Hey,
Sturgis fever is upon us every second. Guys are flying into town, fighting with their ol’ ladies, packing too much shit and preparing for the run to the Badlands. Last night I worked again until 11:00 p.m. changing fluids and then tuning the front end. I checked the trail with Sin Wu’s assistance. We ran a rod down the center of the neck on the left side until it touched the floor. Then I dropped a line off the axle and measure between the two. My trail is running between five and six inches.
Then I jacked up the front of the bike and lifted the rockers. I felt a notorious clunking. There was way too much play in the neck bearings. Something had dangerously settled. I removed the bars, risers and top tree, snugged up the stem nut, tested it, snugged it again and put the sucker back together.
Let’s hit the news, then I’ll tell you the best part.
TL002-20 Kit comes with Custom axle covers to replace the existing covers on all Extreme Frames EX20 and EX22 frames sold by Extreme. Note: These covers will also replace covers made by Diamond Chassis.
Each side has 3 LED boards, one LED positioned on the top edge facing the rear and 2 LED’s along bottom edge, one facing the rear the other the front, use these for ground effects or one for more rear brake lights. (See pics).
These lights are incredibly bright and will only add to your visibility to others on the road. Use them in conjunction with your existing brake light or by themselves, please check the laws in your state for compliance. TL002-20 – Price: $295.95
Call and see if your color is available.
Extreme Frames Inc.
3400-A Raider Dr.
Fort Worth, Texas 76040
888-457-0333 Toll Free Line
817-354-8000 Local Line
817-354-8028 Fax
http://www.extremeframes.us
Toby and Nelson’s Shop Moved
KB, we have moved to a 20,000 sq ft facility in Alachua, Florida Our new shop # is 386-418-0111.
Our new address is 12801 NW HWY 441 Alachua, FL 32615.
We now have two new Lathes (with Digital readout), A new Bridgeport mill, sunnen hone, boring bar, vertical and horizontal bandsaws and much more!
–Toby
Okay I want you to picture this in your mind. ROGUE dancing around the room (okay his attempt to dance) Singing I’m Going to Sturgis, I’m Going to Sturgis, My Bike is Ready, So Am I, I leave on Monday, I’m Going to Sturgis, I’m Going to Sturgis.
Now Get Up Off The Floor and Stop Laughing.
Have a Safe Trip to Sturgis
See You There
Rogue
http://www.bikerrogue.com>
In your Thursday News date 7/28/05, Stan Jones reminisces about the old “Gun Nut Report” from the late seventies Easyriders magazine. First let me say that Stan must be getting old, which sucks but beats the hell out of the alternative. This “epistle missile” is a feeble attempt at something like what I would imagine a “Gun Nut Report” to be. Within the contextual fabric of Bikernet, of course. Whatever that may be.
Okay, here we go, ya’ll strapped up and ready? Live rounds chambered, and safeties on? First, aim before you shoot – unless of course you happen to be in the law enforcement profession in a large metropolitan area, then aiming is strictly optional. If you doubt what I say, read the police reports, maybe talk to a few police officers (“Constable On Patrol” – or Cop). Aiming helps a lot, I shoot very regularly, and many people near me don’t really aim. They either pull up that heater, kinda line up the sights and then bang away – or they studiously squint and aim for so goddamn long that they get the Shaky Jakes. Aim the bitch, get things lined up, take a breath, exhale part way and then gently squeeze that trigger. If you happen to be in a gun fight and your opponent(s) are more than say 20 yards away, have the balls and take the time to aim while bullets fly past you. Several gunslingers in the Old West lived to be pretty damn old using this approach.
Group Tightener also helps, but it’s use is frowned upon at public ranges which aren’t much fun anyhow as most of then have range masters with the “petty tyrant with a little power” attitude. Group Tightener can be found at any liquor store, and goes by several names (Beer, whiskey, tequila, etc).
Okay last of all is Spud’s “Tip Of The Month” or whatever. When packin’ heat on yer ride, use the largest caliber/smallest frame approach. Now Bandit’s Walther PPK in stainless steel ain’t a bad choice (especially the non-corrosive material), and maybe he likes to think that he’s fuckin’ James Bond or some shit. If I remember correctly, it’s only chambered for a .380 which is okay I guess if ya wanna tack a nail in the wall for hanging a picture of yer honey. I recommend a MINIMUM of 9 mm, preferably the “Flying Brick” – the venerable 45 ACP (“ACP” = Automatic Colt Pistol”).
