This is a shot from Helen Wolfe’s trip to Sturgis last year. Next week we put together a profile of Helen for the Digital’s treasure chest since here talents are one of the treasures of Bikernet and the Cantina.

Did You Know The Nick Messner, the president of Big Dog Motorcycles Got Married on Monday? He’s currently in Bora Bora with his new Bride

We have access to a video of Von Dutch teaching Big Daddy Roth how to pinstrip.

Here’s a rare knife from Von Dutch engraved to Cindy Rutheford of Century Motorcycles of San Pedro California. They corresponded from ’86 to ’93 when Dutch died the same year as Cindy’s dad. Her dad and Dutch’s were both sign painters in San Pedro when they were kids.

This is just one of the many treasures we will post in Digital’s Dumpster (You know, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure…..)

Performance Machine and Sportbike Riders Association are new FastDates.com Calendar Sponsors for 2002 Season Performance Machine also to cosponsor LA Calendar Motorcycle Show, July 21-22nd.

Ah, but the girl isPenthouse Pet of the Year Novotna Zdenka with a Performance Machine custom Hardtail featured in a new Performance Machine national magazine advertising campaign shot by world famous Jim Gianatsis .

Our first Italian connection: My name is Gaetano Granata from Italy; I have worked on Harley-Davidsons and Indians from 1920 to 1955. I have a web site now at: http://www.granatagaetano.com.

If you have an Harley Davidson or Indian to sell, contact me, as well if you want to buy one of mine. If you have a web site and want to be on my link page, send me your address and a short description of your site.

–Gaetano Granata gaetano@granatagaetano.it You can catch some of Gaetano’s Bikes in our Antique Photo of the Day. We’ve got over 35 of his machines in the rotation! Thanks Gaetano!

—————————————————————-

Ciao!

Mi chiamo Gaetano Granata; lavoro con Harley Davidson e Indian degli anni 20-55. Ti informo che ho aperto un sito web all’indirizzo:

http://www.granatagaetano.com.

Se hai un’Harley Davidson o Indian da vendere, contattami, lo stesso se vuoi comprare una delle mie. Se hai un sito internet e vuoi essere inserito nella mia pagina di link, inviami il tuo indirizzo internet e una breve descrizione del tuo sito.

Gaetano Granata
gaetano@granatagaetano.it

EASYRIDERS chairman of the board resigns. John Martin hit the bricks recently as Easyriders’ Chairman of the Board, effective March 1, 2001. A dream to build the title into a chain of theme restaurants, top notch events and bike shops deflated as John left Joseph Teresi the new Chairman, to run what’s left of the company, the publishing arm. Joe has started two new magazines to bolster sagging profits: V-Twin, another V-Twin magazine, and Truckin’ a lifestyle magazine for custom truck owners.

V-Twin Holdings has successfully put together a distribution agreement with the Independence Motorcycle Company. We can’t seem to nail down this bike company. In other words we haven’t heard of it. Independence will now distribute motorcycles through the Bikers Dream dealer network, a wholly owned subsidiary of V-Twin, which operates six dealerships and licenses the name to 16 independent dealers in 14 states.

Ultra Motorcycle Co. the company that once owned Bikers Dream and distributed their bike in the stores recently unveiled its newest model, the “Titanium Series 2.” The “Titanium Series 2” shares similar features with the “Titanium Series 1,” however, its differences include 6-gallon stretched gas tanks, cruiser-style handlebar, 18-inch front tire and wheel and uniquely styled longer rear fender with distinctive flip.

That’s it for this week. If you have info you want posted here, send it on down. Make is short, sweet and unique. Ride on–Bandit.

Slick Steve burst through the Cantina’s front door to go to work on the day shift, then slowed his pace as he moved around the bar. He quickly scanned the front door and the tables scattered around the Cantina. Seeing no immediate threat, his body relaxed.

Tina came to the edge of the bar. “What’s chasing you?”

“Nothing. I was just a little late getting to work. I had some trouble with my car. I didn’t want Bandit to hear that I was late again,” said Slick Steve as he tied a half-apron around his waist. He went to the bar sink and filled the tub with hot water.

“Are you sure everything is OK, Steve?” Tina moved closer to him. She could tell there was more to his anxiety than he was revealing.

“Look,” he snapped back, “I said everything is OK. OK?”

“Sure, sure, OK,” Tina’s voice trailed off as she considered her own plight.

“Steve, I’m really tired and I’ve got to pull a double shift tonight. Do you think you could help me out?” her words ran together as her desperation became obvious. “I’ve got to get well and you’re the one who can do it. You can do it, can’t you? I mean, it’s really important. I’ve got to be able to pull this double shift and I’ll have plenty of money for you. What do you say?” She looked desperately into his hollowed eyes.

“Look baby, I told you long ago that I don’t work that way. It’s cash on the barrel head, as they say. I can get some shit but I only pay cash for it and my connection operates the same way. No pay, no play. And I’m tapped out, so I can’t front you.”

“Look Steve,” she held out a wad of bills in her hand, “there’s $50 here. I’ll have at least another $50 in tips by the end of my first shift. Come on baby, I’ll make it good for you,” Tina purred in mock seduction.

“OK,” Steve shrugged, “I’ll see what I can do. Give me the $50.”

In the alley behind the Cantina, a garbage truck’s hydraulic arm slammed home the contents of the Cantina’s trash bin with a bang. Slick Steve jumped, the blood draining from his already ashen pallor.

“What’s wrong with you?” Tina forgot her own problems as she saw the panic etched on Slick Steve’s face as he dug into the briefcase in his Corvette. She touched his hand as he gripped the railing edge of the bar.

“Well, I’m not sure really. I heard some noise out on the street in front of my apartment around 3 this morning. I couldn’t sleep so I was awake when I heard it. I looked outside to where I parked my car. When I opened my window to get a better look, some kid popped up from the other side of my car and took off running. The kid was long gone by the time I got to my car.

I looked around but nothing moved. Just as I turned the knob on my front door, I heard a pistol with a silencer ring out and a piece of masonry exploded just next to my head. I peeked around the door jamb and scoped out the street, but I couldn’t see anything. I looked up at the masonry. There was a major chunk taken out of the brick fa?ade. It seemed clear that they meant the shot for me. But why? What was that kid doing to my car? Who wants me dead? Or are they trying to scare me?

“I figure that there are enough people out there who think they have a score to settle with me, but I don’t think any of them would do this. It’s all too sneaky. I just can’t figure it out.”

Both Slick Steve and Tina winced as the garbage truck banged another trash bin on the ground. Just then Jimbo walked into the Cantina. Jimbo scanned the dimly lit interior, then smiled when he spotted Tina. His expression changed to a jaw-clenching scowl when he saw Slick Steve.

As Jimbo approached the bar, Slick Steve stiffened in anticipation of conflict. Tina backed away, hoping to deflect Jimbo’s anger.

Slick Steve burst through the Cantina’s front door to go to work on the day shift, then slowed his pace as he moved around the bar. He quickly scanned the front door and the tables scattered around the Cantina. Seeing no immediate threat, his body relaxed.

Tina came to the edge of the bar. “What’s chasing you?”

“Nothing. I was just a little late getting to work. I had some trouble with my car. I didn’t want Bandit to hear that I was late again,” said Slick Steve as he tied a half-apron around his waist. He went to the bar sink and filled the tub with hot water.

“Are you sure everything is OK, Steve?” Tina moved closer to him. She could tell there was more to his anxiety than he was revealing.

“Look,” he snapped back, “I said everything is OK. OK?”

“Sure, sure, OK,” Tina’s voice trailed off as she considered her own plight.

“Steve, I’m really tired and I’ve got to pull a double shift tonight. Do you think you could help me out?” her words ran together as her desperation became obvious. “I’ve got to get well and you’re the one who can do it. You can do it, can’t you? I mean, it’s really important. I’ve got to be able to pull this double shift and I’ll have plenty of money for you. What do you say?” She looked desperately into his hollowed eyes.

“Look baby, I told you long ago that I don’t work that way. It’s cash on the barrel head, as they say. I can get some shit but I only pay cash for it and my connection operates the same way. No pay, no play. And I’m tapped out, so I can’t front you.”

“Look Steve,” she held out a wad of bills in her hand, “there’s $50 here. I’ll have at least another $50 in tips by the end of my first shift. Come on baby, I’ll make it good for you,” Tina purred in mock seduction.

“OK,” Steve shrugged, “I’ll see what I can do. Give me the $50.”

In the alley behind the Cantina, a garbage truck’s hydraulic arm slammed home the contents of the Cantina’s trash bin with a bang. Slick Steve jumped, the blood draining from his already ashen pallor.

“What’s wrong with you?” Tina forgot her own problems as she saw the panic etched on Slick Steve’s face as he dug into the briefcase in his Corvette. She touched his hand as he gripped the railing edge of the bar.

“Well, I’m not sure really. I heard some noise out on the street in front of my apartment around 3 this morning. I couldn’t sleep so I was awake when I heard it. I looked outside to where I parked my car. When I opened my window to get a better look, some kid popped up from the other side of my car and took off running. The kid was long gone by the time I got to my car.

I looked around but nothing moved. Just as I turned the knob on my front door, I heard a pistol with a silencer ring out and a piece of masonry exploded just next to my head. I peeked around the door jamb and scoped out the street, but I couldn’t see anything. I looked up at the masonry. There was a major chunk taken out of the brick fa?ade. It seemed clear that they meant the shot for me. But why? What was that kid doing to my car? Who wants me dead? Or are they trying to scare me?

“I figure that there are enough people out there who think they have a score to settle with me, but I don’t think any of them would do this. It’s all too sneaky. I just can’t figure it out.”

Both Slick Steve and Tina winced as the garbage truck banged another trash bin on the ground. Just then Jimbo walked into the Cantina. Jimbo scanned the dimly lit interior, then smiled when he spotted Tina. His expression changed to a jaw-clenching scowl when he saw Slick Steve.

As Jimbo approached the bar, Slick Steve stiffened in anticipation of conflict. Tina backed away, hoping to deflect Jimbo’s anger.

KILLER SUNDAY POST – NOISE ISSUES, SHERIFF REPORTS IN, NEW FROM RENEGADE, ROGUE TECH TIP AND MORE…

Hey,

Summer is headed directly at us like a sun-lit Tsunami. Already, all June weekends are packed; Rips BAD ride next weekend, Dixon antique swapmeet next, Valerie is flying in for a fitment on the Assalt Weapan. Tuning session is being planned for the last weekend of June. I’m rebuilding the front/rear brake lever and starting on the Pea Shooter. I will pick up the engine from Rodan next week and find the busted Mag/sparkplug component.

I need to make a wheel fit the Ceriani axle, and the cups fit the Peashooter frame.

I’ve started to mess with the Ceriani front end and fitting it to the Peashooter frame with Paughco neck cups. I’m trying to avoid machining. Plus, I fired up my TIG welder this weekend and took my first lesson. Let’s get to the news and I’ll report in on my TIG welding abilities:

Thanks to a killer deal with Gard Hollinger, from LA Choprods, Bikernet now has TIG welding capabilities.

UNCLE MONKEY PREACHES THE GOSPEL ON SUNDAY– You stop into the shop out of habit. It is a guilty pleasure. Your wife rolls her eyes every time you suggest stopping in. Sometimes she gives in happily, others reluctantly. But today she is not there. The showroom is busy, as usual. It catches your eye as soon as you cross the threshold. On the far side, tucked in the back.

You shrug it off and look at the pristine new bikes in front of you. It is part of the routine, checkout the bikes, check out the accessories, talk to Sam behind the counter for a while to see how his race bike is coming together, listen for some tips, some tricks.

You close it out buy checking the t-shirts to see if there is anything new. Simple in and out, same as usual. Again, you glance at the bike in the corner. Even from your vantage point you know it is a sharp bike. You move on. This one, well what the hell was the owner thinking. OMG. That does not go together, you move on. With each bike, you gaze and evaluate, but there’s the intriguing one in the corner. You just need to see if anyone else is looking at it. That couple seems interested but the salesman is up selling them on the Road King in front of it.

You finally arrive at it. Yes, it is a fine machine. The paint flawlessly reflected the deep chrome accessories. The drivetrain, so clean you could eat off of it. How long to get the bugs out? You snap your attention to the wall of chrome behind you hoping no one saw you. There is a nice piece, just your style that would look so good on that bike. You look back, yeah, that would look real good. Sam is racing today, out of state. You stand at the spinning display of rims positioned just right so that you can stand and stare at the bike. Yeah, you would look so badass on it. The t-shirts are the same; you flirt up the cute girl behind the counter. She smiles and brushes you off. As you stand gawking at the bike, the salesman approaches and tells you to throw a leg over it. Everything falls to place. You feel the hot sun on your skin, the wind rustling the hairs on your arm. Your lungs full of fresh air. there is nothing like buying a new bike or new 2U.

Sometimes it is on purpose. You know what you want, what you are going to pay. Sometimes it sneaks up on you when you don’t expect it. The right bike, at the right time, at the right price. We all end up there. Standing in a showroom staring at the perfect bike, like a kid in a candy store. The bike that you have always been looking for is available. Buying a bike is a big decision. Often we already have a bike. It served us well. Miles under the belt, you know what’s been done, what needs to be done. But there is something about a new bike. No matter how old it is, it’s like it just rolled off the assembly line. There are no thoughts of repair, no breakdowns, just the endless miles. Rarely are we disappointed. Rarely do we regret buying a new bike, even if it means going without some of the usual habits that eat away at your bank account. There is nothing like a new bike.

-bad Uncle Monkey

NEW ART FROM ERIC HERRMANN,”Tequila Tycoon”– The latest painting from Eric Herrmann

After a weekend enjoying some of the finer Tequila’s with friends, I found myself wandering around my desert compound looking at Blue Agave plants and trying not to fall in to them. Cool looking plants. Colorful, beautiful, but still spiky and kind of menacing. Like a fine bottle of Tequila. It starts with a beautiful bottle, but you never know where you’re going to end up. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just walk over and pick me a bottle!

