Cycle Source Magazine - October 2019

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October ‘10 CYCLE SOURCE

CYCLE SOURCE October ‘19

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BIKES Aunt Flow

Justin's 77 Shovel Chopper ............................................................................... 20

Pink Floppy Death

Centerfold Inspired Chopper ......................................................................... 36

Bubbalicious

Greenfield Disco Chopper ............................................................................... 50

Dirt Shovel

Pitoniak's Speed & Cycle's '81 FXWG ......................................................... 62

Root Beer Float

Dave Reel's Classic Low Rider ....................................................................... 76

FEATURES

The 96th Laconia Bike Week

America's Oldest Rally Rolls Towards 100 ...............................................10

First Ride On The Royal Enfield

The Continental GT650 Proves Chris Wrong ......................................... 30

Fuell Launch

Erik Buell Is At It Again ....................................................................................... 34

Realities Ride 2019

The World's Largest Poker Run & So Much More .................................. 44

The New Rider

Michelle's Tale Of Being The Newbie .......................................................... 66

InSlide Line

A Win Is A Win.......................................................................................................... 84

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TECH

99 Problems

Fixes For The Little ThingsThat Make A Big Difference ....................... 16

Lowdown With Lowbrow

AMO Installs The Lowbrow Pivot Seat Hinge .......................................... 26

Laying Down The Lace

Paint Tech Tips With Flat Broke Chops & Rods ....................................... 70

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EDITORIAL OFFICE

The Cycle Source Magazine 118 Dellenbaugh Road Tarentum, PA 15084

For Any Questions Or Comments Please Call 724-226-2867 or e-mail cyclesourcemain@comcast.net

EDITORIAL STAFF

Christopher Callen - Editor In Chief - cyclesource69@comcast.net Heather Callen - Managing Editor - cyclesourcemain@comcast.net Will Ramsey - Tech Editor - will@faithforgotten.com Milwaukee Mike - Mid-West Editor - neanderthalneon@hotmail.com Roadside Marty - South East Editor - roadsidemd@bellsouth.net Keith “Bandit” Ball - News Editor - bandit@bikernet.com J. Ken Conte - Test Ride Editor - kenconte@gmail.com

STAFF WRITERS

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Chris Callen, Milwaukee Mike, Jack Schit, Pat Jansen, Will Ramsey, Xavier Muriel, Charlie Weisel, Mitch Bodine, Mark Velazquez, Amelia Rose, Daniel Donley, Joshua Elzey, Jimmy Frizzell, Roadside Marty, Scotty Kerekes, Heather Callen, Rebecca Cunningham, Dan Venditto, George The Painter, Tyler Porter

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Chris Callen, Heather Callen, Mad Stork Ken, Mark Velazquez, Twila Knight, Rebecca Cunningham, Dan Venditto, Melissa Shoemaker, George The Painter

CONTRIBUTORS

Lowbrow Customs, Michelle Bartrum

STAFF ARTISTS

Jimmy Frizzell, Chris Callen, George The Painter

ADVERTISING

Heather Callen- Sales Manager - cyclesourcemain@comcast.net

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CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Heather Callen - 724-226-2867

In The News

COPY EDITOR Judy Duggan

The World Report Powered by BikerNet.com ......................................... 86

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DEPARTMENTS From The Editor’s Desk .................................................... 8 Pin-Up Of The Month ....................................................... 42

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LEGAL COUNSEL

James L. Paz Attorney at Law - Tarentum, PA - 724-226-9PAZ For Any Subscription Questions Call 724-226-2867 The Cycle Source Magazine® (ISSN 1935-0287) is published 12 times a year by The Cycle Source Magazine with Offices at 119 Dellenbaugh Road Tarentum, PA 15084, 724-226-2867, www.cyclesource.com. U.S. Subscription rate is $25.00 for 12 issues. Canadian Subscription rate is $45.00 for 12 issues. Back Issues, when available, are $6.00 each, payable in advance. Periodicals postage paid at Tarentum, PA ad additional mailing offices. The Cycle Source Magazine® reserves the right to reject any advertising or contributions that it deems unsuitable. Opinions expressed are those of the author and not of The Cycle Source Magazine®. Nothing printed in The Cycle Source Magazine® October be re-printed in whole or part without the express written consent of the publishers. Copyright ® 2019. The Cycle Source Magazine®, A Grass Roots Motorcycle PublicationSM, Scooter Tramp ™ Wild Man™ Low Down & Dirty Rotten™ Grease & Gears Garage™ Grease & Gears TV™ Grease & Gears Garage Roadshow™ ShopTalk™ Do It Your Damn Self™ Inslide Line™ are registered trade marks.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cycle Source Magazine 119 Dellenbaugh RD. Tarentum, PA 15084

ABOUT THE COVER

Chopper Charlie .............................................................. 56 Endless Highway .............................................................. 72 On The Road With X ......................................................... 82 The Edge With Jimmy Frizzell .................................... 90 Gut Busters ........................................................................ 98

DISTRIBUTION

Coast to Coast Newsstand Services Partnership 5230 Finch Ave. E., Ste. 1, Toronto, ON, M1S 4Z9 Cycle Source - Dealership Direct Distribution 724-226-2867

SPARE PARTS

Photo Hunt ........................................................................... 43

GRAPHIC ARTISTS

Chris Callen, Heather Callen, Amelia Rose, Missi Shoemaker

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The cover bike was built by the type of guy we make this magazine for every month. Eric Greenfield is the average hard working man that has a love affair with motorcycles, 70's choppers to be more specific. He doesn't do this motorcycle thing for a living, but the for the love of it. We are honored to have his "perfect chopper" on our cover!

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guess more time has passed than I have realized as I sit at the helm of this little magazine. Most recently this has become clear to me as I have watched the young cat that works in our shop “Flat Broke Chops & Rods”. His name is Tayler, and he reminds me so much of myself that it scares me at times. At the same time, I can now realize how much I have changed over the years between his age and mine.

Lessons I’ve learned and battles I’ve decided to pass on, as age sometimes gives us the ability to do. I watch him as he throws himself at work and the challenges that come with it. He’s a damn hard worker, one of the prerequisites of doing anything with this crew, but he knows how to have a good time too. Although there has been a time or two that he has taken the good time to far, he’s a good shit and deserves a seat at the table with us. If there was anything I could do to impress upon him how fantastic life really is at his age, to spare him the bumps and bruises that come from being a stubborn jackass like I was, having to learn most things the hard way, but that’s probably no more likely for him as it was for

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me.

One of the best things I get from him that I was lucky enough to get from our daughter Killer when she traveled around with us as well; a fresh perspective. You see, as time rolls on we tend to see the baggage that comes along with a person or a place before we see the plain and simple truth of how cool this shit we do is. Looking at the fire in a younger person’s eyes invigorates me like a jumper pack to a dead battery. As they take in new experiences and complete challenges, they thought would be insurmountable, I get a great gift in being aware of what they are experiencing.

At the big events and rallies, I am lucky enough to have a lot of these younger riders as friends, and they come out to support the events we throw. It does my heart good to know that our simple way of gathering friends and family together for fun with the motorcycles appeals to their evaluation of how it should be. To hear their words of praise when we have a good time, good show or even a mini bike drag race fills me with pride as I believe wholeheartedly that it keeps me going in the right direction. Yeah,

some of them can be little shits at times, but for the most part, I’d take their company as a whole over some of the sour old pricks who just want to bitch about the business part of this.

It would do our entire industry well to pay attention to this as it is not a retail-driven phenomenon.

This rite of passage is age-old and as true to the soul of the motorcycle today as it ever was. There is no secret handshake, no app, and certainly no short cuts. There are hours in the shop, or on the seat of the bike, miles ridden, friends made, and at the end, a sense of fulfillment like few other things in life can offer.

Of course, all of this is masked in plain sight, to the straights, it just looks like a bunch of rowdy kids with loud bikes going from one party to another. But if you step back from your own stigma, give into the purity of this thing we love so much, you can see that motorcycling in whatever capacity is in good hands. The fire in their eyes burns as brightly for it as any generation before has.

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or the second year in a row, I packed my bags and ventured East! During this trip, I was able to actually have a couple of weeks of vacation before I had to get to work. I spent time with friends in Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts before I reached my final destination, Laconia Motorcycle Week.

The northeast is becoming one of my favorite destinations; it is so beautiful, and the history, WOW! What better place for the oldest motorcycle rally in the country? Its 96 “Official” years of Laconia, unofficially it’s well over 100.

Laconia Motorcycle Week origins start in the early 1900s.

In 1916 Laconia was added as a stop to the Gypsy Tour, where motorcycle riders would gather

Article And Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

and celebrate riding, much as we do today. The tour lasted several days and would include racing, hill climbs and camping

out while enjoying time with fellow motorcycle enthusiasts. In

1923 the event became official, and that is why we are only celebrating the 96th Annual Laconia Motorcycle Week.

Once again, the Cycle Source Crew called the Laconia Roadhouse home for the ten-day rally.

Grease & Gears Garage was in full swing and set up just across from the iconic Weirs Beach sign, next to the Weirs Drive-In theatre entrance.

On stage, our fearless leader Chris Callen, along with Mark Persichetti of Flat Broke Chops & Rods hosted several shows daily. We learned how to make a custom sissy bar & handlebars, how to lower a Sportster and how to do essential maintenanceon our bikes. Special guests included Rich Pitoniak of Pitoniak Cycle; Xavier

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Muriel from Providence Cycle Worx; the crew from Skully Customs, Josh Owens from the hit show Moonshiners, Michelle Bartrum, Ben Davis, and emcee extraordinaire Jack Schit. Don’t forget you can see all past episodes of Grease & Gears Garage on our Facebook Page or YouTube Channel!

For the first time, we brought Mini Bike Drag Racing to the Laconia Roadhouse, and what a fantastic time we had! I was standing around waiting for the Legendary Wet T-shirt contest to finish so we could get started when a guy comes up and asks me where he needs to bring his mini-bike for the race, so I told him and didn’t think much more of it… until I saw him wheeling in this amazing drag-race minibike, complete with wheelie bars!!

That’s when I knew this was going to be epic! Of course, he was one of the first bikes on the line, and the realization hit that our stopping area wasn’t long enough as he barreled through the hay bales and toward the Grease & Gears stage at a high rate of speed. (Well, high for a mini bike anyway.) After a few adjustments to the course, we were back in business!

A group of guys from Indiana joined the fun, and of course, I had to find out where in Indiana they came in from since that’s my home state.

They ended up being the crew from Mason Brothers Racing, out of Martinsville, IN and were in town for the AMA Pro Hillclimb. They had come to town to go go-cart racing and when it wasn’t open, stopped in at the Roadhouse and happened upon our races. The mini bike with the wheelie bars, owned and ridden by Herb Morais won with Jack Mason literarily tumbling across the finish line for second. Everyone was having so much fun, we couldn’t let it stop, so the Cycle Source Crew, with some help from the racers rearranged the hay bales and waa-la we went from a drag strip to an oval track, just like that, and for the first time, Mini Bike Flat Track Racing happened at the Laconia Roadhouse. It was just as fun as the drag racing. In the first race we had them six wide and they were bumping elbows and footpegs.

The crowd was laughing, the riders were smiling, and the crew was chuckling. We definitely had a great day. The Mini Bikes were such a tremendous success that we ended up doing the flat track racing two more - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE

days during the week.

Thursday’s weather did not cooperate at all for our ride-in bike show.

It was cold and rainy, and did I mention it was cold? Chris even went

fishing in the puddles, but I don’t think he caught anything, except a laugh. We did have a decent turn out for the show, considering, and Rich Pitoniak took home Best of October ‘19 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE 13

Show with his beautiful Shovelhead!

Thursday night ended with the live broadcast of ShopTalk. Everyone was freezing, because it was you can see your breath cold. I even ended up on camera for one segment, which was exciting and scary all at the same time, it’s different being on the other side of the lens!

hours, but in the end, the Vintage Bikes made their way up Tower Street, one at a time in an Exhibition style race. Wednesday brought the AMA Hillclimb at Gunstock Resort

Of course, there are all the things happening around town that you would expect from a motorcycle rally. You get to cruise the strip along Weirs Beach, park your bike and take a walk to check out the vendors and visit the bars and restaurants.

You can also take the train from Weirs Beach to Meredith and back or vice versa. You’ll find bike shows and organized rides just about daily. Our own Xavier Muriel was the special guest/ Grand Marshall of one such ride, the Ride for CHaD, which was held on the final Saturday of the rally.

For a small donation, you were able to be a part of a beautiful escorted ride through the mountains and finish up at the Roadhouse for lunch with Xavier!

They even raffled off a bike built by X, and all proceeds went to the CHaD foundation. The New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosted a vendor lot, road racing and for the first time AFT Flat Track Racing!

You could also enjoy Demo rides from Harley-Davidson, Indian and Yamaha!

One of the first events that occurred in those early days of the rally was the Tower Street Hill Climb. On Tuesday, for the second year in a row, The United States Classic Racing Association hosted the recreation of the Tower Street Hill Climb.

The morning started out rainy, and the event was postponed for a few

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with both amateur and pro classes testing their skill up the historic 70-meter (nearly 230 ft) Torger Tokel Memorial Ski Jump, which is literally almost straight up! It is such a fantastic feeling standing at the bottom, watching these bikes scream up a

hill that youe were meant to come down on!! Our new friends from Mason Brothers Racing seemed to have a great day, with Jack Mason finishing second in the Extreme Class, and First in the Extreme Class’ All-Star Challenge.

The best thing about the Laconia rally is the riding. It is so beautiful in the Northeast, and you can see so much within a 100-mile radius of Weirs Beach. This year I ventured out to Bentley’s Saloon which is a beautiful scenic ride over to Arundel ME. I enjoyed a great lunch and realized I was only 6 miles from the coast.

Well, being a gal who grew up in the Midwest, I sure couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the ocean, so I headed over to Kennebunkport and spent a few minutes taking in the salt air and listening to the waves crash on the rocks. What a beautiful day it was!

