March 22, 2010
By Bandit |
THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit us on our website at www.ON-A-BIKE.com.
NCOM COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)
HALF A BILLION E-CYCLES TO HIT THE ROAD
Worldwide sales of electric powered two-wheel vehicles are set to explode over the next six years. According to a recently released study by U.S. based firm, Pike Research, 466 million e-bikes, e-motorcycles and e-scooters will be on the road by 2016.
?Demographics and economics are aligning to create a strong market opportunity for two-wheel electric vehicles,? Pike’s industry analyst Dave Hurst told Cycle Canada. ?In some countries, these vehicles will be engines of economic growth, while in others they will be signals of broader consumer behavioral shifts.?
Not surprisingly Hurst claims that China will dominate the global electric two-wheel vehicle market, representing more than 95% of sales during the next six years. E-bikes will hold a 56% share of the market, predicts Hurst, followed by e-motorcycles at 43% and e-scooters in distant third with less than 1%.
HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES LANE SPLITTING IN ARIZONA
A bill to allow ?Lane Splitting? in Arizona has been unanimously approved by legislative committee.
Also known as white lining, or ?filtering? as it is commonly referred to in Europe, motorcycles are allowed to weave between lines of cars in heavy traffic. Such practice is legal in the United States only in California and Washington, D.C., but HB2475 would allow lane splitting through stopped traffic in Maricopa County only to begin with for a one-year trial starting next year.
?The biggest factor on this bill is SAFETY and to try and reduce the number of rear end accidents,? said Mick Degan, lobbyist for the Modified Motorcycle Association (MMA) of Arizona. ?DPS is behind and support of this bill along with AAA.?
Also advocating for the measure is former California cop Ted Storck who wrote to the Arizona Republic newspaper; ?As an ex-Los Angeles police officer, I support House Bill 2475, which would allow Arizona motorcyclists to split lanes. It is allowed in California and has proven to be safe. I never once investigated an accident where a motorcyclist had an accident due to passing other vehicles in the same lane when the freeways were slow or stopped. However, it did result in more and more people riding motorcycles, cutting down on traffic congestion. Even the head of the California Highway Patrol agrees that this California law should remain in effect. He agrees it cuts traffic congestion and has not resulted in any extra risk to motorcyclists or other vehicles.?
The lane splitting bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Jerry Weiers of Glendale, has already cleared two committees in the House and faces a floor vote soon before it can be considered in the Senate.
OHIO MEASURE WOULD MAKE MOTORCYCLE PARKING SAFER
Buckeye bikers will be able to back their motorcycles into angled parking spaces, under legislation unanimously approved by the Ohio House on March 10. Substitute House Bill 204, sponsored by Rep. Tom Letson, D-Hubbard, passed 96-0 and now heads to the Ohio Senate.
Under existing state law, motor vehicles parked on public streets and highways cannot face into traffic. That poses a problem for people who drive motorcycles, which don’t go in reverse, Letson told reporter Marc Kovac, Dix Newspapers Statehouse Bureau chief. For angled parking spaces, motorcyclists have to physically push their bikes into traffic, creating a dangerous situation.
Letson’s bill would allow cycles to be backed into angled spaces, instead. “Many of you are probably asking why this is necessary or what this even means,” Letson said. “…The purpose for this legislation is to increase safety on Ohio’s roadways and to ease the unnecessary burden on Ohio motorcycle drivers.?
HIGHWAY SIGNS DELIVER A MESSAGE
Some of the best riding roads are in California, and a new campaign aims to make the roadways safer for motorcyclists by lighting up over 700 changeable freeway message signs saying “Share the road, look twice for motorcyclist.”
Following years of lobbying and letter-writing, ABATE of California is now working with state officials to utilize Amber Alert electronic message boards, when not in official use, to display the motorcycle awareness alert to millions of commuters daily.
ABATE Executive Director Anthony Jaime says the joint effort with CalTrans, the California Highway Patrol and the California Motorcycle Safety Program ?highlights the impact that grassroots organizations like ABATE can have on their government when they actively become part of the process of governance rather than just sitting back and being governed.”
The signs displayed the messages statewide for a one-week period during peek drive times, and serves as an example that other states can easily follow since it doesn’t cost anything extra to do.
Similarly, HB2351 would require the Iowa DOT to use electronic message boards on Hawkeye highways to flash “Watch for Motorcycles” during May for Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month.
MORE NOISE ABOUT NOISE
Across the country, more and more communities are exploring efforts to silence noisy motorcycles, but in Maine a bill that began as a broad measure to cut back on loud pipes has evolved into a proposal to force motorcycle riders to display vehicle inspection stickers on their bikes.
During hearings, the House Transportation Committee connected the noise problem to reports that nearly 40% of Maine motorcycles aren’t inspected. Faulty and noisy mufflers would fail motorcycles in annual inspections, so the measure was amended to require an inspection sticker be visibly affixed to the rear of the bike either on a mounting plate or on a rear fender or frame.
The bill, which also calls for a study of motorcycle noise, has received initial House approval but still needs to be approved by the full House and Senate.
A Racine, Wisconsin city panel has voted 4-0 recommending a newly written ordinance that would create a $100 fine plus court costs for “disorderly conduct with a motor vehicle.” It would outlaw, in a motorized vehicle, “violent, dangerous, abusive, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct.” That would include: squealing tires; revving an engine; unnecessarily blowing a horn; sudden veering or acceleration; and popping wheelies on a motorcycle.
The Culpeper Town Council Ordinance Committee has recommended that the Virginia municipality repeal its existing noise ordinance because it is legally unenforceable in light of recent court decisions. “The ordinance can’t be enforced the way it is written,” Mayor Pranas Rimeikis said of town noise regulations that rely on “a reasonable person” finding a sound too noisy.
The town’s movement to repeal its ordinance, and possibly replace it with a decibel-based measurement, is based on a Virginia Supreme Court ruling from last April that found a similar ordinance in Virginia Beach was unconstitutionally vague. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state court’s decision, denying a review of it as requested by the city.
PATCH HOLDERS DENIED ENTRY TO FLORIDA FAIR
About 50 bikers from an array of clubs rolled into the Florida State Fair looking for a good time, but because of the patches on their vests, they were refused entry and turned away. Fair rules, enforced by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, ban gang colors or signs.
But a lawyer representing the bikers says their First Amendment rights have been violated. “They’re trying to stifle people’s rights by using a blanket policy,” said Florida Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney Jerry Theophilopoulos. “It’s suppressing their right to associate in public.”
The banned bikers belong to a wide variety of clubs, from the Outlaws MC to Christian clubs such as the Spirit Riders, and the New Attitudes, a group of clean and sober riders. “The clubs that were with us, none of them have ever gotten into fights at the fair,” Theophilipoulos told the St. Petersburg Times. “They’re not street gangs, and they are being lumped together.” The bikers? lawyer said he called the Sheriff’s Office Sat to tell the agency the bikers were coming, and he was told that if they wore their colors, they wouldn’t be let in. They tried to go, anyway. “Sometimes you have to make a statement, to stand up for what you believe in,” said Jerry T, who also serves as legal counsel for the local Confederation of Clubs.
MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY ASKS CONGRESS TO AMEND LEAD RULES
The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) has delivered nearly 4,000 letters to Congress signed by motorcycle industry professionals who have had their livelihoods impacted by the lead provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
“We believe these letters along with the other communications will help add to the momentum encouraging Congress to amend the CPSIA’s lead content provisions to exclude youth vehicles,” said MIC chairman Larry Little.
The CPSC recently requested flexibility to grant exclusions from the lead content limit to address certain products including youth vehicles in a Jan. 15 report to Congress.
The MIC stressed three key reasons why youth ATVs and motorcycles should be excluded from the CPSIA’s lead content provisions: 1. The lead content poses no risk to kids. Experts estimate that the lead intake from kids’ interaction with metal parts is less than the lead intake from drinking a glass of water. 2. The key to keeping youth safe is having them ride the right size vehicle. Kids are now at risk because the availability of youth ATVs and motorcycles is limited due to the lead ban. 3. The lead ban hurts the economy for no good reason when everyone is trying to grow the economy and create jobs. MIC estimates that a complete ban on youth model vehicles would result in about $1 billion in lost economic value in the retail marketplace every year.
WEIRD NEWS: HOG VS. HORSE ACCIDENTS
In a landmark 1985 study, Dr. J.L. Firth estimated that while “a serious incident can be expected at the rate of 1 per 7,000 hours of motorcycle riding, serious injury rates exceeding one per 350 horse riding hours have been described, making horseback riding 20 times more dangerous than motorcycling.” As far as injuries go, horseback riding leads to more spills on average than motorcycling.
