Esteemed Bikernet photographer, RFR, the lovely Liz and big Eric in the back, a show partner.

Kent Weeks, (Lucky Devil Metalworks in Houston), contacted us recently, with a report on the Texas National Bike Show sponsored by Bikernet.com, poster shoot. Just two days prior we received an e-mail report from the esteemed photographer, Rigid Frame Richard, or Richard Roesler. We reviewed Kent’s story and Richards e-mail and something didn’t jive. We woke up Bandit in the middle of the day and interviewed him. He didn’t help, so here we go starting with the Devil:

So… A photo shoot of a photo shoot? You got it, whatever you want, no problem, any time (lunatic).

Photo studio set up next to the Lucky Devil, state-of-the-art paint facility.

So Bandit wants a photo shoot of the photo shoot, groovy. Here ya go.

“That’s not exactly the story,” said Bandit during a post-shoot investigation. “We’re doing all we can to support the Texas National Bike Show. Last year the date was shifted due to Katrina or one of those wild hurricanes. The Bikernet staff voted unanimously to bolster Kent’s efforts to build the show and we started with a contest to support the Texas National Bike Show Poster. So a feature promoting the poster would be a good thing, right?”

It's been raining in Houston for months. Half the state was flooded and Saturday was no different, except we had one very cool bike, one very hot chick and a whole bunch of other people standing around the Lucky Devil paint shop wondering when RFR was going to start shooting the winning bike for the Texas National Bike Show poster contest. Frankly this thing has been complicated from the beginning.

It’s RFR’s turn.

”Wait just a minute,” RFR said spitting chewing tobacco at the deck. “I’m a professional. I can’t shoot a state of the art photographic extravaganza in a shop fulla motorcycles. I’ve been by the shop and told ‘em to clean it up.

”I would probably be done with the shoot, except ‘Someone’ (see the devil), allowed all kinds of shit to be parked on the floor so it takes forever to get that fixed to this level, and I still have more to go. I even sent him an image that was taken for some friends (I had to hide their identities in case any of them were wanted), in Mr. Lichter's studio, pointing out things such as everybody wearing socks, parachute used to rotate bike so has not to leave tire marks, etc.

”But did he take this advice to heart and learn from it…NO!”

There Big Eric, directing the shoot from inside the shoot. Not a good idea.

First, we had to find the winning bike, and we have the Golden God of motorcycles to thank for that, our poster bike contest was a success on Bikernet.com and we found a Texas winner: Hemi Head Customs, Tim and Tina Scates.

Second, we had to coordinate all of the players, have you ever tried to rustle into one place at one time, bike owners, models and a photographer (who would rather sleep than shoot a pretty face). Well, I am here to tell you, it ain't easy! We were all set to go on the day of my lovely wife's grand opening party for her dealership, but no, our Miss Texas National forgot she had a previous commitment, so we had a bike, a photographer but… no pretty face.

Finally Richard got a moment alone with the model.

”Same with the Road King shoot,” RFR continued to grouse. “I have reflections from the HEB Banner, from last years bike show, he decided to hang right above the ‘shooting area’, yeah right. How can a pro shoot a bike with banners reflecting in the chrome.”

Well a few weeks went by before we could get everyone all together in one place, but we finally succeeded.

Now for the fun part, the owners of the winning bike Tim and Tina Scates (very cool people) showed up around 1:30 and the skies looked rain threatening. The only time I ever see Tina is when she’s on her hands and knees polishing their bike. Tina was immediately on her hands and knees polishing every detail on the bike. I wish I could talk Mrs. Devil into such a task, but she runs the bike show. Got to cut her some slack. Tina was in a big hurry to move the bike inside. Shortly thereafter our roving photographer Rigid Frame Richard showed up looking bleary eyed and frazzled. You see Friday was his last night working at the fabulous St. James (a serious house of ill-repute). He wascovered in stripper dust, and looking very much the worse for wear. Speaking of a Lucky Devil's (bastard).

“No more photo-shoots at Lucky Devil Metal Works, with paint dust flying, metal shavings on my lense or oil puddles to slip in,” RFR continued. “I will have to set up someplace in town, then he will just have to travel!”

By this time the sky had opened up and the streets were rushing in water and we still hadn’t seen hide nor Big Texas Hair of our model! No worries, Big Eric was in the house with his traveling bar and he informed us that she was on her way. Miss Texas National, Liz, arrived and the party started with lights flashing, fan blowing, hair flying. Looks like a photo shoot to me…

Always the consummate pro.