The most challenging nearby ride is the trip up the Mount Washington Auto Road. This is still on my bucket list; I haven’t gotten the courage to make that journey yet. I have been told its a scary ride, and others tell me it’s no big deal, and I could do it with no problem. I do consider myself a good rider, a seasoned rider; however, I do come from the land of flat, straight roads and have only really ridden in the mountains a couple of times. Being a good rider means knowing your limits, and I am one who tends to lean toward being cautious. That being said, I will hopefully have the time to make the trip up it next year. It’s definitely something I want to do. Who wants to ride it with me?

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Article And Photos By: Daniel Donley

www.pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com

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ver the previous months I have been reaching out to readers and industry professionals seeking a problem or situation and its fix. So, here are some of the problems, from being broke down on the side of the road to some situations in the shop like, fabrication, painting, electrical, troubleshooting etc‌

Sometimes we are not that fortunate to have the best of everything. My 1933 South Bend lathe has been around the block a few times and maybe even partied a time or two!

With that being said, she is not the

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truest running machine. What I have found is if I use a dial indicator to indicate the piece in the chuck and adjust as necessary, I can get the machine to run very true with only slight adjustments. Then tighten it down good and tight, its then capable of making good quality parts.

When running a parting tool in my South Bend lathe I have found that if I touch off the face of the chuck then tighten down, this will square the parting tool for a nice straight cut.

When building a custom motorcycle from scratch one of the most important things is chassis set up.

The devil is in the details here. The bike is only going to ride, perform and handle as good as you set it up. The rear rim and tire must be centered in the chassis, which then is in the center of the neck and the center of the front wheel. By doing this your bike will perform as it should. I like to use a string tied around the neck and then pull it taught along with my eyecrometers to make sure the rear

rim is in the center of the chassis.

Once you are at this point you can then make your rear wheel spacers. I have since improved upon the string method and have moved onto a laser alignment tool. Both methods work well, making set up of your chassis straightforward.

the shaft and will not tear or cut the sealing surface of the seal.

straps in a nice neat order. You can also shoot your buddy with them!

This is a good one, having just got done mounting a tire I was having trouble setting the bead. The air

We’ve all been here and done that, looks like a bomb blew up all over our workbench. I have found that the use

chuck is not capable of flowing enough air. If you disassemble the air chuck you can see how small the air hole is. I increased the size from .150 to .250 on this particular one.

Time flies when you’re having fun but sometimes is seems to go a little too fast. As we get older things don’t work as well as they used to. Where am I going here…? I am talking about our vision. A good way to improve upon your machining or welding skills is to make sure you see properly.

Cool guys use a magnifying lens and glasses too! You will be pleasantly surprised at what you see!

of some magnetic strips attached to the wall behind the work bench will hold all the tools for the task at hand and keep your bench nice and clean.

Let me tell you what, this baby has no problem setting beads on any tire.

Hi flow!

The baggie trick… Very simple and straightforward. Cut a Ziploc bag in half and slip it over your shaft. Apply oil to the baggie surface, this will

allow the o ring to slide smoothly over

Rubber bands for days…. Ever need an extra-large rubber band? I have found that an old 21” inner tube cut into small thin strips makes for some extra heavy-duty rubber bands. You will find many uses for them. For example, like securing your ratchet

Engine assembly lube, yes you can buy it, but you can also make your own. I like to use a mixture of molly paste and the oil that I am going to be using in the engine. Mixed thoroughly and in a small container. I use a small paint brush to apply.

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was losing some traction and not allowing the machine to perform as it should. There was definitely some disassembly here for sure. I changed out the leather belt with a serpentine belt from a car. NO MORE SLIPPIN! Calling all readers and industry professionals, please submit problems WITH fixes and PICS to the email below (Bikes, Shop Equipment, Paint, Tools, Etc.) If there is something that you would like to see a Tech article on please call or email me with your idea!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at the shop anytime 419-576-6812 Daniel Donley Pandemonium Custom Choppers Facebook- Pandemonium Custom Choppers Instagram – pandemoniumc2 info@pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com

PS… This ones for extra credit…I love my old south bend lathe. She

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is a good ole machine, But I have found that her old leather belt

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o, I’m going to try my best not to jump around too much on the story of this killer chopper. I say this because I am lucky enough to know most of the cast of characters that surround this story and this bike but believe it or not, I did not truly know Justin until I ran into his killer ride at a Chaos Cycle open house.

Coming from a BMX background, Justin Zober from

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Mastic, New York has always had a love for all bikes. When he jumprf from the BMX world to the roads on eastern Long Island on his Endro Supermoto all in the world seemed right.

It was then that through a mutual friend Justin ran into the likes of Billy Quinn. Billy being a builder of bikes himself and even having his rad Evo Chopper featured in this lovely rag, convinced Justin that it was

time to step up his game and step into the world of choppers.

For Justin, the response was simple... sure thing!

With that said, together Billy and Justin found a running ’77 Shovel and made her roadworthy to get through the summer before a much-needed winter tear down was in order.

Once November arrived, the fun began. When Billy noticed major frame issues, they both

Article And Photos By: Mark Velazquez

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agreed is was going to be a hardtail all the way. So bye-bye old frame and hello new Paughco straight leg frame. With everything off the bike, it was now time to bring in James Best of Dudley’s Basement to give the engine and tranny a real overhaul. For the record, James is one of Long Islands best and by the looks of the end results another perfect job! Oh, and did I mention James did a great job cutting those tranny gears for the jockey shift.

It’s those simple yet not so simple tasks that make the job complete.

With the engine and tranny complete Billy and Justin began to do a little chopping on the frame.

While they were at it they added all new wiring. In the end, with the help of Justin, all the fabrication you see before you were at the hands of Billy, well done!

With the bike now pretty much mocked-up and done it was paint time. Billy went back to the well on this one and called on the same dude that painted his Evo, Jimmie Caldwell @iconcepts based out of Pittsburgh. Only being told he wanted some flake in the paint, Justin told Jimmie to have at it, and he didn’t disappoint. Perfect and flawless

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job! And if an ideal paint job was not enough Adam Nisiewicz @ adam_piercestreetseats pulled it all together and killed it with a SIC King & Queen seat that genuinely ties the chopper vibe of this bike altogether.

Now, I would like to say that this bike as perfect as she is, but are they truly ever done? That’s the beauty of the chopper, you can tear her down, change her here and there but in the end her soul always remains. Something you will never be able to purchase off the assembly line. A super sexy blue-collar bike that will stand the test of time. And for the record don’t let this Shovel fool you, Justin has already road-tripped this bitch to Atlanta and back.

I love choppers and respect those like Justin who ride them. It’s never too late to get in the game, I say. Getting his miles in with

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aunt flow Tech Sheet Owner: Justin Zober City/State: Mastic Beach, NY Builder: Bill Quinn/Owner Year: 1977 Model: Shovelhead Value: $75K...Give Or Take Time: About A Year Engine Year: 1977 Model: Cone Shovel Builder: James Best Ignition: Dynatech Displacement: 74 Cu In Pistons: Wiseco Heads: Stock Ported & Polished Carb: CV, Ported & Polished Cam: Air Cleaner: TC Bros. Louvered Exhaust: Paughco, Modified Primary: 3” Open Belt BDL Transmission Year: 1977 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: 4 Speed Ratchet Top Frame Year: 2016 Model: Paughco Rake: Stock Stretch: Forks Builder: Paughco Type: Narrow Springer Triple Trees: Extension: 4” Over Wheels Front Wheel: Mini Spool Size: 21” Tire: Avon Speedmaster Front Brake: None Rear Wheel: Timken Star Hub Size: 18” Tire: Firestone Rear Brake: Juice Drum Paint Painter: Jimmy Caldwell/I Concepts Color: Red Metal Flake Type: Paint Huff Graphics: Jimmy Caldwell Chroming: Accessories Bars: Pangea Speed Apes Risers: Hand Controls: Foot Controls: Pangea Speed Foot Clutch Gas Tank(S): Alien Axed Oil Tank: E-Bay Special Front Fender: None Rear Fender: Lowbrow Customs Seat: Pierce Street Seats Headlight: Mesh Grill Chrome Tail Light: Two For The Road Speedo: Photographer: Mark Velaquez

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his buddies Billy Quinn, Baby James, Chopper Chris, James, Good Time Chris, and Money Shot Chris... (damn!!

Long Island got a hell of a lot of people named Chris), these guys along with Justin ride because

they can and because it’s their passion. And go figure, I’m sure all the these bikes these young guns are riding are older than most of the lot. Now that’s legacy!

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Article And Photos By: Austin Andrella Austin Martin Originals

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lines on a ruler as you measure, end of the left side, dead center, and the end of right side of the bracket. Line up the middle mark on your ruler representing the dead center of the mount with your mark you made on

ools: Square; Straight Edge Measuring Tape; Sharpie Grinder or Disc Sander; File Magnets & Magnetic Flex Rod 1/2� & 9/16 open end wrench; Welder (Tig or Mig); Laser eye

Step 2: Measure and mark you center line on the frame where the seat hinge mount will go and also the center line on the cross bar where the spring mounts will go. Use a square to check center lines are equal.

We are going to be working on this Yamaha XS650 that I have been building for a customer.

Step 1: To start this job, you will want to make sure the rear wheel, rear fender and gas tank are installed on the frame so you can judge the clearance and alignment from front to back.

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Step 3: Measure the width of the seat hinge mounting bracket. Mark three

the frame. Then make two marks on the left and right ends where you visualized the seat hinge mount will go. Using a square make straight lines down to the end of frame plate.

Do the same step on the cross tube but with your seat pan, measure your spring studs on the seat making a mark on the ruler at the center of the left side stud, dead center and the center of the right side stud.

From your dead center line on your ruler mark the left and right side measurements on the cross tube where your spring mounts would go.

Step 4: Now it is time to grind the top & bottoms of the springs to

make them to sit flush and bolt down straight with your seat mounts. You can use a grinder or a disc sander for this job. To make sure they are level, place them on a flat surface and you will see how they sit flat.

I welded a bolt to a metal piece of tubing and use a magnet to secure the seat spring in preparation to grind the ends flat safely.

Do you see the difference of the left to the right one? The right one’s bottom has been grounded down to be flat and will sit better on the spring mount

/ perch than the one on the left. Grind both sides of each spring to sit flat.

Step 5: The Lowbrow seat pivot comes with a bracket meant for a round back bone tube so we need to get rid of that for this bike I’m currently building. Make a straight line right at the top of the radius all the way across the bracket. Grind the arc away flat and even using a disc sander or grinder. I like to clean up all the bottom side edges of the mount to in prep for welding too. *Note: Some frames have a back bone tube and no plate. If you have a round back bone, ignore step 5, do not grid away the radius.

After taking a grinder to the corners, this little guy is ready to get tacked in position.

Step 6: Next you will want to put all of the hardware onto the seat for mock up.

Marking off what area of the mount I need to grind down using a square to keep my lines straight.

Using a Magnetic Flex Rod can help secure the bolts that keep your springs onto the seat pan.

Using a disc sander, notice the sparks on the disk are far away from each other because of the arc of the mount. As I grind down the mount the lines will start to get closer together on the disk and become a solid spark line when flat.

Line your solo seat hinge / pivot where you think it looks best on the bottom of your seat.

See how the lines on the disk are almost completely together now, this means the mount is almost clear of the arc and flat.

Step 7: Using some strong magnets place the spring mounts on the locations where you marked your measurements on the cross tube.

Place the seat in place with pins in to see how the springs sit and the front hinge mount lines up with your measurements. Now you can step back and take a look at your seat from multiple angles. Although you marked your center lines for reference, nothing is perfect. You can nudge the seat to the left or right to line it up visually with the frame rails and gas tank. This is where your laser eye really comes into play and it is always a good idea to have a second pair of eyes for another opinion.

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Using strong magnets and line up your spring mounts / perches to the lines you marked.

Ask for assistance if you need it, and make sure they don’t move!

Small tacks on each side of the seat mount / perches and the front mount.

Step 9: Disassemble the seat completely. Remove the gas tank, rear wheel and fender so you have more room to weld. Clean up your marker spots and all spots you are going to need to weld.

Attach the seat completely to the spring mounts / perches using the hardware that comes with it.

The same goes with removing the rear tire and rear fender out of the way.

Step 10: Now you can start welding the seat hinge mount and spring mounts. If you are Tig welding, some of the spots can be challenging to reach. Weld as much as you can and if there are a few spots you aren’t confident in doing, you can always finish welding those spots when the bike has to be taken apart and the frame needs to get prepped for powder coating and or paint.

Now get to welding up that front mount and spring mounts / perches!

Remove the seat and seat springs completely from the front mount and spring mounts / perches.

Some spots can be more difficult to reach than others. Take your time and if you don’t feel confident in a spot, you can always wait to finish it later.

Wait until disassembly in prep for powder coating and make your final welds with the motor out of the frame.

This will give you the capability to flip

This is where your laser eye comes into play. Make sure from all angles of the bike that the seat, the front mount, and spring mount / perches are straight, even, and up to par with your standards.

Step 8: After all is inspected and you approve of the seat position, its time for some quick tack welds so nothing gets burn or melted. Tack each side of the seat hinge mount and the spring mounts.

Tack it up man!

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Make sure to clean off all dirt, oil and marker marks where you will be welding.

Removing the tank will give you more room to move around the bike to make sure your welds are the best they can be.

Step 11: After everything has cooled off, attach your seat and basque in all your glory! Thats all there is to it.

Boom! Lowbrow Customs Solo Seat Hinge / Pivot installed and ready to roll!

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i

am a skeptic at heart. When someone comes to me with anything new and fantastic in the motorcycle game, I raise one eyebrow and then make plans to investigate further for myself. I know it’s my job to do so, but this is partly the result of years enduring the “Billy Mayes” style pitchmen that the big manufacturers employ to launch would be revolutionary products. So, as you can imagine, when I heard that Royal Enfield was launching two new bikes in the USA that would shake the foundation of the entrylevel motorcycle business, I had doubts. Worse than that, I wanted to disprove their lofty claims and was sure that once I got next to these bikes, let alone on one of them, I would be able to quickly pick apart what was sure to be a substandard product. After all, such a low price tag had to be cheaply made, underpowered and would leave the consumer wanting. After all, the big motorcycle companies have been trying for years to come up with the combination of style, price, and value and have mostly fallen short of market expectations. If they couldn’t do it, why would we believe that an outsider could? Well, brother, I am here to tell you that I was wrong!

