Cycle Source Magazine- Issue 285 - June /July 21

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December‘10 CYCLE SOURCE

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BIKES

The Golden Pan

Charlie Brechtel's Most Perfect Pan .......................................................... 22

Another Level

A 73 Honda Finch Survivor .................................................................................40

Calypso

HIgh Seas Rally Give Away Bike .................................................................... 58

Black Diamond

Dan Starkey's Evo Chopper ............................................................................... 70

Sweet Cocaine

Shannon's 79 Shovel ............................................................................................80

Lost Angel

Garage Builder Sam Baldi's Sidewinder ...................................................88

Linda Lu

Helverson's Two Week WL ................................................................................96

FEATURES Daytona 2021

The Rally That Smashed Records .................................................................10

Cycle Source Show

And The Winners Are ........................................................................................... 16

Willie's Winners

The Greatest Chopper Show On Earth ........................................................ 28

Raffle Day 2020

Wheels Through Time Fills Maggie Valley With Bikes ..................... 34

Ride To Work

It Doesn't Have To Be Just One Day ............................................................... 50

Unsung

A Salute To The Garage Builder ......................................................................52

Alleyway Invitational

58

The Inaugural Bookend To Bike Week....................................................... 68

TECH

Attitude Adjustment

Installing A Baker Drivetrain Compensator Sprocket ....................... 18

Vance & Hines FP3

Hallman Gets Into The Details ........................................................................ 30

Control Freak

Upgrading Sportster Hand Controls ........................................................... 46

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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

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, Heather Callen, Dan Venditto, Melissa Shoemaker, Tyler Porter, Troy Bensinger, Jason Hallman, Chip Parisi

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Chris Callen, Heather Callen, Mad Stork Ken, Mark Velazquez, Twila Knight, Dan Venditto, Melissa Shoemaker, Deb Fitch

CONTRIBUTORS

Benny Stucker, Jenny Lefferts, Robert Wallace

STAFF ARTISTS Jimmy Frizzell, Chris Callen

ADVERTISING

Heather Callen- Sales Manager - cyclesourcemain@comcast.net

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GRAPHIC ARTISTS

Chris Callen, Heather Callen, Amelia Rose, Missi Shoemaker

DISTRIBUTION

Comag 5230 Finch Ave. E., Ste. 1, Toronto, ON, M1S 4Z9 Cycle Source - Dealership Direct Distribution 724-226-2867

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Heather Callen - 724-226-2867

COPY EDITOR Judy Duggan

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SPARE PARTS Hot Off The Rack

New Products From Industry Leaders ......................................................... 101

In The News

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The World Report Powered by BikerNet.com .......................................... 102

DEPARTMENTS

From The Editor’s Desk .................................................... 8 Pin-Up Of The Month ....................................................... 38 Art Of Our Culture ............................................................. 53 Chopper Charlie ............................................................... 76 Killing Time With ............................................................. 86 Photo Hunt ........................................................................... 91 Great American Road Chip .......................................... 92 InSlide Line ....................................................................... 106 Gut Busters ........................................................................ 114

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 $30.00 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® December re-printed in whole or part without the express written consent of the publishers. Copyright ® 2020. 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

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This isn't Xavier Muriel's first cover bike, but it is the first bike he has built that will be given away on a cruise ship! To think this one of a kind Evo will just be handed over to one lucky cruise goer is astounding. Xavier spared nothing when crafting this S&S powered machine. Just like his other creations this bike is not only a head turner, it's a rider and we're thrilled to have it on our cover.

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t occurs to me that it has been a good long while since I have written about my grandfather. For those of you who are new here, I will summarize his role in my life as the man who taught me many of the old fashion values I live by today. He owned and operated a two-pump gas station in our hometown after years in both the coal and steel industry. He was a great man from a small town with an enormous heart. Most of all, he understood the value of a good day’s work.

I guess it was around the time I was six or seven years old, and for a laundry list of reasons, I lived part-time with my grandparents. Back then, I was sure my grandfather was the richest man on the planet. This was reinforced by our frequent trips to the hobby store, where he was always able to produce a crisp hundred-dollar bill for something that caught my eye. In those days, that hundred-dollar bill was a very impressive thing indeed, this was like 1986, so you didn’t see a whole lot of those, at least in the suburbs of Pittsburgh anyway. I can also remember that my grandfather left the house before it was light out every day. He would get the station open, do all the cleaning and run out the lines that triggered that old bell that rang when you used to pull up to a gas station, so the attendant knew you needed fuel.

Somewhere around four o’clock or so, I would see him again when he stopped by the house for some food and a quick nap. This was usually a half-hour or so that he would just pass out to recharge for the rest of his day. From there, he would go back to the station and run it

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until 8 or so at night, when he would go about the duties of closing down for the day. All the hours in the middle, he was the fueling attendant, the mechanic, the store clerk, the tire changer, wiper installation tech. He did it all and still had the energy for an hour or so of television with me when he would get home.

As I look at it today, this man gave me my work ethic, but he taught me things that I still struggle with today at the same time. You see, he was 110% for his business and the community it served, but he was the same for his family. On Sunday morning, he was the caretaker of the family house. He started each weekend with a session of cutting the grass and maintaining the appearance of the landscape. When it came to holidays, he not only left time to celebrate but also played host, with my grandmother, for backyard BBQs and picnics by the pool. He somehow managed to give all of himself to both worlds, and to this day, I can’t remember him getting any special trophy for doing that. This was just an inner calling that he had to be what he considered a good man. Maybe it was because he grew up poor or because he landed on the beach in Normandy and knew how lucky he was. Still, he lived his life as if it was the most honorable role on the planet because it was.

Now, I don’t want to paint a picture that he was a perfect man because he had his faults like anyone else, but he was cut from a different cloth. I look around today and see some people that know how to work hard, but I feel like the days of this kind of man may be

gone. Now you could blame it on social media, the age of entitlement, a variety of other social dilemmas, but it comes down to what we each hold as it applies to personal values. Personally, I get great satisfaction from a good hard day of work, one after another, until I know my body is worn down from the pursuit of what’s next and not for any great reward or achievement award at the end. The true glory is in the doing, not in the value placed on it by your witnesses.

I apply this to our culture on behalf of the garage builders that are at the foundation of all of this. I have spent a considerable amount of time in pursuit of their stories. As of late, it has rekindled a fire in me that I was compelled to write about here. Most garage builders, while they work towards the goal of their finished project, go about their craft for the sole purpose of enjoying the process itself. As exhilarating as the end of a project may be, I would wager that most also feel a slight sense of loss over the empty workspace lacking the fertile ground for inspiration. In any event, you may have noticed across our media feed, we have been focusing more on these individuals and their stories. That’s because I feel they are the cement that bonds this whole thing together. The process of where this goes next requires an intense look at how it all begins. The history and time line of how it becomes such an essential part of so many of our lives and a way to celebrate it in those stories. Humbly I leave it to you to decide.

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o say that Daytona Bike Week saw the flood gates open would be a vast understatement.

In truth, even event property owners claimed they had to go back as far as 2006 to find numbers that were as good as this year’s rally. Despite the city’s ridiculous rules on Main Street throwing up red flags with limited parking, no sidewalk parking for bikes, they still came! They came in droves from all over the country, some who hadn’t been to Daytona in years, some who represented a new generation of riders with a more performance-oriented jam going on. They came to party, to hang, to find that deal of a lifetime at the swap meet, to watch Rhett Rotten do his thing on the wall. They came for all the reasons we have been coming for eighty years... IT WAS BIKE WEEK!!!

So, let’s talk about the week that was.

For us, it started off in a frenzy. It all started with the Flying Pistons Builder Breakfast at Rossmeyer's. Marilyn Stemp & Jeff Najar had gathered a fantastic collection of custom-built Harley-Davidson Iron-e 16 electric bicycles for the charity auction.

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Additionally, some amazing artists worked on skate decks and helmets to provide more

items to further the cause. In the end, all monies raised went to a local elementary school to get Stryder bikes for kids to

learn to ride.

We had agreed to help out with the Performance show at the exact location put on

by Hardcore Cycles, but it needed very little help in truth.

The bikes were packed in like sardines by midday, and man, they were all high-end.

Congrats to John O’Brien for such a great showing in his third year of what promises to be a Daytona staple.

Across town at The Broken Spoke, Warren Lane’s True Grit was off the hook. Between vintage bikes and Chopper Jockeys, it was a full house and made my heart swell. The Spoke is the perfect place for these types of gatherings, and I’m so glad to see others starting to agree with what we’ve known for a long time. It’s just like being home. A perfect end of this first crazy day was dinner with friends at Giuseppe’s.

Tons of our builder buddies have made this their Daytona haunt, and it’s right around the corner from our spot, so it’s perfect. JoJo and his dad always make us feel

Article By: Chris Callen Photos By: Missi Shoemaker & Benny Stucker

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like family, and hey, who doesn’t love Steel City Pizza and Wings!!

We had Monday off to get our shit together. Since this was the first time we had seen the mobile command center in a year and a half, we took a little time to settle into the groove of tiny house living where it was set up and waiting for us at Nova Campground (Thanks Missi & Camel).

Tuesday was the Cycle Source Bike Show, now in its eleventh year in Daytona. Co-promoted this year again

by Bling’s Cycles and sponsored

by Spectro Oils, Stevensons Cycle, Cycle Stop USA, Twisted Tea, Alleyway Kustoms, S&S Cycles & Twin Power. Thanks to them all for their help in keeping such a great Daytona Tradition alive. We changed things up this year and brought the winners and their bikes up for awards, which caused a little back up in the band schedule, for which I have to apologize to Stone Senate. Best of Show was taken by Brock Bridges for an incredible Ironhead that was separated, divorced, and rotated. Not sure what that means? Watch for a feature in an upcoming issue. You can see all the winners on page 16.

Wednesday, of course, was the Perewitz Paint Show, and the Spoke was packed again but with an entirely different crowd. Jeff Holt held a V-Twin Visionary show at Destination that kicked ass, and Chop Docs threw a Chopper Show at Last Resort. To say it was a crazy day is keeping it light. We took the day mostly to work at Willie’s to prepare for the insanity that Thursday morning would bring.

Thursday came, and it was on!!!

The greatest chopper show on earth started to fill up to what would be a record crowd by day’s end. Chopper Time at Tropical Tattoo was all it had been speculated to be… an f’n madhouse. This was the first time I can remember having to shut down registration at Willie’s for lack of space. He had just installed nice cold patch blacktop, so even the backyard had plenty of clean bike parking, and brother, they used it all. You can see all of Willie’s winners on page 28, but on behalf of everyone from Tropical, thanks to all who attended and made Willie’s efforts for the Veteran’s Support Fund so successful. If you missed it, here is a link to some live coverage we did - https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=sOfoX3nhyhY. Friday, we hit the Dennis Kirk Garage Build Show at the Broken Spoke. This year we did things a

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little different there too. One at a time, we took Garage Builders off to the side for video interviews. Dennis Kirk is a serious effort behind the Garage Builder and wanted to do more than just another show. So, take a minute and check out some killer stories from the day - https://youtu. be/hOmEH21dnl0 If you’re looking at our digital mag, that’s just a click away! Even Mr. Rusty Wallace and his partner Brian Patrick Wade were on hand with their Southern Country Customs bikes and spent some time with us. I have to take a second to apologize to the guy who should have been the winner of a class they didn’t have, Radical Bagger. I helped judge this show. Honestly, his bike looked too professional, executed at beyond a professional level for this show. The truth is the young buck (Picture to the left) even programmed the massive wheel on the front of the bike and had done all the work himself.

Saturday came, and man, it was the day I had been waiting for.

Alleyway was hosting a show up in St. Augustine, which you can see in this issue, but for me, it was the day I’d get to ride. Of course, like most of these things, it started with like 20 people wanting to get together to ride, but, like most of these things, it wound up being me and Roadside taking a morning and just riding the coastline up from Daytona. It was a nice break and an excellent time to test out the new tuning on the Shovelhead.

The other details about Daytona that need to be mentioned here are as follows. The AMCA Swap Meet and Show the first weekend was killer. It seemed like everyone we knew was there, and it was killing me not to be on hand since I’m looking for some Panhead stuff.

Rhett Rotten was set up at Destination Daytona under the pavilion and gave shows and history talks all week. At the end of Bike Week, he started his quest for a record number of hours consecutively riding the Wall Of Death. Right now, it’s held by Martin Blume of Berlin, Germany, of 7 hours and 13 seconds, set in 1981. This was a test run of sorts, and Rhett ended up with just over three hours into the run when his camelback exploded, making it unsafe to continue. This is an exciting proposition, and you can believe that Rhett is far from finished with this quest.

As far as what was really important was the simple fact that we were once again in the company of friends and

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family from the motorcycle world who were at Bike Week. I had almost forgotten that it was a year ago that we had said goodbye to these folks with no idea what was in store for us as we all went home to a new normal under COVID Guidelines. Don’t get me wrong, by the end of the week, I was still bitchin every time we ended up in traffic on US1 because so many people were in town. Still, it was a welcome change from the traffic jam in my house the past year for whose turn it was to use the bathroom. At the dinner Willie throws for everyone that helps out with Chopper Time, Cochise said it best. He mentioned those who weren’t at the table this year and reminded us that we might not all be there at the next. Chilling to think that a short time later, one of those close to the Tropical Tattoo family would lose his life before we all got back home. Godspeed to Tino and our prayers to his family.

I would like to say thank you to everyone that helped out this year in Daytona. Doing our little dog and pony show takes a lot of help, and some of our friends threw in a shoulder to get it all done. Special thanks to Doug and Polly, who ran our booth at Willies, Jason Hallman, that did almost every job under the sun with us that week. Steve Broyles served as cameraman a few times and his lady Tanya ran the booth at our bike show. Missi, Roadside, Willie, Benny Stucker, and Warren Lane for lending us his son for the little bike feature shoot. Melissa and the team at Broken Spoke.

Steve Penland for my little amp, The Dennis Kirk Crew, Rebecca Cunningham, Austin Andrella, who serves as equipment manager most of the time, and last but not least Billy Grotto, who constantly provides inspiration to keep it on the tracks.

Of course, all of this is due to you maniacs who keep building incredible bikes and riding the shit outta them. Here’s to the next time we all get to gather in celebration of the two-wheeled disease!

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CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE

Cycle Source - Blings Day

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The Annual Custom Bike Show That Startred At Th

he 11th Annual Cycle Source brought over 100 bikes to the lot this year. Let me tell you, there wasn’t a dog in the bunch and the judging was no easy task. Now we aren’t ones that believe in trophies for participation but on this day it would have been justified.

In the end we awarded 25 trophies, all of which were well deserved. Hope To See Yours There Next Year!

Best Evo - Rick Bray

Best Trike - Nicole Green

Working Man's Custom - Rich Worley

Best Flathead - Josh Philis

Best Twin Cam - Greta Foster

Best Knucklehead - Mark Stevens

Best Vintage - Ken Nappier

Best Flathead - Josh Philis

Best Twin Cam - Greta Foster

ytona '21 Custom Bike Show Winners

he Skatepark And Has Become A Daytona Tradition Over A Decade Of Bike Week.

Best Big Twin - Xavier Muriel

Best Paint -Billy Rose

Best Bobber - Ray Llanes

Best Bagger -Joe Osga

Best Panhead - Fish Alcorn

Best Chopper - Jeremy Valentine

Best Antique - Doug Wothke

Best Anique Radical - Josh Soto

Best Performance - Mike Dunlap

Best Radical Bagger - Julian

Best Sportster & Best Of Show - Brock Bridges

Best Shovelhead - Brock Bridges June - July ‘21 - Cycle SOURCE MAGAZINE 17

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Article And Photos By: Daniel Donley

www.pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com

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from springing free. When removing the primary chain.

his month we are going to be working on a 2009 Harley Davidson Road King. The drivetrain is all stock, and it has the common issues known with this model. The compensator sprocket is very noisy and sometimes will not even allow the bike to start. This bike has an automatic primary chain tensioner that will automatically tighten the chain and put undue stress on the driveline. With that being said, we will fix these common issues with installing a Baker drivetrain compensator sprocket and “Attitude” primary chain adjustor.

Let’s get right to disassembly. Here are a few things over and above what your manual describes. You will want to use a MAP gas torch to warm the head of the compensator sprocket bolt. This will help loosen the Loctite and make removal much easier. It is still not easy… Another cool little trick to help with disassembly is to use a Zip Tie wrapped around the automatic chain adjuster to keep it

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Remove the internal snap ring from the clutch basket adjuster, along with the left-handed nut that retains the entire clutch basket. Then you will want to remove the fasteners that retain the primary automatic adjuster.

