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Rucker Performance Names New American Muscle Bike ? The Predator–
The Predator Motorcycle Is a 130 HP American Muscle Rocket Manufactured By Rucker Performance
Fort Worth, Texas (March 15, 2005) ? Rucker Performance, a leading custom manufacturer of high performance, highly styled and custom motorcycles utilized the online magazine, www.bikernet.com to assist in naming their newest design in the arsenal of Rucker Performance motorcycles.
?Rucker Performance has been working on a new category of motorcycle, which we have termed American Muscle,? explained Bill Rucker, President of Rucker Performance. ?We tapped industry-visionary Keith Ball from bikernet.com to produce the name-the-bike promotion with his 270,000 monthly readers to assist us in naming our new custom motorcycle.?
Bikernet.com was created by Ball and has the largest online and offline circulation in the motorcycle magazine industry. Every visitor to the bikernet.com site over a two-week period was invited to name the custom motorcycle for a chance to win cash and a Rucker Performance apparel package.
After hundreds of entries, the team at Rucker Performance selected ?Predator? from the entry submitted by Bob Tucker. Mr. Tucker will win cash and a Rucker apparel package. Grady Phillips also suggested Predator and will win some Rucker apparel.
The Predator is built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline of drag racing. It sports a 300-rear tire, 130HP naturally aspirated engine, right-side 6-speed transmission, custom zoomie headers and drop seat riding position. This American Muscle bike is designed with 4.5? ground clearance, 49 degree of rake, 19-inch seat height, custom handlebars and Ness Controls.
The runner-up winner was the name Reaper, suggested by Kirk James and Curtis Baker. They will also win Rucker apparel.
Rucker Performance received a phenomenal response from bikernet.com?s readers, like this suggestion for Marilyn Bragg , ?Just look at her lines!? ?She is sleek, strong, and has an hourglass figure when her profile is looked upon from above. Her handlebars remind me of flowing red hair. The powerful S&S 124 motor reminds me of the delicate but well planned and finely tuned power of a female assassin. She is beauty, strength, unbridled passion and power all rolled into one strong and beautiful frame.?
?We could not have said it better,? said Erin Rucker, Operations Manager, of Rucker Performance. ?The unbelievably enthusiastic response from readers demonstrates this bike?s ability to impress the biker community. We feel the name Predator fits well with the rest of the line of bikes we have created to date.?
?I would like to extend my thanks to all the contestants that participated,? said Erin Rucker. ?We appreciate the time and effort that was put in to the contest.?
About Rucker Performance–Rucker Performance started production in 2004 and has quickly become a leading designer and manufacturer of custom American Muscle and Chopper motorcycles. Rucker Performance is known for ground-shaking performance with fit and finish that is comparable to one-off custom motorcycles.
Additional design queues include soft-style suspension, high-performance V-twin 124 cubic inch show polished engines, clean, sharp lines, 6-speed transmissions, stretch tanks and fat tires. Designing and manufacturing is performed at the company?s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.
Contacts:For further information on Rucker Performance please contact: Jeffrey Najar: 760-765-4734, pr@ibrainpromotions.com
Motorcycle Man–
Two-wheelers have given him the ride of his life
By KEVIN PARKS
Straddling the first of many motorcycles he would own, Ed Youngblood gazed down the Muskogee, Okla., street on which he had grown up. Preparing to kick the 165cc Harley-Davidson into noisy life, the 14-year-old boy had no way of knowing just how far the motorcycle would take him. Oh, not that particular bike. He was fortunate if that one got him around the block.
“It was totally used, absolutely worthless,” Youngblood recalled more than 45 years later. “I probably spent more time trying to get it to run than I did riding it.”
No, Ed Youngblood wasn’t going to get much mileage out of that first “iron horse” at all.
Motorcycles in general, however, have carried him, literally and figuratively, all through his life, to a rewarding career as a writer, editor, researcher, public speaker, consultant and museum curator, including a 28-year stint with the American Motorcyclist Association, 19 of them as president and chief executive officer.
He is currently serving as curator for two exhibitions scheduled to open in the coming weeks, one on the history of motocross at The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington and the other a continuation of one of the most successful shows ever put on by the Guggenheim Museum. Ed Youngblood’s latest version of “The Art of the Motorcycle” is to open April 22 at WONDERS, the Memphis International Cultural Series in Tennessee.
