Hey,
Life moves way too fast these days. Weeks fly by. At one time I could make a list for a week and hit two or three main goals, but now I try to stick to one major goal a week.
I spoke to Denis Manning yesterday. If you know him, you should reach out. He’s been through hell with his business over the last couple of years and needs all the support and encouragement he can get.
He’s working on a book about his life in business and Bonneville racing. Just in a few minutes I learned so much from the man who owned the world land speed record for a minute.
He discussed how the internet is changing business, that you can launch a product to the entire world in a day, where it took months and months in the past. He also mentioned how the Amazons are eliminating the distributor and the dealer. “Some 70 percent of all bike shops are out of business.”
I agree, a new business model has formed, but take for instance shops like Departure Bike Works, in Richmond. Maybe you can buy any part on the planet through the internet, but you can’t install it.
Lee’s shop, and shops like his are way more than a place to buy parts. It’s a place of education, service, camaraderie, art in the form of one-off manufacturing by Andrew, you name it.
More and more the custom shop represents so many lost elements in our society. It still represents the creative, the work ethic, the soul of the custom world, all the old school crafts such as pinstriping, gold leaf, sheet metal, hand machining, welding.
Hopefully shops will become more sought after as young folks with strive to reach out and learn. Let’s hit the news and I’ll tell you about some of the Bonneville secrets Denis told me, and some interesting facts from Danny Thompson, the son of Mickey Thompson, who is going after the Poteet record.
BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY NOW OPEN—
A Greek and Italian were talking one day discussing who had the superior culture. Over coffee the Greek says, “Well, we have the Parthenon.”
The Italian replies, “We have the Coliseum.
“The Greek retorts, “We Greeks gave birth to mathematics”.
The Italian, nodding, says, “But we built the Roman Empire!”
And so on and so on until the Greek comes up with what he thinks will end the discussion. With a flourish of finality he says, “We invented sex!”
The Italian replies, “That is true, but it was the Italians who introduced it to women.”
–from Jerry and Rogue
THE LATEST FROM HARDTAIL CHOPPERS—Something completely different;
1-inch tubing , 26 inches wide , 4-inch pull back , and a 8-inch rise . Mount to any two-piece riser set- up . They are knurled on the mounting bar, raw finish, undrilled, just $195 plus shipping .
Drilled for wires, chromed or powder-coated are extras. Hope the salt treated you good this year.
— John
Shop 360/750-6780 .
Www.hardtailchoppers.com
The salt treated us to a wild ride, We blundered but learned a lot. Stay tuned for the next episode. If you didn’t see the final report, here is the link.—Bandit
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/Bonneville_2014_Race_Report.aspx
Don’t waste the gift of time, you never know how much you have left; Live and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
–Yale
So many of us live in that place– someday I’ll, someday I’ll do this and someday I’ll do that. Let me tell you that time is ticking faster and faster.
Why are we putting off what we should be doing today to that place we never seem to get to? Not only do some of us procrastinate about things we should be doing but worse, we procrastinate doing things we want to do. As we all are getting older birthdays seem to come quicker and quicker. I find that when I procrastinate about doing tasks that I must do, they get harder to do when I finally do them. If only I got them done when I should have, I wouldn’t go through all the mental anguish and guilt for not doing them.
What bothers me worse is when I see people who are in the position to do things they really want to do and they don’t. I have heard people say things like someday I’ll take that trip, start that hobby, call a friend, lose weight. My friends, time is ticking, don’t put of till tomorrow what you could be doing today.
Today is a gift and I am going to capitalize each and every second of it. I refuse to put off another thing that I need to do. I am going to face everything head on. More importantly I am going to start doing some of the things that I have wanted to do for a long time. I am on a path of Living the Dream not someday I’ll might. Today, I am living on get r done…
And So It Is
Namaste’
–Yale
Yale Custom Cycles
403-453-1999
2003 11 ST SE
Calgary AB
T2G 3G6
The Comp-S for the Harley-Davidson Sportster–It’s hard to imagine the Harley-Davidson Sportster looking or sounding any better than it already does, but that is just what a Two Brothers Racing exhaust does. The Comp-S exhaust system really does the Sportster justice as it increases the power by SEVEN horsepower. See for yourself on the Dyno sheet below.
Two Brothers Racing has been producing championship winning products since 1985. From roots as a factory-backed AMA Superbike team to producing world-class performance exhaust systems, Two Brothers Racing knows what it takes to excel. Whether you ride a street bike, dirt bike, ATV or UTV, Two Brothers Racing produces a high-quality, performance-enhancing product to ensure your machine is operating at the Absolute Top Level.