The 40 S&W that’s popular these days within the law enforcement community sort of splits the difference between the 9 and the 45. But a 45 has what’s referred to as “knock down power”. I typically ride with a Glock Model 36 chambered in 45 ACP, maybe a Springfield Custom Loaded SST 45 with the short barrel if I’m heading into a real high humidity area for several days. It’s quit a bit heavier than the Glock, and will require reinforcement of the carrying pocket in your jacket for regular carry but that’s another topic.
That’s it. No pictures, maybe next time but I kinda doubt it.
–Spuddley Dogbreath
Good Work Spuddley, and we look forward to more reports, photos or not. The PPK won’t knock ’em down, but they’ll whimper a lot and it’s light on the pockets and packin’.
Over 200 vendors will be showing their newest and greatest products to dealers, bike builders and, for the first time at Big Twin West, the general public. Come see the companies who make the products for your bike.
Big Twin West is the only place you can see over 150 of the world’s most distinctive and innovative custom-built bikes and meet the builder of each of these amazing creations at the AMD ProShow.
August 1st, 2005 – Dreamcraft Studios used the July 16-17th LA Calendar Motorcycle Show for the world premier of their latest new custom bike “Rapture” and took home the coveted Performance Machine Best of Show Award, a big chunk of the Show’s $70,000 awards purse, and qualified for American Motorcycle Dealer’s World Championship of Custom Bike Building to be held November 18-20th 2005 at Mandelay Bay, Las Vegas, NV, in conjunction with Advanstar’s Big Twin West. http://www.amdproshow.com
The LA Calendar Motorcycle Show, produced by FastDates.com Calendar and sponsored by Performance Machine and Bikernet.com, photographer Jim Gianatsis of Gianatsis Design Associates, is an official Affiliate Qualifier Round for the AMD Pro Show World Championship of Custom Bike Building. This year’s LA Calendar Show saw its biggest turnout ever of spectators, 195 exhibitors, and some 50 Pro Contest Builders ever to become what is now, arguably, the world’s biggest custom and performance streetbike show.
SBK Fast Dates World Superbike & Ducati Corse girl, model and actress “Rockin Robin
Look for “Rapture” to be at the AMD Pro Show in Las Vegas to try and claim the $50,000 First Place Award. And rumor has it that “Rockin Robin” just might be there too, as the successful Gianatsis Design produced Calendar Shows partner with Advanstar’s Big Twin Expos to expand across America. FastDates.com Calendar Angel “Rockin’ Robin” is featured in the new 2006 Iron & Lace Calendar, along with Dreamcraft’s first ever exotic custom “Sega.” Ask for Iron & Lace at your favorite Dealer, available from AMD Pro Show sponsor Custom Chrome and other top distributors, with more information online at http://www.FastDates.com.
Check it out Holly has her dealer plates and everything! I guess we better get serious now . . .ok well maybe some day. Check our new belt guard.
–The Devil
THE BIKERNET VINTAGE CAR RACE EFFORT CONTINUES-SPONSORS WANTED–’53 Lincoln Capri and Cosmopolitan. Lincoln seemed to go a different way in 1952. Introducing an entirely new body style, much more sporting, which would be copied by Pontiac in 1955. A new ball joint front suspension and a completely fresh engine design, done from a clean sheet of paper. It was a properly designed overhead valve V8 of 317ci. At 20 cubic inches less than the previous engine it put out 8 more horsepower, being rated at 160.
Only one wheelbase was offered and Lincoln split the difference between the two used from ’49-’51. Nineteen fifty-two’s would stretch to 123. Somewhat on the small side for the largest Lincoln offering, but this, combined with the ball joint suspension would make these excellent performers. Not exactly what a Lincoln had represented, they nonetheless were quite successful in racing. A club even exists today celebrating the cars, The Road Race Lincolns. Our car is registered with them.