According to www.bookofodds.com, the odds a person will visit an emergency department due to a horseback riding accident in a year are 1 in 3,837. Most of these accidents are caused when a horse bucks or bolts, throwing the rider, and female injury rates are typically higher.
The odds a motorcyclist will be injured in an accident in a year are 1 in 82.55. The odds a motorcyclist will be killed in an accident in a year are 1 in 1,488, about the same odds a person will be diagnosed with breast cancer in a year (1 in 1,506). And the odds a rider killed in a motorcycle accident in a year was not wearing a helmet are 1 in 2.39.
POLICE IN ENGLAND ISSUE RIDERS HI-VIS VESTS
Thousands of British motorcyclists are being stopped by police for not wearing high-visibility clothing. Beginning in March, riders will be stopped and given lectures on ?being seen? as well as reflective vests to put on over their jackets or leathers.
The Motorcycle Action Group says the tactics are a step towards compulsory hi-vis clothing or reduced insurance pay-outs for riders in dark kit. ?We?re advising all riders stopped without obvious cause in order to deliver these lectures to make a stand by lodging formal complaints. If police time is tied up too much they may soon drop this tactic.?
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “We may never have tyrants? but if we should have them, they will seek to accomplish the downfall of free government, not by directly overriding the Constitution, but by using the forms of law to strangle and subvert its spirit.”
–Charles S. May (1875)
February 23, 2010
By Bandit |
COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled and edited by Bill Bish, Ride On Magazine
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)
BIKERS SUPPORT BROWN IN HISTORIC SENATE VICTORY
Scott Brown captured the national spotlight in his bid to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and he is a modern American success story, rising from relative obscurity to be the first Republican in decades elected to the U.S. Senate in the most liberal Democratic state in the country.
Paul Cote of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association joined newly-elected Senator Scott Brown at his victory celebration at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston following his shocking election upset. The MMA worked with Sen. Brown?s campaign in gratitude for his support of motorcyclists? legislation over the many years he has served in the state legislature.
?Since last September, when the Massachusetts Motorcycle Political Action Committee (MMPAC) supporters started gathering signatures to get Scott Brown on the ticket for the US Senate Special Election, we have knocked on doors, stood outside grocery stores and even ?hung out at the landfills? to get Scott elected,? said Rick Gleason of MMPAC.
Not only is Brown a biker-friendly politician, but he rides a Victory motorcycle!
S.C. SUPREME COURT HEARS MYRTLE BEACH HELMET LAWSUITSSouth Carolina’s highest court heard oral arguments Wednesday, February 3 over whether a city can require motorcycle riders to wear helmets, despite the lack of a state law requiring the practice. State law doesn’t require riders 21 and older to wear helmets, but in an effort to get rid of two bike rallies held there each year, the Myrtle Beach city council voted unanimously in 2008 to pass 15 ordinances intended to dissuade bikers from coming to town, including the controversial mandatory helmet law for motorcycle riders and passengers of all ages.
Justices peppered an attorney for the city with questions over what they seemed to view as the intent of the ordinance — not to make Myrtle Beach’s roads safer for bikers, as had been argued, but to drive the bike rallies away from the Grand Strand.
Representing his brother Bart, who leads a pro-bike rally group of business-owners and is challenging a ticket he received for not wearing a helmet, State Representative Thad Viers argued to the five justices that a state law governing traffic ordinances spells out what local governments are allowed to do regarding traffic laws. Viers filed more than 30 pages of briefs containing multiple sections supporting his various legal arguments against the city helmet ordinance.
But Virginia-based A.I.M. Attorney (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists)Tom McGrath, who argued before the court representing 49 helmet law protesters who were ticketed, filed a much shorter brief, saying, among other things, that most of the arguments don’t matter because the city’s ordinance is at odds with state law, and for that reason alone it should be tossed out.
“The gist of the city’s arguments is that it has the right to do whatever it wants to do as long as it declares something to be a public nuisance and decides to abate it,” McGrath’s brief begins. “…If the ordinances conflict with state law, the ordinances are void. If the ordinances are void, their underlying merits are irrelevant.”
Now it remains up to the State Supreme Court to decide the issues, and it may take months to render a ruling. McGrath has his hopes up; ?Based on the questions the Justices asked the attorney for the City it seems the Court likely will render a favorable opinion for freedom. Hopefully, we won?t be disappointed.?
MOTORCYCLE CLUB WILL SEND PATCH INTO SPACE
The South Houston chapter of the Los Carnales / La Familia law enforcement motorcycle organization has been given the opportunity to send items into space on the Space Shuttle Mission STS-134 on July 29th this year.
It will be the first motorcycle club represented in space. The club has developed a special patch for the occasion. It has Los Carnales / La Familia Nation with both the state of Texas and California on it.
INDUSTRY REPORTS BAD YEAR FOR CYCLE SALES
2009 was a bad year for bikes, with the Motorcycle Industry Council reporting the lowest sales in a decade. The MIC noted a 40.8% drop in sales from the 2008 season, with roughly 520,502 bikes sold in 2009 compared to 880,000 that were sold in 2008.
The MIC reports monthly sales of most major motorcycle manufacturers, including: BMW, Harley-Davidson, Buell, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Triumph, Yamaha, Suzuki, Victory, and the Piaggio Group. The MIC also creates estimates on all non-reporting manufacturers.
With non-reporting sales included, the total sales for 2008 was 1.1 million according to the MIC, and though last year?s total hasn?t been tabulated yet, it is expected that 2009 will break a six-year streak of sales above the 1 million mark.
The biggest drop in sales occurred in the scooter category. Scooters boomed in 2008 as gas prices reached record highs.
As the economy begins to stabilize again, the MIC predicts that motorcycle sales will begin to increase.
TENNESSEE ?LEMON LAW? MAY SOON INCLUDE MOTORCYCLES
Tennessee’s “Lemon Law” may soon be extended to include motorcycles, if the legislature takes action on a measure sponsored by Representative Vince Dean, of East Ridge.
Dean says motorcycle buyers should have the same rights as people buying cars and trucks that don’t perform properly. He says any mechanical and structural problems can be more dangerous for motorcycle riders.
The measure moved forward in a House Committee in early February, and a companion bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate Transportation Committee.
WASHINGTON BILL ADDRESSES BIKER PROFILING
In a monumental and historical vote, the Washington State House of Representatives passed HB2511 – a bill addressing ?Motorcycle Profiling? – by a margin of 96 to 2. This landslide vote provides an indication that legislators are actually getting the idea that profiling is real and needs legislative relief, while the lack of opposition was seen as a silent show of support from Law Enforcement.
During the legislative process, ?It was remarkable to hear the legislators mention the organized and well presented information from the motorcycle community,? reports Donnie ?Mr. Breeze? Landsman, Legislative Affairs Officer for ABATE of Washington.
“Motorcyclists aren’t looking for special rights,” Landsman said. “We want the same rights that are afforded to every other section of the population as American citizens and as citizens of Washington State. We aren’t being given that.”
The group found a champion in Rep. Steve Kirby (D-Tacoma) who introduced a bill that would force local law enforcement agencies to adopt a written policy designed to condemn and prevent the profiling of motorcyclists and to institute training to address the issue.
It?s illegal to profile minorities, it should be illegal to profile motorcycle riders, the bikers said. The Washington State Patrol uses a training brochure called ?Basic Biker 101? that starts with the statement ?Bikers are dangerous? and gives instructions on how to gather information about them during traffic stops, according to David Devereaux of the Outsiders Motorcycle Club. To further substantiate their claims of harassment, Devereaux said that when bikers showed up en masse last year their annual ?Black Thursday? lobbying day to find sponsors for the anti-profiling bill, state troopers surreptitiously took down all their license plate numbers.
Next, the bill goes over to the Senate for consideration and will be assigned to a hearing committee, most likely Judiciary.
?This has been a very good year for ABATE of Washington and the US Defenders of Washington,? said Landsman. ?We have worked together to make this happen, and are truly on the same page.?
OREGON RIDERS CONVERGE ON CAPITOL
Motorcycle club members, independent riders and even non-riders alike came together in solidarity in Portland to protect rights specific to bikers. The first ?call to action? by the US Defenders motorcycle group brought out over 70 bikes to the Oregon State Capitol recently, making a positive statement of unity between clubs and independent riders. Quiet Mike, the Information Officer for US Defenders said he was pleased with the show of bikes, ?It was an excellent turnout, the most motorcyclists we?ve had here for a long time.?
US Defenders is a movement formed from within motorcycle clubs from individual states to implement and support motorcycle rights. The grass roots organization is supported through the Confederations of Clubs across the country, and is composed of state ?citizen biker manpower? from Motorcycle Clubs and Coalition of Independent Riders (C.O.I.R) representatives.