You will now be able to remove the compensator, clutch, and chain at the same time.

Early factory compensators use a charging rotor with an integrated cup for part of the compensator spring; bikes equipped with this style rotor must be retrofitted to a later style charging rotor.

Now you can reinstall the inner primary bolts and torque to spec.

25/27 ft-lbs. Install the Baker Compensator Sprocket and clutch basket with no primary chain. We are going to check the sprocket alignment next. To check for proper sprocket alignment, I use a straight edge across the compensator sprocket’s face and measure to the primary cover gasket surface. You will also do this with the clutch and its sprocket. You will want the alignment to be within .030. It may be necessary to shim the compensator to get to this number.

Be sure to clean out the threaded hole for the compensator sprocket bolt and ensure no Loctite residue remains. Now we can slide on the comp sprocket, clutch, chain, and “Attitude” adjuster all at the same time.

To remove this early-style charging rotor, the manual wants you to remove the entire inner primary.

However, what I found is to remove all the inner primary fasteners and pull the inner primary out approx. ¼’.

This will allow it to drop down in the front and allow you to remove and replace the charging rotor.

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You will need to apply red Loctite to the compensator bolt, which is a T70 Torx. Using a primary locking tool between the chain and sprocket, torque the compensator bolt to 100 ft-lbs and then back it off a half a turn and re-torque to 175 ft-lbs. Then the clutch hub nut gets red Loctite and torqued to 80 ft-lbs.

RE-install the clutch hub adjuster and internal snap ring.

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The “Attitude” chain adjuster works just like earlier style chain tensioners.

What we are looking for is a cold adjustment 5/8” – 7/8” of free play adjustment in the chain. I check this adjustment at multiple points in the chain by rotating the primary chain assembly. You will notice that some spots are tighter and looser. This is inherent in every primary chain. You want to make your adjustment at the tightest spot in the chain. 5/8” – 7/8” cold. I use a metal rule here to make this as accurate as possible.

Now you can reinstall the outer primary cover and top everything off with your preferred primary oil.

I will have to admit this install was a bit intimidating, but after reading the provided Baker directions, this was a very straightforward install. You will also want to have your factory manual handy. Currently, we have 1500 miles on this Baker upgrade, and everything is working as it should.

The bike now starts effortlessly, and we have peace of mind that the primary chain adjustment is on point.

If there is something that you would like to see a Tech article on or have a question, please call me or email me with your idea!

Facebook- Pandemonium Custom Choppers Instagram – pandemoniumc2 happydandemonium@gmail.com www.pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com

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Article By: Chris Callen Photos By: Peter Stow

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he legend of the most perfect chopper ever built continues. After his premier motion picture effort in “Rebels On The Highway,” creator Charlie Brechtel set his sights on the second film derived from our culture titled “Rough Boys.” This time the storyline would reveal a host of clues throughout the film that would lead moviegoers on a scavenger hunt that would see one lucky winner end up with the Golden Pan and $10,000 cash. As the legend went, there had been a story of the greatest chopper ever built. Some swore they had seen it; others doubted it existed; however, in the quest for it, the very bike you see before you was built.

The story starts with Charlie approaching Ron Paugh and the guys from Paughco about the idea of building a bike. They immediately agreed that it needed to be a real H-D titled Panhead, so they secured a set of ’61 cases and asked S&S to chip in the guts for a strong Pan build.

Billy at B&B Racing out of Louisiana would do the work on the mill and the tranny. At the same time, Steve and Kyle from Paughco got together with Mondo to work out the details of what the most perfect chopper would look like. Of course, it had to be set in the late sixties so they couldn’t use visibly modern parts. Mondo would take the lead on the frame geometry to accommodate the Denver’s Springer

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to hold the classic chopper stance.

Meanwhile, Steve and Kyle would go to work on the frame Mondo designed. Kyle also hand-made the tank, sissy bar, custom footpegs, and the pipes for this Golden beauty.

The brakes were another hurdle.

Steve knew that to fit the timeline, they couldn’t be new, but he also knew that to give this bike away to the general public, it should have good brakes in the rear. That meant standard drum hydraulics, but the front was a harder proposition. Steve married a front brake caliper from a ’69 Honda and then made a custom bracket matching the rockers of the Denver’s Springer. Along with Paughco’s custom narrow star hub, that gave the best of both worlds and a working front brake to boot.

Le Pera did the beautiful custom stitched seat and backrest, BDL belt drives donated the primary drive belt kit, Metzler supplied the tires.

From there, it was given to “Old School Jim” in Reno to lay down the metal flake treatment. In fact, for all involved, the living embodiment of the Most Perfect Chopper ever created. But where does that leave us in the story? Well, Dave Nichols, who was the editor on the picture,

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had the clues worked into the story.

Folks like Mondo himself would play a role in delivering those clues from scene to scene in the script, and the whole thing was in post-production, damn near completed when the whole deal was handed a crushing blow. Charlie Brechtel was in a tragic motorcycle accident that took his life in April of 2020, just two miles from his home. Everyone involved in the project was both heartbroken to learn

of his passing and unsure of the movie’s future and the Golden Pan. You see, this was not a collection of Hollywood who’s who, but it was primarily made up of the motorcycle culture’s personalities or members of “motorcyclism,” as Charlie would say.

This included the producer right down to the on-screen talent and runners, all part of Charlie’s motorcycle family.

Of course,, that would put everything on hold while everyone shared the

grief of losing a brother. Now a year later, it would seem that attention has been turned toward doing that one last thing that would push Charlie to legend status. With the “Rough Boys” nearly complete and due to be released around the Sturgis Rally, a new plan would be put forth for the bike. In Charlie’s memory, raffle tickets will be sold for a chance to win the Pan, with all of the proceeds going to the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall Of

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the golden pan Tech Sheet Owner: Dennis Sanfilippo City/State: Angels Camp, CA Builder: Paughco / Denvers Choppers Year: 1961 Model: Harley Panhead Value: Only God Knows Time: 4 Months ENGINE Year: 1961 Model: Panhead Builder: B&B Racing Ignition: Points Displacement: 74cu Pistons: S&S Heads: S&S Carb: S&S Cam:S&S Air Cleaner: S&S Exhaust: Kyle Brewer Special Primary: BDL Belt Drives TRANSMISSION Year: 1961 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: Ratchet Top FRAME Year: 2019 Model: Paughco Rake: 42 Degrees Stretch: 4 Up- 2 Out Forks Builder: Mondo Type: Denvers Springer Triple Trees: Yes Extension: 26 Over WHEELS Front Wheel: Paughco Narrow Star Size: 21” Tire: Metzler Front Brake: 69 Honda Rear Wheel: Paughco Size: 16” Tire: Metzler Rear Brake: HD Hydraulic Drum PAINT Painter: ”Old School Jim”, Reno NV Color: Gold Flake Type: Awesome Graphics: None Needed Chroming: Paughco ACCESSORIES Bars: Paughco Mini 6 Bend Risers: Paughco Hand Controls: Harley Foot Controls: Paughco Gas Tank(s): Kyle Brewer Custom Oil Tank: Paughco Front fender: None Rear Fender: Knuckle Front Springer Seat: Le Pera Headlight: Paughco Tail light: Paughco Speedo: None Photographer: Peter Stow

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Fame. It is the perfect way to end this story, maybe the only one that makes sense in the wake of such a tragic loss. In short order, you will be able to go online and buy tickets for your shot to win. But more importantly, help put Charlie into the history books for one last great accomplishment.

Please continue to watch Paughco, Denver’s Choppers, Cycle Source and the Sturgis Hall Of Fame and

Museum’s social media and web sites for more information. We only have until Sturgis this year to get this done. There will be a big ceremony when the winner is selected. No, you do not need to be present to win, but hey… it’s Sturgis, so the winner might be in that crowd anyway. Good Luck and Long Live The Golden Pan!

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2021 bike week

Chopper time Winners willie's tropical tattoo

Best antique - bob zeolla

rev al award - tino periat

creative custom - Thomas Dolson

best jap custom - kyle strote

perewitz choice - richard ruck

Best Classic - matt janik

willie’s choice - jojo mialke

best knuckle - Nick Resty

best bobber - Ken Nappier

people’s choice - Ron Notter

Best sportster - brenda deagazio

best rat bike - mad stork

Best twin cam - daniel heman

Best chopper - rick bray

mo’s image custom - George Casale

best brittish - weems motor co

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cycle source choice - Weems Motor Co

southern cycles pick - nick Cipriano

source media pick -jeff grabau

roadside’s choice - Jace Schroeder

best shovel - marshall greene

Willie’s hardcore - john rasp

best evo - nick beaulieu

best panhead - josh soto

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Article And Photos By: Jason Hallman

www.cyclestopusa.com

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hen you work in the motorcycle industry, it is very easy to get in a rut. Closing your mind to new ideas, especially when a new product is introduced into the marketplace, means you can miss out on some really cool technology. I have a tendency to gravitate to comfort food. Give me some gummy colas, and I’ll be your friend forever! I also tend to find comfort in my daily routine in the shop, regardless of whether I’m at the sales counter or back in my lair, adjacent to the service department. When it comes to

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EFI tuners, lately, my comfort food has been the Fuelpak FP3 from Vance and Hines. I’m a technerd at heart. When it comes to devices, phones, or anything that uses an internet connection, I am a dyed in the wool Apple iOS user.

Say what you want…but it works for me, and besides, I hear the ladies like the blue bubbles!

Let me start out by saying, just because I like using the FP3, that does not preclude me from looking into or using the other tuners on the market. We use several different tuners depending on the application and our customer’s

budget. While there are several options, each tuner has its “pros” and its “cons.”

Here is what you should know about all of the tuners in the marketplace today: they all do [basically] the same thing; they all have their own way of doing it.

After you read this if you still think that what you are using is the best, then good on you! I only seek to educate, inform and entertain you for a spell.

1st Impressions: From the moment you receive the FP3, you are ready to go. The only thing you need will be the device you are going to use to use your bike. I recommend downloading the FP3 application and playing with it in “DEMO MODE” until you become familiar with the tool’s functionality.

The FP3 packaging is nice, and the item is safely nestled, and the package is sealed from the outside with cellophane (shrink) wrap. The contents included in the package are limited to just the unit and your printed instructions.

My first impression was that this

should be a pretty simple install on my motorcycle.

Once I was ready to install the unit, I only needed to locate the diagnostic plug under the left side cover opposite the battery cover (I currently own a 2016 Dyna Low Rider). Based on the model you have, the diagnostic plug will be located specifically to your model. On 2014 and up Can-Bus

models, the diagnostic plug is a grey plug. On non-Canbus models, the plug on the FP3 will be a red color. Once I located the plug and plugged in the tuner, I was ready for the most fun part of owning the Vance and Hines FP3, the integration with my cell phone through the Vance & Hines FP3 application downloadable in the Apple iTunes Store (or the Google Play store if you prefer the Android operating system). I used my iPhone, but you can use any device to download the app to like a tablet or even an iPod. Note: A laptop will not connect to your FP3. You must use either an Android device or an iOS device to communicate with your motorcycle.

Moving On: Once you have the app downloaded and the FP3 installed, you are now ready to link your device to the motorcycle.

Do this by turning the RUN/ STOP to the ON position and powering up the bike. (You may want to put your bike on a battery tender for this next part. Once the motorcycle is powered up and the

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RUN/STOP switch is on the ON position, you’ll need to leave the engine off while the tuner links to your motorcycle. You’ll likely need to link the tuner the first time through the Bluetooth connection just as you have with a Bluetooth speaker or any other add-on device to be controlled by your phone or tablet device.

Once the motorcycle and the tuner communicate with each other, you’ll need to wait for the tuner to contact Vance & Hines HQ and download the latest firmware patch.

This may likely take several minutes to complete. For this reason, I recommend you leave your bike on the battery tender to not compromise the battery life of the motorcycle. Once the firmware is downloaded you can search for the correct map for your application in the FP3’s app on your device.

The Vance and Hines map

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database is ever-expanding.

When I purchased and downloaded it the first time in 2014, the database was not very large. Today, the database is massive, and the device’s abilities

are astounding, especially compared to seven years ago.

Once you are ready to search for the map, this search begins in the year and model section of the tuner. Once you have your year and model selected, the FP3 now needs to know what type of exhaust you have, and they sort these by exhaust manufacturer.

The database currently has

12 manufacturers listed, plus an additional selection labeled “Generic,” which has about five additional maps for base map selection.

Once you have a map selected, you can upload your map into the ECM via the FP3. To do this, you must choose “Program Bike With This Map” and follow the prompts. You’ll need to shut the bike off at one point for 30 seconds. Once the transfer has been completed successfully, you can turn the bike back on, fire it up, take it on a test drive and start using the other functions of the FP3.

We will cover the other functions available like the Map Optimizations, Sensor Data, Maintenance schedule, and Auto Tuning in the next issue. Ride safe!

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e

ssentially Covid19 took most of the fun out of 2020. Your individual results may have varied, but the train has pulled into Greater Shitsville for the foreseeable future. Luckily, I did have the privilege of going to two INCREDIBLE motorcycle events this past year, both of which left an indelible mark. The first event was The Denton Southern National Meet for the AMCA. The second is this article’s subject matter: Dale’s Wheels Through Time Museum for Raffle Day. I decided a year ago, during my first visit to Maggie Valley, North Carolina, that I and I alone deserved to win the knuckle these good folks were raffling off! So, I devised a plan. I bought a block of tickets every so often, mentally masturbating over the promo photos of that gorgeous machine. I used this as an “excuse” to return THIS year on RAFFLE DAY. Then I could easily transport my new baby home. This totally reasonable expectation may have been a little complicated by this little fact: I have never piloted a motorcycle. Ever.

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Article And Photos By: Adam Thompson

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Well, ya need a bike, dontcha?

Why NOT a Knuck for a first bike? So, after investing a little spare change here and there over the span of the year, I thought “The Plan” just might work. I also felt like if I was at the raffle location, I might have “a better shot at it,” or maybe I just needed ANY excuse to get my happy ass out of town for the weekend. Social pickings are and have been slim.

I have discovered that motorcycle people are some of the best and most genuine people to be around.

Tickets for this event were limited due to constraints inflicted by the virus and sold out quickly.

Spoiler Alert; The winner of this year’s raffle was NOT Yours Truly.

Let’s just get that out of the way right now! The winner of the INCREDIBLE bike was Jared Harding, and that lazy, no-good ‘sumbish’ only had to answer his phone! So, I will just blame everything on him now. Everything.

Meanwhile, back here, in reality, we all got to listen to him over the PA whooping and hollering as he was given the news that he won my bike! (Just kidding, Jared!) Everyone in attendance was incredibly happy for you, especially me. The bike is a timeless classic, and I hope she gives you many years of pleasure!

Can you even imagine getting that phone call? You are at home, eating Cocoa Puffs in your socks and BVDs, and Matt Walksler calls you and tells you to come to get your knucklehead?

Surreal.

So, after all my hopes and dreams had been thoroughly dashed against the rocks, I decided the only way to lick my wounds and regroup was to go in and enjoy the museum! This was my second visit. I was somewhat prepared to be overwhelmed by the sheer mechanical beauty this place has within its walls. And, I was right; I was floored.! The photos will do a better job of conveying the beauty than I can. Even with that being said, if you never have, you need to go. If you have been, you already know precisely what I mean. This motorcycle Mecca should be on the radar of anyone that digs bikes.

COVID had taken a considerable chunk of their regular season away from them, so it was good to see so many folks gathered there in support.

The raffle tickets help keep the place in operation, and this museum is a precious resource to the public. I strongly encourage you, dear reader, to pay them a visit, bring some good

friends, and enjoy the incredible legacy that Dale Walksler and his folks have built. Let’s return the favor by stopping by!

On a personal note, a dear friend of mine just happened to be inside the museum while the majority of the folks were outside waiting to hear if their name was drawn. It is no secret that Dale had not been in the best of health lately and is not as publicly visible as he once was. The pandemic has compounded that situation.

Dale saw my friend milling around and engaged him in conversation.

My friend was able to get a few photographs before Dale just kind of vanished, much like he magically appeared. Dale was unlikely to know how much those few minutes meant to my friend, who just happened to have hit a very rough patch in life.

Those brief moments chewing the fat with Dale were special and important to my friend Rob. With these two events behind me and a couple of years into my own personal journey into the bike world, it is nearing the time for me to line up some riding classes and get up on two wheels. I must have lost my damn mind somewhere along the way: I ended up with two complete builds going on simultaneously and no prior experience. Never piloted a bike. 51-year-old newbie!! This must be the mark of a true moron!!! The jury is still out on that, but we do what we can, the best we can. It’s time to LIVE a bit more while the living is still good. My new philosophy is, “If not now, when?!”

