Hey,
Another strange day in paradise, but at least I’m catching up. This coming week will be packed with action content including a Softail Road Test from Doc, the esteemed Bikernet tech editor from Australia. We will bring you a feature bike from Gard Hollinger; Keanu Reeve’s bike. A custom motorcycle like you’ve never seen before.
I’m working on techs from BDL to help builders understand hydraulic brake lines and fittings. A brother in New Orleans wrote his impressions of the Smoke Out 2012, and we will cover Art’s Quick Throttle Magazine road test with more girl shots than tech details.
So, if the news is short, don’t sweat it. We will make it up to you everyday on Bikernet, Bikernet Trikes and Bikernet Baggers.
DON’T MISS THE BIZARRE MIDNIGHT RIDER TALES–
REVIEW FOR BLUE COLLAR BOYS–It would be difficult to find a more politically appropriate film in theaters than Mark Nistico’s Blue Collar Boys. Shot in a harsh New Jersey winter, the drama, as the title suggests, is a riveting study of the blue-collar class that is too often misrepresented in higher-budget productions.
Tough realism propels the story forward as the audience roots for Charlie Redkin, a 27-year-old construction worker who helps out his father, a contractor. At first, stereotypical New Jersey cliches may be off-putting, distancing the audience from the characters. Slowly, however, Nistico draws the viewer in by revealing troubling underlying family dynamics and Charlie’s intense personal struggles, which he shares with his friends.
These deep-set human problems go some way to explaining the crime and violence that pervade the film. Here, politicians are imbeciles and bosses are cruel and heartless; the only logical action is to pummel them in the face.
New Jersey-born Nistico, who directed, produced and wrote Blue Collar Boys, has created a story with convincing naturalism, giving it universal appeal. The film, with its shoestring budget, isn’t technically perfect — no million dollar camera used here. But in the end, Nistico seems to have achieved what he wanted: He validates the question, If the American dream was stolen, wouldn’t you want to steal it back?
–Kristina Bravo
“THE CODE” reads – No matter how old you are… no matter how much of a badass you think you are… if a 3 year old hands you their ringing toy phone, you answer it.
BIKERNET CANTINA SECURITY CAMERA FINDING–Is this a mosquito? No. It’s an insect spy drone for urban areas, already in production, funded by the US Government.
It can be remotely controlled and is equipped with a camera and a microphone. It can land on you, and it may have the potential to take a DNA sample or leave RFID tracking nanotechnology on your skin.
It can fly through an open window, or it can attach to your clothing until you take it in your home. Given their propensity to request macro-sized drones for surveillance, one is left with little doubt that police and military may look into these gadgets next.
BIKERNET WEATHER REPORT--This Summer was too damned hot.
–From Keith Wahl
THE REDHEAD AND THE VINCENT SEARCH–May I suggest Leanna Decker as a strong candidate for the perfect redhead for any project!!!
–Chuck Riddle
With the same unique shape as our traditional WindVest, this high performing shield gets you 3” to 4” more protection, thus creating a smooth airflow up over your head and out of your face.
The 15” and 16” are a great fit for the Road Glide Ultra models. Easy installation, takes just minutes. They are available in clear, light smoke or gun smoke. Other sizes also available. Contact us directly for more details.
–WindVest Motorcycle Products
16840 Joleen Way, Ste B2
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
408-377-7323 local 877-370-7326 toll free
www.windvest.com
sales@windvest.com
Follow us on FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/WindVest
BRAND NEW BIKERNET READER COMMENT–
BIKERNET 85 MPH THURSDAY NEWS FOR SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
Always a great read, got just one complaint, and it ain’t your fault. What’s up with these short assed designers building trikes that only fit up to a 6’2” person?
Godammit don’t they know there are a grundel of people well over that?
Aw screw’em wouldn’t be seen riden one those damn things any way.
Glad to see the Bonnie Belle made it to the salt, even if ya had to use it as a learning run, next year for sure!