Well, in my world I can. I rounded up the bottles scatted around the studio, checked out the Blue Agave plants, when I could focus, and created my perfect Tequila Plantation. If I actually owned this imaginary plantation, I’d be a Tequila Tycoon! I could wander around my plantation, check on my Agave’s, watch them bloom, harvest them before they spoil.

It’s good to be a “Tequila Tycoon.” The original ?Tequila Tycoon” painting measuring 48 x 30 is available for $22,000.00

Limited Edition Gicleeâ„¢ prints on canvas are available in several sizes from $500.00.

For availability, sizes, and pricing, contact Eric at (888) 200-6554 or visit his web site at www.EricHerrmannStudios.com

BIKERNET BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM DISCOVERY– And they say there are no new business ideas? Lady Selling Lemonade on Daytona Beach The Psychology of business is to “know what your customers want!”

–from Rogue

ARE CAMERAS THE NEW GUNS?– In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.

The legal justification for arresting the “shooter” rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where “no expectation of privacy exists” (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.

Massachusetts attorney June Jensen represented Simon Glik who was arrested for such a recording. She explained, “[T]he statute has been misconstrued by Boston police. You could go to the Boston Common and snap pictures and record if you want.” Legal scholar and professor Jonathan Turley agrees, “The police are basing this claim on a ridiculous reading of the two-party consent surveillance law – requiring all parties to consent to being taped. I have written in the area of surveillance law and can say that this is utter nonsense.”

The courts, however, disagree. A few weeks ago, an Illinois judge rejected a motion to dismiss an eavesdropping charge against Christopher Drew, who recorded his own arrest for selling one-dollar artwork on the streets of Chicago. Although the misdemeanor charges of not having a peddler’s license and peddling in a prohibited area were dropped, Drew is being prosecuted for illegal recording, a Class I felony punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.

In 2001, when Michael Hyde was arrested for criminally violating the state’s electronic surveillance law – aka recording a police encounter – the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld his conviction 4-2. In dissent, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall stated, “Citizens have a particularly important role to play when the official conduct at issue is that of the police. Their role cannot be performed if citizens must fear criminal reprisals.” (Note: In some states it is the audio alone that makes the recording illegal.)

The selection of “shooters” targeted for prosecution do, indeed, suggest a pattern of either reprisal or an attempt to intimidate.

Glik captured a police action on his cellphone to document what he considered to be excessive force. He was not only arrested, his phone was also seized.

On his website Drew wrote, “Myself and three other artists who documented my actions tried for two months to get the police to arrest me for selling art downtown so we could test the Chicago peddlers license law. The police hesitated for two months because they knew it would mean a federal court case. With this felony charge they are trying to avoid this test and ruin me financially and stain my credibility.”

Hyde used his recording to file a harassment complaint against the police. After doing so, he was criminally charged.

In short, recordings that are flattering to the police – an officer kissing a baby or rescuing a dog – will almost certainly not result in prosecution even if they are done without all-party consent. The only people who seem prone to prosecution are those who embarrass or confront the police, or who somehow challenge the law. If true, then the prosecutions are a form of social control to discourage criticism of the police or simple dissent.

A recent arrest in Maryland is both typical and disturbing.

On March 5, 24-year-old Anthony John Graber III’s motorcycle was pulled over for speeding. He is currently facing criminal charges for a video he recorded on his helmet-mounted camera during the traffic stop.

The case is disturbing because:

1) Graber was not arrested immediately. Ten days after the encounter, he posted some of the material to YouTube, and it embarrassed Trooper J. D. Uhler. The trooper, who was in plainclothes and an unmarked car, jumped out waving a gun and screaming. Only later did Uhler identify himself as a police officer. When the YouTube video was discovered the police got a warrant against Graber, searched his parents’ house (where he presumably lives), seized equipment, and charged him with a violation of wiretapping law.

2) Baltimore criminal defense attorney Steven D. Silverman said he had never heard of the Maryland wiretap law being used in this manner. In other words, Maryland has joined the expanding trend of criminalizing the act of recording police abuse. Silverman surmises, “It’s more [about]?contempt of cop’ than the violation of the wiretapping law.”

3) Police spokesman Gregory M. Shipley is defending the pursuit of charges against Graber, denying that it is “some capricious retribution” and citing as justification the particularly egregious nature of Graber’s traffic offenses. Oddly, however, the offenses were not so egregious as to cause his arrest before the video appeared.

Almost without exception, police officials have staunchly supported the arresting officers. This argues strongly against the idea that some rogue officers are overreacting or that a few cops have something to hide. “Arrest those who record the police” appears to be official policy, and it’s backed by the courts.

Carlos Miller at the Photography Is Not A Crime website offers an explanation: “For the second time in less than a month, a police officer was convicted from evidence obtained from a videotape. The first officer to be convicted was New York City Police Officer Patrick Pogan, who would never have stood trial had it not been for a video posted on Youtube showing him body slamming a bicyclist before charging him with assault on an officer. The second officer to be convicted was Ottawa Hills (Ohio) Police Officer Thomas White, who shot a motorcyclist in the back after a traffic stop, permanently paralyzing the 24-year-old man.”

When the police act as though cameras were the equivalent of guns pointed at them, there is a sense in which they are correct. Cameras have become the most effective weapon that ordinary people have to protect against and to expose police abuse. And the police want it to stop.

Happily, even as the practice of arresting “shooters” expands, there are signs of effective backlash. At least one Pennsylvania jurisdiction has reaffirmed the right to video in public places. As part of a settlement with ACLU attorneys who represented an arrested “shooter,” the police in Spring City and East Vincent Township adopted a written policy allowing the recording of on-duty policemen.

As journalist Radley Balko declares, “State legislatures should consider passing laws explicitly making it legal to record on-duty law enforcement officials.”

Wendy McElroy is the author of several books on anarchism and feminism. She maintains the iconoclastic website ifeminists.net as well as an active blog at wendymcelroy.com. The author of this post can be contacted at tips@gizmodo.com

–from Rogue

Consumer Reports Motorcycle Rider Survey– June 6, 2010 – Consumer Reports conducted a survey of U.S. motorcycle riders recently and found that 70% of the respondents “consider themselves to be experienced riders and have held their motorcycle license or endorsement for at least five years”.

10% of the respondents said they had been in an accident within the last five years, and reported that almost half of those were single-vehicle crashes, with many of them either running wide on a curve or sliding out in a turn. This is consistent with the Hurt Report information from nearly 40 years ago.

Slightly more than half of the riders responding to the survey said they had taken a formal riding instruction course, and about 25% indicated that they do not always wear a helmet when they ride.

The report also found this information about the respondents:
* Only half reported regularly wearing protective boots, and less than half said they regularly wear gloves.
* About 25% said they always wear a leather or other protective jacket when riding.
* Fewer than 10% always wear protective pants or clothing in high-visibility colors.
* Three out of five riders admitted to riding in a short-sleeved shirt, and about 25% said they rode in shorts.
* More than 33% of all accidents resulted in a painful road rash and almost 25% involved broken bones.

More information on the survey can be found in the Consumer Reports Car Blog. Note that the respondents to this study were not from the general public but from Consumer Reports readers, so there may be some bias in the results.

–WebbikeWorld

–Marc
Bikernet Insurance God

Click on the banner for more info, or here for a quote.

Press Release from Twin Club Mc. – Custom Bike Show 2010– Festival! Sun! Success! Never before have there been so many exhibitors, never before has there been such a high class of the motorcycles in the show. Creativity and quality in conjunction with any Finish retrodesign of high quality was the hallmark of this year’s Custom Bike Show. A top weather also helped to attract more than 12,000 visitors to Norrtälje. A show that had all the best.

Today’s big winner was Minna Heikkinen from Bro, Stockholm, her red chopper took voters and jury by storm. First she won the class of HD Choppers, the class with most participants. Then she also won the Jurys Grand Price and Minna will therefore be the ones to represent Scandinavia at the World Championships of Custom Bike building in Sturgis, USA, in august later this year. Minna is historic as the first woman ever to participate in the World Championship.

Today’s second hit was the new exhibition class Modified Harley Davidson, which got just under 50 exhibitors and meet the organizer Twin Club all expectations of participants. – The class has come to stay at the Custom Bike Show, said Twin Club’s prize-award presenter Marlon Larsson, who along with his hat is a given element on the show. The class turns to more modern motorcycle where the foundation should be a frame and an engine block from HD .

The Exhibitors competed in eight classes, best paint and peoples choice. In addition, Custom Bike Show are also a affiliate to the World Championship of Custom Bike Building, where three winners are qualify to the European and World Championship. Nearly 300 motorcycles were participating, all of high caliber, so the voters and the jury had many difficult choices.

The audience was also participating in the voting, and here they quickly found their favorite in Peter Forsberg from G’vle with a charger powered piece of art on two wheels. Basically an HD with a stunning design of the charger, carburetor arrangements by God’s grace with an advanced ignition system, a unique engine construction. On the petrol tank was a painted instruction for any racing, where the last instruction was “Pray”. Besides the Peoples choice, Peter was also winner in the Custom class.

Finland and Finnish culture and craftmanship showed their best side when six of today’s prices went east. Finland dominated the classes Classic Custom and Chopper by taking home second and third prize in both classes. The best was for Stefan Phik’ from Chemical Choppers, Imatra who received third prize in the Custom Classic. Stefan also won third prize from the AMD jury which send him to the final of European Motorcycle Building. Custom Bike Show is for the sixth year an affiliate and semi final to the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, which means that the winner of the AMD Jury is sponsored by Twin Club MC of 5000 .- Euro to be able participate in the World Championship final, and 2nd and 3rd place sponsored by 1500 .- Euro each to participate in the European Championship 2011.

Robin Bradley who is representing the AMD World Organization made a speech where he said that the Custom Bike Show is one of the coolest and best-organized exhibitions in World Championship competitions and the organizers Twin Club is one of the best.

Besides all the wonderful motorcycles, Twin Club offered music with Crucified Barbara and Tres Hombres ZZ Top Tribute. Did you not listen to music, there was a wide range of goods and services in more than 60 different businesses and organizations which were represented. Here you could buy anything from a t-shirt to a ready Chopper.

More information:
Twin Club
Box 212
761 23 Norrt’je
+46 176 15790
+46 70 2211322
info@custombikeshow.se
www.custombikeshow.se

BLACK NITRATE CARBONIZED FLUSH MOUNT AXLE KITS– Once you’ve swapped wheels, rotors, fender, legs or taken any steps to sanitize your bikes front end this FLUSH MOUNT AXLE kit from Renegade provides the finishing touch pulling everything else together for a sanitary, truly custom look. Shown here is the company’s 25 mm axle assembly for 2008 to present Baggers (FLHT, FLHR, FLHX and FLTR). Renegade axles are manufactured of STRESS-PROOF 4041 steel and then black nitrate carbonized to add strength and corrosion resistance.

A side benefit to this unique finish is you’ll never have to deal with the bearing sticking to the axle.

Renegade FLUSH MOUNT AXLES come with highly polished stainless steel end caps for a lifetime of shine and retail for just $129.00. The same style kit is also available in a 1″ version for 2000-2007 FLHT, FLHR and FLTR models.

For complete details call Renegade direct at 714-998-7241 and be sure to visit their awesome site at http://www.renegadewheels.com/.

BIKERNET TECHNICAL INSTITUTE REVELATION OF THE WEEK– Subject: Calculating Milage Between Cities

This is kinda handy.
http://www.routeblast.com/

–from Irving Marsh

Big Texas Chop-Off and Military Bike Give-Away– The 2010 Big Texas Chop-Off and Military Bike Giveaway are different than any other year. 2010 has combined that two exciting traditions! The lucky finalist for this year’s Military Bike Giveaway, who serves or has served this country in the military, will have his choice of one of three custom built motorcycles to choose from.

The Motorcycles are being built by this year’s Big Texas Chop-Off participants! This year’s Big Texas Chop-Off bikes are being built by Jason Barron of Primer Inc. Customs, Troy Nichols of Lightning Customs and Bronson Willard of Southern Metal Choppers. Willard of Southern Metal Choppers.

Guidelines for Entries:
Must have served in the military
All services and branches of the military eligible
Must present an active duty military ID, retired military card, or s/n number
Can also enter by presenting membership card to VFW or American Legion
ONE ENTRY PER PERSON
Deadline for entries on-site is 6:00 p.m. Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Thunderdome
WINNER WILL BE DRAWN PRIOR TO BRET MICHAELS PERFORMANCE AT MAIN STAGE
MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

PS photo of Roland Perssons art in silicon and handpaint, cost 1500 US………………… nuthing connected with above

VICTORY, THE NEW MEXICAN MOTORCYCLE– Started by Alex A.

Well, Well just as I started liking the new crossroads. Morons (I mean MBA’s) at Polaris decided to shut down the US plant and relocate the operations to Mexico. Great move there Polaris, I guess they just can’t learn.

I know, I know – they are claiming to leave Victory factory in the US – sure of course, how stupid do they think we are? No wonder they changed the slogan to “Gas it” or was it “Fuel it”. They sure fueled it by moving to Mexico.

So here are few new slogan suggestion for the Morons ahhh… I meant MBA’s at Polaris”

“Gas it Amigos!”
“Fuel it Muchachos!”

Brilliant move there Polaris. I can just see the all the geniuses in the conference room, tripping over each other:

“Oh! I have a great idea! Lets move our factory to Mexico, fire bunch of US workers and enjoy the great reduction in costs!”

Great way to kill a new cool new bike, its the revenues you Morons, the people you are firing probably are the ones who ride your bikes not to mention friends and relatives and PR backlash.

What’s the cutting costs is good for – if your revenues are going to fail?!

By Alex A.

–from Robin Hartfiel

MICHAEL HUPY SCORES THREE TRIAL VICTORIES LAST WEEK– I am proud to let everyone know that in the last week the firm had the three trials in three different venues and won them all. Congratulations Tim, Pete and Brandon. Just another example of what separates us from other firms.

Some of our competitors don’t try three cases in a year. Everyone should be talking up the firm at every opportunity.

