Russell Mitchell is an anomaly in our industry, but he has a solid code. He doesn’t float in whatever direction is custom-popular this year. He has a formula and sticks with it, which has major customer benefits.



“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Russell said. “If you do, you’ll run into fitment issues, parts problems, and stuff that breaks, when you didn’t expect it.”



For almost 30 years he’s developed his style and formula for reliability, fitment and functionality. “I’ve built a solid relationship with JIMS machine, both personally and with their products. I use JIMS 6-Speeds in every bike I build.” He likes to keep his bikes’ RPMs at a reasonable level for the vibration factor with a specific gearing formula. “I’m sure there are other good transmissions, but when a product works consistently for you, don’t change it.”



He has also worked with Tom Pirone of TP Engineering forever. “I generally use the Evo-based TP-121 engine, unless a customer wants a 124 for bragging rights,” said Russell. The 121 gives him solid reliability, a warranty and more power than most folks will ever use and the proper vibration level for solid-mount rigids and Softail chassis configurations.



“I don’t go for chrome elements on my engines,” Russell said. “When a customer orders a bike, I order the engine and immediately send Tom a set of polished aluminum pushrod covers.”



Over the years Tom switched up some engine components, including his cone cover. “I didn’t like it,” Russell said. “I wanted the old one.” Then they switched out the rocker boxes with a product with a hole in the center for heat dissipation. “Not for me, but Tom worked with me.”

“I always use S&S Super G carbs,” Russell added.



When I asked about transitioning from one custom platform to another he explained it easily. “I like pickup trucks and sure, I like baggers, but I love Choppers.” He’s stubborn and narrow-minded about his styling and construction cues, but it means his bikes have stayed solid and pure for almost 30 years.



His formula survived the glitter, bling and extreme eras. His styling started to seriously fit in after the economic downturn, when riders shunned metal flake and chrome for blacked out bikes and rust. “Stylin’ cues have shifted in our direction,” Russell said. He’s never built left side drive or ridiculously wide-tire bikes. Russell might be a serious guiding light to young builders, who want to know what really works for a reliable custom build.



“I like stripped-down scooters,” Russell added, “with a purity of form. I’m too old to sell out now.” He sticks with Evo-based, Softail and rigid platforms.



Here is a list of some of the other products he’s stuck with for almost three decades: “We always use our own brakes (Sprocket Brake rear, 4-piston caliper w 11.5-inch rotor front). Same with foot controls. Hand controls (when we use them) are Jay Brake classics, but often twist-clutch or foot-clutch, and frequently integrated brakes (foot-pedal operates front and rear). Wheels are usually our “Monster” 40-spoke wheels, although we do also offer solids and 5-spoke designs. Our Sani-Tree triple trees in conjunction with H-D FLT fork sliders are usual on our short bikes. We used SJP for all our raked billet front ends, but now they are no more, and we have moved to HHI.”




He is trying to design more Exile parts to be broad-spectrum components, like his internal throttle system, which will fit on any custom build. Check Russell’s history below and his annual charity event at the movie set, Paramount Ranch.




The Russell Story

Russell Mitchell is the founder, president and design force behind Exile Cycles. He was born in a small farming village in England, where he fully expected to live out his life. However, when Russell graduated from the local university as a veterinary surgeon he was persuaded to take a job in London and life in the big city really opened his eyes.


Within months he was fully immersed in the glam-punk scene. A chance meeting at a charity event launched a side career in modeling, and soon after Russell became the TVvet on the morning news. When a top Los Angeles model agency offered him a contract, he figured that he’d come to the States for a month or two, but (like every other Englishman) he never went back.



Russell worked in L.A. for several years as a model and struggling actor before launching Exile Cycles in the gritty San Fernando Valley way back in 1995. These days Russell lives in the idyllic Santa Monica Mountains with his gorgeous wife Rachel and their three beautiful kids.

Motorcycles have always played a huge part in Russell’s life. His first few custom builds were based around, of all things, Lambretta scooters! In the early ‘80s he was a major figure in the thriving English, scooter scene, although he describes himself as one of the “scooter scum.”



In 1983, after a couple of other custom scooters, 20-year-old Russell built the very first Exile – a Lambretta chopper to beat all others. It had a coffin tank, twisted forks and a foot-shift.

Around this time Russell took his first 100-mph ride on a big bike and he was immediately done with scooters. At the very next Scooter Rally he sold raffle tickets for 50 pence (about one dollar) each and on Saturday night he got on stage, drew a number, and gave “Exile 1” to its new owner.
A smorgasbord of custom motorcycles followed Russell’s ride, depending on his state of poverty at the time. In 1991 Russell came to the US with $9,000, and the next day spent $8,650 on a ’87 Softail. In 1994, after appearing in a particularly lucrative Marlboro commercial, Russell decided to build a couple of identical customs. He really went to town with the parts design, learning the required welding and machining skills along the way.

A year later, on the first bike’s inaugural voyage, he ran into Keith “Bandit” Ball, the editor of Easyriders magazine, who asked if he could run a feature on the bike. The ensuing interest in his unique parts persuaded Russell to make motorcycles his career.



Exile Cycles was perfectly positioned to take advantage of both the chopper craze and the economic boom occurring around the turn of the century. And with such a brightly colored, instantly recognizable front man it was no surprise that the production companies came knocking.

