General Posts

Shaun Ruddy of Coup deVille had a day. He came up on stage three times and took People’s Choice, MOD Custom and FreeStyle. His custom Retro Trike was the first bike at the entrance of the show and literally created a traffic jam during the Progressive International Motorcycle Show. Read the whole story and see the results from the Portland edition of the J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show here.  

Yamaha has unveiled Motobot, a humanoid robot designed to ride superbikes. The initial version showcased here travels slowly and needs training wheels, but Yamaha says it hopes to get Motobot riding at speeds exceeding 120MPH on a race track. Enjoy the promo video below. Yamaha sees its robotic rider as a testbed for rider safety and support systems, both of which have to work well under punishing conditions. It could also lead to technology that’s useful outside of the bike world. Motobot Yamaha by Last-Video

Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines blasted to a win in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas and leads NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs with one race left on the schedule. Hines, the defending and four-time class champion, raced a Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycle through the Pro Stock Motorcycle field and won for the third time in five 2015 Countdown races. “This was a team win all the way,” said Hines, who now has 42 Pro Stock Motorcycle final-round wins in his career. “My V-Rod really performed when I needed it most in that last round.” Hines now holds a 46-point lead over second place heading into the NHRA Finals in two weeks. Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Ed Krawiec lost in the second round at Las Vegas and is now in third place, 83 points behind Hines. “The key for me at the NHRA Finals is going to be good performance in qualifying,” said Hines. “I want to get some of those bonus points and keep our lead over 40 points, so it will take a swing of three rounds of eliminations on Sunday to beat us.” The sixth and final round of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship takes place Nov. 12-15 at the 51st Annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.

Pick the right costume this weekend!  

There are many ways you can smooth and extend the looks of your touring Harley’s bag. Klock Werks has custom saddlebag latch covers and hinge inserts. “At Klock Werks we understand that great looking motorcycles have every little detail worked out, so we continue to make it easy for you to achieve a custom look from your own garage,” states Dan Cheeseman, Klock Werks C.O.O. “The details aren’t accessories; they are necessities and replacing your latch covers or inserts and adding ex- tensions is necessary to take your bike from good, to great!” Klock Werks Saddlebag Extensions feature fiberglass construction with a gelcoat finish for easy bonding to any FL model with hard saddlebags. The wider lip allows for easy mounting and better adhesion to plastic saddlebags. Gel Coat finish and flawless fit means minimum installation and finishing time. The contour of Klock Werks Saddlebag Extensions is a perfect addition to the shape of the FL bags. Styles available for hidden exhaust (fullback), 2-into-1 and dual exhaust for 93-13, and the new contour of the 2014+ models. Klock Werks Saddlebag Latch Covers fit 1993-2013 Touring models with factory hardbags and latches. Replace the factory latch covers with some true custom machined billet aluminum, Klock Werks style. The covers (sold in pairs) are direct bolt-on, retain all functions of stock latches and accepts OEM lock. Designed to replace the stock reflectors on your 2014 – 2016+ factory HD hard sad- dlebags, Klock Werks Special, Limited and Smooth Saddlebag Hinge Inserts are also a quick and easy way to customize your bags! Inserts are machined from billet aluminum and chromed. Just remove your stock re- flectors, and press Klock Werks inserts into place. The 3M adhesive will hold them se- curely to your stock latches. Hit the banner below to shop for Klock

AMC has announced its upcoming, non-fiction series starring The Walking Dead’s actor, Norman Reedus. “Ride with Norman Reedus” is set to premiere in 2016. During the scheduled 6 episodes, you will follow Norman as he takes viewers “on a ride on the open road to explore local motorcycle culture and its history and celebrate some of the best and brightest collectors, mechanics and motorcycle craftsmen around the country,” says AMC. In the meantime, enjoy an AMC video feature showing Daryl Dixon’s current ride in this season of The Walking Dead.

