The Flying Piston Custom Striders Auction Group for 2019
By Marilyn Stemp | | General Posts
A portion of the funds came at the Mecum Auction held at Southpoint Casino in Las Vegas. The event went on all week from January 20 to 26, 2020 but my nerve-wracking day was January 24th.
That’s when three Tiny Custom Striders, originally revealed to the riding public at the Flying Piston Builders Breakfast at the Buffalo Chip last August, rolled across the auction block.
Among the three, built by Todd “Gilby” Gilbertson, Brian Klock and the late Jessi Combs (all featured here), it was Jessi’s tiny board-tracker that hit home with auction goers. In fact, the little bike garnered a bidding war that took it way beyond expectations, ultimately selling for $11,000.
The Klock Strider, a mini Suzuki racer patterned after a real bike built for Ricky Carmichael (and signed by him on the tank) went to Steve and Joan Klein for $1200.
Gilby’s gold and chrome chopper brought $3600 from Jill Parham. The board-tracker and chopper headed directly to the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, for display – to be joined by the Klock bike after motocross season ends.
Pat and Cris Simmons were the happy winners of the Jessi bike and that’s appropriate: Cris and Jessi had been close friends for years, sharing the stage most recently at the Buffalo Chip’s Biker Belles signature ride August 2019, just days after the bike was unveiled. Cris also owned a custom Harley Softail that Jessi had built for Biker Belles in 2013.
The only thing missing that thrilling day at the Mecum auction was Jessi herself. Her shocking death on August 27, 2019 as she raced to set a land speed record, still leaves a hole in the hearts and minds of car and motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide.
But her efforts and influence will continue to resonate when the money raised from the sale of the tiny board-tracker results in programs being installed in several kindergarten PE classes through AllKidsBike, teaching kids in those schools to ride bikes over the next five years.
That effort to build skills, confidence and new motorcycle riders among both girls and boys, is something Jessi championed. It’s our hope that her friends and family are pleased with this outcome.
And Drum-roll please: Here are the bikes
Flying Piston Strider Customs 2019
“The fearless Jessi Combs was born for everything automotive. Her passion to get in the driver seat and behind the wheel of nearly anything with a motor has led her through some amazing and unusual achievements. With a degree in custom automotive fabrication, Jessi has reached out to millions with her build skills on TV shows such as All Girls Garage, Mythbusters and Overhaulin’ to name a few, as well as through community and educational outreach.
As the fastest woman on four wheels, first ”Queen” of the Hammers, Ultra4 National Champion, and a Baja 1000 podium finisher, she empowers many through the act of simply leading by example. Her desire to show more women (and men alike) that they too can build their ideas, go fast, get dirty, have fun, and still be feminine shines through everything she does in life.”
The bio you just read was provided by Jessi Combs as she agreed to participate in the Flying Piston Tiny Strider Custom project. I had asked her to join us the first year and she declined, saying she didn’t have time.
When I later saw her in Austin after the first-year bikes had been unveiled, she said: “You’re going to ask me again next year and I’m going to say I’m too busy. Don’t let me! I want to build one of those! I already have the idea!”
And so it was. When her tiny board-tracker was revealed at the Flying Piston Builders Breakfast at the Buffalo Chip last August, it stole the show.
The only thing missing that thrilling day was Jessi herself. Her shocking death on August 27, 2019 as she raced to set a land speed record, still leaves a hole in the hearts and minds of car and motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide. But her efforts and influence will continue resonate when the money raised from the sale of the tiny board-tracker results in programs being installed in several kindergarten PE classes through AllKidsBike, teaching kids in those schools to ride bikes over the next five years. That’s building new riders!
As Jessi might have said – and as she signed off on emails: vroo00O00oommm… Jessi
Flying Piston Strider Customs 2019:
Brian Klock and the Klock Werks crew built an incredible custom Strider with a definite Klock “flair,” – to riff off one of the company’s signature components, the Klock Werks Flair windshield. Inspiration for the build came from Ricky Carmichael’s Suzuki M109r that the KW crew had modified, and yes: that’s Ricky’s autograph on the tank!
The little gray bike boasts red paneling with yellow pinstriping along the custom made “gas” tank and fenders, which Dan Cheeseman and Randy Rothlisberger fabricated in the Klock shop.
The rear fender even has a fender mount reminiscent of an H-D bagger, which is nearly a tiny version of the motorcycle fenders Klock Werks produces. Up front, Brian included an LED headlight for those kids who just aren’t ready to put the bike away because it’s dark! Wrapped around the headlight is a one-off mini-Flare windshield, based on the product the KW crew are known for.
Brian was happy to take on the challenge of what is most definitely the smallest bike the crew has ever built, as he and Dan are huge proponents of All Kids Bike – the Strider Foundation initiative that strives to make bike riding a part of kindergarten P.E. curriculum.