Russell and his crew starred in more of the Discovery Channel’s “Great Biker Build Off” shows than any other builder, as well as the “World Bike Build Off,” “Motorcycle Mania IV” and a couple of seasons of Russell’s own show, called “Build or Bust.” All this exposure positioned Russell among the most well-known bike builders in the world, and as such, he and Rachel have travelled the globe as guests-of-honor at various bike events.

Always outspoken, Russell sums up Exile Cycles rather nicely in his mission statement in the current Exile catalog:


Editor’s Note: I was back in the mix in 2004 when I took over Hot Bike and Street Chopper. I put Russell with a girl on a Exile trike, on the cover of my first issue of Hot Bike.

Hell, these days half the models in the H-D line-up look like they were designed by Exile. “We now offer a very extensive range of parts (including bolt-on parts to transform your Harley), plus complete bike kits and built-to-order custom cycles,” said Russell, “and we ship to every corner of the globe.”

“We have not compromised our design ethic one bit,” said Russell. “The bikes we build now, the bikes we built then, and the bikes we have yet to build, all scream Exile Cycles. These machines are timeless classics, not the flavor of the month. Hardcore, minimal and tough.”

“If you want a brightly colored, over-chromed bike, call someone else. If you want one that looks like the batmobile or some other childish theme-machine, call a therapist – what the fuck is wrong with you?”




For the last three years Russell dove into the custom cycle event realm with:

On SUNDAY October 7

Featuring CALENDAR BIKE BUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP

To Benefit DONATE TO LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOC



Max Hazan’s Supercharged Husqvarna Replica Board Track Racer
Took Best of Show last year.

The 3rd event this October will include Calendar Show’s Calendar Bike Building Championship joining the Rider RoundUp at the Ranch produced by celebrity Calendar Bike builder Russell Mitchell and wife Rachel / Exile Cycles at the Paramount Western Movie Ranch in Agoura, CA, just down the road from the legendary Southern California biker hangout The Rock Store on Mulholland Highway.


It will be an exciting day of beautiful custom motorcycles, activities, great tasting food truck, BBQ and craft beer, vendors, manufacturers and live music.
And again it’s a benefit to raise money to Fight Leukemia by auctioning off products and services, together with money donated by the vendors and sponsors, last year raising $7000 for the Cause.

The famous Paramount Ranch movie location is a fun place to hold a bike show, with spectators being able to ride their bikes and park in the streets of the old western town.

For movie and TV buffs, Paramount Ranch was first owned and built by Paramount Movie Studios as a western town movie set back in the 1923 for the then popular western movies. In the 1960s a paved sports car road-racing track was built on the land and held races for a few years.

More recently the location was the set for the popular ‘90s TV series, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. A train station was built in the western town for Dr. Quinn, including the laying of real train tracks and the installation of a live running steam locomotive with cars, which operated back and forth across the set.

When the Dr. Quinn TV series ended the entire Paramount Ranch including the western town movie set, was given to the U.S. Park System for public use, with the condition it could still be used for filming and special events. Most recently the western set was used it the HBO TV series West World.



The Train Station Platform will be the location for this year’s Calendar Bike Building Championship, the custom motorcycle contest franchise feature of the LA Calendar Motorcycle Show produced by FastDates.com Calendar photographer Jim Gianatsis.

Assisting Jim in producing this year’s bike contest was Calendar Kitten Corle, who ran the morning’s contest registration, posed for the bike owners and spectators for photos, and assisted Russell Mitchell and Jim with the authentic Mikuni Carburetor Trophies at the end of the day in the shaded concert and dining area.

Don’t miss it.



–Russell Mitchell
President
Exile Cycles
818 706 1230

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. If you’ve been involved in any kind of accident, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.

NCOM BIKER NEWSBYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)

NCOM CONVENTION MOBILIZES BIKERS RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN MOBILE
The National Coalition of Motorcyclists was founded over three decades ago during the turbulent formation of the bikers’ rights movement to foster unity among diverse segments of the motorcycling community in order to advance a more cohesive political agenda. Unity and cooperation were the buzzwords at this year’s 33rd annual NCOM Convention in Mobile, Alabama as hundreds of representatives from Motorcyclists Rights Organizations (MROs), clubs and associations from across the country came to listen, learn and share information on a variety of issues important to today’s riders.

“While not the largest attendance at an NCOM Convention, those who were there had a good time and the Convention was a success,” notes Convention Committee Chairman David “Animal” Reid, who says “Attendees at the various seminars and presentations were attentive, asked pertinent questions and left with current information on a wide range of subjects and issues.”

Among the many meetings, seminars and breakout sessions conducted throughout Mother’s Day Weekend, May 10-13, 2018 at the Renaissance – Riverview Plaza Hotel, were seminars on civil rights, profiling, RICO, veterans affairs, motorcycle insurance, and featured a Mock Legislative Session presented by the NCOM Legislative Task Force. “The Mock Committee Hearing went over very well,” says NCOM-LTF Chairman Frank Ernst, adding that “Those in attendance gave our committee much positive feedback and they appreciated the information provided by the LTF,” including a new “Biker’s Guide to Making Law” free informational brochure on how to impact the legislative process.

Spreading some good news finally, after more than three years in litigation, A.I.M. Attorney Bill Smith of Texas gave an update on the deadly Waco shootings and reported that most of the nearly two hundred bikers arrested and charged under RICO with murder have now had their cases dismissed, including longtime bikers rights activist Paul Landers, former NCOM-LTF Chairman who had to resign due to the miscarriage of justice that cost many innocent Freedom Fighters their jobs, homes, relationships and even children taken from them.

