Hey,
It’s another crazy day in Paradise. The City of Los Angeles, coupled to a stimulus job generating project, are widening and enhancing the 4-lane boulevard outside our building. It’s a 1-mile long project to the Harbor Freeway. It’s an indication of our over-complicated lives. They can’t just call a gang to widen the street, plant some palms and have a party. First, they need to deal with every city union, then create a team for the hiring and training employee prospects. Then they need to work with the Department of water and power, because all the telephone poles will be removed, all the lines will now be run underground. A new updated storm drain system will be included and of course, new lighting. Surveyors have been blocking traffic. A bid must go out to landscapers. Eminent domain elements come into play to widen the street. There will be serious traffic mitigation, detours, and warning signs have already been posted.
I’m just scratching the surface for a straight 1-mile project, and we all know the condition of the roads in our areas, the new developments and population growth. Hang on. Get me a shot of whiskey and let’s hit the news.
SEMA POWER SPORTS ADVISORY COUNCIL MOVES FORWARD–WHAT SEMA HAS TO OFFER THE POWERSPORTS INDUSTRY:
Professional Industry Network:
?Over 12,000 individual members from over 7,100 member companies worldwide
?Cross-marketing opportunities provided by new buyer/markets, both domestic and international
?Lifestyle similarity between industries e.g., Custom V-Twins and Hot Rods, Motocross bikes, Dirt Bikes and Trucks, Metric Street Bikes and Sport Compact Cars, Drag Bikes and Dragsters, etc., etc.
?Grass roots racers and performance enthusiasts
Long, Enduring History:
?SEMA Association began in 1963
?SEMA Show began in 1967
Government Affairs:
SEMA has a proven legislative and regulatory program led by a professional staff based in Washington, D.C. that continually works on behalf of the membership.
?Government Advocacy/Legislative Programs
?Grass-root Enthusiast Support/SEMA Action Network (SAN)
?Political Action Committee (PAC)
?Quarterly PAC Newsletter
?Professional lobbying staff (Federal & State)
?Legislative alerts and comprehensive website
I’m on this Powersports committee to investigate whether a relationship between motorcycling and the automotive side can help both. So far it looks good. I will bring you reports on SEMA efforts and capabilities as we move forward. It looks like Bikernet will have a 5-Ball Racing booth at the SEMA Las Vegas show this year. Some 150,000 people attend every year. We will make our space available to various companies in our industry.–Bandit
A FEW SUPPORTIVE WORDS FROM OUR BIKERNET WELDING INSTRUCTOR– Nice start on the Tig/Heli-Arc welding. You must try to make better fits on your tubing. Coping or fish mouthing the joints right make the welding much easier. This also puts less heat into the parent metal. Very important on Chromemoly tubing.
http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/video_library/tig.html
Miller has a good news letter out with lot’s of tips. http://www.millerwelds.com Look in the http://www.millerwelds.com/resources and wwwhttp://www.millerwelds.com/interests areas of the website. They also have a newsletter this http://www.millerwelds.com/newsletters
Keep it going, you’ll never want to weld any other way!!
–PSD
P.S. Heli-Arc is what I call “White Collar” welding by the way.
BIKERNET INSURANCE COMPANY WROTE AN AMAZING POLICY– We wrote a beautiful “Special Construction” Custom 1965 H-D Pan-Shovel for a customer in Louisiana this week. Here’s the quick low-down. We will do a full story on the build as it is a good and very unique one.
Special Construction Motorcycle Insurance – Bikernet’s Insurance Specialty.
As the banner in the Bikernet Blog says, “We Love Special Construction & Custom Bikes” and at Bikernet Insurance, we see a lot of sharp machines. No matter what, we can insure them all, with proper documentation.
Here are some pics of a special construction beauty we insured for a Bro out of Louisiana this week. It runs a 1965 Shovel, 88-cubic-inch motor with one hell of a history. The engine cases are all that was left from a ’65 Panhead police bike our customer picked up while serving in Beirut, Lebanon years ago.
That’s right, while out there protecting our freedom, he was also keeping an eye out for his future dream build. That’s dedication folks. It’s no wonder our military kick’s ass.