Quiet Mike, who also serves as Vice-Chairman for the Oregon Confederation of Clubs said this was a well-planned event. ?We set up in the capitol so people could come and meet with their state representative or state senator. Several people set up appointments in advance, and they were able to express their concerns about how bikers? rights are being affected.?
Many people were there to discuss helmet laws, others for civil rights where profiling motorcycle club members is concerned, and some brought up that motorcyclist fatalities caused by car drivers should carry more serious charges than just a traffic fine.
ADULTS IN KANSAS COULD BE FINED FOR KIDS RIDING WITHOUT HELMETS
Adults could soon be fined in Kansas for allowing minors to go without wearing helmets while driving or riding a motorcycle.
It is already illegal in Kansas for anyone under 18 to operate a motorcycle without wearing a helmet, but currently it is the youngster who gets a ticket. Under provisions of the new Senate bill, it would become illegal for owners of a motorcycle or motorized bicycle to permit a person under 18 to drive or ride on their vehicle without wearing a helmet, so the adult would receive a citation too.
Use of motorcycle helmets has been on the rise nationally, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which reported that 67% of motorcyclists wore a helmet in 2009, compared to just 48% in 2005.
SAVE THE DATE – MAY 6-9, NCOM CONVENTION
The 25th annual NCOM Convention will be held Mother?s Day weekend, May 6-9, 2010 at the Orlando Airport Marriott, 7499 Augusta National Dr., Orlando, Florida. This annual gathering will draw bikers? rights activists from across the country to discuss topics of concern to all motorcyclists, so reserve your room now for the special NCOM rate of $89.00 by calling (800) 380-6751.
Meetings, seminars and group discussions will focus on safety issues, legal rights, legislative efforts and litigation techniques to benefit our right to ride and Freedom of the Road.
Registration fees for the 25th Annual NCOM Convention are $75 including the Silver Spoke Awards Banquet on Saturday night, or $40 for the Convention only. To pre-register, call the National Coalition of Motorcyclists at (800) 525-5355 or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.
QUOTABLE QUOTE:
“For the saddest epitaph which can be carved in memory of a vanished liberty is that it was lost because its possessors failed to stretch forth a saving hand while yet there was time.”
–U.S. Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland (1862- 1942)
Bikernet Deuce Road Test
By Bandit |
I got the call on a cloudy Monday morning as I was drinking my morning coffee and trying to figure out which hand to jerk off with that morning. Just as I had made up my mind, I think it was the left hand; the phone began ringing with the resonance off my morning alarm clock.
“Hey you lazy bastard, get off the couch and head to the shop to pick up the Deuce I told you about.”
I don’t know how that old bastard found me, but he always seemed to get the number. You’d figure a three state change would wipe you off the map. Nah, this guy remembers everybody.
“Hey Bandit, I didn’t forget. I was…”
“Shut up!” he interrupted.” Just go get the Goddamn bike. I needed the story last week for the December issue.” Click. Such was the normal conversation with the man who goes by Ball.
I jumped in the shower and washed my nizats, when I began thinking why I had never wanted to do this bike feature. The Deuce was a sleek looking bike, but it just seemed a little… well, metro sexual. I rode a Fatboy, the badass of the bad. I mean, hell, Arnold even picked one for his now famous role as TERMINATOR. You just could not help but feel like a complete badass when riding it. The Deuce was sleeker and prettier, not really the bike fitted for the dumpy bouncer physique I had molded into these last few years. The deuce would fit someone who belongs in an underwear ad on Madison Avenue.
I made it to the dealer to pick up the bike a little earlier than expected. This cocky dude named Jay was talking to the salesman about the Deuce out front. I think that’s the deuce I’m supposed to try out. That fuckin guy. Typical New Yorker. Acts like he has no patience for anyone else, and treats people like they are all below him. Damn cocksmoker, guy’s wearing tennis shoes and a white t-shirt for Christ sakes.
So I hear the salesman yakking with this kid, when the owner shows up and asks me if I’m the guy he was waiting for.
“Yeah, I’m Johnny, you fat fuck. What the hell is going on, I thought I was taking the king sized Sportster for a test ride. Who’s that fuckin yahoo?”
“Hey, calm down. Ball said you’d be a little later. I was having the bike detailed before you showed up and that guy happened to see her from the street. He showed up with his whole Goddamn family, all taking pictures and shit.”
“No shit? What a fuckin RUB.”
“Yeah, hell you got to sell it to them though. They have the cash…err, should I say credit.”
“Hey go fuck yourself! You’re probably going to sell him that bike for 5 grand less than what I bought my bike for. The only reason the yuppies are even involved is because you greedy motherfuckers charged yuppie prices and drove the normal guy out of the market.”
“Hey guy, how about you calm..”
“No, motherfucker you calm down. Now get me the god damn key so I can take the damn bike on a across the border into Mexico and trade it for weed.”
He tossed me a key and looked like someone just pulled the dildo from his bleeding ass.
As soon as I sat on the bike, I noticed the unique riding position. You actually feel as if you are sitting in the bike rather than on it. The seat also comes up high on your lower spine to give you the support you would need on the long trips. I started her up and noticed the deep rumble of the Vance and Hines Big Shots with the slash tips thundering across the parking lot. A little tame for my taste, but that would change with the quick removal of her restrictive baffles. I like to set car alarms off from a mile away!
I quickly clicked her down into first and felt a little shimmering as I pulled out of the driveway. It felt as if passed through a patch of pebbles, but quickly discovered I was lighting her up on the way out. Holy shit, this thing’s got some pop!
As I started up the road I began to feel my body become one with the bike. If you have never ridden a Deuce, the ride is unbelievable and incomparable to other Softails.
For starters, the tank is extremely long yet sleek. It reminded me of the differences in our bike designs. Where my bike is a big battle axe ready to pulverize the city, this bike is a samurai sword poised to chop straight through it!
The handlebars are a little low for my taste, but quickly seem to mold to my hands. I found myself feeling more and more in tune with the bike the further I traveled. I almost forgot that I was on the bike and suddenly discovered I was traveling along in the triple digit range almost oblivious to the world.
I really wanted to keep riding her, as she was easily the smoothest cruiser I had ever been on, but I had to get back to work so I could hack away at this article.
As I squealed into the parking lot and power slid to a sideways halt, I felt invigorated. Truth be told, I never felt that way when I got off of my bike. Maybe it was always battling the wind and resistance, where as this bike cut through the wind and made the thought of a windshield absolutely pointless.
I stood back in awe and noticed the flame grips and pegs accentuating the lines of the bike. The chrome front end and forward controls only made the white paintjob seem whiter. Truth of it was, this bike looked fast sitting still. Many guys spend way too much money to make their bikes into something they will never truly be happy with. God this bike was fine!
“Hey Motherfucker, what the hell do you think you’re doing on my bike?” the incredibly annoying Yankee asked me.
“What do you mean, you’re bike? I am taking this bike for a test ride for a Bikernet.com.”
“Whoa there, partner,” a new salesman was approaching and saying.” The bike you were here to test ride is the blue one parked over there.”
He pointed to a stock blue Deuce sitting fifty feet away near the showroom.
“Wait a minute; I got these keys from your Sales manager. You know the salesman with the long hair and a beard I was talking to earlier.”
“He’s talking about the fucking hoodlum you have working in service who I tried to tell about my bike hissing like a fuckin snake.”
“Oh, you mean Sonny? He is a crazy Motherfucker, I can’t believe either one of you would believe a word he said,” the little sales twerp said as he was beginning to giggle.
Ok. I guess it mattered not about us not knowing the guy, but that kid Jay and I beat the snot out of this little sales prick. Not just that, but he got the bike for 2 grand under MSRP, and I got a free leather jacket out of the deal.
If you have never ridden this bike, you need to try to find one. This was by far the best riding Harley I had ever ridden. I still smile thinking about when I rode away that day. Even though that little snobby shit was still having his pictures taken while I was on the road, he is still in the brotherhood. Best of luck to him and that beautiful white bike that makes you wear sunglasses.
Till next time.
–Johnny
European Contenders In CCI World Competition
By Bandit |
Two years ago Robin Bradley, the publisher of American Motorcycle Dealer (AMD) magazine, kicked off the World Championship of Custom Motorcycle Builders competition. It began with Robin’s relationship with Custom Chrome and a massive dealer show in Europe. Oddly enough AMD and the World Championship is based in the UK. That’s where the vast worldly prospective came from.
