Fellow custom motorcycle builder Greg Westbury offers few proprietary parts, but they are all always extremely cool. Just off the C.N.C. machine, Greg sent showed me his new “Low Baller” Valve Stem Caps to make this part of your bike less boring and more original than using a 30-year old “8 Ball” or “Skull” cap design. […]
Archive for November, 2009
New Custom Valve Stems From Greg Westbury
Published by November 30th, 2009 in Accessories, Builders, Customs and Editorial.Art Of The Chopper. Shifting Gears Party.
Published by November 30th, 2009 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Events.Yesterday Sunday under a solid blue sky the Appleton Museum Of Art in Ocala, FL was celebrating the “Art Of The Chopper” by throwing a big “Shifting Gears Party”. Fellow builder Vince Doll and myself joined Museum Director John Lofgren and Steve Specht, Marketing Coordinator to welcome bike lovers who traveled from far away during […]
Melanie Cafe Racer. The Anti Girly Bike.
Published by November 30th, 2009 in Builders, Customs and Editorial.She lives faster than you will ever ride. French born, loving the energy of big cities like Paris, London, New York, and Los angeles and trying them all. She rides since the age of 19, right now makes a living as a Hollywood make up artist, can teach you a lot about bikes, has owned […]
As you know, everything old is new again. I know you threw away these fenders 25 years ago because they were looking too stock! Or you are too young to have had a chance to keep a spare set in your garage. So, Paughco is manufacturing again these old style Bobbed fenders right here in […]
Recession. The Good Fortune Of Harley-Davidson And Of Its Investors
Published by November 28th, 2009 in Builders and Editorial.Before you read and formulate comments, let me mention that this post is not to criticize or to take side with Harley-Davidson unions. As a matter of fact I think that they can make very fair or very unfair requests. The following is an observation that all of you can make just by watching TV. […]
Another Harley-Davidson Auction At Rossmeyer’s. No Reserve!
Published by November 28th, 2009 in Builders, Editorial and Events.Former in-store and online auctions didn’t work very well for Rossmeyer’s Harley- Davidson. Not enough to get rid of all these pre-loved motorcycles. You heavily criticized in my Blog the way these auctions were organized and Rossmeyer’s listened and changed the way they will sell their bikes during the next auction From Friday December 11th […]
Improved Mamba Reverse Gear Kit
Published by November 28th, 2009 in Customs, Driveline and Editorial.Who need a reverse gear? Trikes, sidecars and surprisingly, for whatever reason, quite a few of 2-wheel riders. AIM Corp. (Advanced Innovational Machinery Corporation) the US affiliate of Tamachi Industries in Tokyo, Japan, made its reputation with great clutch systems. And I mention them because they improved and were able to lower the price of […]
I would not be able to stay awake blogging the latest news when you are already sleeping or still not awake if I would not use some legal help from my Nespresso Citiz machine. It just happen that like all Europeens born I have a passion for good coffee and that with the help of […]
A friend of the industry was telling me that among my readers some may still don’t know the origin of the nickname HOG to describe a Harley motorcycle and much later the factory Harley Owners Group. So, here a famous vintage picture and the abbreviated story. There was a Harley-Davidson board track racing crew. The […]
Custom Norton Best Of Show At Britain’s NEC Show
Published by November 27th, 2009 in Builders, Customs and Events.The Birmingham UK show opened yesterday November 26th and although the annual extravaganza is smaller than usual, a lot of interesting custom bikes are present. One of the highlights of the show is a competition where 12 finalists picked from 470 entrants compete in the “Britain’s Got Biking Talent” to win the prestigious Carole Nash […]
An Above Average Website To Show You Above Average Bikes Built For The Average Joe.
Published by November 27th, 2009 in Builders, Customs and Editorial.Among the small custom motorcycle manufacturers, I can say that Dar Holdsworth was one of the first to understand that to survive our economic downturn the only way was to propose value bikes, meaning highest quality and coolest looking bikes possible for the money. And Dar proved with his first 3 models that it is […]
Wisconsin To Add Harley-Davidson And Cheese Microbe As State Symbols
Published by November 27th, 2009 in Builders, Editorial and Events.Big Twins and cheese may soon become official Wisconsin symbols. Bills to honor Harley-Davidson and Lactococcus lactis (the bacteria used in the making of cheese) with the state symbol designation were introduced in the Legislature last week. To take effect they must pass both the Senate and Assembly and be signed by Gov. Jim Doyle. I […]
Confederate Motors Reports $1M Net Loss in 3rd Quarter
Published by November 26th, 2009 in Builders, Customs and Editorial.According to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Confederate Motors Inc. posted third quarter net losses of $1 million after a drop in shipments of its handcrafted motorcycles. The Birmingham-based motorcycle manufacturer reported $333,108 in losses from operations and $757,500 in stock-based compensation for the three months ended Sept. 30.
