When it comes to Paul Cavallo’s dry wit and motorcycle-building capabilities, it takes no more than a the whisper of a breeze through California hillside brush to kick off the desire to build another chopper or bobber. He hardly needs any excuse to work 14-hour days along side his master machinist dad. Call him for Born Free the bobber show, or the Las Vegas Bikefest Artistry in Iron, or a high school partner who needs a bobber to help him forget the anguish of a divorce, and Paul is inspired. He won’t clean up a build or modify a recent stock model. In each case, he’ll start from scratch and build a ground-up under ridiculous time constraints to meet some crazed self-imposed deadline or show schedule.



“I know I should design products for stock bikes,” Paul said, “but I’d rather build cool shit.”

And so he does from dawn to dusk to the extreme, like a mad scientist stirring chemical concoctions until the wee hours. Paul grew up on the outskirts of Los Angeles smack dab in the center of the drug revolution surrounded by rowdy bikers, and rockers, on the wrong side of the tracks where half his pals ended up in prison or dead of drug overdoses.



He survived and in his clean and sober state, he lights a cigarette and stares thoughtfully at the Gypsy Rose with the air of a surgeon, wondering what he could do make his patient more shapely or stealth-like.



Paul started building springer forks just six months ago, after refining the hottest new girder in the industry. He built three sets of rockers for the Gypsy to set it on a perfect plane with a Hollywood freeway at 3:00 in the morning. The forward controls are part of his growing product line, so he built a set, and then the gas tank and the oil tank with a gallon synthetic oil capacity. He built the bars with brass caps, the brass grips, the pipes, and the machined aluminum caps capable of holding a restrictive baffle with the same attaching setscrew.



Unlike any heat shields in the industry, Paul welded nuts on the inside of the pipes, and ran the domed Allens through the shield into the pipes. He built the frame with his Spitfire crew, so it was stretched 4 inches forward and the neck lowered 2 inches.



Mr. Spitfire, Paul, kicked off this project specifically for the Artistry in Iron just a couple of months before the September event, around a 1956 Panhead engine and 4-speed transmission. Bill Chambers rebuilt and balanced the engine while Paul worked with Billy McCahill, of the revitalized STD company, on a set of dual-carb Panheads and cast-finned STD tall pan rocker covers. Billy didn’t have the proper sized insert drill to bore into the intake ports, so Paul hauled the tool to the STD factory to take care of business. They drilled and tapped threads into the heads and Paul returned to Spitfire’s unlimited creative headquarters to figure out the intake runners.

Paul took two chunks of aluminum round stock and bored them for enhanced intake velocity, and then he threaded the O.D. and screwed them into the heads until they bottomed perfectly. He bored and tapped the heads for locking setscrews. Then he welded aluminum 45-degree tubing bends to the straight runners. Finally, he ported and polished each intake manifold. Get the picture?



This guy lives to create something cool for any late night lane-splitting chopper. Check the rear hub he machined so that the spokes are high and low, or shorter on the left by an inch from the right. If a part isn’t handmade, Paul wishes it was. He even designed a special rear axle plate for the frame to house the sprotor brake, so the frame and brake components would remain tight and narrow.

Time was running out when Paul discovered his regular custom paint talent, Casey, was unavailable, and 10 days before the show, he delivered the frame and sheet metal to David Anthony Garcia, who has painted Low Riders for 40 years within his metal flake family biz. Paul’s hands began to sweat as he announced his deadline and delivered his handmade seat pan and headlight bucket to Pascal, the engraver and leather-tooling master.



It’s every builder’s nightmare when he’s forced to allow his precious creative artistry to slip into the controlling hands of chromers, painters, leather workers, powder-coating shops, or polishing houses to be lost in the dust of a thousand other jobs, or buried in Bondo shavings with parts for Jap bikes, or, God-forbid, shipped to China wrapped in bubble-wrap and foam peanuts. It makes me shudder to think about it, especially with a looming deadline approaching, and 17 other world-class builders rolling toward the same location in Las Vegas for the competition of the year. Serious builders would compete against noted craftsman, to be judged by their peers and national magazine editors. The Gypsy had to be world class, had to be finished, had to be fine, and had to be on time. Oh fuck!


On Saturday, less than a week before he planned to pack and cut a dusty trail for glittertown in the desert, Paul picked up the deep metal flake coated frame from Anthony and peeled back to his shop for final assembly. Paul was still creating one-off products until the last minute, like the top motor-mount housing the dual throttle cable guide brass junction. Anthony delivered the dazzling sheet-metal Tuesday morning. Paul had to be in Vegas for setup by Thursday.



As the tall pans on the mighty classic engine slipped into the frame, Paul discovered too tight rear rocker fins and the Pan had to be removed, machined and replaced. Paul installed the sleek gas tank Tuesday afternoon and discovered his lack of a dual-runner petcock. “I couldn’t make a Pingel work,” Paul said, but a friend showed up at the shop.

“I have a dual-runner Honda petcock in my garage,” his friend said, mocking another last minute Spitfire deadline.



“Let’s go,” Paul said, and they jumped in his truck– another builder deadline nemesis—errands. As soon as the talent departs from the watch factory, everything stops, except burnin’ daylight. Every stoplight, taco break, or phone call from a sweetie slows progress. Paul is also a family man, but absolutely fortunate to have a wife who gets it.

They peeled to his friend’s garage with the gas tank carefully wrapped in rags. If it worked, a new process was set in motion. It did fit—amazing, but they needed a rebuild kit, and to strip and polish the petcock and then install it.



“Fortunately there are rebuild kits for most Jap components,” Paul said. He worked through Tuesday night with Berto from Mobile Custom Wiring at his side.



By 6:30 Wednesday evening, the Gypsy Rose slithered off the shop lift onto the concrete deck and the trailer-loading process began. By 8:00, he rolled away from his shop and towards home, where he grabbed a bite, slept for two hours and at 9:30 hit the road for Vegas, 250 miles away. He had until 10:00 the next morning to set up at the Cashman Center on the north side of Vegas.





Sidebar:
Gypsy Rose Lee (January 9, 1911[1] – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.



Our gorgeous blonde model is Queen Esther, who was a blast to work with. She has five children, is a long time tattoo model, and works in a marijuana dispensary. She is currently on the cover of the HORSE magazine. Amazing!





