events.
Please know that Myrtle Beach is not anti-biker or anti-motorcycle. We want folks to come on the vehicle of their choice and enjoy all of the things Myrtle Beach has to offer. We are ending the motorcycle-related rallies because they grew too big and lasted too long. The huge rallies even kept visitors away from Myrtle Beach, and that’s not good.
For everyone’s safety and welfare, City Council has added a few new rules and regulations. We believe these new laws will make Myrtle Beach a safer and more friendly destination. For example, with your safety in mind, we now require that all motorcycle riders and passengers wear a helmet and eye protection. We also have a 1:00 to 6:00 a.m. curfew for everyone under 18. These and other rule changes are explained on this web site.
Thank you for understanding. As you know, Myrtle Beach is a great place to visit, and we welcome you at any time. I look forward to your next visit and am confident that you will have a great time in Myrtle Beach!Sincerely, John Rhodes Mayor
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE ACCOMPLISHED–Guggenheim curator Ultan Guilfoyle, describes inventor John Britten, as “the New Zealander who stood the world of racing-motorcycle design on its head” and in a poll compiled by the world’s leading motorcycle writers to rank the Motorcyclist of the Millennium, he was placed equal with the four founders of Harley-Davidson.
But a decade earlier Britten was a Kiwi cliche, tinkering away in his backyard shed convinced that he could re-design his Ducati racing bike to make it go faster. Triumph at Daytona and world speed records on a homemade super-bike were just dreams.
Christchurch filmmaker Harry Ruffell had noticed what Britten was trying to do and thought there might be a film in it. John called Harry and told him he was about to start work on what would probably be his last bike. Despite lack of funding, Harry took a punt and began filming in 1990/91.
As the pile of film got higher, Harry realised that the enormity of the task of turning the footage into a coherent documentary was beyond his experience. He approached producer Ian Taylor and director Allan Baddock. They immediately saw potential in the story, but Allan says getting broadcasters to recognise how extraordinary the story was took some doing.
“Taylor and I spent a couple of years pitching and chasing funding. We got repeatedly tossed off with inspired insights such as: ?So it’s a motorbike film … nobody watches motorbike films’ and ?yeah … might make 10 minutes for one of the sports programmes’. Our line was that it wasn’t about bikes … it was about Kiwis.”
The tide turned when TV3’s Geoff Steven picked up the project for the channel’s new local documentary slot Inside New Zealand.
Allan continues: “I went to Christchurch and spent a couple of weeks living with John and the Ruffells and shooting the interviews with Kirsteen and John’s long-suffering support crew, reconstructions and linking footage, with Harry as cameraman. I then came back to Dunedin and worked with Marilyn McArthur to edit what we could from the footage.”
With no firm idea of what the end result would be Harry had shot nearly 100 hours of observational footage.
Allan: “It [the footage] was two mates in a garage. But it gave Marilyn some real headaches. In truth, it became a labour of love. Marilyn and I spent god knows how many weeks in the edit suite. If we’d had to do it within a normal production schedule, the film wouldn’t have seen an audience – but it was too good a story to let go.”
The end result is an engaging celebration of Kiwi ingenuity, with the relationship between John and his long-suffering yet fiercely loyal wife Kirsteen being particularly well drawn.
The only real downside of the film’s low budget was that the producers were unable to properly document John’s dramatic breakthrough at Daytona in 1992. This was shown via photographs and narration, which dilutes the impact of the climax somewhat, although it was in keeping with the shoestring, Kiwi-can-do spirit John epitomised.
Despite the fact that John was largely unknown at the time it screened, the film gained good ratings in its slot. By the time he died of cancer a year later (1995), John Britten had become a household name.
TV3 screened Backyard Visionary again as a tribute to a new Kiwi hero. His bike is now on permanent exhibit at NZ’s national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa. In 1995 an award was named in his honour by the New Zealand Design Institute to recognise excellence in design.
–By Costa Botes
GET UNSPRUNG WITH W8LESS ROTORS’ NEW FORGED COMPOSITES–With applications for Harley-Davidsons and various metric motorcycles and ATVs, the forged rotors are made from a metal matrix composite. The material is said to be tough and wear-resistant in addition to being much lighter than stock.
Ray Wheeler, the main man behind W8less, said the rotors are bulletproof and are the ?only forged composite rotors on the planet.?
The word from Wheeler is that rotors have been tested in accordance with DOT FMVSS 122-02 regulations and exceeded all standards regarding stopping distance, brake line pressure, wet weather performance, fade, wear, and heat rejection.
They come in full-floating and solid configurations and feature a machined, a polished or an anodized finish.
? Dennis Johnson
DealerNews.com
TOP PICK AT INDY DEALER SHOW–Pattie Waters of Off-Road.com said:
We caught up with WORCS Kawasaki Pro racer Brandon Brown as he walked the floor at Indy (actually, we yanked him away from lunch), and asked him for his top picks. What’s the coolest you’ve seen?
He didn’t have to hesitate on the first one – he drug us immediately to the W8LESS Technologies booth.
FIRST Forged composite brake rotors in the world.With over 5 years of R&D behind it, the first rotors rolled out for Harley applications about a year ago. With seven unique patents pending, demand told them they had an immediate hit on their hands. With the ability to get one smaller rotor each time they cut the center out of a larger one, they soon found a use for the blanks, and whipped out ATV rotors. Now, their goal is to have a forged composite brake rotor, dimpled or slotted, for “everything that rolls.”