Another unique twist to this custom is being from Louisiana. This Bro and his family encountered a few storms there and over the years they almost killed this bike build. We’ll give ya the whole story in a future post.
In the meantime, check out these pictures of the bike (and the wife). Like they say, behind every good man is a great women.
Let the agents at Bikernet Insurance insure your Special Construction Custom right and at the lowest price possible. Here’s all we need to get started:
1. Go to our insurance department Click on the “Click Here” section of the orange Cool Customs “Specialty Construction” banner. Complete the quick application and submit.
2. Email us two color pictures, one left side and one right side views of the bike. Other photos welcome and will add to the bike’s credibility.
3. Send us a copy an “Official” Actual Cash Value Appraisal (Letter of the bike’s value from your local Harley dealer.)
4. While pics of your babe showing off the detail of your bike are not required to get your custom assembled beauty insured, we won’t ignore them.
Ride safe out there. We care about you. Contact us anytime: Online Services: Email: clientservice@bikernet-insurance.com
Toll Free: 888-467-8706
Direct: 858-566-8703
CA 0G67810 & 0D71028 Agents serving 20 states. States added as needed to serve customers.
THE BIKERNET ZEN MASTER SPEAKS–Life can be summarized in 4 bottles….Holy Shit!!! we’re on #3!
–from Paul Davis
BIKERNET FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT REPORTS IN–Them gol-dang Harleys is everywhere………..
–Robin Hartfiel
BIKERNET V-ROD SPY FINDINGS–Went to the 1/4 mile track this weekend with my club. Our V’s were running sub 12’s in the quarter at over 115 mph. Best time was 11.4 at 117 mph by the President, Blkbal! These bikes are fast.
I didn’t run because I still don’t have a tuner, but am really considering a Trask Turbo.
Also may throw a small fairing and some bags on it to create the worlds baddest night rod bagger.
–Johnny
DYNA DEAL OF THE WEEK–Hey youse guysI need to sell my Dynaits mint and a good price.
Please pass it aroundits located in Jesup, GA now
Thanks a ton
–Geno
The New Indian Motorcycles West Coast Event Premier!LA Calendar Motorcycle Sunday July 18th 2010 Sponsored by Bikernet.com–Los Angeles, CA June 8th, 2010 – The Los Angeles Calendar Motorcycle Show, America’s premier streetbike event, is excited to announce the return of an American legend with first West Coast show premier of the all new Indian Motorcycles on Sunday July 18th at the Queen Mary Event Park, Long Beach, CA.
Indian Motorcycles Los Angeles will be displaying all five new Indian Motorcycle models including the retro styled Chief Bomber shown here, and the more contemporary designs of the Chief Roadmaster and Chief Dark Horse. Dealer personnel will be on hand to show you the bikes, let you sit in the saddle, and arrange a future test ride. For additional information on Indian Motorcycle sales on the West Coast contact Indian Motorcycle Los Angeles at (310) 539-3366. For additional information on the LA Calendar Motorcycle Show go to: http://www.FastDates.com
Russ Brown & Chuck Koro Motorcycle Attorneys present the Los Angeles Calendar Motorcycle Show with Associate Sponsors: Iron Works Magazine, Mikuni Carburetors, California Harley-Davidson / Indian Motorcycle Los Angeles, CycleTrader.com, Bikernet.com, Meguiars Car Care Products, and the FastDates.com Calendars.
For additional LA Calendar Motorcycle Show & Calendar Girl Music Festival details including the show schedule, hotels and parking information visit http://www.FastDates.com
BIKERNET ARCHIVIST MEMO–I am in the process of getting rid of a bunch of old magazines, thumbing through them and came across this, I cannot seem to find my Number 4 ER Tech Tip issues, did you take em?
I am headed to the ROT Thursday or Friday I will make a better effort to take pictures of cute girls this year, unless it hot. If I don’t go up Thursday I am gonna try and make a different bike night?
–RFR
AMAZING SOFTAIL PRODUCT OF THE WEEK–This is the latest product from my shop. Now anyone can make there Softail look seriously vintage . Our shop can furnish H-D swingarm conversions to the 1948 style rigid frame axleplates, or a customer can supply their swingarm, and we will take care of it. Or we can provide a complete Softail swingarm with 1948 axle plates installed.