Keep up the great work, my week ain’t complete till I’ve been the your site at least twice.
— Tom Kellerstrass
This is sizing up to be one of the best Las Vegas BikeFest weekends ever! Great entertainment, over 200 vendors, awesome Poker Run rides, 20 unbelievable creations in Artistry in Iron, parties, and four fun-filled days hanging out with your fellow motorcycle enthusiasts.
The list of new stuff happening this year is endless – Strip Ride for Charity led by Corey Harrison of Pawn Stars, Demo Rides, Hot Rod Display, PowerSport Institute Bike Build, Thursday Poker Walk, Boxing Pavilion, and on and on and on. Don’t miss it! You will be sorry! Click here to read what others have to say about attending Las Vegas BikeFest.
In my apartment next to the doorway leading into the bedroom on the floor is a box full of used parts, including the (2) pieces connecting the throttle body backing plate to the heads.
Shooting for a Thursday or Friday start up in Napa.
Beach Racing
465 Barrett Avenue Suite 5
Morgan Hill, Ca. 95037
Working on a tail light piece..
Help the NMA Foundation Win a Major Grant–
Your vote for the National Motorists Association Foundation in the Chase Community Giving grant program within the next four days could earn the Foundation a grant of $10,000 or more.??
A few hundred more votes will put us in the running to share $5 million in grant money. Only the top 196 (out of more than seven thousand) nonprofit candidates will receive grants from Chase.
Please help by voting for the NMA Foundation now. If you use Facebook or have a Chase account, it only takes two minutes of online time to register your vote for us. Facebook: Click the link in the following line http://www.tinyurl.com/vote-NMAF/ then click the green “vote” button for simple instructions for registering your vote for the NMA Foundation.
GINGER: NOT JUST FOR FOOD ACCORDING TO THE BIKERNET NUTRITIONAL EXPERT DR. WEIL–If minor aches and pains are an issue for you, try ginger, a natural anti-inflammatory agent that is useful for relieving symptoms associated with arthritis, bursitis, motion sickness, nausea and more.
Ginger is commonly available in forms ranging from whole fresh root, crystallized ginger and honey-based ginger syrups to capsules containing powdered extracts. Look for products made with only 100% pure ginger.
For inflammatory conditions, take one or two grams of powdered ginger a day; for nausea and prevention of motion sickness, take 1,000 mg as a preventive and 500 mg every four hours as needed. (You might also try eating eat two pieces of crystallized ginger, taking a spoonful of ginger syrup or sipping ginger tea.)
Since high doses may cause a burning sensation in the stomach, take ginger with food. Ginger may also act as a blood thinner, so curbing daily use at least two weeks before surgery is advisable. If you are pregnant, use ginger to address morning sickness with some caution – I would not recommend using more 1,000 to 1,500 mg per day taken in two to four divided doses, particularly during the early stages of pregnancy.
–Dr. Weil
www.drweil.com
CALIFORNIA HELMET POLICE–
Hemet police will be out in force this coming weekend cracking down on motorcyclists.
Extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcycle riders and locations where motorcycle accidents more often occur, the department said in a news release.
The Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation will also target regular vehicle drivers. Officers will be looking for riders and drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
They “will be cracking down on traffic violations made by regular vehicle drivers as well as motorcyclists that can lead to motorcycle collisions, injuries and fatalities.”
Police don’t say in the release what kind of violations those are, but I know from my days on two-wheel transportation that right-of-way violations are a big problem.
Statewide, police said, there has been a 37 percent decrease in motorcycle fatalities over the last two years. That comes on the heals of a 10-year trend the other way, in which motorcycle deaths increased 175 percent.
–from Rogue
Motorcycle Hall Of Fame Member 2005
www.bikerrogue.com
–John “Tinman” Mills
Have to admit the guy does look a lot like me.
Think it may have been an indiscretion on my father’s part during the Korean War.
Wish I knew who this guy was?