Regular Stuff


Owner: Rawdog


Bike Name: Gypsy Rose

City/State: Highland, Ca

Builder: Paul Cavallo/Spitfire Motorcycles

City/state: Rancho Cucamonga, Ca

Company Info: Spitfire Motorcycles
Address: 8727 Utica ave
Phone:855 773 3473

Web site:www.spitfiremotorcycles.com
E-mail: paul@spitfiremotorcycles.com

Fabrication: Spitfire

Manufacturing: Spitfire

Welding: Spitfire

Machining: Spitfire



Engine

Year: 1956

Make: Harley-Davidson

Model: Panhead

Displacement: 74ci

Builder or Rebuilder: Paul Cavallo / BCR

Cases: stock

Case finish: Polished

Barrels: Stock

Bore: 3 7/16-inch x 3 31/32-inch

Pistons: Wiseco

Barrel finish: Black powder coat

Lower end: Stock, balanced and trued by BCR

Stroke: stock

Rods: stock

Heads: STD custom made, with left side intakes

Head finish: Polished

Valves and springs: Kibblewhite

Pushrods: Colony

Cams: Andrews

Lifters: stock

Carburetion: 2 Mikuni 38mm round slide

Air cleaner: Spitfire

Exhaust: Spitfire




Transmission

Year: 1956

Make: Harley-Davidson

Gear configuration: stock 4 speed

Primary: BDL 1.5-inch belt

Clutch: Drag Specialties

Final drive: Chain

Kicker: Spitfire



Frame

Year: 2012

Builder: Spitfire

Style or Model: “Archer” rigid

Stretch: 4 inches out, 2 inches down

Rake: 40 degrees

Modifications:



Front End

Make: Spitfire

Model: Micro Glide Springer

Year: 2012




Sheet metal

Tanks: Sacred Steel

Fenders: West Eagle

Oil tank: Spitfire



Type: Candy red over solar gold mini flake

Sheet metal: David Anthony Garcia

Molding: David Anthony Garcia

Base coat: David Anthony Garcia

Graphics: David Anthony Garcia

Base coat: Solar gold

Type: mini flake

Graphics or art: OG ‘70s style fan patterns




Wheels

Front

Make: Spitfire

Size: 21

Brake calipers:

Tire: Avon Speedmaster



Rear

Make: Spitfire

Size: 18-inch Hi/low

Brake calipers: Sprocket brake by Spitfire

Tire: Coker



Controls

Foot controls: Spitfire Darkside controls

Finish: chrome

Master cylinder: Spitfire

Brake lines: G&J aircraft

Clutch Cable: Foot clutch

Shifting: Jockey shift

Kickstand: Spitfire



Electrical

Ignition: Distributor

Ignition switch: toggle

Coils: Blue streak

Regulator: Cycle Electric Inc

Charging: Cycle Electric Inc

Starter: Kick

Wiring: Berto, Mobile Custom Wiring

Harness: Custom by Berto

Headlight: Drag Specialties/ Riff Raff

Taillight: Drag Specialties

Battery: Antigravity LI




What’s Left

Seat: Pascal Davayat, Riff Raff Kustom Leather

Gas caps: Spitfire

Handlebars: Spitfire

Grips: Spitfire

Pegs: Spitfire

Oil lines: G&J aircraft

Fasteners: Ray “the King” @ AIR fasteners



Specialty items: Hand engraving throughout the bike by Pascal Davayat.





Credits: Thanx to the following for making this build happen: Johnny Hernandez Jr, Martin Castro, Gil Fabian, DAG, Ride Wright, Caltron, Ducmonster, Wolfman, The Spitfire Crew, and my dad, who I have been lucky enough to spend every day of the past 23 years with. “I’m sure watching me play with motorcycles wasn’t what you had in mind, but we both knew I wasn’t gonna be a doctor.”

The Easyriders 2013 Bike Show Tour is rolling into Anaheim, CA on Saturday January 5, 2013 at the Anaheim Convention Center. 

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Well it has been five years now that has seen me put 20,000 miles on what was once the latest and greatest Street Glide produced. The 2012 is what I would term the third generation while the 2007 would be the second generation, as it came fitted with some very major mechanical changes like a 6-speed tranny, fuel injection and the 96-inch engine. As soon as I got in the saddle of this 2012 it felt better as the seat has more contoured feeling lower, which by gosh it was at 27.1 inches verses 27.3 inches on the ‘07. There didn’t seem to be any other ergonomic changes of a very noticeable nature.

As you read this keep in mind it is written from the perspective of comparison to my, and probably mostly, stock 2007 (2nd Gen.) model.

The gauges still need to be recessed so that the vertical plane is relative to the rider and not the ground. I am not very tall at 5’11” but I still cannot see the top edge of the gauge increments. Is it critical to safe operation? No, but it bugs me that after a zillion bikes and dozens of years (since 1969) some small creature features have not been addressed.

Another item brought to my attention by the new owner of a touring bike was the temperature gauge, which is still as useless today as it was in 2007. When I first experienced one on a rented Electra Glide I couldn’t even figure out what it was for. I said then and I say it now – I wish I had the concession on the manufacturing of that gauge to be able to sell so many of something that doesn’t function well. Why does it start at zero degrees? Only a redneck cheesehead on the way to his favorite ice-fishing hole in the dead middle of a Wisconsin winter could possibly have a use for that. It does not seem to be accurate to the nearest ten degrees and with a small sweep having the top of the gauge out of the line of sight (see above) it further detracts from it’s necessity.

Let me go on a bit about the gauges, ad nauseum please. Does the tach need to read 8 grand? These engines are screaming like a scalded banshee at 4 grand, while I do occasionally take mine to 5+ just to “blow it out” or is that blow it “up”? This leads to my thought that all the gauges could be more accurate and useful if they had a larger sweep of say 270 degrees and had logical starting and ending points with a functional division of measurement. The gas gauge has 27 markings, dividing up 5 gallons – how useful is that? Wouldn’t five demarcations do just as well, F, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and E. I know, minutia but hey it’s the small things, isn’t it?

Speaking of gas, the filler cap locking cover is easier to operate. As I remember my ‘07 had to use the key to both open and close the lid while the ‘12 just snaps shut being much more user friendly. I say “as I remember” because I traded out my original gas lock for one of the few less than $100 add-on parts available, that being a $25 push button lock for opening the filler door eliminating the need for a key at all. While on the subject I still wonder why only the touring bike gets a lock on the gas tanks – do we visit nefarious neighborhoods more often? One more thing about gas, the new gauge has a digital readout remaining range feature and comes on automatically at R36 telling you it’s really time to look for a station that is not more than 36 miles away.

Some other non-operational items include the paint job. The factory demo had metalflake blue that had me thinking it was a bit brash for my taste. Well that reticence was somewhat offset by the kudos received by everybody who saw the flake in the sun, because they all really liked it and in the shade or at night the flake disappeared, looking like just a plain dark blue. Accessorized with the 18-inch smooth chrome rim spoked wheels the appearance was actually quite handsome.