D&D Low Cat Exhaust System For Harley-Davidson Softails
Published by November 26th, 2009 in Customs, Editorial and Exhaust.I know they perform well and sound good. So, I offer D&D Exhaust Systems this free infomercial…
Lorenzo Lamas Opens His Custom Everything Store And You Are Invited
Published by November 25th, 2009 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Events.You wondered, you guessed, you commented. How a celebrity with a long time addiction to motorcycles associated to a well known builder would introduce themselves to our custom culture world. Some of you knew a little bit because they got a chance to meet the team Lorenzo Lamas and Eddie Trotta during the last Sturgis and […]
Indian Motorcycle Apparel. Free Cap. Free Shipping. Limited Time.
Published by November 25th, 2009 in Builders, Editorial and Merchandise.For all Indian motorcycle lovers the new mother factory wants you to know that they just released a new line of apparel and that from today Wednesday November 25th until Monday November 30th , you get a free cap with all orders and that if you spend more $100.00 shipping is free. At least, I told you on time. […]
Big Bear Choppers “Bear Bones” New 2010 Model
Published by November 25th, 2009 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Events.Rethinking, revising and reinventing the custom factory chopper to continue to attract enthusiasts. A big challenge to all small manufacturers who learned at their expense during these last 4 years that semi-custom production bikes in the $35,000 to $45,000 range don’t sell very well anymore.
When I was a kid in Indiana, we thought it would be fun to get a turkey a year ahead of time and feed it and so on for the following Thanksgiving. But by the time Thanksgiving came around, we sort of thought of the turkey as a pet, so we ate the dog. Only […]
State Of Arizona Seeks Motorcycle Emissions Exemption
Published by November 25th, 2009 in Editorial and Events.The state says Phoenix is the only US major metro area where motorcycles are required to be tested for emissions. Arizona lawmakers are asking EPA (the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) to exempt the Phoenix metro area from emissions testing requirements for motorcycles. The ADEQ (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality) petitioned to exempt motorcycles from such […]
The Most Beautiful Antique Motorcycles. $12.00.
Published by November 24th, 2009 in Editorial and Merchandise.The Antique Motorcycle Club of America is the nation’s largest organization for vintage-bike enthusiasts (AMCA) is rolling out its 2010 calendar, featuring some of the world’s most beautiful, and historic, motorcycles. The annual AMCA calendar always focuses on gorgeous machines of the past, but this year’s edition highlights a particularly choice selection of vintage iron, […]
A good address for those, like me, who obsess with the right hardware in the right material…and in the right color to complement your motorcycle paint job. Pro-Bolt, an English company, is now present in the USA with a fantastic range of bolt and fastener kits in different colors in stainless steel, aluminum and titanium. […]
Victory Motorcycles CORE Concept Making First Appearance Outside The USA
Published by November 24th, 2009 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Events.This post for my European readers and first for those living in the UK. The Victory CORE, a concept motorcycle that I featured when it was introduced to the US press, was designed and built to show what a performance cruiser of the future could look. The Core will be on display at the up […]
Who doesn’t buy holiday cards? For this coming holiday season why not to choose to order them now from the AMA Motorcycle Hall Of Fame. Three reasons 1- they offer a choice of 12 different very cool nostalgic motorcycle-themed ones 2- You have the possibility to personalize them with a greeting of your choice on […]
Harley-davidson touring model riders know very well about this small but annoying problem. The constant rattle of their shifter rod. The solution offered by Softbrakes are 2 spring loaded spacers. The longer model replaces the stock rubber spacer while filling the gap left when removing the inner arm. The short spacer is also spring loaded […]
New Harley-Davidson Low Profile Razor-Pak Luggage
Published by November 23rd, 2009 in Accessories, Chassis, Customs and Editorial.I like everything you can imagine with a low profile. So, I like this new lean profile “Razor-Pack” luggage with a slim profile that won’t detract from the look of a custom bagger. To be precise it has a 1,900-cubic-inch capacity with dimensions of 22 inches wide by 16 inches long by 5.5 inches high. […]
A Thank You Letter From The Bernice MacNaughto High School Bike Klub
Published by November 23rd, 2009 in Builders, Customs and Editorial.“In this economic climate it’s hard to find help. Help from the government, help from banks, help from big industry. This is not true in the motorcycle and custom motorcycle industry. When I asked Cyril if I could write a blog entry to thank my sponsors he was naturally concerned. This blog was intended to […]