For additional information, visit us online at www.TwoBros.com
**Two Brothers Racing performance products are intended for race use only.**
Two Brothers Racing
401 South Grand Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92705
1.800.211.2767
BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!—
THE 9-11 TRIBUTE TO FREEDOM NEWS FOR 9-11-14
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=11874
Hey Bandit, when you get your Chief, let me know. If you want the Aeromach Heel Shifter and/or the rider floorboard relo kit you saw on my bike.
Ride safe,
— Paul Aiken
paul@aeromach.net
Charlotte, NC
Hey Paul, I definitely want your lowering kit and the heal shifter, plus a couple of your other AeroMach Indian doodads. I’ve already mentioned them to Rich Worley at American Biker in Charleston, SC. We will be in touch.–Bandit
DHARMA WORDS FOR THE DAY—If someone sits quietly for an instant, Then that is better than building pagodas made of the seven jewels in number like the Ganges’ sands.—Venerable Master Hua
FREEDOM FIGHTER DAVE ZIEN HAS A PLAN—
Lawmakers, Candidates, Mobility challenged are invited to drive a motorcycle (3 wheeler).
11AM: – News Conference “Veterans, Patriots, Biker Revelations and Proposals”.
1-3PM: – Room 411 South, State Capitol, American Monument Movement Proposals and Commitments.
Invited Participants:
Am Vets, DAV, Legion, VFW, VA, Auxiliary’s & etc., Military Assistance Command, 210% Club, Wheels of Liberty, Biker Lifestyle Hwy 45 Committee.
Allied Clubs of Wisconsin, Federation of Wisconsin Motorcycle Clubs, Rolling Thunder, other groups/individuals.
For information contact:
Jim “Big Bird” Schutes; 414-292-5661
Steve Johnson, Biker Activist; 414-236-1618
Tony “Pan” SanFelipo, Founder of ABATE of Wisconsin, 414-315-5070
former State Senator
Million Mile Motorcycle Man
THE FIRST CANNONBALL BLAZE—1928 95-point restoration burns to the ground. Rough weather, accidents, breakdowns, and cops interrupt this year’s Cannonball, but they keep riding.
Bean’re shows just what happens when things really go wrong while pushing vintage motor bikes to their limits. He also interviews Kenneth Smith, rider of number 106 that caught fire and was destroyed.
— Richard Kranzler
Bikernet Baggers
FOR THOSE BUILDERS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR THE NEXT NEW LOOK !!!!!
200/40/20
MetalSport Wheels and Vee Rubber comes thru again. Arriving soon the 200/40/20 black wall. For wide and taller look we will have the 200/70/21.
SO YOU CAN COUNT ON METALSPORT WHEELS WITH TWO NEW TIRES FOR TWO NEW LOOKS,
SO GIVE US A CALL WE ARE TAKING ORDERS NOW
MetalSport Wheels
10112 Miller Way
South Gate, CA 90280
PH# 562-7769594
FAX# 562-7769635
www.metalsportwheels.com
Motorcycle racer Valerie Thompson sets new 200+ mph land speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats World of Speed competition–Seven-time motorcycle land speed record holder earns her Red Hat with a 208 mph run to become one of the newest members of the Bonneville 200 MPH Club
(Scottsdale, AZ) – September 12, 2014 – Motorcycle racer and team owner, Valerie Thompson, set her 7th land speed record on her CTEK sponsored BMW S 1000 RR during the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association’s 28th Annual World of Speed event September 6 -9 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover Utah.
Thompson has been in Utah for a month to compete in the three most prestigious land speed racing events held at the famed Salt Flats, including Speed Week, the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials and World of Speed. Speed Week was canceled due to heavy rains. Weather and track conditions during the Motorcycle Speed Trials prevented Thompson from setting a new record despite making a strong 203.77 mph pass.
Thompson’s patience paid off during the World of Speed event where her BMW Double R was fast right out of the trailer. Six out of eight of Thompson’s passes were over 200 mph. On her last run of the event, Thompson enjoyed her best speed on the salt with a first pass at 209.85 mph and a return run of 207.71 mph, setting a new MPS-G 1000 record at 208.81 mph. The new record earned Thompson life- time membership in the prestigious Red Hat Club, recognizing her 200+ mph performance.
“I’ve wanted the 200 MPH Club Red Hat since I started racing on the salt, so it’s an awesome achievement for me. I can’t thank my team enough for their outstanding fight to the end. Ray Garcia did an incredible job of making all the right calls on the bike’s set up. Now I can focus on setting more records and going faster with the Red Hat,” added an ecstatic Thompson.
