Here’s a strange tale of a madman builder, an island event, a troubled blonde and the Girls of Bikernet. I’ll try to make some sense of this mixed bag of tricks. It’s all about the passion to do something, be somebody and build a community. Let’s see how well I do. You know the outlaw adage, “Time will tell and shit will smell.”

Deacon out of Honolulu, Hawaii, to celebrate his second island builder celebration, built this bike. He has a long history of wrenches, the wrong side of the law, winning VW drag races and moving from town to town. His saving grace is his wife Katy who rescued him from a San Bernadino courtroom. If you’re curiosity about the man piques, don’t stop here. Check out the Life And Times Department of the Cantina. He has a wild past.

Here’s Deacon working in the old Bikernet Shop, on our 1928 Shovelhead, just after it arrived in California from Strokers Dallas.

Deacon, Katy and their three kids ended up in Hawaii. He works in a small performance shop on the outskirts of Honolulu, Pro Street (808) 236-0405, but has a Jones. He can’t build a bike, sell it and be done with it. He needed to reach out, so he built wilder bikes and started a campaign to meld all Hawaiian Island builders together in a one-day outdoor show and show off, to the world, the island talent. It sorta backfired.

Event promotion is a nasty carnie-like affair. All the heat, the pissed off vendors and spectators want to hang the promoter. If the event bombs, they laugh and sneer. If the event is a wild success, they scoff and accuse the man of taking advantage. He sold whatever wasn’t nailed to the deck to raise the bucks to make his third and last show a success. In the process of drawing as much custom industry from the mainland, so the world could see and covet island builders, Island builders were left behind in a show of Discovery Channel fervor. Indian Larry, Paul Cox, Peter Fonda, Billy Lane, Mondo, you name it, attended. Unfortunately the stateside celebs pulled the attention away from the goal, to promote Island Builders such as Darren Ho and Nuie. Deacon took the heat and he backed away from the show.

Ah, but that didn’t stop him from building Killer bikes such as this tough-as-nails Jack Daniels tribute. Deacon poured over the promotions of the show and worked days, nights and weekends to finish the bike in time for the event, a terrible goal. Promoters need to be promoters, not bike show competitors.

A Jack Daniels Licensee, Thrill Ride’s, Richard Miller, who developed a line of Jack Daniels apparel, picked up this bike. For almost a year the bike traveled with the western Jack Daniels display from show to show around the states.

The event is now the Paradise Bike Fest, July 4th weekend, and produced by the Steve Kalnasy, the publisher of Hawaiian Chopper Magazine. This is Steve’s first year at the helm and island rumors still fly leading up to Showtime. No matter who’s the boss, the date or the venue, a Hawaiian Island show is tops. The bikes are fantastic, no more beautiful than the island girls or flowers. The people are friendlier than two folks in love, and the waves cresting white sand beaches top off every evening. What in hell could be better?

I’ll tell ya–a blonde island babe who contains Deacon’s passion to reach out and be seen. This little morsel of island fever is dying to be featured in Easyriders and in the Girls of Bikernet. So Steve helped us make it happen with these shots with Deacon’s Jack Daniels tribute bike.

And for those who are intrigued about Paradise Bike Fest here’s the skinny on the show:

SHOP INFO
Pro Street Customs
94-084 Leokane Street #B
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797
(808) 236-0405

PARADISE BIKEFEST&BIKE BUILD-OFF– Join Pasha Hawaii, Budweiser, Pacific Rim Cycle, BMC Choppers, South Seas Harley-Davidson, Cycle City, Domenico’s, Mikey’s Speed Shop, Carr’s Insurance Agency, Big Fat Tatts, Rosa’s Ice Tee, and Island Tattoo on Sunday, July 2nd at Kapaiolani Community College for Hawaii’s biggest motorcycle rally ever.

Beginning with a press conference at 3:00pm on Friday, June 30th, at Honolulu’s Hard Rock Cafe motorcycle enthusiasts and fans of Discovery Channel’s “Great Biker Build-Off” series will join “The Big Schwag” from Discovery Channel’s Monster Garage, and Internationally celebrated motorcycle builders such as, Big Mike of BMC Choppers, the legendary Sugar Bear, Shannon Aikau of Count’s Kustoms, Puerto Rico’s Jose De Miguel of Caribbean Custom Cycles, and Shannon Aikau of Las Vegas’ Count’s Kustoms.

The Paradise Bikefest & Bike Build-Off will be held on Sunday, July 2nd, at Kapiolani Community College (KCC).

Sunday’s rally will begin with a memorial ride paying tribute to Jimmy Aikau (father of custom builder Shannon Aikau and cousin of legendary surfer Eddie Aikau), and custom builder phenom Johnny Chop who passed away earlier this year.

Beginning at 9:00am at Cycle City Harley-Davidson (600 Puuloa Rd), motorcyclists will ride to Waimea Bay for a short ceremony paying respect to two of the motorcycle cultures greatest motorcycle builders.

There will be no charge for the ride, but those wishing to enter the festivities at KCC will be required to pay an entry fee of $15.00 ($10.00 advance) at the end of the ride.

Once inside KCC, spectators and participants will be treated to Hawaii’s biggest motorcycle event ever! Along with some of the World’s top motorcycle builders and their bikes made famous on television and numerous motorcycle magazines, visitors to this year’s event will actively engage in the festivities by voting on the build-off bikes from Oahu’s own Nui Kauhane of Grumpy’s Customs and Noah O’Geen of Maui’s Hot Rod Alley.

These two builders have had just eight weeks to build their versions of the “Hawaii’s coolest” bike. Nui’s reputation as one of the top builders of the “Local Boy” style will be on the line when he takes on Noah O’Geen. One of Hawaii’s best up and coming motorcycle craftsmen, O’Geen’s creations has been featured on the cover of Hawaiian Chopper Magazine.

Big Mike bobber roller being given away at the event.

In addition to the featured bike build-off, a “ride-in” motorcycle contest offers local builders, owners, and businesses the opportunity to enter their bikes into the various categories offered for a chance to take home specially made, one-of-a- kind trophies, as well as other prizes to be announced.

Categories for the ride in show are, vintage (1936 & below), classic (1937-1965), shovelhead era (1966-1983), EVO era (1984-present), Custom Class (modified), Radical Custom Class (heavily modified), Rat Bike Class, Custom Metric Class, Street Bike Class, and Trailer Queen Class (bikes trailored into the event).

A bikini contest featuring some of Hawaii’s most beautiful women will be held on the main stage, with cash prizes being given to the top three. A registration party will be held at Panama Hatties (above Dixie Grill in Aiea) on Thursday, 29 June (7-10pm). In addition to registration party, Sensually Yours will put on a lingerie show, which is open to the public, and Bo Irvine’s Sharky’s Comedy Club will have great stand up comedy being performed.

For more information on the schedule of event, or how to register for one of the events, visit www.paradisebikefest.com, or call 808-780-2998.

Deacon and his sons, Ben and Chase.

PARADISEFEST BIG MIKE GIVE-AWAY– Big Mike of BMC Choppers will give a away a custom built BMC rolling bobber chassis at Hawaiian Chopper Magazine's Paradise BIkefest on Sunday, July 2nd. “Hawaii has a special place in my heart, so when Steve [Kalnasy] asked me to be a sponsor, giving away a rolling chassis seemed like a good way to get involved,” said Big Mike. Joining sponsors like Pasha Hawaii, Budweiser, Pacific Rim Cycle, Avon Tyres, all of Oahu's Harley dealers, and a host of other local and national sponsors, Big Mike will be on hand for Hawaii's largest bike rally.