The wider rear tire and fender was introduced a few years back with the new frame, now having the large center taillight and fender strut cross brace removed, the result being a very custom look which as an added incidental benefit allows for much easier cleaning.

The bike comes with a 4-inch windshield (deflector) of sorts which only redirects a jet stream of extra air under my DOT approved helmet, causing the chinstrap to effectively choke me out. I opted for a taller windshield.

The clutch and brake levers have Teflon pad shims. They eliminate the ever-present rattle in those controls of yonder years. The hard saddlebags, actually the latching mechanisms, are another sad item in my humble estimation. They are archaic, difficult at best and still are prone to not latching completely if you are the least bit negligent when closing, resulting in them popping open in flight, (how would I know?) typically on the freeway. I have been lucky. Nothing ever blew out during these multiple occasions.

The ignition switch still looks like a Kohler bath fixture more at home on the shower mixer valve. The last of the glaring visual defects is the front engine mount/brace looking like an afterthought of – oops what did we forget? I am told this was caused by a lack of room under the gas tank during a redesign effort but doesn’t mask its bogus appearance. One last item is that this bike did not contain the factory security system, and I really miss not being able just get off for a short mission without having to lock it on every occasion. I think this item is worth the money.

Okay, let’s move on to the operational features as I call them, and ride this puppy. Turn the mixer valve (see above) to ignition, hit the starter button and she begins purring at a rather brisk 1200-1300 rpms. Seems to have a carburetor-style fast cold idle. It takes too long to settle down (warm up) so drop it in first and the hammer falls! The trans really hits hard and the easy to pull clutch allows for a little forward tug, giving you that old-fashioned manly machine feeling, surely a corporate design decision. This clutch is aggressive and grabs very solidly which takes a little getting used to but works well.

We are underway, Scotty and I can’t say enough good things about the handling and manners of the powertrain. The FLHX now has the newer, proven 103 cubic inch engine as a standard feature. The 103 is a superior engine plain and simple. It’s the bomb, and the new frame is also superior in all respects. The extra torque and horsepower don’t give you that “I’m on a dragster” feeling but they do translate to a well-mannered, smooth running, easy to ride motorcycle under any condition. The torque gives you a much broader power range resulting in less shifting and is smoother running in all gears. One test I do to push the limits of an engine is to leave it in top gear and see how low of an RPM it will go to and still run back up. Promise you won’t tell anybody, but I took this one all the way down to idle speed in 6th gear and it wasn’t happy, but like a tired ole’ plow horse she still pulled out, that’s torque at it’s best. An oil cooler is now standard equipment.

I am not a sport biker, peg scraping canyon carver by any means but this new frame works so well that it inspired confidence in turns I would otherwise find intimidating and was equally nimble at very slow parking lot speeds. It seemed more sure-footed on rough roads, never giving the feeling of losing contact with the pavement. It felt like a bike that just got a new set of tires. One interesting bit of technical information is that top gear is a lower ratio than my ‘07 resulting in a speed difference of 4mph less on the 12 at 3,000 rpm, 80 vs 84. In my non-engineering mind it would seem that a bigger stronger engine could handle the gear ratio going up instead, giving you fewer rpm’s at cruising speed for a more relaxed ride and increased fuel economy, but what do I know?

Included in the greater handling characteristics is the ABS braking system which I also think is worth the money and co-incidentally comes as a package with that other item I think is worth the money, the security system. The rear wheel does have a great deal of chatter when stressed under braking but that is easy to get used to knowing you can stop faster and not worry about going down when clamping down on the front 4-piston calipers. Loosely related to handling is the cruise control which I tried a couple of times, but was never on an uncrowded enough highway to fully appreciate it’s use. On long rides it’s a terrific tool for avoiding speeding tickets.

After 937 miles I had used 24.7 gallons of gas averaging 37.8 mpg while getting over 40 mpg on the open road.

Conclusion, and I am sure you are holding your breath for this one – I am thoroughly impressed with the advancements made on this “new generation” of Street Glide (FLHX).

Published courtesy of Quick Throttle Magazine

I peeled over to Gard Hollinger’s new 20,000 square foot facility near the Los Angeles Airport recently. He has a motorcyclist partner, Keanu Reeves, who doesn’t own cars just rides. Together they collaborated on this bike for five years, and it just might become the prototype for the next, American motorcycle manufacturer. Over the next year you will stumble across numerous reports on their progress here on Bikernet, but let’s kick it off with the two-wheeled background.

Gard and Keanu hooked up over a Dyna Glide sissy bar five years ago when Bartels’ H-D called Bill Wall’s seat shop and Keith Oliver answered the phone. He suggested Gard and LA Choprods for custom manufacturing talents, but Gard wasn’t interested in making any sissy bars, even one for Keanu Reeves.

“He was still pitching for a two-up custom,” Gard said, “but finally gave in.”
Before I stumble any farther into the growth of this motorcycle, let’s take a look at Keanu’s history with motorcycles:

Reeves, 47, owns a variety of Norton Commandos and has been quietly enjoying motorcycles for more than 25 years. He enjoys the physicality of riding, rides daily, rain or shine, and has had long periods of time when he didn’t own a car and relied solely on two-wheels as his only mode of transportation. In fact, he’s only ever owned a couple of autos, a vintage Volvo and a contemporary Porsche.

His first ever ride was a Kawasaki 600 Enduro, which he purchased after taking his first ride ever in 1986 while working on a film in Germany. He got in the habit of purchasing a motorcycle whenever he was away from home on extended assignments. He would ride it while he was there and sell it when his work was done. He’s owned a Suzuki GS1100E, Suzuki GSX-R750, a Kawasaki 900, a 1984 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead, a Moto Guzzi, a Chopper, and a 2005 Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide, which became the basis for this first bike.

He dropped out of school at 17 to pursue an acting career. Widely described as a private, low-key, regular guy who gets around on a motorcycle and does a movie now and then, he is best known for his leading roles in Speed and the Matrix trilogy. A new film project, Side by Side, is a documentary that examines the film medium and how the digital format is becoming more popular.

Gard and Keanu took a major step and flew to the Netherlands to meet with Mark “Duckman” Van Der Kwaak, a talented 3D CAD artist and the founder of www.dbbp.com. “We needed to discuss the tank and tail section face to face,” Gard said. The machining of this billet gas tank, made of limited pieces to ensure strength and resilience, took place in Pennsylvania. For five years, every time I wandered into LA Choprods I looked for progress on the Reeves project. It was obviously an amazing custom.

Gard is a builder’s builder. He builds for mechanical perfection, then style. Some of his bikes have a pure functioning alertness way over slick sheet metal and flashy paint. If you like a bike that looks like a tough-looking purposeful machine, Gard is your builder.