Mustang rolls into the 2016 Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS) series with some surprises starting this weekend in Portland, Oregon. One year after Mustang celebrated its 35th anniversary, the IMS tour kicks off its own 35th edition of the largest motorcycle shows in the country. Spanning 10 cities and stretching from October 2015 to the final stop in Phoenix on February 20-21, 2016, Mustang will be at every venue this season to show off what a difference comfort makes. “This Halloween weekend, we will be treating people in Portland to the finest seats in the house,” says Mustang’s business development director, Marilyn Simmons. “No tricks, just the most comfortable motorcycle seats you have ever experienced.” To facilitate even more experiences, a couple of new “seat-horses” (think saw horses for seats) have been incorporated into the display. “Not only does this give a rider a better feel for the seat, but we have even positioned some foot pegs on the seat horses so that a passenger can feel the difference when riding two-up,” says Simmons. IMS show-goers should look for the brand new Mustang kiosk in the Marketplace section. Featured at each stop on the IMS Tour, the Marketplace is an interactive retail space for motorcycle parts and accessories. This unique show-within-a-show offers attendees the opportunity to touch, test and/or try the newest top parts, accessories and gear while interacting with factory specialists from leading manufacturers. Mustang’s Rally director John Glynn will be on hand for the weekend to work the display. “We think it is important to have factory trained experts on hand to explain the Mustang difference,” says Glynn. “There is more to a seat than meets the eye!” See the full schedule of International Motorcycle Shows here.

It’s been exactly 121 days since the so-called biker gang shootout in Waco. Despite nine deaths and a mass arrest of 177 people – each held for days or weeks on one million dollar bonds – not only has there been no evidence offered to support those arrests, there have been exactly zero formal charges brought against anyone. And there’s been no word whatsoever on whether (or when) cases might be presented to a grand jury – which is currently led by a Waco police detective. But wait, there’s more: to make sure no one talks about this case, there’s a gag order in place. Read the whole story here.

Via Reuters Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) aggressive recruitment of auto experts as it explores building a car has left Mission Motors in the dust. Mission Motors, whose sleek electric bikes drew comparisons to Tesla’s cars, ceased operations in May after losing some of its top engineering talent to Apple, according to sources close to Mission. Although it has never openly acknowledged it is looking into building an electric car, Apple has recruited dozens of auto experts, many from car makers like Ford or Mercedes-Benz, which shrugged off the departures. As tech giants vie to define the future of personal transportation, dangling higher salaries and a more secure future, the defections can be devastating for startups, industry insiders said. Some close to Mission Motors said it had reached a point of no return by last fall, when departures to Apple, and other companies, accelerated after a long struggle to find funding and a sound business model. But former Chief Executive Derek Kaufman thinks the company could have carried on if it had not lost key employees, undermining efforts to raise funding. “Mission had a great group of engineers, specifically electric drive expertise,” Kaufman said. “Apple knew that – they wanted it, and they went and got it.” San Francisco-based Mission is not the first to run up against Apple’s auto ambitions. Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk has publicly chided the iPhone maker for trying to poach engineers.

  “Can you take Flat Stanley on a trip? It’s either I send him to you or Ramzy, (my grandson), but I decided I want Stanley to come see you, so you can take him with you on a trip and take some pictures. He needs to go on an adventure.” She goes on about the project and says her teacher will be mailing out a package with directions and Flat Stanley on Monday. Seven going on 40! She sounds like a travel agent brokering Stanley’s next itinerary! After the call, I wonder: what the hell is a Flat Stanley? Glad GOOGLE is around to find out……. Well, it’s taken from a book written in 1963 by Jeff Brown. Stanley and his younger brother Arthur are gifted with a large bulletin board by their dad, Mr. Lambchop. He wants the boys to use it to display posters and pictures. Mr L hangs the board on the wall over Stanley’s bed. While he is sleeping one night the board falls off the wall and flattens Stanley as he lays sleeping. He survives, and begins living life as a flat person- being able to slide under doors, etc, and even being used as a kite by Arthur. Stanley is then mailed off in an envelope to visit friends for an adventure. Stanley tires of the “flat life,” so Arthur blows him back up to his normal shape with a bicycle pump. OK, I decide, we can have some fun with this….Rogue and I are heading south in a few days….and Lil Fij, our Key West Virgin decided to come along after graduating MMI, so Stanley was just in time to ride shotgun in the “43rd Annual Phil Peterson’s Key West Poker Run.” However, snail mail was a little slow getting Stanley to