I have been giving him a hard time about it handling the shop like a professional studio,” RFR sniveled, “ but it was a waste of time. He started welding in the corner. I got the Girls of Bikernet shoot, but then grabbed my shit and hit the road.”

Here's where I came in. Although I was facing serious metal bending deadlines, I also was supposed to grab a story for Bikernet on the shoot. Well, if my lovely had not purred in my ear “Get your ass in the paint shop now and take some damn pictures!” I would probably be in Dutch with Bandit right now (God, she's great). So I got my ass in gear and started taking pics. And, oh what fun! Like I said before, lights flashing, wind blowing, hair flying, I love my job.

Well, now that my assignment is complete it's time to head back to reality. I must say a photographer’s life is good, but I'd much rather twist metal for a living.

–The Devil

We’re Not Done Yet

Mrs. Devil here and boy is the Devil in trouble!!! In his story he failed to mention some very important things, like my Texas National Bike Show. So I will have to take matters into my own hands.

We have started registration on line @ www.texasnationalbikeshow.com for vendors at only $1.50 a sq ft and for bike show participants as well.

The show is going to be Friday and Saturday, November 3rd and 4th at the Galveston Island Convention Center. We will have an abundance of entertainment, a vintage Burlesque show, 2 nights of bikini shows, cool customs, and much, much more. It’s all sponsored by Bikernet.com.

I am excited to announce that this year we have added something new, “The Texas National Builder Showdown”, it’s an invitational bike build-off, and we will feature all of the bikes in a builder’s row, as well as the shops sponsoring the builds. We invited 11 builders and so far we have had more than a few respond with a resounding yes. And if I am not mistaken our Golden God of Motorcycles, Bandit and the fabulous Bikernet will be doing some features on the build-off in the coming months, so look for that too.

The Texas National is about supporting smaller local and national shops and giving everyone a chance to show off their hot rides in a very cool place. So drop by if you are in Galveston Texas, November 3rd and 4th. Tickets at the door are $10.00 for both Friday and Saturday, so you can come and go as you please.

Now… I am off to give the Devil a spanking that will show him never to ignore me again!

–Mrs. L. Devil

Click to see morefrom Lucky Devil

As June rolls around, there are two things you can count on in the American South. One, it will be hotter than Hades. The second, smokin’ tires at the Horse Magazine's annual Smoke Out Event in Salisbury, North Carolina.

2006 marked the events seventh anniversary, and bikes from all across America made the pilgrimage to see what other back yard builders as well as some of the top builders in the country were doing to trick out their custom rides. The two-day event hosted well over 2,000 kick ass choppers as well as a crowd of over 15,000 people in the small, sleepy Southern town. Some of the leading custom builders in the U.S. like Billy Lane, Chopper Dave, Paul Cox and Keino of Indian Larry Legacy and the legendary Hank Young were just some of the Discovery Channel Television personalities on hand to meet and greet their fans.

The Smoke Out is an event designed to be a showcase for people who love the Art of the Chopper. Guys and girls who live and breathe fire and smoke.

People who have oil coursing through their veins come to mingle with other like-minded folks and share ideas and the latest in parts and design technology. No place else on earth will you find the sheer number of home built creations than you will find at the Smoke Out event.

Here you will find all types of bikes lovingly altered to express the riders individual tastes. Old vintage Indians and Harleys sitting side by side with British Triumphs, Nortons and BSA's along side every type of Japanese crotch rocket stripped down to their very souls and rebuilt to express the true essence of the spirit of radical custom. Some have a wild high-dollar paint job while most are pure rattle can flat black. Chrome? Well yes, some are over the top with gleaming chrome touches but mainly Smoke-Out bikes are built to go not show. Most of the builders are more concerned with function and forgo the usual circus paint in favor of spending their building budget on more practical things like engine performance and new tires after shredding them in the burn-out pit.

Hot bikes, hot women and cold beer.

What more could a biker wish for? Maybe a little entertainment perhaps? That was also provided. From the lovely ladies of the Bikini Bike Wash who found the weather just too hot to leave their bikinis on, to the Texas Mechanical Bull's gyrations every time a lovely young lady hopped aboard, there was always something going on. Music from live bands filled the area under the big tent all day and night.

Saturday evening the crowd rocked to the sounds of Nashville Pussy and the trophies for the bike show were handed out to builders who showed the most imaginative innovations. The contest was only open to home builders who rode their bikes into the event. The only trailer in sight at the Smoke Out was one that was specially constructed out of wood to be burned in effigy, after the trophy's were handed out.