— Jason
Attorney Michael F. Hupy
Hupy and Abraham, S.C.
100 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1110
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Main: (414) 223-4800 Fax: (414) 271-3374

P.S. Mike Hupy and his law firm support motorcycle rights, cycle awareness campaigns, and clubs in their region. He is an avid motorcyclists and has been on our side for decades. Don’t hesitate to reach out to him for help with any matter.–Bandit

LOWBROW FENDER MOUNTING DYI– In addition to the usual work around here, we are preparing for The Lowbrow Getdown coming up soon on June 19th! This is going to be a total blast, we have guys coming from all over including a bunch of east coast guys and all over Ohio and Michigan and even further out. A bunch of hot rods should be cruising in as well, the Speedshifters out of Philly are coming with bikes and cars, and the Vagabond Kings from Cleveland will be in full effect, as will others I am sure. Drop the kids off at the orphanage, tell your wife to pound salt and head on out and party! Or bring your wife, I am bringing mine. I love you honey!

Not only are we busy with the Getdown, but Kyle and I are stressed on getting everything done for Bonneville Speed Week. It isn’t until mid-August but this whole year of prep has been flying by and next thing you know we will be headed for Utah. My ’55 Triumph is coming along nicely, and Kyle’s ’67 Triumph 650 is as well, with his motor just finished by Wes over at Four Aces. We just printed a batch of Lowbrow Customs Bonneville Support Shirts, the proceeds from these shirts goes to help pay for our gas cross-country and back, hotels, entry fees and all that. So it helps us with our low-buck race efforts and you get a rad t-shirt out of the mix!

–LowBrow Customs

BIKERNET UNIVERSITY WORD OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY BARTELS’H-D AND THE BAD RIDE– bathos BEY-thos, noun:

1. Triteness or triviality in style.

2. A ludicrous descent from the exalted or lofty to the commonplace; anticlimax.

3. Insincere pathos; sentimentality; mawkishness.

After one character undergoes a particularly lightning-speed change in temperament, the director lays on a ludicrously coincidental plot twist with sentimental bathos that nearly swamps everything that has gone before.

— Ann Hornaday, “Movie review: In ‘Mother and Child,’ Bening and Epps give strong performances”, Washington Post, May 2010

Neither, in the end, can Jacob weave his own pattern. His trans-oceanic dream of liberty and learning will close in the damp bathos of a Zeeland backwater – until, in a last spine-shivering gasp, the free spirit of the story walks again…

— David Mitchell, Book review: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet”, Belfast Telegraph, May 2010

Bathos was introduced into English by Alexander Pope in his satirical 1727 essay, Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry.

MOTORCYCLISTS FORCED TO BE QUIET?–This is happening now and something that the readers should be aware of. Some riders will agree and others disagree.

Better get involved or be prepared for the consequences. http://www.weeklycalistogan.com/articles/2010/06/03/opinion/editorial/doc4c06ea1d13db4234472344.txt

Peashooter copper head gasket handmade by Rodan.

BIKERNET TECHNICAL INSTITUTE REPORT– I see you are using some copper gaskets on the pea shooter. Through out the years I have used copper gaskets on different projects. I have found that they usually need a re-torque after engine has been run.

In some cases people heat and cool them before installing. I use Loctite 568 Flange Sealant. It is a plastic gasket sealant. It is not cheap, and you usually have to find it in an industrial supply company. It is so good; I have even used it in place of gaskets. It has a tighter seal than a bull’s asshole, so I have been told, not being familiar with how tight they are.

Just for shits and grins you may want to get some. Use it to bolt two parts together, let them set over night and then try taking apart the next day.

You will have to tap the parts to break the seal. The trick is to use it sparingly. It will get into the pores of the metal and form a thin plastic seal. NO LEAKS!

I originally found out about it when I worked in the steel mill and they were using it on steam pipe flanges and then we started using it on some of the heavy equipment.

–Rogue

GOOD WORD FOR KENDON– Bandit, I’ve used a Kendon single bike trailer for years. They fold up and stand on the back end. They also have wheels at the back end so it can be moved around while standing on its tail. They store in about 2 feet by 5 feet of space. Mine sits against the back wall of the garage when not in use.

I used it to haul a 2007 Heritage Softail Classic, from El Paso Texas to Superior, WI. No problems anytime, no excessive bouncing, pulled nice and smooth. Loading is even easier. Ride it right on or walk it up with the engine running and in gear. The positive locking aspect of the front wheel chock means you can ride it on and get off. It will stay upright. Plus it has 4 tie down points built in. The only thing now is that I need a double bike hauler. So we can haul both bikes.

Great trailer for big twins.

–Richard Tyler

“Education is what you get when you read the fine print…..Experience is what you get when you don’t.”

SUMMER SUNDAY POST COMES TO AN END–But that’s not the end of the action on Bikernet. We’re just kicking off a new week. This year I took on a couple of learning missions. I needed to learn to TIG weld and to play the Harmonica, or piano. TIG welding came a lot easier, and I may need to put off the musical instrument until after Bonneville and a couple of Book projects.

I just returned from Sims welding for supplies and Tungsten tips. Gard told me tips on grinding and shaping tips.

I couldn’t make it easy. Had to find out if I could fill gaps.

Here’s the project completed. A donkey-dick center-stand handle addition for the Assalt weapan.

This year is scrambling. Next week we will haul ass on Bonneville projects. I will bring you a feature on a magnificent vintage Indian project by KIWI Mike. He is the master. I’ll also work with Matt at the Wheel Through Time Museum on his recent 1916 build. You’ll see a video of his first burn-out with the rebuilt ’16. I have an update from the vintage WERA race FlatRat team.

We have a couple of techs hanging over us like a cloud that can’t decide when to rain. We’re just waiting on the parts. Watch, they’ll all arrive at once. It’s time for a cold Corona and tinkering in the shop.

Ride Forever,

–Bandit

KILLER SUNDAY POST – NOISE ISSUES, SHERIFF REPORTS IN, NEW FROM RENEGADE, ROGUE TECH TIP AND MORE…

Hey,

Summer is headed directly at us like a sun-lit Tsunami. Already, all June weekends are packed; Rips BAD ride next weekend, Dixon antique swapmeet next, Valerie is flying in for a fitment on the Assalt Weapan. Tuning session is being planned for the last weekend of June. I’m rebuilding the front/rear brake lever and starting on the Pea Shooter. I will pick up the engine from Rodan next week and find the busted Mag/sparkplug component.

I need to make a wheel fit the Ceriani axle, and the cups fit the Peashooter frame.

I’ve started to mess with the Ceriani front end and fitting it to the Peashooter frame with Paughco neck cups. I’m trying to avoid machining. Plus, I fired up my TIG welder this weekend and took my first lesson. Let’s get to the news and I’ll report in on my TIG welding abilities:

Thanks to a killer deal with Gard Hollinger, from LA Choprods, Bikernet now has TIG welding capabilities.

UNCLE MONKEY PREACHES THE GOSPEL ON SUNDAY– You stop into the shop out of habit. It is a guilty pleasure. Your wife rolls her eyes every time you suggest stopping in. Sometimes she gives in happily, others reluctantly. But today she is not there. The showroom is busy, as usual. It catches your eye as soon as you cross the threshold. On the far side, tucked in the back.

You shrug it off and look at the pristine new bikes in front of you. It is part of the routine, checkout the bikes, check out the accessories, talk to Sam behind the counter for a while to see how his race bike is coming together, listen for some tips, some tricks.

You close it out buy checking the t-shirts to see if there is anything new. Simple in and out, same as usual. Again, you glance at the bike in the corner. Even from your vantage point you know it is a sharp bike. You move on. This one, well what the hell was the owner thinking. OMG. That does not go together, you move on. With each bike, you gaze and evaluate, but there’s the intriguing one in the corner. You just need to see if anyone else is looking at it. That couple seems interested but the salesman is up selling them on the Road King in front of it.

You finally arrive at it. Yes, it is a fine machine. The paint flawlessly reflected the deep chrome accessories. The drivetrain, so clean you could eat off of it. How long to get the bugs out? You snap your attention to the wall of chrome behind you hoping no one saw you. There is a nice piece, just your style that would look so good on that bike. You look back, yeah, that would look real good. Sam is racing today, out of state. You stand at the spinning display of rims positioned just right so that you can stand and stare at the bike. Yeah, you would look so badass on it. The t-shirts are the same; you flirt up the cute girl behind the counter. She smiles and brushes you off. As you stand gawking at the bike, the salesman approaches and tells you to throw a leg over it. Everything falls to place. You feel the hot sun on your skin, the wind rustling the hairs on your arm. Your lungs full of fresh air. there is nothing like buying a new bike or new 2U.

Sometimes it is on purpose. You know what you want, what you are going to pay. Sometimes it sneaks up on you when you don’t expect it. The right bike, at the right time, at the right price. We all end up there. Standing in a showroom staring at the perfect bike, like a kid in a candy store. The bike that you have always been looking for is available. Buying a bike is a big decision. Often we already have a bike. It served us well. Miles under the belt, you know what’s been done, what needs to be done. But there is something about a new bike. No matter how old it is, it’s like it just rolled off the assembly line. There are no thoughts of repair, no breakdowns, just the endless miles. Rarely are we disappointed. Rarely do we regret buying a new bike, even if it means going without some of the usual habits that eat away at your bank account. There is nothing like a new bike.

-bad Uncle Monkey

NEW ART FROM ERIC HERRMANN,”Tequila Tycoon”– The latest painting from Eric Herrmann

After a weekend enjoying some of the finer Tequila’s with friends, I found myself wandering around my desert compound looking at Blue Agave plants and trying not to fall in to them. Cool looking plants. Colorful, beautiful, but still spiky and kind of menacing. Like a fine bottle of Tequila. It starts with a beautiful bottle, but you never know where you’re going to end up. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just walk over and pick me a bottle!

Well, in my world I can. I rounded up the bottles scatted around the studio, checked out the Blue Agave plants, when I could focus, and created my perfect Tequila Plantation. If I actually owned this imaginary plantation, I’d be a Tequila Tycoon! I could wander around my plantation, check on my Agave’s, watch them bloom, harvest them before they spoil.

It’s good to be a “Tequila Tycoon.” The original ?Tequila Tycoon” painting measuring 48 x 30 is available for $22,000.00

Limited Edition Gicleeâ„¢ prints on canvas are available in several sizes from $500.00.

For availability, sizes, and pricing, contact Eric at (888) 200-6554 or visit his web site at www.EricHerrmannStudios.com

BIKERNET BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM DISCOVERY– And they say there are no new business ideas? Lady Selling Lemonade on Daytona Beach The Psychology of business is to “know what your customers want!”

–from Rogue

ARE CAMERAS THE NEW GUNS?– In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.

The legal justification for arresting the “shooter” rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where “no expectation of privacy exists” (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.

Massachusetts attorney June Jensen represented Simon Glik who was arrested for such a recording. She explained, “[T]he statute has been misconstrued by Boston police. You could go to the Boston Common and snap pictures and record if you want.” Legal scholar and professor Jonathan Turley agrees, “The police are basing this claim on a ridiculous reading of the two-party consent surveillance law – requiring all parties to consent to being taped. I have written in the area of surveillance law and can say that this is utter nonsense.”

The courts, however, disagree. A few weeks ago, an Illinois judge rejected a motion to dismiss an eavesdropping charge against Christopher Drew, who recorded his own arrest for selling one-dollar artwork on the streets of Chicago. Although the misdemeanor charges of not having a peddler’s license and peddling in a prohibited area were dropped, Drew is being prosecuted for illegal recording, a Class I felony punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.

In 2001, when Michael Hyde was arrested for criminally violating the state’s electronic surveillance law – aka recording a police encounter – the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld his conviction 4-2. In dissent, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall stated, “Citizens have a particularly important role to play when the official conduct at issue is that of the police. Their role cannot be performed if citizens must fear criminal reprisals.” (Note: In some states it is the audio alone that makes the recording illegal.)

The selection of “shooters” targeted for prosecution do, indeed, suggest a pattern of either reprisal or an attempt to intimidate.

Glik captured a police action on his cellphone to document what he considered to be excessive force. He was not only arrested, his phone was also seized.

On his website Drew wrote, “Myself and three other artists who documented my actions tried for two months to get the police to arrest me for selling art downtown so we could test the Chicago peddlers license law. The police hesitated for two months because they knew it would mean a federal court case. With this felony charge they are trying to avoid this test and ruin me financially and stain my credibility.”

Hyde used his recording to file a harassment complaint against the police. After doing so, he was criminally charged.

In short, recordings that are flattering to the police – an officer kissing a baby or rescuing a dog – will almost certainly not result in prosecution even if they are done without all-party consent. The only people who seem prone to prosecution are those who embarrass or confront the police, or who somehow challenge the law. If true, then the prosecutions are a form of social control to discourage criticism of the police or simple dissent.

A recent arrest in Maryland is both typical and disturbing.

On March 5, 24-year-old Anthony John Graber III’s motorcycle was pulled over for speeding. He is currently facing criminal charges for a video he recorded on his helmet-mounted camera during the traffic stop.

The case is disturbing because:

1) Graber was not arrested immediately. Ten days after the encounter, he posted some of the material to YouTube, and it embarrassed Trooper J. D. Uhler. The trooper, who was in plainclothes and an unmarked car, jumped out waving a gun and screaming. Only later did Uhler identify himself as a police officer. When the YouTube video was discovered the police got a warrant against Graber, searched his parents’ house (where he presumably lives), seized equipment, and charged him with a violation of wiretapping law.

2) Baltimore criminal defense attorney Steven D. Silverman said he had never heard of the Maryland wiretap law being used in this manner. In other words, Maryland has joined the expanding trend of criminalizing the act of recording police abuse. Silverman surmises, “It’s more [about]?contempt of cop’ than the violation of the wiretapping law.”

3) Police spokesman Gregory M. Shipley is defending the pursuit of charges against Graber, denying that it is “some capricious retribution” and citing as justification the particularly egregious nature of Graber’s traffic offenses. Oddly, however, the offenses were not so egregious as to cause his arrest before the video appeared.