During the Silver Spoke Awards Banquet on Saturday evening, several honorees were recognized for their contributions to “Improving The Image of Motorcycling”, including; GOVERNMENT: New Hampshire State Rep. Charlie St. Clair, Executive Director of Laconia Motorcycle Week; MEDIA: Vernon & Melanie Schwarte of Thunder Roads Magazine – Iowa; LEGAL: Michael DeKruif, AIM Attorney—California; ENTERTAINMENT: Stunt Rider Bubba Blackwell; and NCOM’s highest honor, the Ron Roloff Lifetime Achievement Award, was presented to Charlie Boone of CBA/ABATE of North Carolina, member of the NCOM Board of Directors.

Next year’s 34th Annual NCOM Convention will be held May 9-12, 2019 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Orlando, Florida. For further information, contact NCOM at (800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.

TWIN PEAKS CASES UNRAVEL
Three years ago on May 17, 2015, the bodies of nine dead bikers lay in the parking lot of the Twin Peaks restaurant in the infamous Waco shootout as the District Attorney had police round up and arrest everyone there to attend a Confederation of Clubs meeting.

Many of the nearly two hundred bikers arrested that night would spend the next several weeks jailed on million-dollar bonds. It was a risky legal strategy, one that had never been tried on this scale: Throw a wide net around a complicated crime scene and charge everybody involved with engaging in organized criminal activity.

Now, with the 3rd anniversary of the cases upon us, the failure of that audacious strategy has become clear as prosecutors dismiss most of the cases, the district attorney lost re-election by a landslide, and 130 bikers line up to sue over civil rights violations. The only case that has gone to trial ended in a hung jury and mistrial in November.

“In the last three years, the 192 bikers arrested in the Twin Peaks shootout have lived under a cloud,” reports the Waco Tribune. “Some have languished in jail, lost jobs, lost vehicles or lost spouses. In some cases, ex-wives used their arrests to seek modifications in child custody or visitation orders. Most were under strict bond conditions that restricted their travel and freedom to associate with their friends.”

The Twin Peaks debacle may also have ended a promising political career for D.A. Abel Reyna, who suffered an overwhelming defeat in the March primary in which his opponent accused him of corruption and prosecutorial overreach. Since the electoral loss, Reyna’s office has dismissed 124 cases en masse, and has re-indicted 24 remaining defendants on a variety of charges including riot, murder and tampering with evidence, superseding the original organized crime charges.

“Meanwhile, the raft of civil lawsuits stemming from the Twin Peaks cases leaves the city and county in potential financial jeopardy,” according to the Waco newspaper, noting that the massive volume of cases had put a severe strain on court operations and on county resources already.

CALIFORNIA MOTORCYCLE CLUB CLAIMS PROFILING AND POLICE HARASSMENT
A video posted recently on YouTube shows members of the Jus Brothers Motorcycle Club “doing nothing wrong” when a Sonora, CA police sergeant started harassing them and photographed the license plates on their parked motorcycles. “They say police unlawfully profiled the club members as a motorcycle gang,” reported the Modesto Bee newspaper.

Jus Brothers members from its Mother Lode and Stanislaus County chapters were waiting for a club event to begin at the nearby Intake Grill restaurant and sports bar, a monthly meeting geared toward sharing information about motorcycle legislation and is open to the public.

“We get this kind of hassle from Sonora PD all the time,” a member told The Bee. “I think they’re just trying to keep us out of downtown. They come around taking pictures of our bikes, nitpicking to see what they can find.”

Club members in the video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZN4fDjL17M) tell the sergeant that they plan on posting the video online with the department’s phone number, so callers can tell officials what they think of it: “That way America can see what it’s like to live in a police state!”

Another Jus Brothers member in the video asks the sergeant if police will do the same to the other vehicles parked along the street, and the sergeant seems to indicate they’re only doing this to “outlaw motorcycle gangs.”

The Sonora Police Department has responded to the allegations of profiling local bikers; “The police sergeant in the video was simply engaging in intelligence gathering on a public street,” according to the official police news release.

In the video, the Jus Brothers members tell the police sergeant about Assembly Bill 2972, a bill to prohibit peace officers from engaging in “motorcycle profiling.” If passed, police would not be allowed to consider a person riding a motorcycle or wearing motorcycle or motorcycle club-related clothing as a factor in enforcement decisions.

MOTORCYCLE CLUB RETALIATES WITH CYBER ATTACK
Management at Marion Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba received a harsh dose of virtual reality as they suffered the wrath of the Manitoba Nomads, a chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.

According to a news posting on www.rideapart.com, “It all started when members of the Nomads were refused access to the hotel for sporting their colors.” Unwilling to let the offense go unpunished, the chapter President invited his people to boycott the establishment. The members joined forces and on March 27 targeted their Facebook page by submitting a tsunami of one-star reviews. This lowered the hotel’s otherwise respectable rating of 4.5 to a mediocre 3 overnight, forcing the hotel to take down its page.

“Hell hath no fury like a biker gang scorned, and the gang proceeded to do the same with the hotel restaurant’s page,” even turning to the Marion Street Eatery’s TripAdvisor page.

Previously, the club expressed disagreement with what they considered discrimination against bikers by targeting Headingley Sport Ltd./Indian Motorcycle Winnipeg for forbidding colors from a riding event. “Once the shop withdrew from the event, the perpetrators were asked to modify their ratings, which they did.”

