Sturgis blues. As the date nears I stare at the King and it calls me to hit the road. Maybe it’s the Bikernet women holding me back. They don’t like the notion of me riding through Arizona where the Phoenix babe lives or Colorado where, well you know. Don’t forget the girl in Wyoming I saw just before the Deer hit me, and Sturgis… Damn, I want to ride.
Let’s hit the news, I’m in trouble all over again:
IN A VACUUM– A blonde was playing Trivial Pursuit one night. It was her turn. Sherolled the dice and she landed on Science & Nature.
The question was,”If you are in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?”
She thought for a time and then asked, “Is it on or off?”
–from Rev CarlR
WORLD CLASS, ALL-BRANDS MOTORCYCLE SHOW IN NEW YORK CITY OCT 9 & 10–The Gotham Motorcycle Classic (www.GothamMC.com) rolls into New York City October 9 and 10 on the decks and docks of the Intrepid aircraft carrier.
All makes, models and years of motorcycles are welcome, and with 32 classes of show bikes there is plenty for everyone from a four-cylinder Ace to a Zundap.
There will be plenty of motorcycle celebrities on hand showcasing their latest machines, including Roger Bourget, Indian Larry and Eddie Trotta.
Last year’s event featured over 200 classic and custom American and import motorcycles and over 11,000 people attended the event.
American Iron Magazine and RoadBike are the presenting magazines, and each will have staff on hand for a meet and greet sessions and to pick motorcycles for features in their magazines.
Saturday, October 9 is American Iron Calendar day, when a dozen classic and custom American motorcycles will be chosen for a photo shot on the deck of the Intrepid for the 2005 American Iron calendar.
Sunday, October 10 will feature judging for trophies and awards.
For more information, visit
www.GothamMC.com
write info@GothamMotorcycleClassic.com.
ADULT CORRECTIONS POPULATION HITS RECORD NUMBERS–
WASHINGTON — A record 6.9 million adults were incarcerated or on probation or parole last year, nearly 131,000 more than in 2002, according to a Justice Department study.
Put another way, about 3.2 percent of the adult U.S. population, or 1 in 32 adults, were incarcerated or on probation or parole at the end of last year.
A record 4.8 million adults were on probation or parole in 2003, about 73,000 more than the year before. About 70 percent of adults involved in federal, state or local corrections systems fall into this category. The states of California and Texas together accounted for about 1 million.
The number of adults on parole after serving a prison sentence rose by 3.1 percent from 2002 to 2003, to more than 774,500 people. That compares with an average annual rise of about 1.7 percent since 1995 for those on parole, a figure that has been increasing at a much slower rate than those in jails (4 percent a year), in prison (3.4 percent) and on probation (2.9 percent).
Since 1995, states around the country have increased the use of mandatory parole after prison release and cut down on use of discretionary releases overseen by parole boards, the report says.
The report, released Sunday, focused most on the characteristics of those on probation or parole. Its findings include:
* Almost half of all probationers were convicted of a felony, with 25 percent convicted of a drug violation.
* Washington state had the highest number of people on probation per 100,000 population, at 3,767. New Hampshire had the lowest rate at 426.
* Of the 2.2 million people discharged from probation in 2003, three out of five met the conditions of their supervision. Another 16 percent were jailed because of a rule violation or a new crime, with 4 percent becoming fugitives.
* About 95 percent of those on parole had been convicted of a felony.
* Of the 470,500 parolees discharged from supervision last year, 38 percent went back to jail for a new crime or a rule violation, with 9 percent becoming fugitives.
By CURT ANDERSON | Associated Press Writer
–from Rogue
BIKERS AND TV FANS FLOCK TO CARLISLE SUMMER BIKE FEST– The Carlisle (Pa.) Fairgrounds made the transition fromfour-wheeled to two-wheeled vehicles at Carlisle Summer Bike Fest, July23-25. A record 56,087 people visited the event over the weekend, many tosee the group from Orange County Choppers.
Famous chopper builders and stars of the Discovery Channel’s AmericanChopper, Paul Sr., Paul Jr. and Mikey Teutul, as well as Vinnie and Cody,appeared at the Carlisle Summer Bike Fest. Thousands of bike enthusiasts andthose who just love watching the family dynamics of American Chopper stoodin line for hours to get autographs and talk to the crew of Orange CountyChoppers, the shop Paul Teutul Sr. opened in 1999 to customize bikes. “We’dlike to thank all the fans that came out who’ve helped make us a hugesuccess,” said Keith Quill, director of operations for OCC. “We’d like toapologize if there was anyone we didn’t get to see. We didn’t expect such ahuge turnout.”