Robin headed up a bike show competition in Europe, AMD ProShow, at the Dealer Show then connected the European winners to America through the Custom Chrome Dealer Show in Morgan Hill, California. Sure, there’s a myriad of bike show competitions exploding all over the country, but the interesting aspect of this competition includes bringing European builders to the states. Talk about opening doors to new waves of custom treatments… Incredible.
This year, the third year of the competition, the winners are expanding as various shows sign up to be accredited for the overall competition. More than just the European dealer show winners are competing to come to America. Stateside winners from the LA Calendar show and various other shows are stepping up to the plate to be invited to the final competition to be held in Las Vegas at the Big Twin West Dealer/Consumer show held in Nevada in November. At that point the best builder in the world for 2005 will be chosen and awarded vast sums of goodies.
We’re proud to give you a peek at the European winners right now. So Hang on.
–Bandit
Thomas Habermann and his partner Dany are no strangers to success inbike contests in Europe.Indeed, Thomas's 'Skull Bike' took third place in the AMD ProShow inGermany in 2002. Since then,we have also featured his 'Ghul' chopper in AMD as well.
As the 71 bikes that entered this year's European Championship werewheeled in for registration theday before the show opened, there were a dozen or so that immediatelycaught the eye as likelycontenders for top honors. 'Caligo' was among them.
Judging at the European Championship, presented by Custom Chrome attheir annual Dealer Show inMainz, Germany, March 19th and 20th, was by the competitors themselvesand come five o'clock onthe Sunday afternoon and time for the announcement of the winners,Thomas and Dany were”staggered and amazed” to find themselves winners and 2005 OfficialEuropean Champions.
But there are somany fantastic bikes here, built by great designers and engineers, thatto have them think that ourwork is at least as good as their own is just completely unexpected”.
Whilst there is not a publication in the world whose production valuescould do justice to the detail andfinish of 'Caligo', it should nonetheless be pretty clear from ourpresentation here that the mostsurprising thing about Dany's reaction is her surprise.
The quality of all the bikes entered was superb. The buildersthemselves, as had been the case withcompetitors at the first Annual Official World Championship at CustomChrome's American DealerShow last October, said that it was the finest collection of customV-twins they had ever seen in oneplace at one time. And as at the World Championship, the judging at theEuropean Championshipwas very close, with relatively few points separating the top twenty orso bikes.
Anyone of the top ten or fifteen customs would have been a fine andworthy winner, but one sensesthat the view of the judges was that Thomas and Dany's career had beenbuilding to a crescendo andthat recognition for 'Caligo' was also recognition for years ofconsistency and commitment toengineering quality and a design ethic that, in European terms at least,is now and forever will becharacteristically 'Habermann'.
A rigid fanatic, Dany, as ever, is responsible for the theme of thepaint and the graphics and the bike was built as her own personal ride.Her enjoyment of the iconography and imagery of 'the dark side' isnothing if not thorough. Check out the skulls that have been superblyexecuted from scannedphotographs of medieval plague victims by airbrush genius Bianca Hennig.
The exquisite rendering of Dany's vision (nightmare?) is mirrored byThomas's attention toengineering detail. Based on a frame of their own design andmanufacture, 'Caligo' has forty degreesrake in the headstock and five inches of stretch in the backbone and thedown tube. The front end is aDutch made SJP 18 inch over design with a Custom Chrome RevTech 'Creep'2.15 x 19 inch frontwheel and PM six piston caliper.
The bike uses a 93 cubic inch S&S Shovelhead motor with knuckleheadrockers that Thomasdescribes as giving a “Knovelhead” hybrid look. The motor has an S&SSuper E carb with a skullemblazoned upswept manifold and cone filter, and uses a Dyna S ignition.The clutch andtransmission is a stock Harley 5 speed set up from a 2003 Dyna.
Unsurprisingly, all the bodywork including the gas tank and the custommade exhaust system wasdone in-house by Thomas. With an estimated three months invested in theconstruction, the bike wasfinished in December last year, then modified early in 2005 to take theS&S shovelhead motor as soonas it became available, as an alternate choice to the 1978 Harleyoriginal that he had originallyassumed he would be using.
The rear end is an Avon 300 on a Custom Chrome RevTech 'Creep' 11.5 x 18inch wheel thatfeatures a 'spinner' designed and made by the Habermann-PerformanceTeam.
The most striking feature of 'Caligo' is the massive 95-tooth perimeterchain final drive that emergesunseen from the transmission. Like all good choppers, 'Caligo' is devoidof clutter and unnecessaryaccessories, but also as with all good choppers, the simplicity iscamouflage for design decisions andcraftsmanship of the highest order.
Italian made OMP brand grips and instruments are used on a set ofThomas's own made handlebarswith a W&W front light. At the back an RST four piston caliper isdiscreetly hidden under thebodywork and integrated with the sprocket idler shaft on the right side.
Thomas and Dany want us to say a great big thank you on their behalf totheir fellow builders andcompetitors for voting for them in the European Championship. As someonewho was standing closeto them on stage when the announcement was made, I can vouch that youwill never see a morehumble and genuinely surprised reaction.
Habermann-Performance GmbH
Wiesengraben 5/1
89155 ERBACH-RINGINGEN
GERMANY
Tel: 0049 (0) 7344 84 16
Fax: 0049 (0) 7344 922630
Email: Habermann-Performance@t-online.de
www.Habermann-Performance.com
When Piet Hofman opened the doors of his Violator motorcycle business atAlblasserdam in the Netherlands a couple of years ago, like all buildershe had high hopes for his new enterprise.
However, even he can't have expected that within such a short time hiscompany would have a full order book and multiple bike show awardsaround Europe, culminating in second place at the Official EuropeanChampionship of Custom Bike Building, presented by Custom Chrome Europeat their annual Dealer Show in Mainz, Germany, in March this year.
Violator's styling and ethic has been European style cutting edge fromday one, but 'Full Metal Jacket' represents Piet's own personal stylingchoices as an aficionado of dragster design.
As a summary of what he has achieved, it's hard to improve upon thatanalysis, as, right down to the choice of the two color paint job,everything about Full Metal Jacket is 'black and white'. It has aconfidence and certainty about its build that would be the envy of manymore experienced custom designers. Full Metal Jacket has no grey areas;it is full-on in every decision made.
All Violator's bikes are based on frames built for them to their designby Penz Custom bikes of Austria. 'Full Metal Jacket' uses a Violatormodified single downtube 'Maximus' design. The frame, which has 50degrees of rake, with an extra 5 degrees in the front fork, has a fourinch stretch in the top tube and is two inches lower in the downtube.The muscle for the bike is provided by a 145 cubic inch S&S CycleTribute motor. The gas tank is an old-style two piece design madepersonally by Piet and designed to show off the swooping lines of theframe shape and blend into seat and rear fender bodywork that Piet alsomade himself.
Using a Baker six speed right-side drive transmission, Primo 1 1/8 inchbelt drive and a BDL clutch, the custom made single right-side swingarmhouses Violator's own design six piston caliper and an Italian made OMPbrand 17 inch by 12.5 inch wide rear wheel designed for the Avon 330tire.
Piet has used OMP products extensively on Full Metal Jacket, includingthe 65-tooth rear pulley, the forward controls, the 21 inch x 2.5 inchfront wheel and the four piston front caliper.
The handlebar controls and grips are also Italian, by K-Tech; and thenarrow looking 'Retro Glide' front end is a Dutch made SJP design framefrom GST in the Netherlands.
Full Metal Jacket is a bike characterised by design contrasts. Thecontrasts of the skinny front end with the fat rear end and the largediameter (21-inch) front wheel with the low seat height, and the monster145-inch S motor with the skinny Kevlar rear belt are unusual enough.
But combine that with the right-side drive, single-sided swingarm, and acarbon fibre end piece custom exhaust system (for heat dissipation) thatexits through bodywork vents on either side and beneath the seat, andit's no wonder that Piet's fellow competitors at the EuropeanChampionship judged his achievement so highly.
VIOLATOR MOTORCYCLES
2952BB ALBLASSERDAM
NETHERLANDS
Tel: 0031 651185070
Fax: 0031 786914971
Email: info@violator-motorcycles.com
www.violator-motorcycles.com
The first thing I had to sort out with Mika Nieminen was where his business name came from. 'Mr Moore's Custom Craft' does not immediately strike you as an obvious name for a custom v-twin shop in Finland!
“I guess everybody in our school must have been real silly because, when it came to having nicknames handed out, for some reason I was always called Mr. Moore, and it has stuck ever since”. So, groping for some kind of explanation, I asked if there was some kind of Roger Moore/James Bond vibe going on at the time. Mika said “Well maybe, but to be honest I have no idea why it's stuck with me.
