Hey,
I’ve been scrambling all weekend at the Long Beach Ultimate Builder Show with Bob Kay and Jeff Najar, and of course our esteemed Performance Editor Ray C. Wheeler. Ray place his bike in the Performance Category an although it’s not complete, it scored very high marks. The damn thing is amazing, just not finished and running yet, but once it is, look out.
Let’s get right to the news. I don’t know if it was the Jack Daniels or the builder party last night, or the wild show activities, but I’m hammered.
BRAND NEW BIKERNET READER COMMENT!–Is PJD Sucking the Soul Out of Bike Building?
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=10294
This article is spot on! There is going to be another build-off and I predict Paul jr will win again, unfortunately. I just watched the most recent American Chopper, and Jr is still doing the same garbage, but Sr put together a Shovelhead, which put some bike for riding back into the mix.
It still makes me sick to have people look at the PJD monstrosities and talk about how “bad ass” it is. Look at Jrs web site, zero bikes and tons of PJD crap.
The people who voted for Jr, think SOA is a real depiction of the lifestyle, and Laffing Devils is the coolest show ever.
I work on, build and ride my own bikes. I ride a rigid, jockey shift, springer, wrapped around a stroked 69 Shovel with a mag (meaning I don’t need a battery). I will back Jesse’s build, but I am guessing the weekend 1%ers will speak for those of us who love the bike and the ride. A ride with no break downs, and nothing falls off, is a good ride….
Estacada, OR
GOVERNMENT THE THEIF–
How secure are property rights if the police can take your stuff and keep it, citing no particular reason at all? Not very secure. This is the way police work in the developing world. Of course, this practice is increasingly common in the U.S. too.
Municipalities around the nation are battling to stay afloat, and local police departments are increasingly focused on profits instead of “protecting and serving.” Retired LAPD deputy chief of police Stephen Downing told FoxNews Latino, “The federal government has turned policing into policing for profit.”
For example, the police seized $30 million in cash on the southwest United States border in 2011. Where does the money go? Well, if the local cops
make the seizure, they keep the money. If the feds snatch the property, they keep it. If it’s a joint operation, they split the dough. Can you imagine the fights that must take place over the booty these police pirates are confiscating?
As of Sept. 30, 2011, the departments of Justice and Treasury held $1 billion in seized cash. So now cops are tracking down cash, rather than crime. Downing told Fox that departments now direct police assets to generate cash, instead of investigating murders and rapes.
Reporting from the border, Patrick Manning told Fox viewers that the average taxpayer loves these forfeiture laws because they keep their taxes lower. If cops can steal with impunity from not just crooks, but anyone, then taxpayers can get their policing at bargain tax rates. But this isn’t policing at all.
I will reprint the entire article next week on Bikernet. –Bandit
INDIAN MOTORCYCLE UNVEILS THE 2013 INDIAN CHIEF VINTAGE FINAL EDITION–
Limited Units Available of Special Highly Collectible Model Designed to Commemorate the End of One Era in Motorcycling History, and the Beginning of Another.
International Motorcycle Show, Long Beach, Calif. — December 8, 2012 — Indian Motorcycle, the original American motorcycle company, today announced the 2013 Indian Chief Vintage Final Edition, the final version of the Kings Mountain era of Indian Motorcycle, which is available in very limited quantity. The new model year 2013 Indian Chief Vintage Final Edition was unveiled before a gathering of the motorcycle industry press from the floor of the International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach, California, which takes place December 7th through December 9th at the Long Beach Convention Center.
This announcement marks the end of the Kings Mountain era of the Indian Chief, and signifies an important milestone in the 111-year storied history of the Indian Motorcycle brand. With a paint scheme emulating the iconic Indian Chief on display at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, the stunning new collectible 2013 Indian Chief Vintage Final Edition is a fully accessorized motorcycle that befits its place in the history of motorcycling. The extremely limited number of these bikes available is sure to excite collectors and pave the way for the new era in Indian Motorcycle under the leadership of Polaris Industries.