According to USFRA secretary, Ellen Wilkinson, more than 150 teams pre-registered for the event, which was cancelled last year due to rain. “This was my first time racing at an USFRA sanctioned event and I was very impressed. Everything went smooth and we got a lot of runs in. I can’t wait to come back next year,” said Thompson.
After a month in Utah, Thompson will return to her home in Arizona for a three-day special appearance at Johnson-Stewart Materials in Mesa for Drumcutters Demo Days, where she will go from breaking records to breaking rock with a heavy-duty CAT excavator demonstration.
Valerie Thompson Racing Sponsors
CTEK Battery Charger – The World’s Smartest Battery Charger, BMW Motorrad – HP Race Parts, TROON Enterprises, Magic Bullet Advanced Fuel Treatment, Metro Auto Auction, Akrapovic Exhaust, Speed-Way Shelters, alpha Performance USA, Schuberth Helmet, ARP, Worldwide Bearings, Stand-Up Photos, Vision Wheel, Go AZ Motorcycles of Scottsdale, Forma Performing Boots and Champion System apparel.
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT SUNDAY TARDY STUDENT VOCABULARY LESSON—REJECTAMENTA, ri-jek-tuh-MEN-tuh
Quotes
On these rejectamenta (as they accumulate they form a cup-shaped structure) the young are born.
Origin
Rejectamenta is derived from a New Latin construction meaning “things thrown back.” It entered English in the 1800s.
THIS JUST IN FROM THE BIKERNET INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT—While in Phnom Penh. Cambodia.
Random walking pics one is my biker friends restarant. My old room. I upgraded to a corner unit. Hotel makes nice wedding photos. Street shot and central market.
S. Korea to up cigarette prices 80%
Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:45:00 +0700 : SEOUL – South Korea on Thursday proposed a steep 80 percent hike in cigarette prices to cut consumption in a nation with one of the world’s highest male smoking rates.
–Art Hall
Bikernet Extreme International Editor
NEW MIRACLE FROM RIVERA-PRIMO–It’s a Miracle!!
When we unveiled our new 7-inch all LED Headlamp with built-in marker lights (1116-0200), the motorcycle aftermarket responded with an incredibly loud “Hell Yea”!
Why? Because we hit the market with a economically priced all LED high quality headlamp that was as bright or brighter then the competition, and because it included our signature built-in marker lights. What more could you possibly ask for, right? But from the start, one of the most frequently asked questions was “Do you guys make a 5 3/4” lamp for us guys who don’t ride baggers? Well do ya??? Sometimes you just can’t win….
HedLED’s next NEW product is born…
But, little did our customers know, we were already underway with a 5 3/4″ all LED headlamp that guess what???Includes our signature built-in marker lights!
YES!! For the last few months of banging our collective heads against a cement wall, we are ready to release our newest member of our HedLED line of ultimate lighting products, the Phase 3 all LED 5 ¾-inch Headlamp with built-in marker lights! We wanted the Phase 3 headlamp to outshine all others in its class, both in quality, design and actual light pointed down the road. A headlamp that would draw less current then a incandescant lamp so it would work great both on an older charging system or a new high output sytem.
A headlamp that would incorporate our signature LED turn signals with a ultra bright LED high & low beam and all under glass..not plastic. And unlike our competitors that are simply selling someone else’s light made for trucks, we made our light purpose built for motorcycles so it’s ultra thin & light to fit in almost any headlight bucket. And we made it AFFORDABLE!!!
EASE: Plug & play on the high / low beam and simple wiring for the marker lights.
PHASE 3™ HedLED™ 5 3/4″ Headlamp (1116-0201)
DOT COMPLIANT
MSRP: $255.10
Application: Basically, anything that uses a 5 3/4″ headlamp
As humorous as this sounds…..every last word of it is absolutely TRUE!
1. In order to insure the uninsured, we first have to uninsure the insured.
2. Next, we require the newly uninsured to be re-insured.
3. To re-insure the newly uninsured, they are required to pay extra charges to be re-insured.
4. The extra charges are required so that the original insured, who became uninsured, and then became re-insured, can pay enough extra so that the original uninsured can be insured, which will be free of charge to them.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is called “redistribution of wealth” … or, by its more common name, SOCIALISM.
BONNEVILLE THOUGHTS FROM DENIS MANNING—DENIS told me some wind tunnel stories. A piece of cardboard or plywood with the flat end toward the fan produced 1.00 coefficient of drag in a wind tunnel. A NASCAR produces .45 COD, A Road King with highbars and a rider faces .7 COD, but a 911 Porche Carrera produces .3 COD. So hang on. When Denis tested his streamliner, Don Tilley was a witness and was blown away. The Denis Manning streamliner produced just .08 coefficient of drag. Amazing.