FYI, I started out with a basket case ’78 FXE that I bought from Steg Von Heintz, who has had to tolerate a bunch of my dumb questions at odd hours. That build is nearly complete but in limbo, waiting for me to decide on paint. During that build, I stumbled into a thrashed ’66 Shovel motor…that is, as of yesterday, now a completely finished bike. I Johnny Cash’d the heck out of it, but I am incredibly proud of how she turned out. I have stumbled into a new chapter of my own destiny, and I love it. I can thank the visits to Denton and Dale’s Wheels Through Time Museum for providing the necessary passion. I am beginning to live a bit more.

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Article And Photos By: Josh Elzey

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ust so happened that a motorcycle on eBay was just listed as a Honda Chopper, drawing no attention to the ad without any detailed description. Frank Rocco is used to searching for such ads with a keen eye, knowing that is where the deals are typically. In this case, he knew there was more to the chopper than it seemed at a glance as he searched for parts to start preparing for another Honda project he had. As he dived into the images, which included a close-up of the tank, he recognized the hint of the infamous Ron Finch signature. A little internet search and additional images requested by Frank from the owner verified the heritage. The current owner, a Miami

interior designer, had bought the bike years before and used it as décor in his showroom, where the bike sat for who knows how many years. It was hardly ridden, and the paint was untouched! Frank then struck a deal!

Once the survivor arrived at Frank’s place in NJ, it only needed a good cleaning. So with a battery installed, the bike fired right up and idled! Frank has been in the scene for thirty-plus years, gathering parts and putting builds together. Rocco also has quite the diverse collection at hand. Over the years, he has acquired an impressive spread of parts after years of swap meets and flea market deals, not to mention the invaluable connections he has developed. Frank was going to dig

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into this stash to bring the Honda to a whole new level. Finch had modified the frame, made the oil tank which is artwork in itself, and his calling card linkages on top of the killer original custom paint scheme. The bike came with Avenger chrome spoked wheels, but Frank had a rarer set that he had found brand new in the box at a flea market years ago that he knew were perfect for the bike. Using an actual set of Aris headlights, Frank rebuilt them with new mounts in his machine shop.

Rocco continued to research the history of the bike. He looked into contacting Finch first. Frank noticed the keychain had a body shop out of MI listed named Gary’s Auto Body when the bike was delivered and thought it was worth a shot to call. However, the number was disconnected, so he figured it had gone out of business, but a quick google found the shop still existed! Frank told the owner this would be “the weird call of the day” but was told to bring it on. They informed him that Finch used his spray booth all the time, and they provided Finch’s website!

Rocco was thrilled when Ron responded to an email. Although Finch said he didn’t recall the bike out of the handful of Honda’s he had chopped but thought it was nice looking! Frank sent his phone number with an image of the tank showing Ron’s signature. A month

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later, Ron called Frank, and they talked for an hour!

Frank kept updating the original parts as closely as possible but continued to take it over the edge. For example, back then, performance parts were not as wellknown and an area he addressed on this bike. He looked at the holy grail of updates; side rail webers, the upright magneto, upright distributor, and turbocharger kit, which he has all of. The only one not used was the turbo due to the

chopped-up frame and exhaust manifold interference. The stock exhaust was modified because it was so low to the ground and needed to be tucked up enough for ground clearance. It had drag pipes on it, which Frank didn’t find very exciting either, with the end result working out great.

Frank had brass plating accents done to the bike. It’s a nice touch on top of chrome when the patina looks really old. He sent out parts for plating, such as the brake

pedal side modified to clear the ignition, the newly hand-built sissy rail, and some carburetion parts. The engine covers were re-plated as well as parts he built

by Marra plating. The brass also complimented the orange custom paint job. Frank didn’t need to buff or do anything to the paint. It was so well kept.

Once assembled, he spent a lot of time tuning the bike and will do more as he rides it. Frank rode the chopper around the block when

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ANOTHER LEVEL TECH SHEET Owner: Frank Rocco City/State: Blairstown, NJ Builder: Ron Finch Year: 1978 Model: Honda Value: Time: ENGINE Year: 1973 Model: CB750 Builder: Ignition: Vertex Displacement: 750cc Pistons: Stock Heads: Stock Carb: Weber Sidedraft Cam: Stock Air Cleaner: Weber Exhaust: Custom Cycle X Primary: TRANSMISSION Year: Make: Shifting: FRAME Year: Model: Amen Modified by Ron Finch Rake: 40 Degrees Stretch: Forks Builder: Type: Amen Springer Triple Trees: Extension: 12 Over WHEELS Front Wheel: Round Spoke Invade 1 Size: 16 Inch Tire: Front Brake: Mini Disc Rear Wheel: Round spoke Invader Size: 16 Inch Tire: Rear Brake: Drum PAINT Painter: Ron Finch Color: Orange Flame Type: Graphics: Chroming: ACCESSORIES Bars: Six Bend Risers: Finch Hand Controls: Foot Controls: Gas Tank(s): Finch Oil Tank: Finch Front fender: Rear Fender: Seat: Finch Headlight: Aris Tail light: Finch Speedo: None Photographer: Joshua Elzey

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finished and then again soon after at ‘Not Night of the Troglodytes’ chopper show. That was when he realized the handlebars are somewhat of a problem when trying to keep the bike stable at low speeds, so he has since built another set of twisted z bars for the

chopper.

Being an engineer, Frank appreciates this build with tons of little details, making it a greatlooking and riding machine that just happened to come with a remarkable history.

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• 5/64” Allen wrench • 7/32” deep socket • 3/16” Allen wrench • 5/16” socket • 9/16” open-end wrench

D

• Circlip pliers • Flathead screwdriver • 3/8” open-ended wrench • 1/2” open-ended wrench

uring this installment of revamping my dated 1993 Sportster 883, Colin Winter with Motorious Speed Shop adds hand controls to the Thrashin’ midbend handlebar and Wild 1 risers we installed in issue 391.

We wanted to replace the stock control switch housings with a new setup. We were happy to find a super clean, three-button black anodized billet setup from our friends at Hawg Halters (HHI). We complimented the housings with a trick front master cylinder and matching easy-pull clutch lever perch assembly from Roland Sands Design (RSD). This high-end setup reduces the need for pull strength and makes shifting a lot smoother and easier.

We turned to our friends at Barnett to set us up with its Stealth-Black cables with 6” added to the stock sizes: Two throttle cables, one clutch, and a front brake line. (We will get to

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Article By: Jenny Lefferts And Photos By: Daniel Furon the brake line when we upgrade the Sporty’s braking system in a future article.)

Initially, we wanted to install a pair of Avon heated grips (shown in the parts photo below). We discovered that they’re designed for use with stock Sportster control housings.

Since we had the stockers with RSD’s three-button control housings, the heated grips were incompatible. So, we instead chose Avon’s Custom Contour Gatlin grips.

The job is accented and finalized with an elegant pair of 3-1/4” diameter mirrors from Joker Machine. Installers need to note that the RSD hand controls and Joker Machine mirrors have two different thread pitches.

We ordered 10mm metric adapters but needed a 5/16-18 x 5/16-24.

Remembering that Harley exhaust studs are these sizes, we sourced these to attach the new mirrors.

Using a 5/64” Allen wrench, Colin removes the three screws and side covers from the switch housing.

Then, using a 7/32” deep socket, he

removes the nuts from the HHI pushbutton switches.

He then inserts the push-button switches into each hole using the socket and supplied nuts to firmly attach them to the housing, making sure to orient the wires towards the

notch (this will save you time later).

Colin then installs the supplied buttons by snapping them in place onto the

installed switches.

He reinstalls the stock side cover and three screws using the same 5/64” Allen wrench.

Using the wiring harness supplied

by Hawg Halters, he feeds the wires through the bars from the bottom to the top.

Colin slides the switch housing over the end of the handlebar, then refers to the factory electrical diagram to determine which wires go together.

He cuts, solders, and secures the connections with heat shrink tubing.

(These attachments are year and model specific, so be sure to use the service manual for your particular

bike.)

He slides the Avon throttle grip onto the bar and uses a 5/64” Allen wrench

to secure it to the RSD switch housing.

Colin then installs the RSD brake master cylinder assembly by placing the supplied pinch clamps around the bar and uses a 3/16” Allen wrench to

tighten the bolts.

The process in Step 7 is repeated for

the left switch housing.

Colin then installs the RSD clutch lever perch assembly by placing the supplied pinch clamps around the bar and uses a 3/16” Allen wrench to

tighten the bolts.

To install the Barnett clutch cable, Colin removes the footpeg mount and shift lever and then the outer primary cover using a 3/16” Allen wrench (on newer Sportster models, only the

derby cover will need to be removed).

Next, he removes the clutch release by bending down the lock tabs and removing the three 5/16” screws attaching the clutch release mechanism to the inside of the primary cover.

He then removes the mechanism from the cover, being careful to hold the two halves together, preventing the ball bearings from dislodging.

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on top of the release unit and uses a 5/16” socket to torque the three screws to 22–20 in-lbs. After tightening, he carefully bends the locking tabs into place to keep it all secure.

The clutch release can then be pivoted and detached from the end of the stock clutch cable. Once detached, the old clutch cable is unscrewed and removed from the outer primary cover.

Refer to owners manual for primary installation steps.

The new Barnett clutch cable is now inserted and threaded into the primary cover, making sure to use the included O-ring between the threaded barrel of the cable and the primary cover. Colin uses a 9/16” open-end wrench to tighten the cable to 3–5 ft-lbs.

Do not overtighten as the threads are delicate.

With the new cable inserted, Colin attaches the release mechanism coupling to the exposed ferrule at the end of the Barnett cable and then slides the coupling back into its slotted cavity on the release mechanism unit.

The release unit is then carefully placed back into position.

Colin repositions the lock plate back

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After routing the clutch cable up to the handlebar, Colin uses circlip pliers to remove the circlip and then removes the clutch pivot pin from the lever.

Then he inserts the end of clutch cable into the lever and slides the RSD pivot pin into position. After replacing the circlip on the pivot pin, he slides the end of the clutch cable housing into its proper location in the clutch perch.

Refer to owners manual for clutch and cable adjustment.

Next, he attaches the two throttle cable ends onto the bracket at the carburetor.

He routes them up to the right HHI control housing and threads them into their respective places using a 3/8” open ended wrench. Colin places the tiny brass cable ferrules on the cable ends before inserting them into the slots on the Avon throttle sleeve.Then he secures the throttle housing using a 9/64” Allen wrench and ends by adjusting the throttle cable adjustment to remove slack, being sure to tighten the jam nuts.

Colin spins the Joker Machine mirror stems into the stanchions on the RSD controls, threading them in as far as possible until the mirror is in the desired location. Then he uses a 1/2” open ended wrench to tighten the jam nuts.

The new handlebar and controls really give the old Sporty a fresh, new look.

Stay tuned for more articles to see how we continue the process.

Cycle Re-Sources: RolandSands.com AvonGrips-com Barnett Cables BarnettClutches.com HawgHalters.com JokerMachine.com Motorious Speed Shop Instagram@motoriousspeedshop

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o make matters worse, by and large, nobody likes trikes.

Motorcycle guys think they are only for people who can’t handle a two-wheeler and car guys.

Well, they just couldn’t care less. But at last, I’ve finally found one unlikely place where the bike seems to have gained acceptance, at the dump!

This all speaks to the fact that, in most part, motorcycles are looked at as toys by those who don’t ride and are treated like toys by many who do ride.

This “Toy” stigma is burned in so profoundly that people just don’t get that a motorcycle can have a job to do.

They are only toys if you play with them. To me, motorcycles are “Transportation Tools.”

Or, when traveling in the city make a sharp slice through gridlocked traffic, the term “Transportation Weapon” sometimes seems appropriate.

Practicality and utility have been there

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Article By: T. Everett Gracey from the start and remain. The fact that they are a “Fun Legal Addictive Stimulant” is just a byproduct.

And one that I exploit to no end.

Maybe now you’ve decided to ante up and try riding your bike to work more than one day a year. That’s great! I can tell you a few things

about it. I’ve found that it helps to have a bike that you like. Not a bike that you are in love with. My 69 Rigid Shovel served me faithfully for sixteen seasons as my commuter

vehicle. It went through sandstorms and flash floods, missed oil changes, and brake jobs. I even ran it until the tranny sprocket started shedding teeth. She never missed a beat. I got to feeling sorry for her. Loyalty should never be repaid with neglect. I know, I know, machines don’t have feelings: so maybe it won’t sound so cold-hearted when I say that I purposely sought out another bike with the full intention of not giving it love. I bought a workhorse, 1973 ElectraGlide, that has proven to be just as loyal as my Shovelhead. For some reason, it doesn’t bother me to run this one into the ground. It’s just a lot harder to bond with what started out as a banana brake, AMF, “Bowling Ball Bike.”

What’s the best way to know your bike in its finest working order? While a lot could be said about regular maintenance and checkups, that’s not what I’m talking about. If you ride your bike every day, you’ll

soon get to know its every nuance, mannerism, and function. Its feedback will become second nature to you. If the brakes don’t slow you quite as well on that tight corner you go around every day, you’ll notice. If you’re 3 MPH slower at the top of that grade you pull every day, you’ll see. These subtle changes will likely go unnoticed if you only ride it occasionally.

They would likely go unnoticed during regular maintenance as well.

Riding every day is by far the best way to know if your bike is happy or not.

Repeating the same route every day can also be a good substitute for a chassis dynamometer.

The results of basic tuning for power and efficiency on a modified engine, like carburetor jet changes and resetting spark timing, can easily be compared to the bike’s prior performance when monitored at known checkpoints and against a kept logbook.

Just because I’ve retired my Rigid

Shovel from its daily commuting chores doesn’t mean I retired it entirely. It’s still my go-to machine for any long cross-country journey. To make sure it’s up to the task, I always put it back into service, going to work for a least a month before departing so I can feel what it feels and respond

to its needs accordingly. This seems to work for me. The worst thing that happened on a recent 4000-mile ride was the kickstand spring broke while it was parked.

I get it, if your profession requires taking a service truck home or you are between jobs, working at home, or any number of other reasons that might prohibit riding to work. Again, I get it. That’s not to say, the desire to ride every day can’t be a factor in your career decisions. I remember a time when I was offered a job less than a mile from home. It was a job with good pay and a retirement plan. Neither of which my current job had. I ended up declining the position. In these trying times, I’m sure this sounds like a completely irrational, irresponsible, and imprudent decision, contrary to coherent thinking as all the world knows it. No, no, I weighed it out and quickly determined that the only thing in my life that kept me sane was riding the 28mile commute to work at my current job. Since my mental health is of paramount importance to me, this decision was easy. Also, I knew something even better would come

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along that still allowed me to mold my life around a daily riding addiction; and it did.

In the long run, there’s only one thing that will keep a person riding their bike to work, day after day, year after year, and that’s a passion for riding. I mean, come on, some days, motorcycling is only about 1% glamour, with the other 99% consisting of you battling the elements and idiot car drivers. Unless you feed off it in its entirety and embrace your daily fix at face value, that 1% isn’t going to get you very far. Certain individuals appreciate the overall experience of motorcycling. They find it rewarding and feel like there is nothing else on Earth. No matter how you work the percentages or do the math, there’s a 100% chance these riders will be back for more.

Just in case you haven’t realized it yet, you do not have to wait for a scheduled day on the calendar to ride. Just give your bike a job. Ride to work, day after day after day.

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hile most of the artists we feature are more seasoned, I will always jump at the opportunity to feature a young, fresh face, like the artist this month, Nicole Andrijauskas, a.k.a NicoleArts.

Art was never something Nicole thought about, but more of something she just did. And it certainly was never a potential career option for her, that is until she started college in Ohio as a journalism major. All of her friends at the time were artists, musicians, creative writers, and when you hang with people like that, they tend to rub off on you. Birds of a feather do often flock together, as it were. She and her friends started their first official art club called Effusion. Nicole was in charge of the PR, which allowed her the freedom to make crazy posters and flyers for their events. They would go on weekly trips to local artist

studios, technique workshops, dance parties, you name it. It was something they were all incredibly proud of.

Eventually, Nicole decided to attend art school, as opposed to a traditional college.

With everything packed in her Volkswagen, she drove across the country to California, where she eventually got her art degree. For a while, she also owned her own mural painting business. She taught art to kids while working on the occasional private commission. Of course, there were other jobs in between; making art has always been the backbone of her life.