It's good to see that in this era of high priced “Choppers” that allow the people with more money than taste to dominate the scene, there is still an event geared for the blue collar working man who can turn garbage into gold using a few basic tools and his imagination. We salute these Back Street builders who seek neither fame nor fortune with their efforts, but rather strive to continue a tradition that hopefully will live on through their tireless efforts.

–TB

The Hollister Independence Day Rally was back in full force for the 60th Anniversary in this infamous Central Coast town, and it appears to be on track to regain its status as one of the country’s premier motorcycle runs.

This year the run was organized by Horsepower Promotions instead of the Hollister City Council and the changes from years past were evident. The cops were out, but nothing like last year, although the Department of Justice had its helicopter flying nonstop over the skies of Hollister and Bolado Park. Your author and many others took the liberty of showing their bird our “bird”, if you catch my drift.

The brothers in Bolato Park.

We arrived in town Friday afternoon and went to set up camp in Bolado Park as a guest of the Boozefighters MC in their private camp area. There were chapters from all over CA and other points east. We settled in and then a couple of us took off on our bikes to Tres Pinos, a small town between Bolado Park and Hollister where we drank and smoked cigars outside on the front patio of the Cantina. Tres Pinos was a happening place to be, with hot women and good music, and lots of good looking motorcycles out front.

One biker pulled up on his Honda 750 chopper, and his buddy on a new Road King complained that the Honda stole the show everywhere they went. Honda or not, those 750 chops are definitely the definition of cool and deserve the attention they get.

We cruised back to Bolado definitely more buzzed than when we left, and spent the rest of the night bullshitting with old friends and watching the band. We finally got to bed around 2am.

The next day we were up and ready to head into downtown Hollister. The first thing that I noticed is that San Benito street was completely blocked off to 4 and 2 wheel traffic, and it was filled with vendors. Parking was a bitch to find, and we ended up parking 3 blocks from downtown. I have always felt that the focus of motorcycle rallies should be on bikes, and part of that is that bikes should be front and center. Instead there were a lot of vendors, most hawking the same t-shirts.

I am a vendor whore, but I was quickly bored seeing the same shit. There were some cool vendor booths; Matt Hotch was located in the Crime Inc. booth, and he had a couple of his bikes on display. His Vincent chopper that he built is un-fuckingbelievable in person and had a lot of cool details that really stood out.

Another vendor with a cool product was Ray C. Wheeler from W8LESS Brake Rotors. Ray makes a ceramic composite brake rotor that, compared to a stock Harley “boat anchor” (Ray’s words), feels like a feather. It is light, available in any color you want, and will last a long, long time. Ray said the less weight on your front end, the easier it is to keep your tire in contact with the road which results in better handling. These rotors will reduce your sprung weight and they will never get hot or warp. The W8LESS Rotor weighs 1.9lbs versus OEM at 4.9.

Johnny’s famous bar.

Johnny’s on San Benito street was packed tight with people, but somehow we got in and had a drink. There was definitely a cool vibe in this historic spot and it was great to see old friends and meet new ones. The new mural painted on the outside wall of Johnny’s is awesome, depicting Boozefighter legend and founder Wino Willie, and also Johnny from “The Wild One’s” movie.

The Bikernet Salt Shaker was on the stage downtown.

After spending most of the day downtown, we started the hike back to our motorcycles. We saw about 15 flatbed tow trucks lined up towing bikes that parked in the wrong place on side streets. Those are going to be some unhappy dudes when they see that their bikes are gone. Parking was a definite problem this year, and one that I hope will be addressed for next year. There is something about being on San Benito Street and hearing that nonstop rumble of thousands of bikes.

Bolado Park saw a huge improvement from last year, but hasn’t quite returned back to its glory years of 1997-1998. Back then, Bolado had drag races, hill climbs, national entertainment, and lots of vendors. It was a wild party. As the Hollister Rally re-establishes itself, hopefully Hollister will become more of a weekend destination rally instead of a day ride, like it is for so many bikers from the Bay Area and Central Valley of California.

When we got back to camp, we drank, ate, and watched the BFMC bike show hosted by Snowman from Chapter 3. Michael Litcher was on hand taking pictures, and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Bob Macmillan from the Yellow Jackets MC Gardena Chapter. When Brown Dogg of the Boozefighters asked him if he needed anything, he replied that he just wanted to find more living members of the Yellow Jackets MC. If you have any information, contact me or Bandit and I will relay the information.