You can subscribe to Hawaii's premier custom motorcycle mag by emailing the publisher at alohasports@hawaii.rr.com.

Here’s a strange tale of a madman builder, an island event, a troubled blonde and the Girls of Bikernet. I’ll try to make some sense of this mixed bag of tricks. It’s all about the passion to do something, be somebody and build a community. Let’s see how well I do. You know the outlaw adage, “Time will tell and shit will smell.”

Deacon out of Honolulu, Hawaii, to celebrate his second island builder celebration, built this bike. He has a long history of wrenches, the wrong side of the law, winning VW drag races and moving from town to town. His saving grace is his wife Katy who rescued him from a San Bernadino courtroom. If you’re curiosity about the man piques, don’t stop here. Check out the Life And Times Department of the Cantina. He has a wild past.

Here’s Deacon working in the old Bikernet Shop, on our 1928 Shovelhead, just after it arrived in California from Strokers Dallas.

Deacon, Katy and their three kids ended up in Hawaii. He works in a small performance shop on the outskirts of Honolulu, Pro Street (808) 236-0405, but has a Jones. He can’t build a bike, sell it and be done with it. He needed to reach out, so he built wilder bikes and started a campaign to meld all Hawaiian Island builders together in a one-day outdoor show and show off, to the world, the island talent. It sorta backfired.

Event promotion is a nasty carnie-like affair. All the heat, the pissed off vendors and spectators want to hang the promoter. If the event bombs, they laugh and sneer. If the event is a wild success, they scoff and accuse the man of taking advantage. He sold whatever wasn’t nailed to the deck to raise the bucks to make his third and last show a success. In the process of drawing as much custom industry from the mainland, so the world could see and covet island builders, Island builders were left behind in a show of Discovery Channel fervor. Indian Larry, Paul Cox, Peter Fonda, Billy Lane, Mondo, you name it, attended. Unfortunately the stateside celebs pulled the attention away from the goal, to promote Island Builders such as Darren Ho and Nuie. Deacon took the heat and he backed away from the show.

Ah, but that didn’t stop him from building Killer bikes such as this tough-as-nails Jack Daniels tribute. Deacon poured over the promotions of the show and worked days, nights and weekends to finish the bike in time for the event, a terrible goal. Promoters need to be promoters, not bike show competitors.

A Jack Daniels Licensee, Thrill Ride’s, Richard Miller, who developed a line of Jack Daniels apparel, picked up this bike. For almost a year the bike traveled with the western Jack Daniels display from show to show around the states.

The event is now the Paradise Bike Fest, July 4th weekend, and produced by the Steve Kalnasy, the publisher of Hawaiian Chopper Magazine. This is Steve’s first year at the helm and island rumors still fly leading up to Showtime. No matter who’s the boss, the date or the venue, a Hawaiian Island show is tops. The bikes are fantastic, no more beautiful than the island girls or flowers. The people are friendlier than two folks in love, and the waves cresting white sand beaches top off every evening. What in hell could be better?

I’ll tell ya–a blonde island babe who contains Deacon’s passion to reach out and be seen. This little morsel of island fever is dying to be featured in Easyriders and in the Girls of Bikernet. So Steve helped us make it happen with these shots with Deacon’s Jack Daniels tribute bike.

And for those who are intrigued about Paradise Bike Fest here’s the skinny on the show:

SHOP INFO
Pro Street Customs
94-084 Leokane Street #B
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797
(808) 236-0405

PARADISE BIKEFEST&BIKE BUILD-OFF– Join Pasha Hawaii, Budweiser, Pacific Rim Cycle, BMC Choppers, South Seas Harley-Davidson, Cycle City, Domenico’s, Mikey’s Speed Shop, Carr’s Insurance Agency, Big Fat Tatts, Rosa’s Ice Tee, and Island Tattoo on Sunday, July 2nd at Kapaiolani Community College for Hawaii’s biggest motorcycle rally ever.

Beginning with a press conference at 3:00pm on Friday, June 30th, at Honolulu’s Hard Rock Cafe motorcycle enthusiasts and fans of Discovery Channel’s “Great Biker Build-Off” series will join “The Big Schwag” from Discovery Channel’s Monster Garage, and Internationally celebrated motorcycle builders such as, Big Mike of BMC Choppers, the legendary Sugar Bear, Shannon Aikau of Count’s Kustoms, Puerto Rico’s Jose De Miguel of Caribbean Custom Cycles, and Shannon Aikau of Las Vegas’ Count’s Kustoms.

The Paradise Bikefest & Bike Build-Off will be held on Sunday, July 2nd, at Kapiolani Community College (KCC).

Sunday’s rally will begin with a memorial ride paying tribute to Jimmy Aikau (father of custom builder Shannon Aikau and cousin of legendary surfer Eddie Aikau), and custom builder phenom Johnny Chop who passed away earlier this year.

Beginning at 9:00am at Cycle City Harley-Davidson (600 Puuloa Rd), motorcyclists will ride to Waimea Bay for a short ceremony paying respect to two of the motorcycle cultures greatest motorcycle builders.

There will be no charge for the ride, but those wishing to enter the festivities at KCC will be required to pay an entry fee of $15.00 ($10.00 advance) at the end of the ride.

Once inside KCC, spectators and participants will be treated to Hawaii’s biggest motorcycle event ever! Along with some of the World’s top motorcycle builders and their bikes made famous on television and numerous motorcycle magazines, visitors to this year’s event will actively engage in the festivities by voting on the build-off bikes from Oahu’s own Nui Kauhane of Grumpy’s Customs and Noah O’Geen of Maui’s Hot Rod Alley.

These two builders have had just eight weeks to build their versions of the “Hawaii’s coolest” bike. Nui’s reputation as one of the top builders of the “Local Boy” style will be on the line when he takes on Noah O’Geen. One of Hawaii’s best up and coming motorcycle craftsmen, O’Geen’s creations has been featured on the cover of Hawaiian Chopper Magazine.

Big Mike bobber roller being given away at the event.

In addition to the featured bike build-off, a “ride-in” motorcycle contest offers local builders, owners, and businesses the opportunity to enter their bikes into the various categories offered for a chance to take home specially made, one-of-a- kind trophies, as well as other prizes to be announced.

Categories for the ride in show are, vintage (1936 & below), classic (1937-1965), shovelhead era (1966-1983), EVO era (1984-present), Custom Class (modified), Radical Custom Class (heavily modified), Rat Bike Class, Custom Metric Class, Street Bike Class, and Trailer Queen Class (bikes trailored into the event).

A bikini contest featuring some of Hawaii’s most beautiful women will be held on the main stage, with cash prizes being given to the top three. A registration party will be held at Panama Hatties (above Dixie Grill in Aiea) on Thursday, 29 June (7-10pm). In addition to registration party, Sensually Yours will put on a lingerie show, which is open to the public, and Bo Irvine’s Sharky’s Comedy Club will have great stand up comedy being performed.

For more information on the schedule of event, or how to register for one of the events, visit www.paradisebikefest.com, or call 808-780-2998.

Deacon and his sons, Ben and Chase.