The 2013 Indian Chief Final Edition comes fully loaded with the World’s Fair-inspired paint scheme of Indian Red, Thunder Black, and Gold Pinstripe; auxiliary driving lamps; black leather solo seat with included detachable passenger seat; windshield; black leather saddlebags; chrome grab rail; leather fringe; engine guards; and chrome fender tips. Powered by the PowerPlus 105ci engine, this historic 2013 model will be manufactured in an extremely limited run and wears a custom-designed, numbered emblem on the frame to commemorate the brand’s historic achievements.
Pricing and Availability
The 2013 Indian Chief Vintage Final Edition is exclusively available for purchase in North America with a MSRP of $37,599 and $39,599 in Canada. Interested parties are encouraged to contact their local Indian Motorcycle dealer as soon as possible due to limited availability. Log on to www.indianmotorcycle.com for dealer and model information.
To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.
BANDIT’S CANTINA BAR STORY–A highly timid little man, ventured into a biker bar in the Bronx and clearing his throat asked, “Um, err, which of you gentlemen owns the Doberman tied outside to the parking meter?”
A giant of a man, wearing biker leathers, his body hair growing out through the seams, turned slowly on his stool, looked down at the quivering little man and said, “It’s my dog. Why?”
“Well,” squeaked the little man, obviously very nervous, “I believe my dog just killed it, sir.”
“What?” roared the big man in disbelief. “What in the hell kind of dog do you have?”
“Sir,” answered the little man, “it’s a little four week old female puppy.”
“BULL!” roared the biker. “How could your puppy kill my Doberman?”
“It appears that your dog choked on her, sir.”
–from Rogue
THE BIKERNET WHAT-THE-HELL DEPARTMENT–Highest Point: 634m
Decision of the Height of 634m
The height of the TOKYO SKYTREE was originally specified at approximately 610m in the original project. However, it was planned from the beginning to be the world’s tallest free-standing broadcasting tower. After careful discussion and research on high-rise buildings being built around the world, it was finally decided on 634m, to become the tallest free-standing broadcasting tower in the world.
Thus, the 634m-high TOKYO SKYTREE was recognized by the Guinness World Records Company on November 17, 2011 as the tallest tower in the world.
Impressive Figures
The decision on the figure “634” for the height was based on the concept of choosing a figure that would be easy for everyone to remember with the world’s tallest tower that has also become a symbol of the area.
The sound of the number “634” when read in old Japanese numbers is “mu-sa-shi”, which reminds Japanese people of Musashi Province of the past, that used to cover a large area, including Tokyo, Saitama and part of Kanagawa Prefecture.
Historically speaking, the area where the TOKYO SKYTREE stands belonged to Musashi Province. From the Observation Decks, the landscape of the old Musashi Province spreads out before you and reminds visitors of the locality and history of the area lying east of Tokyo, i.e. east of old Edo.
We believe that the use of a familiar figure for the height of the TOKYO SKYTREE will make it easier for everyone to remember.
AUSTRALIA QUESTIONS BIKERNET EDITOR–You were the editor at the time.
What the fuck is that advertisement for homemade drugs all about?
April Fools Day?
FBI entrapment attempt?
Other?
–Doc
BIKERNET INTERNATIONAL EDITOR COVERS THE LONG BEACH SHOW FIRST–This is the 34th annual International Motorcycle Show.
It was in Long Beach, only 10 minutes from my house.
All the major manufacturers show their new model bikes.
Mooneyes tomorrow – David Mann Ventura Sunday.
–Art Hall
Bikernet International Emperor Editor Commander in Chief
AT LAST A FLYING CAR–
For more than a century man has dreamed of the freedom provided by a flying car. The ultimate vehicle to go wherever and whenever you want to, easily overcoming all sorts of barriers. Now you can leave home and fly-drive to almost any destination!