There’s Mike Lichter on the left trying to get away.

Hollister is the birthplace of the modern biker, and it still gives me chills when I roll into town for the rally. It was here that bikers were firmly implanted into American culture, and the dedication that people put forth to make this rally happen should not go unnoticed. It’s back to the grind for Rebelmark. I have a 2007 Road Glide to pick up and break in before Sturgis, and all the other shit that happens in between.

We’re searching for information about this ring from Hollister.

Ride Free!

We will forever slip this piece of history into our Digital Discovery area of the Cantina.

These shots came from a reader in Australia.

Charlie’s show producer, who was on stage with us downtown, Pauline. Is that a smile to die for?

Sure it’s the wrong year, so what. We like the art.

Amidst threats of the event being shut down by Bible Thumping members of the local town board, plus beer being outlawed, not to mention the ominous heavy presence of John Law and his minions, The Smoke Out 8, Sponsored by Bikernet.com, went off without a hitch. For months before, legal battles raged with the “Good Christian” politicos regarding the event being closed down because, “Jesus doesn't like nipples and wild biker trash.”

Well, for what it's worth, I was always thought that Jesus loves sinners and the love was evident as thousands of the faithful on their “Devilish Machines” flocked to the Holy Land at the Rowan County Fairgrounds to bid a fond farewell to the Smoke Out, at least as far as Salisbury is concerned. No mention of next year's venue, but rest assured that it WILL happen.

Big Bob and Katmandu wearing the 5-Ball colors.

Riders from as far away as California and Western Canada to Nueva York and the rock bound coast of Maine handled the pilgrimage to see what their compadres were building and riding. The mood seemed lighter as the weekend rolled on and the flock realized that the good shepherd, John Law, was indeed there to look out for their safety and not lead them to slaughter.

Beer was indeed served like Holy Water and ladies rode nekkid on the mechanical golden calf, voraciously offering up their virtue to the assembled multitudes. Burning tires served as ceremonial incense and High Mass was celebrated with the purification rite of burning a trailer in effigy.

The choir consisted of Devil Doll and the Super-Soakers who led the faithful in song during evening vespers. St. Columbanus, patron saint of Bikers, surely would have bestowed his blessings on the services.

High Priests of Chopper Building, Hank Young, Jay Hart, Paul Cox and Keino of Indian Larry Legacy were on hand to display their icons to the novitiates.

Here's da winner.

Over 250 bikes were entered into the bike show with awards given out to the top ten winners. Steve “Deuce” Broyles II, of Stevenson’s Cycles, in Michigan, walked away with the trophy for his entry in the Horse Builders Chop Off.

The evening partying at local Holiday Inns parking lot looked like anything but a service at the Crystal Cathedral, America's foremost drive-in place of worship. Despite heavy police presence, tires burned, music blared and nubile young hard-bellies gyrated until dawn, on both Friday and Saturday nights. In the spirit of Christian Charity, the local hotels raised their usual $69 per night to $200 with a 3-night minimum and attempted to charge a tide of $5.00 per head to enter the golden gates of their parking lots. That’s just one aspect of Salisbury that we won't be missing at the new venue.

We don't yet know where or when, but we assure you that next years Gathering of the Faithful will be the most righteous jamboree yet to be seen.

Can I get you to testify???

Amen!

–TBear

That’s not all. A ride to the Smoke Out Report is due to hit the site next week from Art Parry. Check back.–Wrench

Smoke Out featured in local paper. Ah, maybe it’s the not the right year again.

Woodstock Extreme Sand-drags and Moto Expo, sponsored by Bikernet.com, was held in Millicent South Australia March 24th 2007, despite 27 inches of rain on the Friday and still cold and windy with scattered showers on the morning of the show. The folks who turned out all gave it 100% as spectators and participants. The event hosted everything from Sand Drags, Freestyle motocross, a Chopper Show, n Shine and bands into the night, who were pulled up early due to bad weather.

The Chopper Show was well attended by an array of quality bikes and some all time classic, vintage dating back to the early 1900s. On hand to judge was none the less but Bikernet’s own Keith “Bandit” Ball who made the trip all the way out from the US of A and was companied by Heavy Duty Magazines Doc Robinson and Queensland’s master seat maker and Bikernet Correspondent, Glenn Priddle. Horn Promotions would like to give a big thanks to SA Choppers, Ultimate Choppers Australia and all other builders for presenting their Master Pieces.