A ROAD TO ZERO MOTORCYCLES
A recently released National Safety Council report entitled “A Road to Zero” is the federal government’s vision for achieving zero roadway deaths by 2050, but it fails to identify any significant procedures to reduce motorcycle fatalities except for helmet laws and hi-tech.

Despite input from motorcycle organizations, the NSC relies heavily on automotive technologies such as driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles to pave the way to a safer future, ignoring such rider safety issues as motorcycle awareness, rider training, impairment, distracted driving and proactive measures to prevent car-versus-motorcycle collisions.

The report also endorses using insurance to price some high risk operators and vehicles off the road, opening the door to allow insurance companies to effectively achieve zero motorcycles.

ZERO EMISSIONS, ZERO DEATHS, ZERO TOLERANCE
Bandit and his Bikernet Crew at www.Bikernet.com posted on their blog about a California Air Resources Board meeting regarding new rule making for motorcycles. Every manufacturer of motorcycles was there, as CARB talked about embracing all aspects of the market before making their recommendations in 2020…that’s the good news.

“They discussed anti-tampering, competition with the EU and Zero emissions,” writes Bandit. “They talked about moving California to zero emissions by rebates on electric bikes, and they want California riders to be riding 5 million electric bikes by 2025 by executive order from the nice California Governor.”

Bandit et al go on to state their case:

“Two points: One is that word Zero again. They use that word in two other regulatory segments, Zero deaths on the highways and Zero tolerance when it comes to drunk driving or drugs. Zero sounds good from one side of the coin, but the other is ultimate control or Zero Freedom.

The other point I hope to make is that motorcycles represent such a small number in the emissions mix we should be left alone. One of the administrators mentioned two areas of emissions they walked away from and I hope to help make motorcycles a third or at least the aftermarket motorcycle industry.”

MILLENNIALS’ STUDENT LOAN DEBT HURTS MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY
Student loan debt has been hindering millennials for years; now it’s causing harm to the motorcycle industry, according to MarketWatch.com, which further states the motorcycle industry has been increasingly struggling due to millennials’ disinterest in purchasing motorcycles in light of financial burdens.

Young millennials and Gen-Z/Millennials, born between 1990 and 2003 respectively, are two-thirds as likely to be interested in motorcycles as baby boomers during their pre-family stage, Bernstein financial advisers say. Yet, even an interest in motorcycles may not be enough to keep the industry alive, as “The average millennial has almost twice as much student debt today during their ‘pre-family’ life stage as did the average Gen Xer,” according to Bernstein analyst David Beckel. “That may not sound like a large enough increase in debt to sway one from buying a motorcycle,” Beckel said. “But for the individual 20 million millennials with student debt, the difference between $15,000 and $26,000 of student debt is $130/month, which is the equivalent to a monthly loan payment on an $8,000 bike.”

In 1990, 50% of college undergraduates had taken out student loans with an average borrowing of $15,000. By 2012, up to 70% of undergraduates had taken out student loans with an average borrowing of $25,000.

The typical new motorcycle will cost around the same as today’s average student loan debt, which makes it difficult for young millennials to purchase cars let alone a motorcycle.

Bernstein analysts additionally theorized that rebellion, the characteristic often attributed to motorcycle culture, doesn’t appeal to debt-burdened millennials like it used to appeal to older generations, who are aging out as the lead target audience.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: “A free society is a place where it’s safe to be unpopular.”

McQueen’s Motorcycles
Racing and Riding with the King of Cool
–By Matt Stone
Motorbooks – Quarto Publishing

Matt Stone does a great job of telling Steve McQueen’s story though the bikes he rode and loved. The relationships he had with the machines he loved and the places he rode give you some true insight into the man. He was more comfortable in his t-shirt riding his Triumph Desert Sled or Husqvarna 400 Cross though the desert than anywhere else in the world.

McQueen brought his love of motorcycles into his movies like The Great Escape, where is did his own riding and all but one of his stunts. The German stunt drivers had a hard time keeping up with him so he put on the German uniform and was filmed chasing himself. After I finished the book I had to go back and watch the movie again to pick up on his riding. Well worth the time. I have a few more of his movies on my must see list.

McQueen grew to become a collector of motorcycles and cars even though he is described as not thinking of himself as one. After his death most of his collection was sold at auction and the value of the items continues to escalate. McQueen’s name and association with these bikes make them highly sought after. Matt Stone provides a run down of some of the collection, how McQueen acquired them and where they are now.

I hope I have given you a glimpse into the book and stirred some curiosity. Pick up a copy and see for yourself.

— David Campbell
Earl’s Garage – Motorcycle, Hotrod, and Event Photography
www.earlsgarage.co www.facebook.com/garage_photos

We’ve got a few books for you.–Bandit

In the past few decades, we have had what are known as “shock jocks,” disc jockeys and radio hosts who entertain some listeners by going against the grain while on the air. They attract attention by pushing the envelope as much as they can, until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clamps down on the owners of the station. Often, fines are levied in hopes that the company can reprimand their disc jockeys and get them to conform to the rules.

It’s a “catch-22” in some cases, because although some listeners find certain comments offensive, the overall number of listeners increases significantly. More listeners, more sponsorship, equals more revenue for the station. Some radio stations have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars, and as a result, on-air personalities and their producers have been fired. 

Recent shock jocks are people like Howard Stern, Opie & Anthony, or Mancow Muller. These are guys that have cursed on the air. Others have blocked freeway bridges in order to give someone a haircut, while others play pranks on unsuspecting individuals, often while using sexual innuendos.

