General Posts

Most things built to quickly gobble up mile markers are meant to be more than a simple conveyance to get us down the road. They are built for the rapid pursuit of fun. For upstart American manufacturer, Vanderhall Motor Works, the thrill of the ride was pinned to the drawing board from day one. The Provo-UT-based manufacturer has brought three Trike models to market: the Laguna, Laguna Sport Premium, and the posh Laguna Bespoke Motoring Experience, a mouthful of a marque. This year, Vanderhall rolled out the Venice. Priced at $29,950, it is a full $20,000 less than the base Laguna and competitive with other trikes on the market. Read more.

  It feels like this story should start with ‘Once Upon a Time’… and so let’s go with it….it’s now moving toward ten years ago since two Los Angeles area bike freaks, Mike Davis and Grant Peterson, decided they weren’t happy with the general type of motorcycle rallies they experienced in Southern California. They weren’t into the big buck bling-bikes the media was then focusing on, but rather what people could put together just for the fun of it and on a budget…all kinds of bikes, American, Japanese, European, new, vintage, customs, hotrods, whatever size or shape, they were ready to throw their own party and see who and what showed up. So in 2008, while holding down regular jobs, they set the Born Free event in motion. So how did their gig go? Read more.

  A wild project, the 23-year-old tattoo artist said he lost control of his ’05 Dyna and went down on a slippery street in trendy West Los Angeles. He wasn’t injured much, but his girlfriend, at the time, was severely broken with a busted shoulder, pelvis, ribs; you name it, lucky to survive. As you can see by the shot of Frankie and his bike, he didn’t just go down. I think he was rear-ended by a truck, launching the girl into a parked car. Nasty, but we went to work, while surgeons operated on her at the UCLA Medical Center. Ultimately she healed quickly, but her bones will never forget this jarring encounter. Continue reading.

Hey, Last week was Smoke Out Action on the east coast. This week it’s Born Free Weekend with builders coming from all over the world. Dave Polgreen and his almost finished Knuckle. Beautiful!   Mike Lichter, shooting for Easyriders, and I hit it over to the Vard Manufacturing shop in Santa Ana where guys from all over the country and even a builder from Sweden put the final touches to their bikes for the show. Jeff kicking Dave’s scooter to life.   Some were actually assembling their bikes on the spot. I was edgy about being in this organized but small shop when guys are trying to concentrate on their annual goal. Most were invited builders. Three of the bikes were big twins (two Knuckleheads) in modified single loop VL frames. Dave Polgreen, partners with Jeff Leighton in the Wretched Hive Bike Shop (also Vard). Dave pored fluids in his beautiful Knucklehead for the final start up with dual chromed Linkerts, while we were there and on hand. Amazing bikes and a couple of years ago folks said choppers were dead—Never. Mike Silvio, Cycle Mos, in Tennesse stopped by to deal with a 45 primary chain issue. Swedish builder finishing up.   Martin Carlgren of Ringo Chop Shop, Gothenburg, Sweden worked assembling the one-off Husgarvana engine from the ’40s. It still wasn’t done, but he smiled while pushing forward on his amazing build. Andy Carter from Pangea Speed, in Salt Lake City with 80-inch ULH flathead tuned his slick chop for sea level riding. His handmade custom narrow glide reminded me of Andy Hansen’s first full-on custom in 1970. He rough engraved some of his components and I quizzed him. I’m thinking about engraving something on my Panhead with the help of my grandson who can make a tattoo template.

According to an article in Reuters, Harley-Davidson is lining up a takeover bid for Italian rival Ducati, potentially bringing together two of the most famous names in motorcycling in a deal that could be worth up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.67 billion). Still according to sources, Harley-Davidson has hired Goldman Sachs to work on the deal; tentative bids were expected in July. Read the whole story here.

Some of the best looking bikes in the country will be on display at J&P Cycles in Anamosa, Iowa and that’s only part of the excitement. Celebrating its 38th anniversary, the free rally includes motocross stunt shows, live music, food, beer and opportunities to support Camp Courageous, a camp for kids and adults with disabilities. The Iowa Rally will also be the site of Hot Bike Magazine’s National Garage Build-Off for custom motorcycles. The competition is expected to draw the nation’s top garage-built custom bikes competing for $3,000 and an invitation to the annual Hot Bike Tour. To learn more about the 2017 Iowa Rally, visit www.jpcycles.com. On Friday, June 23 Anamosa city officials will rename a street near the rally site in honor of J&P founder John Parham. FRIDAY (JUNE 23) 10:30 am: Parham Drive Dedication Ceremony Intersection of Harley Avenue and Circle Drive SATURDAY (JUNE 24) 8:00 am – 6:00 pm: Bike show, live music, stunt shows & silent auction   SUNDAY (JUNE 25) 7:30am: John Parham Memorial Ride: The ride departs at 7:30am and returns at approximately 9:00am. 8:00 am – 5:00 pm: Bike show, live music, stunt shows & silent auction

Ergonomic and materials expert Lars Roulund has just joined ROR Brands. For the past 20+ years he has pioneered motorcycle seat technology as the principal of High End Seating Solutions, picking up a patent along the way and redefining the concept of how we ride. “It is so good to get Lars out from behind the curtain like Oz,” says Royal Riding’s Rod Derifield. “I’m really excited to have him bring his creative genius, vision and design skills to not just seat pads, but some radically new products. Lars is too modest to admit it, but he really is the foremost expert in the powersports seat segment,” notes Derifield. “We consider him to be the king in this game of thrones.” “It’s an honor and a pleasure to now be a part of the ROR Brands and Royal Riding team,” adds Roulund. “I have been in the seat game for a long time. I’ve been focused on ergonomics and the interface between man and machine since I was a kid.” After getting a degree in composite fabrication in 1986, he delivered design and development for OEMs in multiple industries before specializing in the powersports industry… and that is when things really took off. Having been “behind” the scenes as it were, most people are unaware of Roulund’s body of work. He founded High Seating Products back in 1996, private-labeled saddles for several OEMs, partnered with and expanded the Danny Gray signature series seats in 2004, joint ventured with air cell technology leader Airhawk in 2011, and pioneered the use of air and gel technology every step of the way. In fact, he patented a motorcycle seat pan design that mitigates vibration and fatigue by reducing compression and shock, which came to be known as Independent Suspension Technology (IST). “It has

  NUVIZ offers this integrated Head-Up Display (HUD) is designed to be added onto a motorcyclist’s full-face helmet. It displays customizable information near the rider’s natural line of sight. The devices aims to bring together all of the important functions of motorcyclist’s navigation, communication and media players so you can stay connected, but not distracted. NUVIZ includes a built-in HD action camera and a wireless handlebar controller that ensures intuitive control of all functions. Once mounted to the helmet and aligned to the user’s eye, the advanced NUVIZ optics create a virtual image that “floats” just in the periphery of the eyesight. Powered by NUVIZ, riders can take charge of their riding experience and interact seamlessly with all of these different technologies in one easy-to-use device. NUVIZ pairs with a dedicated smartphone app available via the App Store and Google Play, allowing riders to plan routes and save favorite rides, instantly access photos captured with NUVIZ, or view riding stats tracked with NUVIZ’s comprehensive set of sensors. The NUVIZ app will also allow users to share their rides, discover new routes, record ride data, and edit and upload photos instantly via social media. The NUVIZ app allows for easy updates and the addition of new features as they are added, further improving the rider experience. The NUVIZ is available for retail sales in the US for $699.00.