The motorcycle also took Youngblood away from a career he probably would have hated, that of trying to shove some knowledge of English poet John Milton (1608-1674) into the unyielding, unwilling skulls of college students. Youngblood had completed the course work for a doctorate in literature at Ohio University with a special emphasis on Milton, author of the epic poem “Paradise Lost,” when he was offered a job as editor of a motorcycle magazine. The entire course of his life changed, like a cafe racer making an abrupt right turn.
It turned out to be exactly the right turn for Youngblood, according to his wife of almost 40 years, Margaret.
“It was obvious he was going to be much happier going the motorcycle route, and he was still going to be employed,” Margaret Youngblood said. “I didn’t have a problem with it at all.”
Her husband has been fortunate, she added, in that his profession and his pastime have also been his passion.
“He’s really blessed, because I know a lot of times if you try to make your passion your work, you come to dislike it,” Margaret Youngblood said.
Rogue
www.bikerrogue.com
Bike Week 2005– smooth-riding event By MARK I. JOHNSON
Daytona Beach News Journal Staff Writer
Bike Week 2005 will go down in the history books as a success, law enforcement and business officials said.Despite more motorcyclists riding Southeast Volusia’s roadways, there were fewer biker-related problems than in previous years.There was a higher number of people obeying the laws and a small number doing stupid things, Edgewater Police Chief Mike Ignasiak said.For example, he said his agency issued about 12 percent fewer citations, 590 this year as compared to 660 last year. Accidents and arrests also were lower.
“We only had 15 accidents and only two of those involved motorcycles. And none of them were serious” he said. “That is unbelievable”
The agency made five misdemeanor Bike Week-related arrests, the chief said.
Even equipment violations, such as loud pipes, were down, which surprised the chief.
“We only had six (pipe violations). That was significantly down over the last couple of years,” he said.
New Smyrna Beach officials echoed their southern neighbor’s remarks.While statistics will not be available until the end of the month, Police Capt. Paul Orel said overall, Bike Week went very well in his city.
“There were a lot of accidents but no fatalities,” he said.However, his impression was traffic did not pick up until the last four days of the 10-day event.
“Before that, it was quieter than years past,” Orel said.
Tanya Girvan, owner of the No Name Saloon in Edgewater, and David Hugg, a manager at Pub 44 in New Smyrna Beach, would disagree.
“Every day seemed more crowded than last year,” Hugg said of his establishment. “Everyone had fun, business was good and the customers were happy.”
Girvan agreed.
Despite being cited once for excessive noise, she said her saloon and its customers saw no problems.
“It was a very good Bike Week,” she said.
Outside the cities, sheriff’s officials said that, while crowds were large, they were dispersed and “very well-behaved.”
Sheriff’s spokesman Gary Davidson, said his agency’s Special Services division, which handled most Bike Week activity, issued about 1,900 citations and made 213 misdemeanor, four felony and 54 drunk driving arrests during the event.
“From an enforcement standpoint, Bike Week went exceptionally well,” he said. “Perhaps one of the best ones yet.”
Rogue
www.bikerrogue.com
Jay Leno to narrate ‘Art of the Motorcycle’ —
By Michael Lollar
When the Wonders Series exhibition “The Art of the Motorcycle” opens April 22, visitors will hear a familiar voice — “The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno as narrator on audio guides describing the nearly 100 bikes. The audio guides traditionally are a strait-laced blend of art and culture describing such Wonders subjects as Napoleon, Catherine the Great and Peru’s Incan culture. But Leno, who has a collection of 80 motorcycles, will have a chance to inject humor into the audio guide script and improvise on a subject close to his heart.
Leno will be joined by four celebrity bikers. The supporting cast includes actor Dennis Hopper, whose cocaine-smuggler role in 1969’s counter-culture classic “Easy Rider” featured the “Captain America” chopper. A replica of that bike will be in the exhibition. Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, actor Laurence Fishburne and actress-model Lauren Hutton also will help narrate.
