Weather was typical South Dakota. Locals have a saying: “If you don’t like our weather today, wait for 15 minutes…” This year again, everything from high temperatures under blue skies, to tornado watches to sudden pouring rain and hail from hell. Then repeat 2 or 3 times a day depending of where you are and are heading too. But as far as I know, no damage by winds and hail like some former years. If you ride, just be always ready with alternate clothing gear.
Regarding attendance it’s still too early to give numbers. But all those who participated already know that the 2011 edition was not as big a hit as it was in 2010. The week before the motorcycle event got started, number of visitors at Mount Rushmore was already down. From downtown Sturgis to the top of the Black Hills vendors evaluated attendance down in a range rom 10% to 25%. Vendor permits are also probably down (as I post this I hear minus 7%) and I observed myself that small size vendors usually installed beyond 12th street and Lazelle have mostly disappeared. In a recent national study published last week 8 out of 10 people surveyed say they now exercise more caution with their finances and learned important lessons regarding savings, investing, and preparing for retirement. Does it mean that those who accepted to pay a fee to display their ware had a bad rally? For some, yes, in particular the “non-necessary items” that I will qualify of tourist tees, mementos and gadgets. At the opposite, Bert Baker was all smile telling me that he started the week overbooked for installation of his transmissions and Holger Mohr President from Custom Chrome (not selling retail) telling me the overwhelming interest for his new “Lucky F*cker” body kit for Softail bikes. Big quality items that you judge necessary for your ride still sell well… Continue reading ‘2011 Sturgis Rally Postcards’
They are much more than ladies enjoying motorcycling for the simple and unique pleasure of casual riding. They all embrace other linked activities like racing, publishing, raising money for diverse charities, promoting the sport to other women, building motorcycles, painting them, engraving chrome or designing parts and gear conceived for them.
They are today the most influential women of our industry. 22 of them are featured in the best seller book Biker Chicz of North America where you can read their compelling, intriguing, fascinating and inspirational stories. They are all beautiful for their intelligence, courage, tenacity, each of them having a very different life itinerary but leading them all to become bikers et to contribute to our sport. Continue reading ‘The Biker Chicz Of 2011 Sturgis Bike Week’
Here are all the Class Winners of the 2011 AMD World Championship Of Bike Building.
FreeStyle Class. 1- Tavax Engineering, Bike Tavax 2011V 2- Lamb Engineering, Bike Son of a Gun 3-Kraus Motor Co. Bike Bolide
Modified Harley Class. 1- AbnormalCycles, Trike Union 2- Iacona Custom Cycles, Bike Challenger 3- Shaw Harley-Davidson, Bike Nascafe Racer
Production Manufacturer Class. 1- Darwin Motorcycles, Bike RLX. 2- Kiwi Indian Motorcycle Co, Bike Kiwi Chieftain 1950’s 3- Zero Engineering, Bike Type 6
Performance Custom Class. 1- AFT Customs, Bike Sentoh 2- Fuller Hot Rods, Bike Rodan. 3- RK Concepts, Bike Spring Frame
Big Crowd last Tuesday evening at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip for the VIP Industry party for the unveiling of Jeff Decker art collection at the 11th Annual Michael Lichter Art Exhibit. Artist Jeff Decker lives, studies, documents and sculpts motorcycle culture.
Hanging from the exhibition hall ceiling, Jeff had the excellent idea to hang banners with wonderful words about the importance of art. “One Should Either Be A Work Of Art, or wear a work of art” Oscar Wilde. “Art Is Never Finished. Only Abandoned” Leonardo Da Vinci. “I had Reservations About Making Art A Business. But I Got Over It” Mary Boone. “The Problem With The Youth Of Today Is That One One Is No Longer Part Of It” Salvador Dali
If you are in Sturgis and do some work on your bike yourself, stop by the the Fuller Hot Rods booth between 4th & 5th street on Lazelle. Not only will you admire his new Cafe Racer style creation (I will feature it soon in my Blog and you can also see it in the next 4 episodes of the TV Show “Cafe Racer”), but Bryan will also autograph for you his new book “Full-Bore Sheet Metal” co-written with Mark Prosser. I bet you will learn quite a few fabrication tricks. Or order his book online at Fuller Hot Rods.
On Monday, August 8th the international motorcycle group Hamsters USA raised $282,357 for Children’s Care of Rapid City during their annual meeting and dinner The banquet was held in Spearfish, SD, as part of the Sturgis Rally. Funds were raised through a silent auction and the raffle of an RSD Harley-Davidson “Nightster,” motorcycle, created by bike builder Roland Sands and donated by Justyn Amstutz of National Powersports Auctions. The raffle winner was John Roshala of Poway, CA, who donated the bike back to Children’s Care.