These great cars especially excelled in the Pan American Road races. A 4 speed “Hydramatic” transmission was made standard and it would not be until the 2000 Lincoln LS that a Lincoln would again be available with a manual transmission.
Two trim levels were available. The Cosmopolitan was now the less expensive and the Capri was the top of the line. Weight was about 4200 lbs and an average price was $3300.
Since Johnny Boyd first twanged it out in 1960, and Commander Cody passed it to a new generation some 15 years later, it has been applied to everything from a primered Model A to the forgotten LSC coupe of the Eighties. But the real, honest Hot Rod Lincoln was actually a series of remarkably stock Lincoln Capri hardtops that pulled Ford out of a self-imposed exile from racing that had lasted more than 15 years.
It was a glorious return for Ford, as a factory Lincoln-Mercury team eventually rose to dominance in the “La Carrera Panamericana”, the fabled Mexican Road Race, the very last of the great long-distance competitions to be contested on public highways in North America.
In 1952 and ’53, Lincolns finished first through fourth in the race’s stock car division. Chuck Stevenson won both times, with Smith as co-driver. The 1954 race was won by Ray Crawford in a privately entered Lincoln, prepared by Stroppe, with Walt Faulkner second in a factory car. The other team cars dropped out, either through accidents or mechanical problems.
Tech Info
The all-new Lincoln was launched in 1952 and was built through ’54, and it had the brand new engine to replace the dated Flathead V8. The new 317ci (5.2-litre) unit was extremely smooth, thanks to eight crankshaft counterbalances where most V8s had just six, plus it was easily tuned. The new car also had a very stiff chassis, with six crossmembers on the separate frame, making the car’s new MacPherson strut suspension work well and improving the model’s durability. In its inaugural year the Capri took the Carrera Panamericana in first, second, third and fourth places, then did the same the following year, but just first and second places in 1954. But the Capri boasted more than performance as it also has power-operated leather seats, power windows, power steering and brakes, and even a Hydramatic transmission. In 1956 the car was dramatically restyled; production fell by 50 percent.
This Capri, which won the event’s final running in 1954, was the race’s top-finishing stock car, albeit in the hands of an unheralded privateer who hung on after Lincoln’s factory juggernaut came to grief. Our car is a car that was manufactured in 1953 and consequently would have raced in ’54. It is painted in the same color scheme as the winning car. It participated successfully in the 2000 Panamericana and has been completely overhauled with a full roll cage, 5-point harnesses, Porsche seats. All mechanicals have been redone. The electrics are 12 volt and up to racing standards. All work was done to modern standards, yet kept according to the rules, so that the car still qualifies to run in the “Original Panam” class!! Very few cars qualify for this!
Ball and Christian Reichardt have been on the road for a number of trips, some of these lasting several weeks. Albeit mostly on Harleys, they are road-tested and have proven themselves to be a tough crew. We are currently looking for Sponsorship for this years event. Please see the website for www.LaCarreraPanamericana.com for info on this awesome road race. One of the last adventures in the motor world, the race lasts1 week and runs straight all the way through Mexico, from the bottom to the top on the same route it did in 1954.
The following sponsorship opportunities are available
Full Sponsor will receive placement on the car’s trunk and sidepanels: $10,000
Partial sponsor doors and hood: $5,000
Supporter: the rest $1000 We are looking forward to have the artist put your company’s logo and artwork prominently onto this adventure!!
–Dr. Hamster
A middle-aged woman went to a Wal-Mart service counter and tells the clerk she wants a refund for the toaster she bought because it won’t work.
The clerk tells her that he can’t give her a refund because she bought it on ‘special’.
Suddenly, the woman throws her arms up in the air and starts screaming! “PINCH MY NIPPLES! PINCH MY NIPPLES! PINCH MY NIPPLES!!”
The befuddled clerk ran away to get the store manager in front of a growing crowd of customers. The manager goes to the woman and asks, “Ma’am what’s wrong?”
She explained the problem with the toaster, and he tells her that he can’t give her a refund because she bought it on special.
Once again, the woman throws her arms up in the air and starts screaming, “PINCH MY NIPPLES! PINCH MY NIPPLES! PINCH MY NIPPLES!” And in doing so draws an even larger crowd!