For the purpose of this article, I will skip the long and

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storied history of the company who holds the title of being one of the oldest motorcycle manufacturers in the world, and we will get right into the Continental GT 650. I had a chance to throw a leg over this bike during a trip to the Leman’s Corp last month in Janesville WI. Just down the street was Team Power Center where we had heard rumors there was an entire inventory of these new imports. A longtime sales and repair facility for triumph motorcycles, owner Todd Ligman, was quick to report that the new Royal Enfields were even cutting into Triumph sales. For the hour or so we were at the shop there was a nonstop parade of people lining up to test ride the GT. Ok, so first impressions just standing right beside the machine was that it was well made. Fit and finish was perfect, and no plastic parts were in place to cheapen up the retail price. Damn it, the first sign I was not going to be able to bash this effort, it was very well made. Well, the ride would have to be where I’d find fault then.

I jumped out on the back roads around Janesville and quickly took it up to speed. The GT has a six-speed transmission, and the gear ratio found no trouble taking my 240-pound frame to speed. In fact, at 4500 RPMs in sixth gear, I looked at the speedometer and was surprised to be doing 72 miles an hour. The bike doesn’t redline until 7500, so it had more than

Article By: Chris Callen Photos: Heather Callen

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enough power and was able to deliver it in a manner consistent to a fun ride. This is partially due, I am sure, to its 450lb l streetready overall weight. Strike two for my need to downplay the sensationalism.

Ok, now down to the facts. The price point on this motorcycle is $5,999 for the solid color version. That includes the new air-/oil-cooled, SOHC, 648cc, parallel-twin, four-valve-per-cylinder engine. Two piston Bybre front brake and a single-piston rear, both are floating calipers and feature ABS. Rear suspension features twin coil over shocks with adjustable preload and has

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3.5-in. travel. The front is a 41mm fork with conventional dampening and 4.5 inches of travel. Final drive is a chain, just like a motorcycle would have.

All of this and still it comes with a 3-year unlimited warranty, roadside assistance that will even cover you in the event that you forget to fill up your fuel tank. Yes, they have made it easy for even a non-rider to enter the world of two wheels.

On a final note, it’s important to mention the styling of this bike. While it harkens to the early days of the cafe style, it also has a very different look, from a younger rider’s

perspective, when compared to other options close to that price range, one they could easily claim as their own.

Considering that most motorcycle companies doing business in the US are laser focused on outreach and gaining the support of new riders, I would wager that this new offering from Royal Enfield will set the bar for what will be expected from an entry level offering.

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Article And Photos By: Marjorie Kleiman

A

bout 22 months ago, legendary motorcycle designer Erik Buell partnered with Fred Vasseur, well known in the GT and Formula racing world, and Francois-Xavier Terny who has been involved with several motorcycle company startups, to form Fuell, a new twowheel transportation company.

The three partners refer to Fuell, which will produce two-wheeled electric vehicles, as an “urban utility brand.” In April, the Fuell Fluid e-bicycle and Fuell Flow electric motorcycle were introduced at a pop-up store in lower Manhattan, New York, with Chief Technical Officer Erik Buell and CEO F-X Terney presenting these new vehicles to potential investors and interested urban commuters. I can tell you that the New York City urban riders and journalists attending the reveal have mad respect for Erik, having followed his path since the early Buell Motorcycle days, and were nearly as excited as he was during the Flow’s reveal, being thoroughly impressed by the new technology.

As founder of Buell Motorcycle Company, EBR Racing and EBR Motorcycle Company, what made Erik Buell shift his focus from fueldriven motorcycles to electric vehicles? Erik tells Cycle Source, “I’ve been interested in electric for a long time and was looking into it while still at Harley and came back with a report of companies that were starting out. When I

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was at EBR, we did a couple of electric vehicles for Hero. The knowledge that I had just kept growing. What I was looking for, what intrigued me, is that it’s very much the future.”

Buell continues, “I kept thinking about ways you could do something unique, not just be any electric motorcycle, but a motorcycle that fills some space where there isn’t anything. I’d known Francois for a little while, and then I met Fred who owns the Sauber Alfa Romeo racing team and through Spark Racing built the cars

they’re now using in Formula E.” The three began discussing the idea of urban mobility related to personal transportation because a lot of European cities, where twowheeled vehicles are the norm for commuting, are already banning internal combustion engines leaving an opening for a different type

of affordable, and legal, two-wheeler. Just to cite a few examples, Oslo, Norway will have a complete ban on internal combustion engines in 2023, Paris in 2027, and China, as well as other highly populated countries, are planning complete bans. Can California be far behind, with its partial Zero Emission Vehicle laws already in place?

According to F-X Terney, “Erik is the co-leader of this company with me, and as CTO oversees everything technical. We have a designer who introduces some styling ideas and directions and works with Erik and the engineering team.”

Erik tells us, “The Fluid isn’t radically different than other e-bikes; it’s just a very top-of-the-line spec with double batteries, belt drive, and all, equipment. It’s very sturdy and is the transition just before you go to a motorcycle.” The Flow, though, according to Erik, is really innovative.

“The whole chassis is made of magnesium castings; its motor is a high-voltage 400V (with plans to attain twice that in a few years) and has a hub wheel which is a new technology. This is basically focusing on not trying to replace a middleweight, with an electric bike. It’s an urban commuter vehicle, but it’s fun. It’s very slim, light and nimble, it’s got super handling, and monstrous torque—0-60 in under three seconds—but the top speed is capped because we built it for urban.” Sustained standard speed is about 55 mph with a boost switch that increases speed up to 85 mph.

The Flow’s wheel motor is powered by your choice of a 11kW or 35kW Li-Ion battery pack that can connect to a fast charger that brings the bike to full range (about 150 miles) in a half-hour. (Other battery charging options are available as well, with various charging rates.)

MSRP for the 11kW Flow will start at $10,995, and the 35kW model will be priced at $11,995, nearly $20,000 less than the Harley-Davidson LiveWire.

Low in the center section where the motor and transmission in a traditional motorcycle would be mounted, be is two magnesium castings housing the batteries. The space where the gas tank would typically be is dedicated to storage— grocery shopping after work, anyone? —and the tail section, also made of magnesium, serves as a container for the electronics and wiring. The design, with the heavy batteries placed low on the bike, makes for a very low center of gravity, and the light 400-pound weight facilitates even more stability.

The Flow’s hub motor structure means, among other things, that the chassis isn’t designed around a particular type of engine; as technology improves and newer and more efficient batteries become available, the old batteries can be exchanged without significant modifications. The batteries don’t need to be tossed when upgrades occur; the Fuell partners believe that opportunities will exist for refurbishing batteries and sending them to other parts of the world for, second- and third-

time sales before disposal. Besides the battery, the Flow is made of metal, meaning that it’s recyclable, with Fuell always looking for further “green” opportunities. It was also stated that approximately 60 percent of the Flow’s cost is the battery, and with battery prices going down around six or seven percent every year, it is entirely possible that the Flow could be sold for under five figures in just a few years.

There’s a ton of other technology included on the Flow as well, such as linked intelligent ABS brakes, eTraction control, interactive dashboard, “walk and reverse” assist, blindside detection, front and rear collision warning and, of course, a smartphone app for vehicle status.

The Fluid e-bike, scheduled to be generally available for purchase later in 2019, is being funded, in part, by an Indiegogo campaign whereby early-bird donators will receive a unit for between $2,299 and $2,849 depending on the model chosen. Is there a market for the

Fluid? As of this writing, the campaign has already achieved 660 percent of its $75,000 goal!

Initial manufacturing pf the Fluid will take place in Taiwan, although with enough volume, manufacturing could eventually be moved to the U.S. The Flow is slated for availability in Europe in 2021, with no specific date set for U.S. sales; however, pre-orders are being accepted through the Fuell website.

Manufacturing will take place in the U.S., at a location to be determined.

For more information, check out fuell. us, facebook.com/fuellmobilityhalf-houror @ fuellmobility. It’ll be interesting to see how this technology progresses, and whether U.S. urban riders embrace Erik Buell’s concept.

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very once in a while, you meet someone who is totally into motorcycles, especially choppers.

I’ve known Zach Gostelli for a couple of years now, and I can honestly say he definitely has a love affair with two wheels. If Zach isn’t building them, he’s riding them, if he isn’t riding them, he’s thinking about them… you dig what I’m saying? A lot of people think of themselves as wheelers and dealers when it comes to bikes and parts whether it’s buying/selling or trading for stacks of cash and Zach would like to think of himself that way, the truth is he’s a lot better at buying

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than selling as was the case here.

I admire Zach and the way he built this bike. Gostelli started out with a stock bike and built a chopper that way, the same way a lot of chopper guys have done for years. Pink Floppy Death started out as a local Craiglist find. It was a full dress 1983 FLH that was just a mile or two down the road. The old greybeard was done with bikes and was cutting it loose. Zach quickly made the deal and rode the crusty, leaking garbage wagon home. He was happy to ride it around as-is with a big grin for weeks, and I know this because he rode it over to me and my Dad’s shop to

tell me all about his plans for it. Shortly thereafter came another deployment with the Air Force to the sandbox for 7 months.

With too much time to plan, what started as a quick strip down, make it cool and sell project blossomed a big project. Once he got back stateside, the first thing he did was start stripping the old wrinkle paint off of the motor and transmission. The next thing Zach knew he’d pulled the entire driveline out of the bike to do it right. Zach figured if he’s already gone this far, he might as well go all the way and chop the frame.

Article By: Roadside Marty Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

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Time to go for broke with the build! The wheels and fork came off and along with other pieces and parts ended up amongst friends… remember that part earlier about not being good at selling? (Thanks brother haha!)

Zach loaded up the frame and headed down to FNA Cycles in Lakeland FL, Eric Allard (The Mad Scientist) hardtailed the frame real quick and did an excellent job.

While the frame was with Eric, Gosteli rebuilt the top end of the motor with new pistons and rings, then rebuilt the heads with new valves and guides. Next up, he decided to go with solid lifters and adjustable pushrods. He also replaced the Bendix carb with a S&S Super E then topped it off with a Church of Choppers/ Chopper Dave air cleaner. The original rotary top transmission was pulled out and replaced with an old chrome ratchet top Zach had been holding onto.

Now everyone has seen at least a few of the classic David Mann centerfolds and it’s a safe bet to say that they’ve influenced many builds and builders, myself included, so it’s no surprise that Zach drew heavy from the 1966-1969 centerfolds that Mann did for Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and Choppers Magazine. You know the ones…high pipes and sissy bars, tall bars, long forks, and wild paint, bikes that were loud, wild, dangerous and screams out “Check me

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out, I’m here to party!!!” With a few idea sketches drawn and a few centerfolds tacked up to the wall for inspiration Zach bent up a full 12 ft piece of 5/8” round rod and cut up a couple of sets of stock pipes to weld up the exhaust and more than enough support brackets to bolt them to each other and the frame. The pipes peak right around 5 ft and the sissy bar is a perfect 6’ to smack your head on when you walk by not paying attention. It’s been thru a few tanks and front ends since it’s been built, but now it’s running a narrowed “Frisco’d” Sportster tank with a 14” over 41mm set of tubes and shaved legs in a set of Mullins narrow trees to keep it long and skinny. The risers came from an old club guy in Cleveland and are 12” extended, and chromed two-piece clamps with 8” Z bars cut down at the base and narrowed to 19”. Zach says between the way too long front end, narrow bars and a 21” spool wheel the front end is pretty heavy. And when you add in the Main Drive Cycles Frisco High Mid controls and the weight of the sissy bar and pipes, the center of gravity is precariously high, and the fork flop is pretty sketchy. Gosteli says when it’s going down the road, it feels too good to be wrong, and the name fits. It’s very pink, hard to ride and will probably kill him but he says he’s having fun until then!!

When it came time for paint, Zach

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PINK FLOPPY DEATH TECH SHEET Owner: Zach Gosteli City/State: Fort Walton Beach, FL Builder: Zach Gosteli Year: 1983 Model: FLH Value: Not Enough Time: Too Much ENGINE Year: 1983 Model: FLH Builder: Zach Gosteli Ignition: Points Displacement: 80” Pistons: S&S Heads: Harley-Davidson Carb: S&S Super E Cam: Andrews J Grind Air Cleaner: Church Of Choppers/ Chopper Dave Exhaust: Tall Primary: BDL Belt TRANSMISSION Year: Make: Harley Ratchet Top Shifting: Hand Shifter FRAME Year: 1983 Model: FLH HD/ FNA Customs Rake: Stock 30 Stretch: Forks Builder: Zach Gostlei Type: 41mm Triple Trees: Mullins Chain Drive Super Narrow Extension: 14” Over WHEELS Front Wheel: Spool Size: 21” Tire: Avon Front Brake: What?

Rear Wheel: Harley-Davidson Size: 16” Tire: Firestone Rear Brake: PM PAINT Painter: Zach Gosteli Color: Fuchsia Type: HOK/Roth Freakin Fuchsia Flake Graphics: HellOnWheels Skinny Flames Chroming: ACCESSORIES Bars: 2 Piece Narrowed Risers: 12” Panhead Clamp Hand Controls: Foot Controls: Main Drive Cycle Frisco Hi Mid Gas Tank(s): Narrow Frisco Sportster Oil Tank: Horse Shoe Front fender: Rear Fender: Lowbrow Manta Ray Seat: Le Pera Headlight: Aris Triangle Repop Tail light: Biltwell Speedo: None Photographer: Missi Shoemaker

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wanted to do something wild. Since he was in the midst of organizing the Manhandle the Panhandle Chopper Run in the Florida Panhandle and painting the trophies, he started to experiment with a purple candy over silver flake. After the third coat, the light purple took on a fuchsia pink tone. He immediately knew he’d found the perfect color! What kind of guy paints his tough-guy chopper pink?? Zach shot the frame, tank, oil bag and fender in Fuchsia and it only seemed fitting to use ROTH flake. After a dozen coats of clear, he pulled out the tape and with a little advice from yours truly, laid out some really nice long flames and shot them in black. It’s been up and running for two years now, and it’s been all over the

Southeast as well as the Midwest but one of the most memorable trips was Daytona Bike Week this year when Zach left with over 1000.00 bucks in souvenirs (tickets) and went back a month later to traffic court to fight them. He says the good times were worth it! Zach says Choppers have been the best thing to ever happen to him, he’s made friends around the world and all over the country because of these sketchy motorcycles. He’d like to thank everyone he’s met, or that has lent a hand along the way. If you’re ever in the Northwest Florida area look him up at Paradise Cycles in Fort Walton Beach and if you dig the bike or want something similar painted give him a shout at @HellonWheels!

