Hey,
Let me know if you did the same to this year, 2006. I told myself that I was going to cut the number of projects outlined for 2006 and kick back. Yeah right, we have two bikes flying together for Bonneville and Sturgis. Another bike is taking shape at Lucky Devils Metal Works in Houston. Jay needed some cash so we bought a basket ’98 Evo and last week Black Market John crashed our 2004 1200 Sporty. We’re building Layla’s kitchen. I’m trying to finish another book this year, write for three MC magazines and update Bikernet every fuckin’ day.
Do you find yourself overwhelmed with projects? Now what? If I can finish the news fast enough, I’m making a trip to the Powder Coater and the Bonneville Bikes hit another stage. Let’s do it:
TRUE TRACK QUESTION OF THE DAY–I recently bought a True-Track for my 2001 Road King. They also sent me information saying that unless I change my swing arm bushings they will go bad within 10,000 miles. I figured that maybe you could help me out as you wrote the article on True-Track. I would also appreciate your opinion on the bushing change, as it is not addressed in your article at http://www.bikernet.com/garage/truetrack.asp.
H-D changed the swing arm bushings to bearings in 2002, so my 2001 is the last year for the bushings. You can’t update the 2001 and earlier swing arms to the new bearing setup because the early swing arm bushing holes are too large for the later bearings, which are failing.
Yesterday I was told there is an update to those now. A brother of mine’s 2005 model failed at 8,000 miles on his Dyna Wide Glide. The bike goes into the wobbles at 70 down a straight smooth road. In the corners it is very scary. Add a bump to the corner and it will leave a load in your pants.
–Larry
Harleysngrapes@aol.com
The CLEVE BLOCK– swing arm bushings on 1980 thru 2001 are the source of many law suits. The Cleve Blocks are subject to failure because they are a composition of 6 parts, including a liquid silicon. Force from the rear wheel loads the Cleve Blocks and causes the internal components to move against each other and fail. It is a weak link!
H-D replaced this part and went to a SOLID SPHERICAL BEARING in 2002 to correct this weak link.You cannot have a flexible swing arm bushing, Plastic Rubber or multipule components.NEW WEB SITE WILL BE UP SOON.
–Devin
TRUE-TRACK
818 623 0697
BUELL DEALER TEAMS COMPETE IN AMA RACE AT ROAD AMERICA– Buell dealer teams competed in the AMA Formula Xtreme race at the AMA Superbike Championship event at the Road America course. Steve Crevier, riding a Buell XBRR for Deeley Harley-Davidson/Buell Canada, ran as high as seventh position before ultimately crashing out of the race. Classic H-D/Buell-Millville H-D/Buell-Fastbuells.com rider David Estok finished in 14th place on another Buell XBRR. The race was won by Yamaha USA factory rider Eric Bostrom on a Yamaha YZF-6R.
Estok was riding as a last-minute replacement for Mike Hale, who was injured in a crash during testing last week at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia. Hale intended to ride at Road America, but a practice session on Thursday determined he was not ready for the race weekend. Estok, who won the ASRA Thunderbike Championship for the team in 2005, was asked to fill in for Hale. A rain storm eliminated Formula Xtreme practice on Friday, and Estok, who had to qualify with limited time to work on bike set-up, started in 20th position for the 10-lap race.
“We just missed on our set-up,” said Estok “We didn’t have much track time to get things sorted out.”
Crevier also had a disappointing qualifying session, and lined up for the race start in 16th position. Post qualifying adjustments made to his bike improved its performance, however, and Crevier moved up to eighth place after the first lap and was in seventh place on lap three when he was assessed a stop-and-go penalty by AMA race officials for jumping the race start. Crevier had indeed left his starting-line spot early, but pulled the bike back into position and was not moving forward when the race began. After stopping in the pits, Crevier dropped to 17th position, but moved back up to 12th on the next lap before crashing out unhurt in Turn 1 on lap seven to end his day.
“We are proud of the effort these Buell dealer teams and their riders put in today,” said Buell Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Erik Buell. “David Estok filled in admirably for Mike Hale, despite very little seat time. And I think Steve Crevier was headed for a great finish before the stop-and-go penalty, then he crashed while pushing hard trying to make up the lost time. The XBRR was reliable this weekend, so we’ve made progress in that regard. These teams are on the go.”
Both Buell dealer teams received support from Pirelli Tires, Sentry Insurance, Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Screamin’ Eagle SYN3 Synthetic Motorcycle Lubricant, and Harley-Davidson Visa.
