General Posts

The trendy, vibrant and unique One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon keeps drawing the most talented builders out of the woodwork. Matt Harris of 40 Cal Customs, brought his 1923 Harley Davidson JD and was honored with “THE ONE Show Award” for the best overall build. Built for use as a competitive land speed bike at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, show organizers recognized the classic Harley as properly representing “exactly the spirit of The One Moto Show.”   Congratulations, Matt!

Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., is sad to learn that Jay “PeeWee” Gleason, an iconic dragbike racer and member of its Yamaha family of racers, passed away over the weekend. Bob Starr, General Manager of Communication at Yamaha Motor U.S., said, “PeeWee is a huge part of the Yamaha VMAX legend. His talent on a dragbike helped us sell a lot of VMAX motorcycles, and he will forever be associated with the fabled, V4-powered, Sport Heritage machine. Mention ‘PeeWee Gleason’ and a lot of people instantly think of the VMAX, and what he did on that bike. We will miss him, but we will never forget him.” Back in 1986, for a feature story that was published in Cycle World magazine, Jay ‘PeeWee’ Gleason, a well-known and highly talent dragbike racer, climbed aboard a Yamaha VMX12 VMAX at Baylands Raceway, did a rousing and smoky burnout to bring the rear tire up to temperature and maximum grip, and proceeded to post a quarter-mile time of under nine seconds. That day, the world found out that the VMAX was the fastest, quickest, most powerful production bike ever. It also compelled many customers to visit their local Yamaha dealers and purchase VMAX motorcycles of their very own. In 2009, more than two decades after his original VMAX quarter-mile run, PeeWee repeated history aboard a 2009 VMAX, on which he ran the quarter mile in 9.513 seconds and at a trap speed of 143.70 miles per hour. Jay “PeeWee” Gleason was one of a kind; a soft-spoken, yet highly talented dragbike racer. Godspeed, PeeWee.

No matter if you’re looking for stock style replacement boards for your vintage mount or a touch of Old School for a late model Big Twin Paugho has you covered. These beautiful steel boards and non-skid rubber and chrome inserts are accurate reproductions of those found on 1936-1964 Harleys. There are a number of different model numbers for each application so you’ll want to check their web site or call before ordering. Paughco Floorboards are available in black and chrome and with or without riveted inserts. If you choose a bare model, rubber inserts are sold separately for $97.95 including rivets and the chrome covers go for 42.95. Boards complete with installed inserts retail for $198.95 and bare models go for $135.95 including mounting hardware. For more detailed information or to order call Paughco direct at 775-246-5738 or view their complete catalog on line at www.paughco.com Advertisement

Bikernet has been waiting for Top Gear’s return for a while and we’re looking forward to the upcoming season reboots with hosts Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid. The world-famous show will premiere Monday, March 13, 9/8c on BBC AMERICA. That’s a month from now but in the meantime, enjoy this trailer…

The 8th annual J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show (UBCBS), has crowned its 2017 “King of the Builders”. UBCBS is an elite-level custom motorcycle builder competition featuring more than 350 motorcycles andthe largest tour wide awards in the U.S. totaling over $100,000 in cash and prizes. The competition ran through all seven IMS shows and awarded over $57,000 dollars in cash and prizes at the championship round in Chicago and also named Nick Beaulieu as the 2017 “King of the Builders.” Jeff Najar, J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show: “The 2016-2017 J&PCycles Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show proved to be one of the best yet with creative designs and concepts from some of the leading builders and craftsmen in the country. We strive to support and promote the custom motorcycle building industry, and give our designers a national platform to display their works of art. We are very excited to announce Nick Beaulieu as the 2017 King of the Builders, adding his name to a prestigious list of builders who have won in the past.” The custom motorcycles entered into the championship round were reviewed and voted on by a panel of special guest judges, including: Jeff Holt, Brand Director for Hot Bike and Street Chopper Magazines; Chris Callen, Editor-in-Chief of Cycle Source Magazine; Pat Jansen, Builder; and Carl Pusser, Builder and past UBCBS winner. The UBCBS hosted four classes of competition, Freestyle, Modified Custom, Modified Harley-Davidson, and Modified Retro; and special awards categories, The Originality Award, The Ingenuity Award, Best Paint, K&N Award, People’s Choice Award, and Sho Dog. The annual competition is proudly sponsored by J&P Cycles, who is returning as the title sponsor of this elite-level competition and supporting the “People’s Choice” award along with Bell Helmets, as well as Harley-Davidson, who returned as the presenting

George Thorogood and the Destroyers will be performing for fans at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip® on Thurs., Aug. 10, following Doug Danger’s Rattlesnake Jump, an attempt to jump Evel Knievel’s 1972 Harley-Davidson 120ft. over a pit filled with live rattlesnakes. George Thorogood And The Destroyers has been a nonstop touring rock and roll machine since the ‘70s, celebrating 40 years of performing together in 2014. In that time the band’s signature snarling, buzz saw bluesy rock ‘n’ roll blend generated classic rock staples like “Bad to the Bone,” “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” “I Drink Alone,” “Who Do You Love,” “Move it On Over,” and many more. In addition to nine nights of world-class concerts the American Flat Track Buffalo Chip TT presented by Indian Motorcycle will light up the amphitheater on Sun., Aug. 6. The Moto Stampede continues in 2017 with Hooligan Races presented by Indian Motorcycle and authentic Street Drag Races on Wed., Aug 9. More info at BuffaloChip.com Advertisement

For many of us young ones with little cash and big hearts, we started our journey in motorcycling by getting our hands on a Sportster. It was affordable for the average Joe and soon became an entry model for anyone who was going to buy a Harley-Davidson. Its distinct styling and road-rep has carried it into its legendary 60th year in 2017 edition, surviving still in production. Read more.

Rick Whitehead of Custom Cycle Engineering has passed. Rick is survived by wife Sandy, daughter Heather and three grandchildren. A celebration will be held Sunday, February 12th from 12pm – 3pm at Custom Cycle Engineering, 1970 Peacock Blvd. Oceanside, CA 92056.” Our hearts go out to the Rick’s family, and the crew at Custom Cycle Engineering. Here’s a little history about Custom Cycle Engineering: Randy Smith founded Custom Cycle Engineering in 1967. Randy was a unique pioneer in the Harley aftermarket industry developing some of the first custom aftermarket parts and building some of the industry’s most ground-breaking customs bikes. After running Custom Cycle Engineering for many years Randy sold his interest in the company to Rick and Jim Whitehead of DEW Mfg. in 1989. DEW Mfg. was est. in 1971 and is one of the largest manufactures of extension fork tubes for the Harley aftermarket industry. DEW not only makes fork tubes, they also design custom triple trees, risers, front hub spools and tweek bars Teamed with the creative genius of Randy Smith and DEW’s ability as a precision machine shop the product line increased in the early ’90’s. Today CCE is a solidly entrenched into the Harley-Davidson and V-twin aftermarket with a wide variety innovative custom parts that have a purposeful need wrapped in a stylish design. Custom Cycle Engineering is constantly developing new products with an eye on the future, but never forgetting our rich past. One if the newer additions to the Custom Cycle Engineering family is Tim Wallingford. Tim followed Randy’s career through his motorcycle articles and through the workshop that Randy held at his shop in Westminster Ca.Tim is a renowned Harley mechanic and custom bike builder in SoCal. He has built many innovation Harleys and countless classics. One such restored classic is Randy Smith’s 45 Magnum