You know a builder is after perfection if he devotes five years to finish a project. “Progress came in waves,” Gard said. He decided on an Ohlins upside down super-moto front end, which he shortened, but it still has 6 inches of travel, or 2 inches of sag and 4 inches of actual rolling travel. The tail was also carefully Duckman CAD designed in the Netherlands and billet machined in Canada. “It’s exceedingly difficult and expensive to find a production machinist to billet machine a one-off part. Sometimes, one part would take months. In the future, we will be able to build anything in house.” Duckman and Gard are working on a carbon fiber front fender.

We enhanced our notes with a couple of paragraphs from Genevieve Schmitt’s article published in American Iron, Gen is the editor of  WomenRidersNow.com:

The final masterpiece had them both dumbfounded. “We just kind of got carried away by what the bike did to us,” Keanu remembers. “We both were looking at the bike, and to me, well, I just loved looking at it. All the different lines and angles on it and the materials and the surfaces; it’s just aesthetically beautiful.”

Hoping the bike’s beauty was more than skin deep, Keanu put the custom through its paces. “Once I rode it—the way she sounds and the way she rides…” Keanu trails off as his mind wanders to the day he christened the bike in the canyons around Los Angeles. “It holds the lines, whether straight or in the corners, really well. And it’s nimble. The weight of it is so centralized it comes up and down and goes side to side extremely well.”

Keanu and Gard were so impressed, they took a major giant step toward turning this masterpiece into a production model, and kicked off a company named Arch Motorcycles. Gard classified it this way. “I think it is kind of unique. I guess the quickest way I could describe it is a lightweight, custom V-Rod or [Ducati] Diavel or something in that vein.”*

I’ll end this with a paragraph from Genevieve’s article. She hit the nail on the head: So, what began as a custom bike for Keanu is now a prototype that’s being tested and tweaked until roll-out day anticipated for 12 months from now. It will be proud moment for a guy who’s now ready to share his passion with others. “In a way, I was the first customer,” Keanu smiles. “And from that I can really represent my passion for the motorcycle. This is an investment, sure, but I’m also making a personal investment into it.”

THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. If you’ve been involved in any kind of accident, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.

NCOM COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)

FEDERAL HIGHWAY SAFETY GRANTS IN JEOPARDY
Despite a spike in traffic fatalities, states could lose as much as $120 million in highway safety grants if Congress doesn’t change a planned bill to fund the government’s operations for six months. Congress passed a new highway bill this year that streamlines the federal grant process that provides state funds for alcohol-impaired and distracted driving prevention, increased occupant protection, motorcycle safety, teen driving safety and data collection. Under the typical rules for a continuing resolution, new programs such as those authorized under the highway bill cannot be funded.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently reported that its estimate of all traffic deaths for the first quarter of 2012 show a 13.5% increase to the highest number since 2008. The substantial increase is the second-largest quarterly jump in traffic deaths since NHTSA began tracking deaths on a quarterly basis in 1975 — and the biggest since 1979.

NHTSA reported the rate of traffic deaths per 100 million miles of vehicle travel increased significantly to 1.1 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled during the first three months, up from 0.98 in the same period last year, with 7,630 fatalities compared to 6,720 in the first quarter of 2011. The increase would end a steady decline in U.S. road deaths over the last seven years, falling last year to their lowest number since 1949.

HEAD OF MOTORCYCLE CRASH STUDY RESIGNS OVER CONCERNS
Dr. Samir Ahmed, the Oklahoma State University researcher who has been heading up the latest motorcycle crash causation study, announced that he was leaving the program in a Sept. 11 e-mail stating; “I am writing to let you know that I am no longer working on the motorcycle crash causation study. I have serious reservations about the value of study with the existing FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) involvement. My expectations of the study are very low.”

Dr. Samir did not offer any further explanation as to the reservations he has regarding the FHWA involvement. The study was originally planned to examine 900 crashes but due to funding difficulties that was cut back to approximately 300, though the Case Counter on the FHWA website currently reads 100.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) had raised commitments from its members to provide $3 million to the study but decided not to make the money available for a study with fewer than the 900. It was decided then that the study would use only one location instead of the three that had been envisioned, and the reduced study got underway last year.

In the meantime, the MSF has announced the conclusion of an unprecedented year-long Motorcycle Naturalistic Study in conjunction with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute designed to track comprehensive, real-time routine riding that likely included near crash, pre-crash, and actual crash data that had heretofore been unavailable. The study is yielding preliminary results that will be released at a later date.

HELLS ANGELS SUE FEDS OVER BAN ON MEMBERS ENTERING THE U.S.
NCOM Brothers Behind Bars Newsletter editor Mike Davis SOS MC Retired recently reported that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is going to court to protest a U.S. government policy barring the club’s foreign members from visiting the United States and is also fighting its federal designation as a “known criminal organization.”

In a complaint filed in federal court in Washington, DC the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation names Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Alejandro Mayorkas who is the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and claims its designation as a “known criminal organization” by the departments of Homeland Security and State violates immigration law and the group’s constitutional rights by systematically denying entry to its members in 26 countries on six continents.

HAMC v. Napolitano et al. (1:12-cv-1357) disputes the Obama administration’s foreign policy that declares “the Hells Angels, the Outlaws, Bandidos, and the Mongols” to be organized crime groups and is seeking an injunction allowing foreign members to be granted visas to travel to the U.S. In its lawsuit, the group claims the government routinely denies visas “to all aliens based solely on their membership in a Hells Angels charter without further analysis into whether or not that individual seeks to enter the United States to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in unlawful activity.”

Lawyers for the club describe its membership as composed of loosely associated charters, “made up of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, organize social events, fundraisers, parties and motorcycle rallies” and the group says any crimes committed by its members have been done as individual acts, and are not representative of the club as a whole.

DEPUTY SUSPENDED FOR SEIZING BIKER’S CAMERA
The Dallas County Sheriff’s office issued a 30-day suspension without pay to a deputy after footage showed him seizing a helmet-mounted camera from a motorcyclist as potential evidence of alleged crimes committed by other unidentified riders.

A video viewed nearly 500,000 times on YouTube shows the Texas deputy on camera issuing this comment to the biker: “The reason you’re being pulled over is because I’m gonna take your camera and we’re gonna use it as evidence of in the crimes that have been committed by other bikers.”

Our legal experts at AIM/NCOM (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists/National Coalition of Motorcyclists) agree that the officer’s rationale does not constitute probable cause to make a traffic stop and does not justify seizing the camera, nor is it illegal to wear a camera on a helmet.