“Around six or seven years ago, I was lining up with the other bikes to enter my first competition and the guy asked me who had built the bike and I just came out with it 'Custom crafted by Mr Moore' and there it was. Before I realised it, that was my new business name”.
Mika has been building bikes since the mid 1980s but first came to prominence with a 1998 project called 'Glowing Dolphin'. He had taken an original 1958 Panhead and thrown the original Springer front end out to 40 inches over. The bike had an axle-to- axle wheel base of 2.65 m (approximately eight and a half feet) and the notoriety the bike gave Mika set him on his way to a full time career in the V-twin industry.
“The funny thing is I still have that bike and I still ride it most weeks”, Mika confessed proudly. “In 2001, I moved to Sweden, originally intending to stay there for a year, and my first job was with Unique Customs Cycles (www.uccycles.com) of Haninge”.
The Swedish bike scene is a hugely close knit community where loyalties and friendships are life-long and Mika came down to the show in Germany with Gordon Rooth and the UCC team, who own the bike 'Statement' and took away tenth place.
After a year or so working for UCC, Mike started his own business. 'Viridian' started out as a twinkle in the eye of MCM Magazine owner Inge Persson-Carleson who first approached Mika about the project in 2002. The parts for the bike were sourced by Martin Lang, the Zodiac International Sales Manager for Sweden who, having spent many years living in Italy (having originally been from Switzerland), got noted Italian parts designer Alessandro Pacelli involved.
Originally involved with the OMP brand, Alessandro's current business, Kustom Tech, provided the 'Fin Line' hubs for the Zodiac/Morad spoked rims, the handlebars, hand and foot controls, and, most impressively, the custom made rear drum brake.
Much of the rib effect seen around 'Viridian' is a styling cue that has been common to Swedish custom bike building for decades. The origins of it go back to that same era that Mika was shooting for. Scandinavia in general, but Sweden in particular, has been heavily influenced by American styling and thinking in all sorts of ways, for decades. For example, outside of the United States, Sweden is where you go to see one of the highest ownership per head of population of faithfully restored and lovingly cared for Americana in general, and fifties Detroit output in particular.
Among the signature part used on 'Viridian' are the Swedish made Roban's Speed Shop finned primary covers. The finned motif is revisited again and again on 'Viridian' wherever good taste permit.
The front wheel is 21 inch build item with a Kustom Tech/ISR (Sweden) caliper, with a 5.5 x18 inch rear. The front fork started out life as a European made Samwell item, extended to 20 inches over. The gas tank started out life as a Mustang piece but as you can see was heavily modified by Mika.
In addition to the custom made drum brake two of the major technical features of 'Viridian' are Mika's own made and designed frame and the exotic two into one custom exhaust system.
Mika makes his own frames on jigs in his workshop and he explains that “I wanted to eliminate as many of the straight lines as I could. So wherever possible I have created curving shapes that again brought to mind 1950s American Hot-Rod styling. A lot of Swedish style choppers are very angular but I wanted a shape that compensates for the effect of the front end”.
The exhausts wrap around the lower part of the cylinders where the fins have been shaved and they meet in a tapered colector that is finished with a fin cover just above the engine cases.
“But actually, the bike runs fine. These days if anybody asks me about it, I simply say yes, it is the 'hottest chopper' in the country!”
The fin motif is completed with the use of the Drag Engineering nose cone cover. Mika says that he found a guy in Sweden who had managed to get three of these. Mika bought two of them; one for use on 'Viridian' and he says that he is going to keep the other for a personal project that he has in mind in a few years.
The S&S shovelhead engine was prepared and tuned by Spok Motor of Helsinki in Finland, and features an S&S 514 cam, Zodiac tappets, Jim's pushrods, a Mikuni HSR42 carb, and a Mr. Moore custom made velocity stack bellmouth.
The spark plugs have been relocated in the cylinder heads to allow for the exhaust port modifications, and Mika has used the distributor style ignition from an Indian.
The transmission is a Zodiac 5-speed, with a Zodiac belt primary and clutch. Zodiac also supplied most of the other parts used including, one of their own brand Bellweather rear fenders and the lights. Much of the rest of 'Viridian' has been hand made by Mika, down to and including the 'Speed Shell' oil tank and the pipes .
The paint job is House of Kolor 'Organic Green Candy' on a gold base, by Joakim Krantz, with pin-striping by Ettore Callegaro in Italy, and chroming by Metallsliperi in Stockholm, Sweden.
If you plan to visit the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building, to be presented by Custom Chrome at the Big Twin West Dealer Show in Las Vegas, November this year, be sure to check out 'Viridian' for yourself. Look out for Mika, his wife Sarita and the crew from MCM Magazine.
To judge by their excitement and their enthusiasm when their success was announced at the European Championship in March, I suspect that there will be quite a crew travelling over for the event, all with permanent 24/7 party-heads on!
MR MOORE CUSTOM
Tampereentie 202
Lempäälä
37560 FINLAND
Tel: 00358 33 75 1000
Fax: 00358 33 75 1010
Email: mrmoorecc@hotmail.com
www.mrmoorecustomcraft.com
Amazing Shrunken FXR–The Full Feature
By Bandit |
Not long ago an issue of American Rider was devoted to lowered models contrived for shorter more compact riders. It was natural to feature a custom devoted to the tight-is-right crowd. In a custom world gone nuts with bigger, stretched, wider, fatter and pumped up motorcycles it was a lengthy chore for Buzz Buzzelli to find a bike designed for a concise, agile enthusiast. But fortunately after long arduous months, digging through one sordid garage after another, he discovered the only majestic model of it’s kind on the planet, the Bikernet.com Amazing Shrunken FXR. It was right in our own back yard. All he had to do was call me.
The bike was built by K. Randall Ball, of Bikernet and a writer for American Rider (the entire series of build stories are archived in the Bikernet Tech Area). “I generally build a bike every year to ride to Sturgis,” Ball said,
I’m too tall at 6’5″.” Pissed at the nasty notion that he couldn’t fly along desert highways into the red rock of Wyoming to sweep his same-time-next-year girl into his arms, he moved to build a dinky custom.
The bike was built to enhance the Rev Tech, 88-inch V-twin drive train and become the anti-big-bike representative. “So many bikes are long and fat, we decided to haul ass in the other direction.” There’s nothing like a small, tight custom bike, like Chica or the Zero guys build in Japan.
“We wanted to go in all different directions,” Ball added, “small rear wheel, black and chrome engine, no stretch and no passenger carrying elements.”
The Kenny Boyce Pro Street frame was modified by Dr. John in Anaheim, California. “The neck was dropped and shoved back toward the engine almost six inches,” Ball said. “We cut two inches out of the Pro Street swingarm and shaved off and tapered the fender struts.
In the process several talented sources were utilized to create the design and components. “We relied on Cyril Huze for most of the sheet metal,” Ball added. The rear fender originated as a Fatboy front fender modified to ride the swingarm as a unified component with the ability to remove it for repairs. The Bikernet crew including Dr. Terry the mad grinder bitch roughed out fender rails, sliced the Cyril Huze tank, modified the seat pan and nearly destroyed the Huze front bender. “He ain’t no Jesse James,” Ball said.
“A Hamster came to our rescue,” Ball said. There’s a talented worldwide group of builders called the Hamsters and one owns a structural steel shed in Harbor City, California. James Famighetti, who works I-beam forms for buildings, with his Brother Larry is actually incredibly talented with sheet metal and fabrication projects since both brothers ride with the group. “James took every bastardized element we created including the tank, front fender, rear fender rails, oil tank and seat pan and hand-formed them into works of art,” said Ball.
Electronically the bike took on the simplest form with the assistance of Giggie from Compu-Fire. “We installed a Compu-Fire charging system, starting assemblage and single fire ignition combination. Then we mated all the electronics around the Custom Chrome top motormount. Giggie also used the Compu-Fire machine shop to fabricated the mid controls for an even more compact motorcycle. Recently Giggie took his talents to the Rivera R&D department.
The final details included LePera’s seat upholstery, Harold Ponteralli’s teardrop paint scheme, crazy John’s machine tooled CCI brake calipers, Performance machine wheels with a 90/90/18 in front and a 150/70/18 Avon in the rear.
When completed and Buster hauled ass down the street the bike was trimmed of all frame elements on the downtubes and along the bottom of the frame on the right side to reveal the entire Rev Tech drive line. On the left only a Custom Chrome chromed, welded-on kickstand interrupts the frame flow around the BDL belt primary drive system. The pipes were hand made in the Bikernet Headquarters and only sprayed with flat black heat paint. The Front end is 39 mm narrow glide enhanced with black powder-coating and Joker machine trees and controls.