PARADISEFEST BIG MIKE GIVE-AWAY– Big Mike of BMC Choppers will give a away a custom built BMC rolling bobber chassis at Hawaiian Chopper Magazine's Paradise BIkefest on Sunday, July 2nd. “Hawaii has a special place in my heart, so when Steve [Kalnasy] asked me to be a sponsor, giving away a rolling chassis seemed like a good way to get involved,” said Big Mike. Joining sponsors like Pasha Hawaii, Budweiser, Pacific Rim Cycle, Avon Tyres, all of Oahu's Harley dealers, and a host of other local and national sponsors, Big Mike will be on hand for Hawaii's largest bike rally.

You can subscribe to Hawaii's premier custom motorcycle mag by emailing the publisher at alohasports@hawaii.rr.com.

When Bandit contacted me about the Girls of Bikernet, I was appalled.

I am a devout Southern Baptist who truly despises porn and other flagrant displays of pornography.

He tried to explain how it would be very tasteful and clean, but I wouldn’t listen. I will never, ever compromise myself for a few bucks. He told me that wasn’t an option, since I don’t get paid anyways. Then he explained it would be showing just titties and bikes.

“Titties!? Who the fuck doesn’t like titties? Count me in!”

I was flown to the headquarters for my assignment. I would be driven to an exclusive studio built in a remote location near the Bikernet headquarters the next day. Layla, Sin Wu, and a cute redhead woke me with mimosas and cantaloupe for breakfast. Of course they were topless, which I didn’t mind at all. I finished my food and took a few moments to read my Bible and have some quiet time. (Read here: I took a shit.) After my morning reflection and daily bible verse, Phillipians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens Me.” I went downstairs where the big guy and I slammed through a grueling two-hour workout. He may be old, but the big bastard still benches over 400 and curls close to 200 lbs. I was impressed.

After our workout, I cleaned up and got ready for the interview, as I was told the limo would be there to pick me up in an hour. I was a little excited to start this story with a beautiful girl posing next to a bike. Bandit handed me an index card with the following inscription when I left. Here’s what it said:

REAL name: Chelsea Good.

MySpace Webpage (put it in her article please) www.myspace.com/59205459

She's the Stepdaughter of my wiring tech here at Steeds. Her dad was a Vietnam Vet, and Harley enthusiast, who died of Agent Orange, and she's supported herself all the way through nursing school since she was 15. She's very witty, got her first tattoo at the club house when she was 14 and paid for her own set of fun-bags, which she's very proud of, as you can see. She'll be a full LPN in August and ready for a new boyfriend/or Girlfriend as you'll see in her MySpace profile. I'll bet you can help her find a few one Bikernet.

Check out her MySpace page for all the personal details. And spread the word for her.

I scoffed at the guile of such an offensive offer.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

Here I am gallivanting across Satan’s playground while a Promise Keeper’s convention is singing hymms right in my hometown. I was so ashamed and embarrassed.

Just then Layla walked in the room naked and I forgot what I was thinking.

I drank a few beers and listened to her talk about some of her homo friends before the car showed up. I was beginning to understand how girls could go for girls, there are beautiful women all around.

The car took me to an underground photo studio, and they blindfolded me on the trip. I was trying to recognize the odor emanating from the front seat, but couldn’t recall what it was. I could tell the driver was smoking, but I had never smelled anything quite like it before. The aroma smelled herbal yet sweet. I don’t know. By the time we arrived at the studio, my ears were very warm and buzzed while I had a very innate sense of calm all about me. I was hungry as shit, too.

We entered the studio and I saw this knockout being photographed. Talk about gorgeous. She had long sandy blonde hair and legs up to her neck. I was extremely impressed by her enticing glares and flaunts. She wanted me in the worst way. But I could tell from the 300 pound bodybuilders surrounding the stage that she was unapproachable for now.

I watched as she slinked and writhed all over the studio while photographers constantly snapped shots of her. The sound of camera’s snapping combined with strippers doing lines of coke began to drive me insane. I could feel my heart racing as my body began yearn for her touch. I was out of my element and started to feel uneasy. What was that bible verse? I remembered, “I can do all things…I can do all.. I can..”” What was it? Suddenly, it hit me, “I can do all because Christ said so.”

With that, I made my way to the stage to take this vixen to places she had never been before.

She would be mine and there was nothing these steroid monkeys could do about it.

God was on my side, and I was taking this girl to church, so to speak. I don’t remember who hit me first, but I do remember looking up at the group of them laughing hysterically at me. My body was numb, but my senses were still aware of what went on around me. I watched as she got dressed and left the room looking seductively over her shoulder at me.

Just as she left the room, I felt a very large set of hands pick my body up and start carrying me to the door.

“No, No, I didn’t even get to tell her my name….”

They didn’t give a shit. Next thing I remembered was being in that limo eating brownies with one of the ugliest chicks I’d ever met. She thanked me for the ride and even gave me $20 for my wonderful tongue. I don’t know, I guess I must have spoken sweet nothings to her.

Bandit greeted me at the door. He was smiling wildly and looked like a distorted circus clown wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sandals. He asked me about the bike and how the shoot went.

“Bike, I didn’t see any bike?”

“What the fuck do you mean? You went to get the story on a Steed Custom Bike.”

I don’t remember no fucking bike. All I remember is Chelsea Good and how I wanted her to be bad.

I did contact the girl through her my space and was forced to find the tech sheet for the bike. Of course it’s a Steeds custom and it belongs to John Covington at Steed Musclebikes. I was blocked from Chelsea’s myspace page. I think I’m blocked from Bikernet as well. The big guy hangs up every time I call. I don’t even get the machine ANYMORE.

Till next time, keep riding and remember what’s important…titties and God. Maybe not in that order, but what the fuck do I know.

Check the tech Sheet that follows:

Owner: John Covington
Fabrication: Steed Musclebike

Assembly: John Covington

Painter: WTF Chuck at Steeds

Illustration: Rick “The Wizard” Westcott

Engine: S&S
Displacement: 124 CI

Transmission: Steed Max™ RSD 6-Speed

Gas Tank: Covington Design/ Fab By Tony Watson

Frame: Steed Monoglide®
Rake: 38 Degrees

Front End: Steed Behemoth™ Inverted

Oil Tank: Under Transmission

Seat: Steed Danny Gray

Wheels:
Front Wheel: Steed Billet 18×3.5
Rear Wheel: Steed Billet 18×10.5
Front Tire: Avon Super Venom 130×18
Rear Tire: Avon Super Venom 300×18

When Bandit contacted me about the Girls of Bikernet, I was appalled.

I am a devout Southern Baptist who truly despises porn and other flagrant displays of pornography.

He tried to explain how it would be very tasteful and clean, but I wouldn’t listen. I will never, ever compromise myself for a few bucks. He told me that wasn’t an option, since I don’t get paid anyways. Then he explained it would be showing just titties and bikes.

“Titties!? Who the fuck doesn’t like titties? Count me in!”

I was flown to the headquarters for my assignment. I would be driven to an exclusive studio built in a remote location near the Bikernet headquarters the next day. Layla, Sin Wu, and a cute redhead woke me with mimosas and cantaloupe for breakfast. Of course they were topless, which I didn’t mind at all. I finished my food and took a few moments to read my Bible and have some quiet time. (Read here: I took a shit.) After my morning reflection and daily bible verse, Phillipians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens Me.” I went downstairs where the big guy and I slammed through a grueling two-hour workout. He may be old, but the big bastard still benches over 400 and curls close to 200 lbs. I was impressed.

After our workout, I cleaned up and got ready for the interview, as I was told the limo would be there to pick me up in an hour. I was a little excited to start this story with a beautiful girl posing next to a bike. Bandit handed me an index card with the following inscription when I left. Here’s what it said:

REAL name: Chelsea Good.