The Buell XBRR is a limited-edition production racing motorcycle based on the Firebolt XB12R reworked at the factory for closed-course competition. It offers private racers a professional-level, race-ready, production-based platform.
CALIFA HELMET LAW FOUND UNCONSTITUTIONAL–I just got word that my BOLT guys up in Santa Cruz won the court case there. It was in Superior Court, and Judge Barton made the preliminary ruling that the helmet law in California is unconstitutional. This is Superior Court. The DA asked if he was going to issue an injunction, but the judge said he would hand down his final verdict in writing on June 23rd. My guys tell me the judge is in solid and it’s a done deal, but of course I don’t count anything until I see it in writing. Just wanted to give you a heads up on this.
When the final ruling comes down, I’ll be in New York, but the BOLT members will have a media blitz and it should make it state-wide. I’m told they’re already riding without helmets in Aptos, Watsonville, and area, and no tickets are known to have been issued. If the judge issues an injunction, it sets the stage for bikers throughout California to ride without helmets, and if ticketed, go to court with the Santa Cruz case in hand. Let’s hope for the best.
–Pan
EXTRA PLATE CLUTCH KIT for V-ROD from ENERGY ONE CLUTCHES– The exceptional performance of the V-Rod can be greatly enhanced by installing an ENERGY ONE “Extra Plate” Clutch kit. This ENERGY ONE performance clutch kit for 2002 and later V-Rod consists of 10 Kevlar friction plates on 6061 T6 cores, 9 tempered steel drive plates, and 5 ZERO COLLAPSE coil type clutch springs. Stack height is precision-set at the factory for maximum power transfer at all RPM. An 11% increase in clutch surface area makes the ENERGY ONE Extra Plate Clutch Kit for V-Rod the best in its class at any price. ENERGY ONE clutches give more performance at far less cost, that’s why they are used exclusively by so many drag racers, and other competitors. ENERGY ONE CLUTCHES SMOKE THE COMPETITION HANDS DOWN. When you say “PERFORMANCE,” you’re talking about ENERGY ONE. DEALER INQUIRIES ARE WELCOME! See your local ENERGY ONE dealer or contact them direct at:
ENERGY ONE CLUTCHES
P.O. Box 6370
Whittier, CA 90609-6370
Tel (562) 698-7809
Fax (562) 698-6922
www.energyoneclutches.com+
WEST COAST CHOPPERS HIRING–“Experenced Sheetmetal person wanted…..Must know English wheel, shrinking, stretching, Planisher.. PowerHammer..Pattern Making…..Heli-arc……must be able to fabricate bodyparts from scratch!…Steel & Aluminum…No bondo!……….Full Benifits….Pay $30 Per hour and Up depending on experience!…..contact Simo at simo@westcoastchoppers.com
562 983 6666
WILD INDIAN WILL GLISTEN IN STURGIS AND ON BIKERNET–This wild Indian build by Isto from Finland will join the crowds of Sturgis in august
–Sheriff
SHERIFF MEDIA GROUP
SE-36030 LAMMHULT
SWEDEN
46-70 5678 666
Actually we have a feature on this out-there custom from Tbear and coverage of the recent Swedish show. Keep reading the news and watch for reports next week.–Bandit
BIKERNET AND HOT ACES CASINO GIVING AWAY A 100-INCH POLISHED REVTECH ENGINE–A HOT new RevTech engine for $50.00!!! That’s right, Bikernet and Hot Aces Casino are sponsoring a contest to win a new $7,000 HOT ROD engine. Just go to
Click here www.hotacescasino.com register, make your $50.00 deposit and enter the code ENGINE. You will be automatically entered into the drawing. Drawing to be held July 6, 2006.