Although this sounds new, risqué, and refreshing, it is actually nothing new. Fast talking, loud, and hep disc jockeys that push the envelope have been around since the good ol’ days. Cats like Alan Freed (who coined the phrase “rock & roll”), Dewey Phillips, and my all-time favorite “Wolfman Jack” were just some of the early pioneers of making kids’ parents frown.

“The Wolfman” was born Robert Weston Smith in New York City, January 21, 1938. He was the youngest of two children and grew up in Brooklyn, where he became a huge fan of rhythm and blues music. That category technically has a broad spectrum of genres, including what is now called “doo-wop,” but there are also elements of blues, jump blues, R&B, Soul and good ol’ rock & roll. By the mid-1950s, his father bought Robert a large Zenith Trans-Oceanic radio where he became enthralled with the world of broadcasting, various radio personalities, and music of all types.

After countless efforts of trying to become a successful door-to-door salesman, Robert went back to his love for music, and attended the National Academy of Broadcasting in Washington, D.C. After he graduated in 1960, he began working as DJ “Daddy Jules” at WYOU in Newport News, Virginia. Things went okay for a while, but the powers that be decided to change their stations main genre to “nice music,” and at that point Robert moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he signed on at country music station KCIJ- 1050.

During that time, Alan Freed was making a lot of controversy with his rock & roll films and live music festivals in New York City, along with what he was doing on the air. Upper middle class parents weren’t fond of this new music due to the racial tensions and divide that were prevalent at the time. Little Richard put it so eloquently when he stated, “The white kids had Pat Boone records on top of their dressers, for their parents to see, but kept my records under their beds. That’s okay, as long as they bought my records!” Freed had the Moon Dog Show, and even played a howl periodically during his sets. It can be heard in many of his recordings.

All of the above factors gave Robert an idea. A great idea! In 1962, Robert met Ramon Bosquez of a radio station XERF-AM in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. Mr. Bosquez told Robert that “We don’t have rules, so come to Mexico, become a rock & roll disc jockey, and do whatever you want.” What also set this deal in motion was the fact that Mexican radio stations didn’t have regulations on the maximum amount of wattage that could be used. When Robert signed his contract with XERF they offered 250,000 watts, where the average American radio station was limited to only 50,000. This meant that when Robert went on the air, people could literally hear him from all four corners of the United States!

Almost overnight, Robert Smith became a national hit, especially among teenagers. He quickly developed his signature style and called himself “Wolfman Jack,” with constant phrases like “The Wolfman is everywhere,” “Have mercy, baby,” “Who’s this on the Wolfman telephone?” and continuous howls before, after, and even during songs. Being a great fan of rhythm & blues, it is safe to say that Wolfman Jack was hugely inspired by Howlin’ Wolf.

Every hot rodder and custom car guy, as well as rock & roll fans, across America tuned in every night. The Wolfman did pitches for weight-loss pills, weight-gain pills, rose bushes, and baby chicks. There was even a pill called Florex, which was supposed to enhance one’s sex drive. “Some zing for your ling nuts,” the Wolfman would say.

By the mid-1960s Wolman Jack and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he not only continued to be a local radio DJ, but also sent recorded tapes down to XERF in Ciudad Acuña. so they could continue to play his sets. This went on for years until the early 1970s, when a young film producer and director by the name of George Lucas approached Wolfman and asked if he wanted to play a part in the film, American Graffiti.

That part catapulted his career after the film debuted, and not long after, TV show producer Burt Sugarman hired Wolfman to be a host on a new program called The Midnight Special. It was an American late-night musical variety series originally broadcast on NBC, and its success carried it until the mid-1980s. Wolfman Jack continued to do TV, movie, and radio gigs until July 1995, when he passed away of a heart attack. His legacy will live on forever, and the next time you hear something a bit shocking on the radio, please think of guys like Wolfman Jack. “Are your peaches sweet?” Wolfman would say to the girls who called into the show.

Until next time, please keep supporting live music.

If only he had some secrets. He’s been making brass belt buckles since the early ‘70s. We decided to add them to our 5-Ball Racing line-up, sorta for the kicks. It’s not as if the bastard wants to be buried under a torch everyday making buckles.

In general, Bandit made these for a couple of reasons. He’s sort of a creative freak. He would rather spend a week making a coffee table out of old motorcycle parts than to buy one in 15 minutes from China on Amazon.

Over the last decade, he stumbled across different elements and started to change up his styles. When he first made buckles, he created the same jig he uses today. Almost 48 years ago, he made his own tires and rims using brass rod.

Then he stumbled into some manufactured brass rings, which simplified his operation tremendously. It was only when he discovered McMaster Carr, his system found size direction. Before Carr, he was restricted to brass rings he found at swap meets.

Then he met Sin Wu, who was into sailing and she brought him a large cigar box full of massive solid brass wood screws. They were removed from the wooden hull of a discarded vessel.

Wooden hulls are frowned on in Los Angeles marinas. They are tough and costly to maintain and keep afloat. And of course due to global warming, almost all of the boat repair joints are closed. No shit. You can’t sand, paint or repair fiberglass without life-threatening fines or imprisonment.

But we won’t go there. It just pisses off the old bastard.

Okay, so he started to make mag wheel buckles and this one was the latest. He actually upgraded his jig by drilling and taping a ¼-20 hole in the center to hold the hub perfectly in place. It only took him 30 years to figure that one out.

In this case, with a 2.5-inch brass ring, he centered the ring and then measured the length of the mag spokes, about ¾-inch long. The customer, Capn Bill, wanted the patina-styled buckle with the threaded end of the screws and a lack of final fully polished effect.