In shock, the store manager pleads, “Ma’am, why are you saying that?
In a huff, the woman says, “BECAUSE, I LIKE TO HAVE MY NIPPLES PINCHED WHEN I’M GETTING SCREWED!”
The crowd broke into applause and her money was quickly refunded!
–from Buckshot
The Yamaha Vmax celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and bikeposter.de offers the anniversary posters for the Japanese legend on two wheels.
The picture shows the 140 hp V4 engine in combination with three different slogans, which perfectly describe the Vmax: “Adults only!”, “20 Years of Brutal Performance” and “Separate the Men from the Boys”.
The Vmax anniversary posters are printed on high-grade paper, have a size of 59.4 x 42 centimeters (16.6 x 23.5 inches) and can be ordered online for a retail price of 10 Euros each at THREE OLD LADIES NAMED GERTRUDE, MAUDE, AND BETTY WERE SITTING ON A PARK BENCH HAVING A CONVERSATION, WHEN A FLASHER APPROACHED FROM ACROSS THE PARK. THE FLASHER CAME UP TO THE LADIES, STOOD RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM AND TO THEIR SHOCK AND DISMAY, OPENED HIS TRENCH COAT. GERTRUDE IMMEDIATELY HAD A STROKE. THEN MAUDE ALSO HAD A STROKE. BUT BETTY, BEING OLDER AND MORE FEEBLE, COULDN’T REACH THAT FAR. –Jester 
Didn’t know if you would be into seeing some pics of my stock restored XLH. Thanks for your time.
— Rick
Rick, we always enjoy watchin’ a classic come back to life. Submit it into our Reader’s Showcase area where you can post your own bike feature. Don’t forget to tell us your story. Ken Conte will edit and launch the story.–Bandit
I called a few weeks ago and the woman I spoke to at Bikernet.com told me that someone submitted the article to you. CGB is company out of Italy that makes triple trees and front ends. I got in touch with them but they wanted too much for the trees. Instead, I found a web site called Nastybikes.com. They make trees for the 43 and 54mm Buell forks which I guess means that they will fit both the Buell Cyclones and Lightning. Here is a url to them.
I got the 43mm. Still haven’t put them on yet. Trying to figure out which bars will work without hitting the tank. But I can tell you that they come polished and are a sharp setup. The people are easy to deal with and ship quickly. So I definitely recommend them.
Jamie
Perhaps it was fitting that it all ended here, in Bill Hickock’s town, just down the road from Sturgis, which next week will be jammed with the world’s biggest bike convention. I knew it.
After a short run through the hills up from Cadillac Jack’s, the Tuesday night stop for Kyle Petty’s annual charity ride, when Rick Stephenson, one of the ride’s eight motor marshals and a veteran North Carolina State Highway Patrol, took off his helmet and pondered my ragged performance and slowly shook his head and pulled the plug.
So I was right: I was wrong.
Bummer city. This is not a tour for novices.
So I crapped out.
Turn out the lights, the party’s over.
And, no, I wasn’t going to take up Tony Stewart’s offer to ride behind him, either.
No, it’s back-to-school time, back to Billy Race’s sprinter van for the rest of the way home.
Stephenson, who also runs a Harley-Davidson high-performance school for police, with seminars around the state, says, while I might have been OK on those long, flat straights, my work in the turns needed improvement.
Actually I probably knew it was coming when I laid that Triumph down at the gas pumps.
Ker-plunk!
Ouch.
Not a great opening move.
Ever try to pick up 600 pounds off your left leg? It isn’t easy.
But, hey, at least I wasn’t the first patient of the ride for Dr. David Martin and Dr. David Thompson, who head the medical team. I was number 25, with nothing a little bacitracin couldn’t cure, except for a bad case of embarrassment.
“A Rocket III, eh,” Jim France said. France is one of the sport’s biggest biking enthusiasts, though riding does cut into his business time at the family’s NASCAR Inc. headquarters. “One of the most powerful bikes they make…..”
With a hair-trigger throttle and a giant rear tire, tied to a huge motor.
And a bit top heavy, I would now say.
Petty and trail boss Diane Hough did come up with Plan B, a more lithe, better-handling Victory.