Almost without exception, police officials have staunchly supported the arresting officers. This argues strongly against the idea that some rogue officers are overreacting or that a few cops have something to hide. “Arrest those who record the police” appears to be official policy, and it’s backed by the courts.

Carlos Miller at the Photography Is Not A Crime website offers an explanation: “For the second time in less than a month, a police officer was convicted from evidence obtained from a videotape. The first officer to be convicted was New York City Police Officer Patrick Pogan, who would never have stood trial had it not been for a video posted on Youtube showing him body slamming a bicyclist before charging him with assault on an officer. The second officer to be convicted was Ottawa Hills (Ohio) Police Officer Thomas White, who shot a motorcyclist in the back after a traffic stop, permanently paralyzing the 24-year-old man.”

When the police act as though cameras were the equivalent of guns pointed at them, there is a sense in which they are correct. Cameras have become the most effective weapon that ordinary people have to protect against and to expose police abuse. And the police want it to stop.

Happily, even as the practice of arresting “shooters” expands, there are signs of effective backlash. At least one Pennsylvania jurisdiction has reaffirmed the right to video in public places. As part of a settlement with ACLU attorneys who represented an arrested “shooter,” the police in Spring City and East Vincent Township adopted a written policy allowing the recording of on-duty policemen.

As journalist Radley Balko declares, “State legislatures should consider passing laws explicitly making it legal to record on-duty law enforcement officials.”

Wendy McElroy is the author of several books on anarchism and feminism. She maintains the iconoclastic website ifeminists.net as well as an active blog at wendymcelroy.com. The author of this post can be contacted at tips@gizmodo.com

–from Rogue

Consumer Reports Motorcycle Rider Survey– June 6, 2010 – Consumer Reports conducted a survey of U.S. motorcycle riders recently and found that 70% of the respondents “consider themselves to be experienced riders and have held their motorcycle license or endorsement for at least five years”.

10% of the respondents said they had been in an accident within the last five years, and reported that almost half of those were single-vehicle crashes, with many of them either running wide on a curve or sliding out in a turn. This is consistent with the Hurt Report information from nearly 40 years ago.

Slightly more than half of the riders responding to the survey said they had taken a formal riding instruction course, and about 25% indicated that they do not always wear a helmet when they ride.

The report also found this information about the respondents:
* Only half reported regularly wearing protective boots, and less than half said they regularly wear gloves.
* About 25% said they always wear a leather or other protective jacket when riding.
* Fewer than 10% always wear protective pants or clothing in high-visibility colors.
* Three out of five riders admitted to riding in a short-sleeved shirt, and about 25% said they rode in shorts.
* More than 33% of all accidents resulted in a painful road rash and almost 25% involved broken bones.

More information on the survey can be found in the Consumer Reports Car Blog. Note that the respondents to this study were not from the general public but from Consumer Reports readers, so there may be some bias in the results.

–WebbikeWorld

–Marc
Bikernet Insurance God

Click on the banner for more info, or here for a quote.

Press Release from Twin Club Mc. – Custom Bike Show 2010– Festival! Sun! Success! Never before have there been so many exhibitors, never before has there been such a high class of the motorcycles in the show. Creativity and quality in conjunction with any Finish retrodesign of high quality was the hallmark of this year’s Custom Bike Show. A top weather also helped to attract more than 12,000 visitors to Norrtälje. A show that had all the best.

Today’s big winner was Minna Heikkinen from Bro, Stockholm, her red chopper took voters and jury by storm. First she won the class of HD Choppers, the class with most participants. Then she also won the Jurys Grand Price and Minna will therefore be the ones to represent Scandinavia at the World Championships of Custom Bike building in Sturgis, USA, in august later this year. Minna is historic as the first woman ever to participate in the World Championship.

Today’s second hit was the new exhibition class Modified Harley Davidson, which got just under 50 exhibitors and meet the organizer Twin Club all expectations of participants. – The class has come to stay at the Custom Bike Show, said Twin Club’s prize-award presenter Marlon Larsson, who along with his hat is a given element on the show. The class turns to more modern motorcycle where the foundation should be a frame and an engine block from HD .

The Exhibitors competed in eight classes, best paint and peoples choice. In addition, Custom Bike Show are also a affiliate to the World Championship of Custom Bike Building, where three winners are qualify to the European and World Championship. Nearly 300 motorcycles were participating, all of high caliber, so the voters and the jury had many difficult choices.

The audience was also participating in the voting, and here they quickly found their favorite in Peter Forsberg from G’vle with a charger powered piece of art on two wheels. Basically an HD with a stunning design of the charger, carburetor arrangements by God’s grace with an advanced ignition system, a unique engine construction. On the petrol tank was a painted instruction for any racing, where the last instruction was “Pray”. Besides the Peoples choice, Peter was also winner in the Custom class.

Finland and Finnish culture and craftmanship showed their best side when six of today’s prices went east. Finland dominated the classes Classic Custom and Chopper by taking home second and third prize in both classes. The best was for Stefan Phik’ from Chemical Choppers, Imatra who received third prize in the Custom Classic. Stefan also won third prize from the AMD jury which send him to the final of European Motorcycle Building. Custom Bike Show is for the sixth year an affiliate and semi final to the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, which means that the winner of the AMD Jury is sponsored by Twin Club MC of 5000 .- Euro to be able participate in the World Championship final, and 2nd and 3rd place sponsored by 1500 .- Euro each to participate in the European Championship 2011.

Robin Bradley who is representing the AMD World Organization made a speech where he said that the Custom Bike Show is one of the coolest and best-organized exhibitions in World Championship competitions and the organizers Twin Club is one of the best.

Besides all the wonderful motorcycles, Twin Club offered music with Crucified Barbara and Tres Hombres ZZ Top Tribute. Did you not listen to music, there was a wide range of goods and services in more than 60 different businesses and organizations which were represented. Here you could buy anything from a t-shirt to a ready Chopper.

More information:
Twin Club
Box 212
761 23 Norrt’je
+46 176 15790
+46 70 2211322
info@custombikeshow.se
www.custombikeshow.se

BLACK NITRATE CARBONIZED FLUSH MOUNT AXLE KITS– Once you’ve swapped wheels, rotors, fender, legs or taken any steps to sanitize your bikes front end this FLUSH MOUNT AXLE kit from Renegade provides the finishing touch pulling everything else together for a sanitary, truly custom look. Shown here is the company’s 25 mm axle assembly for 2008 to present Baggers (FLHT, FLHR, FLHX and FLTR). Renegade axles are manufactured of STRESS-PROOF 4041 steel and then black nitrate carbonized to add strength and corrosion resistance.

A side benefit to this unique finish is you’ll never have to deal with the bearing sticking to the axle.

Renegade FLUSH MOUNT AXLES come with highly polished stainless steel end caps for a lifetime of shine and retail for just $129.00. The same style kit is also available in a 1″ version for 2000-2007 FLHT, FLHR and FLTR models.

For complete details call Renegade direct at 714-998-7241 and be sure to visit their awesome site at http://www.renegadewheels.com/.

BIKERNET TECHNICAL INSTITUTE REVELATION OF THE WEEK– Subject: Calculating Milage Between Cities

This is kinda handy.
http://www.routeblast.com/

–from Irving Marsh

Big Texas Chop-Off and Military Bike Give-Away– The 2010 Big Texas Chop-Off and Military Bike Giveaway are different than any other year. 2010 has combined that two exciting traditions! The lucky finalist for this year’s Military Bike Giveaway, who serves or has served this country in the military, will have his choice of one of three custom built motorcycles to choose from.

The Motorcycles are being built by this year’s Big Texas Chop-Off participants! This year’s Big Texas Chop-Off bikes are being built by Jason Barron of Primer Inc. Customs, Troy Nichols of Lightning Customs and Bronson Willard of Southern Metal Choppers. Willard of Southern Metal Choppers.

Guidelines for Entries:
Must have served in the military
All services and branches of the military eligible
Must present an active duty military ID, retired military card, or s/n number
Can also enter by presenting membership card to VFW or American Legion
ONE ENTRY PER PERSON
Deadline for entries on-site is 6:00 p.m. Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Thunderdome
WINNER WILL BE DRAWN PRIOR TO BRET MICHAELS PERFORMANCE AT MAIN STAGE
MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

PS photo of Roland Perssons art in silicon and handpaint, cost 1500 US………………… nuthing connected with above

VICTORY, THE NEW MEXICAN MOTORCYCLE– Started by Alex A.

Well, Well just as I started liking the new crossroads. Morons (I mean MBA’s) at Polaris decided to shut down the US plant and relocate the operations to Mexico. Great move there Polaris, I guess they just can’t learn.

I know, I know – they are claiming to leave Victory factory in the US – sure of course, how stupid do they think we are? No wonder they changed the slogan to “Gas it” or was it “Fuel it”. They sure fueled it by moving to Mexico.

So here are few new slogan suggestion for the Morons ahhh… I meant MBA’s at Polaris”

“Gas it Amigos!”
“Fuel it Muchachos!”

Brilliant move there Polaris. I can just see the all the geniuses in the conference room, tripping over each other:

“Oh! I have a great idea! Lets move our factory to Mexico, fire bunch of US workers and enjoy the great reduction in costs!”

Great way to kill a new cool new bike, its the revenues you Morons, the people you are firing probably are the ones who ride your bikes not to mention friends and relatives and PR backlash.

What’s the cutting costs is good for – if your revenues are going to fail?!

By Alex A.

–from Robin Hartfiel

MICHAEL HUPY SCORES THREE TRIAL VICTORIES LAST WEEK– I am proud to let everyone know that in the last week the firm had the three trials in three different venues and won them all. Congratulations Tim, Pete and Brandon. Just another example of what separates us from other firms.

Some of our competitors don’t try three cases in a year. Everyone should be talking up the firm at every opportunity.

— Jason
Attorney Michael F. Hupy
Hupy and Abraham, S.C.
100 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1110
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Main: (414) 223-4800 Fax: (414) 271-3374

P.S. Mike Hupy and his law firm support motorcycle rights, cycle awareness campaigns, and clubs in their region. He is an avid motorcyclists and has been on our side for decades. Don’t hesitate to reach out to him for help with any matter.–Bandit

LOWBROW FENDER MOUNTING DYI– In addition to the usual work around here, we are preparing for The Lowbrow Getdown coming up soon on June 19th! This is going to be a total blast, we have guys coming from all over including a bunch of east coast guys and all over Ohio and Michigan and even further out. A bunch of hot rods should be cruising in as well, the Speedshifters out of Philly are coming with bikes and cars, and the Vagabond Kings from Cleveland will be in full effect, as will others I am sure. Drop the kids off at the orphanage, tell your wife to pound salt and head on out and party! Or bring your wife, I am bringing mine. I love you honey!

Not only are we busy with the Getdown, but Kyle and I are stressed on getting everything done for Bonneville Speed Week. It isn’t until mid-August but this whole year of prep has been flying by and next thing you know we will be headed for Utah. My ’55 Triumph is coming along nicely, and Kyle’s ’67 Triumph 650 is as well, with his motor just finished by Wes over at Four Aces. We just printed a batch of Lowbrow Customs Bonneville Support Shirts, the proceeds from these shirts goes to help pay for our gas cross-country and back, hotels, entry fees and all that. So it helps us with our low-buck race efforts and you get a rad t-shirt out of the mix!

–LowBrow Customs

BIKERNET UNIVERSITY WORD OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY BARTELS’H-D AND THE BAD RIDE– bathos BEY-thos, noun:

1. Triteness or triviality in style.

2. A ludicrous descent from the exalted or lofty to the commonplace; anticlimax.

3. Insincere pathos; sentimentality; mawkishness.

After one character undergoes a particularly lightning-speed change in temperament, the director lays on a ludicrously coincidental plot twist with sentimental bathos that nearly swamps everything that has gone before.

— Ann Hornaday, “Movie review: In ‘Mother and Child,’ Bening and Epps give strong performances”, Washington Post, May 2010

Neither, in the end, can Jacob weave his own pattern. His trans-oceanic dream of liberty and learning will close in the damp bathos of a Zeeland backwater – until, in a last spine-shivering gasp, the free spirit of the story walks again…

— David Mitchell, Book review: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet”, Belfast Telegraph, May 2010

Bathos was introduced into English by Alexander Pope in his satirical 1727 essay, Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry.

MOTORCYCLISTS FORCED TO BE QUIET?–This is happening now and something that the readers should be aware of. Some riders will agree and others disagree.

Better get involved or be prepared for the consequences. http://www.weeklycalistogan.com/articles/2010/06/03/opinion/editorial/doc4c06ea1d13db4234472344.txt

Peashooter copper head gasket handmade by Rodan.

BIKERNET TECHNICAL INSTITUTE REPORT– I see you are using some copper gaskets on the pea shooter. Through out the years I have used copper gaskets on different projects. I have found that they usually need a re-torque after engine has been run.

In some cases people heat and cool them before installing. I use Loctite 568 Flange Sealant. It is a plastic gasket sealant. It is not cheap, and you usually have to find it in an industrial supply company. It is so good; I have even used it in place of gaskets. It has a tighter seal than a bull’s asshole, so I have been told, not being familiar with how tight they are.

Just for shits and grins you may want to get some. Use it to bolt two parts together, let them set over night and then try taking apart the next day.

You will have to tap the parts to break the seal. The trick is to use it sparingly. It will get into the pores of the metal and form a thin plastic seal. NO LEAKS!

I originally found out about it when I worked in the steel mill and they were using it on steam pipe flanges and then we started using it on some of the heavy equipment.

–Rogue

GOOD WORD FOR KENDON– Bandit, I’ve used a Kendon single bike trailer for years. They fold up and stand on the back end. They also have wheels at the back end so it can be moved around while standing on its tail. They store in about 2 feet by 5 feet of space. Mine sits against the back wall of the garage when not in use.

I used it to haul a 2007 Heritage Softail Classic, from El Paso Texas to Superior, WI. No problems anytime, no excessive bouncing, pulled nice and smooth. Loading is even easier. Ride it right on or walk it up with the engine running and in gear. The positive locking aspect of the front wheel chock means you can ride it on and get off. It will stay upright. Plus it has 4 tie down points built in. The only thing now is that I need a double bike hauler. So we can haul both bikes.