MySpace Webpage (put it in her article please) www.myspace.com/59205459

She's the Stepdaughter of my wiring tech here at Steeds. Her dad was a Vietnam Vet, and Harley enthusiast, who died of Agent Orange, and she's supported herself all the way through nursing school since she was 15. She's very witty, got her first tattoo at the club house when she was 14 and paid for her own set of fun-bags, which she's very proud of, as you can see. She'll be a full LPN in August and ready for a new boyfriend/or Girlfriend as you'll see in her MySpace profile. I'll bet you can help her find a few one Bikernet.

Check out her MySpace page for all the personal details. And spread the word for her.

I scoffed at the guile of such an offensive offer.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

Here I am gallivanting across Satan’s playground while a Promise Keeper’s convention is singing hymms right in my hometown. I was so ashamed and embarrassed.

Just then Layla walked in the room naked and I forgot what I was thinking.

I drank a few beers and listened to her talk about some of her homo friends before the car showed up. I was beginning to understand how girls could go for girls, there are beautiful women all around.

The car took me to an underground photo studio, and they blindfolded me on the trip. I was trying to recognize the odor emanating from the front seat, but couldn’t recall what it was. I could tell the driver was smoking, but I had never smelled anything quite like it before. The aroma smelled herbal yet sweet. I don’t know. By the time we arrived at the studio, my ears were very warm and buzzed while I had a very innate sense of calm all about me. I was hungry as shit, too.

We entered the studio and I saw this knockout being photographed. Talk about gorgeous. She had long sandy blonde hair and legs up to her neck. I was extremely impressed by her enticing glares and flaunts. She wanted me in the worst way. But I could tell from the 300 pound bodybuilders surrounding the stage that she was unapproachable for now.

I watched as she slinked and writhed all over the studio while photographers constantly snapped shots of her. The sound of camera’s snapping combined with strippers doing lines of coke began to drive me insane. I could feel my heart racing as my body began yearn for her touch. I was out of my element and started to feel uneasy. What was that bible verse? I remembered, “I can do all things…I can do all.. I can..”” What was it? Suddenly, it hit me, “I can do all because Christ said so.”

With that, I made my way to the stage to take this vixen to places she had never been before.

She would be mine and there was nothing these steroid monkeys could do about it.

God was on my side, and I was taking this girl to church, so to speak. I don’t remember who hit me first, but I do remember looking up at the group of them laughing hysterically at me. My body was numb, but my senses were still aware of what went on around me. I watched as she got dressed and left the room looking seductively over her shoulder at me.

Just as she left the room, I felt a very large set of hands pick my body up and start carrying me to the door.

“No, No, I didn’t even get to tell her my name….”

They didn’t give a shit. Next thing I remembered was being in that limo eating brownies with one of the ugliest chicks I’d ever met. She thanked me for the ride and even gave me $20 for my wonderful tongue. I don’t know, I guess I must have spoken sweet nothings to her.

Bandit greeted me at the door. He was smiling wildly and looked like a distorted circus clown wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sandals. He asked me about the bike and how the shoot went.

“Bike, I didn’t see any bike?”

“What the fuck do you mean? You went to get the story on a Steed Custom Bike.”

I don’t remember no fucking bike. All I remember is Chelsea Good and how I wanted her to be bad.

I did contact the girl through her my space and was forced to find the tech sheet for the bike. Of course it’s a Steeds custom and it belongs to John Covington at Steed Musclebikes. I was blocked from Chelsea’s myspace page. I think I’m blocked from Bikernet as well. The big guy hangs up every time I call. I don’t even get the machine ANYMORE.

Till next time, keep riding and remember what’s important…titties and God. Maybe not in that order, but what the fuck do I know.

Check the tech Sheet that follows:

Owner: John Covington
Fabrication: Steed Musclebike

Assembly: John Covington

Painter: WTF Chuck at Steeds

Illustration: Rick “The Wizard” Westcott

Engine: S&S
Displacement: 124 CI

Transmission: Steed Max™ RSD 6-Speed

Gas Tank: Covington Design/ Fab By Tony Watson

Frame: Steed Monoglide®
Rake: 38 Degrees

Front End: Steed Behemoth™ Inverted

Oil Tank: Under Transmission

Seat: Steed Danny Gray

Wheels:
Front Wheel: Steed Billet 18×3.5
Rear Wheel: Steed Billet 18×10.5
Front Tire: Avon Super Venom 130×18
Rear Tire: Avon Super Venom 300×18

Sheila woke up in the middle of the night with the Diary of Ann Frank opened on her chest. Startled, she looked around like an abandoned puppy. There were no guards. No Harleys rumbled up the driveway to relieve the watch. That?s what it was. It must have been midnight, and she prayed earlier that Rip was bullshitting about her being left alone.

Alone in the desert equaled a torturous silence. So quiet, a social man could quickly slip out of his mind. Without generators running, fountains trickling or the sound of traffic in the distance she could hear a rattlesnake fart. It wasn?t long before she wished she could hear the tapping of tarantula paws on the deck.

With an extreme level of silence came loneliness, like solitary confinement at the bottom of a collapsed coal mine. No sound, no escape and no communication. No phones hung from the walls of the trailer. She searched. One burrito rested on an otherwise empty wire refrigerator shelf. Three cans of Campbell?s soup were topped with dust on an almost empty shelf. She searched for a can opener, a pan and fortunately the stove still worked. She read the book and sipped tomato soup from a chipped ceramic cup.

She read the story about a small Jewish child and her family hiding and living in mortal fear of Nazi patrols for years during WWII. Ann listened to one neighbor after another being dragged from their homes, shot, or beaten and taken to concentration camps. She read how the family struggled to survive. Initially she read to fill the quiet with some distraction, but she learned from every page. By the second day, she found a small travel sewing kit and began to repair her clothes. She read how Ann Frank?s family subsisted on limited rations, and she milked a can of Campbell?s soup for three meals.

She fixed her clothes and modified a faded pair of Levis to fit. She discovered an old pair of work boots and made leather laces and padding so she had something protective to wear. Each day in the hot sunlight she foraged into the shed that housed the ?69 XLCH Sportster. It held no battery, but just a magneto. She found a dusty manual and read starting procedures. By the third day, she cleared the cobwebs and black widows from around the bike and rolled it into the sunlight. On the fourth day she cleaned it and attempted to kick it over for the first time. By day she read the manual, checked the oil, learned out to retard the spark and cried when it wouldn?t start. By night she read Ann Frank and regained her courage.

The last remnants of the breakfast burrito were gone by the fifth day and she was down to one third of a can of soup. She discovered a small bag of chips and ate them with water for lunch while she sat on the motor home stoop and stared at the metallic coffee brown motorcycle responding defiantly to her every kick. She was hungry and kicked with more passion each time.

As the sun-baked overhead she removed the cap from the bottom of the carb and inspected the Tillotsen carburetor diaphram. She replaced it and studied the manual. She flushed the carb with fresh petrol and tested the accelerator pump. It started to work.

As the sun dipped into the west and she pondered the walk toward Coachella Valley, the Sportster fired for the first time. It coughed, blew smoke, but kept running after she advanced the left grip and opened the choke. She rode bicycles as a kid, but never a motorcycle.