“I remember the first exhaust system,” Ball said, “and the sparks flying around the shop. While I wrenched Nuttboy, who is a college professor, ground the welds. Complacent, I twisted bolts and worked on the bike as hours passed.”
“We tossed those pipes in the trash and started over,” Ball added. “Dr. Terry was banned from the grinder.”
Okay, a short rider stock to custom comparison is in order. The seat height is 23 inches compared to the Softail Deluxe at 24.5 inches, the Buell CG at 28.5 inches, Dyna Low Rider at 25.5 inches and the new 883L at 26 inches. Overall length even with 38 degrees in the neck was 86 inches compared to the Sportster’s 90.3 inches, Dyna at 94 inches, the Softail’s 94.7 and the Buell Lightning series kicked the FXR’s ass with 76.2 inches.
Owner: K. Randall Ball, Bikernet.com
Where: Wilmington, California
Builders: Owner, Dr. Ladd Terry
Year and Model: 2004 Amazing Shrunken FXR
Fabrication: Owner/James Famighetti
Chrome: Long Beach Plating, Long Beach, California
Paint: Harold Pontarelli, H-D Performance, Vacaville, California and
Henry Figueroa (frame), San Pedro, California
Powder coating: Custom Powder Coating, Dallas, Texas
Color: Black with emerald tear drops
Year and model: 2003 Black and Chrome Rev Tech from Custom Chrome
Displacement: 88 cubic inches
Cases: Rev Tech
Flyweels: forged 4 1/4-inch stroke Rev Tech
Cylinders: Rev Tech
Pistons: forged 3 5/8-inch Rev Tech
Heads: Rev Tech
Cam: Andrews EV38
Valves: Nitrided stainless Rev Tech
Lifters: S&S solids kit
Oil Pump: Polished oil regulated Rev Tech
Heads: High flow Rev Tech
Carb: 45 mm Mikuni
Air Cleaner: Fantasy In Iron, Denver, Colorado
Exhaust: Hand made by Bandit
Ignition: Compu Fire single fire
Coils: Dual Dynas from Custom Chrome
Coil bracket: Custom Chrome with CCI ignition/starter switch
Transmission: 6-speed overdrive Rev Tech
Clutch: BDL
Primary Drive: BDL 3 inch belt
Final Drive: Custom Chrome belt
Rear Pulley: Custom Chrome Billet
Front Motormount: Billet by Paul Yaffee
Frame: Kenny Boyce Pro Street
Modifications: Neck cut and set back 4 inches
Rake: 38 degrees
Swingarm: Shortened 2 inches with CCI stainless axle plates
Front Forks: Joker Machine narrow glide
Risers: Custom Chrome
Rear Shocks: Short Progressive Suspension from CCI
Front Fender: Cyril Huze
Oil Tank: Cyril Huze
Gas tank: Cyril Huze modified by James Famaghetti
Rear Fender: Modified Fat Boy by Bandit
Hydraulic Lines: Good Ridge
Wheels: Performance Machine
Tires: front Avon 90/90/18, rear Avon 150/70/18
Brakes: Billet-6 piston from Custom Chrome engine turned by Crazy John
Brake rotors: H-D
Headlight: Custom Chrome
Taillight: Aeromach
Handlebars: Custom Chrome
Seat: Custom Le Pera
Speedo: None
Hand Controls: Joker Machine
Mirror: Aeromach
Foot controls: Handmade by Giggie at Compu-Fire
Pegs: Chrome Spur from Custom Chrome
Ignitions Switch: Bob McKay at CCI
Starter: Compu-Fire
Regulator: Compu-Fire
Alternator: Compu-Fire
Wiring: By Bandit
Carribbean Custom Cycles Tribute Bike–Indian Larry
By Bandit |
It all started when the Horse Magazine issued a challenge to four talented builders for their annual Smoke Out this year. The challenge, to build a cool rideable bike, for under 10 grand, and have it at the Rowan County N.C. fairgrounds for judging on June 25th. The builders accepting the challenge were Josh Mills, Eric Gorges of Voodoo Choppers, R.E.D. Racing and Jose of Puerto Rico's Caribbean Custom Cycles.
Jose was a close friend of the legendary Indian Larry, whose untimely death the year before left all with a sense of emptiness. Even under the time and financial constraints of the competition rules, Jose decided that his entry bike would be dedicated as a tribute to the man who inspired us all in a special Chopper way.
Jose and his Caribbean Crew got to work fast and furiously to complete the classic and prepare it to be shipped from the sun soaked tropical island of Puerto Rico to the States in time for the competition. His first decision revolved around the project motor. That was an easy choice. Nothing but a 74-inch Panhead would do for a bike dedicated to Indian Larry. Also the rules set a maximun amount that could be spent, so friends and colleagues pitched in whatever Jose couldn’t find in the deep recesses of his island shop.
The '49 Panhead cases, Jose planned to use, were in tough shape. Stevenson's Cycles jumped in and took care of the repairs while Jose and his crew bored out the cylinders “just a bit.” When the cases returned, the Caribbean crew rebuilt the lower end and put the power plant back together. They kept the point ignition system, bolted up a Mighty traditional, rebuilt, bronze, Linkert carb and designed a set of custom side by side pipes in Indian Larry classic style. For the transmission, they opted to stick with an original old 1961, 4-speed H-D set up with a foot clutch, ratchet top jockey shifter and a Primo belt drive.
The next decision was what kind of frame?A 2005 rigid Wishbone frame with a 30.5 degree rake was called for, since that’s what Indian Larry would have picked. Pepo and Julio from Pepo Paint in Puerto Rico got busy molding and shooting the frame and tin for the Caribbean Crew. They chose to paint the gas tank, donated by Bob and modified by the shop crew and finished by Twisted Choppers. Indian Larry's favorite purple metal flake, with his famous Question Mark logo ghosted through the layers of paint while touches of golden polished brass accents by Mara shined throughout the bike.
The tribute for Larry showed up in many forms. The handlebars are Johnny Chop's stainless Ape Hangers and Johnny Chop also came through with the one-off pegs. The bars nestle in brass risers from Misumi Engineering in Japan in Indian Larry fashion, the Amber, cool-as-shit headlight rolled in from Caffine. Fab Kevin kicked in the foot control plates and the Caribbean Crew made up the twisted levers and brake lever. The Bitchin' Brass air cleaner came from the legendary Hank Young especially for this project.
A front end was sought, and this one is a honey. It started off life on an H-D XL, but the Caribbean Crew shaved the legs. The XL triple trees jumped into the barber chair for a close shave. Of course, there is no front fender to take away from the look of the polished down tubes. For the bike’s rear fender, Hank Young donated a spare tire cover from an old Ford which Jose and Crew shaped to sit atop the twisted a la Larry style rear struts.
The front wheel is a 21-inch rim painted black and laced with stainless spokes donated by CCI with a white wall tire, while the rear is a 16-inch white wall as well. The bike has no front brake and the need for stopping power is met by a 4-piston caliper donated by PM. Guti the Guru of the Caribbean Crew handled the electrical work
Trying to build a custom bike for an event while running a thriving shop is difficult enough—deadlines, deadlines. Having to meet customer's needs and the clicking clock can leave little time for side projects, but this bike was a labor of love for the Caribbean Customs Crew. Not being able to spend the money they wanted on trick parts, the guys worked long into the hot tropical nights after busting their collective humps all day on their regular work. They put out the word to their friends and other builders for parts donations and the call was answered in spades.
The kicker was that the bike had to be transported across the sea to the Mainland in time for the Smoke Out. It's not cheap to ship a bike. Jose dug deep in his pockets and shelled out the cha-ching to make sure that the crowd would not be disappointed.
Jose cherishes the time he spent with Indian Larry and this bike is a fitting tribute to a guy who always took the time to help out his friends.
I want to personally thank Jose and the entire crew at Caribbean Custom Cycles for going the extra mile to make sure that a friend's memory lives on. Somewhere on high, Indian Larry is smiling, looking down at the bike and thinking, “Ya did good pal.”