Great trailer for big twins.

–Richard Tyler

“Education is what you get when you read the fine print…..Experience is what you get when you don’t.”

SUMMER SUNDAY POST COMES TO AN END–But that’s not the end of the action on Bikernet. We’re just kicking off a new week. This year I took on a couple of learning missions. I needed to learn to TIG weld and to play the Harmonica, or piano. TIG welding came a lot easier, and I may need to put off the musical instrument until after Bonneville and a couple of Book projects.

I just returned from Sims welding for supplies and Tungsten tips. Gard told me tips on grinding and shaping tips.

I couldn’t make it easy. Had to find out if I could fill gaps.

Here’s the project completed. A donkey-dick center-stand handle addition for the Assalt weapan.

This year is scrambling. Next week we will haul ass on Bonneville projects. I will bring you a feature on a magnificent vintage Indian project by KIWI Mike. He is the master. I’ll also work with Matt at the Wheel Through Time Museum on his recent 1916 build. You’ll see a video of his first burn-out with the rebuilt ’16. I have an update from the vintage WERA race FlatRat team.

We have a couple of techs hanging over us like a cloud that can’t decide when to rain. We’re just waiting on the parts. Watch, they’ll all arrive at once. It’s time for a cold Corona and tinkering in the shop.

Ride Forever,

–Bandit

BIKERNET MEMORIAL DAY SUNDAY POST–FBI PROVES MORE GUNS MEANS LESS CRIME…

Hey,

Here we are in Bikernet Paradise, Bandit’s Cantina, surrounded by motorcycles, motorcycle literature, and women. The city decided to build a park across the street. Then the major voted to bring jobs to Wilmington, by widening the street beside the headquarters.

That’s not all, I attend Wilmington Waterfront Development Meetings monthly. The next plan included building a fisherman’s wharf, commercial area and a corridor to the water, beginning across the street from our front door. This community group has been working on this effort for over eight years, and the city is about to break ground.

Some of the members, who have worked diligently WWDC for all this time, will probably not live to see it completed. Amazing dedication and vision.

That’s one terrific aspect of America, the right and the ability to have a notion, and see it through to fruition. This Memorial Day give thanks to all the brothers and sisters, who gave their lives so America could be strong and a bastion of freedom and inspiration world wide. Then, go beyond giving thanks, make it a goal to get involved, join a community group, and join your local motorcycle rights group. They fight daily to keep us on the road. Let’s hit the news:

TATTOO OF THE WEEK FROM ELECTRIC–My son, and his gang of Tattoo specialists, sent us a selection of shots from the Mike Farabaugh collection. Great stuff.

SPEAKING OF INNOVATION, FROM THE BIKERNET UNIVERSITY HISTORY DEPARTMENT– Some of you may have seen these images of the devices the military used to detect airplanes before the development of RADAR, I had not and thought they were interesting.

Before Radar, How Were Air Attacks Detected?

–from Chris T

SUNDAY SPECIAL KNUCKLEHEAD FOR SALE– I have it advertised for $15,000. I got all the specifics of the build and confirmed that it is a S&S 93″ Flathead-Power Knuckle (Most sources say worth upwards of 10k) V-twin Frame, springer, trans, wheels, etc…The bike was built by Scott Tudery.

I met Anders(Scotts partner at Flathead?) at the Long Beach swap. He seemed impressed. It needs minor tweaking. I’m selling it AS-IS so I will negotiate accordingly. My contract with the original owner stipulates I won’t go below 12K. I detailed it and It looks as good as would be expected from a new build with 6.2miles.

–D-Chopman-C
chopmanchoppers@gmail.com

Excelsior Manxman — Most vintage motorcycles look spindly and fragile. Others look bulbous and unbalanced to modern eyes. But a select few?Vincent included?look hunkered-down and purposeful, and strangely modern: their aesthetic balance has endured. Excelsior is a name that can be added to that list, as long as you get the right Excelsior?because there are at least eight motorcycle manufacturers who have used that brand name (meaning lofty, or higher) in the past.

The 1937 Excelsior we?re looking at here was produced by Britain?s very first motorcycle maker?the firm of Bayliss, Thomas and Co. The company has an interesting history: after making its name with penny-farthing bicycles, the Coventry-based outfit created the Excelsior motorcycle brand in 1910. Three years later, on the eve of the Great War, it brought out an 800 cc single cylinder motorcycle?the biggest production single ever to be made.

Excelsior used engines from the likes of JAP, Blackburne and Villiers, and following the War, took to the racetrack to promote their bikes. After experimenting with a Blackburne-made racing engine, Excelsior created a simpler and sturdier design of its own?the Manxman.

This thumper was produced in capacities of 249, 348 and 498 cc, and the machine featured here is the ?big? Manxman. The company closed in 1965, but there are still a few early models around. The motorcycle in the pictures was recently sold by the leading Dutch dealer Yesterdays, and described as a ?well-restored, super fast machine?. If you have a few minutes to spare and like classic motorcycles, the Yesterdays website is well worth investigating.1928 McEvoy-JAP

–From http://www.bikeexif.com>

.

BIKERNET TESTIMONIAL– We always appreciate the extra effort you give. All our employees are walking testimonials to Bikernet.

Kyle and I are currently in Europe. We are opening a European server and office. You’ll be the first to get the story when we release it.

–Dr. George M. Marakas

BOB CLARK’S IDEA OF THE IDEAL MOTORCYCLE–Only in Texas, goddamnit!

–Bob

Perp Walks of the Week: Ohio Chop-Shopper Sentenced in West Virginia– An Ohio man has been sentenced for his role in an interstate theft and motorcycle chop shop ring.

Edward Jay Messer, 46, of Cincinnati, was sentenced to two months in a community corrections facility, five months on home confinement and three years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty in November to possessing a stolen motor vehicle that had crossed interstate lines.

According to a Justice Department press release, a Harley Davidson Heritage motorcycle was stolen from a hotel parking lot in Ohio in July 2004. The stolen motorcycle was disassembled, then reassembled with another frame, transmission and motor case.

At his plea hearing, Messer admitted he knew the motorcycle was stolen when it was presented to the Huntington Police Department for inspection. After the reassembled motorcycle was titled, it was taken to a Kentucky motorcycle shop where it was later sold.

As part of his plea agreement, Messer stipulated he had titled seven stolen and reassembled motorcycles between 2001 and 2004.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers, who presided over the proceedings, ordered Messer pay $69,453 in restitution to his victims.

The Judge also ordered that the motorcycles seized in connection with Messer’s criminal conduct be returned to the victims. The FBI, Cabell County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police conducted the investigation.

— by Holly Wagner
WWW.DEALERNEWS.COM

KATMANDU IS SELLING HISTORY– 1976 Shovelhead FXE Swingarm Bobber, second owner, fresh OEM motor and 4-spd. tranny, top o?line GMA brakes, Chandler Paint job, Pera seat, S&S Carb, fast and furious little sled with extra original parts. Garage kept, needs to be ridden.

$8,000 takes it.

Contact Katmandu 772-631-8181
or katmandu@cyclesource.com
Many thanks, my brothers and sisters!

BIKERNET REPRESENTED IN AMERICAN IRON–See that cover bike. We featured that classic on Bikernet, shot by Peter Linney, years ago. Peter shoots for Bikernet on a monthly basis. We also were involved in their classic Ace 4 feature this month. Markus Cuff, a Bikernet staffer, shot the Rodan built four of fours. A magnificent bike, and I wrote the feature. Don’t miss this issue.

The bastard is real, now if we can only find SinWu.

BIKERNET FICTIONALIZED CHARACTER COMES TO LIFE–Agent Zebra was recently discovered on the coast of France, at the Cannes Film Festival. He was caught on film by an undercover Bikernet paparazzi.

“You’d have loved watching me smuggle my knife past the cops and metal wands on the red carpet,” The agent said honoring the Bikernet Code of the West, “Bunch of junior varsity commandos.”

VETERAN’S CLUB SEEKS RECOGNITION– My name is Tim Stinson and I have been in comms with you for awhile now. You posted me on your website before. Kent from Lucky Devil is one of my brothers and we have talked about Mr Devil a few times. I included you in a group email to the major MCs today and wanted to follow up with this email to explain. Rather than bore you with repetitive stories if you go to www.horrormerchantsmc.com you can read more about the club. I recently reactivated an old club that I am a charter member of but changed the mission, instead of being just a bunch of fun loving insane party animal bikers living like 1%ers, this incarnation of the old club is a Veterans Club.

I am trying to get the word out as to who we are, what we are and what we are not so we can enjoy the time we have together riding before some of us ship back out to Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, Central and South America or future hot spots…we are not a LEO Club but we have LEOs in it.

Let folks know about us, will ya?

–Tim Stinson
Horror Merchants
Veterans MC

FEATURE BIKES FROM BIKERNETMETRIC–Trent, the esteemed, Supreme, Editor in Chief, is feature some killer Garage Built Metrics. We’ll tease you with one from time to time.

–the Chinaman

TWO BIKERNET STAFF MEMBERS HEAD TO THE GULF, WITH KEVIN COSTNER– ALL??I need to hurry over to the Gulf??.but, hey, ya?ll have a nice Memorial Holiday without me!

We will be out of touch for several weeks starting immediately. I have been very upset about the impending damage to the Louisiana coast, so when I received the call for help in clean-up and saw the picture of the oil soaked creatures that are washing up on the beach at Grand Isle, I immediately decided to answer the call.

–Lucky Devil and Bob T.

Click to see more from Lucky Devil

News from the Bikernet Insurance Center: Get the Insurance Policy You Don’t Even Know You Need– We bikers ride with the wind. Think nothing of going 80 down the highways and by-ways of America. Risk takers we are by birth. It’s just the way it is folks. Yet, with just one unfortunate accident, you can lose it all. There is a solution and we can help.

There is no need to say goodbye to your home, autos, motorcycles and lifetime wages if all hell breaks lose and you get sued up the ying yang. Protect yourself with the financial power of a “Personal Umbrella” policy. A personal umbrella policy adds a critical layer of liability coverage that your auto, home or motorcycle insurance policies simply do not have. With this additional coverage of $1,000,000 or more (depends on you needs), you can protect your assets – including future earnings and your 401K.

With premiums that start at about $200 a year, this insurance protection is the best “peace of mind” value in America. And, its easy to get a quote for it at www.bikernet.com/insurance. Simply click on the “Judge” and complete the quick online application and submit. We’ll go right to work for ya.

Why you need Umbrella Liability Insurance?

Your dog bites the neighbor’s kid and they sue you for $100,000. You’ll pay with your own hard-earned cash if you don’t have good liability coverage.

You get in a car accident and are sued for causing an accidental death. Average suit paid in 2009 totalled $287,000. Do you have this kind of money in your wallet?

You are sued for gross negligence and lose in court. Look out. Average claim tops $1,000,000 here. Better have good insurance.

You hire a landscaper who jumps your fence to clean some brush and gets injured. Of course, he sues and you lose in court. Pay up time.

You decide to mouth off and are sued for slander. Ouch! Expensive if you lose in court. Even if you win the case, defense costs will put a huge hole in your bank account.

We at Bikernet Insurance go all out to bring you products and services that bikers need. No fluff products. We highly recommend the Umbrella Liability product because it adds an extra layer of protection on top of your basic, primary liability insurance policies. For one thing, it’s cheap, generally costing a few hundred dollars a year for $1,000,000 – $2,000,000 in limits.

Go Ahead! Go to the Bikernet Insurance Department and click on the Judge’s banner. Don’t let a lawsuit leave you broke.

Contact us anytime for assistance.
Toll Free: 888-467-8703
Fax: 858-693-8703
Email: clientservice@bikernet-insurance.com

Click on the banner for more info, or here for a quote.

AMAZING REPORT, FBI Data Again Shows More Guns = Less Crime– Anyone needing proof that fanaticism for gun control hasn’t waned on Capitol Hill, that anti-gunners are — as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) put it last year — only waiting to “pick the time,” should watch the video of Mexican president Felipe Calderon’s speech to Congress last week, versions of which have been posted on youtube.com . When Calderon asked that the federal “assault weapon” ban be re-imposed, a very large number of U.S. Representatives and Senators present gave him a standing ovation.

However, on Monday the FBI released crime statistics that should cause the applauding anti-gunners to sit on their hands. The statistics indicate that between 2008 and 2009, as gun sales soared, the number of murders in our country decreased 7.2 percent. That amounts to, about an 8.2 percent decrease in the per capita murder rate, after the increase in our nation’s legal and illegal population is taken into account. And it translates into about a 10.5 percent decrease in the murder rate between 2004, when the ban expired, and the end of 2009. And finally, it means that in 2009 our nation’s murder rate fell to a 45-year low.

BIKERNET DOOR PRIZE EXTRAVAGANZA NEXT WEEK–We have a passel of special prizes due to be given away next week. Just go to our free section and fill out the shit, make a suggestion, or not. We have six copies of Matt Crawford’s heady Shop Class book to give away, copies of Cycle Source magazine, Bikernet Bandanas and stickers.

It’s free goddamnit, and you’ll be surprised when a package arrives in the mail from your favorite web site, Bikernet.com.

Click here to enter Bikernet free contest area and receive Bikernet Updates.

PUSH TO NOMINATE AL WILCOX INTO THE AMA HALL OF FAME– Basically, there is a push to get Al Wilcox (guy from that story) nominated to the AMA HOF. Any help would be appreciatted. Here is the thread. You can surf, or Join and post. Just today I?ve been posting with a guy who says he knows you?.?BrewDude? from Boone, NC http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=254999&page=3

CANADIAN BILL 14 MOTOR VEHICLE ACT (REGARDING HELMETS) HAS PASSED THIRD READING– Regulations need to be written around this and will take some time. Please go to www.bccom-bc.com to view the latest information.

VANCOUVER MOTORCYCLE/SCOOTER PARKING INITIATIVE UPDATE

Please go to www.bccom-bc.com to view the latest update at the top left of our website.