She straddled the rumbling motorcycle and pulled in the clutch. She tapped the shifter and felt it jump as the gears engaged. The sticky clutch grabbed, the bike lurched forward and died. She almost cried. Her stomach knotted from hunger. She kicked it three more times and it started again. Once more she attempted to roll and it died. By the third attempt she was able to rev the engine slightly and prevent the clutch from killing it. She let out the clutch lever slowly and rolled slightly, dragging her feet, then stopped. She attempted rolling and stopping several times in front of the motor home until she was forced to turn.

She felt the weight of the motorcycle lean against her tired legs and stopped. The bike teetered. She was starving, but afraid and weak. She thought about the book, the struggles, the fear and knew her experience wasn?t nearly that foreboding. She grimaced, struggled and the bike teetered. She hesitated, let out the clutch and inched the throttle back. She felt the torque heighten and pull the weight.

She remembered the old adage about once riding a bicycle. Her adrenaline surged and she motored to the end of the driveway leading a ? from the road. The dusty gravel road turned 360 degrees and headed back out to the road past the shed. She came to the fulcrum and started maneuvering the turn in front of the motor home. Goosing the throttle the rear wheel spit gravel and started to slide. Sheila put her right foot out and the loose boot bounced along the uneven surface. She didn?t know what to do. The bike was gradually slipping out form under her, and perplexed, she didn?t know whether to gas it or pull in the clutch and coast. She was terrified of dropping it and stopped, struggled to right the machine and kick the kickstand down.

So hungry she considered hunting rattlesnake, she called it a night.

The next morning she awoke to a start. There was no coffee, tea and the book ended with the family tossed in a concentration camp. Sheila donned all the clothes she made and repaired, and headed out to the bike. It started on the third kick to her delight. She found a set of shades, but fearful of the turn, she pushed the 450 pound motorcycle around the circular drive in front of the her rehab center and straddled it. Her stomach growled, she had to find something to eat and her way back to the Cantina.

As the sun crested the hills to the east and showered the desert with blistering morning rays she rolled toward a road she never gazed at before. The Sporty slid and jostled in the gravel and sand ruts. She didn?t dare roll over about 10 mph as she watched with concern the varied rutted road ahead. Her terror increased as the road dipped and weaved, but then she saw it up ahead and heard the sound of traffic for the first time in days. She pressed on.

The long driveway turned just ahead around a granite bolder, the size of a small two-story condo, surrounded by a patch of cactus and Joshua trees. She slowed and braked nervously while staring at the rugged condition of the road. The bike?s rear wheel took one rut and the front took another. She mistakenly braked more and the bike slid sideways and went down. Her heart broke. She was less than half a city block from the road and pinned under the heavy motorcycle. She looked around in the cloud of dust for an answer or help. Suddenly the bike moved, the engine shut off and the pinning against her leg was remedied.

The cloud of dust cleared and she could make out a pair of dusty cowboy boots in the sand. ?Can I buy you breakfast?? Bandit said and lifted the Sporty.

?But the bike. Will it be alright?? Sheila said scrambling to her feet. For a few seconds her hunger didn?t taunt her.

?It?ll be fine,? Bandit said and pushed it to the pavement ahead. ?This is the first H-D I ever owned. It can handle anything, and I suspect you can too.?

He parked the bike and returned for his 2003 blacked- out King hidden in the sand behind the bolder. ?You ready for something to eat? Bandit said.

?Please,? Sheila said.

?Let?s hit it,? Bandit said. ?I know just the place, Ruby?s. Then we gotta get back to the harbor. It?s time to doll-up the Cantina for New Years Eve.?

Sheila woke up in the middle of the night with the Diary of Ann Frank opened on her chest. Startled, she looked around like an abandoned puppy. There were no guards. No Harleys rumbled up the driveway to relieve the watch. That?s what it was. It must have been midnight, and she prayed earlier that Rip was bullshitting about her being left alone.

Alone in the desert equaled a torturous silence. So quiet, a social man could quickly slip out of his mind. Without generators running, fountains trickling or the sound of traffic in the distance she could hear a rattlesnake fart. It wasn?t long before she wished she could hear the tapping of tarantula paws on the deck.

With an extreme level of silence came loneliness, like solitary confinement at the bottom of a collapsed coal mine. No sound, no escape and no communication. No phones hung from the walls of the trailer. She searched. One burrito rested on an otherwise empty wire refrigerator shelf. Three cans of Campbell?s soup were topped with dust on an almost empty shelf. She searched for a can opener, a pan and fortunately the stove still worked. She read the book and sipped tomato soup from a chipped ceramic cup.

She read the story about a small Jewish child and her family hiding and living in mortal fear of Nazi patrols for years during WWII. Ann listened to one neighbor after another being dragged from their homes, shot, or beaten and taken to concentration camps. She read how the family struggled to survive. Initially she read to fill the quiet with some distraction, but she learned from every page. By the second day, she found a small travel sewing kit and began to repair her clothes. She read how Ann Frank?s family subsisted on limited rations, and she milked a can of Campbell?s soup for three meals.

She fixed her clothes and modified a faded pair of Levis to fit. She discovered an old pair of work boots and made leather laces and padding so she had something protective to wear. Each day in the hot sunlight she foraged into the shed that housed the ?69 XLCH Sportster. It held no battery, but just a magneto. She found a dusty manual and read starting procedures. By the third day, she cleared the cobwebs and black widows from around the bike and rolled it into the sunlight. On the fourth day she cleaned it and attempted to kick it over for the first time. By day she read the manual, checked the oil, learned out to retard the spark and cried when it wouldn?t start. By night she read Ann Frank and regained her courage.

The last remnants of the breakfast burrito were gone by the fifth day and she was down to one third of a can of soup. She discovered a small bag of chips and ate them with water for lunch while she sat on the motor home stoop and stared at the metallic coffee brown motorcycle responding defiantly to her every kick. She was hungry and kicked with more passion each time.

As the sun-baked overhead she removed the cap from the bottom of the carb and inspected the Tillotsen carburetor diaphram. She replaced it and studied the manual. She flushed the carb with fresh petrol and tested the accelerator pump. It started to work.

As the sun dipped into the west and she pondered the walk toward Coachella Valley, the Sportster fired for the first time. It coughed, blew smoke, but kept running after she advanced the left grip and opened the choke. She rode bicycles as a kid, but never a motorcycle.

She straddled the rumbling motorcycle and pulled in the clutch. She tapped the shifter and felt it jump as the gears engaged. The sticky clutch grabbed, the bike lurched forward and died. She almost cried. Her stomach knotted from hunger. She kicked it three more times and it started again. Once more she attempted to roll and it died. By the third attempt she was able to rev the engine slightly and prevent the clutch from killing it. She let out the clutch lever slowly and rolled slightly, dragging her feet, then stopped. She attempted rolling and stopping several times in front of the motor home until she was forced to turn.

She felt the weight of the motorcycle lean against her tired legs and stopped. The bike teetered. She was starving, but afraid and weak. She thought about the book, the struggles, the fear and knew her experience wasn?t nearly that foreboding. She grimaced, struggled and the bike teetered. She hesitated, let out the clutch and inched the throttle back. She felt the torque heighten and pull the weight.

She remembered the old adage about once riding a bicycle. Her adrenaline surged and she motored to the end of the driveway leading a ? from the road. The dusty gravel road turned 360 degrees and headed back out to the road past the shed. She came to the fulcrum and started maneuvering the turn in front of the motor home. Goosing the throttle the rear wheel spit gravel and started to slide. Sheila put her right foot out and the loose boot bounced along the uneven surface. She didn?t know what to do. The bike was gradually slipping out form under her, and perplexed, she didn?t know whether to gas it or pull in the clutch and coast. She was terrified of dropping it and stopped, struggled to right the machine and kick the kickstand down.