With the rim clamped carefully in place, Bandit sized each spoke and brazed them in place. He brazed them front and back and then decided which looked the best before making the belt loop and pin.

He asked Cap’n Bill how wide his belt was and at 1.5 inches it was perfect. He can make the loop to fit any width belt. Bandit used Scotch Brite and wheel-smoothed any rough areas. But then he tried a new high-speed wire wheel, which is extremely dangerous. Safety glasses or preferably a face shield should be used. He’s still picking strands of the wire-wheel out of his sweatshirt.

There you have it. Another masterpiece shipped to a brother who is about to take a run to Nova Scotia.

Hey,

I’m just an old grubby biker, not the CEO of a major motorcycle manufacturer, but I feel compelled to speak out against new and old motorcycle emission rules.

At one time, my contention included only that motorcycling amounted to such a small impact on the planet that we should be left alone. Since then, my reasoning has expanded many-fold.

Here are the broad strokes:

1. In order for politicians or bureaucrats to advance policy goals, they must prove manmade global warming and they can’t.

2. Motorcycling is such a small fraction of the total fossil fuel emissions it shouldn’t even be considered.

3. The road to zero-anything is fraught with problems and human sacrifice, except when applied to a growing, expanding regulatory bureaucracy.

4. What is government, but by the people for the people? Is it designed to regulate, fine and attack everything for its own power and financial gain? No!

5. The world regulatory competition. We should never compete with countries around the world in a race to pass more restrictive laws against Americans.

So let’s looks at the facts behind my contentions:

1. Manmade Global Warming, Global Cooling and Climate Change:

We are safer, healthier, greener than ever before, but that’s not all. The air is cleaner.

It’s not simply the sun that can cause climate change. It is the sun, volcanoes, the tilt of the earth’s axis, water vapor, methane, clouds, ocean cycles, plate tectonics, albedo, atmospheric dust, atmospheric circulation, cosmic rays, particulates in carbon soot, forests, land use and more. –Marc Morano, Climate Depot.

Transportation exhaust is responsible for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions. [.i]–Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector primarily involve fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation.
“Livestock’s Long Shadow: environmental issues and options”. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome 2006
Environmental Protection Agency. “Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data”.

Humanitarian organizations should work hard to help mankind to increase the CO2 concentration… CO2 is the key compound that plants need to grow—and, indirectly, that every organism needs to get the food at the end—Physicist Lubos Motl, formerly of Harvard University

Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.–
Goodland, R Anhang, J. “Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change were pigs, chickens and cows?”
Goodland, Robert & Anhang, Jeff. “Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change are…cows, pigs and chickens?”. WorldWatch. November/December 2009
Hickman, Martin. “Study claims meat creates half of all greenhouse gases”. Independent. November 2009
Hyner, Christopher. “A Leading Cause of Everything: One Industry That Is Destroying Our Planet and Our Ability to Thrive on It”. Georgetown Environmental Law Review. October 23, 2015. (New)

Methane is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 on a 20-year time frame.--Shindell, Drew T, et al. “Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions”. Science. 326, 716 (2009)
Vaidyanathan, Sayathri. “How Bad of a Greenhouse Gas is Methane? The global warming potential of the gaseous fossil fuel may be consistently underestimated”. Scientific American. December 22, 2015.
“IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007. 2.10.2 Direct Global Warming Potential”. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (New)

We had both higher temperatures and an ice age at a time when CO2 emissions were 10 times higher than they are today. There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the Earth’s atmosphere over the past 100 years.

The fact that we had both higher temperatures and an ice age at a time when CO2 emissions were 10 times higher than they are today fundamentally contradicts the certainty that human-caused CO2 emissions are the main cause of global warming.—Greenpeace co-founder and ecologist Patrick Moore

We are actually experiencing a cooling period, ice is growing, sea rise is declining to 7 inches every century from 10 inches for the last 2000 years. There are more polar bears than ever before, etc.

It begs the question: Why isn’t the California Air Resources Board planting more trees and helping their fellow man?

2. Motorcycle emissions are infinitesimal when compared to all mobile source emissions totals.

1. There are 8,392,682 registered motorcycles in the U.S.

2. There are 881,386 registered (on-road) motorcycles in California as of 2017 per the DMV.

There are 25,467,663 automobiles and 5,254,450 non-commercial trucks in California as of 2017 per the DMV.

Some numbers:

• Total ROG (Reactive Organic Gas) from on-road motorcycles: 30 tons per day.

• Total ROG from off-road vehicles: 16 tons per day.

• Total ROG from all mobile sources: 749 tons per day.

• Total ROG from all non-mobile (stationary) sources: 939 tons per day.

• Total ROG from all sources: 1,688 tons per day.

— Do the math and you will find that the emissions contribution from both on- and off-road motorcycles is too small to jeopardize the future economic stability of motorcycle sales by mandating requirements that may force manufacturers to abandon the California marketplace altogether, or produce models that consumers won’t buy.

—John Paliwoda
California Motorcycle Dealers association

Note that motorcycles are not even mentioned in the SCAQMD chart that shows pollution sources in Southern California.

3. The Road to Zero

We’ve lost the thread of enjoying life behind zero tolerance. Zero is a bad word. It means zero freedoms, and zero profit, It’s against the Code of the West.

The very contention of a zero mandate is unattainable, but will cause never-ending regulation. The governor of California mandated zero emissions. That’s absurd. Should all 25 million Californians quit breathing?