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THE 250 PAGNINI CHOPPER REVIEW–I saw the article on the Pag 250 choppers, cool bikes, folks at my bike forum were interested, but I then discovered that the original company Here’s a link to some of the dissatisfied people at an Aussie bike sales company. I don’t think Alan Lazarus is going to have a bright future selling Pag’s bikes in Oz. Cheers: Jaq. LATEST PAGNINI FLASH FROM AUSTRALIA–I posted the link (on my local Aussie wide Internet bike forum) to Pag’s site with the Spyder pics about eight hours ago. I’ve already had over a dozen emails from people asking where they can go to test ride one, buy one etc. I think he’s on a winner with his 250 chopper idea, here in Sydney learner riders have a CC limit of 650cc (depending on brake horsepower) for the first six months to a year.In Melbourne (state of Victoria) they are limited to 250 only, same with Canberra I think.More than half of the emails have been from girls who love the design and the low seat height.Two guys who ride big bikes want them for around town and commuting to work, another couple of guys have bought Vespa style scooters but say they would swap for a Spyder in a second. I have an idea…I gather you may be doing an article on the Spyders in a few days? You should get Pag to lend one to Layla for a week or so.She’s a petite lady, she’s not really strong, I know she struggled with the Sportster when first riding it.She would be the perfect person to do a proper test on a Spyder, she’s the very person the bikes are aimed at.She can ride it, evaluate it, write a review on it for Bikernet.We can pass those reviews onto people around the world. I really hope he and his son can make a go of this. I’m sure I could find someone in Sydney who would be willing to import the Spyders, someone I trust myself, I would not recommend anyone I did not think was 100%. Cheers: Jaq. BIKERNET RADIO INTERVIEWS THE SAXON TEAM IN LAUGHLIN–The Thunder Bobman stopped in to see what’s up with the Saxon contingency of custom motorcycles at the Laughlin, NV run. What he saw was some very cool sleds including Saxon’s signature model, the Black Crown. Get the low down on the Saxon performance machines at Bikernet Radio. Doin it to your ear, right hear. HARDBIKES 330 NEO-BOBBER IS BUILT TO GO FAST, TURN WELL AND LOOK GOOD–Take one part Chopper and two parts Pro-Street add a dash of 330 mm meat with a pinch of a high-output v-twin and you get what Hardbikes calls a 330 NEO Bobber. “The inspiration of the design is a Hot Rod Chopper that blends the handling of a Pro-Street sled and the edginess of a Chopper,” said Bob Kay, Hardbikes VP Sales and Marketing. “The engineers at Hardbikes took my design and worked on the rake, trail and the placement of the swingarm pivot, which created an outstanding handling motorcycle. I’m so pleased with the design that I feel that the 330 NEO Bobber is the best handling 330 tire motorcycle in the marketplace today.” The 330 NEO Bobber runs a 330 millimeters of meat and sits on a 12 inch deep chrome rim connected to a flowing dual rail swing arm, front mounted remote oil tank and curved double downtubes. In addition, the NEO Bobber runs a drop-seat color matched frame; 40 degree rake with 5 degree trees; 5 inch backbone stretch with curved double downtubes; super stretched chopper tank; Hardbikes designed second look tread pattern front fender with scultped rear fender; Torian right-side exhaust pipe by D&D Performance Exhaust and an 111cu in S&S Engine with IST Ignition. Hardbikes converts owners into custom motorcycle designers by allowing them to design their own 330 NEO Bobber. They log onto the Hardbikes website, www.hardbikes.com, and build their custom-fit motorcycle from a deep-list of quality parts in the software application called the Design Wizard. After the design is completed, owners sit down with their local dealer-designer to be fitted for the bike according to their physical dimensions and riding style. “The 330 NEO Bobber has become not only a crowd pleaser but a best seller at Hardbikes,” explained Kay. “It’s been very satisfying that our customers ‘get-the-design-concept’ and comment on how neutral the handling is and how easy it is to ride once they get into the grove.” Each Hardbikes motorcycle is built with the synergy of Hardbikes engineering, owner input and world-class suppliers. Hardbikes’ suppliers include Weld Wheels, Hawg Halters with differential bore for better stopping, Tech Starters, Torian right-side exhaust pipe by D&D Performance Exhaust, Primo Brute Belt Drives, Drag Specialties and Riveria High Performance Clutch. BIKERNET WEEKLY PHOTO ART EXHIBIT–Shot this at The Rooster not long ago around dusk. It reminded me of when I was a kid growing up close to the French Quarter of New Orleans (R.I.P.). I would have to pass The ReeTee, a biker bar, on the way home every day and it always had bikes parked out front. I would stand there and look for a while dreaming of the day I would own and ride a chopper, hang out in bars and drink whiskey, just like my old man. Ride Hard Brothers, –Whiplash Biker Photog TWIN CLUN SHOW IN SWEDEN–Here are the stage photos of the winners in the Twin clun show in Sweden.Hopefully you can get em into Thursdays news with the stuff I sent you on Tuesday. My full report will pop into your mail box anyday now. –TBear Continued On Page 2
56 days till we leave for Sturgis!
mailto:soffordphotos@comcast.net