You can contact Caribbean Custom Cycles at
Monterey Industrial Park
#90 Acacia St. Suite 1
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00920
Phone: (787) 721-0633
Or visit their web site:
http://www.chopperfreak.com/
email: prbobchop@yahoo.com
–TBear
GENERAL:
OWNER: Jose
YEAR/MAKE:Caribbean Bob/chop 49/61
FABRICATION:Caribbean Crew
ASSEMBLY: Caribbean Crew
BUILD TIME:not enough, very long nights
ENGINE:
SIZE/TYPE: Panhead 74 cubic inches
CASES: HD stock, repaired in a hurry by Stevenson's cycle
FLYWHEELS: HD
RODS: HD
PISTONS: HD
CYLINDERS: Hd, bored a bit
HEADS: Pan
CAM: Stock
CARB: Mighty Linkert
IGNITION: Points
PIPES: Caribbean Crew, side by sides
TRANSMISSION:
YEAR/TYPE: HD 4 speed
CASE: HD
GEARS: old
CLUTCH: Primo, by foot
PRIMARY DRIVE: Primo belt
FRAME/SUSPENSION:
YEAR/TYPE: Wishbone rigid 2005
RAKE: 30.5
STRETCH: None
SWINGARM: it's a rigid baby
REAR SUSPENSION: I said it's a rigid
FORKS: XL takeoffs, shaved legs
EXTENSIONS: stock
TRIPLE TREES: Xl take offs shaved
WHEELS,TIRES AND BRAKES:
WHEELS FRONT: 21″ painted black, Stainless Spokes donated by CCI
REAR: 16″ takeoff, painted, Stainless spokes donated by CCI
TIRES FRONT: 21″ white wall, donated by
REAR: 16″ white wall stripe
BRAKES FRONT: no stinkin' nothin'
REAR: 4 piston donated by PM
FINISH:
MOLDING: Pepo paint
PAINTER: Pepo & Julio
COLOR: Indian Larry's favorite
GRAPHICS: ghosted
CHROME PLATING: none, but brass plating by Mara
POLISHING: Caribbean Crew
POWDERCOATING: None
ACCESSORIES:
BARS: Johnny Chop stainless apes
RISERS: brass from misumi engineering in Japan
HAND CONTROLS: none
HEADLIGHT: Amber cool as shit, donated by Caffeine
TAILLIGHT: someone's take off marker light
GAUGES: what ?
ELECTRICAL: Guti the Guru, Caribbean Crew
FUEL TANK(S) Peanut donated by Bob, modified by us and finished by Twisted Choppers
DASH:OIL TANK: to put the gauges I guess……
FRONT FENDER: REAR FENDER: We don't need no stinkin' front fender, rear a ford spare tire cover donated by Hank Young
FENDER STRUTS: Twisted a la Larry, by us
PEGS: Johnny Chop, new shit
FOOT CONTROLS: Fab kevin plates, Caribbean Crew twisted levers
SEAT: Jammer flip back, covered by me
Glory Stomper Saga
By Bandit |
The new issue of Cycle World features this bike on the cover and a rather bizarre article that’s not really a lot about the bike. This piece does a little better job telling the real story and is told by a secret agent imbedded within the Performance Machine compound…
Strangely enough, bike building has become powerful television and the networks featuring them have seen healthy ratings narrating our chosen lifestyle. A few years back you would have been hard pressed to convince anyone that a TV show following a bunch of bike builders around would be such a huge hit. Yet, thanks for the most part to the Discovery Channel, Bikers and bike builders are now international super stars with their own agents, PR people and Leno appearances. We’ve watched the meteoric rise of biker TV from the beginning, occasionally helping builders with parts as they needed them, but have for the most part we’ve stuck with Speed TV’s stalwart American Thunder. Not that we haven’t seen countless opportunities, in fact a couple of show concepts come through here each month, each a wackier version of the last.
That all changed when the Discovery Channel folks called and asked our very own Roland Sands to be involved in a Biker Build Off. If you’ve followed this particular series, you undoubtedly already know how entertaining it is. If you haven’t, imagine pitting two talented builders against each other, filming them day and night and only allotting 30 days to create a ribable masterpiece from nothing. The carnage is wildly engaging and the ratings are spectacular.
We were blown away to be part of the antics and Roland had already started designing a bike. Then the fateful call came, he would be going up against the patriarch of custom bikes, none other then Arlen Ness himself. The fun loving folks at Original Productions (the production company that puts these shows together for Discovery) thought it might be amusing to match up the brand new guy against the established ‘done it all’ master. Now, these are the same guys responsible for the original Motorcycle Mania shows, as well as Monster Garage, Monster House and a number of other twisted shows, so it probably should not have surprised us. Although, the man is an icon, recognized worldwide and has been building bikes longer then Roland has even been alive, so it did seem a bit intimidating. Roland was nonplussed and by now had locked himself in his office and started the design process.
His past projects had all begun with a detailed illustration and he usually remained true to it throughout the build. This one would be no different, as pen was put to paper in a furious desire for the ultimate bike. Never much on doing things the way other builders do and certainly not one to build a bike that even closely resembled anything before it, Roland stayed sequestered in his den of design for what seemed like way too long. We we’re more than a little worried. His walls had become completely covered with drawings of bikes that hardly even resembled, well… Bikes and his eyes looked more like a crimson roadmap of LA. Rumors around the PM offices ran from mild dementia to word of him screaming at his computer in the middle of the night and only the truly brave even ventured near his office by the end of the first week.
Shortly after, Roland emerged from his office, looking a bit worse for wear, but sporting a wry smile that told us he found what he was looking for.
Now, we all knew he had not slept much and had been living on a steady diet of energy drinks, but building up a Motor Company bike against Arlen Ness seemed like a sure sign of insanity. Utter silence permeated the room as an entire office of PMers thought the same thing… Roland was going to need sedation. Luckily before medical personnel could be called, he presented a giant drawing of what he called the Glory Stomper (named after a biker movie from the late 60’s that featured none other then Dennis Hopper and Casey Kasem). There wasn’t much of a Softail left in this creation, but it was certainly wild, looked nothing like anything before it and seemed like it could be built within the build off’s oppressive timelines.
Several key players were recruited to lend a hand. Motorman and Salt Flats king Wink Eller came in to help with the motor and legendary builder Tom Foster offered to help with some of the fab work. Fellow freshman builder Johnny Chop did a little wrenching, as well. Not only was this Roland’s first bike build in such a short timeline, but it was also his first attempt at fabbing his own frame and now he’d be doing it on national television.
The film crews seemed to be everywhere and cameras were mounted on walls and shelves. Roland found a salvaged 2003 Fatboy at a local junkyard and its remains would form the foundation of the Glory Stomper. Once set into a frame jig, most of the Softail chassis was carved away and replaced with smooth flowing tubes. Only a few tell tale signs like the fork lock in the head tube remained of the original chassis. PM’s own R&D crew volunteered to stay after work and help with the metal mania. The completed chassis now incorporated elements of a Harley, Performance Machine’s wide wheel Phatail kit and some sort of sport bike on steroids. A 240-rear tire wrapped around an 18 x 8.5-inch wheel and a 21-inch front became rolling stock. As luck would have it, Roland had just finished the design on a new wheel he dubbed the Method and beginning with a set of these beauties, he began playing around with anodized finishes.
The result is naturally like nothing else. With Roland’s racing background, high-end suspension is a given and a phone call to Ohlins resulted in a super bike quality front end and a set of the trickest Softail shocks made. Custom machined triple clamps and a brand new PM radial mount caliper completed the front, while a slick little drive side brake did back end stopping duties and opened up the rear wheel. Baker supplied the tranny internals and Wink did some secret performance mods to the motor.
Everything was coming together now, in spite of the constant presence of cameras and lack of sleep. This was about the time the Discovery crew told us the final part of the build off (the show and ride) would occur in Puerto Rico. Located in the Caribbean, PR is an island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic. Not exactly near our So Cal building base. A lot of head scratching and some furious planning followed and it was looking like we’d have to put the PM semi on a boat to get it and our show crew to the island. A clandestine phone call to the Ness camp revealed they’d be doing the same. These discovery guys continued to prove they had a twisted sense of humor.
Next on the to build list was an entirely machined from aluminum fuel tank top and a set of rocker box and motor covers to match. Chips were flying everywhere for these parts and several of the covers came out so cool, they are slated to be in next years PM catalog! The frame was now shaping up and a minimalist sport bike style tail section had been wrapped in wrapped in steel and integrated into the seat pan. This precluded using a traditional oil bag, but that was not a problem, as Roland had already come up with a beehive looking tank that would mount in front of the engine.
A polymorphic fuel tank was finally completed, capped with Roland’s machined aluminum brick while Wink and crew scrambled to build an exhaust that would clear Roland’s prototype mid controls. A trim little air cleaner housing was created to match the lines of the tank and then the entire thing was stripped down and sent to paint. Air Trix in Santa Barbara had body paint duties and started slinging bondo within an hour of receiving the metalwork. The chassis was sent out for a unique silver/chrome powder coating and while everything was getting pretty, Wink did his magic with the engine internals and the crew began buttoning up the details.