How about cows? Since you can’t regulate them, what will CARB do, throw more regulations at their fellow Californians and American industries who employ citizens and pay your wages?

So, here’s what you have accomplished:
With the additions to VW recent settlements EPA and ARB fines are topping between $30-$40 billion and pending action against Bosch as I understand ARB is in negotiation of some additional aftermarket automotive players, this list gives you an idea of how active they have been at ARB.

Below are settled cases of companies you will probably recognize it’s from your web site.

Auto flash Tuners
https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/hypertech.htm

Light Diesel Truck
https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/derive_systems.htm

Parts Unlimited- Drag Specialties $627,000

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/lemans_corp.htm

WESTERN
https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/western_power_sports.htm

JEGS $1.7 million plus legal fees

https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/jegs_automotive_inc.htm

CCI
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/custom_chrome.htm

K&N $521,000

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/kandn.htm

Freedom

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/free_performance.htm

RC

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/rccomp.htm

Bassani

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/bassani.htm

V&H (this was a million dollar fine that was negotiated down to $500,000 with huge fees by their law firm)

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/vh_performance.htm

Tucker-Rocky- In addition to this fine their legal fees were over $650,000

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/tucker_rocky.htm

Akrapoivic

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/akrapovic.htm

Rush

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/rushracing.htm

Samson

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/samson.htm

Dirt Bike Exhaust Mfg

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/fmf.htm

Husqvarna (1) million + legal fees

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/husq.htm

Piaggio
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/piaggio.htm

Ricardo (5) Million Dollars + Legal Fees

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/ricardo_moto.htm

Diesel Truck Market supplier $1 million

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/hands.htm

Lawnmower Mfg almost 1/2 million $ plus legal fees

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/mtd_southwest.htm

International Test lab

http://business-bankruptcies.com/cases/motorscience-inc

This one is similar to the VW case, Big $ for EPA and ARB

Volvo $14 million
This case dates back to 1998, Fed Govt also fined Volvo for 50+ million

http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/volvo_powertrain.htm

Recently in the Port of Los Angeles, where the air has been cleaner and cleaner for 25 years, even more regulation is being considered: POLA/POLB Clean Air Action Plan.

They’ve been trying to get the boaters to replace older outboards, too. Then there’s the leaf blowers, lawnmowers, and on and on.

I know guys in automotive and m/c parts business who will not sell in California over the confusion and cost to prove yourself innocent with products designed to fit on pre-emission and emission compliant models.

If CARB came after them, they would go for the total number sold regardless of what year vehicle they were installed on.

The strict rules and regs stifle our innovation. Even if you make a product that is clean, there has to be a reg for it and the testing process will likely make you walk away unless there is a massive market, and unfortunately there isn’t.

So, this begs the question. Zero means you can never stop, because you will never reach zero. Every year you will attack a new sector, like go-carts and barbecues, while failing at others. You will never attain enough power, enough resources or large enough staff or budget. You are mandated to regulate and fine unmercifully against fellow Americans, while other issues will be ignored. Sounds like the perfect regulatory business model.

4. So, what’s government all about. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.—John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence.

We left Europe to escape to the new world for religious freedoms and for freedom from tyrannical monarchies. The British Empire, France, and Spain subjugated their people while conducting wars over colonization. When our ancestors arrived in America, it was a new beginning of freedom. Our forefathers fought the British to rid America of the King’s rule, taxes, regulations and the arbitrary search and seizure of their homes.

Some shrug at thes old historic documents, but if we want freedom and happiness, there must be a balance of regulation and freedom. We have shifted from a government for the people, to one for the Planet. It was the golden door for control freaks, who want to control everything. How can you consider your own feeble life if the planet is at stake? But what if the warning deadlines have passed and nothing happened? We are healthier and breathe cleaner air than ever before. So, can we shift back to a balanced government, respect business, fun and maybe plant more trees?

5. This is the silly one. I listened to your rationale regarding stiffer regulations, because the other guys are doing it. But you represent Californians, not Parisians or Germans. You represent freedom-loving Americans. You are paid by California taxpayers.

If you study the bottom line, you’ll discover that the threats and alarmist predictions didn’t come true in over a decade. Then why wouldn’t you embrace the industry, work with them and let us ride?

Why do we use the EU as a competitive excuse for more unnecessary regulations against Americans?

We are the one country that supposedly respects freedom.

We are not in a competition with the world to see who can pass the most onerous regulations against the public.

So, from your standpoint and the governor’s, we no longer live in a society mandated to deliver freedom and happiness. You are mandated to regulate everything. Just think about that for a second. Barbecues will be banned for solar warmers. Campfires will be eliminated and replaced. All roofs, according to the mayor of Los Angeles, need to be white.

So, what if you are absolutely wrong about manmade climate change? What if nothing Al Gore predicted ever came to pass? Will you feel bad because you fined hundreds of companies billions of dollars? Will you return this money on a silver platter? Will Al Gore return all the money he made by lying to the country and terrifying kids for a decade?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK–“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

— Abraham Lincoln

A final thought:

 Alex Epstein of the Center for Industrial Progress had this take on Hurricane Harvey–“Those in the industry should feel proud of producing the affordable, reliable energy we need to cope with an inherently dangerous climate.

“Before industrial development, and in the underdeveloped world today, storms like Harvey routinely claimed tens of thousands of lives. That equates to thousands upon thousands of lives saved in Texas thanks to fossil fuels and the development they make possible.