The sheriff’s deputy eventually arrested the motorcycle rider and according to the Examiner newspaper he then tried to slam the door of the patrol car on the biker’s leg before hauling him off to jail. The biker was finally released and issued a ticket for only an obstructed license plate.

The officer was also disciplined for leaving a drunk driver at the jail without booking him before going out on the call relating to motorcyclists riding on I-35.

LONE STAR COURT RULES ON CELLPHONE SEARCHES
Suds, Texas Commander of the U.S. Defenders/COIR Division, issued the following notice re: Texas Court of Appeals Opinion on Cellphone Searches —

Our AIM/NCOM Attorney Bill Smith shared an important decision made by the Texas Court of Appeals about evidence retrieved from a cellphone without a search warrant.

The Court rules in favor of the people. The opinion cited a case where an individual was arrested on one charge, and based on hearsay, an investigating detective went to the property room of the jail and retrieved the individual’s cellphone and scrolled through the photos he had stored on it. Originally arrested for disorderly conduct, the defendant now had to face an indictment of improper photography or visual recording.

Prosecutors argued that a jailed individual had no rights to expectation of privacy. The Texas Court of Appeals disagreed and stated that while an inmate has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his cell, his/her stored property does fall under reasonable expectation of privacy. It is not as though the officer saw the pictures scrolling on the display screen, rather the phone had to be turned on and the photos accessed and scrolled through. While this may not stop a rogue officer from scrolling through your cellphone, anything found will not be admissible in court without a search warrant first.

SPEED CAMERAS COULD BE ANYWHERE
As drivers become more savvy about spotting speed cameras along roads and highways, police are making it tougher by disguising their revenue-generating equipment. Authorities in and around Washington D.C. are expanding their speed camera programs, reports the Washington Examiner, and now they’re purchasing cameras that look like mailboxes and trash containers to unsuspecting motorists. They’re also more mobile, so police can reposition them so drivers cannot get used to seeing them in one particular area.

Nearby Prince George’s County in Maryland purchased nearly 60 mobile cameras last year, and expects to generate $28 million in annual revenue, reports the news outlet. A similar speed-camera program in D.C. generated $55 million in fiscal year 2011.

Meanwhile, the traffic-camera debate has ignited state and local governments across the country: some embrace camera-based technology as a cost-efficient law-enforcement and safety tool; others cast it off as an overly intrusive money grab.

In all, 13 states utilize speed-reading cameras, while 12 states have passed laws banning them. Twenty-four states are currently operating at least one red-light camera within their borders, while another nine prohibit their use. Despite the conflicting laws, overall use of cameras has gone up rapidly in recent years: red-light cameras were in 25 communities in 2000, compared with more than 500 today. Speed cameras went from 20 jurisdictions in 2005 to 113 today.

NEW BIKE INSURANCE SUSPENDED OVER LAW AND ORDER CONCERNS
Insurance companies have stopped offering insurance policies to purchasers of new motorcycles in Karachi, Pakistan due to increase in snatching and theft incidents of two wheelers in the city.

Law enforcement agencies, facing targeted killings and a skyrocketing crime rate, are apparently not interested in curbing such criminal activity, leaving poverty-stricken citizens at the mercy of thieves who are snatching dozens of motorcycles daily.

Motorcyclists who recently purchased brand-new bikes are being fleeced by illegal insurance agents to get their bikes insured, as all listed insurance companies in the city have suspended bike insurance policies due to the prevailing law and order situation.

AUSTRALIA MAY REQUIRE RIDERS TO WEAR FLORESCENT CLOTHING
Australia’s 1.3 million motorcycle riders would be forced by law to wear florescent jackets under proposals splitting the biker and scooter community. A national battle over the possibility of compulsory hi-visibility clothing began when the luminescent idea was pushed by Senior Sergeant Bill Gore of the Wangaratta Highway Patrol as part of a safety bid to reduce motorcycle accidents.

A Victorian Government road safety inquiry will consider the hi-viz option and, if adopted, other states could be expected to follow suit.

Damien Codognotto, Melbourne-based spokesman for the Independent Riders’ Group, is fighting mandatory day-glo because it could affect the liability of a bike or scooter rider after an accident. “Gore’s law is likely to change the legal standing of motorcycle and scooter riders and their liability after a crash regardless of who was at fault,” he told news.com.au.

“Compulsory third party insurers are looking to reduce payouts for victims of road trauma who were on two wheels (who are) seen as easy targets for reduced compensation,” explained Codognotto. “That is not only unjust considering the premiums and taxes we pay, it is disastrous for riders’ families.” He said there had not been much research into the issue and the collection of crash-site data had been patchy.

LAWSUITS FILED OVER BAD GAS
Two Indiana residents have filed separate class-action lawsuits against BP after they were told it would cost thousands of dollars to fix their vehicles, which were damaged by a bad batch of gasoline from the company’s Whiting refinery.

BP has issued a recall for about 2.1 million gallons of off-specification gasoline that was shipped to stations in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin in early August. The company has reported that more than 7,000 people have already reported problems to BP.

Lake County resident Mark Gonzalez says in his suit, filed in the federal court in Hammond, IN that he filled up both his 2002 GMC Yukon and his 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycle with the bad gasoline, leading to repairs costing more than $1,000.

The attorney representing one complainant said they decided to file for class-action status, which must still be granted by a federal judge, because so many people like his client have been hurt by the bad gasoline but would likely spend more on legal fees than any money they would receive from BP.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.”
~ Denis Waitley (born 1933), American author and motivational speaker

So you’ve stabbed your cheating lover through the heart and she’s bled out on the floor. You’ve poured yourself a stiff drink and now have a decision to make; Just what music is suitable for the occasion? Well I have the solution: Knives and Gasoline, a native band based in Los Angeles, has the perfect answer with their album, “Love Songs For Crime Scenes.”

I was struggling with just how to describe this album until I read a review on Amazon and saw it described as “. . . an avant-garde mix of Punk, Jazz and Hip-Hop with a smattering of Euro-Trash Goth tossed in for good measure.”

The band consists of Noel “Deeskee” DeMello (keyboards, guitar, bass, percussion, drum programming, turntables) and hot chick Stacey Dee (vocals, guitar, bass, harmonica, percussion) and they’ve collaborated before but this is regarded as a very personal album. In an interview, Stacey said they’d decided to “write music organically and see what came out”. What came out is an emotive rendition that moves from sombre to foot tapping, covering moods from pleasure to pain and running the gamut of the human experience.

Song titles include “Off the Air”, “Feel”, “Bang Bang,” “The Night Is Young”, “Breadcrumbs”, “Credit to Heartache” and “Stage Coach Road”. All in all the 14 tracks weave in and out of several different genres but such is the vocal and instrumental magic delivered by Deeskee and Stacy that the album is virtually seamless.