Avoid traffic jams and cross lakes, fjords, rivers or mountain ranges like an eagle. Land on the other side and drive in your own vehicle to your final destination. In uncontrolled airspace you are in full command of your own time and destiny. This is what the PAL-V ONE is all about: it combines within one vehicle the freedom and excitement of flying like a bird in the sky with the choice of driving with breathtaking performance on the roads and highways.
The launch of the PAL-V ONE marks a truly historic event: the birth of a new class of vehicles offering unprecedented freedom, adventure, flexibility and pleasure – all in one product!
The PAL-V ONE
–from Harvey Tow
Happy Holiday’s Danny
www.ShopPickers.com
NEW HOT OFF THE PRESS BIKERNET READER COMMENT– Swedish Style Choppers EC Approved for Europe
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=8859
Way to go Bandit! Choppers Rule and will never die. Cool is always gonna be cool and those stupid little bikes with oversized diameter skinny wheels look ok until you put a rider on them and then he looks like a monkey fucking a football! Pointless and stupid.
— Doc Robinson
South Australia, Australia
PARTS EUROPE to be a ‘Founder’ exhibitor at the all new BIG BIKE EUROPE expo in May 2013
PARTS EUROPE, the Germany based European headquarters for the Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties distribution businesses (that are a part of the American LeMans Corporation) will be a ‘Founder’ exhibitor at BIG BIKE EUROPE in May 2013.
The market leading distributor in the United States had been working on European expansion plans for several years, and their 16,500 sq m (150,000 sq ft) state-of-the-art Parts Europe warehouse was opened at Konz/Trier in Germany in 2010.
BIG BIKE EUROPE is an all-new ‘Pro-Grade’ expo concept for the motorcycle industry in Europe, with the primary focus being on parts, accessories, custom, performance, service, workshop and tuning.
A ‘non-retail’ expo, BIG BIKE EUROPE is the new, permanent host event for the acclaimed AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building (2013 will see the World Championship mark its 10th anniversary and first ever appearance in Europe), and will stage the first annual International Motorcycle/Custom Industry Conference.
BIG BIKE EUROPE will be a three day expo offering exhibitors an all-new Invitational/Open-admittance attendance strategy.
The first day (Friday May 10th, 2013) is an “Invitation Only” day set aside for motorcycle dealers, custom shops, custom motorcycle builders and customizers and their invited ‘VIP Riders’.
The weekend (Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th) is open to general public, rider and enthusiast attendance.
It is estimated that some two thirds of the value of the European motorcycle market resides with the owners of Europe’s ‘Big Bikes’ – the one third of motorcycles of over 250cc (source: ACEM).
In addition to a population of some 18 million “high percentage motorcycle ownership” consumers within a 100km radius, Essen, Germany (where BIG BIKE EUROPE is being staged) is said to be within a 400km radius of over 60 percent of Europe’s franchised motorcycle dealers and custom shops, and some 65 percent plus of Europe’s large displacement road registered motorcycles of all kinds (sources: International Motorcycle Industry Index, Moto Big Book, AMD Magazine, International Dealer News).
www.bigbikeeurope.com
–Sara Viney/Big Bike Europe
From USA/Canada: Tel 866 849 5704 International 0044 1892 511516 In UK 01892 511516
As most of you know, NBC sportscaster Bob Costas has deservedly come under fire for his latest “sports commentary,” offered up to unsuspecting viewers on this week’s “Sunday Night Football” half-time segment. Blaming the tragic murder-suicide committed by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher on America’s “gun culture,” Costas shamefully exploited the tragedy in order to espouse his views on gun control.
Forget about the facts; for folks like Costas, the ends always seem to justify the means. And as this week has progressed, Costas has continued to put his foot in his mouth, seeming to value “face time” before the interview cameras more than the truth about firearm ownership and usage in America. NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox has written an op-ed for the Daily Caller regarding Costas’s ill-conceived rant.