The Klock team even helped provide funding in their hometown of Mitchell, SD to bring the program to the elementary schools there. Brian says, “Anything we can do to raise awareness for Strider and the programs that push kids to ride bikes, exercise and be creative is a win.”
The Flying Piston Benefit was honored to have the Klock Werks crew on our team for the 2019 Class of Strider Custom Builders.
Gilby’s 2019 Flying Piston Strider Custom
Todd Gilby Gilbertson of Gilby’s Street Department
Story by Diane “Shadow’s Wife” Jones
Initially, Donnie Smith was on task to create a custom Strider Custom for the Flying Piston Benefit. However, as the time drew near, circumstances conspired to keep it from happening. But as happens in our motorcycle community, Donnie’s friend Todd “Gilby” Gilbertson, graciously stepped up and took on the project in the last few weeks before the deadline.
Gilby has been in the custom pinstriping and painting business for about 30 years, starting at the young age of 13 years old. As time went on and his skills increased, he added welding and fabricating, working his magic on all kinds of vehicles including motorcycles, altering frames, handlebars and more. His business, Gilby’s Street Dept., is located in River Falls, WI, and the radical customs Gilby builds are fully roadworthy.
As for the tiny Strider Custom, the pressure was on to make it happen, so Gilby resorted to his motto: “Never stop, never give up.” He and crew took to designing a Strider bike in the chopper style to honor his friend and colleague, Donnie Smith.
He wanted the Strider custom to be fully functional and rideable and so every modification was considered in the overall design. When he cut the neck, the rake of the front end changed, tilting it forward. This resulted in a change in the swing arm position so he had to bend the seat post – all to ensure proper function.
Gilby’s buddies at J&B Plating chromed the handmade front end in just one day! Impressive to say the least. Gilby and his team did the lettering, gold leafing, pinstriping and paint, finishing off the custom Strider with a perfect clear coat, ultimately creating a tiny chopper that gets double-takes every time!
For more information about this effort contact: Marilyn Stemp, 828-205-8482, marilynstemp@gmail.com or www.theflyingpiston.com
About Strider: Strider designs lightweight bikes that build two-wheeled balance, coordination, and confidence in children. Strider is helping kids learn to ride and developing new motorcycle riders through the AllKidsBike movement which makes bike-riding a part of kindergarten curriculum.
www.allkidsbike.org, www.striderbikes.com
*The 2019 Strider Custom Builder Class was: Todd “Gilby” Gilbertson, Jessi Combs, Xavier Muriel, Brian Klock, Steve Reed, Roy & Nikki Martin, James Washnok, Devin Henriques, Eric Hermann, Alumni of Motorcycle Missions and Count’s Kustoms’ Horny Mike, Shannon Aikau and Ryan Evans.
A book about Government controlling your life
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
SAM “CHOPPER” ORWELL – BOOK
$13.44
Fast-action fiction on two wheels! What does the future hold for rough and ready bikers? Discover how society eliminates motorcycles. Hold on as Sam “Chopper” Orwell fights to find freedom for the last remaining riders!
BUY IT TODAY – CLICK HERE TO SHOP
All 5-Ball Books will be signed by the Author and contain 5-Ball Bling—Amazing!
Chapter III Excerpt
The coffin hit the hard earth, split, and dumped Sam onto the ground. He gasped for air. The bright sun seared his clamped eyelids. He was covered with sweat and his body reeked from the confined, three-hour trek into the mountains.
Sam rolled over and pulled himself onto all fours, his lungs drawing in the hot air. Several men and a couple of women, their faces weathered from months in the desert, surrounded him. One raised a large, galvanized bucket and dumped several gallons of lukewarm water on Sam’s limp torso. His longtime friend and riding partner, Red, kneeled at his side and held him from trying to respond to the watery assault. – See more here in the Cantina – Subscribe Today.
About the Author
Kawasaki Announces New Agreement with Roadrunner Financial to Offer Financing for Credit Builders and First-Time Buyers
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
Foothill Ranch, Calif. – Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. is pleased to announce a new financing agreement with Roadrunner Financial to offer competitive near-prime loans to Credit Builders with 550-660+ FICO scores. Roadrunner delivers a revolutionary lender experience through digital applications with instant decisions, comprehensive credit coverage, and unbeatable dealer and customer support.
Kawasaki joins a group of Powersports and Outdoor Power Equipment partners that utilize Roadrunner Financial to bring great finance offers to their customers. The relationship with Kawasaki allows Roadrunner to offer an enhanced program with improved near-prime rates with no fees for dealers.
“Roadrunner Financial is a key addition for Kawasaki and our dealers” said Kawasaki Senior Vice President, Sales and Operations Bill Jenkins. “The focus on a near-prime credit program will offer dealers new opportunities for financing customers on Kawasaki powersports products.”