Unfortunately this is no week to try to knock off the rust. This is no ride for ambitious wannabees.
“This is a serious, intense bunch, no place for a rookie,” said Darrell Andrews, the veteran biker from Siler City and well-known crew man for Petty each weekend. “You saw that when we had to go through all that rain, and over that 10 miles of gravel road outside Cody, and through that fog at the top of the mountain. It gets white knuckle at times, for sure.”
Even longtime rider Eddie Gossage, who runs Texas Motor Speedway for Bruton Smith, went down on a slow turn the other day, but escaped uninjured. And another couple of veteran riders also ran off the road.
The intensity of these riders is remarkable. At times the competitive edge dominates.
The tour may be sprinkled with some legendary characters such as Don Knobler, the dramatic dresser, with Versace outfits and custom boots – a different outfit every day – and a ram’s-horn helmet that weighs a good five pounds.
But this ride is known for its speed: Click Baldwin, whose Harley dealership in Gastonia has to be seen to be believed, sets a fast pace as a tour leader.
“There is so much testosterone at the front of the pack….” Vicki Sprinkle said, almost in exasperation, after a lightning-fast run down the Interstate at 100 mph or so. “Some of those guys got upset when Pattie Petty just blew right by them: ‘I’m not letting any woman blow by me like that.’
“But, hey, Pattie is a serious rider. She knows bikes better than Kyle.”
So it’s wait until next year.
And next year I’ll be ready.
— Winston-Salem Journal, NC – DEADWOOD, S.D.
–from Rogue
http://www.bikerrogue.com>
Angels Camp police are monitoring motorcycle clubs in the foothills that they say may have gang ties and could spark violence at popular Calaveras County events. At least three motorcycle clubs spotted in the foothills this year affiliate themselves with the Hells Angels, a documented criminal street gang, said Angels Camp Police Sgt. Todd Fordahl, the department’s motorcycle gang expert.
That could become a problem if Hells Angels rivals, like the Mongols, show up in Calaveras County and the two clash, Fordahl said. Mongols have also been spotted riding through Angels Camp, he said. Certain events, like the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, are very popular among motorcycle enthusiasts and an encounter between the two groups could turn violent. Tensions are high between the two groups since a shootout that left three people dead in 2002 at a casino in Laughlin, Nev.
That’s why, earlier this month, Fordahl and other officers from across the state helped police the Hollister Independence Rally in San Benito County, held on the weekend closest to the Fourth of July.
A group of 20 to 30 Mongols, a mainly Hispanic group with a chapter in Modesto, showed up to the Hells Angels-sponsored event, Fordahl said. “If it wasn’t for the large presence of law enforcement that was there, there would have been another conflict,” Fordahl said.
After the Mongols arrived, a gathering of Hells Angels’ members and supporters walked toward the rival gang. Words were exchanged between the groups but, due to the large police presence, no violence occurred.
By ERIN MAYES
–from Rogue
A young Southern boy goes off to college, but about 1/3 way through the semester, he has foolishly squandered what money his parents gave him. Then he gets an idea. He calls his Redneck father. “Dad,” he says, “you won’t believe the wonders that modern education are coming up with! Why, they actually have a program here that will teach Fido how to talk!”
“That’s absolutely amazing!” his father says. “How do I get him in that program?”
“Just send him down here with $1000,” the boy says, “I’ll get him into the course.”
So, his father sends the dog and the $1000. About 2/3 way through the semester, the money runs out. The boy calls his father again.
“So how’s Fido doing, son?” his father asks.
” Awesome, dad, he’s talking up a storm,” he says, “but you just won’t believe this – they’ve had such good results with this program, that they’ve implemented a new one to teach the animals how to READ!”
“READ!?” says his father, “No kidding! What do I have to do to get him in that program?”
“Just send $2,500, I’ll get him in the class.”His father sends the money.
The boy has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out that the dog can neither talk nor read. So he shoots the dog.
When he gets home, his father is all excited. “Where’s Fido? I just can’t wait to see him talk and read something!”
“Dad,” the boy says, “I have some grim news. This morning, when I got out of the shower, Fido was in the living room kicking back in the recliner, reading the morning paper, like he usually does. Then he turned to me and asked, ‘So, is your daddy still messin’ around with that little redhead who lives on Oak Street?’