MEMORIAL DAY ENDING–Holy shit, Buckwheat. There’s never a dull moment at the Bikernet Headquarters. Believe it or not, we are going to attempt to kick back tomorrow. Get this: There is trouble in paradise, with a family close to us. Nyla’s daughter just had her first born. Our tenants in the Cantina are hitting the road. We have four bike projects in the works, We need to make a decision about Bikernet Metric. We’ve invested a great deal, but no money, so far, repays the loans. Fortunately, the Bikernet Hearse is finished.

Quick, legalize prostitution!

It’s time to pre-register for the Bub Bonneville International Speed Trials this year, but we don’t know which bikes will be completed. I need a trailer. The LA Calendar Show is approaching and we need to build a killer Booth.

It was either go for 5-Balls, or brass wheels. These have bronze spokes for a touch of class.

Okay, I’m getting the hell outta here. I can’t handle the pressure. I need to find a handful of peyote buttons and a bottle of Quervo Gold. Oh, shit. We keep talking about our run to Salom, Arizona. Hang On!

Ride Forever, Bandit

BIKERNET MEMORIAL DAY SUNDAY POST–FBI PROVES MORE GUNS MEANS LESS CRIME…

Hey,

Here we are in Bikernet Paradise, Bandit’s Cantina, surrounded by motorcycles, motorcycle literature, and women. The city decided to build a park across the street. Then the major voted to bring jobs to Wilmington, by widening the street beside the headquarters.

That’s not all, I attend Wilmington Waterfront Development Meetings monthly. The next plan included building a fisherman’s wharf, commercial area and a corridor to the water, beginning across the street from our front door. This community group has been working on this effort for over eight years, and the city is about to break ground.

Some of the members, who have worked diligently WWDC for all this time, will probably not live to see it completed. Amazing dedication and vision.

That’s one terrific aspect of America, the right and the ability to have a notion, and see it through to fruition. This Memorial Day give thanks to all the brothers and sisters, who gave their lives so America could be strong and a bastion of freedom and inspiration world wide. Then, go beyond giving thanks, make it a goal to get involved, join a community group, and join your local motorcycle rights group. They fight daily to keep us on the road. Let’s hit the news:

TATTOO OF THE WEEK FROM ELECTRIC–My son, and his gang of Tattoo specialists, sent us a selection of shots from the Mike Farabaugh collection. Great stuff.

SPEAKING OF INNOVATION, FROM THE BIKERNET UNIVERSITY HISTORY DEPARTMENT– Some of you may have seen these images of the devices the military used to detect airplanes before the development of RADAR, I had not and thought they were interesting.

Before Radar, How Were Air Attacks Detected?

–from Chris T

SUNDAY SPECIAL KNUCKLEHEAD FOR SALE– I have it advertised for $15,000. I got all the specifics of the build and confirmed that it is a S&S 93″ Flathead-Power Knuckle (Most sources say worth upwards of 10k) V-twin Frame, springer, trans, wheels, etc…The bike was built by Scott Tudery.

I met Anders(Scotts partner at Flathead?) at the Long Beach swap. He seemed impressed. It needs minor tweaking. I’m selling it AS-IS so I will negotiate accordingly. My contract with the original owner stipulates I won’t go below 12K. I detailed it and It looks as good as would be expected from a new build with 6.2miles.

–D-Chopman-C
chopmanchoppers@gmail.com

Excelsior Manxman — Most vintage motorcycles look spindly and fragile. Others look bulbous and unbalanced to modern eyes. But a select few?Vincent included?look hunkered-down and purposeful, and strangely modern: their aesthetic balance has endured. Excelsior is a name that can be added to that list, as long as you get the right Excelsior?because there are at least eight motorcycle manufacturers who have used that brand name (meaning lofty, or higher) in the past.

The 1937 Excelsior we?re looking at here was produced by Britain?s very first motorcycle maker?the firm of Bayliss, Thomas and Co. The company has an interesting history: after making its name with penny-farthing bicycles, the Coventry-based outfit created the Excelsior motorcycle brand in 1910. Three years later, on the eve of the Great War, it brought out an 800 cc single cylinder motorcycle?the biggest production single ever to be made.

Excelsior used engines from the likes of JAP, Blackburne and Villiers, and following the War, took to the racetrack to promote their bikes. After experimenting with a Blackburne-made racing engine, Excelsior created a simpler and sturdier design of its own?the Manxman.

This thumper was produced in capacities of 249, 348 and 498 cc, and the machine featured here is the ?big? Manxman. The company closed in 1965, but there are still a few early models around. The motorcycle in the pictures was recently sold by the leading Dutch dealer Yesterdays, and described as a ?well-restored, super fast machine?. If you have a few minutes to spare and like classic motorcycles, the Yesterdays website is well worth investigating.1928 McEvoy-JAP

–From http://www.bikeexif.com>

.

BIKERNET TESTIMONIAL– We always appreciate the extra effort you give. All our employees are walking testimonials to Bikernet.

Kyle and I are currently in Europe. We are opening a European server and office. You’ll be the first to get the story when we release it.

–Dr. George M. Marakas

BOB CLARK’S IDEA OF THE IDEAL MOTORCYCLE–Only in Texas, goddamnit!

–Bob

Perp Walks of the Week: Ohio Chop-Shopper Sentenced in West Virginia– An Ohio man has been sentenced for his role in an interstate theft and motorcycle chop shop ring.

Edward Jay Messer, 46, of Cincinnati, was sentenced to two months in a community corrections facility, five months on home confinement and three years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty in November to possessing a stolen motor vehicle that had crossed interstate lines.

According to a Justice Department press release, a Harley Davidson Heritage motorcycle was stolen from a hotel parking lot in Ohio in July 2004. The stolen motorcycle was disassembled, then reassembled with another frame, transmission and motor case.

At his plea hearing, Messer admitted he knew the motorcycle was stolen when it was presented to the Huntington Police Department for inspection. After the reassembled motorcycle was titled, it was taken to a Kentucky motorcycle shop where it was later sold.

As part of his plea agreement, Messer stipulated he had titled seven stolen and reassembled motorcycles between 2001 and 2004.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers, who presided over the proceedings, ordered Messer pay $69,453 in restitution to his victims.

The Judge also ordered that the motorcycles seized in connection with Messer’s criminal conduct be returned to the victims. The FBI, Cabell County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police conducted the investigation.

— by Holly Wagner
WWW.DEALERNEWS.COM

KATMANDU IS SELLING HISTORY– 1976 Shovelhead FXE Swingarm Bobber, second owner, fresh OEM motor and 4-spd. tranny, top o?line GMA brakes, Chandler Paint job, Pera seat, S&S Carb, fast and furious little sled with extra original parts. Garage kept, needs to be ridden.

$8,000 takes it.

Contact Katmandu 772-631-8181
or katmandu@cyclesource.com
Many thanks, my brothers and sisters!

BIKERNET REPRESENTED IN AMERICAN IRON–See that cover bike. We featured that classic on Bikernet, shot by Peter Linney, years ago. Peter shoots for Bikernet on a monthly basis. We also were involved in their classic Ace 4 feature this month. Markus Cuff, a Bikernet staffer, shot the Rodan built four of fours. A magnificent bike, and I wrote the feature. Don’t miss this issue.

The bastard is real, now if we can only find SinWu.

BIKERNET FICTIONALIZED CHARACTER COMES TO LIFE–Agent Zebra was recently discovered on the coast of France, at the Cannes Film Festival. He was caught on film by an undercover Bikernet paparazzi.

“You’d have loved watching me smuggle my knife past the cops and metal wands on the red carpet,” The agent said honoring the Bikernet Code of the West, “Bunch of junior varsity commandos.”

VETERAN’S CLUB SEEKS RECOGNITION– My name is Tim Stinson and I have been in comms with you for awhile now. You posted me on your website before. Kent from Lucky Devil is one of my brothers and we have talked about Mr Devil a few times. I included you in a group email to the major MCs today and wanted to follow up with this email to explain. Rather than bore you with repetitive stories if you go to www.horrormerchantsmc.com you can read more about the club. I recently reactivated an old club that I am a charter member of but changed the mission, instead of being just a bunch of fun loving insane party animal bikers living like 1%ers, this incarnation of the old club is a Veterans Club.

I am trying to get the word out as to who we are, what we are and what we are not so we can enjoy the time we have together riding before some of us ship back out to Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, Central and South America or future hot spots…we are not a LEO Club but we have LEOs in it.

Let folks know about us, will ya?

–Tim Stinson
Horror Merchants
Veterans MC

FEATURE BIKES FROM BIKERNETMETRIC–Trent, the esteemed, Supreme, Editor in Chief, is feature some killer Garage Built Metrics. We’ll tease you with one from time to time.

–the Chinaman

TWO BIKERNET STAFF MEMBERS HEAD TO THE GULF, WITH KEVIN COSTNER– ALL??I need to hurry over to the Gulf??.but, hey, ya?ll have a nice Memorial Holiday without me!

We will be out of touch for several weeks starting immediately. I have been very upset about the impending damage to the Louisiana coast, so when I received the call for help in clean-up and saw the picture of the oil soaked creatures that are washing up on the beach at Grand Isle, I immediately decided to answer the call.

–Lucky Devil and Bob T.

Click to see more from Lucky Devil

News from the Bikernet Insurance Center: Get the Insurance Policy You Don’t Even Know You Need– We bikers ride with the wind. Think nothing of going 80 down the highways and by-ways of America. Risk takers we are by birth. It’s just the way it is folks. Yet, with just one unfortunate accident, you can lose it all. There is a solution and we can help.

There is no need to say goodbye to your home, autos, motorcycles and lifetime wages if all hell breaks lose and you get sued up the ying yang. Protect yourself with the financial power of a “Personal Umbrella” policy. A personal umbrella policy adds a critical layer of liability coverage that your auto, home or motorcycle insurance policies simply do not have. With this additional coverage of $1,000,000 or more (depends on you needs), you can protect your assets – including future earnings and your 401K.

With premiums that start at about $200 a year, this insurance protection is the best “peace of mind” value in America. And, its easy to get a quote for it at www.bikernet.com/insurance. Simply click on the “Judge” and complete the quick online application and submit. We’ll go right to work for ya.

Why you need Umbrella Liability Insurance?

Your dog bites the neighbor’s kid and they sue you for $100,000. You’ll pay with your own hard-earned cash if you don’t have good liability coverage.

You get in a car accident and are sued for causing an accidental death. Average suit paid in 2009 totalled $287,000. Do you have this kind of money in your wallet?

You are sued for gross negligence and lose in court. Look out. Average claim tops $1,000,000 here. Better have good insurance.

You hire a landscaper who jumps your fence to clean some brush and gets injured. Of course, he sues and you lose in court. Pay up time.

You decide to mouth off and are sued for slander. Ouch! Expensive if you lose in court. Even if you win the case, defense costs will put a huge hole in your bank account.

We at Bikernet Insurance go all out to bring you products and services that bikers need. No fluff products. We highly recommend the Umbrella Liability product because it adds an extra layer of protection on top of your basic, primary liability insurance policies. For one thing, it’s cheap, generally costing a few hundred dollars a year for $1,000,000 – $2,000,000 in limits.

Go Ahead! Go to the Bikernet Insurance Department and click on the Judge’s banner. Don’t let a lawsuit leave you broke.

Contact us anytime for assistance.
Toll Free: 888-467-8703
Fax: 858-693-8703
Email: clientservice@bikernet-insurance.com

Click on the banner for more info, or here for a quote.

AMAZING REPORT, FBI Data Again Shows More Guns = Less Crime– Anyone needing proof that fanaticism for gun control hasn’t waned on Capitol Hill, that anti-gunners are — as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) put it last year — only waiting to “pick the time,” should watch the video of Mexican president Felipe Calderon’s speech to Congress last week, versions of which have been posted on youtube.com . When Calderon asked that the federal “assault weapon” ban be re-imposed, a very large number of U.S. Representatives and Senators present gave him a standing ovation.

However, on Monday the FBI released crime statistics that should cause the applauding anti-gunners to sit on their hands. The statistics indicate that between 2008 and 2009, as gun sales soared, the number of murders in our country decreased 7.2 percent. That amounts to, about an 8.2 percent decrease in the per capita murder rate, after the increase in our nation’s legal and illegal population is taken into account. And it translates into about a 10.5 percent decrease in the murder rate between 2004, when the ban expired, and the end of 2009. And finally, it means that in 2009 our nation’s murder rate fell to a 45-year low.

BIKERNET DOOR PRIZE EXTRAVAGANZA NEXT WEEK–We have a passel of special prizes due to be given away next week. Just go to our free section and fill out the shit, make a suggestion, or not. We have six copies of Matt Crawford’s heady Shop Class book to give away, copies of Cycle Source magazine, Bikernet Bandanas and stickers.

It’s free goddamnit, and you’ll be surprised when a package arrives in the mail from your favorite web site, Bikernet.com.

Click here to enter Bikernet free contest area and receive Bikernet Updates.

PUSH TO NOMINATE AL WILCOX INTO THE AMA HALL OF FAME– Basically, there is a push to get Al Wilcox (guy from that story) nominated to the AMA HOF. Any help would be appreciatted. Here is the thread. You can surf, or Join and post. Just today I?ve been posting with a guy who says he knows you?.?BrewDude? from Boone, NC http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=254999&page=3

CANADIAN BILL 14 MOTOR VEHICLE ACT (REGARDING HELMETS) HAS PASSED THIRD READING– Regulations need to be written around this and will take some time. Please go to www.bccom-bc.com to view the latest information.

VANCOUVER MOTORCYCLE/SCOOTER PARKING INITIATIVE UPDATE

Please go to www.bccom-bc.com to view the latest update at the top left of our website.

MEMORIAL DAY ENDING–Holy shit, Buckwheat. There’s never a dull moment at the Bikernet Headquarters. Believe it or not, we are going to attempt to kick back tomorrow. Get this: There is trouble in paradise, with a family close to us. Nyla’s daughter just had her first born. Our tenants in the Cantina are hitting the road. We have four bike projects in the works, We need to make a decision about Bikernet Metric. We’ve invested a great deal, but no money, so far, repays the loans. Fortunately, the Bikernet Hearse is finished.