So hungry she considered hunting rattlesnake, she called it a night.

The next morning she awoke to a start. There was no coffee, tea and the book ended with the family tossed in a concentration camp. Sheila donned all the clothes she made and repaired, and headed out to the bike. It started on the third kick to her delight. She found a set of shades, but fearful of the turn, she pushed the 450 pound motorcycle around the circular drive in front of the her rehab center and straddled it. Her stomach growled, she had to find something to eat and her way back to the Cantina.

As the sun crested the hills to the east and showered the desert with blistering morning rays she rolled toward a road she never gazed at before. The Sporty slid and jostled in the gravel and sand ruts. She didn?t dare roll over about 10 mph as she watched with concern the varied rutted road ahead. Her terror increased as the road dipped and weaved, but then she saw it up ahead and heard the sound of traffic for the first time in days. She pressed on.

The long driveway turned just ahead around a granite bolder, the size of a small two-story condo, surrounded by a patch of cactus and Joshua trees. She slowed and braked nervously while staring at the rugged condition of the road. The bike?s rear wheel took one rut and the front took another. She mistakenly braked more and the bike slid sideways and went down. Her heart broke. She was less than half a city block from the road and pinned under the heavy motorcycle. She looked around in the cloud of dust for an answer or help. Suddenly the bike moved, the engine shut off and the pinning against her leg was remedied.

The cloud of dust cleared and she could make out a pair of dusty cowboy boots in the sand. ?Can I buy you breakfast?? Bandit said and lifted the Sporty.

?But the bike. Will it be alright?? Sheila said scrambling to her feet. For a few seconds her hunger didn?t taunt her.

?It?ll be fine,? Bandit said and pushed it to the pavement ahead. ?This is the first H-D I ever owned. It can handle anything, and I suspect you can too.?

He parked the bike and returned for his 2003 blacked- out King hidden in the sand behind the bolder. ?You ready for something to eat? Bandit said.

?Please,? Sheila said.

?Let?s hit it,? Bandit said. ?I know just the place, Ruby?s. Then we gotta get back to the harbor. It?s time to doll-up the Cantina for New Years Eve.?

Being in an industry where half-dressed, soft curvy women straddle hot rod machines has it’s advantages. My loyal buddy Curt Lout and I headed down to AZ bike week as a team to see what kind of trouble we could rustle up. Curt is always on the hustle and has a way with words.

He talks, and women’s clothes come off.

Too bad that didn’t work when he was single. It was my first experience watching the velvet-tongued photographer talk women out of their clothes to help “further their careers”. It’s hard to believe but that camera is a powerful tool in the right man’s hand. We hadn’t been in the dustbowl more then a few hours and Curt already lined a up the voluptuous Sandra to do a topless photo shoot. Next we had to find a bike that would work. I spoke with Scot and Mercedes at Redhill Motorcycle Werx and Mercedes offered up her bike “Bitchcraft” for the shoot.

We got it all arranged and the next thing I knew we were in back of a hotel off the main street in Cave Creek having Sandra get “ready” for the shoot. Curt did a few test shots but we had a small window of opportunity before we got ran off or the light went bad. It was the end of the day, the shadows were stretching out long and the blistering heat was getting to all three of us. I wasn’t even really sure what the hell I was doing there but I didn’t complain. There’s a code about shooting bikes in the sun. We needed to catch it low in the sky so it didn’t shower the bike with shadows. That means crawling out of the sack before the sun jumps into the sky, or waiting until it’s about to check out for the day.

We positioned the bike perfectly in front of a huge cactus and Sandra took off her top and as the miner’s use to say, Eureka! We had the perfect light, the perfect bike and the perfect set of…I mean model. She knew exactly what to do and although she claimed to have little modeling experience she was a trooper. I found that my official photographic calling was boot shiner, (not boot licker) and apparel assistant. I also ran interference between the maid who sounded like Bart Simpson from all the “Aye Carumba!” comments we heard from her. I was sure that the cops were going to show up at any moment and haul us off to jail for indecent exposure, but that never came to pass. Curt got some amazing pictures, we all walked away deliriously happy, and I knew I had found my calling.

After the shoot we headed over to the Hideaway. Scot and Mercedes parked there for the day and over cheap Mexican food and many drinks they told us the long away around how “Bitchcraft” came to be.

Scot and Mercedes Ross both had a passion for American V-Twin motorcycles and decided that their combined backgrounds of sales and display design would help them develop the perfect shop. The road to owning Redhill Motorcycle Werx has been rocky. Scot and Mercedes moved to Arizona in 1996 so that Scot could attend MMI. At the same time Mercedes was recovering from cancer and running her store design business, so they loved being back in the desert to see how much AZ bike week had grown. They decided to move to Colorado after Scot finished up his training and Scot landed a job with a local aftermarket shop where he learned about the motorcycle business and got some hands on training. Scot and Mercedes Ross opened Redhill Motorcycle Werx in August of 2000 hoping to do what they loved.

The location was one that Scot and Mercedes eyed carefully. Location, location location was the key as the adage goes. Lots of people reviewed the sleepy town on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park with distain, “There is no way it can support a custom motorcycle shop,” they said.

“We knew from being in the industry that we couldn’t just be another shop, we had to distinguish ourselves from the average shop and become a sought-after destination. I knew that I could make the shop a place that people wanted to find, by investing in all the merchandise that we could possibly afford, and make it cool, while Scot set up the machine shop in back.” Said Mercedes.

And set up the shop he did, he decided he wanted to be a Dynojet center so that he could tune anything and get it right the first time. He also wanted a paint-booth in back so they could be a one-stop shop. They could build a ground up custom and have it painted right there. The only items to leave the shop involved powder coating and chrome. Scot called on his long time friend Phil Greff and asked if he wanted to shoot wild finishes in back of the shop. They set up a booth, called it Black Canyon Custom paint and they were on their way.

This was about the time Mercedes pondered “Bitchcraft”. She wanted to build a bike that would attract women to the custom motorcycle scene and be functional for a woman. She knew that it needed to have a low seat height, be light and fast enough to blow away the boys. She started looking around and Scot, being an R&D guy in the bicycle industry for years, knew that he would be limited in weight if he went with traditional steel. They discovered Wildcat Engineering and made an aluminum frame. They also found fenders and an aluminum gas tank to lighten it.

As soon as they decided on the frame they ordered it and started to get busy. Customers were waiting on project bikes, and they wanted to show off their building and fabrication prowess quick, so Mercedes bike shifted to the back-burner. They planned on finishing the unnamed aluminum bike for Sturgis 2003, but they just didn’t have the time, so they hauled the roller up to Thunder Road. They received tons of praise, as it glistened in their booth. Scot, Mercedes and Phil gazed at it for 10 days straight and vowed to complete it, no matter what, by the next Sturgis. They also came up with this radical color scheme.

They started to get serious and planned to unveil it at the Denver Motorcycle Show and Swap in February. Behind lots of hype and previous appearances, the bike was unveiled knocked out onlookers. They kept up theme of building it light, fast and Mercedes, who is very driven by her work, came up with the name “Bitchcraft”, since she would ride it.

The colors are a new technique that they worked on with their powder coater. They wanted the anodized look but didn’t want it to fade. All of the red parts that look anodized are actually a translucent powder coat. The sheet metal and frame were burnished with a Scotchbrite pad and then clear powder coated. Paint has a tough time sticking to aluminum. This way the candy and graphics had something to adhere to. It made the paint look deep and different from any other bike.