I found Stacey’s vocal somewhat reminiscent of Janis Ian at times, somewhat plaintive and well, almost thin, but then at other times powerful and strong. All in all it is an album worth becoming closely acquainted with if you like music that is more alternative than mainstream. The more I listen to it, the more it grows on me.

“Love Songs For Crime Scenes” is available in various mediums including MP3 and CD from Amazon.com with the CD version listed at a very reasonable $14.74. It comes with a warning that it contains “explicit lyrics” but I doubt that would put off any Bikernet readers.

Email the record producer at info@grimmimage.com

Grimm Image Records
4401 W Slauson Ave
Box 113
Los Angeles, CA 90043

“A pre-2006 Fat Boy with spoke wheels.” “Another parts bin special masquerading as a hot new model.” “Less is more when it comes to price with this bike.” “Overpriced for what you get.” These are several of the comments that guys have made to me while discussing the Softail Slim.

The Motor Company, on the other hand, says it is, “The perfect blend of classic, raw bobber style and contemporary power creating a modern ride with unmistakable old-iron attitude”. Old iron attitude? Would someone please explain that one to me?

Okay, that’s enough fun with the marketing gibberish. What do we really have here? Firstly, a damn good looking bike with authentic styling hints from the glory days of bobbers, particularly in respect of the cut down front and back guards (fenders), the half-moon floorboards and the Cat-Eye dash (isn’t that Cat’s-eye). Then there are the Hollywood handlebars with their wide bend and cross-brace, and some blacked out bits – it is just another Softail with a skinny back wheel and a seat harder than a slab of granite.

Well maybe not granite, but while riding it on my first jaunt, a distance of only 230 miles, I found it bloody uncomfortable, the worst stock Harley seat I can remember in two decades of testing them. Hey, it looks good though, especially in the showroom.

So to this point, you’d reckon I don’t like this bike much at all. But that is not the case, I really like it, both in its looks and its handling. As with the Blackline, the Slim’s relatively narrow rear tyre of only 140mm provides superior handling to the rest of the Softail range with their wider rear tyres. Like the Blackline, it seems you only have to think about cornering and it begins tipping in. So the combination of the relatively chunky front tyre (130mm) and slim rear one makes for great cornering, by Softail standards at least.

By the way, if anyone happens to have noticed that the styling approach to the Slim is similar in some ways to the Blackline, that’s because the same bloke, Harley-Davidson Senior Designer Casey Ketterhagen, was once again delegated design duties.

Throwing a leg over the Slim immediately demonstrates the low seat height, and thumbing the starter button immediately brings the 103-cube TCB motor to life with a deep and satisfying rumble. Let the clutch out and the bike surges ahead in a spirited fashion because even in stock form these are a very powerful motors. A great motor. In fact the biggest Big Twin motor Harley-Davidson has ever bolted into any model line of motorcycles, CVO’s excepted.

And that first impression is confirmed every time the throttle is twisted and makes riding a 103 cube Harley a joy, with oodles of power and torque at your command as you sweep through the corners or charge along the straights.

With a 6-speed box, Brembo brakes and a cool riding position for cruising, this bike is solid package all up. For comparative purposes the Fat Boy has a seat height of 27.1in (690mm), the Fat Boy Lo a seat height 26.35in (669mm) and the Softail Slim 25.9in (658mm).

Despite being labelled Slim it only weighs a little less than a Fat Boy, the Slim coming in at 700lbs (317kg), while the Fat Boy weights 728lbs (330kg). The Slim is part of the 2013 model range and has an RRP of $15,699, while the Fat Boy is $16,999.

It won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but the Slim should find its way into the garages of bikers who care more about handling and cornering than fat ass back ends. Recommended for real riders.

Events sometimes conspire to lead you places you had no intention of going. I met Bandit in June 2011 when he rode the Smoke Out XII Long Road beginning in New Orleans. I live in the New Orleans area and picked Bandit up at the airport and deposited his lanky frame in the heart of USA debauchery. There is nothing like a summer weekend in the Africa tropic heat of the New Orleans French Quarter. The weekend found us walking the French Quarter, talking bikes, consuming cold liquor and my dispatching my profound thoughts on motorcycle journalism. I returned home to nurse my hangover and Bandit rode the Long Road to the Smoke Out 2011. At that point I figured he had enough of my blabbering and would never return another call or email. How wrong I was.

The summer of 2012 rolled around and I timidly wrote Bandit as to whether he was attending Smoke Out XIII. He replied that he was again invited to ride the Long Road and I was expected to be at the Smoke Out no excuses. What the heck? I work offshore on the deepwater oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. I sketched out my schedule and the Smoke Out was the weekend of my week off. I RSVP’d that he would see me there and started packing. I don’t ride every day. I take my summer week on the road, scoot around town on the weekends and that is about it. My bike is a 2005 FLHT with a 95-inch top end kit, 2007 cam tensioner kit and stock 5-speed transmission. It has Burly FLH ape hangers, a Mustang touring seat and Progressive rear shocks. It handles good, is comfortable and has plenty of get with it. I secured a tent and sleeping bag to the luggage rack and tossed my clothes in one of the saddlebags. The other saddlebag held my small tool kit, documents and rain gear. I was packed and ready to rumble.

It is 850 miles from my home to Rockingham, NC. My son was working in South Carolina as a raft guide on the Chattooga River. I split the trip in two parts and rode the first 650 miles to visit my son on Friday evening. The trip was a long hot 12-hour ride wondering why a guy leaves his GMC truck with cold AC at home while taking his life in his hands dodging blown tire carcasses on the interstate. The bike ran well, and somehow I made it thru Atlanta without killing myself in evening traffic. I arrived to cold beer and Mexican food at my son’s place. I told him my plan to head up to Rockingham in the morning and he showed me where to crash and I passed out. The next morning I checked the bike over, we shared breakfast and I hit the road.

I took the two lane route thru northern South Carolina up into North Carolina. I was only traveling 200 miles that day and took my time. Late in the afternoon I slipped into Rockingham, NC. I stopped at my first city intersection and wondered which way the Smoke Out was. I looked to my left and there was the Welcome to Rockingham Information Center. I pulled in and before I could get off my bike a gentleman came out the door pointed and said, “It’s all that way.” He then went inside and I took off in the direction he pointed. He was right, it was that way. I rode out of town and fell into a line of bikes. We rode straight to the Rockingham Raceway and the Smoke Out.

