Or … How I Ended Up Head Down on a Hood and Handcuffed. A Story by Bruce Arnold with Legal Commentary by Matt Danielson A few Saturdays ago … I was riding home to the flat sands of South Florida after a twisting tour through the steep mountain ridges and narrow winding valleys surrounding Charleston, [...]
The feeling of the Good Ol’ Days Races is back in Sturgis. Thanks to Jay Allen of the Broken Spoke County Line, flat track riders are going to compete again on a ¼ mile oval during the Sturgis Rally. The track has been designed and built by National Motocross Rider and Champion Gene Stull. Gene [...]
“The Buell 1125RR is designed to give privateer racers a turn-key machine to compete in the American Superbike class in AMA Pro Racing. We want to build on our program that has proven so successful for privateers in the Daytona SportBike class,” said Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer, Buell Motorcycle Company. This racing [...]
Intrigued by the racers she saw at the Legendary Bonneville Salt Flats, artist Stefanie Aziere-Sattler dedicated her latest painting to Land Speed Racing. It features one of the AMA National Land Speed Record Holders, Erika Cobb (18 years old, Mitchell, South Dakota), taking special care of her bike, making sure her windshield is clean, and [...]
Soon in Sturgis Billy Lane will ride around town on his new custom-built Crocker motorcycle. For his seat, Billy worked with master seat maker Adam Croft at Last Ride Customs. Here the gorgeous result. Because of the extensive hand tooling work involved (wish I could show you a larger picture to demonstrate the intricate details) [...]
In its just released August issue V-Twin Magazine names its preferred 10 production bikes for the year 2009. The magazine explains that what qualifies a production motorcycle to be featured in the list is that it is obviously currently available for purchase through a dealer or from the factory and that journalists of the mag. [...]
Flat paint on bikes is back. At least since year 2000. To the point that manufacturers like Harley-Davidson & Indian Motorcycles (among others) noticed and are now offering respectively the Harley Dark Series models (since 1 year) and the Indian Dark Chief (for 2010). And no, today’s right way to do a nice/long lasting scratch [...]
Café Society”, a 60-minute documentary on the men, the machines and the legends of the Café Racer is a fascinating 60 minutes ride into a vibrant motorsports subculture that continues to grow even today. The movie includes never-before seen historical footage, interviews with legendary cafe racer builders including Dave Degens of Dresda Tritons, Ian Kennedy, [...]
Sidecar racing is a combination of a motorcar racing and motorcycle racing with an element of teamwork that has to be precise.. It is not only one of the most difficult forms of motorcycle racing, it is arguably one of the most dangerous. Crashes are frequent and due to the open cockpit, a road burn [...]
As you know it’s during Sturgis that Harley-Davidson shows its new models line-up, new Genuine Motor Parts & Accessories and MotorClothes® merchandise. Those in Sturgis will be able to have a close-up look at what’s new for 2010 and also test ride from August 1st to 7th at the Rapid City Civic Center. But stay [...]
Last Wednesday 6.00 pm. Lift-off of the Endaevour Shuttle from the Kennedy Space Center 220 miles north from where I live and work. I hear the news while driving in my South Florida city of Boca Raton. I feel that I am still one of the few Floridians still amazed by the technology involved, one of the [...]
You are one of the leading manufacturers of motorcycle forged wheels, brakes, discs and related accessories. You know that you need to diversify your parts line-up from American Bikes to Metrics to Sport Bikes. So, you showcase your parts on a selection of custom bikes of the best builders. Then feature these bikes in your catalogs. Gve [...]
Like Triumph’s marketing strategy of exploiting demand for retro motorcycles with modern engineering. More than one time, attracted by their look and sound I turned around the new Triumph Bonneville and Thruxton thinking that maybe…I should get one of them and give it my own cosmetic/mechanical treatment.
Former Indian Motorcycle CEO (Gilroy era) Rey Sotelo pleaded guilty Thursday in a federal racketeering case, according to lawyers involved. Sotelo, 52, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in stolen motorcycle parts, a charge he brushed off last summer when a federal indictment accused him of helping a central California chop shop send a stolen [...]
The exhibit titled “Rebel Rousers- Motorcycle Icons that Inspired Us to Ride” is a must-see at this year’s Sturgis festivities. In the brand-new 6,500 square foot Lichter Exhibition Hall at the Legendary Buffalo Chip, the exhibit will be showcasing a number of revered images and sacred memorabilia central to the biker culture. The exhibit will [...]
No good news on my computer when I woke-up today at 6 AM ET. Harley-Davidson was announcing its second-quarter results and the numbers are quite disappointing. Although the underlying fundamentals of the Harley-Davidson brand remain strong and the dealers’ retail motorcycle sales declined less than the main competitors, comparing to the same year-ago period demonstrates [...]
A new (and justified) big rant written especially for you my readers by Chris Callen, Editor in Chief of Cycle Source Magazine. Thinning Of The Herd Hurts All Of The Industry. I remember a few years ago, as motorcycling started its “Downward Trend” hearing so many people spout off about the effects they believed this change [...]
Broken Spoke Saloon , Buffalo Chip, Monkey Rock. During the Sturgis Rally, all these great places compete aggressively to offer you the best vendors, the best builders, the best drinks, the best food, the best live concerts…and the best looking waitresses and female entertainers…Good for you. My recommendation? Visit them all several times. My job is [...]
Love Harley-Davidson Shovelheads and owned a couple. But their engines have quite a few well-known and documented mechanical issues. In addition you may want to bring your Shovel into the 21st century with not only improved performance but the ability to make power equivalent to the more recent Evo and Twin Cam engines. Out of [...]
It is with sadness that I report that Custom Builder Brad Ruel has died yesterday of a heart attack. His shop “The Wrench” in Sarasota, Florida has been around since 1995 and Brad has been building radical custom bikes since 2000. He became a familiar name in the industry through his custom work and custom [...]
As I told you a few days ago, after 26 years as the Boss Man (and Steel Man) of Milwaukee Iron fellow Builder and Parts Manufacturer Randy Simpson is closing the doors of his custom motorcycle and machine shop in Lynchburg, VA. Ready to move to a new venture and to spend more time socializing [...]
Is it a western movie with bikes replacing horses or just a male-bonding LSD joy ride across the USA? It doesn’t matter. the way you see or live it. Today, the road movie Easy Rider turns 40 and the quite simple story of 2 bikers traveling the country and enjoying their freedom has be deemed [...]
Dennis Santopietro via his company Fix My Hog produces some of the best videos in the business to help you maintain your bike. Since there is almost no limit to what somebody can learn, he just released a new DVD featuring new mechanical topics to help you complete your Touring Bike maintenance. This video covers [...]
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