After understanding Springs and Dampers, and before personalizing your motorcycle suspension to your taste and needs (Lower? Firmer Spring? Height adjustable?, you must also understand Shock Pre-load and how to make Shock Sag Adjustments. In this Part 2, Progressive Suspension explains what you should know before choosing between all custom suspension options. 3- Shock Preload […]
Archive for April, 2011
The Inner workings Of Motorcycle Suspension (Part 2)
Published by April 23rd, 2011 in Customs and Suspension.Knuckle Shuffle. A Fun Ride To Raise Money For The Kennedy High School Chopper Class
Published by April 23rd, 2011 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Events.Kevin “teach” Bass is the high school metal teacher whose life is dedicated to offer his students a better and richer education through motorcycle building. Every year Kevin relies on the generosity of the custom motorcycle industry to help him keep his class alive and welcomes any support that can be provided under the form […]
BAKER Drivetrain Working After Hours
Published by April 22nd, 2011 in Customs, Driveline and Editorial.Until Labor Day, BAKER Drivetrain phone lines (Tech & Sales) will be staffed from 8 am – 7 pm EDT Monday through Thursday, and Friday from 8 am to 5 pm EDT. Why? Because it’s riding season and BAKER wants to better meet the needs of its customers. So, you are better off entering right now […]
S&S Cycle to Stand Behind Big Dog Motorcycle Engine Warranties
Published by April 22nd, 2011 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Engines.You own a Big Dog motorcycle owner and after the announcement of the closure of Big Dog Motorcycle Company you wonder where to turn to for warranty support on your bike Though the official BDM warranty ended with the company being foreclosed by its lender then dissolved, S&S Cycle is stepping up to the plate […]
Steve McQueen Collection Of Racing Trophies To Be auctioned.
Published by April 22nd, 2011 in Editorial and Events.In addition to Steve McQueen’s well-documented 1971 Husqvarna 400 motorcycle, Bonhams will be auctioning the iconic actor’s collection of racing trophies in Carmel, California, on May 14th. The nearly two-dozen pieces in the King of Cool’ collection will be sold individually and with no reserve. Spanning a period from the late 1950s to the mid-70s, […]
Harley-Davidson Celebrating Latino Motorcycle Culture
Published by April 22nd, 2011 in Builders, Editorial, Events and Videos.La Banda Films announced the release of the documentary film, Harlistas: An American Journey, premiering April 2011. The film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Alfredo de Villa and follows the emotional journeys of real-life Harlistas – Harley riders of Latino heritage – as they seek adventure, camaraderie and achievement of the American Dream. The documentary […]
The Guts And Glory Rally Postponed Or Canceled?
Published by April 21st, 2011 in Editorial and Events.The Guts & Glory Rally across American is (was?) an event whose objective, like the 2010 Hoka Hey Challenge, to test endurance of bikers during 11 days, across 48 states for a total of 9000 miles with a grand prize winner initially announced at $100,000. The concept was created by John White who was the #1 […]
Jeff Decker grew up in the hustle and bustle of Southern California, heavily influenced by his father who raced, customized, collected old cars and owned one of the country largest vintage speed equipment collection. With him, young boy Jeff visited Steve McQueen, Ed Roth and Von Dutch and spent most of his weekends prowling aisles […]
Serious Bagger By A New Kid On The Block
Published by April 21st, 2011 in Builders, Customs and Editorial.Let’s give a push to a “kid” named Curtis Hofmann who made impression with this Bagger at the recent Donnie Smith Bike Show. Curtis Hofmann paid his dues in Southern California, working successively at 3 Harley-Davidson dealerships, then at 2 independent custom chopper shops. Back in his native state of Minnesota he started Hofmann Designs […]
The ISDE (International Six Days Enduro) is 6 days of grueling riding over varied and demanding terrain, and the strains placed on the bike are tremendous. The lubricants must withstand shearing and thermal breakdown, and be able to perform despite the dirt, sand, dust, water, mud and extreme heat of the race — and never […]
Flash News. Polaris Stock Up 26% For The Day.
Published by April 20th, 2011 in Builders, Editorial and Events.At 12.45 pm April 20, 2011 (Eastern). Polaris Industries stock (PII) up 26% in morning after announcing 1st quarter results and Indian Motorcycle acquisition. Up 48% year to date.
BAKER Tin Primary. A Classic Reinvented.