The Sand Drags were hosted by Trench Cutter Racing with Rick Hoffman on board took out the unlimited class on a modifed Harley Davidson Sportster and EL from the Hells Angels ran 2nd, In the Trike class. It was Matchy who came first and Col finished 2nd, Quads was won by Tommy Oak, Modifed street by TJ and Stretch of Black Hawk Motorcycles 2nd in the dirt Bike class 250cc to 450cc was Mount Gambiers Josh Didsbury on a Suzuki RMZ 450, and Millicent’s Wade Fennell on a Yamaha YZ 426, open Dirt bike was won by Mick wave and 2nd Bevan Muells. Kids classes were won by Tom Hollaway, of Millicent, and 2nd Thomas Chant, for the under Nines 5 young ones turned out being Kai Evans, Ryan Hoffman Seth Cooper James Watts and Clayton Skeer.

The Freestyle was performed by Australian Ramp Design www.ard.com.au and the athletes with the big stunts were all Aussie boys Steve MIni, Robbie Adelberg , Chucky Norris , Rhys Hillier, Adam Grope and Wayne Zilm. All these boys left the crowd thinking, “Shit, we got our money’s worth today with everything form Backflip combos to the biggest turn downs. The Aussie Riders are truly stamping themselves on par with the best in the world.

Byron Bays Engine 3 Seven and Matt Seaberg Band were cut short with the cold weather, but still turned out and did a great job with the music, as it was drizzling and freezing cold. Most punters headed for cover, but enjoyed what they did hear from these boys.

Hats off to you boys for a great Job.

–Dale Nitschke
Horn Promotions
dni10806@bigpond.net.au

These guys were out back. They kept bugging us about the girls. “Where’s the girl, goddamnit?” One shouted again and again. Photo from Bob T. collection.

Racing on the Streets

It’s our version of Mecca. No other race in the U.S., or even the world, quite matches the experience of seeing the TT in person. Not only is the race action great, but the atmosphere is incredible. It’s you and 100,000 of your best motorcycling friends from around the world, all gathered to celebrate the love of fast motorcycles.

Isle of Man TT Grid Girls… Lovely!

This was the 100th year of the Isle of Man TT races. Except for a few war years, motorcycles have been racing on the island every year since 1907. Back then the roads were rough and unpaved. An Indian won the premier race that year, with an average speed of just 47 mph – a far cry from what’s possible today.

2007 saw a new lap record set. John McGuiness averaged just over 130 mph during the Senior TT on the last day of racing, on a Honda CBR1000RR. Wow!!! Unfortunately there was an accident during the race, leaving one rider and two spectators dead. The island can be a deadly place. The yearly death toll averages more than 2 riders per year.

The TT features several days of racing, with various classes including sidecars. The Superbike-spec 1000s can hit over 200 miles per hour on some sections of the track. The 600s and sidecars are a bit slower, but no less thrilling.

Car Racing at Speed

Locals and visitors watch the races from almost everywhere. Yards, driveways, house windows, schoolyards, gas stations, pubs……. anywhere along the 37 ½ mile course is fair game. It’s sobering to see the various hard surfaces – light posts, walls, gas pumps, houses – along the course that have been covered with hay bales and padding in an attempt to soften the blow for a rider traveling at over 100 mph.

Locals and visitors watch the races from almost everywhere.

When the races are over it’s time to head to the Promenade. The “Prom” is the main street along the bay where the nightly festivities happen. This year you could see a number of stunt shows and contests, as well as dozens of ancient race bikes being started up and ridden by racing legends. Where else can you see and hear a 1938 DKW supercharged 2-stroke race bike being ridden? And there were two of those things!! The sound was amazing, almost as nasty as the shriek from the exhaust of a 1960’s vintage Honda 250 six cylinder racer.

Quite a few racing legends were in attendance this year. Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read, and Kevin Schwantz were there, and there was a somewhat odd appearance by Michelle Duff, formerly Mike Duff. Duff was an accomplished Grand Prix and TT racer from the 1960s who later became a transgender. The announcer called her “Mike…er I mean Michelle” a couple of times. I think the audience was equally confused.

Bikes at the Isle of Man

Could this be an old Isle Of Man Racing shot from the Bob T. Collection.

Here in the states we certainly have a huge variety of bikes, in every shape, flavor and color. We have the choppers of course, and chromed out sportbikes with extended swingarms, repli-racers, vintage bikes, etc. And for a completely new take on the meaning of “custom bikes”, look around at the TT.