She first began her descent into the world of motorcycle art in 2014 when she painted the gas tank from her 1996 Harley

Sportster. At the time, it was just bare metal that constantly rusted over, so she figured she could just tape a bunch of shapes and

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spray it different colors. She sourced it out to a friend of hers that had a professional spray booth for the clear coat, and the rest is history. In 2015 she painted her first helmet, and then her next tank in 2017 was with actual automotive paints. This one was the most intimidating because it was all new materials and surfaces.

However, once she became familiar with it, she was off to the races.

Her life in the motorcycle world, however, started long before that.

She’s had her motorcycle license for 18 years but didn’t know anyone else that rode for the first 5 or so.

She would putt around San Fran on her scooter and go on these little adventures by herself. Eventually, a few guys in her neighborhood began riding scooters, and they all graduated to riding bigger motorcycles together.

She soon learned that there were other women her age that rode, and in 2014 she met up with a friend of a friend and traveled to Joshua Tree for the 2nd annual Babes Ride Out. Her tank was painted with the graphic spray paint job she had done earlier that year, and it got the attention she’d never received before. While attending numerous motorcycle events over the next few years, she noticed a lack of women making art specific to this audience. It seemed like a no-brainer to combine the two things she loved the most and began painting her friend’s tanks and getting involved in the same events and shows she’d been attending for fun.

Inspiration is a fleeting thing for Nicole, but sometimes if it’s powerful enough, it’s all she needs. Flowers are a large part of her art, so she’s constantly taking pictures when she’s out and about, even stopping on the side of the road to grab some reference pics. Mostly her “inspiration.” comes from the act of painting. Like herself and other artists she knows, her mind is often cluttered, and creating art helps keep her focused. She “needs to stay art-organized like this so I can actually be productive. Bright colors, exceptional design, and nature also keep me invested in creating art.”

For what sets Nicole apart from other artists is absolutely her style and creativity.

“I’m interested in bringing outsider art into the motorcycle realm. I use tiny brushes to paint highly detailed images. Instead of tough and hard, I’m painting weird and soft.”

As for where her art is going June - July ‘21 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE

and how it is now, she feels that stylistically, she’s reached a sort of plateau, which is something most artists encounter at some point. We obsess over one thing and continue doing it until it’s dead, and then we move on. She hasn’t run out of ideas by any means. She feels that she has more room to grow and would benefit from learning how to do some things herself, like clearing her own helmets and tanks, or one day incorporate some airbrushing into her work. She does admit that it often feels easy to stick to what she knows, especially when it has introduced her to so many amazing people and events. Ideally, moving forward, she’d like to create art that sells immediately. Right now, she’s busy with commissions for which she is incredibly grateful, but there’s nothing as satisfying as someone admiring an original work and paying cash on the spot for it.

With COVID, painting helmets and tanks in her at-home studio has been favorable. However, as things begin returning to some semblance of normalcy, she has been taking the time to sign up for events happening this summer and fall. Her personal

goal is to become more involved with events on the East Coast to expand her audience and potential client pool. She’ll be painting personal flash on helmets for BRO in New York this June and showing a bunch of helmets for Fuel Cleveland in November. Over on the West Coast, Nicole is collaborating and exhibiting at the David Mann Chopperfest, the Maiden Moto Art Show at Born Free and Sturgis (among other destinations), the Dia De Las Moto Show, the Outlier’s Guild Moto Show, the Women’s Moto Show, and Ride to the Warehouse. Make sure if you’re in the area for any of these shows to go check her out.

If you want to see more of Nicole’s incredible artwork, you can find her on Instagram @chicken_in_a_biscuit Thank you so much for reading, till next time.

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hen I was a kid, every pirate in every movie had an eye patch. I always wondered what was under that eye patch. Was the pirate missing an eye?

How did he lose it? Was it in battle?

My imagination ran wild with the possibilities. A couple years ago, well into my forties, I learned that pirates would wear an eye patch [not because he lost it in an epic battle] but out of necessity. You see, if one eye is always in the dark, it is easier to acclimate your vision more quickly when you go below deck to get more rum. Oh well…it was fun having an imagination while it lasted!

Xavier Muriel lives in the Austin, Texas area and has for most of his life. He’s left a time or

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two to take a stab at a career in rock n roll, and unlike many others before him, and it actually worked! After more than a decade of keeping time for one of the biggest touring acts on the globe, “X,” as we call him, found a calling greater than the original one, this time, building custom motorcycles. His first ground-up build was purchased almost immediately upon its completion by someone that had no clue “who” Xavier was. To the new owner, the motorcycle had earned a spot in the parking lot of Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, California. Something notable for sure. Since there was space for another build in the one-car Burbank garage behind X’s house, it only seemed natural that another build would commence almost immediately.

Article By: Jason Hallman Photos By: Chris Callen

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Touring the globe in a professional, chart-topping, Grammy-nominated rock band is not for the faint of heart.

Almost as quickly as the fire was lit under X’s ass to make the move to LA in the first place, there was an unwavering gravitational pull nagging at the core of Xavier’s soul that lead him to resign his post, on his terms, and follow something that had always been a passion of his…building motorcycles the way he sees them, utilizing the skills garnered over the last two decades of wrenching and riding custom choppers!

Having an extensive network of professional bike-builder friends only gets you so far. A real friend shows you what they know and then leaves you alone to develop your own skills from the talents God implores you with complimented by the skills you develop along the way. Part of building a custom motorcycle (like the one you see here) is having a vision. It isn’t going to work and fire on all cylinders unless you have an eye for design, even if it is only one eye (I just had to sneak another pirate reference in).

If anyone is still questioning the validity of Xavier’s building prowess, I can personally attest to the fact that

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this is a ground-up custom motorcycle starting with a hand-built frame. Rather than order a production frame from any number of frame builders, the frame for the High Seas Rally build is handbuilt by Xavier and his homie Rick Bray from RKB Kustoms in Fresno, California. The fuel tank started as a shell with no bottom. The top hat bungs that hold the chrome tank skirt were made in his shop by hand and reverse welded using a dental mirror. Xavier estimates having well over 40 hours in machining and fabrication in the tank and skirt alone. The rear fender is from Russ Wernimont modified by X to fit the contour of the Metzeler ME880 rubber

mounted to a set of wire wheels from Black Bike Wheels.

The saddle on the HSR bike is handtooled by Curt from Bare Bones, and the seat pan is affixed to one of Paul Cox’s manual Rigidaire seating systems.

The HSR chopper is powered by an 80-inch S&S Engine. The powerplant sends power through a BDL 2” open primary to a five-speed gearset built by Xavier that contains some parts from Jim’s USA to compliment what is left of the factory Harley internals.

The electrical system on the HSR is anything but “chopper simple.” In fact, Xavier employed an M-Unit Blue to make all of the requisite components

work flawlessly, and they do! A proximity sensor senses when you are within the proper distance. It controls everything on board using sleek little handlebar mounted switches and can even communicate with an iPhone.

An Antigravity battery 12 cell sits nestled in a Providence Cycle Worx fabbed battery box to round out the charging system. As far as the rest of fabrication, the oil tank, mid foot controls, and exhaust were hand fabricated by Xavier.

Everything comes to a screeching halt via Performance Machine brakes, PM hand controls, and grips mounted on Providence Cycle Worx bars and Biltwell risers. The PM hand controls actuate a Speed Dealer hydraulic slave/transmission end cover. The Bel Ray Dot 5 brake fluid flows through Goodridge Sniper II lines and fittings.

The turn signals are the new trick little Kuryakyn bullet turn signals that are [almost] easy to miss until they illuminate. The LEDs are brighter than you’d imagine they could be. A standard 39mm front end with Pro 1 black fork tubes is the only real traditional suspension.

Paint is courtesy of The Fast Life Garage’s Jace Hudson. Jace is the host of the Fast Life Garage Podcast and a legendary motorcycle painter.

He relies on Paint Huffer for his flake and PPG for his finishes. The chrome

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CALYPSO TECH SHEET Owner: High Seas Rally City/State: St. Louis, MO Builder: Providence Cyce Worx (PCW) Year: 2020 Model: FXE Custom Value: Unknown Time: 1 Year Engine Year: 2020 Model: Evo Builder: S&S Ignition: S&S Displacement: 80” Pistons:S&S Heads: S&S Carb: S&S Cam: S&S Air Cleaner: Arlen Ness Exhaust: Providence Cyce Worx Primary: BDL 2’’ Slimline Transmission Year: 1994 Make: Harely-Davidson Shifting: Foot Frame Year: 1977 Model: RKB/PCW One-Off Rake: 38 Degrees Stretch: 2” Up 2” Out Forks Builder: Harley-Davidson Type: 39MM Narrow Glide Triple Trees: Extension: None Wheels Front Wheel: Size: 21” Tire: Metzeler Front Brake: PM 4 Piston Rear Wheel: Black Bike Wheels Size: 18” Tire: Metzeler Rear Brake: PM 4 Piston Paint Painter: Jace-Fast Life Garage Color: Black/Silver Metal Flake Type: Paint Huffer Graphics: Traditional Flames Chroming: Dubouis Polishing & Plating Accessories Bars: RKB/Providence Risers: Biltwell Chubby Hand Controls: PM Contour Foot Controls: PCW Gas Tank(S):PCW Oil Tank: PCW Front Fender: None Rear Fender: Modified RWD Seat: Bare Bones Leather Headlight: Drag Specialties Tail Light: PCW Speedo: None Photographer: Chris Callen

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plating is from DuBois Plating in St Paul, Minnesota. The powder was handled by High Point Powder Coating in Liberty Hill, Texas.

The High Seas Rally sets sail from Port Canaveral, Florida, on October

22nd of 2021. It is a seven-day cruise with four port stops and three thousand bikers. One of the cruise goers is going to take this amazing machine home with them… it’s just too bad I can’t win it.

Don’t forget your eye patch! “Arrrrrgh”!

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his is a new series we will be doing throughout the year in conjunction with the folks at Dennis Kirk titled “Unsung - Dennis Kirk Salutes The Garage Builders.” While there have been many articles in this very magazine about the creations of garage builders, few details about their lives make it into those stories, the history of the men and women who can’t leave well enough alone and what it takes to join the ranks of America’s Garage Builders. Each of these articles will also include a full-length video interview with the subject. You can find the interview froths month at https://youtu. be/DlHRrvqdS7A, and I invite you to hear his story in his own words. The following is my interpretation of our afternoon together celebrating the spirit of Garage Life.

Patrick Maloney, or Moe as he is known by his friends, is a lifetime scooter bum and a member in good standing of the church of Garage. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Moe was part of a full house.

DesPlaines is country as hell compared to the Windy City. He grew up doing what country kids do; riding bicycles, swimming in the lakes, and running around in the woods. Early on, he realized he would be going down the road paved by motorheads.

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One early recollection could have been a David Mann painting. He was in the family car, staring out the window as a guy on a Harley pulled up. Of course, this infuriated his mother; she could tell how captivated he was. Obviously, this only made the appeal that much more to Moe. While all of his friends were into hot rods and bikes, Moe’s

dad wasn’t really into garage life like most of his friends. I guess they were too busy building the country still. See, most of them were blue-collar, and at the time, much of the infrastructure

we enjoy today was being put in place. As it applied to Moe’s dad, he was into telecommunications and put some of Chicago’s most recognizable buildings on the grid.

He’d ride the train into the city every day and go about the good work that helped build a nation.

Although Moe had dirt bikes and such as a young man, it would take the Navy to ruin him completely.

He joined up right out of high school and got his first bike while in the service. It was a ‘69 Bonneville with a big long Jammer Springer, and six months later, he bought another.

Six months after that, he was taking home a Knucklehead roller.

It came with Chrome Invader Wheels, A Jock Lid four-speed tranny, and a candy red over gold paint job.

This put him on the hunt for a motor, and wouldn’t you know it, right in the middle of a trailer park, he’d find his mill. He bought that knucklehead motor for $350, and that was in 1982. He built that first motor in a shed with no electricity, a Coleman lantern for light. If he needed power, he’d borrow a hundred-foot extension from work, do the job and take it back the next day. Moe quickly began to realize that the Navy ship was a great resource for bike guys. Every ship needs to be self-sustaining, which means a complete welding

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and fab shop and a full machine shop on board. After all, once you were underway on a cruise, there was no waiting until you got home to fix or move things. This gave all the guys on the ship a great resource, a bunch of them were Harley guys, and they all helped each other. Those who could weld and those who ran the machines would trade service back and forth.

1986 was Moe’s release date, and he went to work at a number of neat jobs, all that gave him the chance to learn something, and all were the type where he worked with his hands. The first of those was a blacksmith shop.

It was filthy dirty work but gave him a crash course in Trip Hammers and forging. Now when I say it was dirty, they had coal delivered by the dump truck as the forges were fueled by coal, considered nearly a lost art in itself today. After a year or so, he bounced around, did some new ship construction, framing construction, and all part of what he called tape measure common cents. Moe figures if a guy can read a tape, well, you can pretty much teach him anything else like the numbers on a micrometer and the dials on a lathe or a mill. Otherwise, he might want to go another route. It was all through this time that he really started to enjoy the community around the neighborhood garage. Each guy had his own setup, but it would be that one place where everyone seemed to gather. Night after night, they worked away on anything that they could roll in, even if it was a project from someone not all of them knew. They were just having fun hanging out in the garage, making it happen. Eventually, Moe made his way to Aviation, where he subbed work for the Navy fixing aircraft on actively deployed carriers.

All of that experience came into play when he needed to make broken machines work in the Middle East.

His love affair for naturally aspirated machines doesn’t stop at two wheels, and the car you see pictured is one of his prized possessions. It was a hot rod he built with his son after a trip to the Turkey Rod Run one year. They saw a similar car with a blower with big pipes, slicks, and the whole bit. Moe got the bug hardcore, and in a short time, they had secured the mill, and the project was on its way. Another project that was in the process was the Panhead on the lift. As Moe went over the list of parts, it hit me that this was more than things he had laying around or scored from a swap meet.

He actually knows the people, places, June - July ‘21 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE

and things that go along with the parts.

That’s what makes it all so special to him, the memories that are secured in their iron skeletons. One of these characters was Brother Speed Finlay, oh yes, our very own Brother Speed.

It makes sense that they would know each other since Moe was stationed in Charleston, and I think Speed has unofficially been the mayor there for like sixty years. We shared stories about Speed for a good bit of the afternoon, some I had never heard before, like Speeds travels with that legendary motorcycle on the Al-Can Highway.

As the day drew to a close, we talked about the Garage Culture.

Moe spoke in almost a regretful way that it seems like it has changed over the years. While so many people are still into it, there is less a sense of community, and now it’s a much more solitary proposition. I would wager this comes down to the fact that most of us can have tools of our own, and we have to rely on each other a lot less than Moe and his buddies; more is the pity. Nonetheless, this makes sense in his life. Many days finds him coming home from work and walking straight past the door to his house to go right to

work on his own projects. He calls his shop his living room, the place where he really gets to do what he does. I can only tell you that Moe is exactly the kind of guy we look for to feature in this series based on one thing; at the end of the day, he came right out and asked us why we would want to hear his story……. Exactly!

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Article And Photos By: Robert Wallace

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t takes some balls to create a new event on the heels of Bike Week in a city nearly an hour north, but that is just what the guys at Alleyway Kustoms did, and it was a success! The event took place in beautiful St. Augustine, FL, at Adamec Harley Davidson. It was great to have a dealer not only step up to sponsor the event but very refreshing to have them welcome chopper jockeys, and custom motorcycles of every make, model, and style.

Fish Alcorn, the mastermind behind Alleyway Kustoms, did a fine job selecting the builders that joined the Pro Invitational. The invitees included Hang Em High Customs, Bling’s Cycles, Johnny 99, Freakshow Fabrication, Death Metal Racing, It’ll Ride Choppers, Ray Rice Fabrications, Copper Top Garage, LeFevre Cycles, Weems Motor Co, MadPen Cycles, Buttera’s Metal Werx, and Providence Cycle Worx.

The open portion of the bike show didn’t disappoint either. I was pleased to see that it brought some stunners as well and filled the spectrum with a diverse grouping. A panel of judges went through the field of contenders for quite a while before choosing the final winners of the day, which are as follows: Best Paint – Ray Llanes; Best Chopper

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Pre 1983 – Foundation Moto; Best Vintage – Earl Jordan; Best Dyna/FXR – Adam Devine; Best Chopper Post 1983 – Foundation Moto; Best Bagger – Joel Yandrick; Cycle Source Pick – It’ll Ride Choppers (Shovelhead Chopper); Best of Show – Bling’s Cycles (Panhead Chopper ‘Pandemic’) The inaugural year brought plenty for the crowds in attendance to do with bikes, vendors, cold beer, food trucks, and last-butnot-least the Ives Brothers motorcycle riders and their Wall-of-Death! The folks at Adamec had a beautiful display of antique and vintage motorcycles lining the sidewalk for all to see.