Published by April 20th, 2011 in Builders, Customs, Driveline and Editorial.Regarding motorcycle parts, today’s trend is to re-engineer classic designs with current technology to improve durability, reliability and performance. S&S Cycle did it with its new Shovelhead, Panhead, and Knucklehead engine designs and Bert Bakers follows by providing an essential piece of the combo, the tin primary. BAKER took that classic 1936-64 tin design and […]
The music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavors of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, do nothing to me. I am completely indifferent to her outré sense of style in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. But when last week she revealed the cover of her new […]
Polaris Reports Record First Quarter 2011 Results
Published by April 20th, 2011 in Builders, Editorial and Events.This morning April 20,2011, Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII) today reported record first quarter net income of $47.3 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2011. By comparison, 2010 first quarter net income was $19.8 million, or $0.59 per diluted share. Off-road vehicle sales rose 55 percent to $388 million. On-Road […]
Breaking News. Polaris Buys Indian Motorcycle Limited.
Published by April 19th, 2011 in Builders and Events.After weeks of speculation and although Indian Motorcycle refused again to confirm my information last week, it’s now official. Polaris has bought Indian Motorcycle. Having met personally with Indian’s Chairman Stephen Julius in 2006 before the official launch of the new Indian Chief, I knew that his objective, like he did with his other ventures, […]
Harley-Davidson First Quarter Earnings Soaring
Published by April 19th, 2011 in Builders, Editorial and Events.This morning April 19, 2011 just before Wall-Street opening bell, Harley-Davidson (HOG) said first-quarter earnings soared to $119.3 million, or 51 cents a share, from $33.3 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier as worldwide sales of motorcycles rose 3.5% and operating income at its financial division skyrocketed. Harley-Davidson said operating income from […]
Nothing that can be ridden on the street nor compete for a world championship of bike building. Not what most people would expect from Danny Schneider at Hardnine Choppers in Switzerland after all the media exposure his custom DMX received last year. Danny builds what he wants with the money of the day… One lousy […]
New Elite Rubber Wrapped Grips From Performance Machine
Published by April 19th, 2011 in Controls and Customs.Performance Machine offers a line up of rubber grips since quite a few years. Due to their popularity, the company extends its number of offerings with this new Elite models made of durable knurled rubber, in black or chrome with PM embossed name on the rubber and PM logo engraved on the tip. Retail price […]
Washington State Governor Signs Law To Prohibit Bikers Profiling
Published by April 19th, 2011 in Editorial and Events.Too many bikers have already been victims of profiling. But today there is something to celebrate. Governor Chris Gregoire has signed Senate Bill 5242 that outlaws profiling of motorcyclists by state troopers and local law enforcement officers in Washington state. The new law is modeled on a 2002 state law outlawing racial profiling by police, and […]
Dave Zien The Million Mile Man. Health Update.
Published by April 19th, 2011 in Editorial and Events.In March, while returning from Daytona Bike Week, David Zien, former Wisconsin Senator (from 1993 to 2006), a 2000 inductee in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame who rode more than 1 million miles on a 1991 Harley-Davidson Sport Glide, was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident on interstate 10 near Tallahassee, Florida. An SUV […]
Language barrier. One week that I try to have a technical discussion with the Italian Ragazzos of Garage 65 in Tuscany about their over-the-top latest creation called Stargate. Impossible to understand each other in English or French so the mysterious technicalities of this latin metal wonder will not be discovered by me until I check […]
Luxury Motorcycle Taxi Service Coming To New York City And Los Angeles
Published by April 17th, 2011 in Builders, Editorial and Events.Cars, buses, limos and taxis immobilized in traffic . A several times a day occurrence in big cities like Los Angeles and New York City. Are motorcycle taxis the solution to navigate more easily and faster from point A to point B? Several european cities offer this service with more or less success since many […]
Sturgis Road Show In Harrisburg, PA (Part 3) Bike Show Winners.
Published by April 17th, 2011 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Events.Building on already early season successes of the Custom Chrome International Bike Show Series, Kundratic Kustoms was proudly named the inaugural Sturgis Road Show Champion today with their highly innovative bike, Boardtracker. Featuring front and rear perimeter braking, an S&S Knuckle motor, and many handbuilt components, Kundratic Kustoms Boardtracker was a show stopper from day […]
Sturgis Road Show In Harrisburg, PA (Part 2)
Published by April 17th, 2011 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Engines.Why do I show you only people and not the best bikes present at this weekend the Sturgis Road Show and competing in the Custom Chrome North American Bike Competition? For a simple and very good reason. At 4 pm EST, the big winners will be called on stage to receive their trophies. I know […]
Harley-Davidson Versus Polaris Stock.
Published by April 17th, 2011 in Builders, Editorial and Events.Stock market analysts are daily piling up numbers about the companies they follow. From P/E ratios (dividing the company’s share price by its earnings per share EPS), to free cash flow (FCF) to net income variations (margin ranges) to consistency of past earnings and cash flow, to 5-year trailing and 5-year estimated future growth, etc. The […]