So why don’t they ban tackle football and eliminate injuries on the field. WTF?—Bandit
MRF Breaking News!–
Inaccurate Study on Motorcycle Safety Praised by Governors Highway Safety Association.
Recently the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) praised the inaccurate study on motorcycle safety done by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
What both reports failed to tell you is that motorcyclists are safer now than since 1984. Here’s why; in 2010 fatalities were almost identical to 1984, around 4,500 motorcyclists a year. However, what they did not tell you is that in 1984 5.5 million motorcycles were registered in the USA. Compare that to the 7 million registered motorcycles in 2010. That’s 1.5 million more motorcycles and the same amount of fatalities.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Highway Statistics.
Both the GAO and the GHSA are pushing for what they believe is the silver bullet of motorcycle safety, the mandatory helmet law. Proper riding gear should be left to the rider, not the government.
When you look at States like Tennessee and Arizona that have roughly the same size population and then break down fatality numbers it becomes clear that helmet laws do not have significant influence. Tennessee has a mandatory helmet law and 121 fatalities for 2010. Arizona has no mandatory helmet law and had 88 fatalities for the same period of time. Even right over the border from Tennessee their neighboring Kentucky, which also has no mandatory helmet law, had just 87 fatalities in 2010.
Another area where the Government agencies continue to overlook when dealing with motorcycle safety is rider education. If we cannot teach people to ride motorcycles we will have more and more fatalities.
Take New Hampshire for example. According to Robert LeTourneau, New Hampshire State Official Motorcycle Education Specialist they have had 15 fatal motorcycle accidents of riders who took the class since 1990. That’s out of over 44,000 students trained in the same time period and .034% of fatal motorcycle accidents. All with no mandatory helmet law.
While mandatory helmet laws look good on paper they rarely work in the real world. The best approach to motorcycle safety is and will always be rider education and awareness campaigns. Teaching people how to ride a motorcycle in the proper way and educating the general public to look for motorcycles, which can only benefit pedestrians and bicyclists as well, will avoid crashes and save lives.
–Jeff Hennie
HOLIDAY GIFTS FROM ZIPPER’S–At Zipper’s Performance Products, we are thrilled so many of our customers have asked for our products on their holiday gift lists. In order to ensure your gifts arrive on-time, we have released this shipping schedule for the 2012 Holiday Season. Keep this schedule in mind when ordering from us over the phone or on-line.
Thanks and Happy Holidays!
(Pssst… Check Below for Some Great Gift Ideas!)
ThunderMax with AutoTune
Get Unbeleivable Performance!
Are you a Rider who wants a tuning product you can Set-and-Forget, or do you want a product that satisfies your inner Tinker-itis? When you choose ThunderMax with AutoTune, you can be either! ThunderMax with AutoTune is a completely new product that replaces the factory EFI module and is purpose-built to deliver uncompromising performance… Plus, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to program it or make adjustments (or not, it’s up to you).
ThunderMax EFI Zip Kits
Quick Performance Upgrade for New Bikes!
No new bike responds to intake, exhaust and tuner upgrades like a new Harley – you’ve got to let it breathe, and optimize the tune! That’s why Zipper’s Performance developed performance Zip Kits for Big Twins and Sportsters. Included in a Zip Kit is a Zipper’s MaxFlow performance air cleaner, performance exhaust of your choice and the cutting-edge ThunderMax with AutoTune EFI Controller. Bolt-on and plug-in the Zip Kit to enjoy the immediate power, cooler and smoother performance and ride-ability gains that ThunderMax provides!
WEEKEND BIKERNET BOOK REVIEW, LEARJET 464 JULIET—
Book Review by Doc Robinson
So what, you may well ask, is a book about an airplane doing on Bikernet? And it’s a good question, with a pretty good answer.
Well, you see Bobby Wood wrote it; the very same Bobby Wood of Alabama’s Wood Performance products for Harley-Davidsons. A two-time Fuel Funny Car NHRA National Record Holder, Bobby is the designer and innovator of the highly regarded King Carburettors and Knight Prowler camshafts which are claimed to be unmatched by any other cams, with his website www.woodcarbs.com claiming them to be the most advanced, aggressive camshaft profiles available for either Evo or Twin Cams.