Quick, legalize prostitution!

It’s time to pre-register for the Bub Bonneville International Speed Trials this year, but we don’t know which bikes will be completed. I need a trailer. The LA Calendar Show is approaching and we need to build a killer Booth.

It was either go for 5-Balls, or brass wheels. These have bronze spokes for a touch of class.

Okay, I’m getting the hell outta here. I can’t handle the pressure. I need to find a handful of peyote buttons and a bottle of Quervo Gold. Oh, shit. We keep talking about our run to Salom, Arizona. Hang On!

Ride Forever, Bandit

It was just a boring Thursday night in the Cantina. Saint Paddy’s day passed without any major catastrophe. The party was green and everyone smiled and had a good time. Life at Bandit’s Cantina had mellowed. Even the bouncy lesbians got along.

Nyla took a night off and hired a bartender from Wilmington to stand in for her. She was a short, Hispanic woman, Juanita, on the verge of breaking out of the historic end of middle age. Here frilly hair was dyed the maroon color of custom cars, but she had a friendly upbeat air about her, and her tits were giant bubbly mounds. She loved to wear low-cut, tight tops and push-up-to-the-moon bras. She had pudgy cheeks, squinty eyes, long fake eyelashes, and she barely stood 5’2″, so every patron stared at her jiggling cleavage all night long.

She smiled, joked with Marko, who wasn’t impressed, and moved around the bar efficiently. She made Bloody Marys like a sous-chef labors over an exotic sauce. She hand-squeezed lemons, sprinkled pepper and exotic spices, labored over celery, delivered a squirt of Worcestershire sauce, then ice, special Bloody Mary mix and plenty of vodka. She picked massive glasses that could have been Jacuzzis for elves.

The lackluster night witnessed only a few patrons, but a big broad entered the fray, a pal of Juanita’s. She was a giant, 300-pound Mexican chick, with massive tits and arms the size of Buster’s legs. The brothers at the bar gawked, but she smiled and made fun of skinny Frankie and Clay.

Buster

The big mama, Maria, made her way to the jukebox and plugged in a series of soul tunes, and suddenly the Cantina was a-buzz with warm feelings and a touch of romance. Isaac Hayes melted the candles on the Cantina tables. Then another woman from Wilmington entered the saloon. She was younger, hot-looking and Maria shook her fist at the girl.

“I hate you skinny chicks,” she said with a broad smile.

Clay actually sat up straight on his ceremonial barstool location and tried to make small talk. This Hispanic broad had a wide delightful smile and bright eyes. Her auburn hair with highlights enhanced a figure capable of stopping a thundering train in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Clay recognized something in her eyes, openness, a forgiving nature, a sexual appetite, and there was the telltale lack of rings on her left hand. He gazed at her bountiful cleavage, then at the average-sized purse she place gently on the bar. It was patterned with a series of outlined hearts. Could Candida be looking?

Big Maria and Juanita decided it was time for a Thursday party and started to blow up balloons, tie ribbon tassels and let them float to the ceiling. Every time a patron walked in the door Maria would say, “Finally, you?re here, the party can start!”

The night warmed to the sounds of Luther Van Dross and the Impressions. The buzz was upbeat when a young Hispanic pushed open the door and threw his jacket on the adjacent table, knocking over a candle, and spilling hot wax across the checkered cloth. He was the first patron who didn’t bring a smile to Juanita’s face. She grimaced immediately and pointed her finger at the dour little man as he approached the bar.

Clay

“No trouble here,” she said in English. “I’m going to watch you.”

“Bullshit,” Diego said, sliding up to the bar next to Candida. He grabbed a balloon tassel and thrust it at her.

“A gift of peace,” Diego said staring at her cleavage and licking his lips. “It could be you and I tonight.”

She turned back to Clay and smiled. “You were saying?”

Clay looked in her eyes and read the body language in the bar, like a gambler reads the cards in his hand. He assessed the 5’6″ bearded forbidding face and the message from Juanita. His last wife left him high and dry. In five minutes, Candida lit a fire in his dour life, and he didn’t want anyone to pour a bucket of water on it.

He smiled back at her, and picked up the conversation as if nothing happened. Diego ordered a Gold Cadillac Margarita, grande, and a shot of Cuervo Gold on the side. He was small and compact, but his face was wrinkled and scarred. He didn’t smile unless to push buttons with a broad. He was as dry as a popcorn fart and angry at the world.

“Why are you a fat bitch?” he snapped at Maria. “Don’t you ever want someone to lick your pussy?”

“You don’t plan on getting laid tonight, do you?” Maria said without batting an eye.

“I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last woman on this stinking planet.”

“Good,” Maria said. “I can work the rest of the room, and you can burn in your own dismal hell.”

“Are you guys gonna drink and party,” Juanita said, “or piss and moan all night? What did I tell you, Diego?”

“Who the fuck cares what you say,” Diego spat back. “You’re too old, ya piece of shit.” He downed his shot and followed it by drinking half of his giant margarita.

Frankie took his broom and disappeared into the kitchen.

What was building toward a joyful party evening soured. Then the squeal of brakes jostled every patron as an all-black Softail with highbars and Bartel’s shotguns slid to a dramatic stop in front of the Cantina. The pipes revved a final blistering note and the bike shut down, then the big oak door burst open.

It was the infamous Agent Zebra, a long-time Bandit riding partner who ran off to be a screenplay writer in Florida.

“Where is that bastard?” Zebra hollered, tossing his black leather gauntlets on the table next to Diego’s jacket.

Zebra, a Kansas-born, bull-riding, hay-bale tossing, pure white farm boy, was tough, strong, and loose cannon with the firing pin always cocked. He stood just over 6 feet, was thick as a mule, trained constantly, and always carried an H&K 45 with three extra 9-round clips. Bandit only knew of one man who could handle Zebra: Marko.

“He’s in Thailand, sailing,” Marko said of Bandit’s whereabouts.

“Bullshit,” Zebra spat. “He’s not sailing, he’s testing the whorehouses in Phuket. Gimme two shots of Jack Daniels.”

Juanita looked at Agent Zebra in his all black leathers as if Zorro strolled in the door and tossed his cape over his shoulder and cut a “Z” in her blouse. He was a sight, like a blonde masked marauder from heaven. Only Marko knew better. He shook his head, looked at Diego, and knew there was trouble in paradise.

Agent Zebra left home after graduating from high school and attended a big city college for a degree in journalism. He wasn’t accustomed to big cities and found himself on the wrong side of the tracks one night, where he was mugged and beaten half to death by a gang of thugs. The beating set off something in his masterful mind, like lighting the fuse on a truckload of dynamite. He healed, then trained like a starving dog for a year, and returned to the ghetto area to extract his revenge.

Ever since that time, he packs and is anxious to feel the heat, and too often, he likes to light the fuse. As he approached the broad bar, he also sensed the body language, the air of concern in the bartender’s eyes and the source of her anxiety.

Diego sat on the stool on the right of Candida. Clay was nestled on the left. He sat on the corner stool and saw Zebra approaching. Diego downed another shot of Cuervo Gold, reached over, and pulled Juanita’s top out to reveal her big dark nipples.

“You may be old, but they’re still soft as butter,” Diego said.

Juanita slapped his hand away.

Diego stood abruptly, and drew back to unleash some serious damage on the middle-aged female bartender, when something caught his arm, spun him around and suddenly he was face-to-face with the broad smiling muscular white boy in all black leather.

“I need a place to sit,” Zebra said, smiling from ear to ear. “So kind of you to offer your stool.”

“Fuck you white boy,” Diego snapped, but was planted on the next seat over before he could focus his inihibrated eyes. “I was sitting there,” he stammered.

Marko watched from the corner of the room, his hand hovering above his own 9mm Browning. Zebra was a fight looking for a venue. It was just a matter of time.

“Gimme another Margarita and make it strong this time, bitch,” Diego snapped. “Fuck it, gimme two shots of Gold.”

“I told you to be cool,” Juanita said, but she knew her words held no water with the little violent man.

“Fuck you, bitch,” Diego said, and turned toward Zebra. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“You say bitch once more, and I’m going to be the surgeon who cuts your heart out, punk,” Zebra answered softly, and took a swallow of Jack Daniels. He needed no liquid courage. In fact, the opposite, He needed whiskey to slow down.

“What the fuck did you say to me, puta madre?” Diego was beginning to fume.

Juanita slipped two large shots of Quervo Gold onto the counter. Diego snatched one, tossed the lemon at Juanita and downed it, without the easing qualities of salt or Lemon.

“I love to cut gringos. I hate all you motherfuckers.”

Zebra turned his back to Diego in defiance. Candida looked up at the broad-shouldered biker and their eyes met for the first time, like turning on the switch to a magnetic field. Suddenly there was a connection.

“My name is Jim,” Zebra said and extended his hand. “You’re lovely.” The tone of his voice switched from icy saw blades to warm syrup over pancakes.

“I’m Candida,” she said standing and extending her soft hand. “Thank you.”

“Why did you come to this hole in the harbor?” Zebra said. “You should be strolling along the beach in Santa Monica.”

“This is upscale from where I live in Wilmington,” Candida said. “I only came over here because Juanita is standing in for the regular bartender.”

“I know a little place along the Palos Verdes Peninsula,” Zebra said. “I would like to take you to dinner. Do you ride?”

“Sure, I ride,” Candida said batting her eyelashes.

“What a crock of shit,” Diego stammered, nearly to the boiling-over stage. He snatched Buster’s beer bottle and took a swing at the back of Zebra’s thick skull.

Before it reached its mark, Zebra twisted toward the bar, caught the longneck, and snatched it from Diego’s grasp, snapping it free.

“No, thanks,” Zebra said. “I don’t drink cerveza.”

Diego winced from joint pain and jumped back, knocking over his barstool. He fumed as he reached behind his back, under his vest and grabbed the ivory handle of a Colt hunting knife with a 6-inch blade. He yanked it into the open and the glinting reflection of the Cantina’s overhead ceiling fan light danced across the back of Zebra’s black leather vest.

“No one fucks with Diego,” he snarled. “I’m going to gut you like a fish.”

Zebra was a bucking bull caged in civilization. He relished the opportunity to kick open the cage and go to town. Marko watched him spin to meet his assailant and started to move from his vantage point, but Zebra was unleashed. He grabbed his barstool, snatched it off the wooden deck, and stormed Diego, swinging the stool like a Dodger about to hit a home run. The second swing caught Diego’s knife arm and drove the blade across the room to the deck.

Zebra didn’t stop swinging until he knocked Diego off his feet.

“Get up, punk,” Zebra said, gritting his teeth and still coming.

As he closed on the stocky Mexican he tore off his vest and his leather shirt, tossing them on another checkered table. Zebra had just one tattoo and a scar around his left arm from a chain saw accident. He almost lost his arm at his father’s ranch.

Diego scrambled to his feet and grabbed a chair, but it was too late. Zebra hit him with a right paw, immediately knocking him to the deck again.

“Get up, punk!” Zebra snarled.

With a broken jaw, Diego stood once more. A left and another right broke his nose. The man went down again.

“Get up, punk,” Zebra said, still storming forward. “You think you’re bad? Let’s be real bad.”

Diego tried to stand and Zebra kicked him the nuts hard enough to nurture the bad ass forever. Diego was done, but Zebra kept coming. Just then, a crack split the night air.

“That’s enough,” Marco said after firing his 9mm into the ceiling, careful to miss Bandit’s apartment upstairs. “Goddamnit, now I have to patch the roof again.”

Zebra stood straight up and released his grip on his Beretta locking blade knife. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he knew if Marko hadn’t stopped him, Diego would be dead.

“Time for you to leave,” Marko said to Diego who struggled to his feet.

“But I’m not done with my drink,” Diego spit blood as he spoke.

An audible clicking sound filled the Cantina. Juanita stood behind the bar with Nyla’s double-barreled coach shotgun, both hammers cocked.

“Set 20 dollars on the table and don’t ever come to any bar where I work again,” Juanita said, staring down the barrels to Diego’s chest.

Diego looked at the angry woman, the muscled Zebra glaring and at Marco holding his warm 9mm semi-auto. He dug in his denims for 20 bucks, set it on the table and departed, leaving a trail of blood on the floor.

Juanita handed Candida a clean bar towel and the young Hispanic hottie approached Zebra’s broad back with the towel in hand. As she touched him, he turned to face her.

“Thanks,” Zebra said. “Let’s fuck and we can put that towel to good use.”

Candida blushed as he pulled her toward his naked torso. “But where?”

“I know just the place,” Zebra said looking up the stairs to Bandit’s apartment. “I’m glad that bastard ain’t around.”

It was just a boring Thursday night in the Cantina. Saint Paddy’s day passed without any major catastrophe. The party was green and everyone smiled and had a good time. Life at Bandit’s Cantina had mellowed. Even the bouncy lesbians got along.

Nyla took a night off and hired a bartender from Wilmington to stand in for her. She was a short, Hispanic woman, Juanita, on the verge of breaking out of the historic end of middle age. Here frilly hair was dyed the maroon color of custom cars, but she had a friendly upbeat air about her, and her tits were giant bubbly mounds. She loved to wear low-cut, tight tops and push-up-to-the-moon bras. She had pudgy cheeks, squinty eyes, long fake eyelashes, and she barely stood 5’2″, so every patron stared at her jiggling cleavage all night long.

She smiled, joked with Marko, who wasn’t impressed, and moved around the bar efficiently. She made Bloody Marys like a sous-chef labors over an exotic sauce. She hand-squeezed lemons, sprinkled pepper and exotic spices, labored over celery, delivered a squirt of Worcestershire sauce, then ice, special Bloody Mary mix and plenty of vodka. She picked massive glasses that could have been Jacuzzis for elves.

The lackluster night witnessed only a few patrons, but a big broad entered the fray, a pal of Juanita’s. She was a giant, 300-pound Mexican chick, with massive tits and arms the size of Buster’s legs. The brothers at the bar gawked, but she smiled and made fun of skinny Frankie and Clay.