Made a pit stop in Lead, just above historic Deadwood, at the Junction Biker Expo to sign my shop and blog tee-shirts. And I must admit that some vendors (Jeff Nicklus of Desperado Custom Motorcycles to not name him) knows quite a few tricks to attract a crowd to his bikes display and to my autograph table. I enjoyed very much his marketing method…
After that I was invited to a Jasmine Cain dinner/concert at the close by hotel. With the gift of her voice, her rock n’ roll energy and the raw guitars of her band, Jasmine impressed both the crowd and my group. We all agree that after touring the country during many years, she’s got now the stage presence to open for the biggest acts of the rock scene. And we told her when she joined us for a group picture with the Nicklus family (Jeff, Conrad, Cindy) and friends.
Last Tuesday, military dignitaries, celebrities and friends joined Lorenzo Lamas, Chad Greulach founding parter of Lorenzo Lamas Cycles, Army Colonel Dino Sarracino and custom builder Ralph Randolph for a charity ride from Devils Tower, Wyoming to the Sturgis Buffalo Chip.
Exclusive: 2012 Anniversary Edition Indian Chiefs. Polaris is planning to build 110 Special Anniversary Edition Chiefs with 109 offered for sale. Model #110 will stay with Polaris as one of the first Indians built at Spirit Lake, Iowa. Each historic bike will come with a special leather jacket and other items to be announced. Some Indian Dealers are taking Advance orders with a deposit of $1,000 for an expected December delivery.
Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd will boost production of its bespoke bikes after receiving a Government-backed trade loan. The loan to the legendary motorcycles manufacturer. It is the first of its kind and has been made under the Exports Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme (ExEFG). The funding will support the company´s plans to increase production to 1,000 motorcycles a year. It will also benefit Norton´s supply chain, of which 80 per cent is British. Norton also plans to double their workforce to 60 full time staff by 2012 and significantly extend their factory. Continue reading ‘Fast Motorcycle Industry News’
The 2001 AMD World Champion is Ken Tabata from shop Tavax Engineering in Yao City, Osaka, Japan. Engine is S&S H93. Ken Tabata, worked for 2-1/2 years on his sculpted all aluminum bodywork winning bike designed to look like a Cheetah on wheels about to pounce…The swingarm pivots from behind the rear cylinder, arcing over the transmission, and carrying a linkage system operated single shock, a design found on many modern sports bikes. Wheels are 17″ from Marchesini equipped with floating rotors and Lockheed brake calipers. (pictures copyright Frank Sanders & Onno “Berserk” Wieringa for Cyril Huze)
Bike “Son Of A Gun” built by Larry Houghton from Lamb Engineering in Salisbury, UK. The bike is based around a 1951 BSA single cylinder engine and Talon motocross wheels. More parts are recycled ones from the ones rejected by friends. Non counting the value of his time and craftsmanship, Larry states that this custom wonder cost him only $9000, paint included! Who can say better? (pictures copyright Frank Sanders & Onno “Berserk” Wieringa for Cyril Huze)
Satya Kraus from Kraus Motor Co. in Casadero, California. Called Bolide, this bike has everything it needs to be a daily ride and nothing it doesn’t. It uses a 93ci S&S Shovelhead motor in a one-off frame carrying a mono-shocked swingarm, telescopic forks and 17” Alpina spoked wheels dressed with Metzeler sport bike tires. (pictures copyright Frank Sanders & Onno “Berserk” Wieringa for Cyril Huze)
The new CVO Road Glide Custom is a limited-production, high-performance touring masterpiece, one of four limited-production 2012 models from Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO)TM, each turned out with bold paint, gleaming chrome, and the most-powerful V-Twin engines offered in production Harley-Davidson motorcycles. This chromed-out, shark-nosed beauty features the air-cooled, Twin Cam 110™ engine, an exclusive multi-color paint scheme, a new high-output sound system and a host of new custom components. Continue reading ‘Harley-Davidson Touring Masterpiece. The 2012 CVO Road Glide® Custom.’
For the 4th year, the annual Sturgis Legends Ride ® on Monday August 8, paired rally-goers with celebrities and top-bike builders on a ride from Deadwood to the Sturgis Buffalo Chip ®. The event already raised $200,000 with all proceeds benefiting local charities, including the Black Hills Special Olympics and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame. The charitable contribution entitles contributors to pre- and post-ride events in Deadwood and at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, free parking in Deadwood and at The Chip, food and drinks prior to the concert, meet-and-greet opportunities with master builders and celebrities and a special souvenir gift pack. Continue reading ‘Sturgis 4th Annual Legends Ride For Charity’
Barnett’s Magazine will publish on September 15, 2011 its final issue. Founder Mark Barnett published the magazine first issue in the winter of 1997. The magazine targeted the custom bike and modified Harley-Davidson enthusiast. In 2011, the magazine started to be published bi-monthly, six issues a year. The last issue (Dated November/December) will be in newsstands September 15, 2011. My source tells me that Mark Barnett is now thinking of launching a Cafe Racer magazine.