No trip to the Isle of Man TT races is complete without checking out the German streetfighters. Streetfighters are not exclusive to the Germans, but the Germans do seem to take their bikes to the greatest extremes. Check out the photos, and look at the detail of these bikes. You’ll see turbos, nitrous, bikes with no seat pads, and some with polished aluminum seats. Like your ‘fighter chromed? With flashy paint? Polished aluminum bodywork? Take your choice. Want your bike’s ass end sticking up sky high? How about a 4 into 4 exhaust, with underseat outlets going thru the bodywork? Nothing is too bizarre for the Streetfighter crowd. Function be damned, these are way bitchin’ bikes.

One bike in particular caught our attention. The “General Lee” appeared to be an early 80’s Suzuki, completely done up in full Dukes of Hazard paint scheme. This General Lee probably couldn’t jump very well, but I’ll bet it kicks ass at the dragstrip. The bike’s owner obviously spent a lot of time with the General. Among other things, it has a turbocharger, custom wheels with rim mounted brake discs in front, and an adjustable length swingarm to keep things stable at the strip. Even if you’re not a fan of the 70’s TV show, you have to give props to the guy who built this bike.

Want more weirdness? How about a bobbed Honda Valkyrie, with 6 intake stacks, and 6 into 6 exhausts with the ends pointed up as if to shoot at incoming aircraft? Then there was the Ford V-6 powered rat-trike looking like it came from a post-apocalyptic world, complete with mice, rats and bats.

Sidecar rigs abound at the Isle of Man. A blue Gold Wing had what appeared to be a small car attached to its side. In reality it was a 2 person sidecar with 2 wheels, front and rear, the front wheel being steered with the Gold Wing’s. And though I hate the idea of ruining the handling on a great naked sportbike, there was a gorgeous Aprilia Tuono (the Racing version no less) attached to an equally beautiful carbon fiber sidecar.

The entire atmosphere surrounding the TT races is amazing. With the Isle of Man’s location pretty far north, daylight stays around until 11 pm in the summer. It’s amusing to be at the Bushy’s tent (the local brew) after 10 pm, in full daylight, watching stunters and chatting with an international crowd of mad bikers.

Considering the danger involved with 200 mph bikes in close proximity to rock walls, it’s anyone’s guess how long the Isle of Man races will continue. For years there’s been talk of shutting it down. But as a substantial part of the island’s economy revolves around the annual TT races, the locals are doing everything in their power to keep this party going.

One more time–The Girls of The Isle Of Man.

No matter how you feel about the war or what your particular political leanings may be, if you don’t support our troops… YOU SUCK! If you had any question go to http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com and read about some of the men and women who have died serving this beautiful country of ours…ok enough about that.

On the right is SPS mechanic Brandon.

I had the honor of tagging along with the Sucker Punch Sally’s crew as they headed to 29 Palms Marine Base out in the arid desert of California. The whole idea transpired when Kelly Coe asked Christian Clayton, general manager of Sucker Punch Sally’s, if they would be interested in coming out and meeting some of the troops during a welcome home celebration.

Christian and Jeff of the Sucker Punch team.

Christian said he could do better than that; he would bring Jeff Cochran, one of the co-founders of SPS, and entire trailer full of bikes and one of their lovely models, Spring.

Some fine examples of SPS bikes.

There are only a few times when a company like SPS can truly show their gratitude for what the men and women in uniform do for them and this was one of those times. The great thing about SPS is that this is not a publicity stunt, SPS has ALWAYS, OPENLY supported the troops in whatever way that they could. They have, since they first started, always said they give military discounts and have continued to do so for any persons serving in the military. Beverly Cochran, Jeff’s wife, was in the Army and is a huge supporter of the troops. She is a huge reason why SPS has been so successful.

Bikernet readers who came out to meet the SPS crew.

After flying into sunny California, we headed to the base and set up on the field in front of where Big and Rich were going to perform. As soon as the bikes rolled out folks surrounded them, asked questions and hung out with us.

Sucker Punch brothers, including their marketing mastermind, Ken Conte (center), took the challenge.

It didn’t really hit me where we were until I was talking to a Gunny Sergeant and all the sudden he stopped talking and the whole place got quiet, a Marine on stage started to play taps and every marine in that place stood at attention.

We stood silent in recognition of all those who had given their lives and I watched a little boy pulled on a Marine’s arm as he stood at attention. Their sense of duty and focus was evident if every motion. Their gestures, the deep melodic trance of Taps and the pristine care obvious in every military symbol, weapon and machine on the base drove home the stark reality and immense dedication. In this harried world we don’t stop daily and respect all we have and all our servicemen do to preserve it.

