General Posts

Seven-time speed record holder, Valerie Thompson, will be a featured celebrity racer at the 67th Grand National Roadster Show at the Fairplex in Pomona. Her BMW will be displayed in a special tribute area dedicated to the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) named “Quest for Speed.” “I’ve always had a passion for land speed racing. Competing on the Salt Flats of Utah and dry lakebeds of California as an independent racer always reminds me of the unsung heroes who made American racing what it is today. This special invitation to appear at the most prestigious rod show just blows me away,” said Thompson. “More importantly, this exhibit will be used as a fund raiser for the SCTA, a non-profit organization that makes racing dreams possible for all competitors, no matter the size of their pocket book,” added Thompson. Thompson formed her own land speed racing team in 2012 and recorded a personal best top speed of 217 mph at the 2014 Texas Mile. In 2015, Thompson became the first female member of the Colorado Mile 200 MPH Club on her Quicksilver Powersports Lubricants/CTEK BMW Motorrad and is now a member of six-land speed racing 200 MPH Clubs, including the prestigious Bonneville 200 MPH Club. As a result, she is often referred to as “America’s Queen of Speed.” More info here.

The Harley-Davidson Museum is kicking 2016 into high gear this Friday with two special galleries. The Bridge Gallery will be host to flat track photos famed racing photographer, Dave Hoenig. The public will also feast their eyes on the revamped Design Lab with race bikes from the KR to the XR that showcase how Harley-Davidson engineers created the world’s foremost racing team. The Museum will open late on Jan. 22 (10 a.m. – 9 p.m.) as a part of Gallery Night. Later this year, the Museum’s special summer exhibit will open June 17, with a special media preview day on June 16. Drag Racing: America’s Fast Time will give museum-goers the opportunity to trace drag racing’s humble back-road – and often illegal – beginnings to the high-tech and high-powered races of today. With new exhibits, unique race-inspired items from The Shop, a new menu from MOTOR® Bar & Restaurant to be revealed Jan. 27, parties, events and so much more scheduled for 2016, the Harley-Davidson Museum is on a mission to show the world that #SpeedThrills. Race Day: Photos from the Flat Track, Jan. 22-Sept. 5 The Museum will start kicking up a little dirt on Jan. 22, when Race Day: Photos from the Flat Track, a photo exhibit featuring dozens of images from flat track racing’s preeminent photographer, is unveiled. Dave Hoenig takes you down to pit row and into the grandstands to document the thrills and chills of life in the fast lane. Hoenig has captured more than 1,000 races in his career, keeping his lens trained on the pageantry, emotion and camaraderie of a day at the track. Racing Machines from the KR to the XR The Museum’s Design Lab, which recently underwent a renovation, will also reopen on Jan. 22. The installation focuses on the role

JayBrake J-FL Forward Controls are machined from steel and billet aluminum. They mount directly onto the bike using stock mounts, pivot points and the master cylinder and fit ’09-up Baggers. Available in chrome or black, they mount to bikes with or without a highway bar and matching grips and pegs are available.

             I’ll bet a lot of ya remember last year around this time when the picture of the big Hells Angel paying for toys at Walmart went viral, with millions of views world wide. That Hells Angel is Merl Hefferman, and the 17th annual Fresno County Hells Angels toy run was bigger than ever, thanks to Merl’s big heart and the hard work of his brother Angels, and other California clubs.   They collected donations all year, then stood in line at Walmart for several days to make hundreds of homeless and disadvantaged kids happy at Christmas. After buying the bikes, they also had to be assembled, and that chore was taken care of by volunteers from many clubs who worked as a team to get them all put together in time for the run. – Read the rest of the story here.

Mustang Seats along with a strong American contingent led by Mustang, Küryakyn, Crusher, Bahn, Performance Machine and Vance & Hines will be attending the 2016 Verona Motor Bike Expo (MBE). Set for January 22-24 at the Verona ere facility, this international trade fair encompasses 880,000 sq./ft. with more than 600 exhibitors. “Verona is one of the must-attend European shows for Mustang,” says Director of Global Business Development Marilyn Simmons. “It gives us an opportunity to meet our riders as well as to personally educate, support and build even better relationships with Mustang’s dealers and international distributors.”Recognizing the importance of the Motor Bike Expo, Simmons is showing several new seats for the European market, including a pair of Signature Series saddles from legendary builders Dave Perewitz and Fred Kodlin. “For 2016 we are launching the Kodlin Signature Series seats,” says Simmons. “We can’t wait to show what we have partnered up with Fred and his son Len to create.” Mustang’s New England neighbor and original Signature Series seat partner Dave Perewitz will be joined by his daughter Jody in Verona. In addition to a Perewitz-designed seat on display in the Mustang booth, Dave is presenting a custom paint show at the Motor Bike Expo, sponsored in part by Mustang and Küryakyn. Mustang will be located in Hall #1m, Booth 8D. More information at www.motorbikeexpo.it