Well known in the custom bike business, Xtreme Machine has been manufacturing billet wheels for more than a decade. In fact, Xtreme has been the recipient of the coveted “V-Twin Wheel Design Of The Year” award three times for their extraordinary designs. “Xtreme Machine has always been a well-respected brand and Performance Machine will continue to manufacture motorcycle products under the Xtreme Machine brand name,” explains PM president Mark Finnie.
“We feel that the Xtreme Machine line of wheels is a natural addition to Performance Machine’s diverse brands,” Finnie adds. In addition to the flagship PM-branded products, the wheel line has grown to include edgy, game-changing designs of RSD (Roland Sands Design) and the Forge Tec private label line. “Our goal is to expand the scope of the Xtreme Machine product line, further rounding out our offerings to motorcycle enthusiasts.” Continue reading ‘Performance Machine Acquires Xtreme Machine Motorcycle Wheels’
The Sturgis Michael Lichter’s 2011 “Motorcycle As Art Exhibition” called “Slant Artist-An Eccentric View on Motorcycles and Art” just opened to the public and is focusing on avant-garde bronze artist Jeff Decker. Yesterday, Jeff gave me the privilege of a private tour of his incredible personal collection of bronze sculptures, of antique motorcycles Harleys, Crockers, Indians, etc), of extremely rare club cuts, of paintings by David Uhl, of portraits and sketches by legendary artists David Mann, a selection of rock show posters, and a Rat Fink Kustom Kulture poster, just to name a few.
I told Jeff that it’s the most intriguing, most beautiful, most history rich and best displayed exhibition of motorcycle art and related that I have seen in a very long time. You can’t be in Sturgis and not visit it. If you are not in Sturgis, I took for you a lot of pictures for your viewing pleasure that I will publish in a couple of days. Below is short video preview of what is all about. The exhibition is open daily at the Buffalo Chip until August 12th , 2011 from 10 to 10 pm. with free admittance. (with the exception of Tuesday August 9th where hours will be limited from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. for an invite only industry reception.)
During the Sturgis Rally, the Hamsters Group is staging the first ever Hamsters USA Invitational Burnouts in downtown Sturgis. The Loud American Roadhouse and the City of Sturgis are hosting the burnouts on Thursday, August 11th at 3:30 PM just after the annual lunch and ride to Sturgis.
The smoking event will take place on Kinship Road at Lazelle Street next to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Expo where Hamsters gather after their annual ride to Sturgis. Eight Hamsters will have the chance to earn the $1,000.00 in prize money provided by the Loud American Roadhouse. The prize money is “winner takes all”. Names will be drawned at lunch to see who gets to compete. The audience will award the prize based on applause. (picture Scott Pommier)
If you want to quickly add a lot of horsepower to your EFI Touring, Softail® or Dyna® , give it some N.A.D.S. (Nitrous Assisted Dry System.) Probably the biggest bang for your buck ThunderMax N.A.D.S. is a complete bolt-on “dry” system that requires no secondary fuel source for a clean, simple installation in maxi 30 minutes. Continue reading ‘Easy Muscle For Your Wimpy Bike’
The US economy was downgraded from AAA+ to AA+, and me I downgrade United Airways from BBB- to CCC- for losing my luggage one more time this year… Well, as soon as I learned the not so good news (they will deliver my luggage to my hotel when they find it…) I jumped in my rental car, turned on the radio to learn that a tornado touched near Custer. Under pouring rain drove to Sturgis to meet with my friends and get their first impressions on this debut of Bike Week. As the locals say, if you don’t like the weather in South Dakota, just wait 15 minutes. It took 45 minutes for the sky to turn blue again…First observation on Lazelle Street and around. The number of non-official Sturgis/Black Hills merchandise is everywhere to be sold. Will SMRI vigorously enforce its trademarks? I don’t know yet. Paid a visit to a few vendors, then went straight to first major function of the week, the AMD World Championship Industry VIP Party
This party gathers the who’s who of the industry present in Sturgis around all the custom machines ready to compete during 3 days for the World Champion title and trophies in the following classes: Freestyle, Performance Custom, Modified Harley-Davidson and Production Manufacturer. And I am happy to inform you that I will again, like last year, broadcast live from Sturgis Wednesday August 10, at 5 PM EDT, 3 PM MDT the complete awards ceremony, followed immediately by the pictures of the bikes of the top 3 winners. It will be the 1st post on top of my Blog. Continue reading ‘Arrived In Sturgis. No Luggage. Tornado Near Custer. AMD World Championship Industry VIP Party’
It will be a sight of relief for some competitors in the Freestyle Class of the AMD World Championship Of Bike Building to know through my Blog that Belgium based builder Fred Krugger is not making this year the trip to Sturgis… Last year World Champion with the simultaneous front and rear adjustable suspension Veon Bike, just told me that he is too busy, having no one day available between this project and a new important one to be completed before a World Tour projected to start in January 2013 and to last one year where he will pilot this ultra custom Bagger… Continue reading ‘Exclusive. Fred Krugger World Tour Custom Harley CVO Bagger.’