–Anson
OLD BIKE COLLECTION FOR SALE-– check this out
http://rapidcity.craigslist.org/mcy/3190833110.html
–Buck Lovell /Editor Bikernetbaggers.com
Lovell Photography & Design
Senior Editorial Contributor: Easyriders Magazine, American Iron
Magazine, Motorcycle Baggers Magazine, Iron Works Magazine, Hot Bike
Magazine, Hot Bike Baggers Magazine, and Street Chopper Magazine.
B.L.A.B.B. (Buck Lovell’s American Biker Blog)
SADDLEMEN SET TO ATTEND DELMARVA BIKE WEEK–
September 13-16.Saddlemen is joining forces with Drag Specialties and Eastern Performance Cycles during the Delmarva Bike Week. Saddlemen products will be on display with the Drag Specialties truck at Winter Place Park in Salisbury, Maryland. Just look for the Eastern Performance blimp to find their mobile store along with the Drag Specialties truck and Saddlemen display.
Saddlemen product specialists will be on hand to answer questions about Saddlemen’s vast offerings of seats and luggage for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Be sure to stop by for great deals on Saddlemen products and other Drag Specialties brands.
Visit www.easternperformance.com/pages.php?pageid=233 for further details.
The Delmarva Bike Week draws motorcycle owners from across the country to several locations in the area for a weekend of live music, food, industry vendors and other attractions. For more information visit on the rally and Winter Place Park visit www.delmarvabikeweek.com/winter-place-park.asp.
To view Saddlemen’s full range of seats and luggage for Harley-Davidson models visit www.saddlemen.com.
AUTO SAFETY GRANTS COULD SEE 120 MILLION IN CUTS– Washington – States could lose as much as $120 million in highway safety grants if Congress doesn’t change a planned bill to fund the government’s operations for six months.
The Governors Highway Safety Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving on Tuesday called on Congress to support highway safety grant programs.
“Failure to do so will result in increased highway deaths and injuries,” the groups said.
Congress passed a new highway bill this year that streamlines the federal grant process that provides state funds for alcohol-impaired and distracted driving prevention, increased occupant protection, motorcycle safety, teen driving safety and data collection.
The funds allow police to do heavy enforcement over holiday weekends among other purposes.
Under the typical rules for a continuing resolution, new programs such as those authorized under the highway bill cannot be funded.
That means all but $25 million would be cut from the program.
“Unless the CR takes into account the revised priority highway safety grant program structure authorized under MAP-21, as much as $120 million in essential traffic safety grant funds could be denied to the states for six months,” the two organizations said in a statement. “The result would be devastating for highway safety, particularly at a time when preliminary government statistics show that highway fatalities are starting to increase after years of declines.”
Traffic deaths in the first three months of 2012 jumped 13.5 percent to the highest number since 2008.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported Friday that its estimate of traffic deaths for the first quarter of 2012 show a 13.5 percent increase.
The estimated increase is the second-largest quarterly jump in traffic deaths since NHTSA began tracking deaths on a quarterly basis in 1975 — and the biggest since 1979.
NHTSA said the rate of traffic deaths per 100 million miles of vehicle travel increased substantially. For the first three months of 2012, the rate increased significantly to 1.1 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled, up from 0.98 fatalities per 100 million miles in the same period last year.
NHTSA said it estimates 7,630 people died in vehicle crashes in the first three months, up from 6,720 in the first quarter of 2011.
The increase would end a steady decline in U.S. road deaths over the last seven years.
One reason may be the very warm winter across the country meant people drove more.
Traffic deaths in 2011 fell 1.7 percent — their lowest number since 1949.
NHTSA said in May that 32,310 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year, down 1.7 percent over the 32,885 road deaths in 2010.
— By David Shepardson
Detroit News Washington Bureau
–from Rogue
QUICK NOTE FROM THE CANNONBALL IN SOUTH DAKOTA–Do you recognize Scot Jacobs in this photo?