“Roadrunner will give Kawasaki dealers a new tool to close deals that would usually walk out the door.” When asked about the new financing agreement, Jon Vestal, VP of Sales at Roadrunner Financial said, “We’re very excited to strengthen our relationship with Kawasaki. By targeting near-prime, we plan to deliver significant incremental sales for Kawasaki in 2020 and beyond.”
This new Kawasaki program from Roadrunner Financial will be available to Kawasaki dealers starting March 1st, 2020.
About Roadrunner Financial:
Roadrunner Financial offers financing for customers across the entire credit spectrum. Roadrunner’s credit program suite includes ‘Roadrunner Prime’, ‘Roadrunner Credit Builder’ for customers down to 550 FICO, a first-time buyer program, ‘Roadrunner Lease’, and a pre-owned vehicle program.
Founded in 2016 and based in New York, Roadrunner helps dealers finance more customers by taking the traditional hassles of lending and replacing them with one seamless process that can take as little as a few minutes. Roadrunner’s unique financing experience offers instant decisions, electronic contracting, and financing for more than 10,000 vehicles across 40+ Powersports & Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE) OEMs. For more information, please visit www.roadrunnerfinancial.com.
ABOUT KAWASAKI
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) started full-scale production of motorcycles over a half century ago. The first Kawasaki motorcycle engine was designed based on technical know-how garnered from the development and production of aircraft engines, and Kawasaki’s entry into the motorcycle industry was driven by the company’s constant effort to develop new technologies. Numerous new Kawasaki models introduced over the years have helped shape the market, and in the process have created enduring legends based on their unique engineering, power, design and riding pleasure. In the future, Kawasaki’s commitment to maintaining and furthering these strengths will surely give birth to new legends.
Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) markets and distributes Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, side x sides, and Jet Ski® watercraft through a network of almost 1,100 independent retailers, with close to an additional 7,400 retailers specializing in general purpose engines. KMC and its affiliates employ nearly 3,100 people in the United States, with approximately 250 of them located at KMC’s Foothill Ranch, California headquarters.
Kawasaki’s tagline, “Let the good times roll.®”, is recognized worldwide. The Kawasaki brand is synonymous with powerful, stylish and category-leading vehicles. Information about Kawasaki’s complete line of powersports products and Kawasaki affiliates can be found on the Internet at www.kawasaki.com.
Deadwood’s Lost Chinatown
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
The history of Deadwood’s Chinese, and the tragic loss of an important landmark.
Editor’s Note: Bikernet got a hold of an historic home in Deadwood in the Presidential area. We decided on a Chinese whorehouse theme. We discovered this 110 year-old home was built over the original cemetery where Wild Bill was buried. Someone got the bright idea to dig up the bodies and move them up above Lincoln Street. Here’s some of the Chinese history in Deadwood.
Tips to avoid hitting a deer on your motorcycle
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
Stay alert on the road and on long distance touring
There are five main American deer species. In the order you’re likely to see them on roadsides, whitetail deer predominate, followed by mule deer, elk and moose; unless you’re riding in very remote terrain, you won’t encounter caribou.
Screamin’ Eagle Pro Street Tuner and Automatic Tuning Model
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
Tuning Done The Right Way
by Dale
CLINTEL MANIFESTO BLASTS CLIMATE SCAREMONGERING
By Bandit | | General Posts
There is NO climate emergency. Preaching doom and gloom is a crime against the young generation. These are the key points of a new manifesto from the Climate Intelligence Group or CLINTEL.
CLINTEL is a rapidly growing international group, led by prominent scientists, that opposes the ill-founded attempts to scare people into hasty climate policy actions. They also oppose the terrorizing of children as part of the false climate alarm. CLINTEL recently issued a World Climate Declaration denouncing scaremongering and this new manifesto provides detailed scientific backup for the WCD for a wide public. The manifesto is authored by Professor Guus Berkhout, the President of CLINTEL.
The focus of the Berkhout manifesto is on climate related modeling, which it says is “unfit for purpose.” The purpose in this case is predicting future climate change. Modeling dominates climate science. It also provides the scary scenarios that drive hugely expensive and disruptive climate emergency action policies. That the models are faulty is a very important finding.
The manifesto says there are at least four strong reasons why today’s models are no good.
First, the model makers have not properly included the many factors that are known to be important, especially natural variability. In fact the major models simply assume that (almost) all climate change is due to human activity, an unproven hypothesis.
Second, the predictions to date are dramatically too warm compared to actual satellite measurements. There has been relatively little warming in the last 20 years and much of that looks to be natural. In stark contrast the models have predicted dramatic warming that has not occurred. The models are far too hot to be trusted. Not the climate but the model makers are the source of the panic.