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1. Missing Stripes On Fuel Tank. 2. DANA On Coil Instead Of Dyna. 3. Size Of Front Cylinder Rocker Box Bolt. 4. Color Of Coil Wires. 5. Front of Seat Longer. 6. Color of Shifter Knob. 7. Extra Large Dimond On Seat. 8. Extra Stripe On Oil Tanl. 9. Missing Timining Inspection Plug. 10 Pressure Plate Top On Front Pulley Of Belt Drive.

FIND TEN DIFFERENT THINGS ON RED CHOP NO THERE ISN’T ANY REAL PRIZE, JUST SOMETHING TO DO WHILE YOU’RE IN THE CAN.

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Article By: Amelia “Killer” Rose Photos By: Heather Callen, Killer Rose

g

reetings and Salutations, guess whose back! For those of you who may not know me, my name is Killer, ( AKA..Amelia or Millie), daughter of the Editors and full-time college student (for one more year)! But I’m back, for one (or two) times only! This time we headed out west to Fort Collins, CO for the 18th Annual Realities Ride.

Now, this wasn’t just any ordinary motorcycle event.

Sure there were cool vendors (like us) and rockin’ entertainment, but this event was so much more than that.

The Realities For Children Charity was founded in 1995 as a way to raise money to provide for the at-risk children of Larimer County.

Its founder had previously been a child protection case manager and, having seen so many children slip through the

cracks in the system, he decided enough was enough and wanted to take matters into his own hands.

He knew that to do so they were

going to need funding, and a lot of funding. One source of fundraising

is The Realities Ride which has come to be known as the World’s Largest Poker run…because according to the Guinness Book of World Records, it actually is. To date, they have been able to help thousands of children. In this past year alone over $100,000 was raised to meet the needs of the local atrisk children.

And all of this was done in 2, count em, 2 days in an incredible event that had over 3500 riders!

Built as an event for all ages, The Realities Ride had a plethora of fun fair-type foods as well as trick riders and a small, fencedoff area where little riders-intraining could play around on little bikes and trikes. It was really fantastic to see folks of all ages and walks of life, enjoying a community and culture as some seldom do. For me, the

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motorcycle industry has always been a source of love and support. Seeing and experiencing events like this strengthens that belief and makes me proud to be a part of it.

Our trip to Fort Collins began a few weeks after the end of the semester.

It’s been a hot minute since I was able to travel with the mag so when mum offered the trip I was thrilled. As always, with an event comes event prep, which means it’s all hands on deck and all hell breaks loose. The house is covered in badges, t-shirts, and mum and dad are working night and day to make sure everything is ready. After a few days of prep and packing, we were ready to hit the road. 26 hours, 8 Harry Potter movies (can you say marathon?), and 6 hours fighting with Nugget for couch space later, we arrived in Colorado Thursday afternoon! Our hotel was boujee beyond belief, but when you’re ‘rollin’ with celebrities like Cycle Source, only the best will do, right? Kidding! But we were incredibly lucky to be given such great accommodations, and it makes me all the more grateful that we get to do what we do.

That night we hosted ShopTalk live from a studio downtown where a few locals and some guest speakers like Chopper Charlie, his lovely talented wife Kayla and a few members of The Lita’s, Ft. Collins showed up to hang out and watch the magic happen. If you don’t watch ShopTalk weekly on Thursday nights at 9:00pm EST, then you’re seriously missing out my friends. Anyway, the show was excellent and made for a fantastic first night in Colorado.

Friday was a free day, so while the ‘rents stayed in and worked on the magazine, I got the chance to go out and explore the town with an old friend of mine from high school. Fort Collins is really a lovely little college town with tons of coffee shops and neat little stores to go exploring in and it was really fun to catch up with my friend.

The next morning we headed out early to start the booth set up. For those of you who know me, the booth happens to be my specialty and is where I spend most of my time at the events. I’m the smiling face of the mag while mum and dad are running around doing all the crazy work. Now a lot has changed since I was last able to spend time on the road with the magazine, so it took a bit of getting used to the new materials and set up, but once dad pulled out the old PA system from the back of the van, I knew I was ready

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to rock.

Our first event of the day was none other than the Cycle Source Custom Ride-In Bike Show. With over 25 individual classes and 50+ incredible custom motorcycles, we were in for a real treat. We even had a visit from Chopper Charlie, Kayla Koeune, and some of the local Satanic Mechanics (Hey, Asian Dan) came in to check out our show. I think the bike show is one of my favorite things to do at events, hands down. Each bike has so much personality and commitment built into it. Everyone shows their passion and love for their motorbike in different ways. Dirty and patchwork or sparkling clean with lace paint details: each bike and owner has a story to tell, and one day I’ll tell mine with my own build!

Later that same day, we hosted our classic bike games. If you’ve ever been to one of our events but haven’t played the bike games, you’re seriously missing out. We’ve got all the classics; Weenie Bite, Slow Race, Barrel Roll, you name it! While mum and dad were running those shenanigans, I hung out at the booth mingling with the masses and making sure her highness (Nugget) was well cared for. Also happening throughout

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the day were some insane trick riders from the XLDS Stunt team. There was also a lovely pin-up contest later that evening where the winner got to be featured as our Pin-Up Of The Month!

For me, though, the coolest part of the entire event was the ride on Sunday. Let me start by saying that I have been lucky enough to have been on a motorcycle in a good number of states, more than half actually. But riding through Colorado was one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life thus far. I was fortunate enough, that on the first night we were there, I met The Litas, an incredible, internationally established group of female riders. It was amazing to hang out with them and get to know such incredible women. Their fearless leader, known as Maui, offered to take me as a passenger for the poker run where I would ride in the Lita’s pack.

This led to me practically begging mum to let me tag along. Luckily, we didn’t have any other CS crew going on the ride, and SOMEONE had to be

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there to take good pictures...so that’s how I ended up with 2 different phones and access to both the Litas and the CS social media pages from the back of a motorcycle! Now, in case you’ve never been on one, here’s how a poker run works. At each stop, you’re given a playing card from a deck. The goal is to have the best hand by the final destination so you can win prizes and whatnot. So at each stop, there were people walking around handing out cards and making sure everyone was playing fairly. The real purpose of the ride is to raise money for the children’s charity, but the poker part of it makes it that much more enjoyable.

Our first stop of the morning was at the Budweiser Anheuser-Busch brewery for some sight-seeing, brewery tours, early morning beers and bloody mary’s. Which I can legally drink now because guess what… I’m 21! The view of the mountains was breathtaking, and I thought I had seen everything, but I had no idea what was in store.

The only thing I can really do is ask you to look at the photos because words could never express the true beauty you see riding a motorcycle through the mountains and valleys of Colorado. The moment that really got me, was when we were going back and forth around these hairpin turns, up and up and up, and all of a sudden we reached the top of this hill and were overlooking a huge, shimmering lake. The sun was shining, the wind was whipping past us, people were sailing and fishing below, and all I could think was how happy I was to be alive in that moment. How happy I was to be back doing something that I love with the people that mean the most to me. To live so freely and fully is not something many are able to do. I was both humbled and honored to have been able to experience that kind of beauty.

The rest of the day was just as amazing with food, drink, and good times with new friends. We made two more stops as a group and then it was time for the CS crew to hit the road so I would be home in time for my summer internship, which is actually where I’m writing this from. I had such an incredible time visiting Fort Collins and getting to know the people that live there. I would happily return for another ride with the Litas and hope to, one day, when I have my own bike.

The Realities Ride and Realities For Children charities do some incredible things for the children of their community. They help to foster safe, positive, and loving spaces for those who need it the most, which is something we need more of in this world. If you get the chance to travel to Fort Collins next Memorial Day, don’t hesitate to visit this event.

And if you’re unable to travel but still would like to support this incredible cause, you can go to their website www.realitiesforchildren.com/events/ realities-ride-rally/ to make a donation.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

I have missed being a part of this magazine more than anyone will ever know and I am so glad to have been given the chance to travel again with my parents and to write this story for you. Till Next Time, Killer

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Article By: Chris Callen Photos By: Michael Lichter

ric Greenfield is a regular guy, the kind of guy we make this magazine for. He works day in and day out running his UPS truck on a 400-mile route and has been biding his time till the day he would have the chance to build the perfect chopper.

With Bubbalicious, that day has come.

Eric was a BMX kid growing up, but like most of us, as soon as he found his way down

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gasoline alley, he rode anything he could get his hands on. From mini bikes to motocross, trails bikes and eventually on the road, if it had two wheels and a motor he was down for it. While he never really had the means growing up to have a street bike of his own. In 1985 his old man bought a brand new 1986 Sporty that would someday be his. It was around 1990, Eric was 20 years old when he finally got the Sporty off his

dad. To this day, he says it’s his longest-running possession.

But in the back of Eric’s mind, he knew this was just the start of where he wanted to be with a bike. Eventually, he would have the means to build a bike that he could tool down the road on like the chopper heroes of his youth did. Well, in the November 16 issue of this very magazine we featured his first offering to the chopper gods; The Tangerine Dream. Eric said that this was

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a real turning point in his life and put so much wind in his sail that he formulated a plan for the next bike almost immediately. It was a bike based on another he had been watching for years. It was from one of the old B rate movies out of the seventies; “The Hard Ride” I believe the title was.

Well, in that movie there was a bike that was actually the star named “Babe,” and to Eric, it was the perfect chopper. It had the tall exhaust like you see here on Bubbalicious, and he always, even as a kid, knew he would build a bike like “Babe.”

Well, after his first custom, his wife wanted in on the action and started throwing around the idea that bubbles had to be part of this build. To her, bubbles represented the seventies and disco and the whole lot. So, believe it or not, armed with some landscape rings, the

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two laid out the sissybar right on the floor. Bubbalicious was born that night, and from there Eric just dove in headfirst. Now, Eric is a traditional chopper guy and claims he builds every part twice. The first one starts with all the extra holes and grind marks where he figures out what he wants it to be, then he replicates the part as near perfectly as he can. With an old fuel tank that was kind of beat up, he started the process of learning to work with Lab Metal, which is a kind of metal infused body putty. It will stand up to the heat of powder coat and is a ton more durable than any regular putty. With a few adjustments to time and amount of hardener, he got his seventies molding look achieved.

Of course, on the long pipes, he wanted to accent the bubble idea and originally started with some rippled pipes from Advanced

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BUBBALICIOUS TECH SHEET Owner: Eric Greenfield City/State: Aurora, CO Builder: Eric Greenfield Year: 1978 Model: Chopper Value: More Than You Got! Time: Still Workin’ ENGINE Model: Shovelhead Builder: S&S Ignition: Daytona Twin Tech Displacement: 93” Pistons: Stock Heads: STD W/ Throwback Rockers Carb: Super E Cam: S&S Air Cleaner: “Holey” Re-pop Exhaust: Full F#@kin’ Custom!!!

Primary: Tech cycle TRANSMISSION Year: 1978 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: Jockey FRAME Year: Custom Model: Rigid Rake: 38° Stretch: 3 Up FORKS Builder: Paughco Type: Springer Extension: 15 Over WHEELS Front Wheel: Spoke Size: 19” Tire: Avon Speedmaster Front Brake: Nope!

Rear Wheel: Spoke Size: 16” Tire: Avon Speedmaster Rear Brake: Performance Machine PAINT Painter: MHPC/MSC Color: Teal W/ Silver Flake Type: Powdercoated & HOK Graphics: Bubbles Chroming: Speed & Sport Huston, TX ACCESSORIES Bars: Custom Risers: Swapmeet Hand Controls: None Foot Controls: Repops Gas Tank(s): Throttle Addiction Oil Tank: Swapmeet Front fender: None Rear Fender: Custom Headlight: Various Tail light: Custom Speedo: None Photographer: Michael Lichter

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Auto. About halfway through he came across Bare Knuckle Choppers ripple pipes that were beautiful and a way better choice.

From there, the pipes shot up to the moon. Eric’s choice for high mids not only harken back to the spirit of a seventy’s chopper, he also says it feels like you’re a badass riding in that position going down the road.

So there are a ton of great parts on the tech list you can ogle on, some great choices in paint design, but the biggest thing is the way he

captured an era of a chopper time gone by and that he did it the way we greasy scooter tramps always have; one piece at a time.

Eric has a Knuckle that he has been working on for his next offering, not quite ready for Sturgis this year but like you, our eyes are peeled to see where he goes next, we’ll keep you in the loop from here.

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Article And Photos By: Charlie Weisel

m

ost years our trip to Sturgis is short and sweet, we pop in just long enough to attend the Cycle Source chopper show and opening night of the Michael Lichter Show, which coincidentally and conveniently take place on the same day.

This all means that we can leave home on the first Saturday and be home two days later on Monday. This may sound unnecessarily quick, but it satisfies our desire to take part in our two favorite events while simultaneously mitigating our inherent lack of enthusiasm for large rallies. Per usual, we stuck with the same format for this year as well. The only real difference was that we had the company of Jeff Quilty to provide some entertainment along the way.

Everything started out smooth enough.

We all arrived on time at our agreed upon rendezvous point, but it didn’t take long for the proverbial wheels to start coming off.

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I should precursor this with the fact that we are still working out some kinks on my wife’s freshly built chopper and Quilty arrived on his newly acquired Shovelhead chop. We hadn’t gone 75 miles before we found ourselves on the side of the road making a clutch adjustment on Kayla’s bike, for what felt like the millionth time.