Not to mention, inside, you could walk around the store and find the history of the dealership documented in beautiful large format prints adorning the walls. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face after watching the Ives Brothers snatching $20 bills from people’s fingers while riding around on the wall of what amounted to a rickety fish barrel and on the next go-

around tossing one of their shirts back at you – that’s service!

The weather this Bike Week was a bit cooler and windier in Florida than is typical during March, but on this last day, the wind finally died down, and the temperature was in the upper 70’s. You really couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day.

Chris Callen put it best when he said, “it’s the perfect bookend to bike week.”

Compared to a lot of the Daytona events that can get pretty rowdy, the Alleyway event was a relaxed and family-friendly event and a great way to unwind from a hectic week. It was a great opportunity to suck down an ice-cold pina colada while talking to a professional builder one-on-one and get up close with some of the bikes that were winning events all week long.

This will be a yearly event, so make sure you plan to be here next year to wrap up Bike Week - you better believe Cycle Source will be!

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ometimes in life, we need to be reminded of lessons that we learned long ago. These are the facts of life that we may not have necessarily forgotten but may not have been given much thought until we’re forced to confront challenging times in our lives. Every time I look at my Evo chopper, I’m reminded that life is always evolving and that we never know what is around the corner”. - Dan Starkey Dan had been toying around with the idea of building another bike for a while but didn’t get around to it until 2019 when he unexpectedly lost his job. He was going to be out of work for a while and decided to start the build. He had some parts laying

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around (wheels, tires, springer front end, and more) that he thought would be a good start. He ordered an Ultima frame that would work with his 200mm rear tire and wheel, and in true chopper fashion, the first thing he did was cut off all the tabs and mounts except the motor mounts and trans plate. He found an Evo motor, a rebuilt 84 transmission and voila, he had enough for a rolling chassis.

As we all know, life happens. Dan found a new job and the bike got put on the back burner. Not just because of the job, but his buddy brought him a chopper project that he needed help with. Dan helped his friend complete the metal work and in exchange his friend was going to paint his new build

Article And Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

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when it was ready. Win, Win!!

Dan was an invited builder to the 2019 BC Moto Invitational and took his last build, a beautiful blue Shovelhead Chopper, to the show. Dan told me that after seeing the talent that was in that barn, including some of the builders he had looked up to for years, he left the event inspired and started back on his project as soon as he got back home.

The image he had for this project was pretty simple. He wanted the right side of the bike to look naked. The exhaust and rear brake would be on the left and he wanted ape hangers, but with no risers. He had a set of bent up bars laying around the shop and he straightened them, cut them in half and welded them to the top clamp of the spring after changing its contour. He refurbished and narrowed a Paughco tank that he had ran years ago. The tank and fender were the only things being painted; the other parts were to be powder coated. At this point he started getting the run around from the painter. He came up with excuse after excuse why he couldn’t do it the way Dan asked for it to be done. He no longer did pin striping or gold leaf. Dan was

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frustrated and disappointed, and here is where “Things don’t always work out the way you planned, and you never know what’s around the corner” comes into play. In the end, the falling out with the painter just meant it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

Dan looked at his Paughco tank and decided that it wasn’t the look he wanted. He had fallen in love with Bling’s cast aluminum tank halves when he saw them on display at the BC Moto Invitational.

He really thought they would look cool if they were hand polished.

Starkey called Bill Dodge to get a set. Putting the halves together was a little intimidating, because he had never welded cast aluminum. Dan called in some reinforcements for the job, a buddy who can pretty much do anything metal, Ethan Stiles. Ethan told him to bring his welding hood so he could show him some tricks while he was at it.

While at Ethan’s place Dan met an artist, Litl Bill, who he discussed

his idea for the artwork he wanted on the bike and he agreed to do the work. Dan wanted the bike done in a black finish, minus the hand polished tank, of course.

He decided on the name “Black Diamond” in honor of Bling’s Cycles famous diamond graphic, which was especially fitting since Bill was not only a mentor to Dan, but a true brother. He sketched out his idea for the graphic on a napkin and sent it to Bill for approval. Bill gave his blessing, and the rest is

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BLACK DIAMOND TECH SHEET Owner: Dan Starkey City/State: Carthage, IN Builder: Dan Starkey Year: 2020 Model: Evo Chopper Value: Make An Offer Time: 5 Months Engine Year: Model: Evolution Builder: Unknown Ignition: Dyna S Displacement: Unknown Pistons: Unknown Heads: Harley-Davidson Carb: CV Cam: Not Stock Air Cleaner: Velocity Stack Exhaust: Dan Starkey Primary: BDL Transmission Year: 1984 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: Hand Shift / Foot Clutch Frame Year: Unknown Model: Rigid Rake: 4 Degrees Stretch: 4 Up 2 Out Forks Builder: Mid USA Type: Springer Triple Trees: Extension: 4 Over Wheels Front Wheel: Spool Size: 21” Tire: Avon Rear Wheel: Spoke Size Tire: 18” Rear Brake: Sprocket Brake Paint Painter: Steve Weidner / Litl Bill Color: Black Type: Graphics: Pinstripes / Black Variegated Gold Leaf Chroming: Shelbyville Plating & Polishing Accessories Bars: Dan Starkey Risers: NA Hand Controls: Internal Throttle Foot Controls: Dan Starkey Gas Tank: Bling Cycles Oil Tank: Round Front Fender: N/A Rear Fender: Led Sled Seat: Adam Croft Headlight: 5” Taillight: Bullet Speedo: None Photographer: Melissa Shoemaker

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history!

While trying to keep with the idea of the bike being naked, Dan decided that the foot pegs needed to come directly out of the downtubes. His friend, Cecil Murphy, helped him out with the lathe work. Dan wasn’t happy with the aesthetics of the welds on the frame, it was structurally solid, but there were some undercuts that would need to be addressed, especially since he didn’t want to mold the frame. He decided to tig-braze over every weld on the frame using silicon bronze, which he taped off before handing it and the fender over to the new painter.

Once the bike was assembled the engine was ready to be fired up, which was scary, because Dan knew nothing about the motor. All doubts went away as soon as he fired it up he knew the engine definitely wasn’t stock.

He put a few miles on it and then loaded it up and headed off to Daytona for Bike Week! The only issue he had with the bike was the pivot for the high shifter was gave him trouble. Bill Dodge and Chris Callen gave him some advice and made changes as soon as he was back home again. Dan hasn’t had trouble since.

For Dan, this build didn’t go as originally planned and threw him some curve balls, for sure. But for Dan, he took it as a lesson, “life doesn’t always go as planned and we never know what lies around the corner, all we can do is stay positive and focus on what’s in front of us.”

Dan continues to put the lessons he learned while building this bike into play as 2020 definitely wasn’t what anyone had planned. Lately Starkey has been utilizing his welding skills to create some amazing art! Make sure to give him a follow on Instagram for more on that and maybe a peek into what he might have planned for the next build… @danstarkey

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t should come as no surprise to anyone that I’ve had my fair share of experience with mechanics and fabricators over the years. Over the years, I have expressed my frustration with what seems to be a complete lack of ability to adhere to a timeline, price quote, or quality expectation, all of which are basic business principles.

More often than not, in the custom motorcycle world, you end up with an average quality product that arrives months after promised, for a price nowhere near what was agreed on.

I know no other industry where businesses performing in this manner seem to thrive. Yet, it has somehow b e c o m e acceptable in the motorcycle world.

In my profession, we work in a highpaced, get it done now, get it done for the agreedupon price, and get it done right the first-time environment. No exceptions. Failing to meet these standards would lead to a poor reputation, loss of work, and ultimately a failed business...as it should be. There is a lot to be said for those who are able to perform at this level of standards,

Article By: Charlie Weisel however. It shows character, dedication to the craft, and pride in ownership and customer relations. Sadly, this attitude and sense of pride seem to be lost on many of the tradesmen out there. At the same time, we as consumers allow it to continue and have come to consider it normal. No more, I say. I will continue to give people my honest opinion of a product or business

even when it is not a favorable one. I’m not good at candy coating. When I meet a person who does what they say will do, when they say they will do it, I take that to heart and do my best to share my positive experience with others. Hopefully, that shop will continue to grow and prosper.

That is a person I want to work with and a person I can respect.

That is a person who will get my accolades, referrals, and future business.

Dustin, the Werners House of Horsepower owner in Maize, Kansas, receives these accolades tenfold. I chose Dustin to rebuild my motor somewhat on a whim, but not entirely. I had originally heard about him through my local motor guy who recently decided to retire and, therefore, forced me to start fresh.

A bit of an unfortunate situation being as how his shop was just up the road, and he had extensive knowledge of my motor and riding style, but it is what it is, and his retirement is well deserved.

I then followed up by calling a few people near Dustin’s shop that I know, and they all gave rave reviews, which I took with a grain of salt, of course, because people love talking up their buddy. I did, however, decide to take the next step and give Dustin a call. Our initial conversation was productive and easy. He listened to my needs

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and wants; he listened and took to it heart when I explained the kind of riding I do and what I was looking for.

I needed a mechanic who could build me a motor for the long haul; monster horsepower is not crucial. Dustin then gave his thoughts on achieving this, one that made sense and was in line with my way of thinking.

With all of the research and conversations now behind me, I decided to pull the trigger even though his shop was 550 miles away and would take some logistical gymnastics to figure out.

Before the bike even arrived on his doorstep, Dustin had put together a comprehensive parts list, part numbers included, so I could get the order going from S&S. The list was extensive as I was sparing no expense and replacing literally every moving part inside the motor. I’ve had good luck with S&S in the past, so I opted to stay with what I know works.

When I finally got the bike to Werners House of Horsepower, Dustin told me he would jump on it right away. I had explained to him that I was getting nervous about it being completed before my upcoming ride to Cabo San Lucas, but he assured me it would be done. I was skeptical given my previous experiences in situations like this. At that point, I caught a flight out of Eisenhower Airport, leaving me nervous and skeptical, regardless of the good referrals and promises. You can imagine my surprise when I was already receiving photos of my motor torn apart just days after returning home. The parts would arrive shortly thereafter, and before I knew it, the bike was going back together. As he found additional issues, such as a worn-out carburetor, Dustin would reach out, explain the problem and offer solutions.

All of which were valid and expeditious. Just as quickly as the motor came apart, it was soon going back together. Before I knew it, I was receiving videos of the

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bike’s first heat cycle. I was amazed.

I honestly assumed one of two things would happen, I would end up riding my other bike to Cabo, or it would be rushed at the very end, and I would be picking it up at the 11th hour. I

know a very pessimistic attitude, but it happened enough times in

the past that nothing surprises me anymore. Long story short, I’m flying back to Wichita in the morning to pick up the bike 3 weeks before I truly needed it. To say I am happy about how this all worked out would be an understatement.

I didn’t feel rushed and stressed by the timeline, I was informed throughout the entire process, and the price was more than fair. These are all signs of a reputable business and one that I will continue to support as best I can.

I also need to thank Big Gabe Chops for stepping in and repairing a handful of cracks that had formed on my rear fender and modifying my oil tank to resolve an annoying issue I had been having with it.

Like Dustin, his work was flawless, timely, and priced reasonably. I have seen his work first hand in the past and met him in person a handful of times at various events across the country, so quality and character were of no concern to me, but I had yet to have a business dealing with him.

I would use him again in a heartbeat. Quality work, fair price.

I can honestly say that my experience has brought me renewed optimism in the world of custom motorcycle mechanics and fabricators.

There are, in fact, honest and good quality shops out there, and when you find them, support them and spread the word about what they are doing. In closing, I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Werners House of Horsepower, Big Gabe Chops, S&S cycle, and of course, Cycle Source Magazine for all of the assistance in helping to keep this ol bike of mine on the road.

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i

’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I think 4-speed Shovelhead swingarm bikes can be just as cool as a rigid chopper if you keep an open mind. This bike is no different.

Shannon and Raz decided to build a bike that she could ride in comfort while showing Raz’s fabrication skills. Raz owns a mobile welding business in Daytona Beach. He’s definitely no stranger to the local bikers. His skills and willingness to take on some difficult jobs that other shops pass on have made him some solid friends and connections that certainly helped on this build.

The bike is technically a 1979

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motor and frame, with the rest of the parts being a true Johnny Cash collection. The 79 lower end came from a local shop, Black Gold Cycles, and was left behind by a customer that couldn’t pay his bill.

With that, they had an excellent start to the build. Raz had a good friend, Peeen, do the top end with a set of repop cylinders, fresh pistons, and rings. A rebuilt set of heads came his way, and the rocker boxes were treated to a fresh dip of chrome by Space Coast Plating.

For the carburetor, Raz went with the tried-and-true S&S Super E topped off with a Chopper Dave’s air cleaner, who also supplied the footpegs. The transmission was

built using a case bought from Stephen @capefeariron, and a complete set of Andrews gears were placed inside.

Now that the drivetrain was complete, Raz got the frame into a rolling chassis with a single disc 39mm front end that he bartered a welding job for. The front rim is an Excel high-shouldered aluminum rim laced up with stainless steel spokes from Buchanon. A solid polished rear wheel was put in place with a Fab Kevin dual caliper mount and Tokico calipers. Along with Fab Kevin’s bracket, a custom swingarm from Jeff Cochran at SpeedKing Racing with fully adjustable with your stock shocks

Article By: Roadside Marty And Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

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was used. This adds a really nice touch. An unknown bobbed rear fender was mocked up using a set of stainless struts that Raz made, allowing the fender to hug the rear wheel nicely. Usually, on any build, the exhaust can be tricky to pull off. Personally, I think it’s one of the things that can make or break the look of a build. These shotgunstyle pipes that Raz fabbed up using stainless steel tubing look perfect. At first glance, you might think the mid controls are stock H-D, and the rear brake side actually is. However, the shifter side is a custom stainless piece that Raz made to work without an inner primary while working with the BDL belt drive. The tank was sourced from Lowbrow

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Customs and fits the frame’s backbone perfectly. The seat is a collaboration from the Haifley Bros and Dice Magazine; only 100 were made. So, along with the 2” springs, it gives Shannon a nice flat-footed seating position. The oil tank was ordered as a kit that Raz welded up and added the small battery box.

This also placed the ignition switch within easy reach. The chrome “Z” bars were from V Twin and match the 39mm front end’s width perfectly,

while a set of Biltwell risers keep them in place. Another really nice piece is the Prism Supply throttle assembly that is absolutely genius.

A “peep” mirror from Pangea Speed was placed on the clutch perch to keep the peace officers happy.

Once the fab work and mock-up were complete, the rear fender and tank were dropped off with Ronnie Harris from Chop Docs Choppers for that sweet paint job. The frame was treated to fresh powder coat color

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SWEET COCAINE TECH SHEET Owner: Shannon Rae City/State: Palm Coast, FL Builder: James “Raz” Raslowsky Year: 1979 Model: FXE Value: $12,000 Time: 3 Months ENGINE Year: 1979 Model: FXS Builder: Peeen Ignition: Dyna S Displacement: 80ci Pistons: S&S Heads: Stock Carb: S&S Super E Cam: Andrews Air Cleaner: Chopper Dave’s Exhaust: Custom By Raz Primary: 1.5” BDL TRANSMISSION Year: 1955 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: 4 Speed FRAME Year: 1979 Model: FXE, SpeedKing Rear Swingarm Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock Forks: Builder: Harley-Davidson Type: 39mm Triple Trees: Stock Extension: None WHEELS Front Wheel: Excel Size: 21” Tire: Avon Front Brake: Harley-Davidson Rear Wheel: Size: 16” Tire: Shinko Rear Brake: Fab Kevin Bracket/Tokico Caliper PAINT Painter: Chop Docs Color: H-D Tan, MPX Gold Pearl Type: Matrix System Automotive Graphics: N/A Chroming: Space Coast Plating ACCESSORIES Bars: Chrome Z Bars Risers: Biltwell Hand Controls: Super Prism Throttle Foot Controls: Raz/H-D Gas Tank(s): Alien Oil Tank: Bullet Style W/ Battery Box Front fender: None Rear Fender: H-D Fat Bob Style Seat: Haifley Bros Headlight: TC Bros.