There were several things that really stood out. One was the fact that there were Marines who had traveled from San Diego just to meet the guys from SPS and see the bikes up close and personal. Some of them even heard about it on Bikernet.com. We handed out tons of posters and all of the guys were very respectful to Spring. Once you got them talking; look out. They talked bikes all day long, and since that’s what I like to do, it was a great match. It was terrific to hear young officers tell us that they had served in Iraq, and in between missions they would surf the internet with their troops just as an escape and would invariably wind up on Bikernet and the SPS Web site.

Jeff enjoying the California sun.

It gave them common ground, away from their duties, to talk, dream and escape their current situation. One infantryman went so far as to say it really helped him and his brothers in the field out. There were several guys who had seen SPS in the magazines and just wanted to talk about the bikes, meet Jeff and sit on a few of the different models. There were also a lot of marines who just liked bikes but had never heard of SPS before and came by to express their gratitude and say how cool the bikes were.

Ah yes, local talent.

In all we had five hours on the grounds, and there were over 12,000 people waiting for Big and Rich to come on stage. The bikes were loaded up as the sun set in the West, and Marines continued asking for posters and autographs right up until Big and Rich jumped on stage.

The next day we took a ride and somehow ended up at the Marine barber shop. A few of us got haircuts. Hell the boss was buying, and we got to get a tiny glimpse into the lives of some of the men and women who serve our country. It was an honor.

Here’s a Bikernet staffer, Johnny Humble, building a bike for his brother in Iraq using a SPS roller, BDL primary and an H-D engine. Glenn Priddle, a Bikernet writer in Australia is etching the seat. Watch for reports on Bikernet and in HOT BIKE.

When I got the call to go cover the Rhinebeck Vintage Bike Show & Swap Meet in Upstate NY, I had just returned from Sweden and seeing more bikes was the last thing on my mind for the weekend. I begrudgingly agreed to hook up with a few of my local buddies and take the short ride down from Home Base on my 1950 EL Panhead to check it out.

Sometimes, the things that you really don't want to do turn out to be the most fun you've had in quite a while. The Rhinebeck Fairgrounds was chocked full of just about every imaginable vintage bike ever made. Crockers, Excelsior-Hendersons, Vincents, Curtis and Villocettes to name just a few. Vintage Harleys and Indians lined the rows that seemed to go on forever.Trikes and side hacks, usually seen few and far between were also well represented.

Shiny clean bikes that looked like they just came off the show room floors sat side by side with old barn fresh running babies that looked like they have not been touched except to be ridden in decades. Parts vendors circled the rows of bikes and if you were looking for a shifter gate for an old WLA, it was there and not for the rip-off prices that you would find on the web.

The owners seemed to be speaking in tongues to the uninitiated novice when they gathered in enclaves representing their particular area of collectordom.They also were very accommodating to the novice offering their expert advice on just what part was original to any particular brand and year of cycle.

Next June if you happen to be looking for that impossible to find part to complete your restoration, or just happen to be in the mood to see a part of living history, be sure to pencil in this show on your calendar.

TBear

Cleveland

Velocette

I got the call from Sweden on a snowy winter's day in Upstate NY.Henkan, head honcho of Twin Club M.C.'s Custom Bike Show in Norrtelje was on the line. “Yo, TBear, are you planning on coming back to judge our show again this June?”

“Shit yea man, you know I wouldn't miss it” I told him.

“You're gonna stay at the club house again right?”

“Hell yes, with that 3 day 24/7 party going on I won't have too far to fall.” So the die was cast.

Twin Club M.C. has been hosting the biggest and most raucous biker event in all of Scandinavia for 33-years now. Bikers from all over Europe ride in droves to compete and check out bikes from as far away as the U.K., Spain, Holland, Italy, Russia, and Finland. With over 100 acres of land behind their club house, tents start popping up as far as a week in advance of the show on the waterfront in the quaint little sea-side town of Norrtelje about an hours ride North of Stockholm.

It's one of my personal favorite shows. If you're an old gray beard like me, you long for the runs of days gone by where you just show up with your tent strapped to your handle bars, a cutie on the bitch pad and your saddle bags stuffed full of moonshine and beef jerky. No rip-off vendors charging you $5.00 for a bottle of designer water or tents full of bubble wrapped bling-bling for your shiny new Harley. No hotels bending you over for $300 a night for a $30 hotel room. For the Swedish equivalent of a crisp $20 bill, you get into the show, a place to pitch your tent for up to a week, 3 stages of kick ass music all day and night and get this, $1.00 beers!