Made in the USA – and you don’t have to sacrafice style; they have lines that include full floating and solid rotors; spoke and solid designs; machined, polished and anodized finishes.
Brown was immediatley taken with the substantial weight savings, and if they are as indestructible as they claim, he says they’ll be on his bikes for sure.
–www.W8LESSTECHNOLOGIES.com
SUPPORT THE TROOPS ISSUE FROM CYCLE SOURCE–My good friends from Cycle Source Magazine are doing a cool thing there!Read what it’s about, do your thing or at least fwd it to whomever you think! Cheers, Svenmeister
Cycle Source’s next issue will be a “Support The Troops’ issue. We are asking that if any of you have employees, friends or family that are currently in the military, that you send us a photo of them (preferrably with their bike). We are also asking that the person writes a brief paragraph on what motorcycling means to them (50-100 words). If any of them have been recently over seas, they can talk about how it felt to come home to the motorcycling community.
All text and images can be emailed to this address and the absolute deadline will be a week for today, Friday the 20th. If you have any questions, please let me know. We appreciate as much help as you can give.
— Jean Munier
Managing Editor
Cycle Source Magazine
P-724-226-2867
F-724-226-8393
Email- cyclesourcemain@comcast.net
www.cyclesource.com
MOTORCYCLES BANNED!– Went to the Honda Powerhousedealership this weekend and they have pulled their youth bikes from theshowroom floor. They can’t even sell parts for these bikes, atvs, etc. This is serious!
–Alison Sobkowski
Acura Public Relations
Direct: 310.781.4411
Fax: 310.783.3622
alison_sobkowski@ahm.acura.com
URGENT Call to Action by MX Sports
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has put a ban on youth motorcyclesand ATVs as of this past Tuesday. This was done because of lead in certainparts of the motorcycles and atvs. We need everyoneʼs help on getting thisban lifted so sell, ride, and race these motorcycles and ATVs.
Dear Industry Leaders, Racers, Fans and Enthusiasts,
Yesterday, a law went into effect prohibiting the sale of minicycles to children under the age of 13 as a result of the lead content in the machines (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Title I, Section 101). This law, which arguably applies to both motorcycles and ATVs, treats any children’s product that contains more lead than thelimit established by law as a banned hazardous substance.
We have already begun to experience the devastating consequences of this new legislation upon our sport, as OEMs have already pulled these machines from their showroom floors. Youth racing is the foundation of our sport. That is when most of you fell in love with motorcycles in the first place, only to grow up to bring your own kids back to the racetracks. Only now, they can’t ride.
On behalf of MX Sports (Loretta Lynn’s), Racer Productions (GNCC), and ATVPG (ATV Amateur Nationals), we are extremely concerned with the short- and long-range effects of this new legislation, as the first rounds in all of our various series are less than two weeks away, and all include classes for youth racers under the age of 13. But it’s not just ourevents – WORCS, NMA, Mini Os, SETRA, etc., are all adversely impacted.
It is our opinion that the new law is inapplicable to off-highway motorsports, as neither motorcycles nor ATVs have the potential for ingestion, and lead from motorcycles is not likely to be absorbed into the bloodstream or present a health hazard. Let’s face it – when was the last time someone swallowed a motorcycle? Any other interpretation would be silly. Be that as it may, the law will continue to adversely affect our industry unless and until an exemption is granted.
Presently, there is a petition for an immediate temporary exemption pending before the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”)filed by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) on behalf of the OEMs, distributors, and industry associations. This petition, if granted, would enable our industry to move forward this racing season while the applicability of the law to the off-highway industry is determined.
What can you do?
A form letter for submission to the CPSC in support of the petition for exemption is attached as prepared by the MIC. The letter will also be available this weekend at the Indy tradeshow. Simply print out one copy for each person in your family and submit it ASAP. In the meantime, AMA is preparing a letter for submission by its membership to the CPSC. Be on the lookout for that one as well.
Also, an electronic form letter has been prepared by State Representative Tom Self of Missouri. Please go his website at www.tomself.com. Just fill in your name and address and hit “Submit” to register your support.Please submit this letter on behalf of every member of your family – regardless of age.
What else can you do?
Contact your congressmen and senators; let them know that this legislation will have the unintended consequences of crippling an entire industry.
Surely, it could not have been the spirit or intent of the new law to apply to motorcycles or bicycles (which apparently have lead in the brake cables). Time is of the essence. The very future of our sport and of our industry depends on this. We must support the pending petition before the commencement of the national racing season.
Please give this matter your immediate attention, and forward this letter to EVERY PERSON available ASAP.
— Carrie Coombs Russell
ED HARDYTM COLLECTION BY KBC —ED HARDYTM NOMAD—Check out some of the coolest helmets NEW for this summer riding season!! The two above are called Born Free (black) and Death or Glory. These exclusive designs by Ed Hardy are based on the KBC Nomad helmet. The fiber composite shell is made with an advanced formula of fiberglass material. It has a removable and washable Duralux liner. They also meet or exceed D.O.T. standards.
For more options, sizes and styles, or to just check us out, visit www.Bikerschoice.com or contact your local Biker?s Choice dealer.
–Carmen
Continued On Page 2