Tail light: 5 3/4 “ Diamond Chrome Speedo: None Photographer: Melissa Shoemaker

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called Satin Titanium, which sounds kinda fancy to this grease monkey!

While the paint and powder coat was underway, Raz and Shannon both got their hands dirty doing the final assembly prep work. This included polishing aluminum, which I wouldn’t wish on an unwanted friend. Raz said that Shannon supervised the build time of three months, explaining why it was pretty quick hahaha! I consider Raz and Shannon very close friends, and I’m honored to write this feature.

You can catch them hanging out in the shade in the back property at Chopper Time every Bike Week and Biketoberfest. Be sure to say hello!

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Article By: Xavier Muriel

w

ell, hello, my brothers and sisters of all things motorcycle. Hoping this finds all of you safe and well... Let’s just get right the f*#k into it... Well, congratulations, we did it.

The 80th Daytona Bike Week this past march was off the hook, as the kids say... I wasn’t sure what the turnout would be, all things considered in the world today...on the drive there, all kinds of crazy things were going through my head.

What if no one shows up? What if everyone is still apprehensive about the pandemic yada, yada, yada.

Man, was I completely wrong! From Thursday’s set up at destination Daytona located on the grounds at bruce Rossmeyer Harley Davidson, they started rolling in. Kick-off wasn’t till the next day. Already the parking lot was filled with bikes and mounds of people. The sound of throttling big twins was everywhere. I could look onto 95 and watch bike after bike, trailer after trailer coming in to enjoy what many didn’t think would happen this year.

Providence Cycle Worx and the high seas rally team were set up at

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what I feel was the best place during bike week to experience it all. All the industry’s major vendors were on site.

There were so many different shows, from the Performance Bagger Show to the zany and mostly misunderstood Sound Off Competition. I think I saw every type of bike at some point roll by the tent, not to mention it was the perfect spot to watch people.

The High Seas Rally build was onsite for the folks to see exactly what is being raffled off on the cruise. I’m very proud and honored to have been asked to build this bike for them and very pleased with its outcome. There were so many people involved in this project that to claim that I was the sole contributor to the

build would be a false statement. To all of the companies that stepped up and were a part of this, and to all my friends and colleagues that helped out in any way, my gratitude is yours now and always...

I was stoked to do my first ever beach shoot with the build. I have seen pictures and videos of all

the iconic builders riding or doing photoshoots on the Daytona sand for years. There I was, living out another dream. Thank you to Chris and Heather for making that dream come true.

Let’s move on to the other incredible hot spot of Bike Week. Starting on Sunday, The Broken Spoke Saloon was host to all the great bike shows during the rally. Kicking it off with Warren Lane’s True Grit Antique and Chopper Gathering, then on to Cycle Source’s always packed Custom Bike Show followed by the Perewitz Paint Show and the Dennis Kirk Garage Build show rounding out the week. Throughout Daytona, there were so many events day after day, and rounding out those days were nights filled with high-energy rock n roll, including Hairball, who always throws a great party.

I’d like to end this story with what I feel is the real essence of what bike week means to me. That’s Willie’s Chopper Time. You cannot attend the Daytona rally and not make this a stopping point. Willie’s is the embodiment of the motorcycle community. Yeah, there are trophies for winners, but what it really means

is people coming together every year to do one thing, see their friends, catch up and make new ones, and most importantly, raise money for our nation’s veterans. It’s what the chopper community is really all about. The experience of gathering together to enjoy motorcycles and the folks who love them, it’s one of the best parts of the week for me and one I never miss.

Do yourself a favor. If you haven’t been to Chopper Time, go see for yourself in October.

This is the first event back to somewhat normal times so let the pictures do the talking. After all, a picture says a thousand words.

Until next time take care of yourself and others. God bless. X.

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w

e came across this killer bike on the Dennis Kirk Garage Build pages. This bike began in 2011 as a challenge when Sam Baldi, now 62, of Cherry Valley, California, had recently won a bike show in Sturgis 2010. He was challenged by the promoter to build another one and come back in 2012 to compete in the AMD show. Baldi, never one to turn down a challenge, accepted and immediately. He went home to his fabricator buddy, Jimmy Totorovitch, full of ideas to make a bike look old school but use modern technology. They knew they wanted to fabricate as many parts as possible with the end goal for it to look like there weren’t enough parts for it to run.

With those goals in mind, it became a “What do you want to do? I don’t know, what do you want to do?”

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situation with the two of them. They finally decided to go pro-street style. Which, after a bit, decided was the wrong direction. After five different frame chops and multiple design ideas, the board-tracker style became their top choice.

They both worked day jobs, so they could only put the time in on evenings and weekends in Jimmy’s home garage. The motor was sourced from Patrick Racing, who supplied them with one of their 113 S&S Motors. Next, they went to Baker Transmissions and asked them to build a 6-speed break with a tranny, which was a first for them.

The bike was almost complete, save for the paint job, when in the last year of the build, tragedy struck Sam’s family. At the time, his daughter was pregnant with what would be their first grandchild, a girl. Shortly

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LOST ANGEL TECH SHEET Owner: Sam Baldi City/State: Cherry Valley California Builder: Jimmy Todorovitch Year: 2013 Model: Custom Value: Priceless Time: 2.5 Years ENGINE Year: 2013 Model: S&S Super Sidewinder Builder: Patrick Racing Ignition: Unknown Displacement: 113 Pistons: Patrick Racing Heads: Patrick Racing Carb: Mikuni Cam: Patrick Racing Air Cleaner: Velocity Stack Exhaust: Chad’s Customs Primary: Evil Engineering TRANSMISSION Year: 2013 Make: Baker Shifting: Auto Clutch FRAME Year: Custom Model: Custom Rake: Unknown Stretch: Unknown Forks Custom Builder: Jimmy Todovitch Type: Girder Triple Trees: Custom Extension: None WHEELS Front Wheel: Rampage 3 piece Size: 23” Tire: Avon Front Brake: None Rear Wheel: Rampage 3 piece Size: 18” Tire: Avon Rear Brake: Trans Brake,No Rotor PAINT Painter: OneXtreme Color: Lexis Champagne Type: House of Color Graphics: OneXtreme Chroming: Orange County Plating ACCESSORIES Bars: Custom Hand Built Risers: Custom Hand Built Hand Controls: None Foot Controls: Custom Hand Built Gas Tank(s): Custom Hand Built Oil Tank: Custom Hand Built Front fender: None Rear Fender: Custom Hand Built Seat: Paul Cox Custom Headlight: Custom Hand Built Tail light: Custom Hand Built Speedo: None photographer:

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before the bike went in for paint, three weeks before the event, his daughter called his wife with complications, and two days later, they were grieving the loss of the baby. Any motivation to finish the bike had vanished, and his focus turned towards the loss of their little angel. They ended up attending the event with no bike to show.

A month or so after their return, Sams’ painter, Alberto Ahumada, sat him down and told him he needed to finish the bike. They decided to make it a tribute to his granddaughter. That conversation was all he needed to reignite the spark.

Sam immediately knew it would be called “Lost Angel.”

Alberto immediately started on the paint, using a more subdued champagne color. The seat pan was sent to Paul Cox, who, after hearing the story, was more than happy to help out. The bike took a grand total of two and a half years to complete. When they finally made it out to the 2013 Grand National Roadster Show, they took home the “America’s Most Beautiful Motorcycle” award.

Sam would like to give special thanks to Jimmy and Alberto for pushing him to finish and to his wife for being so understanding. If you’ve got a great Garage Build, head on over to www.garagebuild. com to submit yours.

1. West Wood On Hat 2. Braid On Right Side Of Head. 3. Extra Chain On Wallet. 4. Missing Flame On Tank. 5. Missing Rivit On Tank Skirt. 6. Missing Red Stripe On Oil Tank. 7. Extra Exhaust Pipe Under Oil Tank. 8 . Missing Stripes From Left Shoe. 9. Extra Oil Line On Filter. 10.. Points Cover Rotated 180 Degrees.

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

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Article By: Chip Parisi @chipakid

a

s I now know well, after working scores of rallies over the past four years, the days immediately following a big show are to be treasured. Long days of laboring in the heat are over, the raucous crowds are gone, and the pockets are (hopefully) full. The Monday after Sturgis has become a particularly special “Day of Nothing” for me. It’s the one place where I camp with numerous other rally workers who genuinely appreciate and enjoy those pseudo-holidays.

Back in ‘17, after my first Sturgis, I masterfully stretched that day into four and didn’t leave the Black Hills until Thursday. Those lazy days were nothing but hanging around camp, riding the traffic-free Needles Highway and Custer State Park, and bumming around town

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while the annual circus packed up and rolled away.

While I never committed to an actual exit plan, there was some talk amongst a group of “Sturgis survivors” about leaving town with Scotty and heading to the Veterans Rally in Cripple Creek, Colorado. My only plans for the next few months were to visit friends over Labor Day in Portland, Oregon, and get back to Rhode Island by Thanksgiving. So far, I had been flying solo, “by myself but not alone,” so a few days

riding with others sounded great.

Especially with the chance to see

Scotty’s motorcycle vagabond lessons in action outside the campground classrooms.

When the time came, five of us went to meet up with the old Scooter Tramp himself but retreated back to camp when the skies opened up. By 3pm, the rain had subsided, and my crew of almoststrangers, all newly acquainted that week at camp, was itching to go.

Scotty had seen too many rodeos to think that was a good idea. Despite his wise advice and an invite to a party in town, we pointed our bikes towards Colorado, threw caution (common sense and the weather forecast) to the wind, and hit the road.

On his 250k+ mile FXR, running point was Vietnam Veteran Mark “Jed” Mullen, a seemingly manic-depressive wildcard who would always keep you guessing. Jed, the grizzly tribe-elder and self-proclaimed “real American steel-horse riding cowboy.” could go from zero-to-ahundred real quick, and so could his bike!

Behind his lead, heart-of-gold Cody Walker kept pace on his old Venture Royale, which always seemed like Yamaha’s Pepsi, to Honda’s Coke, the Goldwing. Cody is a Godfearing, mother-loving Missouri man, and the world could use more men of his caliber and character.

Close behind, cracking eardrums with his Mad Max-ed Suzuki M109r, was Scorpio Drake, and

his “shitty wiener” (Daschund/ Shih Zu mix), Titan. These two had been chasing rally work for a while and had recently spent some time traveling with Scotty (which I just eventually learned, after a couple nights in The Keys with Scorpio,

was well chronicled by Scotty, in the 248th edition of this “simple monthly offering to the motorcycle gods”). My only interaction with this face-pierced, tattooed outcast was him ripping by my tent every morning, repeatedly showing his displeasure with how Steve, The

Cooler Kid, allegedly dropped his icehouse trailer across the “path” to Scorpio’s tent.

Falling in behind them was Maryland Mike Mchone, on a Heritage Classic that he had owned for about a month (and hated for about 3 weeks!).

Mike was the youngest of the bunch and was on his first Harley after a lifetime of dragging knees, ripping wheelies, and toying with cops on various 1,000cc superbikes. He was someone I spent some time with throughout the rally and had gotten to know well, at least compared to the others.

A couple hours into the trip, somewhere along the eastern edge of Wyoming, the weather forecast held true. That wicked wall of black clouds was only pierced by the constantly flickering lightning, and its grumbling thunder seemed to be laughing at us. When the first drop hit my face, I pulled to the shoulder of that deserted two-lane in hopes of at least keeping my boots dry. By the time I pulled on my first boot-cover, three of the guys had circled back, while Jed apparently swam his way through the deluge.

Without much hesitation, we unrolled Mike’s oversized Harbor Freight tarp and got to work. Two June - July ‘21 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE 93

corners were quickly lashed to the top of a dilapidated sign, just over the endless barbwire fence, then, after a little shuffling, the other two corners were pulled tight to the bikes. It wasn’t pretty, but we were out of the rain and feeling pretty good about ourselves. Slowly, camp chairs came out and comfort set in.

About an hour later, Cody broke into his cornucopia of a saddlebag, fired up his camp stove, and made a roadside dinner that was more than suitable for this listless posse of dropouts and drifters. The rain had already let up quite a bit, but the sun was falling behind the clouds, and nobody was in any rush to leave.

While our selfappointed chef was busy earning the nickname “Cooky”, Scorpio and I were rigging up a screen and Bluetooth speaker for that night’s feature presentation, “21 Days Under the Sky”. That artistic documentary of four guys doing a 3-week trip on old chops opened with, “Put more down and take far less. Get over the finer details and do one frivolous, no-good thing on nothing more than the idea of it. Forget the words adventure, epic, legend; ban them from the present life you lead, for it doesn’t start as an adventure, it begins with a risk”, and we were

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hooked! It was surreal when the narrator, Robert Patrick, asserted that “The best stories start with strangers winding up in an unfamiliar place”, as us strangers were lying in a most unfamiliar place! Lines like, “Four guys, brought together for a handful of reasons” and, “...for

Americans, it’s unnatural; this level of open-ended discomfort died long ago”, resonated well with us, as we laid on the hard ground. Like it or not, we were the “dropouts

and off-gridders, Veterans and unpredictable underachievers”, being described on the screen, “the un-cut, hard-breasted dregs of America”.

From inside our movie-theaterfort we’d see tiny headlights miles down that arrow-straight road.

Eventually, a vehicle would whiz by at 80MPH, then, about 15 minutes from first sight, the taillights would finally disappear in the opposite direction.

This was some seriously wideopen country, and our conversation turned to Jed, who still hadn’t returned.

Cell phones were rendered useless, but we all felt confident that a man like Jed could hold his own. Like a scene that could have been in the film we were watching, the only bike we saw all night slowed to a stop, presumably to ask if us fellow bikers needed any help.

Surprisingly, that was not the case.

He was there on a promise to deliver a message. “You guys know Jed?” he asked. We affirmed in unison, all unknowingly sharing fears of the worst. He told us they had met about 100 miles south and that Jed wanted us to know where and when we could find him the following day.

This brief interaction wasn’t much, but it gave a quick glimpse into a lost world without cell phones and

constant connectivity.

A beautiful sunrise greeted us in the morning, and I already knew it was just the start of a really great day! How could it not be? I had three like-minded road warriors with me. All were ready to see the rest of Wyoming as a preface to Colorado’s wonders in August.

Once on the road, I could easily tell that I wasn’t the only one enjoying the newfound camaraderie.

We all contained ourselves, as ‘real men’ hide their emotions, but the excitement was evident in moments like Scorpio going sidesaddle for the camera, a few rolling fist bumps, and Mike and I dropping back to pass a cigar I rolled, backand-forth, at 70MPH. By noon, Cheyenne was behind us, and Colorado was just over the southern horizon. I had visited once before, but that was on an airplane with skis in tow, not on a twowheel freedom machine.

As thoughts of 14,000-foot peaks grew in my head, a kamikaze bird slammed into ole Gloria without me ever seeing it. The guys behind were privy to what they said looked like a pillow exploding, as feathers

flew everywhere, including some we later found stuck in Scorpio’s beard and on my bike.

Contact was made with Jed, and an overnight pitstop was scheduled at his place, a little northeast of Boulder. We traded stories of the

previous night with him, went for a sunset ride in the front range together, then stopped at a local boutique shop to pick up some supplies for a rare night indoors.

Over mellow music and cold beers, we sat in Jed’s increasingly smokey apartment. We avoided getting sidetracked long enough to finalize plans for Cripple Creek.

We’d leave in the morning, hookup with Scotty, then figure out a place to camp, which is always more of a challenge with a group.

Jed eventually retreated to his bedroom, somebody took the couch, the others took the floor, and I made my nest outside on the porch.

It had only been a couple days, but these men were strangers no more.

Traveling in this manner, on motorcycles, camping under the sky, battling the elements day and night, has a way of accelerating relationships forging strong bonds.

Had I never seen any of these misfit toys again, I’d have always considered them friends.

Fortunately, that was not the case, and they are all not only still a part of my life, but friends that I consider family and know I can count on.

Normally, I wouldn’t label us as such, but I’ve got to agree with the movie, “Only America, with its un-ending roads and backbreaking expectations, would give us losers like these.” @chipakid

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t

he latest creation by Marty Helverson was heavily influenced by a set of Magnesium Kimtab snowflake wheels! Having just overhauled the Olive Oyl race bike, he now had time and some parts to move forward with the project. The first direction was mock-up and to

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Article And Photos By: Josh Elzey get it ready for paint using a Shovel for the foundation. At this point, the build didn’t fit his vision of a skinny bike to that would mimic the popular use of the wheels repopped for BMX bikes. The bike was dissembled and shelved until he had time to make a skinnier and smaller version!