Buster

The big mama, Maria, made her way to the jukebox and plugged in a series of soul tunes, and suddenly the Cantina was a-buzz with warm feelings and a touch of romance. Isaac Hayes melted the candles on the Cantina tables. Then another woman from Wilmington entered the saloon. She was younger, hot-looking and Maria shook her fist at the girl.

“I hate you skinny chicks,” she said with a broad smile.

Clay actually sat up straight on his ceremonial barstool location and tried to make small talk. This Hispanic broad had a wide delightful smile and bright eyes. Her auburn hair with highlights enhanced a figure capable of stopping a thundering train in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Clay recognized something in her eyes, openness, a forgiving nature, a sexual appetite, and there was the telltale lack of rings on her left hand. He gazed at her bountiful cleavage, then at the average-sized purse she place gently on the bar. It was patterned with a series of outlined hearts. Could Candida be looking?

Big Maria and Juanita decided it was time for a Thursday party and started to blow up balloons, tie ribbon tassels and let them float to the ceiling. Every time a patron walked in the door Maria would say, “Finally, you?re here, the party can start!”

The night warmed to the sounds of Luther Van Dross and the Impressions. The buzz was upbeat when a young Hispanic pushed open the door and threw his jacket on the adjacent table, knocking over a candle, and spilling hot wax across the checkered cloth. He was the first patron who didn’t bring a smile to Juanita’s face. She grimaced immediately and pointed her finger at the dour little man as he approached the bar.

Clay

“No trouble here,” she said in English. “I’m going to watch you.”

“Bullshit,” Diego said, sliding up to the bar next to Candida. He grabbed a balloon tassel and thrust it at her.

“A gift of peace,” Diego said staring at her cleavage and licking his lips. “It could be you and I tonight.”

She turned back to Clay and smiled. “You were saying?”

Clay looked in her eyes and read the body language in the bar, like a gambler reads the cards in his hand. He assessed the 5’6″ bearded forbidding face and the message from Juanita. His last wife left him high and dry. In five minutes, Candida lit a fire in his dour life, and he didn’t want anyone to pour a bucket of water on it.

He smiled back at her, and picked up the conversation as if nothing happened. Diego ordered a Gold Cadillac Margarita, grande, and a shot of Cuervo Gold on the side. He was small and compact, but his face was wrinkled and scarred. He didn’t smile unless to push buttons with a broad. He was as dry as a popcorn fart and angry at the world.

“Why are you a fat bitch?” he snapped at Maria. “Don’t you ever want someone to lick your pussy?”

“You don’t plan on getting laid tonight, do you?” Maria said without batting an eye.

“I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last woman on this stinking planet.”

“Good,” Maria said. “I can work the rest of the room, and you can burn in your own dismal hell.”

“Are you guys gonna drink and party,” Juanita said, “or piss and moan all night? What did I tell you, Diego?”

“Who the fuck cares what you say,” Diego spat back. “You’re too old, ya piece of shit.” He downed his shot and followed it by drinking half of his giant margarita.

Frankie took his broom and disappeared into the kitchen.

What was building toward a joyful party evening soured. Then the squeal of brakes jostled every patron as an all-black Softail with highbars and Bartel’s shotguns slid to a dramatic stop in front of the Cantina. The pipes revved a final blistering note and the bike shut down, then the big oak door burst open.

It was the infamous Agent Zebra, a long-time Bandit riding partner who ran off to be a screenplay writer in Florida.

“Where is that bastard?” Zebra hollered, tossing his black leather gauntlets on the table next to Diego’s jacket.

Zebra, a Kansas-born, bull-riding, hay-bale tossing, pure white farm boy, was tough, strong, and loose cannon with the firing pin always cocked. He stood just over 6 feet, was thick as a mule, trained constantly, and always carried an H&K 45 with three extra 9-round clips. Bandit only knew of one man who could handle Zebra: Marko.

“He’s in Thailand, sailing,” Marko said of Bandit’s whereabouts.

“Bullshit,” Zebra spat. “He’s not sailing, he’s testing the whorehouses in Phuket. Gimme two shots of Jack Daniels.”

Juanita looked at Agent Zebra in his all black leathers as if Zorro strolled in the door and tossed his cape over his shoulder and cut a “Z” in her blouse. He was a sight, like a blonde masked marauder from heaven. Only Marko knew better. He shook his head, looked at Diego, and knew there was trouble in paradise.

Agent Zebra left home after graduating from high school and attended a big city college for a degree in journalism. He wasn’t accustomed to big cities and found himself on the wrong side of the tracks one night, where he was mugged and beaten half to death by a gang of thugs. The beating set off something in his masterful mind, like lighting the fuse on a truckload of dynamite. He healed, then trained like a starving dog for a year, and returned to the ghetto area to extract his revenge.

Ever since that time, he packs and is anxious to feel the heat, and too often, he likes to light the fuse. As he approached the broad bar, he also sensed the body language, the air of concern in the bartender’s eyes and the source of her anxiety.

Diego sat on the stool on the right of Candida. Clay was nestled on the left. He sat on the corner stool and saw Zebra approaching. Diego downed another shot of Cuervo Gold, reached over, and pulled Juanita’s top out to reveal her big dark nipples.

“You may be old, but they’re still soft as butter,” Diego said.

Juanita slapped his hand away.

Diego stood abruptly, and drew back to unleash some serious damage on the middle-aged female bartender, when something caught his arm, spun him around and suddenly he was face-to-face with the broad smiling muscular white boy in all black leather.

“I need a place to sit,” Zebra said, smiling from ear to ear. “So kind of you to offer your stool.”

“Fuck you white boy,” Diego snapped, but was planted on the next seat over before he could focus his inihibrated eyes. “I was sitting there,” he stammered.

Marko watched from the corner of the room, his hand hovering above his own 9mm Browning. Zebra was a fight looking for a venue. It was just a matter of time.

“Gimme another Margarita and make it strong this time, bitch,” Diego snapped. “Fuck it, gimme two shots of Gold.”

“I told you to be cool,” Juanita said, but she knew her words held no water with the little violent man.

“Fuck you, bitch,” Diego said, and turned toward Zebra. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“You say bitch once more, and I’m going to be the surgeon who cuts your heart out, punk,” Zebra answered softly, and took a swallow of Jack Daniels. He needed no liquid courage. In fact, the opposite, He needed whiskey to slow down.

“What the fuck did you say to me, puta madre?” Diego was beginning to fume.

Juanita slipped two large shots of Quervo Gold onto the counter. Diego snatched one, tossed the lemon at Juanita and downed it, without the easing qualities of salt or Lemon.

“I love to cut gringos. I hate all you motherfuckers.”

Zebra turned his back to Diego in defiance. Candida looked up at the broad-shouldered biker and their eyes met for the first time, like turning on the switch to a magnetic field. Suddenly there was a connection.

“My name is Jim,” Zebra said and extended his hand. “You’re lovely.” The tone of his voice switched from icy saw blades to warm syrup over pancakes.

“I’m Candida,” she said standing and extending her soft hand. “Thank you.”

“Why did you come to this hole in the harbor?” Zebra said. “You should be strolling along the beach in Santa Monica.”

“This is upscale from where I live in Wilmington,” Candida said. “I only came over here because Juanita is standing in for the regular bartender.”

“I know a little place along the Palos Verdes Peninsula,” Zebra said. “I would like to take you to dinner. Do you ride?”

“Sure, I ride,” Candida said batting her eyelashes.

“What a crock of shit,” Diego stammered, nearly to the boiling-over stage. He snatched Buster’s beer bottle and took a swing at the back of Zebra’s thick skull.

Before it reached its mark, Zebra twisted toward the bar, caught the longneck, and snatched it from Diego’s grasp, snapping it free.

“No, thanks,” Zebra said. “I don’t drink cerveza.”

Diego winced from joint pain and jumped back, knocking over his barstool. He fumed as he reached behind his back, under his vest and grabbed the ivory handle of a Colt hunting knife with a 6-inch blade. He yanked it into the open and the glinting reflection of the Cantina’s overhead ceiling fan light danced across the back of Zebra’s black leather vest.

“No one fucks with Diego,” he snarled. “I’m going to gut you like a fish.”

Zebra was a bucking bull caged in civilization. He relished the opportunity to kick open the cage and go to town. Marko watched him spin to meet his assailant and started to move from his vantage point, but Zebra was unleashed. He grabbed his barstool, snatched it off the wooden deck, and stormed Diego, swinging the stool like a Dodger about to hit a home run. The second swing caught Diego’s knife arm and drove the blade across the room to the deck.

Zebra didn’t stop swinging until he knocked Diego off his feet.

“Get up, punk,” Zebra said, gritting his teeth and still coming.

As he closed on the stocky Mexican he tore off his vest and his leather shirt, tossing them on another checkered table. Zebra had just one tattoo and a scar around his left arm from a chain saw accident. He almost lost his arm at his father’s ranch.

Diego scrambled to his feet and grabbed a chair, but it was too late. Zebra hit him with a right paw, immediately knocking him to the deck again.

“Get up, punk!” Zebra snarled.

With a broken jaw, Diego stood once more. A left and another right broke his nose. The man went down again.

“Get up, punk,” Zebra said, still storming forward. “You think you’re bad? Let’s be real bad.”

Diego tried to stand and Zebra kicked him the nuts hard enough to nurture the bad ass forever. Diego was done, but Zebra kept coming. Just then, a crack split the night air.

“That’s enough,” Marco said after firing his 9mm into the ceiling, careful to miss Bandit’s apartment upstairs. “Goddamnit, now I have to patch the roof again.”

Zebra stood straight up and released his grip on his Beretta locking blade knife. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he knew if Marko hadn’t stopped him, Diego would be dead.

“Time for you to leave,” Marko said to Diego who struggled to his feet.

“But I’m not done with my drink,” Diego spit blood as he spoke.

An audible clicking sound filled the Cantina. Juanita stood behind the bar with Nyla’s double-barreled coach shotgun, both hammers cocked.

“Set 20 dollars on the table and don’t ever come to any bar where I work again,” Juanita said, staring down the barrels to Diego’s chest.

Diego looked at the angry woman, the muscled Zebra glaring and at Marco holding his warm 9mm semi-auto. He dug in his denims for 20 bucks, set it on the table and departed, leaving a trail of blood on the floor.

Juanita handed Candida a clean bar towel and the young Hispanic hottie approached Zebra’s broad back with the towel in hand. As she touched him, he turned to face her.

“Thanks,” Zebra said. “Let’s fuck and we can put that towel to good use.”

Candida blushed as he pulled her toward his naked torso. “But where?”

“I know just the place,” Zebra said looking up the stairs to Bandit’s apartment. “I’m glad that bastard ain’t around.”

FEATURE REQUEST– Bandit, ya gotta do a feature on that stunning gal astride the Knuckle…. photographed by Jerry Southworth.

What a honey….. better still, put her on a plane…… she can be my new office mouse!

–Cheers….. Indian Joe

We understand the sinuous desires a special woman creates, especially Sarah. We reached out to Jerry Southworth, a master of the soft curvy imagery a woman provides. But her shots also reminded me of my past, during the Vietnam era. I was stationed on a heavy cruiser and owned a new stock 1969 XLCH. On a weekly basis, I rode from the San Diego Naval Base to Long Beach to get laid or die trying.

I had a serious predilection for women at the age of 20, like a heroin addict does for any taste of smack. While riding along the coast, my mind would often wander to the softer side of life. I would glance in a sedan, while blazing past, hoping for a bright smile, glistening eyes or an exposed cleavage. My mind wandered off the winding road to somewhere she was waiting for me.

While nailing the throttle, I starred through dark glasses at the open freeway and thought about finding some girl like Sarah, broke down alongside the freeway, wearing too-short shorts over legs so supple and soft. My imagination would ramble to her side, her soft alluring smile touching my heart, my tools fixing her car and her invitation to follow her home.

My mind spinning with imagery of a warm brunette angel with a warm gaze and skin so soft it could make a grown man cry. She offered me a chilled Corona, and a slice of fresh lime, and then disappeared into the back of the house. I was as comfortable as a baby in his mother’s arms as I kicked off my boots and enjoyed the warm summer sun slicing through open windows into her warm abode. Then I heard that voice, warm enough to melt frozen tundra, call me to the back yard…

It’s all apart of the biker blues. We’re alone on the road, unable to converse or share a soft seat with the fairer sex. A brother on the open road is lured into a sense of sunlight seduction by only his exhaust note, the confidence his mechanical contraption offers, and the wind whistling around his ears. That’s when the blues hit home. The mind is left to the wildest imaginative thoughts of women, the future, business, fights, you name it.

Often this song would come to mind from the Four Tops in the ’60s.

Ask The Lonely lyrics

(Written by William Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter)

 

Just ask the lonely
When you feel
That you can make it all alone
Remember no one is big enough
To go it all alone

Just ask the lonely
They know the hurting pain
Of losing the love
You can never regain
Just ask the lonely
The young and foolish
Who laugh at love and slowly run away
Confident and sure that fate
Will bring another love their way

But ask the lonely
How vainly a heart can yearn
For losing a love
That will never return

Just ask the lonely
Just ask the lonely
Just ask the lonely

They’ll tell you a story of sadness
A story too hard to believe
They’ll tell you
The lonliest one is me

Just ask the lonely
Just ask the lonely
Just ask the lonely
Ask me, I’m the lonliest one of all

Back then, my mind was often sucked toward the sexual escapades I wasn’t having. I was stuck off the coast of Vietnam seven months of the year, blasting the coast and ducking return fire. Then I was sequestered on a base 120 miles from home most of rest of the year. Naturally, when I could fly away for a couple of days, I peeled like a lost dog toward the hometown.

Fortunately, a brunette waited for me. She had the smile of an angel and boobs most whores only dream about. But there was more. She contained the sexual prowess of an entire harem and the sensual desires of 50 women locked in a women’s prison. Yet, she was as good and as pure as freshly fallen snow.

Unfortunately, my young outlaw spirit didn’t allow me to stay. My punishment was a string of no-account broads and too many lonely nights on desolate freeways looking into dark car windows for another angel. If you find one, respect her. They’re hard to come by.