Scot and Mercedes

The design scheme was something that Mercedes came up with along with help from the Redhill team. The hard parts used were up to Scot and he turned to TP for the engine and 6-speed transmission. “We used some TP parts before and were really happy with the performance and longevity, so we called them up and ordered the drivetrain.” said Scot.

They really liked the look of Arlen Ness’ parts so they started to put together a list of parts that flowed together, which was the one thing that Mercedes really paid attention to. “I come from an artistic family, so everything had to flow, not match but flow together. Nothing could look out of place.” Said Mercedes. They picked the M bars as a tribute to Mercedes and then got the primary, grips and hand controls form Ness. The pipes were an easy choice. Mercedes respected the Yaffe X-pipe for some time. They threw translucent powder coating on the tips and blacked-out the heat shields to match the rest of the bike.

The bike was assembled and unveiled at the Denver Motorcycle show and swap meet to hundreds of onlookers. Everyone who saw the bike liked the way it was laid out and appreciated all the thought that was put into it. Men and women alike were drawn to every detail. Since Denver it went on to gone win several trophies including, best in class, polish and shine award and 5th place at the Ratshole in Daytona 2005.

“I have another bike in my head that I should complete before Sturgis. Hopefully it have a similar impact, and this time it will make the men even more jealous.” Said Mercedes. I’m hoping Curt and I get to shoot it with another great model and make all of you jealous.

You can check Redhill Motorcycle Werx online at www.redhillmotorcyclewerx.com or call them at (303)823-6363 and you can see more of Curt Lout’s work at www.studio9000.com

You can also purchase the shorts Sandra is wearing, plus more cool clothing online at www.toxicinkclothing.com . Check them out!

Being in an industry where half-dressed, soft curvy women straddle hot rod machines has it’s advantages. My loyal buddy Curt Lout and I headed down to AZ bike week as a team to see what kind of trouble we could rustle up. Curt is always on the hustle and has a way with words.

He talks, and women’s clothes come off.

Too bad that didn’t work when he was single. It was my first experience watching the velvet-tongued photographer talk women out of their clothes to help “further their careers”. It’s hard to believe but that camera is a powerful tool in the right man’s hand. We hadn’t been in the dustbowl more then a few hours and Curt already lined a up the voluptuous Sandra to do a topless photo shoot. Next we had to find a bike that would work. I spoke with Scot and Mercedes at Redhill Motorcycle Werx and Mercedes offered up her bike “Bitchcraft” for the shoot.

We got it all arranged and the next thing I knew we were in back of a hotel off the main street in Cave Creek having Sandra get “ready” for the shoot. Curt did a few test shots but we had a small window of opportunity before we got ran off or the light went bad. It was the end of the day, the shadows were stretching out long and the blistering heat was getting to all three of us. I wasn’t even really sure what the hell I was doing there but I didn’t complain. There’s a code about shooting bikes in the sun. We needed to catch it low in the sky so it didn’t shower the bike with shadows. That means crawling out of the sack before the sun jumps into the sky, or waiting until it’s about to check out for the day.

We positioned the bike perfectly in front of a huge cactus and Sandra took off her top and as the miner’s use to say, Eureka! We had the perfect light, the perfect bike and the perfect set of…I mean model. She knew exactly what to do and although she claimed to have little modeling experience she was a trooper. I found that my official photographic calling was boot shiner, (not boot licker) and apparel assistant. I also ran interference between the maid who sounded like Bart Simpson from all the “Aye Carumba!” comments we heard from her. I was sure that the cops were going to show up at any moment and haul us off to jail for indecent exposure, but that never came to pass. Curt got some amazing pictures, we all walked away deliriously happy, and I knew I had found my calling.

After the shoot we headed over to the Hideaway. Scot and Mercedes parked there for the day and over cheap Mexican food and many drinks they told us the long away around how “Bitchcraft” came to be.

Scot and Mercedes Ross both had a passion for American V-Twin motorcycles and decided that their combined backgrounds of sales and display design would help them develop the perfect shop. The road to owning Redhill Motorcycle Werx has been rocky. Scot and Mercedes moved to Arizona in 1996 so that Scot could attend MMI. At the same time Mercedes was recovering from cancer and running her store design business, so they loved being back in the desert to see how much AZ bike week had grown. They decided to move to Colorado after Scot finished up his training and Scot landed a job with a local aftermarket shop where he learned about the motorcycle business and got some hands on training. Scot and Mercedes Ross opened Redhill Motorcycle Werx in August of 2000 hoping to do what they loved.

The location was one that Scot and Mercedes eyed carefully. Location, location location was the key as the adage goes. Lots of people reviewed the sleepy town on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park with distain, “There is no way it can support a custom motorcycle shop,” they said.

“We knew from being in the industry that we couldn’t just be another shop, we had to distinguish ourselves from the average shop and become a sought-after destination. I knew that I could make the shop a place that people wanted to find, by investing in all the merchandise that we could possibly afford, and make it cool, while Scot set up the machine shop in back.” Said Mercedes.

And set up the shop he did, he decided he wanted to be a Dynojet center so that he could tune anything and get it right the first time. He also wanted a paint-booth in back so they could be a one-stop shop. They could build a ground up custom and have it painted right there. The only items to leave the shop involved powder coating and chrome. Scot called on his long time friend Phil Greff and asked if he wanted to shoot wild finishes in back of the shop. They set up a booth, called it Black Canyon Custom paint and they were on their way.

This was about the time Mercedes pondered “Bitchcraft”. She wanted to build a bike that would attract women to the custom motorcycle scene and be functional for a woman. She knew that it needed to have a low seat height, be light and fast enough to blow away the boys. She started looking around and Scot, being an R&D guy in the bicycle industry for years, knew that he would be limited in weight if he went with traditional steel. They discovered Wildcat Engineering and made an aluminum frame. They also found fenders and an aluminum gas tank to lighten it.

As soon as they decided on the frame they ordered it and started to get busy. Customers were waiting on project bikes, and they wanted to show off their building and fabrication prowess quick, so Mercedes bike shifted to the back-burner. They planned on finishing the unnamed aluminum bike for Sturgis 2003, but they just didn’t have the time, so they hauled the roller up to Thunder Road. They received tons of praise, as it glistened in their booth. Scot, Mercedes and Phil gazed at it for 10 days straight and vowed to complete it, no matter what, by the next Sturgis. They also came up with this radical color scheme.

They started to get serious and planned to unveil it at the Denver Motorcycle Show and Swap in February. Behind lots of hype and previous appearances, the bike was unveiled knocked out onlookers. They kept up theme of building it light, fast and Mercedes, who is very driven by her work, came up with the name “Bitchcraft”, since she would ride it.

The colors are a new technique that they worked on with their powder coater. They wanted the anodized look but didn’t want it to fade. All of the red parts that look anodized are actually a translucent powder coat. The sheet metal and frame were burnished with a Scotchbrite pad and then clear powder coated. Paint has a tough time sticking to aluminum. This way the candy and graphics had something to adhere to. It made the paint look deep and different from any other bike.

Scot and Mercedes

The design scheme was something that Mercedes came up with along with help from the Redhill team. The hard parts used were up to Scot and he turned to TP for the engine and 6-speed transmission. “We used some TP parts before and were really happy with the performance and longevity, so we called them up and ordered the drivetrain.” said Scot.