It wouldn’t be until the next day that we would discover the issue as to why it refused to stay adjusted. Soon after this minor setback, Quilty’s bike decided it was its time to give up the ghost. A grenaded points system left us fumbling about alongside interstate 25 under the blazing sun discussing recovery options.

Phone calls were made, and heads were scratched until finally, we saw light at the end of the tunnel. We all looked at each other with a puzzled look on our faces as we watched a truck and trailer pull onto the shoulder and proceed to reverse itself back to where we were standing.

At this point tools were spread all over the shoulder so it was clear that we were broken down.

Up until this time, not one of us had heard of “Biker Down,” but we were about to be enlightened. As it turns out, Biker Down is an organization designed to assist motorcyclists during situations precisely like the one that we were in, and help they did. This happened to be a husband and wife team, and what they did next was incredible. In order to make room in the truck for Quiltlys bike the wife, Laurie, volunteered to ride her bike the rest of the way to Sturgis. After loading his bike and himself into the truck and trailer, we all continued to proceed north where we would see each other again at the rally. This indeed was a blessing. Without their assistance that situation could have been far more miserable than it was. Fortunately, parts for his bike were easy to find in Sturgis, and he was back on the road in no time.

However, things weren’t going so smooth for Kayla and her bike.

By the time we reached Sturgis, her clutch was barely functioning, and all means

of adjustment had been exhausted: something just wasn’t right. We started digging into it, with assistance from Bill Dodge, early Sunday morning. We still had hopes of having it fixed in time to make the Cycle Source show. 8 hours and a whole lot of burnt brain cells later we had somewhat of a fix, not a great one, but it would work for now and off to the show we went, and then to the Lichter show. We all

thought we were in the clear and that our ride home the next day would be smooth sailing. We were wrong.

We met at 8am at the Sturgis Coffee Company, topped off on caffeine and fuel and hit the road. This time our friend Steve joined us, taking our little group to 4. Thinking we had all the time in the world we stopped at Trevinos to look at Sheepskin seat covers, had a long lunch in Hot Springs and slowly worked our way out of the Black Hills and into Nebraska.

Without a care in the world, we slowly bobbed and weaved our way down the pristine backroads with wide smiles adorning our faces. Soon though, the tides turned, and our casual morning turned into a blistering hot grind as we found ourselves working on Quiltys bike every fifty miles to keep it running. It wasn’t that is was dead in the water, but it was running like absolute garbage and required constant attention.

Soon, what we thought would be a casual and relatively quick ride home had become rather comical trip of stops and starts. It was either look at it from that perspective or we could all be upset and frustrated. Fortunately, we all chose to make the best of it. It was now 3 in the afternoon, and we were barely halfway

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through our 430-mile ride. One repair after another would be the theme from that point on, and then it rained, and then there was traffic. It seemed that the universe would throw everything it had at us to keep us from arriving at our destination. In fact, it sort of did. Quilty decided to stay at our house that night and deal with his bike in the morning instead of trying to make the last 150 miles to his house in the dark. His bike is still in our garage, but I have no doubt that it will be back to slaying miles soon enough.

If I’m being honest, breakdowns seem to be the theme of the summer. It feels as if we’ve been fighting to keep these bikes alive for months now. This has happened before, and it will happen again, sometimes these bikes just have an off year. Other years everything works flawlessly, you never really know when it’s going to come. The key is to remember that these are the moments we remember, the ones that build character and teach us valuable lessons. These are the moments that will one day become rocking chair stories. Until next time, my friends, keep riding, keep wrenching, and I will see you on the road!

To follow along in real-time, follow me on Instagram @charlietravelingchopper

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Article And Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

w

e’ve known Rich Pitoniak since we first featured his Shovelhead “Pain Killer” on the cover about 10 years ago. Rich has always been a Shovelhead guy, even when he did a short stint last year at his local Indian dealer building motors, he was a Shovel lover through and through. So, we weren’t surprised when he showed up this year in Laconia with his

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“Dirt Shovel” ready to race in the dirt drags we had hoped to put together.

Rich is right at home riding in the dirt, he actually started out riding dirt bikes, like many of us did, at the age of 12. His older cousins had a shop where he hung around and swept the floor and did menial tasks to save up money to buy that first one, a 1971 Kawasaki 100. When he was 20 years old, he was able to get that first Harley-Davidson,

an 84 Ironhead Sportster. He had a couple Sportsters in his early 20’s but always wanted to build something “neater.”

Rich was very inspired by the choppers featured in the Iron Horse Magazine and by his late 20’s had purchased a 1967 Shovelhead “basket case.” This is the same motor that he used in “Pain Killer,” although it is nowhere near its original, stock condition.

Last year when Rich had

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heard Chris talk about wanting to hold dirt drag racing during the Laconia Rally this year, his brain started spinning, and the idea of the “Dirt Shovel” came to life. He had always wanted to build something a little different, and he has always loved dirt racing. He was inspired by the XR750 and wanted to build a Shovelhead version, of course.

He is constantly asked, “Why the number 43? Richard Petty?”

The answer to that is no, it is not to honor Richard Petty, but it is something just as simple. 43 is the address at his shop. Yep, that’s it, it’s his address.

In 2004 Rich started his own shop and worked at that exclusively for 10 years, when he

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decided that he needed benefits, such as health insurance, and took a full-time job at a machine shop, and worked in his shop on evenings and weekends. He was offered a position last year at his local Indian dealership, and eventually a position at South Hampton Harley-Davidson where he is currently working as a Master Motorcycle Technician.

Rich still specializes in Shovelheads though. Rich says he likes Shovelheads because they are the last of the cast iron cylinder engines and they can be built to be as reliable as a brand-new bike when built properly using the right components. To Rich, those right components are a good carburetor, modern ignitions, pro clutches, some updated internal engine components, modern braking and suspension. Of course, if you are doing a restoration, then you need to use as many original parts as possible, but he really enjoys doing “resto-mods” using both original and modified components.

Rich is planning to do some dirt drag racing and hopes to one day take this bike to Bonneville, with different tires, obviously. He says

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THE DIRT SHOVEL TECH SHEET Owner: Rich Pitoniak City/State: Westfield Massachusetts Builder: Pitoniak’s Cycle & Speed Year: 1981 Model: FXWG Value: Not For Sale Time: One Month Engine Year: 1981 Model: Shovelhead Builder: Pitoniak’s Cycle & Speed Ignition: Daytona Twin Tec Displacement: 80” Pistons: Wiseco Heads: HD Ported/Polished/Manley Valves & Springs Carb: HD Cv Cam: S&S 450s Air Cleaner: K&N Exhaust: 2 In1 Header-Custom Baffle Primary: Hd Enclosed Bdl Belt Drive, Pro Clutch Transmission Year: 1979 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: Foot Frame Year: 1981 Model: Harley-Davidson Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock Forks Builder: Hd/Pitoniak cycle Type: 39mm Hydraulic Triple Trees: Arlen Ness Extension: None /Progressive Springs Wheels Front Wheel: Harley-Davidson Size: 21” Tire: Kenda Knobby Front Brake: Harley-Davidson Rear Wheel: Harley-Davidson Size: 16” Tire: Median Duro Rear Brake: GMA Paint Painter: Bad Juju Custom Cycles Color: Black/Orange Type: R-M Diamont Graphics: 43 Chroming: Very Little Accessories Bars: Super Bar Risers: V-Tech Hand Controls: Yes Foot Controls: HD FX Mid Mount Gas Tank(S): Sporty Frisco Mount Oil Tank: FX Front Fender: None Rear Fender: LowBrow Rogue Seat: Lepera Headlight: 5 ¾ Bates (Style) Tail Light: Yes Battery: Hd Lithium Speedo: None Photographer: Missi Shoemaker

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this bike will continue to evolve, performance wise and plans to use this bike as the “flagship” bike for his new division of Pitoniak Custom Cycles, the Performance division.

Rich states this bike is super fun to ride and is versatile, it can go straight from the street to the dirt,

and he cannot wait to get it on the dirt track!

Rich wants to give a shout out to his friend Dave at Bad JuJu Custom Cycles for the amazing paint job and Brian Nichols for trading him the frame in exchange for some engine work!

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cs digital ad inhouse merch togo.pdf

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Article By: Heather’s Sister, aka The Good One

T

he majority of readers are going to find this article old news… been there, done that, seen it all.

But as a new rider, I am excited, and I wanted to share that new rider excitement and some of the experiences that go along with “just starting out.”

Who knows, maybe some of you veteran riders will get a few laughs, perhaps there are a few “newbies” out there that will relate to this and realize that they are not alone in this new adventure of riding.

And maybe, even better, this article will awaken that “sleeping rider” inside of someone out there like me, and we will soon be welcoming another member to the crazy community of bikers!

Me, I’ve always wanted to ride. My favorite uncle, Harry, always had a bike, and my first memory of being around a motorcycle is of me touching the pipes (yup, they were hot). But the younger me was a bit of a careless driver (an ex-boyfriend used to call me gutter girl, and it had nothing to do with my bowling skills) and I was smart enough to know that carelessness and motorcycles do

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not mix well, kind of like oil and water.

So, riding on the back was where I was.

So what changed? Last year at the age of 54, I finally collected on a bet that I had won about 8 years ago. The payoff? A motorcycle. Yes, I actually won a bike.

More specifically, a Harley. Now, I know

that there is probably a lot of snickering and “ya right” going on but it was a straight-up, no strings attached bet. So, what do you do when someone hands you the keys to a Harley? You learn to ride!

Scary fact #1: It took me all of 10

minutes to get my permit.

Scary fact # 2: With no knowledge of how to ride a motorcycle, I was now (at least legally) able to ride in the state of Massachusetts.

A friend of mine was daring enough to teach me the basics of riding. Now mind you, I barely know how to drive a standard so the whole clutch, shift, throttle thing… totally foreign to me. And the first time I shifted into gear and started moving, the power startled the heck out of me. Let’s just say thank God I started out by walking the bike in 1st gear across a plush lawn because it made for a softer landing.

I should probably tell you that “the bike,” as I so fondly call it, is a Sportster 1200 XL Custom. A perfect starter bike for a 5’3” female just starting out. Not too heavy, not too high.

So without getting into a complete play by play of my riding “lessons” and risk boring you to death, I can say that with only a few minor mishaps (and I do consider riding over someone’s lawn screaming like a banshee and almost taking him out as he pruned his shrubs a minor mishap!!) I moved onto riding the neighborhood loop and a school parking lot (don’t worry no children were present or harmed in the process).

At this point, I still had yet to tell anyone that I had gotten a motorcycle. I really wanted to surprise my sister (that would be “the” Heather of Cycle Source Magazine) by pulling up to the Cycle Source tent at an upcoming rally, but at the rate, I was going I figured it would be years before I could manage the ride. I mean heck, I had been riding for a couple of weeks so I should be a pro by now, right? Instead of the rally idea, I had my “trainer” take a short video clip of me riding. Oh, bad idea! The only thing that I could think of as I watched the clip was, “I am NOT going to be some fat chic on a bike.” I’m sorry if that offends anyone out there, but that is precisely

what I thought. I deleted the clip and changed my eating habits real fast. Now don’t get me wrong, I still get distracted by my triceps dancing to the beat of the engine as it idles, but at this point, I don’t think that I look all that bad in my leather vest, Harley riding boots, and my pink rimmed riding glasses. Yes, it’s a girl thing.

So back to riding. I’m not a nervous or easily intimidated person by nature. I can take the lead on a project or speak to a crowd without any issues, but every time I went to ride on an actual road, I got freaked out. I swear I had to pee (yes, another girl thing) a dozen times before I even geared up. I figured it was probably because I was struggling with stalling out of a stop. I just couldn’t find the balance between clutch and throttle.

Now anyone from New England knows that the riding season isn’t quite long enough and since I didn’t start riding until July, I knew that my first season was going to be short.

It was cut even shorter when my belt snapped while I was on a ride and it was then that I decided that I needed to learn as much about my motorcycle as possible. I’m a pretty handy gal so if I can fix it myself, then why not? Winter project… read the manual and check out YouTube videos.

Whoever came up with the phrase “It’s like riding a bicycle”? The insinuation is that once you learn a particular skill, you should be able to pick it right back up like you hadn’t stopped. Well liar, liar, pants on fire! My first ride of this season proved that old adage false. Here’s where you veteran riders laugh your asses off and start yelling “get her off the road”!

I managed to get myself a riding partner over the winter, and he was kind enough to head over to the school for a quick “refresher” before hitting the road. Heading out, I discovered that I couldn’t shift out of first gear. As I putted along at 15 miles an hour

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(thanking God that the school was just around the corner), I was trying to figure out what could have possibly happened to my bike over the winter. Destination reached, we get off of our bikes, and my riding buddy checks out the shift lever. Nothing wrong…hmmm. He says, “down one, up four right”? Oops, hahaha.

Definitely, time to take my basic rider course.

Remember how I said that I wanted to learn as much about my bike as possible? Well, I have a slight advantage when it comes to accessing one of the most knowledgeable bike guys (he may dispute it, but he will have to live with it) in the business, my brother in law…

AKA Chris Callen of Flat Broke Chops & Rods, Grease & Gears Garage, Cycle Source Magazine. Did I say “slight” advantage?

Maybe a bit of an understatement.

Knowing that I really wanted to be able to work on my own machine, Chris thought it would be a great idea to do a segment for Grease & Gears Garage, an on stage, working garage where the guys do anything from maintenance to building bikes.

So I trucked my motorcycle up to Laconia for bike week to tape a segment on educating the new rider (and some of you seasoned guys that may forget from time to time) on basic safety and routine maintenance checks that should be performed throughout the riding season. Thanks to Chris, Mark (Flat Broke Chops & Rods) and Rich Pitoniak of Harley Davidson of South Hampton, short of rebuilding a motor, I am confident that I can handle whatever maintenance my bike might need. I’ve learned the importance of routine safety checks and am super excited to be able to work on my own machine, because to me, it just

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adds to the whole experience of riding.