Invited were friends and members of Detroit Federation of MC Clubs. Inner city Detroit was beyond rough in the late ‘60s. A war zone of concrete and corrugated steel empty warehouses with interspersed with functioning businesses. The dirty pothole strewn streets, cluttered with debris, were dotted with greasy spoon restaurants and dive bars. Every building was wrapped with chain link fence and razor wire. It wasn’t rare to see burning abandoned cars or dumped refrigerators in the middle of cracked, tar-patched streets. The name Pothole City fit. This particular club house operated for years on the east side. The original rental agreement turned out to be bogus and the building’s ownership uncertain. No rent was paid for years, and no funds used for improvements. We formed a kitty for a new clubhouse and saved for just the right building. The location, dumpy and surreal, exploded with hard-driving activity at night, while surrounding warehouses and businesses remained locked down tight. – Read the rest of the story here.

Kids’ it’ right around the corner now! The Easyriders Bike Show is coming to Long Beach for one day only this Saturday. There’s no better place to beat the winter blues, hang with a bunch of great builders and catch up with your riding friends. The weather is going to be great, so it’s a great destination for a day ride to the Long Beach Easyriders Bike Show on Jan 16 at the Long Beach Convention Center.  

There are solid sprockets out there that eliminate your engine’s compensator completely. Rivera Primo says don’t do it! The compensator is there for a very good reason; eliminating it will ultimately bring you more engine problems. Rivera Primo has devised a sprocket that works with the OE compensator assembly and fixes the gear ratio, all at the same time! The stock sprocket has 34 teeth with a 46-tooth clutch basket sprocket. This gear combination doesn’t give you optimal torque. Rivera Primo explains that its Game Changer sprocket has 32 teeth. Coupled with the stock basket, it gives you all the torque your bike will need to get out into traffic or do smokey burnouts. The kit includes an innovative “clip-on” adjuster shoe that clips onto the OE adjuster shoe to take up the extra slack in the primary chain with the smaller sprocket. The Game Changer Gear Ratio kits are completely bolt-on and work on ’07-Up HD Touring & Trike models when used with the ’11-Up Screamin’ Eagle compensator assembly. 1066-0050 Fits ’07-’13 Big Twins (call for clarification) 1066-0051 Fits ’14-Up Big Twins Advertisement

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Thursday, Walworth County Circuit Judge Phillip Koss approved the sale of Erik Buell Racing to Liquid Asset Partners for $2 million. The Grand Rapids, Mich., firm won the bidding for the motorcycle company that employed 130 people in East Troy until it ceased operations in April. It was the third auction for the Buell manufacturing assets after two previous auctions failed. Now, Liquid Asset Partners says it wants to develop a plan that could put Erik Buell Racing back in the business of making high-performance motorcycles. “We will not be manufacturing motorcycles, as Liquid Asset, but we will be working to put together a plan with a team that can be successful in doing that,” said Liquid Asset owner Bill Melvin Jr. “There are no guarantees. A portion of our business is that we are liquidators, but we are also power players in the motorcycle industry,” Melvin said. Founded in 1974, Liquid Asset Partners has worked with motorcycle manufacturers, including Indian Motorcycle Co., before Indian was acquired by Polaris Industries. It liquidated the assets of the Buell factory, in East Troy, when Harley-Davidson Inc. dropped the Buell brand in 2009. Liquid Asset Partners will be seeking investors, or a buyer, for Erik Buell Racing. “There are still a lot of options on the table for a new owner to come in and continue making EBRs. The company is not a start-up; this is an established brand with a huge following across the globe,” Melvin said. While the East Troy company, founded in a Mukwonago barn more than 30 years ago, has struggled in the marketplace, it has been a feisty competitor in motorcycle racing. “Their (EBR) bikes, out of the box, can go head-to-head with the top Italian race bikes. Our sale process will enable the proper