The subtitle of the book is “An American, A Jet, and a Culture of Corruption That Kept Them Apart” and it is a truly fascinating read. This book reveals the most massive criminal investigation since the death of JFK in 1963, and the 1979 assassination of a sitting US federal judge.
You will read how, in the summer of 1980, Bobby Wood found himself in the middle of the most challenging ordeal of his life: facing off two powerful nations while having to deal with cultures of drugs, criminality, and stonewalling bureaucrats working against him. Did it resolve in his favor? Well you’ll have to read the book to find that out but it will be well worth your while if you prefer true life adventures as opposed to fiction.
It’s available from www.464juliet.com for just $27.50 and that folks, is an excellent price for a 413 page hardcover publication.
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT HOLIDAY VOCABULARY LESSON WHETHER YOU NEED IT OR NOT–
mulligrubs MUHL-i-gruhbz, noun:
Ill temper; colic; grumpiness.
“That’s a comfortable place to be.” The barber chuckled. “You’re a philosopher, sir, a philosopher.” “I am, but I’m a blue one. I have the blue mulligrubs.”
— Brian Lynch, The Winter of Sorrow
— Sir Walter Scott, The Waverley Novels
— William Cowper Brann, “Beauty and the Beast,” Brann: The Iconoclast
ILLUSION CYCLES SAYING Merry Christmas everyone!–Soprano’s Theme Bike FOR SALE $50k (Liz is not for sale).
Photo taken at Illusion Cycles Boutique.
—
Thank you, K.O.
POSSIBLE BIKER FEATURE FROM PETER LINNEY– Is this an interesting bike for you??
–Peter
Let me know what you think?–Bandit
BIKERNET INTERNATIONAL EDITOR DOESN’T MISS ANY EVENTS–Today was the annual MOONEYES Christmas party.
Held at the Irwindale speedway, 25 miles from Long Beach.
Hundreds and hundreds – maybe thousands of cars and bikes.
Lots of vendors – great weather day.
Thousands of people for sure.
–Art
Esteemed Bikernet International Editor Supreme
FINAL BIKERNET READER COMMENT ABOUT A COMMENT FOR THE WEEKEND– PARTY WEEKEND THURSDAY NEWS FOR DECEMBER 6, 2012
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=10809
Got a real kick out of this dude that “lives the biker lifestyle”. He really bitched about this?
——–“TRAVEL FEATURE COMPLAINT? Oh gee isn’t that special!!! I rode to Santa Barbara on Thanks Giving and was told TVwe couldn’t park where the lot you wrote about and that it was designated. We were told that we’d have to park a block down and walk back.” (maybe he needed a shuttle since it was a whole block) He continues: “I live the biker lifestyle and this did not portray it at all and I will make it known!!!”————-
This must be the whining biker lifestyle. And who rat’s out folks riding without a helmet or an event that didn’t suit his taste? Why not grab a brew and enjoy the day?
BTW dude, learn to spell Thanksgiving.
— Tinman
Longwood, FL
HAPPY HOLIDAYS GODDAMMIT—I’m sure we will have David Mann Chopper Fest reports for the Thursday’s news on Bikernet. I will attempt to relax next week, but I will still have a handful of guests at the headquarters. I will hide the Jack Daniels and post content from Doc Robinson, Rogue, and Jeff Hennie from the MRF.
We will start to look hard at what we accomplished this year, and what our goals are for next year. I’m on the hunt for a pool ball manufacture who will supply us with 5-Balls. Just another one of our missions is life.
In the meantime don’t hesitate to make directional suggestions for 2013. We were even thinking about riding Royal Enfields to the base camp of Mt. Everest, but I think the Triking Viking is afraid.
What the hell, you only go around once.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