Now at this point, there was no reason for me not to get out and ride. My motorcycle was fully maintained and lowered to a perfect fit, but there was still one issue, I lacked confidence. It was the ideal time for the basic rider course, so I signed on with Angel MOTO School operating out of Fitchburg, MA. Any of you new riders out there that think you know everything you need to know about riding or are too cool to take the class, think again. I learned more about riding from

Mike (our instructor) in three days than I had learned the entire year previous to taking the class. Mike loves and lives to ride, and it shows through his teaching.

He was encouraging, patient, and really took the time to make sure each student developed safe and skillful riding habits. It was not just about getting more riders on the road, it was about getting safe riders

on the road. An added bonus, he made it fun! Angel MOTO is a top-notch riding school, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to learn how to ride.

I passed my riding test with no issues, and it was time to hit the road to see if my new riding skills would stay with me once I left the course. I have to admit, that I couldn’t believe the difference in my first ride out after I had competed the class.

All the pointers that Mike gave made a big difference in how I approached turns, stops, traffic. I did an 80-mile ride and another 90 the following day, on my own. Did I mention that my riding partner got himself a girlfriend and ditched me? I was a little bummed at first because I felt a sense of security riding with a partner, but after two days of riding on my own I was actually pretty happy I got ditched!

I discovered that I really love riding by myself! There is a peace and sense of freedom you get when riding that I think only other riders can understand, and even though I just started riding, I get it.

I get the camaraderie between brothers and sisters on the road and although it may be considered old school to the newer, younger riders... that motorcycle wave... it’s as old as motorcycles themselves and is part of the riding culture. To me, it’s more than a wave, it’s a greeting, a ride hard, and more importantly-make it home safe tonight wave. So regardless of what you’re riding, if you see me on the road you’ll get the wave because the most important thing about riding is that we all watch out for each other because brothers and sisters, I do want you to make it home!

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Article And Photos By: Chris Callen www.flatbrokechopsnrods.com

S

o after last years incredible paint job on “Something Wicked” for the Lichter exhibit, we knew we couldn’t just show up with some lame ass two tone paint. Little did we know then that what the three of us tasked with dressing Bone Daddy up for this years show came up with would be so out of this world. At the end we were

House Of Kolor products, some used as directed and some used with our own technique. There was also a trip to the local fabric store, three or four test panels that would help decide which pattern we dug on. So let’s get started.

After a couple coats of interclear we went in with the mini flake.

blown away and decided to take you guys through it in case you want to use some of our simple tricks on your next spray job. It starts and ends with

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The HOK color we were using called for a silver base but we wanted a deeper color so we went with a black base. This was applied to all the sheet metal and the frame after a sealing primer was laid down over the finishing touches Mark put on in the body shop.

Then some more interclear and finally a true candy overlay on all the parts.

At this time nothing was taped off so it would all have the same candy colored flake.

From there, we let everything dry overnight and wet sanded it all down.

We made some choices on what we wanted as far as panels and taped off those areas to get a layer of silver base.

With the lace in place it was three coats of a candy base, slightly different than the translucent candy we used on the overall.

Again we spray a few coats of interclear once we pulled the lace away.

Here’s RT makin’ fun of my choice of material for the panels. Bustin’ balls is a Pittsburgh thing.

The lettering stencil got some straight silver base which was originally going to be silver flake but this was day two of being up around the clock and I wasn’t gonna push it.

At this point all the tape was pulled, it all got a heavy dose of clear coat and was left to dry overnight. The next day we wet sanded it all and whisked it off to The Paint Chop where Casey Kennel put the finishing touches on it like he does all of our builds. The man is a master!

Then three more coats of the candy base which makes the lace pattern subtler.

With all the silver laid down, some interclear and some dry time, we started to apply the lace material over top of the panels. It’s a tedious process that was way easier with three pairs of hands helping get it stretched and perfect. This effect would be on the tank, rear fender and oil tank only.

A few more coats of interclear and then we moved on to the lettering.

For this we used a vinyl plotter and made the graphics on the computer.

In the end, it was the best work we had ever done. As we watched Michael Lichter shoot the above shot, we knew we had done our level best.

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a

uthor’s note: My last four gypsy tales—this one, and one more to come—are all the same adventure, as each took place directly after the other. Although all happened many years ago, I’ve brought them to print because I believe they were great stories and, born in the days of film, I still have images to complement each.

Unfortunately, however, I’m weak on the pictures for this particular event and have therefore done my best with what I have. This entire story, Easy Money, took place in one fascinating day that I truly enjoyed it.

I hope you do too.

The Myrtle Beach Motorcycle Rally had ended just days past, and it was now time to continue the northward journey. For days since the rally’s end, I’d been merely relaxing into this ultra touristy beach town. Before leaving, however, it seemed a good idea to address the problem of my failing cell phone screen. I walked into the Verizon store.

Their tech actually replaced my screwed up screen with one from a

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Article By: Scooter Tramp Scotty used phone. It worked. Meanwhile, quite the saleswoman, the young receptionist babbled on about a new plan she was pushing. I wasn’t buying it. In a moment she looked left then right, assumed a sly smile, moved her face closer and, in a low tone, said, “You know, I also sell timeshares. Would you like to attend a presentation? They’ll pay you $100 cash.”

She was cute. “Don’t think so,” I smiled, “I’ve been to a few of those things, and they’ve never given up what they promised. They’ve always got some chicken-shit excuse for backing out, or that I have to get myself to the Bahamas for the fantastic free hotel deal, they’re giving me. Bunch­-a bullshit. Besides, hard-sell salespeople always piss me off. I tell them about it too. Last girl suckered me into one of those things…well…they fired her on the spot. No lie.”

“This is different,” she pressed, “There’s no hard sell, and I promise they’ll write you a check immediately afterward. No catch. Here’s my card. Call me if they screw you, and

I’ll pay it myself. Promise. Anyway, you know where I work. What do you say?” “What do I have to do?

How long will it take?” “Just listen to a presentation, and then take a tour of the display units. Hour and a half tops.” I did the math. A hundred bucks to keep my mouth shut for an hour and a half. I’d tackled harder jobs than this. “When?” I asked.

“I can get you in today at 1:00pm if you like. That alright?” “Sign me up.

But remember what I said about the last girl.” “It’ll be fine,” she smiled, “Here’s the address,” she held out a piece of paper.

It was 1:00 when dressed in my best clean tee-shirt, I walked into the timeshares building. After taking my name, the receptionist said to wait a few minutes then motioned to a table covered with coffee pot, donuts, brownies, muffins, apples, bananas, etc.

Before long, a rep came to very cordially escort five couples and myself into a room next door. At one wall a white, pull-down projector screen hung before a handful of small round tables positioned near,

but not beside, each other. Each had four seats. With coffee in one hand and muffin in the other, I took the far table while the couples occupied those remaining. Once settled, all faced the attractive, middle-aged blond who stood with pointer in one hand and remote, projector-clicker in the other. The projector came to life.

The show began: “I’m so glad that all of you could make it today. My name is…blah…blah…blah…” She then shook. And she danced. She was a comedian—and we laughed. She talked of good times and family—and we felt. She stressed the importance of finance and investment (especially in her company) to the welfare of our children and our future—and we became serious (myself possibly excepted). She jiggled some more.

With coffee mug in hand and muffin crumbs running down my shirt, I sat in awe of this poor, underrated woman.

What a performance, I thought, Such extraordinary theatrical talent.

Timeshares. What a waste. This girl should be in Hollywood!

On her final note, real tears streaked pink cheeks as she brought light to all the beautiful things timeshares had allowed her to do for her mother. Phenomenal! A perfect snow-job! I almost stood for a wellearned ovation, but fortunately caught myself in time. Honestly, I’d enjoyed the show.

But it was over now, and we filed out. I was soon introduced to the young man who would drive me to the timeshare ‘display models.’ With the usual ‘friendly act’ so common to salespeople, he escorted me to his little car. Once inside, I stared him in the eye and said, “Look, man, I know you probably work for commission, and I’m really sorry you got me.

But I’m probably the last person on earth who’ll ever buy a timeshare.

Hell, I don’t even have a house. So, since you’re working for free now why don’t you just give me the basic ‘quickie tour’ and we can both be on our way.” He saw I was serious.

“You sure?” I pointed to the packed up motorcycle parked nearby and said, “Beyond any doubt.”

So we buzzed quickly out to look at the high-class, high-dollar, apartments while the guy talked only of fishing and his girlfriend. Not once were timeshares mentioned.

Back at the office, and just as the Version girl had promised, they wrote a $100 check redeemable at a nearby bank. Then, as a bonus, I

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was given a coupon for one of the gambling ships that disembarked from a harbor some 25-miles north.

It said I would receive $40 in chips for a $20 cash investment. What a deal. The ship would leave at 5pm, spend four hours on the water, then return to the same dock because gambling is only legal in North Carolina at three or more miles offshore. The note promised that no other money would be necessary and that the ship-line would include a complimentary buffet. Free dinner and a boat ride.

I love ships. I’ve ridden aboard many; though this would be the first my bike had not accompanied the journey while down in cargo hold. Oh well, it would only be four hours. The decision was made.

After stopping to purchase a fat cigar, to the harbor I went.

Although the mid-sized ship was better than some of the rustbuckets I’d boarded in third world countries, this thing was nowhere near showroom condition. In fact, it was pretty beat up. All passengers were shuffled aboard.

After climbing the stairs to pass three gambling decks filled with slot machines (photos not allowed), I reached the top deck, which opened into a large windowlined room. Its forward section offered a bar that catered to any who occupied the many tables and chairs sitting before it. Beyond these, glass doors opened onto a large outdoor deck filled with more tables and chairs. At one of these, I sat to face aft.

The ship was soon underway.

For a while, we traveled down a channel, and I watched beautiful forests pass on either side as huge props churned a foamy wake into the water below. I was certainly getting my money’s worth.

Inside the glass-lined barroom, warmers were soon ignited as the food arrived. Passengers lined up, and I strolled inside to fall among them. Talk was friendly as we approached the buffet. The food looked pretty good. Tables were soon filled with munching gamblers as the room broke into idle chatter.

By the time chow-call had ended the ship was some distance out to sea. Just past the three-mile mark, all stopped, and the gambling decks opened for business. Everyone quickly hustled below, leaving the

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top deck empty—except for myself of course. I walked to the rear deck outside and regained my former seat. Although the air was warm this day, the sea was a little rough. But no nausea plagued my stomach, and the time seemed extraordinarily pleasant. I lit my cigar and relaxed farther into the chair. The sun dropped slowly into hazy clouds as the sky faded to florescent burning crimson before its glowing orb finally settled below the horizon with

breathtaking beauty. Stars began to dot the heavens.

Eventually, I ambled downstairs to purchase the $40 in chips for a $20 cash investment, and then returned to the topside deck. In time, long-

faced gamblers began to shuffle upstairs, and I listened to, among other topics, how much money they’d lost. We soon had quite the little party going on.

A loudspeaker announced the closing of gambling decks and all chips must be cashed in immediately.

I shuffled downstairs, collected my $40, and then returned to again sit among these new acquaintances in the bar.

The ship began its return journey. A second buffet was served, leaving me thoroughly stuffed by the time we pulled into port. After goodbye handshakes were exchanged with those, I’d met, I disembarked to regain the motorcycle that waited patiently in the parking lot. So ended the ‘Great Gambling Ship Adventure.’

Within half an hour, I was snuggled into a very private roadside camp. A family of raccoons came to visit. I said, “Hi,” bid them goodnight, then rolled over. In those early years of occupying such camps, every little noise or animal sound raised cause for alarm. But I soon realized that they must live out here too and if I’m going to call the woods my home, then we must coexist.

In time, I learned to ignore these noises while only paying attention to the sound of two feet walking— humans. It’s easy to distinguish the difference.

Relaxed comfortably on the bedroll, I was moved to recount the day’s events. First, the timeshares deal, then gambling boat ride. Each was a fun and interesting event unto itself, while ultimately paying a grand total of $120 (minus the cost of one cigar).

It had been like getting paid to spend the day at Disneyland.

Tomorrow I would ride into North Carolina to hang with the guys at Easy Eddy’s motorcycle shop while also seeing to some rather serious repairs the motorcycle needed.

From there I’d go wherever the wind next blew.

With that, I nodded off to sleep.

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ave Reel had a Shovelhead years ago. And since then, he has kicked himself over and over for getting rid of it. A lot of us know the feeling that yearning for the bike we let go. So, not too long ago Dave decided it was time to once again have a Shovel in the garage - of the Harley-Davidson sort, that is.

With the help of his brother, Matt, of MTW’s Home Built Customs and Jim Satterfield of The Twisted Spoke in Clarksburg,

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WV, Reel set out to build his dream bike. Dave and Matt learned mechanics from their late father, a genuinely time-honored tradition - after all, many of us still remember holding the flashlight for their father, before any of us finally learned how to properly turn a wrench!

At the insistence of his wife yes, guys, his wife INSISTED that he do as much of the work himself as possible, in their one car, attached garage. This bike

truly is a labor of love, and quite literally, garage built. After many hours in the small shop, Dave and his wife were very excited to bring the bike to Daytona Bike Week, and even more excited for the miles they knew would come on this beautiful build.

Dave started out with a 1976 H-D FLH and modified it to be just what he wanted. The engine in the bike is 84 cubic inches, utilizing some S&S power in the drivetrain. The pistons and

Article & Photos By: Savannah Rose

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carburetor came from the S&S ranch in Wisconsin. An S&S Teardrop covers the Super E and maintains the classic look.

The lope of the cam comes from Andrews, and the heads are stock H-D. The frame is stock 1976, nestling in the modified engine and a stock 4-speed transmission.

The front end utilizes forks from a 2000 H-D Softail, lowered 2” under stock. This sets the stance of the bike nice and low while maintaining a comfortable ride.

He went with a 21” Ultima front wheel, wrapped in a Bad Dad Stretched fender. Out back sits a 16” rear with a GMA brake and a 150/80 tire, covered by a Klock Werks Softail fender.