Axleplates are $275.00 a set and the tubing and labor is $475.00. Powder coating is $100. Fast turnaround. We can also supply tubing, axleplates and instructions for doing your own work. All frame castings are made in the USA.
Call or click for questions, john@hardtailchoppers.com or www.hardtailchoppers.com
–John Casting
ABATE OF COLORADO FUNDRAISER CAMPOUT–Here are the detail for this annual event:
Start Date: 6/11/2010
End Date: 6/13/2010
Location: ABATE of Colorado
City/State/Zip: Simla, CO 80835
Telephone: 303-789-3264
Sponsor: ABATE of Colorado
Website: www.abateofcolo.org
E-mail: statecoord@abateofcolo.org
Description: Join us for the weekend! Campout, live music, bike show, rodeo, poker run, food, 50/50, door prizes. This is a fundraiser for fallen bikers and or their families. Check out the ABATE web site, click on Randy Run for more information.
–Bruce Snyder
HELMET RECALL–Last month, in an agreement with the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration, Florida-based Advanced Carbon Composites announced a recall of all of its motorcycle helmets after testing revealed that the helmets failed compliance testing with the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 in virtually all categories. Test results and the recall are published on the NHSTA website.
ACC had long touted its $180 Headtrip carbon fiber/Kevlar helmets as the smallest and lightest DOT-compliant helmets on the market. Under terms of the agreement with NHSTA, ACC was to provide owners with prepaid shipping labels to return the defective helmets for a full refund. ACC also agreed to stop manufacturing, marketing, and selling motorcycle helmets.
Unfortunately for helmet owners, ACC has only honored the latter part of the agreement. As of June 9, 2010, all of ACC’s phone lines had been disconnected and the company’s website no longer exists.
The only option for helmet owners at this point is to file complaints with the NHSTA at 1-888-327-4236 and the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357.
–Bruce Snyder
DUNDERDON X GODSPEED 45/06–PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION AND BOOK RELEASE,JUNE 25 2010 5 TO 9PM,FREE BEER AND WINE,25 HOWARD STREET NEW YORK.
Come thru on Friday the 25th and have a few drinks. All are invited, so spread the word. Let me know if you think you can make it.
–Cicero.
DUNDERDON.COM
GODSPEED4506.COM
SNOWBOUND ENGRAVER BREAKS OUT–It has been the longest spring in my memory …It snowed less than one week ago!No wonder Canadian riders get so anxious!
I wish I could tell you I’ve been busy…bits and pieces in months…The economy trouble trickled-down to my hands too, always difficult when one is self-employed!
I was contacted a few weeks ago by Laura Klock..she’s doing an all-female build for the Michael Lichter show in Sturgis, andasked me if I would like to be part of the fun :)Naturally I am THRILLED!!I know Athena is one of them, which also has me chomping at the bit to get started on my small part of the project!
I have an interesting job right now… a guy from Eastern Canada sent me 4 mag wheels to add detail to…They were CNC’d with 3 wrapping dragons…and I had to add scales/fins etc…A ton of work, and so …finally…things are picking up for me 🙂
–Heather
BIKERNET CORRESPONDENT REPORT ON BIG MOUNTAIN RUN ARTICLE–Since you posted my story and photos, I’ve gotten 18,874 hits on my photos from your web site. What an amazing amount of browsers hitting my photos!
Whew…you guys sure must get pounded with hits from all over the world on a daily basis!
–Marilyn
Here’s a link to her story: http://www.bikernet.com/events/PageViewer.asp?PageID=3315
THE 5-BALL PEASHOOTER OVERTAKES THE BONNE BELLE BUILD AT DEPARTURE BIKE WORKS–It’s a race in more ways than one. The Bonne Belle, 1940 45 flathead with a K-model top end and Sportster lower end is being built at Departure Bike Works, in Richmond, Virginia. But suddenly the 5-Ball Peashooter is coming together faster at the Bikernet International World Headquarters, in the Port of Los Angeles. The engine is complete, the Frame is modified, the rider is being flown from Australia, and parts are coming from Paughco. This just in from the engine builder:
“Yesterday I pulled the cyl. head off the Peashooter and clayed the piston to check the clearance between it and the cyl. head, ” said Tom “Rodan” Evans. “It was a little tight, so I reworked the piston crown and we now have just enough clearance at TDC for good squish and no contact at RPM. Got rid of the tight spot we had, and now I can sleep without thinking about it. It’s ready for you to pick up.”
