General Posts

The Recidivist is a machine inspired by the art of permanent body adornment. Motorbikes are commonly adorned with tattoo motifs using an airbrush, however the uniqueness of The Recidivist lies in the fact that the bike’s entire construction is covered in tattooed skin branded directly onto the bike’s tires, tanks, seat, rear fender, lamp and many other smaller elements. Light colored cow hide leather – similar to the color of human skin – is engineered onto the bike. Artists from Polish tattoo studios applied traditional works of tattoo art onto the bike using. All of that makes The Recidivist world’s first tattooed motorcycle. Read more.

A little history. The motorcycle is a 2004 Electra-glide with some performance upgrades, one of which was a Screamin Eagle 6-speed installation. At the time of the failure there were only 33,000 calm miles on the trans. The day of the failure I was riding with a buddy and the bike gave no hints of a problem. The only thing I noticed was when I glanced at my speedo there were a couple times the needle would fall and then come back. I just attributed it to an electronic glitch, nothing to worry about right. We broke off on our separate routes home and I pulled off the freeway to get gas. As I was pulling into the gas station the bike started to make a hellacious screeching noise. I didn’t have a clue what the fuck it was. I put it in neutral and it still made the noise, so my first thought was a problem in the primary. I shut the bike off, pulled off the derby cover and chain inspection cover and didn’t see anything that was obviously wrong. I started the bike back up and the noise was gone, so I put the two covers back on, got my gas and took off figuring I’d deal with the noise later. I’m getting back on the freeway, going through the gears and everything seemed fine until I shifted into 5th gear, nothing. I thought I’d missed the gear, so I down shifted into 4th, back into 5th, nothing, shifted into 6th and nothing. I went back down into 4th and rode the bike home, that was a long 80 miles. Read more.

We can accomplish this by making new laws, and negatively influencing the passage of laws detrimental to us as riders. Although there may be differences in how each state’s governments are managed, the process for passage of laws is still similar. This guide will help direct you through the complicated maze of this legislative process. Read more.

Harley-Davidson has just unveiled a new growth plan for local and global expansion through 2022. In a fast-changing world with new consumer demands, these accelerated actions support Harley-Davidson’s 2027 objectives with increased focus and strategic investment to reinvigorate the U.S. business while accelerating the pace of international growth. “The bold actions we are announcing today leverage Harley-Davidson’s vast capabilities and competitive firepower – our excellence in product development and manufacturing, the global appeal of the brand and of course, our great dealer network,” said Matt Levatich, president and chief executive officer, Harley-Davidson, Inc. “Alongside our existing loyal riders, we will lead the next revolution of two-wheeled freedom to inspire future riders who have yet to even think about the thrill of riding.” Read more.

  “F…ing lucky” is what I say, my better half says I make the luck. On this little rally jaunt I was one lucky devil. Both me and my ride ended up in the emergency room. On the trip east, coming into Junction City Kansas I saw the sign for City Cycle Harley Davidson, thinking as I cruised, do I need to stop for a break or keep rolling. The decision was to roll. A mile or two after the sign my bike quit making noise, deader than a wedge I rolled over to the side of the highway. A phone call and in a few minutes a trailer showed up and swept me off to the dealership. Within an hour and a half they had me back on the road. A faulty crank sensor had put a temporary stop to my journey. Over at City Cycles, Dean Mizes the mechanic on duty was excellent, he walked me through the issues and got me fixed in a flash. The crew at City Cycles comes highly recommended by this biker… Read more.

Hey, This is looking good on all fronts. Brothers are heading to Sturgis next week. We shipped my metal art sculpture to the Buffalo Chip a couple of day ago. I will report next week. I’m also going to report on my effort for the Wilmington Waterfront. I know it’s not about motorcycles, but it was created by a Grubby Biker and needs to be documented. Read more.

Swept up in President Donald Trump’s trade war, Harley-Davidson said Tuesday it faces up to $100 million in European Union tariff costs in 2019. That’s in addition to about $50 million this year as the company calculates the damages from recently imposed tariffs. The European Union imposed the levies in retaliation to Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The company said recently that it would shift some production out of the U.S. to avoid the tariffs, a prospect that drew a concerned tweet from Trump. Read more.

The 95th annual Laconia Motorcycle Week wasn’t complete without a trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the 2018 FIM North America Vintage Road Racing Championships the weekend of June 9-10, 2018. Races started off with Registration from 7am to 1030am both days, then off to Technical Inspection 7:30 to 11:00 am. The Mandatory Riders Meeting was held at 7:30 am. Practice sessions ran from 8am to 10:00 am… and then it was on! Racing began at 10:15am. The United States Classic Racing Association (USCRA) racing event got its start back in the mid 1970s. Vintage races organized by a racer, Bob Coy, who raced Yamaha TZ350s and AMA Superbikes joined forces with Rob Ianucci. Their partnership led them to organize vintage races on Long Island at the old Bridgehampton Raceway. It was from there that Bob found the opportunity to organize and pull off a solo stand-alone vintage event in 1981. The event was held at the Old Bryar Motorsports Park in Laconia over the 4th of July weekend. The Belknap Cup Summer Vintage Festival was born. The event featured “classic racing machinery” both two wheeled and four wheeled. Read more.

Danny Mischler topped an all-Harley-Davidson podium in the Harley Hooligans final at X Games Minneapolis. Mischler, riding a modified Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle backed by Mischler Harley-Davidson of Beaver Dam, Wis., passed for the lead in a tough battle on a tight-and-rough 1/8-mile dirt track laid out on the floor of US Bank Stadium. “Flat track racing is the original American action sport, and Hooligan racing gets down to the sport’s grass roots,” said Harley-Davidson Marketing Lead Eric Jensen. “The Hooligans put on a great show for both the fans here in the stands and the millions of viewers watching around the world. Our partnership with ESPN allows us to showcase this sport as part of X Games Minneapolis.” Mischler, whose grandfather William Mischler opened a Harley dealership in Beaver Dam in 1958, grew up racing on local flat tracks in the state. The 34-year-old racer has become a top competitor on the Hooligan scene, building and tuning his own bikes. Harley Hooligan racing is a grass-roots series for amateur riders aboard “run what you brung” home-built motorcycles. Hooligan racing has minimal rules and usually takes place on short oval courses on a dirt or hard surface. A series of heat races paired 48 Harley Hooligan qualifiers down to six racers for the 20-lap final, broadcast globally both via ESPN and Facebook Live during the X Games coverage on Sunday. In the final, Benny Carlson took the lead on a modified Harley-Davidson Sportster but let Mischler by on lap six. Mischler stretched his lead to 1.6 seconds at the finish. Jimmy Hill was second on a modified Harley-Davidson Street 750 motorcycle. Carlson finished third. Veteran flat track star Jake Johnson, racing a Harley-Davidson XR750 motorcycle, won the bronze medal in the Harley-Davidson Pro Flat Track race on Sunday. Johnson was one