Up top, Burly Brand “Beach

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ROOTBEER FLOAT TECH SHEET Owner: Dave Reel City/State: Grafton WV Builder: David Reel Year: 1976 Model: Harley Davidson FLH Value: Time: Engine Year: 1976 Model: Shovelhead Builder: Dave Reel Ignition: Harley-Davidson Displacement: 84 Inch Pistons: S&S Heads: Stock Carb: S&S Super E Cam: Andrews Air Cleaner: S&S Exhaust: V-Twin Samson Fishtails Primary: Harley-Davidson Transmission Year:1976 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: Frame Year:1976 Model: FLH Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock Forks Builder: Harley-Davidson Type: Softail Triple Trees: Harley-Davidson Extension: Lowered 2 Inches Wheels Front Wheel: Ultima Size: 21” Tire: Front Brake: Softail Rear Wheel: Ultima Size: 16” Tire: Rear Brake: GMA Paint Painter: Dave Reel Color: Root Beer Pearl & Vanilla Milkshake Type: Graphics: Chroming: Accessories Bars: Burly Beach Bars Risers: Harley-Davidson Hand Controls: Softail Foot Controls: Harley-Davidson Gas Tank(S): Harley-Davidson Oil Tank: Harley-Davidson Front Fender: Bad Dad Stretched Rear Fender: Klockwerks Softail Seat: Custom LePera Headlight: Harley-Davidson Tail Light: Harley-Davidson Speedo: Harley-Davidson Photographer: Savannah Rose

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Bars” set the tone on the bike, with controls from a late-model Softail.

The seat is a custom LePera.

The floorboards are stock Harley, maintaining the comfort for the miles ahead. The long, low exhaust culminates in V-Twin Samson fishtails.

Dave set out to do everything he could on his own, including the paint. This was his first multi-colored

paint job - and he chose Root Beer Brown and Vanilla Milkshake white - making for a delicious, and beautiful color combo. The chrome embellishments really tie this bike together and give it a classic, timeless feel.

Altogether, Dave built himself a timeless Shovelhead, all in a single car home garage!

October

Article By: Xavier Muriel

y

ou know I’ve never used this platform as a way of pushing any of my beliefs, whether it be religion or politics. I feel there’s enough of that out there and to me, it’s all a matter of opinion anyway. But I recently overheard a conversation that really made me stop and think about this industry… where and why it’s the shape that it’s in. This is really a twofold column, but I feel strongly that one ties into the other and so I proceed.

The conversation went like this; one fella was telling the other how he was on a long road trip on his bike and happened to have a flat. He proceeded to call a local Harley shop and when he informed the person on the other end in the service department that it was a Honda Goldwing he was riding. He was promptly met with an attitude and a very speedy discard.

After doing the research on a tire

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that is extremely common on both Harley’s and Honda’s, he again called the dealership. He clearly stated that he had done the research and that the he saw that they indeed had the tire in stock, and knew that it’s not a normal things to ask an

H-D dealership to service a Honda, but the nearest Honda dealership was quite a ways away and the H-D dealer was substantially

closer. To his surprise, once again, he was met with a rude and inconsiderate H-D representative.

After a truck and trailer stopped to help him by removing the bike that was on the trailer to put his on it, and the passenger in the truck rode the bike that came off the trailer, they were off to a shop who had agreed to change his tire. After the repair was done, he thanked incredible people who stopped to help (which I might point out were in fact “Harley folks”). He called the original H-D shop back and spoke to the manager of the service department, to which he explained the entire situation. The Manager was appalled at the employee’s lack of service to this individual and said that he was extremely sorry and that swift and severe action would be taken. The next morning the manager called him back to see if everything was all right with his

new tire and he could be of any service. He replied with “All is well,” then the manager informed him that the service person that had refused him had been fired and that the dealership does not condone such behavior.

This leads me to the second part of this story about another chat where one rider was telling another about such and such rides that are segregated and only open to one gender.

The two did not see eye to eye on this subject and somewhat of a heated battle of words and opinions ensued. Now, this brings me to my point. Where did we lose sight of what motorcycling is really all about?

I’ve always been of the mind two wheels is two wheels, and nowadays even three, not what make it is or how cool it is or isn’t. Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t the reason we get in the wind is to do just that?

Get in the wind… regardless of what our legs are wrapped around. Yes, yes some are H-D peeps and will never turn their backs on the old Bar and

Shield. But I also I know some people who despise H-D and would

rather ride a tractor much less an FLH. Where along the way did we put things in a box or category saying that ‘’THIS IS THE WAY IT HAS TO BE”. In my opinion, trying to place labels and boundaries goes against the very essence of why we choose to ride in the first place. It is the freedom of being in the wind and not caged, daring to do what others only dream about.

A sense of danger that makes us feel alive, if for nothing more than the time we are on the bike.

Life has too many rules imposed on us to let the beauty of why we ride fall victim to yet another box, category, or boundary. We all seek one thing when we ride; “To Get Lost And Found’’ all at the same time. Remember it’s not what is between your legs or what you wrap your legs around, but more so that we are all part of the long, long highway, and that highway is to be enjoyed to its fullest! Be Kind to One Another and Yourself. God Bless. X.

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Article By: Tyler Porter Photos By: Dave Hoenig Flat Trak Fotos

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n a cool spring night in Daytona, I joined some of my friends and longtime racing supporters for a nice meal before the chaos of the AFT season kicked off. Of course, with any group of friends around a dinner table, the conversation meandered between on and off-track matters. Everything from our favorite Nicky Hayden moment to “what the hell is Harley-Davidson doing?” In that group of friends sat a Harley-Davidson team member. As with any good journalist, let me say that “the party spoke on a condition of anonymity, as they were not allowed to discuss the matters publicly.”

See, just like the news articles you read on the internet. Real journalism here!

We all joked back and forth at the seemingly anemic XG750R’s that Sammy Halbert and Jarod Vanderkooi have been so desperate to put at the front of the field despite the onslaught of Indian mite in the Premier Twins class. There have been flashes of brilliance, a couple of podiums,

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some strong top 5 rides and even the night after our meal in Daytona, Jarod Vanderkooi rode a brilliant race on the Daytona TT to finish 4th. My famous line about the XG750 is, “I own a XG750, so I can make fun of them!” at hearing this, the team member spoke up, “You have an XG750? Why isn’t it on the track?” Well, that’s what my initial plan was. Though I had given up my pro license and the dreams of success that went with it, I figured I could get it in a racing frame and at least have some fun on the local half-miles. After watching the factory team struggle with the platform, I figured that if they couldn’t make it work, how in the world was somebody like me going to make anything of it?

As the conversation about my XG grew more serious, the team member said, “In the production twins class, the XG is an excellent platform. I think it can win races. We have a lot of leftover parts from when we were racing them, and if the right person came in with a game plan, I

think we could win some races on them.

Right now, we are up against a purposebuilt Indian race bike in the Premier Twins class. It’s tough. We will get there, but so far it has required a new chassis and a completely new, race-only top end.” So I asked, “Anonymous team member, do you really think this is a good idea for me to do? Do you think this bike can win in the production twin class?” They replied, “I think this is a horrible idea for you to do.

You have a good job, you’re busy already, and I know you don’t have the pockets to make it work for a season. But the bike can win in production twins.” I don’t know if I was relieved or deflated after hearing his words.

At the second round of the series, Dawson Schieffer suffered a broken hand and would be out for a few rounds.

Dawson’s team owner and leading sponsor Terry Rymer of Black Hills Harley Davidson was reaching out to everyone, including me, to try to figure out who to put on the bike for the next few rounds while

Dawson was on the mend. At some point, he got curious about the 1st generation XG race bikes, and in less than a week, Danny Eslick was slated to ride one of Vance and Hines’ XG750’s. He had campaigned an XG in Daytona in 2017, so it wasn’t his first go-round on the platform, but this would be a much more concentrated and “factory-backed” effort. Danny finished 9th in Texas, so the platform showed potential in the production-based class. When the production twins class moved to its next round in Perris California, James Rispoli took the helm and improved on Danny’s

a typical margin of victory is under half a second, but Daulton proved the XG’s mite, finishing a full 1.926 seconds ahead of J.R. Addison on a Kawasaki. James Rispoli brought the other XG home in 5th, less than two-tenths of a second from being on the podium. The XG had made history, it was a professional race winner.

No, it isn’t the Premier Twins class, but it is a start.

While the Vance & Hines team keeps making strides in the Premier Twins class, everyone from the principals at both the Motor Company, to Vance & Hines, to

results, finishing 8th. Now the Black Hills Harley Davidson/Vance & Hines/Custom Dynamics Pro Beam team was gaining steam. There was a mechanic for the team at the Red Mile in Lexington Kentucky, but a considerable rebound at the deep, rough and wild Lima Half-Mile where James put the XG750 on the podium with a strong 3rd place. Heading into the team’s home race, they had added another bike and rider, this time the number 122 of Daulton Gauthier who has been in the Pro Singles championship hunt from the start of the season would give the XG a try. The duo finished 3rd and 4th in Rapid City and with growing support from the Vance and Hines factory team, it was only a matter of time before the team would take the top step and the history that goes with it.

After only three day’s rest from Rapid City, the series moved west to Sacramento California. Both Daulton and James were strong all day on the mile. When the racers lined up for the main event, the XG750 was poised to steal the spotlight.

Cory Texter got out to an early lead on his G&G Racing Yamaha, but after the 3rd lap, Daulton set sail, putting the Black Hills Harley Davidson/Vance & Hines/ Custom Dynamics Pro Beam XG750 in the lead for the last 12 laps. On the mile,

the local Harley Dealer that loves flat track racing can breathe a sigh of relief because of this win. They have a capable motorcycle. I’ve written many times in these pages that the XG platform can and will win in the Premier Twins class, and I still believe that. The fun thing is this: Those XG motors are cheap. Race teams already have budgets for frames.

They have suspension, wheels, bodywork laying around that will work. Flat track has, and always will be a monkey see, monkey do race series. When something works, others copy. Harley Dealers want in, now they have their way. They can race the same platform that they sell on the floor.

They can win. This hasn’t been the case since the 1980’s; the last time you could buy a complete XR750. This could be the jolt that the series needs since Indian has taken the wind out of everyone’s sails in the premier class.

Harley Davidson is back in the winner’s circle. Maybe not in the class they dreamed of, but like every racer that has ever ridden or driven a machine in anger, a win is a win.

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Hey, Sturgis is a wrap; Speed Week in Bonneville is happening as are the International Speed Trials. This summer was amazing.

Your MRF Biker Bulletin From Inside The Beltway- Your Motorcycle Riders Foundation team in Washington, D.C. is pleased to provide our members with the latest information and updates on issues that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. Count on your MRF to keep you informed about a range of matters that are critical to the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle. Published weekly when the U.S. Congress is in session.

RPM Act to be Introduced - The Motorcycle Riders Foundation was invited to participate in a working group with the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) and a host of other organizations about the future of the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act (RPM Act). As we have reported in the past, we were unsure if this legislation would be introduced in the 116th Congress since the political appetite has changed on the hill. During the last Congress, the House version was able to gain 150 cosponsors but never made it to the floor for a vote, and the Senate version with its 39 cosponsors suffered the

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same fate in the waning days of 2018.

The MRF anticipates that this legislation will be introduced in the coming weeks before Congress adjourns for their August recess.

Please be ready for any future calls to action.

NTSB Releases 2019–2020 NTSB Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements The National Transportation Safety Board released its 2019-2020 Most Wanted List earlier this week.

After reading the 28page document, the MRF found that motorcycles only gathered the attention of the agency twice but thankfully not as a standalone issue like in years past. The two areas where motorcyclists are mentioned are: End Alcohol and Other Impairment in Transportation

TO THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION: Examine the influence of alcohol and other drug use on motorcycle rider crash risk compared to that of passenger vehicle drivers and develop guidelines to assist states in implementing evidencebased strategies and countermeasures to more effectively address substanceimpaired motorcycle rider crashes.

What about distracted and substance impaired drivers?

Increase Implementation of Collision Avoidance Systems in All-New Highway Vehicles TO THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION: Incorporate motorcycles in the development of performance standards for passenger vehicle crash warning and prevention systems.

After years of motorcycles being forgotten in other Department of Transportation guidance on autonomous vehicles, we are pleased that the NTSB is sending a directive to NHTSA to make sure motorcycles are included in autonomous vehicle standards.

Focus Groups - This week the Governors Highway Safety Association released a report on “Motorcyclists’

Attitudes on Using High-Visibility Gear to Improve Conspicuity.” Needless to say, the conclusions listed below by this taxpayer-funded study can be filed under the category of obvious and predictable.

Conclusions: Eighteen focus groups with 137 motorcycle riders in California, Maryland, Michigan, and Texas were conducted to explore motorcyclists’ attitudes toward wearing high-visibility gear to increase conspicuity. In most groups, only one or two participants said they regularly wear high visibility gear.

Based on the focus group discussions, several factors emerged as barriers to motorcyclists’ use of high-visibility gear. The most important involves the appearance of the high-visibility gear.

It is judged as unappealing by some riders, and many riders are concerned that the look or style of the gear does not fit in with their riding culture. These factors work against the acceptance of high-visibility gear, even though many riders believe such gear may be effective for increasing conspicuity. Many participants thought that motorcycle-riding culture would have to change for riders to adopt high-visibility gear, due to the association of novice riders and older riders with high-visibility gear.

Another barrier to the use of high-visibility gear is riders’ skepticism that high-visibility apparel provides enough of a safety benefit to warrant its use and cost. Evidence that demonstrates the safety benefits of high-visibility gear is important to convincing motorcyclists they would personally benefit from using it.

In addition to adverse feelings about high-visibility gear itself, many participants expressed the belief that high-visibility gear would not improve safety, largely because of the perception that motorists are distracted anyway. In fact, several participants suggested that the onus should be on drivers to look for motorcyclists.

If you are interested, you can find the

full 81-page report by slipping over to the MRF web site.

Standing Update: We are currently at 58 cosponsors from 25 states for the motorcycle profiling resolution. This is an increase of 4 new cosponsors since last week and with our first lawmaker from Massachusetts signing on. - Your Team in D.C. Tiffany & Rocky; North Carolina Legalizes Motorcyclists Wearing Face Masks - Like many states, North Carolina law generally “prohibits a person from wearing a mask, hood, or other device, to conceal the identity of the wearer,” with limited exceptions which now includes; “a person may wear a mask for the purpose of protecting the person’s head, face, or head and face,

when operating a motorcycle.”