Damn, I miss the old days here in the States before Discovery's Biker Build-Off and the Turtle Heads gave every asshole with a Gold Card the idea that they too could be hard-core bikers, but I digress.

The author and the reasons for his trip.

With well over 500 different styles of bikes entered this year, judging the show was a little overwhelming, especially when you toss into the mix the distractions of the fabled hot Swedish Blonde honeys roaming the rows of innovative hand crafted creations.

American biker culture is over the top across the pond. Seems that everything Yankee made is in high demand on the Swede's priority list and to my great fortune and this even extends to bald, bearded biker photojournalists, a fact that I continue to be eternally grateful for. So with a hottie on each arm, I proceeded to do my best to separate the wheat from the chaff, both bike and babe-wise.

The five member jury consisting of myself, a Swedish biker photojournalist, a highly respected Swedish custom bike painter, a mega-talanted Swedish bike designer/engineer and a British representative of the World Championship of Custom Bike Building show held at Sturgis hunkered down and went over every bike in as much detail as possible.

I personally saw some fabrication and engineering details that I'd never seen before in my long, albeit sometimes checkered career. That's one of the main reasons I have flown over to Sweden's Custom Bike show for the past few years.

It's not your exclusive high-dollar circus sideshow that many of our U.S. events have turned into. You, for one thing, won't see any trailers at this show. It's strictly a ride-in event and the Europeans take this very seriously.

The town of Norrtelje pulls out all the stops to help make this show the wonder that it has become by letting the club hold the show in the town's Societyparken (Peoples-Park) on the sea-side canal and even has put up a considerable chunk of change to erect a temporary pontoon bridges across the canals to help the flow of thousands of people who have discovered and flock to the show every June.

Da Winner.

This years winner, a hot Swedish built flat tracker style creation 8-valve custom built honey, walked away with over $10,000 in prizes and expense money to take himself and his bike to the Black Hills of South Dakota to compete in A.M.D. Magazine's “World Championship of Custom Bike Building” to be held in downtown Sturgis where he will compete with the best bikes from the international affiliate events held all over the globe. If you find your self in Sturgis this August and feel like braving your way through the traffic down to Lazelle St., you won't want to miss one of the biggest displays of the worlds finest custom bikes.

–TB

High Security around this feature.

Blessed with great weather Santa Maria Motorcycle Madness May 18th-20th lived up to it’s reputation with tons of bikes, great music and more vendors than ever before.

Yeah, so what.

Over 11,000 fans representing seven states and four countries, from as far away as the Canary Islands, filled the Fairpark. The bike parking area swelled with almost 5000 bikes on the field. The Budweiser Custom Bike Show, consisting of three shows in one included: A 17-category ride-in show, a novice, and pro builder’s sweepstakes show, and the Ego Tripp Top 15 bikes of the show.

“The competition was as tough as it has ever been,” commented Kirk Taylor of Custom Design Studios of Novato Ca.

Over 65 bikes battled in and out for the custom hand made Ego Tripp billet awards. Big Mike, Todd’s Cycle, Scott Long, Tom Foster, Kirk Taylor, Trollworx, Sugar Bear, Evil Spirit, Greg Westbury, Chica, Trevelene, Lucky 7, Huntington Beach Cycles, were just some of the talented bike builders that brought out their latest creations.

Greg Westbury was awarded Pro Top builder at the show and Shawn Anderson took home the bike lift from Quality Tool for the best Novice Builder. Thorsen Motorsports and Suzuki had some awesome bikes in the metric midway along with everything a rider needs for a safe comfortable ride. Well aware of more vendors than ever before, the record crowds, made their way through the wide selection of products.

Scott Long noted “Santa Maria is one of the only shows that has a comfortable, laid back atmosphere. All and the top builders hang out and even rock the house at Maverick’s after party.

The Maverick Motorcycle Madness after party was filled with bikers, builders and vendors telling stories till late in the night.Dave Laloli of Utah stated “I have been to Motorcycle Madness every year and the music was the best it has ever been.

The show ended on a positive note for Annie Muir of Nipomo who won the Interstate enclosed give away Trailer.

Mark your calendar for next years Madness May 16th,17th and 18th and check out www.horsepowerpromotions.com and for info on the season finale the Grand National Bike Show San Francisco Oct.13th and 14th. And don’t miss the Hollister Birthday Party this year!