Kimtabs were copied by a BMX Bike Company back in the ’80s. They were typically seen as the rich kid wheels for big money BMW bikes and wanted by all. Someone gave Marty first wheel, while the second one he managed to buy at a swap meet at a much-reduced price after pleading with the guy

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who had it.

A friend of his walked into the shop one day with a horribly modified Servi-Car frame and rear. The rear was quickly sold, and Marty contemplated throwing the frame out but changed his tune when his buddy Ray ended up with the back half of a WL frame. The decision was made to fix the Servi frame and make a two-wheel version to use as a backup race bike! With ‘The Race of Gentlemen,’ better known as TROG, canceled, Marty switched gears switched to completing ‘Linda Lu’ by a new deadline, the Not NOTT Party. It just two weeks away. Marty figured this wouldn’t be too hard considering the parts were already laying around.

Helverson could do most of the work in-house, but it would still mean some very long hours.

With the new frame together, they already had a roller. The springer was built using pieces from some chopper springers that Marty and Ray cut apart. At the same time, Ray made a set

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of handlebars. The handlebar grips are made to look like old-school BMX grips to keep the flow of the design. Marty narrowed an Alien gas tank and added a rib to match the spare tire cover that they used as a rear fender. Usually, Marty uses a ’36 Ford spare tire covers, but this cover is unknown and has a much

thinner rib. The tins were chosen to make the bike look narrow and small, while keeping as much of the Kimtabs visible. Marty didn’t use a front brake but did make a rear ‘Sprotor” out of a small PM caliper.

An old seat was repurposed from the TROG race bike. The original race motor was pulled out to make

way for another that was hopefully going to get some more speed on the Wildwood NJ beach sand. The engine was already modified for extra power. It had been dialed in during last year’s racing. Marty once again robbed his daughter Martina’s Servi-Car, this time for a transmission. Ray spent almost every night assembling while Marty was still making parts for the bike.

With the build was coming together, his brother Steve took the tins and got them smooth for paint. Next, a color called Anvil which could be seen on both Dodge and Jeeps was chosen.

Marty saw this on his daughter’s Jeep and knew he had to put on one of his projects. Making this project even further of a family affair Marty reached out to his other daughter, Micaela, and her boyfriend Tyler, who had just started a vinyl graphics company “Brotherhood Designz” to take on his idea for a modified H-D Logo.

Marty has always been

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LINDA LU TECH SHEET Owner: Marty Helverson City/State: Oaks PA Builder: Marty Helverson Year: 1945 Model: Harley Wl Value: Time: Two Weeks Engine Year: 1945 Model: Wl Builder: Marty Helverson Ignition: Magneto Displacement: 45 Cu. In. Pistons: Stock Heads: Aluminum #6 Carb: Linkert Cam: KH Cams Air Cleaner: Power Chalise Exhaust: Short Stock With Turn Out Primary: Stock Transmission Year: 1945 Make: HD 3 Speed Shifting: Jockey Frame Year: 1939 Model: HD Servicar Modified Rake: None Stretch: None Forks Builder: Type: HD Springer From Scraps Triple Trees: Extension: Wheels Front Wheel: Kimtab Magnesium Size: 19” Tire: Firestone Front Brake: No Rear Wheel: Kimtab Magnesium Size: 18” Tire: Rear Brake: Homemade Sprotor Paint Painter: Marty Helverson Color: Anvil Type: Base/Clear Graphics: “Brotherhood Designz” Chroming: None Accessories Bars: Shortened Chrome Drags Risers: Stelling And Hellings Hand Controls: Throttle/Jockey Shift Foot Controls: Clutch/Brake Gas Tank(S): Narrowed / Ribbed Alien Oil Tank: Modified Sportster Front Fender: None Rear Fender: Spare Tire Cover Seat: Unknown Headlight: Tractor Trailer Back Up Light Tail Light: Accessory Light HD Speedo: None Photographer: Josh Elzey

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influenced by music in his builds and this was no exception. The logo reveals the bike’s name ‘Linda Lu” which comes from the song “Give me three steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd with the lyric “I was cutting the Rug, down at a place called the Jug (Long Tall Shorty’s), With a girl named Linda Lu.” After hearing it on the radio one day, Marty knew it was just perfect. It also just so happens; his mother’s name is Linda!

SuperStreet Two into One Exhaust System - Stainless Steel

The latest out of S&S is an all Stainless Steel version of their SuperStreet exhaust for the Softail®. Combining their stainless header with stainless shields and muffler make for a great look without the punishment of melting boots most of the other stainless exhaust are hampered by. “We love the look of raw stainless, but hate the torque dip of the super short systems and really hate melting stuff on exposed headers” says S&S Exhaust Manager, Todd Canavan. S&S doesn’t build anything unless it makes power and the SuperStreet does exactly that with a +15% gain in Hp and +10% bump in torque out of the M8 Softail® models. Combine that with the perfect length and angle, clearing bags, passenger pegs and forwards. Added bonus of the SuperStreet Stainless is it’s 50 state legal, . For More Information https://www.sscycle.com/superstreet-2-1

DRAG SPECIALTIESREPLACEMENT PISTON KITS

For OEM quality without the OEM price, pick up a piston kit from Drag Specialties for your 17-20 107” M-Eight. The cast aluminum alloy pistons feature a coating that extends life and reduces friction so your engine can run cooler. Pistons are available in standard size and up to +0.20” overbore and provide a 10:1 compression ratio. Kits include wrist pins and clips. They accept OEM or Hastings rings (available separately). Suggested retail is $115.95. https://www.dragspecialties.com/search;q=09110049;r=eJyrVkrLzClJLSpWsoq OrQUAJusFKA%3D%3D

DRAG SPECIALTIES HEAVY-DUTY INNER FAIRING SUPPORTS

When you’ve decided your 99-13 FLHT or FLHX needs an upgraded sound system, do the job right and install a set of Drag Specialties heavy-duty inner fairing support brackets. These upgraded brackets are made from thick, strong 13 gauge steel that will handle the load of upgraded speakers and amplifiers. The brackets are zinc-plated for rust resistance. The brackets are sold as a set for suggested retail of $39.95 https://www.dragspecialties.com/searc h;q=23300238;r=eJyrVkrLzClJLSpWsoqOrQUAJusFKA%3D%3D

THE MOTOLADY’S BOOK OF WOMEN WHO RIDE z1r deerskin gloves

Z1R introduces the brand-new Deerskin glove. Premium soft deerskin leather is matched with an out-seam palm construction for the ultimate comfort glove. A gathered elastic wrist along with a hook and loop closure for a secure fit. The fourchettes are perforated to feel the cool breeze and keep your hands well ventilated. So next time you go out for a ride, be sure to grab a pair of the new Deerskin gloves for premium comfort and style. Sizes S-3X. Suggested Retail $29.95.

THE MOTOLADY’S BOOK OF WOMEN WHO RIDE: MOTORCYCLE HEROES, TRAILBLAZERS & RECORD BREAKERS written and curated by Alicia Mariah Elfving, founder of TheMotoLady.com and the Women’s Motorcycle Show, and arguably the most notable advocate for women in the motorcycling hobby.

The MotoLady’s Book of Women Who Ride subverts all the tired women-and-motorcycle tropes, offering the true stories of the women past and present who ride and wrench as well as anyone, proving every bit as indispensable to maintaining and growing a positive motorcycling culture.

Z1R Saturn Helmet

Z1R introduces the brand-new Saturn helmet. The new graphic, The Devil Made Me, isn’t for the faint of heart but it was intended that way. The Saturn helmet is DOT certified and utilizes an injection molded polycarbonate shell.

This helmet also comes equipped with an interchangeable drop down sun visor and accepts most 3-snap shields.

Solid Colors are also available in black, flat black, silver, dark silver, and tan. Available in sizes XS-2XL at $94.95 suggested retail.

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What do you think? I say Choppers Rule, Fossil Fuels saved life on Earth, CO2 rules and science is never settled.

So, let the party begin.

I’m looking for a used 2020 FXDR the rarest Harley with clip-ons ever built.

They were only built in 2019 and 2020, with 114-inch M-8 powertrains and the DR stands for dray race. If you’re on the East Coast, let Rich Worley know at American Biker in Charlotte, NC. He’s going to make some mods to it.

You’ll see, as you thumb through the news that stuff is happening fast, surprising stuff. Bikers question shit, that’s our nature. I’ve been questioning the Climate Doom scenario for over a decade and now it’s blowing up.

Science is never settled and now we’re finding that fossil fuels may be saving life on earth. I’m not kidding. Incredible.

Hang on!

Bartels’ Harley-Davidson & Glendale Harley Announce The 3rd Annual Ride For The Children Motorcycle Event, Has Been Rescheduled For Sunday, October 3rd, 2021 With Grand Marshals, Lorenzo Lamas, Perry King, Dave Ekins, Sean Mcnabb & Jaime Elvidge! - A host of celebrities, Law Enforcement and the general public will now join Grand Marshals, Lorenzo Lamas, Perry King, Dave Ekins, Sean

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McNabb & Jaime Elvidge for a beautiful motorcycle ride from Bartels’ HarleyDavidson, Marina Del Rey to Sycamore Cove State Beach, Malibu with a BBQ lunch, live concert and Beach Party on Sunday, October 3, 2021.

BARTELS’ HARLEY-DAVIDSON & GLENDALE HARLEY are excited to Scott Patterson will join other celebrity Grand Marshals for the 3rd Annual Ride for the Children Charity on Sunday, October 3, 2021.

Scott Patterson is an American actor, musician, and entrepreneur. He is known for his role as Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls and as Special Agent Peter Strahm in the Saw films. Scott is President/CEO of Scotty P’s Big Mug Coffee. He is an avid motorcycle rider and participates in a number of charitable events.

TheRide for the Children will begin at Bartels’ Harley-Davidson, 4141 Lincoln Blvd., Marina Del Rey, CA with a beautiful, escorted ride from along the Pacific Coast Highway to the serene Sycamore Cove State Beach, 9000 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA. Join Lorenzo Lamas, Perry King, AMA Hall of Famer, Dave Ekin, Actor/ Musician Sean McNabb, Jaime Elvidge, professional motorcycle journalist and Scott Patterson for what will be a wonderful day ending with a concert

by Aces & Eights, a BBQ lunch by J Wolf Catering and a Beach Party at Sycamore Cove State Beach, Malibu, CA. Olive Crest has been transforming the lives of abused and neglected children through the healing power of family since 1973. Olive Crest is the leader in prevention and treatment of child abuse, neglect, and homelessness, serving over 4,000 children and families each day throughout Los Angeles County.

The 3rd Annual Ride for the Children will fund programs that help us break the cycle of child abuse and enable at-risk youth and families to become healthy and productive citizens.

Registration begins at 8:00 AM - Ride begins at: 10:00 AM at Bartels’ HarleyDavidson, 4141 Lincoln Blvd., Marina Del Rey, and concludes with a concert

by Aces & Eights, a BBQ lunch by J Wolf Catering and a Beach Party at Sycamore Cove State Beach, Malibu, CA. The Event concludes at 3:00 PM. For more information on Olive Crest, go to www.olivecrest.org.

To register online: www.olivecrestride. org.

WHEN: 8:00 A.M. Registration, Kickstands up at 10:00 AM, Sunday, October 3, 2021.

WHERE: Ride begins at Bartels’ Harley-Davidson, 4141 Lincoln Blvd., Marina Del Rey, concludes at Sycamore Cove State Beach, Malibu, CA WHY: To raise funds and public awareness for Olive Crest and their families.

5-Ball Wins At The Flying Piston Breakfast In Daytona- Your 5-Ball Flat Out vest was a hit with the crowd. We were running an online auction during the charity breakfast and we had people bidding on it from across the US. I spoke with Edge and he said it was the best draw to date. And since it was our 1st breakfast in Daytona, I would say it was a winner. We were able to fund 2 kindergartner classes with bikes.

We raised $12,000 in 2 hours, good for the little engine that could. Thanks again for the support. --Jeff Najar VP Marketing

News From S&S--Aft Names S&S Presenting Sponsor Of Supertwins - Progressive American Flat Track has announced that S&S Cycle has further increased its involvement for 2021 and will serve as both the presenting sponsor for the world’s most prestigious two-wheeled dirt track class and as the Official Exhaust of Progressive AFT. Reintroduced to much fanfare in 2020, the premier class of Progressive American Flat Track will be officially known as Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle in 2021.

The announcement solidifies S&S’s central role in the sport, having also recently played a vital part in the revolutionary rise of Indian Motorcycle and Royal Enfield inside the paddock.

“Progressive American Flat Track welcomes S&S’s renewed commitment to the sport,” said Michael Lock, CEO of Progressive AFT. “They have become a key partner during recent years and both their commercial investment and their impact as a competitor and support resource in the race paddock has become an integral part of the show.”

In 2016, S&S added flat track to its race pedigree with the development of the FTR750 and has since put it on the podium at every event. Its efforts on the racetrack are channeled directly into its R&D program and ultimately to the street. S&S Cycle offers engine components, exhaust and fuel systems, engine upgrade kits, and complete engines for a variety of V-twin makes and models as well as performance parts for the latest Royal Enfield machines.

Race fans will be able to purchase select S&S apparel at Progressive AFT Merchandise stands this season.

“S&S is excited to expand our support for Progressive AFT,” said David Zemla, Marketing VP at S&S. “We enter the 2021 season as presenting sponsor of Mission SuperTwins and are backing it up with a $76,500 contingency program for the class. We will also continue to

campaign the Indian Wrecking Crew in AFT’s premier class and are looking forward to getting back on the track and in front of the fans.” www.sscycle.com Montana Makes Lane Splitting Legal - Califa, Hawaii and Utah have legalized some form of lane filtering. Starting on October 1, 2021, motorcyclists in Montana can legally split lanes. There are conditions, but this is major good news.

The Largest Biker Bar In The World-

-Set To Open Soon In Colorado Colorado is known for lots of things, including our incredible landscapes and majestic mountains, meh sports teams (minus the Nuggets, of course), and our legal cannabis, and pretty soon, we will be adding one more thing to our repertoire. Can you guess what it is? If you read the title of this and answered the world’s largest biker bar, you are correct!

Slated to replace Bob and Tony’s Pizza in downtown Estes Park is an allnew biker bar, which promises to be the largest in the world!

According to the Estes Park TrailGazette, Michael Ballard, the owner of the world-famous Full Throttle Saloon in Vale, South Dakota, announced via Facebook Live in front of the pizzeria, sharing that he purchased the building and planned to bring another Full Throttle Saloon to the Centennial State.

While the former pizzeria will be the new bar’s main location, Ballard shared that he also purchased another building near the downtown area, though the exact location has yet to be announced.

Established in 1999, the original Full Throttle Saloon was located on 30 acres of land in Sturgis, South Dakota, but relocated to nearby Vale in 2015, after a fire devastated both the building and land.

In addition to its local fame, the Full Throttle Saloon was also once the setting of a reality show of the same name, which aired on TruTV for 5 seasons. Hang on for more reports. -from Onlyinyourstate. com Sturgis Hamsters Infrastructure Project -The 2021 Hamsters Adopt a Highway clean-up will be held on Saturday May 15th in the Badlands.

Please note that we have changed the date to accommodate the Donnie Smith Show. Plan to meet at the Holiday Inn parking lot 1pm.

And stay tuned for possible dinner plans to be announced.

The Black Hills Hamsters cordially invite any of our Brothers that would like to join us. In the past we have had Brothers from many States join us. It’s always a good time.

New Museum Coming--June Opening Anticipated For OCC Road House & Museum​In Pinellas Park, Florida. The new Orange County Choppers Road House & Museum in Pinellas Park is racing full throttle toward a June grand opening, said Paul Teutul Sr. of the hit Discovery Network series, “American Chopper.”

Under construction at a 9.5 acrecomplex at 10575 49th St. N. that is also home to Bert’s Barracuda HarleyDavidson, the OCC Road House & Museum will be decked out with a fleet of Teutul’s custom choppers featured in the television series along with hundreds of rare items from his collection of biker memorabilia.

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THE CYCLE SOURCE WORLD REPORT - POWERED BY BIKERNET.COM

Teutul has joined forces with Pinellas County hospitality executive Keith Overton to bring the OCC-themed restaurant and museum to Florida.

With more than 11,000 square feet of indoor space, the family-friendly OCC Road House will be one of the area’s largest full-service restaurants, with indoor and outdoor seating for more than 325 diners and featuring classic American fare.

The restaurant will also feature a 25,000-square-foot pavilion for concerts, outdoor dining, a billiards hall, floor games and other entertainment, and a retail store selling merchandise and collectibles for bikers and OCC fans.