They really liked the look of Arlen Ness’ parts so they started to put together a list of parts that flowed together, which was the one thing that Mercedes really paid attention to. “I come from an artistic family, so everything had to flow, not match but flow together. Nothing could look out of place.” Said Mercedes. They picked the M bars as a tribute to Mercedes and then got the primary, grips and hand controls form Ness. The pipes were an easy choice. Mercedes respected the Yaffe X-pipe for some time. They threw translucent powder coating on the tips and blacked-out the heat shields to match the rest of the bike.

The bike was assembled and unveiled at the Denver Motorcycle show and swap meet to hundreds of onlookers. Everyone who saw the bike liked the way it was laid out and appreciated all the thought that was put into it. Men and women alike were drawn to every detail. Since Denver it went on to gone win several trophies including, best in class, polish and shine award and 5th place at the Ratshole in Daytona 2005.

“I have another bike in my head that I should complete before Sturgis. Hopefully it have a similar impact, and this time it will make the men even more jealous.” Said Mercedes. I’m hoping Curt and I get to shoot it with another great model and make all of you jealous.

You can check Redhill Motorcycle Werx online at www.redhillmotorcyclewerx.com or call them at (303)823-6363 and you can see more of Curt Lout’s work at www.studio9000.com

You can also purchase the shorts Sandra is wearing, plus more cool clothing online at www.toxicinkclothing.com . Check them out!

When I came up with the idea to start my own magazine two years ago, it was out of pure selfishness and a desire to make a contribution to my community. You see, with the exception of The Horse, Bikernet, and the occasional issue of Easyriders (really… I only get it for the articles!), no one was writing anything worth a damn. In fact, everything out there seemed to be the same old tripe about what the major motorcycle companies were putting out about their new products. Nowhere could I find anything about the local (Hawiian) riding conditions, or the local rider’s experiences, or even pictures of the bikes and babes in my tiny island world. The fact is that there was just nothing being published, other than Bikernet.com, that truly interested me, so I decided to go out on my own.

Well, it’s been two years now and my little experiment called “Hawaiian Chopper” has turned into something that many people tell me they look forward to every two months. I’m not sure why people like it so much, but my hope is that it’s for the stories about the local biker scene… local event coverage… the local rider’s experience… and of course, the occasional island beauty that has offered herself as a diversion for the eyes, and a reminder of why we live in paradise in the first place.

As an added bonus over these past two years I have also been fortunate to acquaint myself with some of the industries preeminent builders and personalities. People like Russell Mitchell, Billy Lane, Chica, Mitch Bergeron, Cole Foster, Harold Pontarelli, Scott Long, Matt Hotch, Bandit and Hugh King, amongst a host of others… Then there has been the occasional brush with greatness that has availed itself by allowing me to spend time with legends such as Mondo and Sugar Bear have made the ride that much more pleasant. I even received encouragement from Indian Larry before his untimely passing.

Of course, fostering close friendships with the likes of Jose De Miguel, the boys at Count’s Kustoms, and Johnny Vasko has been the blessing I never expected. Johnny was the first national figure to be featured on the cover of Hawaiian Chopper, and exactly one year later; he adorns the 12th issue with a memorial to my friend. The experience of losing someone so respected and loved makes being a journalist difficult…

Since starting Hawaii’s only motorcycle magazine I’ve been given the opportunity to put on some cool motorcycle events too. The success of events like the Las Vegas Winter Rally, Great Hawaiian Biker Build-Off, and the upcoming Paradise Bikefest & Bike Build-Off (July 2nd) featuring two of Hawaii’s best motorcycle craftsmen (Noah O’Geen and Nui Kauhane), and appearances by Harold Pontarelli, Sugar Bear, Big Schwag, Jose De Miguel, Big Mike, Shannon Aikau, and a host of others, are testaments to the support and encouragement from Hawaii’s biker community, as well as support at the industries core.

Companies like BMC Choppers, Avon Tyres, Bikernet, and others have given me a sense of security and promise. I am grateful for the opportunity to do good things for my fellow riders.

Having said all that, probably the best parts of managing Hawaiian Chopper Magazine are the photo shoots with some of Hawaii’s hottest women. As you look over some of the shots that Bandit has been so kind to share with you, you will understand why I work so hard to put out a publication that barely pays for itself. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I have…

For more info on the Paradise Bikefest, check out www.paradisebikefest.com. To subscribe to Hawaiian Chopper, contact me at alohasports@hawaii.rr.com.

Mahalo Nui Loa (Thank you very much).

Aloha,

Steve
Editor-in-Chief
Hawaiian Chopper

PARADISE BIKEFEST &BIKE BUILD-OFF AT KAPIOLANI COMMUNITY– Honolulu, Hawaii July 2nd, 2006– Over this year's Independence Day weekend, Honolulu will be host to the 50th State's largest motorcycle rally, and we at Hawaiian Chopper Magazine, BMC Choppers, Pasha Hawaii, Pacific Rim Cycle, South Seas Harley-Davidson, Woody's Hotdogs, Avon Tyres, and our other fine sponsors would like to invite you to get in on the festivities.

Beginning with Hawaiian Chopper's 2nd birthday party on Friday, June 30th, at Honolulu's Hard Rock Cafe motorcycle enthusiasts and fans of Discovery Channel's “Great Biker Build- Off” series will join Discovery Channel Biker Build-Off Champion Harold Pontarelli, Internationally celebrated motorcycle builders, Big Mike of BMC Choppers, Shannon Aikau of Count's Kustoms, Jose De Miguel of Caribbean Custom Cycles, and the legendary Sugar Bear.

Watch for the feature on this girl and Deacon’s Jack Daniels Bike in the next couple of days.

I am particularly pleased to announce the addition of the wildly popular Big Schwag of Discovery Channel's Monster Garage series.

The Hawaiian Chopper birthday party will be open to the general public, and partygoers will be treated to musical entertainment, great food & beverage specials, prize giveaways, and plenty of aloha making this “The Party” to be at over the holiday weekend.

Continuing the festivities on Sunday, July 2nd, Kapiolani Community College (KCC) will be transformed from an institution of higher learning, to a haven for motorcycle enthusiasts, and fans of the genre.

Once at KCC, riders will be required to pay an entry fee of $15.00 ($10.00 advance). Spectators and participants will be treated to a spectacle larger than December 2005's “Great Hawaiian Biker Build-Off”. Along with some of the top motorcycle builders and their bikes made famous on television and numerous motorcycle magazines, visitors to this year's event will actively engage in the festivities by voting on the build-off bikes from Oahu's own Nui Kauhane of Grumpy's Customs and Noah O'Geen of Maui's Hot Rod Alley.

These two builders have six weeks to build their versions of the Hawaii's coolest bike. Kauhane's reputation as one of the top builders of the “Local Boy” style will be on the line when he takes on O'Geen.

One of Hawaii's best up and coming motorcycle craftsmen, O'Geen's creations were featured on the cover of Hawaiian Chopper Magazine, and will soon be published in other great biker magazines as well.

A bikini contest featuring some of Hawaii's hottest women will be held on the main stage. Cash prizes will be given to the top three women chosen by a pre-selected panel of judges. Instructions for registration in the competition will be conducted at Panama Hatties in Pearl City on Thursday, June 29th (8-10pm).

On behalf of Hawaiian Chopper magazine and Ten Toes Enterprises, allow me to welcome you to Hawaii's greatest motorcycle event. This year's rally is sure to be the highlight of the Independence Day weekend.

Mahalo nui loa

–Steve Kalnasy
808-780-2998