–Buck
We should by the Hamster patch…
TREVINO LEATHERS–When Rhea (pronounced Ray) Trevino died unexpectedly a couples of years ago it was thought the custom leather shop near Deadwood, South Dakota founded by him, and bearing his name would just simply go away. That fortunately did not happen. The family continues operation of the shop with Rhea’s son Levi Trevino doing the leather work creating everything leather from saddlebags to custom vest. His dad would be proud.
Watch for the upcoming story in Bikernetbaggers.com
GET THIS: US Government Spends Millions Building Roads Overseas–
A little known US government agency has spent hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars to build roads in foreign countries — including those openly hostile to American interests. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Wednesday released an audit of the Millennium Challenge Corporation program that was supposed to build 1132 miles of road in Armenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Honduras, Nicaragua and Vanuatu. Only 387 miles were actually built.
“The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US government corporation, was established in 2004 to provide aid to developing countries that have demonstrated a commitment to ruling justly, encouraging economic freedom, and investing in people,” GAO said in its September 12 report to the House and Senate Appropriations committees.
Millennium Challenge originally offered Nicaragua $175 million in infrastructure aid ($93 million for roads) under an agreement that took force May 26, 2006 — a few months before Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega re-took the presidency. Ortega, a Marxist, ruled Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990, and then-President Ronald Reagan made removing him from office a priority. His 2006 return was made possible by the installation of Sandinista judges in key positions, giving Ortega influence on the electoral process. Early on, Ortega allied with countries at odds with US policy.
“The revolutions of Iran and Nicaragua are almost twins,” Ortega said in a 2007 meeting with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“Despite this partial termination, the Millennium Challenge Account-Nicaragua successfully implemented the portions of the compact that had already begun,” the agency explained in a statement.
GAO raised questions about whether the road projects were sustainable. A more detailed 2010 investigation by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) looked closely at the road project in Vanuatu.
“The completed roads may not meet beneficiary expectations,” USAID’s inspector general reported. “Vanuatu’s public works department, responsible for sustainability of the roads, had limited capacity to perform road maintenance. Although the government of Vanuatu budgeted about $5 million for road maintenance as required by the compact, it may not be enough to sustain the roads. As a result, the roads may not be properly maintained annually.”
The report found the island nation only spent about a quarter of the amount needed to keep the roads in good order.
While Millennium Challenge has been funding free roads in foreign countries, the US Department of Transportation has been converting domestic freeways into toll roads. Under a project that began last month, the center lanes of Interstate 95 in Virginia, which were free for anyone to use in off-peak periods, are being converted into toll lanes. Construction on the project, which rearranges existing lane space, is backed by $300 million in federal taxpayer financing.
A copy of the GAO report is available.
— from Rogue
THAT’S ALL YOU’RE GONNA GET FROM US—I’ll tell you an insider note. At one time we posted everything that moved in our industry on a weekly basis. It was a lot of work, and some of these companies wouldn’t give us the time of day, but they didn’t mind if we worked for them weekly.
If they treat Ben with respect, he may continue to post their entries, but after a while he may be forced to let them go. His time is also valuable. Over the last 16 years we have bent over backwards for our industry, but as we have grown and our time became more limited, we’re forced to set priorities. We’re more than willing to help anyone in the industry, but there comes a time… So make sure if you deal with a company featured on one of our sites, to let them know we are working.
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/5Ball_Racing_2012_Chapter_11_the_Finale.aspx
More bike features from Milwaukee are headed your way, and coverage of Kendon products. Check my Bonneville final report for 2012. We are also going to start working with Eagle Riders in a big way, and we are considering a Travel section with touring stories, travel tips and resources.
I almost forgot, another Kustoms Inc. build for Bikernet and Cycle Source Sweeps story is going up later today or tomorrow. It also involves Chop Docs, Ron Harris paint tech. Check it out and enter to win this puppy.
Go for a ride, you deserve it.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
