You already know that Roland Sands has a racing background and enjoy working and customizing all kinds of bikes. Here an example of his work on a Ducati platform. The result is called “Hypermotard” and just looking at this picture you can see that not much has been left untouched. I don’t have yet much […]
Archive for February, 2008
Roland Sands Hypermotard Ducati
Published by February 10th, 2008 in Builders, Customs and Editorial.Berlin, Germany. Actress Katie Pfleghar participates to a protest organized by PETA, a group fighting animal cruelty. In this case, chicken (“Huhner” in German). As you can see, she is in a cage. She didn’t have to wait a long time to be freed for a more chick treatment. (picture Franka Bruns/AP).
Scorpio One-Piece Bar/Control System
Published by February 9th, 2008 in Controls, Customs and Editorial.Another very nice after-market product that I admired at the V-twin Expo. Made of billet aluminum, those high quality bars have integrated master cylinders, reservoirs, switches, throttle cable, wires and lines. Everything runs through the supplied stainless steel polished riser bolts. 11/16 bore clutch that works with any style transmission hydraulic cove. 9/16 bore brake […]
Mike Seate About New Florida Bill To Crush Motorcyclist Thrills.
Published by February 9th, 2008 in Editorial.On January 12, I wrote an article called "Debate Raging About Motorcyclist Penalties" addressing a Florida Bill aimed at sanctioning bikers doing stunt riding and exceeding the legal speed limit. Mike Seate, a well known motorcycle journalist and author of many hard cover books on our custom bikes just wrote an interesting article on this […]
Like Phil Korte of “Create A Custom Cycle”, I love bicycles from the 50’s and 60’s. And one of my favorites is this 1957 JC Higgins Flightliner Bicycle. And it just happened that it was Phil’s inspiration to build this white and red custom bike that he qualifies as a Board Track Racer, and me […]
Roland Sands Design (RSD) just released their new design “Diesel” wheel. The Diesel wheel is available in RSD’s exclusive Contrast Cut™ finish and for the first time, a brilliant chrome finish. The rolled rim lip is new for 2008 and features CNC-machined speed dots along the rim, a look unique to RSD. The seven spokes […]
The beauty of the Cincinnati trade show is not only about discovering new products imagined by my friends of the industry but also about discovering motorcycle companies that I didn’t know because their main line of business was not the V-Twin market. For example Boyesen Engineering releasing the Power X-Wing, a true bolt-on performance accessory […]
New Storz/BUB High Pipes For HD Nightster Sportster
Published by February 7th, 2008 in Editorial and Exhaust.Light up your Nightster with a dirt track style dual exhaust system from Storz/BUB. Available in chrome or black ceramic coat finish, they feature two individual head pipes with stepped diameters leading into beautifully tapered megaphones with billet aluminum end caps. Fixed steel baffles produce a mellow but powerful exhaust note and never require repacking. […]
Some need one, even two to carry and not lose…whatever they want to carry or hide when they ride. This one has the merit of not looking like the other boring chrome cylinders. Of course, will work well on bikes with a warrior theme. (IMO too many ‘barbaric’ bikes on the road). Anyway, just to […]
If you want to know what’s going to happen in the economy, business and investment markets, look at population trends or demographics. If we can’t see the very long term coming, at least we can observe how people are changing their way to spend money. The biggest years for births in the baby-boom generation were […]
New 2008 Paughco Catalog
Published by February 6th, 2008 in Chassis, Customs, Editorial and Exhaust.This is the time of the year when, like all Dealers, I receive my load of new catalogs. A pain to carry, but a joy to read to find new parts (that usually I will modify for my projects) and get some fresh inspiration. To notice this year is the 2008 Paughco catalog. This is […]
Panhead Style Rocker Boxes For Your Twin-Cam
Published by February 6th, 2008 in Editorial and Engines.The Panhead look. Who doesn’t want it? You can keep the comfort of your Twin-Cam bike and add a little bit of Harley nostalgia on your bike. These rocker boxes are a 4-piece set that you can install with hand tools without removing your engine from the frame. Top is in chromed steel with billet […]
While strolling the 3rd floor of the V-Twin expo, I had a chance to spend some time checking out the bikes from Zero Engineering. Designed in Okazaki City, Japan and built in Las Vegas, Nevada, their choppers are the foremost bikes of the custom motorcycle industry in the land of the rising sun. And it’s […]
Crime Scene Choppers just unveiled in Cincinnati a very cool line called “Rapide” (yes, it’s a French word meaning Fast) including a headlight, taillight and air cleaner They all feature raised scallops and grill with art-deco lines that I adore (a style also invented by the French in the 30’s…). […]
Exclusive. American IronHorse Motorcycle Closing Its Doors?