But as Denis said quickly, “Don’t confuse action with results. This is not a gentlemen start your dynos races.
Denis is hoping to start building the first electric streamliner motorcycle in the very near future. Hang on!
–Bandit
CAR MANUFACTURER DITCHES DEALERS—The electric car manufacturer Tesla is selling their cars direct to the public through the internet. Imagine the profit margin if there are no dealer prices, sales commissions, shipping (except direct to the consumer).
BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY STILL OPEN ON SUNDAYS-–
Get ready … the college football season is quickly approaching …. Urban Meyer on one of his players: “He doesn’t know the meaning of the word fear. In fact, I just saw his grades and he doesn’t know the meaning of a lot of words.”
NIH Study on Longevity The National Institute of Health has just released the results of a $200 million research study completed under a grant to Johns Hopkins. The new study has found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than the men who mention it.
There was an old priest who got sick of all the people in his parish confessing to adultery. One Sunday, in the pulpit, he said, “If I hear one more person confess to adultery, I’ll quit!”
Well, everyone liked him, so they came up with a code word. Someone who had committed adultery would say instead that they had ‘fallen.’ This seemed to satisfy the old priest and things went well until the priest passed away at a ripe old age.
A few days after the new priest arrived, he visited the mayor of the town and seemed very concerned. “Mayor, you have to do something about the sidewalks in town. When people come into the confessional, they keep telling me they’ve fallen.”
The mayor started to laugh, realizing that no one had told the new priest about the code word. But, before he could explain, the priest shook an accusing finger at him and shouted, “I don’t know what you’re laughing about, because your wife has fallen three times this week!”
–from Rogue and Jerry
BIKERNET THOUGHT FOR SUNDAY FROM THE WEEK MAGAZINE—“If you are creative, you get busier as you get older.” –Tony Bennett, quoted in the Prague Post
LET’S TAKE PAUSE FOR A RELIGIOUS MOMENT–While shopping in a food store, two Nuns happened to pass by the beer section. One asked the other if she would like a beer. The second Nun answered that, indeed, it would be very nice to have one, but that she wouldn’t feel comfortable about buying it. The first Nun replied that she could handle that without a problem. She picked up a six-pack and took it to the cashier.
The cashier had a surprised look on his face, so the Nun said, “We use beer for washing our hair….a sort of shampoo if you will.”
Without blinking an eye, the cashier reached under the counter, pulled out a bag pretzels and placed them in the bag with the beer. He then looked the Nun straight in the eye, smiled and said, “The curlers are on the house.”
–from Rogue and Jerry
Hot off the Press:
The 2015 Vmax Calendar from CIRCUS VMAXIMUS
The CIRCUS VMAXIMUS 2015 calendar presents the many various facets of the Vmax, which has been in production for nearly 30 years.
The selection of current custom VMAX bikes ranges from the exciting cover picture of Brett Horton’s VMAX with red carbon outfit to the race-style “KMAX” of German customizer Fred Kodlin who is normally renowned for his Harley-based custom bikes.
The first Vmax generation is also represented with a number of exceptional photos from all over the world.
The CIRCUS VMAXIMUS 2015 calendar is printed on high-quality, glossy 170 gsm paper measuring 29.7 x 42 centimeters, the equivalent of 11.7 x 16.5 inches.
The calendar is available exclusively from the www.CIRCUS-VMAXIMUS.com online shop and costs EUR 25.
5-BALL RACING TEAM SHIRTS AVAILABLE—We have a few shirts available. Let us know if you’re interested.
–Bandit
THE GAME NEVER STOPS—I just read an article about Mickey Thompson and Danny Thompson, his son, in the Week Magazine. Danny is going after the Poteet record of 439 mph in his dad’s Challenger 2. He will squeeze into his cigar on four wheels during the Mike Cook’s Bonneville Shootout beginning today.
Here’s how they described his ride at 64 years of age as he shoots for 450 mph or more: When his turn comes, he will lie almost flat, his body mere inches from the earth, in a space the size of a coffin. He will see blinding white light ahead, noxious fumes will tease his nostrils, and he will hold on to the steering wheel for dear life.
Seventy seconds; that’s all it will take. So will I face a similar situation in our Belly Tank trike next year. Let’s hope so.
What a life we lead. Just hang on a keep pedaling.
Have a helluva week, lots of material coming to Bikernet, including the next Episode to the Cantina. It’s going to be a good one.
Ride Free Forever,
–Bandit