The OCC Road House & Museum will be an extension of the OCC brand, showcasing Teutul’s one-of-a-kind creations in an upscale, industrial environment that will make guests and fans “feel like they’re hanging out with Paul in his workshop,” Overton said.

The restaurant and museum will be packed with motorcycle memorabilia Teutul has personally collected over the past three decades, including an enormous “patch wall” with tens of thousands of patches he has received from members of the military and first responders over the years.

Overton and Teutul welcome military personnel and first responders, past and present, to help continue to fill the patch wall, leaving their mark for others to see.

Building the OCC Road House & Museum adjacent to Bert’s Barracuda Harley-Davidson dealership was a natural choice, Overton said. One of the top-performing Harley-Davidson dealerships in the country, Bert’s Barracuda has a loyal following and attracts a steady stream of bikers and brand enthusiasts.

At a cost of more than $6.5 million to build, Overton expects the OCC Road House & Museum to provide a significant economic benefit to the city of Pinellas Park and beyond by creating more than 50 construction jobs and roughly 90 full-time and 20 part-time restaurant positions…D’Ann Lawrence White, Patch Staff

Is Lane Splitting Legal In Missouri?Motorcycle riding and its culture are on the rise in Missouri, as more people are

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turning to the vehicles for recreation and every day transportation. As there are more riders participating in dense traffic, we are asked a common question these days: is lane splitting legal in Missouri?

This question is pertinent because another driver or an insurance company may try to automatically find you at fault for lane splitting in the event of an accident. There are stringent lane splitting laws in the United States, but Missouri is one of the few states that does not expressly prohibit it.

Thus, it is worth brushing up on lane splitting laws, practices, and the legal and safety ramifications of lane splitting in Missouri.

What is Splitting Lanes? Line splitting is riding a motorcycle between multiple lanes or rows of traffic going the same direction. It can also be called stripe riding or whitening, and its practical use is to save time in traffic.

While most people focus on lane splitting as a technique for speed, it also can be used for safety as well.

Splitting lanes is a great way to get out of another driver’s blind spot, or to avoid rear end collisions in circumstances where a bike may not be seen as easily.

Because motorcycles are smaller and lighter than normal cars, they are prone to being bumped if other drivers are not paying attention – lane splitting helps mitigate this.

IN WHAT STATES IS LANE SPLITTING LEGAL? Missouri falls under the category of ‘not mentioned and not specifically prohibited’ in legislature. It joins 11 other states in this category, while California, Hawaii, and Utah have either full legality or modified versions. In total, that makes 15 states where the act is not illegal, and many states are considering legislation to fully legalize in the near future.

While there is no statewide ban

against lane splitting in Missouri, you should check your city and county ordinances to see your specific laws; Kansas City is an example of a city with its own ordinance banning lane splitting.

The key to lane splitting not being expressly prohibited in Missouri motorcycle riding laws is that you cannot be targeted for it by police or insurance companies if you are doing it safely. This is tricky when there is not state legislature for it, but we recommend following the speed limit and all other normal MO motorcycle traffic laws while lane splitting so as not to create any grey area should a problem occur.

Ultimately, it seems likely that there will be legalization and a specific set of state laws for motorcycle riders in Missouri, but until then you will have to rely on common sense and normal traffic laws.

LANE SPLITTING SAFETY TIPS: Lane splitting should be done cautiously and by experienced riders.

Before adding lane-splitting to your motorcycle riding skills, we recommend following the following safety tips: Always consider your full surroundings before beginning a lane split – these include lane width, traffic speed, weather, and visibility for you and vehicles around you. Lane splitting is typically safer between the farleft lanes of traffic than others because there is only one changing lane for parties to focus on.

Do not assume other drivers are paying attention or can always see you.

Avoid riding in blind spots or lingering in between vehicles. Wear brightly colored and/or reflective gear at all times of the day. Use your high beams during daylight no matter what.In all scenarios, keep in mind that because you can be easily targeted for lane splitting should an incident occur, it is not just your physical safety at stake.

If you follow the road laws and are careful, you should be able to lane split effectively.

LANE SPLITTING RISKS: Even with a strong knowledge of the Missouri road laws and tips for lane splitting, it can be dangerous if you don’t pay attention to certain things: Moderate your speed while filtering (another term for lane splitting) – physics is undefeated. Avoid lane splitting next to oversized vehicles such as big rigs or farm equipment. Do

THE CYCLE SOURCE WORLD REPORT - POWERED BY BIKERNET.COM not ride on the shoulder- this is not lane splitting and is illegal except in Hawaii.

While lane splitting reduces the rate of motorcyclists getting rear-ended, it increases how often bikers will rear-end another car. In other words, watch your front! Traffic might be too erratic to lane split.

This is especially important to watch for during traffic jams or slow zones; while this is the most opportune way to save time, there might not be a reliable gap in each lane to safely split them.

Most of these risks and countermeasures are addressed in proper motorcycle education and skill-building. However, we always recommend riding as though other cars are not up to speed on the laws, policies and safety measures to keep you safe. Finally, knowing your rights and having access to proper representation will let you lane split confidently.

Is lane splitting legal in Missouri? Speak with a Missouri Motorcycle Accident Attorney at Law Tigers, we serve the Missouri motorcycle community proudly because we’re riders just like you. Our

passion for keeping riders on the road has allowed us to become the foremost legal experts on accident and injury representation. We have decades of

If you are looking for representation in a case or want to learn more about lane-splitting laws in Missouri, reach out today – it’s better to ride with Law Tigers by your side.

Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials Coming This Summer— Could be a go according to rumor from the salt front. It was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid.

It’s currently scheduled for August 28 in Bonneville. Check the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, AMA Land Speed Grand Championship 2021 BMST August 28th-September 2nd online. -Bandit There you have it, amazing stuff happening. If you find the need to stay more on top of the news, come to Bikernet. We publish the news Weekly on Thursday Night.

Ride Fast and Free, Forever!

-Bandit

experience helping riders stay stressfree, healthy, and on the road.

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Article By: Tyler Porter Photos Courtesy of : American Flat Track

w

e’re off to the races! After the dumpster fire of a year, it was incredible to see that both rounds of the opener held at Volusia Speedway Park were well attended, especially the round on Friday night. As usual, there was a lot of action on the track. The truth is starting to come out from all of these racers now that the race reports are in and the adrenaline has died down and the racers are looking at a long wait time until the Atlanta Super TT on May 1st.

As usual, I want to address some griping and complaining that I quite often see over on the face pages. The number one complaint? Class size.

The classes have gotten smaller, yes, but I would also argue that the field has also gotten deeper. While I love seeing a packedto-the-gills grid, I think everyone filling

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those grandstands is there to see a great race, and Volusia delivered in several aspects.

For one, crowd favorite Shayna Texter-Bauman returned to her

winning ways, making it a clean sweep in Florida. There were some choice words after the race for her

“haters” who may have thought her winning ways were over. While it may have been fitting, Shayna also has a history of whipping up on the field on tracks like Volusia. I’m really proud of the number of new fans our sport has, but Shayna could win Volusia 100 times, and it wouldn’t surprise me. She’s a fantastic racer, and on a banked track like Volusia, she should honestly be a favorite. If you want to see a surprise win, go back and look for her win at the Lima, Ohio half-mile a few years ago. That one is impressive!

As for the rest of the Pro Singles field, having Estenson Racing Yamaha Riders Dallas Daniels and Mikey Rush on or near the podium both nights wasn’t a surprise. Max Whale, the Australian import, looked

very good on his new KTM factory ride. It’s always good to see the best showman in the pits, Morgen Mischler, near the front with his podium on Saturday night. When you look down through the results, that parity is obvious. Of the 17 rider main, the field basically stayed within a half lap of each other. To be honest, that’s incredibly impressive. The racing in the singles class has always been a

backed Yamaha. The two went at it lap after lap until Dan found a way by on lap 21. However, just when you thought the race was done and dusted, here comes Cory Texter on his G&G Yamaha to make things interesting.

There was contact which pushed both racers up the race track a little bit, and it allowed Chad Cose to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on the last lap.

Talk about getting a crowd fired up! On

bit more spectacular than the other classes, so keep an eye on it for the entire season.

In production twins, the entire field may not be that deep, but the racing up front is really great. There was an absolute dog fight at the front between Chad Cose and Dan Bromley on Friday night. Chad was piloting a Harley Davidson XG750R and Dan on his newly built Memphis Shades

Saturday night, however, Cory Texter did just as his sister had done with the field as he marched to victory, with an over 2-second margin. I think Cory has been fast at Volusia since he first swung a leg over a race bike, so not only was it not a surprise to see him in the winner’s circle, but it was a heck of a way to kick off the new title defense season for him.

Of course, what everybody has been

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waiting for is the Mission Super Twins class. There have been so many shake-ups in this class that I talked about in the offseason. We lost the Harley Davidson factory’s support, Indian reduced its inhouse factory team to just one rider, traction control was introduced for the production-based bikes, and we lost a few riders from the class to the other AFT classes. While all of that seems like a lot of change, except for a few things, the new boss was the same as the old boss.

I’ll start with the exciting things.

First off, what does Brandon Robinson suddenly have going on with racing in the state of Florida?

He swept both nights on the Daytona Short Track last fall to wrap up the season, and then he comes to the half-mile in Volusia and wins the race from green light to checkers!

That was a big opening statement, but sadly for him, the biggest news was JD Beach coming home second on his Estenson Racing Yamaha MT07. Most keyboard warriors would simply point out that they can use traction control this year for their newfound success. However, the truth lies in the fact that the

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entire team did a lot of work in the offseason. Not just with the traction control, but with frame geometry and other bits.

I also think that JD may have helped himself by going down to Florida during the winter and training. While he wasn’t riding flat track every day, he was on a motorcycle honing his skills, and there’s a lot to be said for that. Just behind JD were the titans of the class, Jared Mees and Briar Bauman. While they finished 3rd and 4th respectively on Friday night, it was almost like the calm before the storm of the season. Pick your sport when two titans faced off in their primes.

This is similar to what we are seeing now. In flat track, I look at it like Parker vs. Carr. Maybe if your flat track history doesn’t go back that far, you can look to other sports. Johnson vs. Bird, Manning vs. Brady, McGuire vs. Sosa, Jordan vs.

Bryant, Earnhardt vs. Gordon, you get what I’m saying.

Jared and Briar may not win every round, but I do believe it’s going to take an outside error to get either racer off of the podium right now. In Florida, just like last year, Jared came out on top of the points battle. Jared’s Saturday night win was honestly a little bit of a snooze fest towards the end. Briar jumped out to the early lead, but on lap 8, Jared found his

way around and just set sail. While Jared seemed to be on a cruise out front, the Friday night hero, JD Beach, and his Estenson Racing teammate Kolby Carlile were back near the tail end of the field. I talked to JD after the race, and he did admit that the track changed a tremendous amount. However, unlike many races last season, JD was very optimistic about the bike. Typically a high banked clay half-mile was their Yamaha’s worst enemy. Still, they have obviously made massive progress with their setup, and I think they can be contenders at several rounds this season.

That’s a wrap on the first two rounds. We’re in for a barn burner of a singles championship, I believe, production twins is showing the spark it needed up front, and we have the clash of the titans leading the field in the Mission Super Twins class, with the Yamaha’s showing more promise. Next, we shake things up by going to the Atlanta Super TT inside the oval of Atlanta Motorspeedway on May 1st. Why don’t you join in?

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ADVERTISERS INDEX 5 Ball Racing Leather..................95 Bare Bones Leather....................110 Battery Outlet.............................113 BikerNet.com..............................110 Bling’s Cycles...............................68 Buffalo Chip..................................49 Chop Cult....................................110 Cycle Source Gear.........................4 Cycle Stop USA...........................32 DB Custom Leather.....................46 Dennis Kirk..................................115 Denver’s Choppers.......................51 Drag Specialties.............................5 Drag Specialties Seats..................9 Dutchman....................................113 Faith Forgotten Choppers..........109 Feuling.........................................111 Flat Broke Chops & Rods.............85 Garage Built Podcast...................91 GEICO.............................................3 High Seas Rally.............................45 Hot Leathers...............................109 Kiwi Indian....................................29 Led Sled.......................................63 MC Creations..............................113 Mikuni............................................55 Motion Pro...................................107 No School Choppers...................32 Pandemonium..............................20 Paughco...................................19,57 Progressive Insurance.................33 Providence Cycle Worx................87 Russ Brown..................................27 S&S Cycle...................................116 SpeedKing....................................15 Sporty Parts................................113 Spectro Oils...................................21 Steel Pony Campground..............79 Tech Cycles..................................29 Tropical Tattoo..............................46 Twin Power......................................2 Twisted Choppers........................39 Zipper’s Performance...................75

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A

lady comes home from her doctor’s appointment grinning from ear to ear. Her husband asks, “Why are you so happy?” The wife says, “The doctor told me that for a forty-five-year-old woman, I have the breasts of an eighteen-year-old.” “Oh yeah?” quipped her husband, “What did he say about your forty-five-yearold ass?” She said, “Your name never came up in the conversation.”

Send Your Gut Buster to: cyclesourcemain@comcast.net

M

T

he inventor of the HarleyDavidson motorcycle, Arthur Davidson, died and went to Heaven.

At the gates, St. Peter told Arthur.

“Since you’ve been such a good man and your motorcycles have changed the world, your reward is, you can hang out with anyone you want to in heaven.” Arthur thought about it for a minute and then said, “I want to hang out with God.” St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room and introduced him to God. God recognized Arthur and commented, “Okay, so you were the one who invented the HarleyDavidson motorcycle?” Arthur said, “Yeah, that’s me....” God commented: “Well, what’s the big deal in inventing something that’s pretty unstable, makes noise and pollution, and can’t run without a road?” Arthur was apparently embarrassed but finally spoke, “Excuse me, but aren’t you the inventor of woman?” God said, “Ah, yes.” “Well,” said Arthur, “professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention. There’s too much inconsistency in the front-end protrusion. It constantly chatters at high speeds. Most rear ends are too soft and wobble too much. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust. The maintenance costs are outrageous! “Hmmmmm, you may have some good points there,” replied God, “hold on.” God went to his celestial supercomputer, typed in a few words, and waited for the results.

The computer printed out a slip of paper, and God read it. “Well, it may

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be true that my invention is flawed,” God said to Arthur, “but according to these numbers, more men are riding my invention than yours.

A

Carpentier

teenage girl comes home from school and asks her mother, “Is it true what Rita just told me?

Babies come out of the same place where boys put their thingies?” “Yes, dear.” replies her mother, pleased that the subject had finally come up, and she wouldn’t have to explain it to her daughter. “But then when I have a baby,” responded the blonde teenager, “won’t it knock my teeth out?”

Rose

F

or his birthday, little Joseph asked for a dirtbike. His father said, ‘Son, we’d give you one, but the mortgage on this house is $280,000, and your mother just lost her job. There’s no way we can afford it.’ The next day the father saw little Joseph heading out the front door with a suitcase.

So he asked, ‘Son, where are you going?’ Little Joseph told him, ‘I was walking past your room last night and heard you telling mom you were pulling out. Then I heard her tell you to wait because she was coming too.

And I’ll be damned if I’m staying here by myself with a $280,000 mortgage and no bike!

Brian

aria, a devout Catholic, got married and had 15 children.

After her first husband died, she remarried and had 15 more children.

A few weeks after her second husband died, Maria also passed away. At Maria’s funeral, the priest looked skyward and said, “At last, they’re finally together.” Her sister sitting in the front row said, “Excuse me, Father, but do you mean she and her first husband, or she and her second husband?” The priest replied, “I mean her legs.”

O

Patrick

n their way to get married, a young Catholic couple is involved in a fatal car accident. The couple found themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates waiting for St. Peter to process them into Heaven. While waiting, they began to wonder: Could they possibly get married in Heaven?

When St. Peter showed up, they asked him. St. Peter said, “I don’t know. This is the first time anyone has asked. Let me go find out,’” and he left. The couple sat and waited and waited. Two months passed, and the couple was still waiting. While waiting, they began to wonder what would happen if it didn’t work out; could you get a divorce in Heaven?

After yet another month, St. Peter finally returned, looking somewhat bedraggled. “Yes,” he informed the couple, “You can get married in Heaven.” “Great!” said the couple, “But we were just wondering, what if things don’t work out? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?” St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slammed his clipboard onto the ground. “What’s wrong?” asked the frightened couple.

“OH, COME ON! “ St. Peter shouted, “It took me three months to find a priest up here! Do you have any idea how long it’ll take me to find a lawyer?”

Jack

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