Published by February 4th, 2008 in Builders, Customs and Editorial.Sad news at a time where we are in Cincinnati celebrating our love for the V-Twin industry. American IronHorse was the main competitor of Big Dog Motorcycles in the market segment of "production custom motorcycles". Follow the confirmation I received from one of their employees. " American IronHorse closed its doors officially this past week. Laying […]
First Meeting With Vinnie & Cody
Published by February 4th, 2008 in Builders, Customs and Editorial.Vinnie DiMartino and Cody Connelly, founders of V-Force Customs, made their 1st public appearance in Cincinnati since leaving the popular television series “American Chopper” with OCC. Hey, I am flattered: they wanted a picture with me and told me that they read my Blog. When they appear at Daytona Bike week February 29, 2008. DiMartino […]
If you are an individual who heard about our V-Twin Dealers Expo who cannot visit it, or a professional of the motorcycle industry from the US or abroad who never attended it, you really wonder how this show can be. During the day, just like all trade shows of any industry: showing, demonstrating and explaining […]
Look at this picture. Even kids can be ticketed because their bike lights are not street legal. Yours should be and Adjure Inc. has a vast selection of lights to see and be seen without being noticed by the cops. At the Cincinnati V-Twin Expo I noticed this brand new, DOT approved and very custom […]
Cincinnati V-Twin Expo Best Tattoo And Haircut.
Published by February 3rd, 2008 in Customs and Editorial.On Saturday evening, after the show closed for the day, Easyriders Magazine gave away his 2008 V-Twin Expo Awards. Me, I have to give 2 non-official awards. One to Randy Connell from "Four Rivers Harley-Davidson", Kentucky who found me in the crowd to show me his new tattoo, my company logo. Thank you so much […]
Today at the Cincinnati Show I stopped by the Kiwi Indian MotorCycle Company display and stumbled on the bike called Rocket that Mike built for the Sturgis Michael Lichter’s exhibition called “One World”. The bike is pretty cool, but noticeable to me was the new leaf spring forks with custom Heim joints on the front […]
One of the hottest trends when customizing a Bagger is to replace the front wheel by a 21” And now there is a FL series front fender to accommodate you new wheel. It is manufactured with wider and longer mounting tabs to accommodate the lower FL front end bolt location. Although fender spacers are required […]
Mike Corbin Unveils New Bagger Setups
Published by February 2nd, 2008 in Builders, Chassis, Customs and Editorial.The V-Twin Expo just got started. And when you go through the huge entrance doors you immediately bump into the huge and always gorgeous display of Corbin Inc. And there, Mike Corbin is showing off his new proprietary bagger setups for several brands and bike models. For example one for the Rolling Thunder chassis, both […]
New Fork Models From MeanStreet
Published by February 2nd, 2008 in Customs, Editorial and Suspension.Kicking off the week-end of new product announcements for the V-Twin Industry, MeanStreet unveils 3 new hot front ends. A retro styled "Hot Rodder", a futuristic designed "Blade Rider" and a stylish "Linea". They all feature a new sleek smooth triplle clamp, stainless steel steering stem with innovative adjustable nut system, hard chrome steel alloy […]
Global Motorsports Group Sells Custom Chrome To Korean Company
Published by February 1st, 2008 in Editorial.I am at the West Palm Beach Airport on my way to Cincinnati, and now that it is official I can upload this post to tell you that Global Motorsports Group (GMG) has sold all its assets including Custom Chrome (CCI) to Korean Dae-II corporation, the RevTech (engines and transmissions) program manufacturer. Global Motorsports Group […]