I will pick it up and head to Orange county for a mag cap. It’s broken and needs to be replaced.
–Bandit
click here for our latest Bonneville report: http://www.bikernet.com/Bonneville2010/PageViewer.asp?PageID=3318
Brothers to build motorcycles at Billy Lane’s former Melbourne shop– There’s no swagger as he walks around his soon-to-open Melbourne showroom and workshop. Every other word out of his mouth isn’t an expletive. He’s not covered with tattoos.
“It’s because I’m from South Carolina and tattoo parlors are illegal in South Carolina,” the 40-year-old Parker said. “You actually have to travel out of state to get tattoos and I never did it. Now that I’m living here in Florida, I guess I should get some.”
Body art, however, isn’t Parker’s main mission these days. The art of building custom motorcycles is.In less than two weeks, he and his brother Shanon, plan on opening Parker Brothers Choppers at 1243 N. Harbor City Boulevard. If the address is familiar, it’s where Billy Lane operated Choppers Inc. for several years.
Parker Brothers has its logo — a shadowy image of the comic and tragedy masks — but it hasn’t been placed in front of the 3,500-square-foot burnt orange colored building where Parker and his brother will operate the business.
They plan to design, build and sell motorcycles ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Unlike other so-called custom motorcycle shops, the Parker brothers will build entire bikes, including fabricating parts and hand-manufacturing frames and metal work.
“All my life I’ve been building motorcycles and cars,” Parker said. “Where I grew up you start learning to swing a wrench at a pretty early age. You start tinkering with stuff when you’re young and then you start customizing things when you’re a little bit older because you want to make it cool.”One of those “cool things” is the replica of the “bat pod” motorcycle from “The Dark Knight” Batman movie. The two brothers spent 1,500 hours designing and putting together a working replica and then advertised it on eBay.
It drew tens of thousands of hits and, unfortunately, earned a rebuke from the “Dark Knight” film studio for using a trade marked logo. The brothers quickly removed the movie image and then they decided to raffle off their creation, selling 5,000 tickets at $20 each. The drawing will be held at noon July 31.
Parker, who once owned Parker Brothers bar in downtown Melbourne, stresses that for him, designing motorcycles and choppers is less about image and more about art. And art, more so than the fate of guys like Lane and James, is driven by the tepid recovery of the economy.
By all means, 2009 was a wreck of a year for the industry, according to the Irvine, Calif.-based Motorcycle Industry Council. Sales of street bikes, off-road motorcycles and scooters fell 43.2 percent from 2008. In the first quarter of this year, sales of motorcycles and scooters were down 4.6 percent compared with the same period in 2009.
Choppers, in the last 20 years, have become more popular as motorcycling in general has increased, said Peter Horst, a spokesman for the Pickerington, Ohio-based American Motorcyclist Association. That niche has been hit by the recession just as the industry as a whole has been affected, he said.
“It’s not inexpensive to buy custom-built motorcycles like that,” Horst said. “You have to have some expendable dollars to buy them.”Parker said he is well aware the rocky road ahead, at least for the near future, but he’s confident Parker Brothers Choppers won’t take a spill.
“Everybody is hurting right now,” Parker said of the economy. “But if you do things that are unique enough and you stand out from the rest of the crowd, you can still make a decent living doing the custom-bike thing.”
D&D RECOMMENDATION–Baggerman Craig wrote to D&D Performance Enterprises about his his 2006 Street Glide outfitted with a 95″ Big Bore kit, S&S 510 gear drive cams and Big Sucker breather. “D&D was recommended to me by a racing guru friend for their performance with this bike,” says Craig. “I love the pipes. They look great and sound great.” He says people often notice and ask about the pipes, “I would definitely recommend them.”
Get more details at D&D Performance Enterprises.
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