“The opponents of fossil fuels trying to use this tragedy to promote their anti-energy, anti-development agenda should be exposed as advocating policies that would make storms like Harvey more dangerous and more deadly.”

–Climate Depot

Like BSA, aka Birmingham Small Arms, and other early bike manufacturers, the roots lay with the production of military weaponry. Husqvarna’s founding extends back to 1689 as an armaments manufacturer that eventually evolved by 1867 into the Royal Arms Company, that entity appearing two years after the end of American Civil War. In other words the Husky has some long legs, not to mention some fairly sharp teeth.

FEMA welcomes riders from Spain and Italy

At the FEMA meeting in Brussels on 2 June, the FEMA Committee voted in a new member. FEMA is proud to welcome our newest member, Asociación Mutua Motera (AMM) from Spain.

Joining us with observer status, with the intention to become a full member a year from now, is Comitato Coordinamento Motociclisti (CCM) from Italy. CCM represents four Italian riders’ organizations (AMI, Biker Alto Adige, CCM & Motor Lab).

Are you planning a motorcycle trip abroad?

If you travel abroad on a motorcycle, you will be affected by laws and regulations that differ from country to country. And motorcycle rules may differ from rules for cars. Make sure you are prepared well and use the information FEMA offers you! More information here.

Improving infrastructure safety for powered two-wheelers

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) and the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA) have published a joint position paper, called ‘Improving infrastructure safety for powered two-wheelers’.

Motorcycle fatalities represent more 15 percent of total EU fatalities, while accounting only for 1,8 percent of the total traffic flow. Both ERF and FEMA strongly believe that road safety for motorcyclists can be improved by looking at the design of road infrastructure.

Download information here.

Motorcycle recalls

Products placed on the European market are subject to general safety requirements. These requirements are included in the General Product Safety Directive which aims at ensuring that only safe consumer products are sold. The European Commissions’ Rapid Alert System (RAPEX) enables the quick exchange of information between the European countries and the European Commission about dangerous non-food products posing a risk to health and safety of consumers.

FEMA publishes all recalls from the RAPEX reports that are of concern to motorcyclists, such as recalled motorcycles or motorcycle clothing.

Click here for details.

The Third Mobility Package Can Improve European Motorcyclists’ Road Safety

After the first and second Mobility Packages, the European Commission completes the process of delivering a new industrial policy strategy on mobility with the publication of the Third Mobility Package.

On the 17th of May, the European Commission published the Third Mobility Package. This communication concerns road transport and is called ‘Europe on the move, Sustainable Mobility for Europe: safe, connected and clean’. One of the conclusions is that “mobility is the cornerstone of freedom of movement of people and goods, which is fundamental to the smooth functioning of the European Union”. Several elements in the communication are important for motorcyclists. In fact, one of our wishes comes true.

The EU member states called upon the Commission to “prepare a new road safety policy framework for the decade after 2020, including an assessment of road safety performance taking into account the targets and objectives set out in this declaration”. The European Commission gives special attention to vulnerable road users, including motorcyclists. The communication mentions speeding, driving under influence of alcohol or drugs and the failure of to wear helmets as significant contributing factors to road accidents. We can imagine that not wearing a helmet leads to more severe head injuries and possible fatalities in case of an accident, but we cannot see how it contributes to more accidents.

The European Commission gives special attention to vulnerable road users, including motorcyclists.

The European Commission uses the ‘Safe System’ approach. The Safe System accepts that people make mistakes and aims to ensure that such mistakes do not give rise to fatalities or serious injuries. As part of this Third Mobility Package, the Commission is adopting two proposals to further the goal of road safety. One aim is to transform EU vehicle safety standards to include, for example, the latest safety features, and the other to improve safety management of road infrastructure. The Commission also plans a new procedure to map the risks of accidents.

One of the most important measures however is the plan to extend the scope of legislation beyond the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) to primary roads relevant to cross-EU transport. Have they really listened to us? This is exactly what FEMA has been asking and lobbying for.

Another important element is that the Commission finally wants to invest money in road safety and especially safe road infrastructure. Maybe the EU can finally allocate some money to develop barriers that are safe for motorcyclists? At the same time, the annex contains a tricky sentence: “The Commission will identify the need for further action, for example in relation to the definition and implementation of the notion of ‘safe speed’; cyclist helmets and protective clothing for motorcyclists; and/or graduated licencing for novice drivers”. We do not know what exactly is meant here, but we need to be alert, that much is clear.

Maybe the EU can finally allocate some money to develop barriers that are safe for motorcyclists?

The Third Mobility Package is not only about road safety: a lot of attention goes to connected and automated mobility. Important here is that the Commission clearly states in the annex that a code of conduct should be developed “for the safe transition to the higher levels of automation, to make sure that requirements and procedures take road safety considerations (mixed traffic, interaction with other road users, platooning) fully into account”. In other words: (partly) automated and connected vehicles are not to provide a hazard for not-connected and -automated vehicles like motorcycles.

Finally, a lot of attention goes to ‘clean mobility’: next to the support of a European battery industry, road transport needs to be cleaner. One of the measures is putting forward a methodology that will allow users to make a straightforward comparison of the pricing of these different fuels. Another is the promotion of electro-mobility.

Our conclusion is that road safety is in the picture again. After several years of having attention only for exhaust emissions (especially the diesel fraud and its consequences) and automatic driving cars, the Commission recognizes the need to invest in road safety in general and particularly in safe road infrastructure. Hopefully this will lead to better and safer roads. This is something we are already working on.

Written by Dolf Willigers