The father says, “I hope you SHOT that lyin’ son of a bitch!”
“I sure did, Dad!”
“That’s my boy
–Buckshot
For years people complained the Hamsters didn’t ride their lavish customs. Actually that’s not the case. Arlen rides every year. Barry Cooney builds a new full custom every year and rides that sucka. Here’s his latest.
We’re hoping it will be featured in HOT BIKE.
–Bandit
Another update on Sporty/Buell conversion kits. Vince “Nobody” of Redneck Choppers also has a Sportster/Buell conversion kit that is a bit more dragster styled than chopper styled. Looks like fun too!
–Dawson
I had a sporster 883/1200 and I would like to know if its possible to make a bigger conversion, like 1350-1500cc? (isnt it so that you have to prepare the motor for the bigger piston).
If it is possible, what do u have to do and what will it cost and where I can get it?
And will it fit in the Sporster frame? Because the 1200 that I have now feels too lame, so should I just try to tune it to get more power or make the conversion if it is possible? I’m not going to do any racing with it. It’s just fore daily bases.
— Sebastian Eriksson
Re the Harley hydraulic clutch kit, I have experimented with hydraulics for a long time, to get the ratio,etc.
I have two Harley kits on my bikes, They were designed specifically for an OEM diaphragm (belvedere) clutch, which I have problems with since I fucked up my hand, so I modified them to use Barnett scorpion spring plates which make them a lot easier on the initial pull.
Anyway I wanted to tell you something that screwed me up for a long time, I am finishing off a V for Genny using a Rev tech 88cu inch engine, and I put the clutch line thru the down tube, exiting under the tran . Everything was cool when I set the thing up. But when I rode,I couldn’t change gears, because it felt like the clutch never opened enough , but when I came to a stop it worked good. I thought it was the master cylinder seal or something hanging up. It was almost as if there was a restriction, slowing down the clutch action.
What happened was, When I put the line thro the frame tube, to make it easier I used the really thin microbore Goodridge braided pipe (which I have started to use on the brakes). The Harley system uses a lot of oil transfer from the master to the slave cylinder, and the I/D of the microbore-2 lines were not large enough, hence the restriction. I pulled them out and replaced it with a regular Goodridge pipe, and with that it worked good.
–john
ps, have you used the microbore Goodridge lines on the front brake, they work a lot better?
IT’S A WRAP FOR NOW–We’ll hit the road at O-dark 30 Tuesday morning and head for the desert. We leave at the crack of dawn for several reasons; Los Angeles is like a no-man’s metal battlefield during rush hour. The sooner we can peel out of town the better. We’ll watch the sun rise and be in Phoenix in the early afternoon.
I have this thing about Los Angeles spreading across the desert floor toward the Arizona border and Vegas. It’s a nasty plague against the land, and you better get up early to escape.
We’ll be in and out of touch for the next couple of weeks. Home base is destined to be the Full Throttle Bar on Lazelle. They have computer hook-ups so hopefully I can report in from time to time. No news next week.
Okay, so here’s my superstition bit for the day. I had a blast building this bike until a particular point, and then I ran into humbling glitches. One of the knickknacks on the bike was my hand made oil tank plug. I welded a copper washer to the brass plug and hung a brass antique Douglas Aircraft parking token from it as a novelty. At the same time I had a brass bell, but decided on the bullshit token, which meant nothing to me except that it was quirky. I continued to look for a location for the bell, but never discovered one.
So last night during the oil change I pulled the oil plug, which incessantly leaked when I first installed it. I turned and there was the lucky Bell waiting for me and I yanked the token for the brass good-natured security item. After I installed it Chris, Nyla’s brother, walked in the Bikernet shop and handed me a 15-year-old bottle of Scotch and offered to stand by while I tuned the front end. For the first time I felt that the machine was road ready. The bell’s working already.
There’s lot’s of new stuff on Bikernet and we already have a line-up when we return. Don’t forget that every article posted on Bikernet is archived in the departments listed at the bottom of each page or in the department line-up on the right-hand column of the home page.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