I rode to the entrance gate, pulled off my helmet and pulled out my ear plugs. And that is when I heard the noise. My first reaction was to look around and see if it was someone else’s bike with a lower-end knock. I knew the sound. Years gone by, my 1975 FLH had the same lower end knock coming back from Daytona. I sold the FLH and bought a used Heritage Evo FL that served me well for many miles. Now here I was 850 miles from home and that same haunting sound was back. My beloved TC95 engine sounded like it was about to leave me stranded.

I placed a call to Bandit and he arrived with his friend Jeff Najar. We did reintroductions and I asked Bandit to listen to my FLHT. The look on his face said it all “Brother, that ain’t good”. Then he handed me half of a Rueben sandwich and a gate pass and said “Let’s go see what’s going on.” What cha going to do? You just rode two days to see the man and accept his invite to one of the best biker events of the summer. I went with the flow and we made our way thru the gate into Smoke Out XIII.

I felt something was different about this event right away. Folks were zipping around on mini-bikes and choppers. The bikes were not limited to Harleys. There were top fuel dragsters, a stunt bike show, Jap choppers, mad max bikes, show bikes, rat bikes, hot rods, Hells Angels, punk kids, good looking women and old road dogs.

The Smoke Out is one crazed sensory experience. Something is always in motion. This is not about kicking back, spending the evening sipping cocktails at some mountain lodge or seaside café. We immediately chugged moonshine, while watching some fool burn off his tire against a truck bumper in the campground. The event is a constant show. The Master of Ceremonies, Commander Edge, was in full tilt boogie mode, a man on a proverbial mission of complete success or die trying.

The first evening events included a phenomenal stunt rider who could do things on a Sportster I never thought possible. That was followed with the top fuel dragsters. The smell of nitro and melted rubber got your heart pounding. The track was then open to the public. The Bikernet Gals waved the starting flag and the bikes tore down the track in the hot summer evening. Bandit was off to do his thing, and I hit the vendor stands and walked the crowd. I passed the Hells Angels stand and an Angel called me over. He asked that I purchase a HA support shirt. I replied I didn’t think the shirt would go over well in the New Orleans area as that is Bandido territory. We got into a short conversation and he said he knew a Bandido that raced at the Rockingham track. Turned out I knew the guy he knew. In fact, the Bandido’s mom and I used to live on the same block in Lafayette, Louisiana. We shook hands and he let me pass on the shirt deal. It was one of those “small world” moments.

If you are a Back Street Choppers magazine reader you know George the Painter. I read GTP’s column first when I receive my subscription. George is somewhere in the universe I cannot imagine being. He infuriates me, he entertains me, he makes me wonder how in the hell a guy like that gets by. Then I realize this is the USA and we have the freedom to choose who we want to be. George personifies that freedom for me. I introduced myself to George and told him he was my hero. He told me to get a life and we shared the laugh.

I then went back to the gate and reclaimed my FLHT. I rode up to the campground entrance and paid the camp fee and set up camp. The bike was quiet and the dreaded lower end knocking sound was gone.

I made my way back to the Back Street Choppers and Bikernet tent. There I teamed up again with Bandit and company. Bandit introduced me to the lovely Marilyn Stemp, Iron Works magazine editor. The Bikernet executive decision was made to head to town for dinner. This resulted in my riding to town with Marilyn in her Mini-Cooper which was just a hoot. Bandit chose a Thai restaurant and we shared company, food and social-political discussion. I consider myself a regular Joe and somehow view motorcycle magazine editors as out of my league. Given the fact I had rode up to Rockingham to attend a biker bash, enjoying this Thai dinner with these esteemed journalists seemed a bit surreal.

I rode back to the raceway with Marilyn and after she left I headed over to the Led Sled bus to drop off some copies of her Iron Works magazine that featured one the Led Sled biker builds. Then I walked over to the main stage to see what music was on tap. Rebel Son was on stage and proceeded to rock the yard with their heavy rockabilly southern country influenced music style. These guys are nuts! If the Confederacy would have had these guys on the front line the South would not have lost the Civil War. They are unabashed promoters of the Old South. Songs like “Drinkin’ with Robert E Lee” had the crowd hollering for more. I was astonished to see the few black bikers yelling along with their white biker bros as Rebel Son called for a return to Old Dixie. The event shut down at 11 pm and the crowd moved into the campground. I called it a night and thought what the hell would Saturday bring?

I would like to say I spent a quiet night in my pup tent snoring away. It was anything but. Folks were up drinking and carrying on to the wee hours. I could hear bikes burning out and drag pipes rapping as the night passed. I must have set up camp in a traffic lane because bikes were passing around me until almost dawn. I woke up feeling like hell and needing an aspirin.

I dragged my tent situation behind my fellow campers to get out of the “road.” Then I did the water bottle shower routine and got cleaned up. I rode into town for breakfast and bought a case of water and ice. The engine lower knock sound had returned by now. I found a large flatbed trailer and leaned the bike up against it and pulled out my tool bag. I was looking at my pitiful tool selection when a guy walked up drinking a morning Budweiser to ask what I was doing.

I told him I was going to pull the primary to see if I could find the cause of the engine knock. He returned with his brother lugging a huge tool chest. They dropped it alongside my bike and told me I was welcome to it. His terms were simple, “Clean everything when finished and it all better be back in the box.” I thanked them and proceeded to drain the primary fluid into a couple plastic cups I found and pulled the primary. I poked at this and that and didn’t find anything out of place. I tightened up the primary chain and put it all back together. Dragged the tool box back to the brothers and rode around the campground. All was quiet and I thought maybe it was all good.

Saturday afternoon I got back with Bandit and Jeff. First thing Bandit asked “Would I like to paint a naked lady?”

Do not reply “Huh”, if someone ever asks you that question. I hesitated and lost out. Bandit stepped up and had the editorial task of adorning a beautiful gal with paint for the next hour and a half. He applied the paint with concentration and a detail to brushstroke that would make George the Painter envious. The model was collected and calm as the Bikernet logo was applied. I ducked here and there taking photos of the proceedings. I don’t know if it was allowed, but I would have applied the paint like a six-year old in a finger painting contest.

The Painted Lady competition was fierce as the summer sun. When it was over Bandit and his model had placed in the finals. The paint was dripping and I was exhausted from just watching. I repeat, do not say “Huh” if anyone ever asks if you want to participate in a naked lady painting session.

Bandit secured a golf cart and we scooted the event grounds that afternoon in style. We scoped out the custom bike show and I learned that Bandit has a thing for handcrafted items on a bike. Things like handlebar clamps and exhausts. I am more about the complete bike. I am not a fan of theme bikes. I like a clean bike that is devoid of gimmickry. The bike show was strange if you have attended the Daytona beach walk style of show. This show was not about paint and wheels. It was about effort. It didn’t matter what you rode as long as it showed effort. No pretty bikes posing at this event.