Meanwhile the Discovery crew was lurking around PM, trying to dig up dirt on Roland and interviewing anyone that stood still for 30 seconds. Before long, shiney paint returned and final assembly started. The bike looked very much like the original concept drawing and in spite of not really fitting into preconceived style descriptions (is it a sport bike, a bobber or a chopper?), it was starting to gain a fan base at the otherwise very cynical PM headquarters. With only days to spare, final wiring and cleanup were completed and Roland took his maiden tire-smoking voyage. It was good and the bike was ready to kick ass.
After cleaning the burnt rubber off the rear end of the bike, it was loaded into the PM semi and sent to Florida, from there the entire rig would board a boat to tropical Puerto Rico. Like the Ness team, we sent a full compliment of personnel to support our builder’s cause and possibly pick up any broken pieces!
The first day was spent bartering with the local customs guys in order to free the bikes and PM rig. After that, the ride through beautiful Puerto Rico is better seen than described as this small island turned out to be an amazing place. Our crew toured the tropical paradise, stopped to roll cigars at a 100-year-old factory (an impromptu rolling contest between Arlen and Roland broke out).
The local PD was gracious enough to lead everyone the wrong way down a one way street and then along the emergency lane of the highway back to the hotel. A trip to Rincon was on tap for the next day and saw the previously friendly police become unammused as Roland “accidentally” broke a few traffic rules (in his defense, they were not very well posted). The police chase that ensued ended in both Roland and his bike being hidden from site until the heat let up.
The final day encompassed the show and all too critical judging. A massive bike show in Rincon was the heart of the event and was staged a now defunct power plant right on the beach. If you’ve watched the show you already know the judging did not come out in our favor, but even losing to Arlen is still quite an honor. A little stage diving and finally a taste of PR’s famous surf ended the day as the most gorgeous orange and red sunset served as our backdrop.
— George Hanson
THE BLACK MONGREL
By Bandit |
I've been intending to send a few shots of the FLHS, the “S” believe it or not means Sports. It is a 1990 Sports bike and for those familiar with this model will verify, it is far from a Sports bike. But it must be because my insurance premium is about $300 more than my '90 Sturgis, which in my eyes is much closer to a Sports Bike, so go figure.
It wasn't very popular when it was introduced, according to my source ( name withheld) at Morgan & Wackers in Brisbane. The FLHS was known as an Ugly Duckling. Apparently the designers were sent back to the drawing board and they came up with the ever so popular Road King.
I first laid my eyes on one after my brother in-law hassled me to check out a bike out he’d heard about, and the owner was keen to sell. I decided to take the Sturgis for a spin ( around 200 klms round trip) to try it. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there she sat , dirty, dusty & with a fair bit of corrosion, but I liked her. I took her out for a test ride abd about an hour and half to be exact, I didn't want to get off it.
We worked out a price and I was back there the following day to collect her. As you can see by the photos, it was two tone red and dead stock, except for the exhaust. I gotta tell you that lasted for less than a week! Three cans of flat black, 1 inch lowered shocks that we had lying around and a couple of stickers to add a some character and the “Black Mongrel” was born.
That was seven months ago and since then we’ve clocked 11,000 klms up on the old girl; a great bike to ride.
It seems to be the go these days to have several bikes; one for traveling, one for hitting the twisties and of course a Chopper, and if you’re really fortunate, a project or two. I think most people, myself included, get attached to their bikes, I really hate parting with them. Along with the 1990 Sturgis, I also have my project Pan, a '72 Shovel plus a rolling chassis all complete except motor and gearbox.
I decided to sell the Black Mongrel on Anzac Day, mentioned it to a couple of mates and that night it was sold. Unbelievable!. Geoff and his wife Melisa flew up from down south, stayed 2 nites and rode 1,400klms back home and had a ball. It was a great sale, these guys have 5 kids, haven't had a Harley for 15 years and been working there arses off to get another one.
I'm telling you it was meant to be. Kerry and I have not seen two grown people show so much emotion over anything, especially a bike for a long time. It really was a good sale all round.
From the Aussie,
Glenn Priddle
Steed Quarterhorse 300-PM
By Bandit |
Alex is a techno/engineering guy who builds stuff to blow up terrorists by profession, so naturally he went hunting for his dream bike on the Internet. He was searching for a fat tire bike, and wanted a performance bike that he could ride. He actually narrowed the field down to 3 builders, and intended to visit each builders shop and test ride a bike prior to placing an order.
He flew to Arizona specifically to ride a 300 monster-tire Steed. We took him on a tour of our newly expanded shop, and then we fired up two bikes. The first bike was our new Sintaur 300-LM which is a long low bike with a 40 degree 1” drop neck and a 5” top tube stretch. The second bike was a Thoroughbred 300-CM which is a chopper version with a 8” down-tube stretch and a 5” top tube stretch on a 40 degree neck for him to ride that day.
Alex was interested in our Quarterhorse model. We hadn’t built one yet on our new 300 Monoglide Chassis. We were the first American Builder with advance specs of the Avon 300mm foot wide motorcycle tire, and spent most of 2003 re-designing the single shock monoglide platform to accept the giant tire. The new chassis features a Baker Right Side Drive 6-Speed with ZERO engine offset for a balanced feel that takes equal rider input to steer either right or left and cruises straight down the road effortlessly.
Alex saw an artist rendering of our Quarterhorse model and the spec’s of the frame geometry, with only a 2” Stretched top tube and a 38-degree neck with no down tube stretch. The Quarterhorse model was designed with the performance rider in mind, that’s why we cut back on the rake and stretch, to improve the handling feel without losing much of the radical look of the Sintaur bike. We had similar geometry on our previous year Quarterhorse bikes so we new what the handling characteristics would be, but at this stage I only had engineering drawings developed for the latest addition to the Steed line-up, and that’s what Alex saw when cruising the net for his next bike.
He was impressed with the ride. Even though the AVON 300-tire is massively wide, it is also about 1-1/2” taller than any other 18” motorcycle tire in existence. This added height adds more crest in the center of the tire and enables the giant rubber to roll over in the turns easier. Steeds has developed a chassis with almost as much lean angle as any sport- bike out there with the curb appeal of a low slung custom featuring a 24” seat height.
After the Sintaur test ride, Alex flew back home to California and weighed all his options, and decided that he was ready to be the first guy in America with a 300-PM, Performance Monoglide Steed. We had one in process at our shop, so the build only took 4 weeks to complete, which included the ‘realistic’ looking flame job by Steed artist Rick Westop.
Alex flew out to Arizona the second time to pick up his new bike and he stuck around for 2 days, riding between thunderstorms, to put 500 break-in miles on his new bike. Steeds certified mechanics at their Scottsdale Arizona retail store performed a 500 mile service on a Friday Morning. By Friday afternoon he had over a thousand miles on his bike by the time he rode it back home to Santa Barbra, California. He e-mailed me the next day saying his trip was pretty uneventful, the only issue he has was that every time he stopped for gas he lost too much time talking to people who were admiring his bike.
The Quarterhorse features a 5-gallon custom tank that we fabricate in-house. The tank also features digital gauges built in the top of the unit displaying a voltmeter and fuel gauge. All the rest of the gauges are featured the Steed Heads-Up digital instrumentation system which neatly hide all the normally style detracting cumbersome instrumentation of a Speedo, Tach, Odometer, Trip-meter and indicator lights (turn signals, oil pressure, neutral and high-beam) neatly in the chrome billet mirrors.
Solo seat.
The Steed Quarterhorse model also features to interchangeable seat combinations; one solo seat support and a second dual seat support for a passenger. Both supports feature LED signal lights to maintain the sparse clean lines of the bike. Danny Gray hand stitches the Steed saddles, and there are four options for seats from Steeds, and just about any seat that fits on a pre ’99 HD Softail will slip right onto the Steed platform without any modifications. So there is virtually an endless supply of custom seats for these bikes without breaking the bank building a custom seat.
S&S 124” motor fitted with a Mikuni HSR 45 Carburetor provide power. The S&S comes complete with automatic compression releases, so the bike fires up effortlessly every time.
Steeds is the oldest federally licensed builder, established in 1989, with a history of building leading edge machines. They doubled the size of their facility in 2004 to increase production of their “pedigreed” custom machines, which feature a 2-year limited warranty, and all the governmental certifications to assure you of a quality ride. The Steed bikes are also listed in the NADA and Kelly Blue Books so you can insure them and finance them without any hassles.
Steed Motorcycle Co. is in the process of expanding their dealership network this year. If you don’t have a Steed dealer near you, contact them like Alex did at sales@musclebikes.com to make arrangements to ride one home too. There’s a ton of information about all the 6 Steed models currently in production at www.musclebikes.com, and you can also call them toll free at 877 4-STEEDS Monday through Friday. Steed motorcycles are built to ride. Get on one and see for yourself.