The Custom Builder Roundtable featured the best custom motorcycle designminds from the East Coast to the West Coast. Legendary builders DonnieSmith, Dave Perewitz, Roger Bourget, Eddie Trotta and other authorities onhigh-performance motorcycle products answered questions about the latesttrends in custom motorcycle building and the future of the custom-buildinghobby. Michele Smith, host of Speed Channel’s “American Thunder,” was themoderator of the Roundtable and also signed autographs for fans throughoutthe weekend.
Also at Bike Fest, the StarBoyz stunt riders amazed crowds with their insaneperformances. Other attractions included a judged bike show, Bike & Ridercustom bike competition, regional builder competition and a specialinvitational display. A 19,000-square-foot Harley-Davidson mall offeredaccessories and apparel for enthusiasts, and thousands of outdoor vendorssold all kinds of motorcycle equipment as well.
Ed Kerr and Rod Jones (Jonesy?s Custom Cycles), both of Carlisle, won theCustom Builders Competition. Nicole Iacono of Hockessin, Del., won thebeauty contest to be named Ms. Carlisle Summer Bike Fest. Bill Foster ofHanover, Pa., won the burnout competition and $500 from Koup’s Cycle Shop.Leah Gable of Elizabethtown, Pa., won the 2004 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6RRgiveaway on Saturday, sponsored by Koup?s Cycle Shop and CumberlandKawasaki. Kent McLean of Muncy, Pa., won the Vivid Black 2004Harley-Davidson FXDI Dyna Super Glide Injected, provided by AppalachianHarley-Davidson, on Sunday.
The 2005 edition of the Carlisle Summer Bike Fest takes place July 22-24.Visit www.bikesatcarlisle.com or call the Carlisle Events Info Line at (717)243-7855 to learn more about the Carlisle Summer Bike Fest.
ORANGE COUNTY FIREMEN’S ASSOCIATION ANNUAL PARADE– Saw your article on Indian Larry and Gasoline Alley NYC. I woud love to be able to get in contact with Larry and invite him to bring one of his classic bikes to participate in a volunteer firemen’s parade in Orange County, NY. The Orange County Volunteer Firemen’s Association has been having an annual parade for the last 88 years, and our fire department has been around for 90 years. We thought it would be pretty neat to invite Indian Larry, who makes his bikes from scratch, to ride one of his bikes in the parade.
The 89th Annual Orange County Volunteer Firemen’s Association Parade will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2004, in Maybrook, NY. The parade begins at 2 PM. Hundreds of firemen as well as numerous pieces of fire equipment will march down Homestead Avenue in Maybrook. After the parade there will be food, soda, beer and souvenir tee shirts available for purchase. Come out and support the volunteers that put their lives on the line for no other reason than to help their community.
Jon Hansen
Maybrook Engine Company #1
EMTdRN@aol.com
BARNES FOILED BY MECHANICAL IN FORMULA XTREME AT MID-OHIO–Buell Rider on Pace for Season Best Performance until Engine Problem Ended Run.
LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 24, 2004) ? Kosco Buell/Innovative Motorcycle Research rider Michael Barnes battled for a podium position and a season best performance aboard his Buell Firebolt at the AMA Lockhart Phillips Formula Xtreme race held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course but was thwarted by a mechanical problem that forced him out of the race.
Barnes qualified eighth for the event, among the ever deepening field of solid Formula Xtreme entries. A great start moved Barnes up to fourth position by the end of the first lap, where he battled for a podium position with a pack that included Yamaha rider Larry Pegram, Suzuki racers Jason Pridmore and Vincent Haskovec, and Ducati-mounted Doug Chandler. Barnes was in fifth place on lap 12 of the 16-lap event, when he experienced an engine problem that ended his race. The race was won by American Honda factory rider Miguel Duhamel, who also leads the series in season points.
The Hal?s Performance Advantage team, which has also been contesting the AMA Formula Xtreme series with a Buell Firebolt, skipped the Mid-Ohio round to let rider Mike Ciccotto recover from injuries suffered in a super-moto training accident. The Hal?s team plans to be back in action at the next Formula Xtreme event.