Somewhere along this time we headed back to town to grab a bite to eat, enjoy a margarita and Sam Adams before returning for the Smoke Out mini-bike competition. This was my favorite event– it was hilarious. The summer sun gave way to thundershowers and the logical thing would have been to cancel the race. It was not to be. The mini-bike race took place regardless.

The racers dressed in costume to make the race more fun. There was Wonder Woman, Rocket Man, a Viking, Bert and Ernie and the Brew Dude. The bikes ranged from a mini-chopper, to the traditional mini-bike, to whatever on two mini-wheels. Beaner had a side hack and Bandit joined him for a couple laps around the track. Bert had his head-piece spin around and he crashed into a barrier with only his pride hurt. Two guys did am impromptu drag race and one ended up under the Domino’s delivery pizza truck without injury. It was way too funny and too crazy.

The evening ended back at the stage with presentations for the Long Road riders, the Stampede riders, the Chop off events, the pat on the back events, the Wet T-shirt event with the great Roadside Marty. When it was all over I shook hands with Ralph “Hammer” Janus and thanked him. The guy is a monster! He quietly thanked me for my support and didn’t break my hand in the process. I said my goodbyes to Bandit and Jeff and headed over to the campground to take a break. Yeah, right.

In the campground I met Andie, an Australian, who had bought a bike in the States and was doing a summer stateside “Rideabout.” I lusted for Andie’s 1968 stock Shovelhead FLH. I offered to buy it when his summer rider was over. He made the kind offer of $20 grand and I respectfully declined. It brought back memories of the 1965 Panhead I had in 1971. I paid $1200 for that FL.

I walked the campground looking at the shenanigans, bikes, rat rods, naked gals and it got dark. I was drinking a beer with my local natives when I heard the strains of AC/DC from the stage. I decided to go see what it was about. Glad I did. The band was Highway to Hell from Tampa and they rocked the stage with AC/DC all night long.

At one point the singer invited anyone who thought they could sing up on stage to give it a shot. The first guy went down hard; the woman singer was bad as well. Then a young Hells Angel got up on stage. The guy was killer! He had it down pat and the crowd went nuts. The band applauded and the HA dove off the stage mosh pit style. It was perfect. The band rocked past the 11 pm curfew until they had to stop. My bandana was off to Edge for selecting them to play the Smoke Out.

Sunday I actually woke feeling pretty damn good. Folks milled about and tore down camps. I packed up and headed out early to enjoy the morning and get my head right. I was going back to South Carolina to spend a couple days with my son before heading home. I got on what I thought was the main road and started traveling. About an hour later I found myself on an interstate, hungry and feeling lost. I pulled into Waffle House and over breakfast had all the locals pointing me which way to go. I took their advice and headed somewhat back the way I had just spent the last hour traveling.

The bike was quiet and the knock sound absent. I rode the 200 miles back to my son’s place without incident and could not have asked for a better ride. I spent two days rafting with my son on the river. At one point I attempted to slide down a river rock and busted my tailbone. It hurt; it hurt badly, like real bad. I thought it was a bruise, whatever it was took six weeks to heal. The visit with my son went real well. He is a good man and a good son. We enjoyed each others’ company and it was great seeing him. He gets a kick out of my bike travels. He travels with a kayak on top of his 1984 Toyota 4WD pickup and a mattress under the camper shell. I envy him and his youth. He thinks I have lived a pretty cool life, so we get along damn well.

The 650 mile ride back with the busted tailbone was saved by one thing, the Mustang Tour seat. The seat is built to take the pressure off the butt and transfer it to your legs and back. It was perfect. The only time I felt the pain was when I got off the bike or hit a major bump in the road. The engine knock came back after passing thru Atlanta, GA. I thought about finding a dealer, but it was Monday morning. Since the bike was still running well I pushed on. I could only hear the knock at idle. Once underway the knock disappeared and the bike ran well as ever at 70 mph. I purchased a taller windshield prior to making the trip. That morning before Atlanta I hit a blackbird square on. The windshield deflected the bird and I was not hurt. With my shorty 6-inch windshield, the bird would have it me in the face. The bird died, I continued to ride. Enough said about that.

The ride back was hot and the interstate was full of tire debris and other items. I hit a few road bumps and made the mental note to change my fork oil when I got home. Twelve hours after I left South Carolina I pulled into my garage, put down the kickstand, went to the fridge and knocked back a shot of ice-cold tequila. I left the bike the way it was, called my son to tell him I was safe and hit the sack.

Postscript:

I ordered a replacement nut H-D PN 40392-91and tore the primary down. That was in fact what the problem was. The nut had stripped the inner threads. The factory fix calls for a .090 shim H-D PN 24033-70 being installed with the nut to allow the nut to fully tighten. I installed the shim, new compensator nut and red permanent Loctite and tightened per H-D service bulletin M-1170.

Nothing in the primary was affected from riding with the damaged compensator nut. Another symptom of a loose compensating nut is a back firing engine during start. My FLHT had that symptom prior to the repair. It has not occurred since and after 200 miles of riding the engine knock has not returned. I did the fix at home with no special tools.

My bike is a 2005 FLHT. That year model had the left side cartridge front fork. The right side is a conventional fork. The cartridge fork was discontinued in 2007. I chose to convert the left side cartridge fork to the conventional fork following my Smoke Out ride. The reason was ease of changing the fork oil. The cartridge fork does not allow for ease of the change operation. The factory method requires the complete disassembly of the fork.

I did a parts search and installed the factory OEM dampener and fork tube along with a set of Progressive Suspension PN 11-1131 standard height fork springs and Bel-Ray 15W fork oil. The bike rides and handles much better. It floats over road bumps that would shake the fork prior to the conversion. I did the conversion at home and purchased a Motion Pro fork nut socket PN 08-0139 to allow me to remove the fork tube caps with the inner fairing installed. No other special tools were required.

The tall 10-inch windshield saved me from injury. It may have saved my life. I ordered an 8 inch windshield from the same manufacturer Dakota Shields and installed it. It is not as cool as my 6- inch windshield but with the lower Mustang Day Tripper seat I use for local riding the medium height windshield keeps the road hazards out of my face.

I have two Mustang seats for my FLHT. One is a touring model and one is a slim seat model. I am glad I chose the tour seat for the trip. There is no way I could have ridden home with my busted ass on a slim seat.

Bandit’s invitation to Smoke Out XIII led me to places and happenings I never intended to go. My ride out to the Smoke Out was my summer adventure. It led to upgrading my FLHT with parts swapped out after the ride. My thanks to the crew at Back Street Choppers and Commander Edge for Smoke Out XIII. Just remember, if someone asks if you want to paint a naked lady, don’t hesitate.

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