Third, the models lack consideration of historical climate data. There is a growing list of observational studies finding that the global temperature is nowhere near as sensitive to human-generated CO2 as the models assume. Ironically the latest generation of models is even more sensitive than their predecessors, so they are getting even further from observation. The models are getting worse, not better.
Nor can these models explain past periods of warming and cooling, such as the medieval warm period (MWP) and the recently ended little ice age (LIA). If we cannot even explain past climate change, exclusively caused by natural variability, then we certainly cannot understand the present and predict the future. A great deal more data and research is needed in this area. We simply have insufficient insight in the complex nature of climate change. Climate science is far from settled!
All of these glaring problems with models are well explained in the Berkhout manifesto. It follows that present model projections of dangerous future warming and subsequent natural disasters are not to be trusted. They are certainly no basis for inflicting damaging climate policies on the world. The manifesto puts it succinctly: “Stop using Misleading Computer Models.”
CLINTEL is also focused on children being demoralized by climate alarmism. Young people are easy to influence by activists because they have not had enough science to defend themselves. In addition, climate change and environmental pollution are hopelessly confused. To explain why there is NO climate emergency, the manifesto closes with “a message to our grandchildren.” Here is the gist of the message:
“Don’t behave like a parrot. Be critical against the many false prophets who try to misuse you and try to turn you against your parents. The information they tell you is one-sided and misleading. Please, deepen your climate knowledge. By doing so, you will find out that there is NO empirical evidence that points at any climate crisis.”
The World Climate Declaration basically says that the climate policies, being called for in the false name of emergency, not only dangerously undermine the global economic system but they also put lives at risk in countries where large-scale access to reliable and affordable electricity is made unfeasible. This CLINTEL manifesto provides the science showing that there is no such emergency.
CLINTEL recently sent a letter of protest to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The basic message is clearly stated here: “Despite heated political rhetoric, we urge all world leaders to accept the reality that there is no climate emergency. There is ample time to use scientific advances to continue improving our understanding of climate change. Meanwhile, we should go for ADAPTATION; adaptation works whatever the causes are.”
For more information see https://clintel.org and look at:
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/63030622/there-is-no-climate-emergency
CLINTEL – Declaration to WEF
Super Ball Sunday
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
What was your favorite Super Bowl commercial this year? Ours is the Lowbrow Super Ball Commercial we made last year…
It is only a minute and a half long.. watch and enjoy. Let us know what you think in the YouTube comments or by replying to this email!
PS – Mama Tried is coming up next month.. Get your Mama Tried entry tickets from Lowbrow and avoid waiting in line to purchase them at the show!
The people below are using motorcycles in the proper fashion: excitement, adventure and passion. Get out of the house, out of your comfort zone, tag @lowbrowcustoms and hashtag #lowbrowcustoms, #lowbrowlife, #lowbroworder or #rideeverywhere for a chance to see your post highlighted here.
We love seeing photos of your projects, motorcycles and adventures. We also love hearing about what we are doing right and what we could be doing better… it helps us improve! Take a moment and check out all the reviews on our website or leave us a Google Review. We genuinely appreciate it!
Bikers from around the world to attend funeral of Blue Angels Motorcycle Club founder
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
by Rosalind Erskine from https://www.scotsman.com
Allan Morrison, founder and president of the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club, passed away on the 29 January aged 77.
Allan Morrison, a founding member of the club, which is said to be the oldest outlaw or 1 per cent motorcycle club in Europe, passed away last month from lung disease (COPD).
Mr Morrison’s funeral will take place on the 15 February and it is expected that bikers from all over the world will take part in a large motorcycle funeral procession to accompany the hearse.
Starting at 11.45am, the funeral procession will leave T&R O’Brien Funeral Directors on Maryhill Road and head to the Glasgow Crematorium on Tresta Road for 12pm
Morrison’s family said: “Allan was much loved by his friends, family and fellow bikers all over the world. He sadly passed at age 77 from COPD.
“The police are involved with the funeral to ensure everything operates as smoothly as possible at both venues and the journey.”
Established in Glasgow in 1963 by friends Allan Morrison and Billy Gordon, there are about 200 Blue Angels in this country, with many more outside Scotland, mainly in Belgium, Spain and England.
DO YOU MOTO
By Bandit | | General Posts
Join Us To Celebrate a Decade of The Modern Classics in 2020! In addition to our usual collection of legendary motorcycles from the ’60’s through the ’90’s, for 2020 we’ll shine a special spotlight on the bikes of the 1980’s, sidecars and a whole lot more… Part motorcycle show, part social event and part pop-up museum but 100% fun, The Modern Classics is a moto event not to be missed. From the bikes you grew up with to the rare and exotic, Modern Classics has something for everyone. MARCH 6, 2020 7:00 PM – 10:00 PMMARCH 7, 2020 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO A FULL SHOW BUT WE ARE STILL WILLING TO CHECK OUT YOUR NOMINATIONS! |