The Memphis exhibition, inspired by a 1998 motorcycle-as-art exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, will have a raucous second day on April 23 with up to 2,000 motorcyclists taking part in a “Wheels of Wonder” ride and party, said Wonders chief operating officer Glen Campbell. Exhibition co-curator Ed Youngblood of Columbus, Ohio, former president of the American Motorcyclist Association and a curator of the Guggenheim exhibition, said many museum purists were critical when the Guggenheim scheduled a motorcycle exhibition.
The show then broke records for attendance and catalog sales and became a traveling exhibition, drawing more than 2 million visitors at four locations.
“The basic concept is to depict to the extent that the floor space will allow the most influential motorcycles we can find based on three criteria — technical innovation, sheer style and their cultural influence,” he said.
The Wonders exhibit will include an Elvis Presley motorcycle borrowed from Graceland and will tell the history of motorcycling beginning with 19th Century steam-powered motorcycles.
Wheels of Wonders
More than 2,000 motorcycle riders are expected for an April 23 ride and party. The hour-long ride through Memphis will begin at two different locations and end at The Pyramid about 1 p.m.
Registration forms are available at area motorcycle shops, at wonders.org or by calling ride coordinator ‘Loco’ Joe Kilpatrick at Bumpus Harley-Davidson’s Whitten Road location at 322-4537.
Cost is $30; includes ride patch and pin, post-ride party and exhibit admission.
Wonders
When: April 22-Oct. 30
Where: The Pyramid
Rogue
www.bikerrogue.com
Viper Motorcycle Company to Introduce Donnie Smith Designed Chopper at the Donnie Smith Invitational Show–Minneapolis, Minnesota ? March 17, 2005 ? ? (Pink Sheets: VPWS) Viper Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Viper Powersports Inc., will unveil its new Donnie Smith designed Chopper, the Viper Dragon, at the Donnie Smith Invitational Bike Show at Excel Center in St. Paul, MN, March 19-20th.
The Viper Dragon shares many of the proprietary features of the Viper Diablo, including a rubber mounted proprietary Viper billet engine, oil-in-the-frame Viper chassis, patented Viper Hyper-Drive system, right-hand drive, adjustable Viper air ride suspension and styling from Hall of Fame master builder Donnie Smith.
?Donnie Smith?s design and attention to detail is outstanding,? said Terry Nesbitt, President of Viper Motorcycle. ?The Dragon, like our Diablo, is an engineered product with a unique style and an OEM identity. This new Viper model has the style and appeal of a chopper combined with Viper?s proprietary and distinctive features that include a fat rear tire, right-hand drive, rubber mount engine, 38 degree rake and the VHD patented drive system. Together, our customers will be able to ride an OEM Chopper with its own flavor and excellent handling characteristics. Overall interest in the Diablo has been incredible; we anticipate initial demand of the Dragon also will greatly exceed the supply.?
?Viper?s progress has been remarkable, and I?ve been truly impressed with the design innovations and features of Viper?s bikes,? Smith said. ?I?m especially impressed with Viper?s VHD drive system. I think the project turned out extremely well and I am proud to have my signature on the Viper?s new Dragon Choppers.?
About Viper Motorcycle Company
Viper Motorcycle Company designs, manufacturers and markets a line of premium custom V-Twin Super Cruiser motorcycles. Viper cruisers are distributed and sold under the Viper brand name through a nationwide independent dealer network. The Company?s website ishttp://www.vipermotorcycle.com.
Viper Motorcycle Company Announces Merger Agreement with Viper Powersports —Minneapolis, Minnesota ? March 11, 2005 ? Viper Motorcycle Company announced today that it has entered into a merger agreement with Viper Powersports Inc., a publicly-traded Nevada corporation in a transaction in which Viper Powersports will acquire 100% of Viper Motorcycle Company.
The two companies expect to close this merger on or before March 31, 2005, after which Viper Motorcycle Company will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Viper Powersports Inc. Viper Powersports will issue 4,966,225 common shares and 800,000 preferred shares to the shareholders of Viper Motorcycle Company under the terms of the of the merger. In addition, certain shareholders of Viper Powersports subscribed to an additional 400,000 shares of restricted common stock at $2.50 per share, providing $1 million of working capital.
Viper Motorcycles also announced that it has satisfied virtually all its outstanding debt (exceeding $4 million) through conversion of debt into restricted stock.
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