?Michael put in a great ride,? said Erik Buell, chairman and chief technical officer at Buell Motorcycle Company. ?These Buell dealer teams are going through a big learning year, as they have not competed at this level before, and the bikes are still under development. But each race they get stronger, and they definitely have respect now. The AMA is right on target with Formula Extreme. The class is really exciting. It?s the class with the most brands able to participate, and the rules structure appears to have created a fair playing field. We hope to see the entry list and the mix of machinery continue to grow at every event.?
AMA Formula Xtreme is a class open to highly-modified motorcycles with 600cc four-cylinder engines or larger-displacement V-Twin engines. The next stop on the 2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship schedule is Sept. 3-5 at Road Atlanta near Braselton, Ga.
THE CRAZY HORSE PRE-STURGIS REPORT–I figured I could slow down after I finished my chopper in Jan, especiallyif it did well at the bike show, which it did.
Then suddenly the gettingready for riding season rush was on and I was buried in customer work and inwriting a How To Custom Paint Bikes book from Motorbooks International. I tell myself that things willslow down after I finish the book. But I finished the book and immediatelyleft for the Smoke Out. I could rest after that. Then Sturgis was only amonth away and my husband was without a bike having sold his.
So the rush was on to paint his new bike, and seeing how his wife is acustom painterwho thinks she is expert enough to write a custom paint book, this paint hadto be extrawild. Three layers of airbrushed flames covered the frame, tank, fenders, oiltank and headlight. Making things even more stressful was the fact that thebike had to be painted, assembled and running in less than a month. So ofcourse all kinds of things seemed to go wrong. The starter didn’t fit. Theprimary cover was cracked. The bars chosen turned out to be ugly when boltedon. And the air cleaner Jim picked out, which looked cool as hell in thecatalog, was absolutely hideous.
The seat came back from a wanna beseatmaker and was so bad, Jim would not even show it to me. This kidcame into the shop and showed Jim his work. It looked good and Jim alwayslikes to give folks a chance. Bad mistake this time. He rushed the seat downto his usual guy and the guy sent it back looking great in no time flat.
Tuesday night, the tank was bolted on and today, it will be kicked off forthe first time. I wasn’t sure if the paint scheme would work. Would itbe too busy? Too much magenta? No time to think or plan, just paint and now, three weeks later, it looked worth it. No nights off, going out for drinks or dinner.No relaxing rides in the countryside on our bikes. No sitting aroundwatching bike shows on tv. It was a bike build off right outside in thegarage, only no team of builders, just one old guy coming homefrom work and putting in 2-3 hours a night. In 7 days we will beleaving from Gastonia, NC for Sturgis. Hopefully the rest of the buildingprocess will run smooth.
Next the bike leaves for Jim’s daytime shop at Carolina Harley- Davidson.He’ll tune the bike and the staff will put it on the dyno and dial in thedigital speedo. He wants to change the seat springs on my gooseneck chopperand fine tune a few things on that bike before we leave. The speedo on thatbike also needs dialing. It now reads 255 mph when I’m putting down side streets.
By the way, my gooseneck appears on the cover of the Sept issue ofEasyriders. Some 14 years ago when I was extremely poor, broke, and hungry, agood friend told me that my bike would be on the cover of Easyriderssomeday. At the time I had no bike. I’d sold my ’66 Triumph to pay rent ayear earlier. I was lucky to have gas money at the time. I thought my friendwas full of pipedreams. Turns out, he was right. He died 3 years aftermaking that comment. I’m dedicating my next book to him.
Speaking of books,book 1- “How to Custom Paint Your Motorcycle” is in the editing process.Editing a technical book is pretty stressful as one thing placed in thewrong spot can be a big problem. Bikers can be extremely criticial and anymistakes I make, I’m sure I’ll hear about them over and over again.
Book 2-” Basic Motorcycle Painting” is being written.Nine days after I return from Sturgis, I’ll attend the Sportster giveaway partythat SunDrop soda is throwing. They are celebrating 50 years of SunDrop bygiving away a 2004 Sporty. I airbrushed a pinup girl from the ’40s on thetank back in May. The day after the party, I hook up with two friends fromFlorida and ride the gooseneck up to Virginia where the bike club I belongto, The Amazons, is holding their yearly gathering. We have ladies riding infrom as far as California and Vancouver.
So it appears the slowdown I’vebeen waiting for since Jan isn’t happening anytime soon. Everyone headingout to Sturgis– have a fun and safe trip out and back. And ride with extremecare while there.
–CrazyHorse
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