71st Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota’s legendary Black Hills region. The Harley-Davidson Road Tour will run from Saturday, August 6 through Saturday, August 13 at its location at the intersection of 3rd and Lazelle streets in downtown Sturgis. All Harley-Davidson activities in Sturgis are free of charge and include the following:
• New 2012 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, H-D1 customization and MotorClothes® riding gear and apparel, including free helmet fittings • Harley-Davidson Custom Ride-In Show, Thursday August 11 (3rd and Lazelle streets, $10 entry fee to benefit MDA, cash prizes)) • XR1200 Racing Experience presented by Harley-Davidson Insurance • Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) pin sales and Custom Motorcycle Raffle • Free Bike Wash • Willie G. Commemorative Merchandise • AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, August 8-10 • Women’s Area including the JUMPSTART rider experience, bike lift and more. Continue reading ‘Harley-Davidson Events At 2011 Sturgis Rally’
When you will read this, I will be flying the blue and friendly skies (?) hoping to be in Rapid City this Sunday afternoon to participate to the next 7 days of the largest motorcycle rally in the world, the 71th Sturgis Bike Week.
As soon as I reach my rally headquarters, I will report as usual on all what’s going on any topic of interest, from attendance to weather, from Sturgis trademark dispute to charity events, from new parts to new bikes and all the parties. For those whose names are not on my digital calendar, but expressed the wish to talk with me during the rally, I will attend all major rally functions and events that I mentioned in my Blog during these last 3 weeks. Continue reading ‘On My Way To The 71th Sturgis Rally’
On Wednesday August 3rd, in District Court Of South Dakota, Rushmore Photo & Gifts filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injection against SMRI (Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Inc.) to try to prevent the non-profit group from enforcing its Federal trademarks, including Sturgis & Black Hills Rally during the motorcycle event from August 8th to 14th.
Go to Sturgis. Come back with a free one-of-a-kind V 113″ from S&S Cycle. It can happen if you participate to the S&S Night at the Downtown Broken Spoke Saloon on Lazelle Street on Wednesday August 10th starting at 9 PM. But I would recommend you arrive earlier. You just need to be present to be eligible to win.
The giveaway is the V113, replacement engine for Evolution® big twins. The V113 yields a broad torque curve while maintaining excellent reliability, making it a great engine for any Evolution® equipped big twin. But this one is NOT the average V113 though. This engine is one-of-a-kind, in a black finish not offered in S&S usual lineup. Another special feature is this one comes with the Tuned Induction Systemt hat has nearly twice the filtering area as the classic teardrop air cleaner. Normally this engine, depending on options, retails four about $7,650.00. Not a bad haul for coming to party at the Broken Spoke Saloon. http://brokenspokesaloon.com/sturgis.php
Weather was typical South Dakota. Locals have a saying: “If you don’t like our weather today, wait for 15 minutes…” This year again, everything from high temperatures under blue skies, to tornado watches to sudden pouring rain and hail from hell. Then repeat 2 or 3 times a day depending of where you are and are heading too. But as far as I know, no damage by winds and hail like some former years. If you ride, just be always ready with alternate clothing gear.
Regarding attendance it’s still too early to give numbers. But all those who participated already know that the 2011 edition was not as big a hit as it was in 2010. The week before the motorcycle event got started, number of visitors at Mount Rushmore was already down. From downtown Sturgis to the top of the Black Hills vendors evaluated attendance down in a range rom 10% to 25%. Vendor permits are also probably down (as I post this I hear minus 7%) and I observed myself that small size vendors usually installed beyond 12th street and Lazelle have mostly disappeared. In a recent national study published last week 8 out of 10 people surveyed say they now exercise more caution with their finances and learned important lessons regarding savings, investing, and preparing for retirement. Does it mean that those who accepted to pay a fee to display their ware had a bad rally? For some, yes, in particular the “non-necessary items” that I will qualify of tourist tees, mementos and gadgets. At the opposite, Bert Baker was all smile telling me that he started the week overbooked for installation of his transmissions and Holger Mohr President from Custom Chrome (not selling retail) telling me the overwhelming interest for his new “Lucky F*cker” body kit for Softail bikes. Big quality items that you judge necessary for your ride still sell well… Continue reading ‘2011 Sturgis Rally Postcards’