House Bill 257/Senate Bill 321 “An Act to permit the use of a face mask while operating a motorcycle,” was signed into law by Governor Ray Cooper (D) on July 11, 2019 and goes into effect December 1st.

Amidst nationwide furor over political groups like Antifa wearing masks while engaging in civil unrest, HB 257 passed the House on March 27 by a vote of 1111 and companion bill SB 321 passed the Senate unanimously on June 27, 48-0.

Law enforcement officers in some states had begun stopping and citing motorcycle riders, particularly patch holders, for violating local anti-mask

laws.

The new law will “require the person to remove the mask during traffic stops, checkpoints, roadblocks, or when approached by a law enforcement officer.” -Bill Bish; NCOM People’s Champ From BiltwellPeople’s Champ, First Time’s a Charm Mike at Old-Stf in Yuba City, CA is wellknown in the custom bike building world as a humble, talented and hard-working guy that puts out clever bikes and parts from his home shop on a regular basis.

Like a lot of men, beside him is an intelligent, ass-kicking woman who isn’t afraid to do things on her own. When his wife Suzy decided to throw her hat in the ring and enter the People’s Champ competition, her and Mike both knew what she was in for. She’s obviously been around bikes and the shop of course, but before starting this project had never TIG-welded, used a mill or built a complete bike.

New From 5-Ball Racing Leather - We are about to relaunch the famous Bandit’s Bedroll and Day Roll. This time, we are offering them in wonderful, tough leather and we may offer the original Cordera version at a reduced price.

All of these will come in at less than previous prices by as much as 25 percent. My leather connection is doing a helluva job on these and we discovered that our last supplier was ripping us off. Live and learn. -Bandit Ireland May Ban All New GasPowered Vehicle Sales After 2030The Irish Government has reaffirmed its plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, as part of a new strategy aimed at protecting the environment.

In 2015, the United Nations agreed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and Ireland’s recently released Climate Action Plan details how that nation intends to achieve them.

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THE CYCLE SOURCE WORLD REPORT - POWERED BY BIKERNET.COM

The greatest potential impact on Irish motorcyclists, according to Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN) involves halting the sale of all new non-electric vehicles by the year 2030, adding “It’s worth noting that nowhere in this plan is any mention made of motorcycles or other two-wheeled vehicles as having any considerations separate from those of all other vehicles.”

There is an ambitious plan to refine and develop an EV (electric vehicle) charging infrastructure throughout the country that can sustain 800,000 EVs by the 2030 deadline included, as well as possible consideration of an ICE (internal combustion engine) car scrappage program to be implemented as soon as 2020.

This is, according to MCN, partially in response to the UK potentially moving its 2040 ICE ban forward to 2032. At this point, nine countries around the world have plans in place to begin phasing out ICE vehicles in the very near future.

Norway’s approach of incentivizing its citizens to adopt EVs over ICE vehicles resulted in an impressive 52% of cars sold in 2017 being EVs, according to Reuters.

The city of Amsterdam has also come forward to state it’ll be banning non-electric vehicles by 2030. -Bill Bish; Editor NCOM News Bytes

News From Lowbrow-The Motorcycle Cannonball: Cross-country on a pre-1930 motorcycle. e’re in! We are excited to announce that Lowbrow got a spot in the next Motorcycle Cannonball race, which takes place October 2020.

We are riding my 1926 HarleyDavidson JD (currently a pile of parts!).

Check out our team intro video on our website.

The Cannonball is a cross-country race, this time from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to South Padre Island, Texas.

The route is over 3,000 miles long, and the race is only for 1929 & earlier motorcycles.

Stay tuned for build videos and updates through the winter and springtime as we get some miles on the race bike! -Tyler Malinky The Split-Speed Limit Effect: That “Oh Crap” Look on Drivers’ Faces - Split speed limits, where certain commercial vehicles such as large

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trucks are forced to travel at lower speeds than surrounding traffic, are anathema to truckers and car drivers alike. That is why the NMA and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) have often joined forces to oppose the posting of split speeds and the use of governors on trucks to limit the top speed of travel.

This joint national press release from the two organizations a few years ago is an example of our unified position rooted in safety concerns.

Uniform traffic flow avoids unnecessary vehicle interactions, whereas differential speeds create more braking, accelerating, and lane changing maneuvers. Those actions bring an increased risk of collision.

So too does limiting a truck driver’s ability to avoid or prevent an accident by speeding up, as circumstances sometimes dictate.

And yet, as Arkansas Member and former truck driver Tom Beckett has pointed out, another national movement is afoot to create a national regulation to install speed-limiting devices on large trucks to limit their top speed to 65 mph. Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson and Delaware Senator Christopher Coons introduced Senate Bill 2033 to the U.S. Congress on June 27th to do just that. S2033 currently sits with the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

In a note to the NMA, Tom added observations from his experience as a truck driver to support his (and our) opposition to such legislation: By creating a slower class of vehicles, it is necessary for the faster traffic to constantly make lane changes to pass the slower trucks. I have experienced with this from both the trucker and car driver angles. As a truck driver, I

constantly had to be aware of other four-wheelers since they often made lane changes that were questionable from a safety standpoint. As a car driver, I found it daunting to have to cross through two lanes of plodding behemoths just to get into a place where I could run a reasonable speed or to get back off of the highway.

As it is, most of the big fleets govern their truck speed in the high 60s to low 70s. This is fast enough to keep them in, or reasonably close to, the flow of traffic. Some carriers govern their trucks in the mid-60s. On 70 and 75 mph roads where I do most of my driving, that’s slow enough to be a traffic hazard. The safest situation is where most traffic is going at approximately the same speed.

It limits the need for lane changes resulting from traffic conflicts.

It still irks me that my former employer became part of the problem when, in June 1996, they decided to limit their trucks to 59 mph (!!) just as many states were going to 70 mph speed limits.

After that, I spent more time looking in my rearview mirror than forward, and I can’t tell you how many times I saw a car coming up behind me at speed, only to see that, “Oh Crap!!” look on the driver’s face when he realized that I was going a lot slower than he was.

Is this really what we want on a nationwide basis? The forced 55 mph speed limit was an unmitigated failure. A 65-mph restriction on trucks in a 75-mph environment will only cause congestion and waste truckers’ time for no appreciable gain in safety. It may make our roadways less safe. This bill, S2033, needs to be dropped.

We are tracking Senate Bill 2033. It is not yet on the docket of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, but once it is, we will notify NMA members so that you can voice your opposition to the bill. The best way to kill it is not to let it get out of committee. -NMA There you have it. If you need a more rapid news fix, fly over to Bikernet. com daily for the blog, or join Bandit’s Cantina for the news every Thursday evening. In the meantime, ride fast and free, forever.

-Bandit

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A , S E G ID R B G IN N BUR OR F H C R A E S E IN V DE IGNORANCE...

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own a path less taken or commonly trekked I’d have to assume that a log has become your bridge over some form of a moving body of water. Elevated some distance over safety it sits no less broad than any footpath you would typically take but yet since it lingers beyond a comfortable falling distance beyond the normal footing, doubt and reluctance starts to question natural ability. The traction is firm and sound, and the pitch are no less strenuous, but still, something whispers in the back of your mind.

Within arm’s reach, a small healthy branch no wider than your thumb dangles in your path offering no support or stability, offering nothing but a suggestion.

As you cross one foot over the other, you gently take the branch in your fingers trying not to snap or pull it from its perch.

You hold it for its security and for the suggestion it represents.

For if you did fall, it would do nothing to prevent the lure of gravity. As the footsteps start to amass progress the mere twig, guided by your own hand, takes a partial orbit around your torso until you feel a tug of resistance behind you and you are forced to let go.

The journey across the log was made no easier by the futile gesture of a twig but as soon as you let go the entire atmosphere of its impact is apparent.

Not even entirely to the other side you are once again left to question yourself. Now

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the only difference is that you have a choice. You can regain composure and move forward or turn around to hold onto the idea of security that thin piece of wood represents. Why is it that when we let go of the branch we can run to the other side of the river, but in life, we turn around to hold onto an idea?

I’m finding great freedom and comfort in letting go of my past ideals. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the drama of the hidden rules of motorcycles.

Years ago, the concept of rear suspension was an asshole’s surrender (literally and figuratively) to what a real bike was supposed to be. My tastes fell to narrow mindedness, and the inability to see the bigger picture. As horizons broadened, so did my tastes. As I got older, so did my need to give a shit. I truly believe that ignorance is bliss. I was a lot more content when I was younger. What I didn’t know wouldn’t kill me. I built, bought, and rode some cool shit that I now know should have killed me.

I was happier then… ignorant, I miss that. What do you do when you can’t go back to full moron?

Not being a fan of society, in general, isn’t easy when you’re a perpetual people watcher. The disdain and obsession go hand in hand. The trap is that you hate who they are because they can’t see how annoying they are.

It’s an idea of how everything should be that won’t let you cross the river to perpetual voluntary ignorance (the pursuit of a higher consciousness of not giving a shit). It’s my new plain of existence that came with a

newfound appreciation for rear suspension and my love of everything two wheels.

This has been my goal for the past year in every aspect of my life. And it all came to fruition through the eyes of my sons. It’s not about going back to ignorance, a pure state of being that I almost started finding jealousy in. It was recapturing what made me love motorcycles in the first place. But how do you listen to your inner child?

My inner child is an asshole. I’m fairly confident that if I met my younger self, I would hate him and before this starts to sound any more like a soul-searching vomit fest, I’ll make it simple.

While there is little to learn from revisiting my own childhood, there

is a ton to be learned from experiencing life with my sons. I started looking at motorcycles again through the eyes of a teenager, the freedom, the endless possibilities, and a new understanding that I remembered I once had before I knew anything at all.

My oldest has a way of pointing out the simple details that we easily overlook because it’s all become repetition and monotony. He doesn’t have hang-ups. He likes what he likes because that is all he knows and honestly I had all but forgotten that frame of mind. That’s not what motorcycles are about, there shouldn’t be rules.

I may be just learning that again. I just had to let go of the branch…

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OFFICIAL POWDERCOATER OF FLAT BROKE CHOPS & RODS

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their cage, holding their rosary beads and praying. Impressed, she walked over and placed her parrots in with them. After just a couple of seconds, the female parrots exclaimed out in unison, “Hi, we’re prostitutes. Do you want to have some fun?” There was a stunned silence. Finally, one male parrot looked over at the other male parrot and said, “Put the beads away, Francis, our prayers have been answered!”

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L

ittle Johnny is always being teased by the other neighborhood boys for being stupid. Their favorite joke is to offer Johnny his choice between a nickel and a dime Little Johnny always takes the nickel. One day, after Johnny takes the nickel, a neighbor takes him aside and says, “Johnny, those boys are making fun of you. Don’t you know that a dime is worth more than a nickel, even though the nickel’s bigger?” Johnny grins and says, “Well, if I took the dime, they’d stop doing it, and so far I’ve made $20!”

Kerry

Y

ou’ve all heard of the Air Force’s ultra-high-security, super-secret base in Nevada, known as “Area 51?” Well, late one afternoon, the Air Force folks out at Area 51 were shocked to see a Cessna landing at their “secret” base. They immediately impounded the aircraft and hauled the pilot into an interrogation room.

The pilot’s story was that he took off from Vegas, got lost, and spotted the Base just as he was about to run out of fuel. The Air Force started a full FBI background check on the pilot and held him overnight during the investigation. By the next day, they were finally convinced that the pilot really was lost and wasn’t a spy. They gassed up his airplane, gave him a terrifying “you-did-not-see-a-base” briefing, complete with threats of spending the rest of his life in prison, told him Vegas was that-a-way on

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such-and-such a heading and sent him on his way. The day after that,, though, to the total disbelief of the Air Force, the same Cessna showed up again. Once again, the MP’s surrounded the plane... Only this time there were two people in the plane.

The same pilot jumped out and said, “Do anything you want to me, but my wife is in the plane, and you have to tell her where I was last night!”

Morty

A

lady goes to her parish priest one day and tells him, “Father, I have a problem. I have two female parrots but they only know how to say one thing.” “What do they say?” the priest inquired. “They say, ‘Hi, we’re prostitutes. Do you want to have some fun?’” the woman said embarrassingly. “That’s obscene!” the priest exclaimed, “I can see why you are embarrassed.” He thought a minute and then said, “You know, I may have a solution to this problem.

I have two male parrots whom I have taught to pray and read the Bible.

Bring your two parrots over to my house, and we will put them in the cage with Francis and Job. My parrots can teach your parrots to praise and worship. I’m sure your parrots will stop saying that...that phrase in no time.” “Thank you,” the lady responded, “this may very well be the solution.” The next day, she brought her female parrots to the priest’s house. As he ushered her in, she saw his two male parrots were inside

his 12-year-old boy was in bed when he heard his mother moaning. He decided that he’d go see what’s wrong with her. When he looked in his mothers room, he saw that she was laying on her bed naked and rubbing herself and saying, “I need a man, I need a man.” So this quite a few times and then one night he heard his mother again, but this time her moaning sounded different, so he went to go check it out, this time instead of seeing his mother alone, he sees his mother in bed with a man. So the boy runs back to his room, strips all his clothes off, jumps on the bed, and starts rubbing himself while saying, “I need a bike, I need a bike!!!”

Marshall

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ill and Marla decided that the only way to pull off a Sunday afternoon quickie with their 10-yearold son in the apartment was to send him out on the balcony and order him to report on all the neighborhood activities. The boy began his commentary as his parents put their plan into operation. “There’s a car being towed from the parking lot,”he said. “An ambulance just drove by.”

A few moments passed. “Looks like the Anderson’s have company,” he called out. “Matt`s riding a new bike, and the Coopers are having sex.”

Mom and dad shot up in bed. “How do you know that?” the startled father asked. “Their kid is standing out on the balcony too,” his son replied.

Missy

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