General Posts

A 60-year-old, fully-functioning “cutaway” BSA Gold Star motorcycle looks set to become one of the stars of the coming auction season for collectible motorcycles, which gets underway in Las Vegas in the first week of January. Built by BSA for the 1956 Earls Court Motorcycle Show in London, the “living art” exhibit began with a 1956 BSA B34 Gold Star Clubman motorcycle, which was then fully sectioned and motorized to show drivetrain function, including the movements of the piston, crankshaft, clutch and valves. Static sectioned parts include the petrol tank, the oil tank, the toolbox, gearbox and front fork legs – even the Lucas horn! Brakes are also sectioned and the rear suspension damper bodies are reproduced in clear Lucite to show the flow of their oil supply when working. Read More.

The Seattle Cossacks is a group of precision stunt riders that harken back to the days of stunt riding drill teams from the ’30s and ’40s. Obviously not the original Cossacks that formed back in 1938, but an updated version of them featuring several descendants of the early group does exist. Today’s Seattle Cossacks deliver the same kind of exhilarating performances as their forbearers. The dedicated team drill regularly to keep up to snuff on the difficult stunts they perform 20 to 30 times a year at various charity events, world fairs and sanctioned Harley gatherings. They do it as much for entertaining the crowds as for promoting motorcycling in a positive light. Read more.

From The Rapid City Journal. Even with estimates that nearly 1 million visitors may come to the 75th anniversary Sturgis motorcycle rally this summer, Brenda Vasknetz says she is more excited than scared about the avalanche of cycle enthusiasts. Vasknetz, director of the annual rally, says the celebration of the 75th rally could signal a transition to a new audience for the “granddaddy of em’ all.” Why are people so excited for the 75th rally? “When you reflect on any anniversary year, people get sentimental,” Vasknetz said. “They want to say they were here for the 75th. There’s nothing really amazing that is going to make it different, other than that it is an anniversary year.” Vasknetz has heard from some attendees that they haven’t come to Sturgis for the last several years in order to stockpile funds for the 75th biker bash. Read more.

  The Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (VLAD) Act. By Eva Cripps from Bike Me.   Introduction: On 16 October, 2014, the Liberal National Party dominated state of Queensland’s parliament passed three pieces of bikie-related legislation, including the bill that would become the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (VLAD) Act. Under the VLAD Act, a “vicious lawless associate” found guilty of any criminal offence listed in the legislation, from the smallest drug possession charge up, would serve a mandatory prison term of up to 25 years on top of their sentence. The Tattoo Parlours Act bans members of criminal associations and their associates from operating, working in or owning tattoo parlours. The Criminal Law (Criminal Organisations Disruption) Amendment Act amends various pieces of legislation to label 26 motorcycle clubs as criminal organisations and ban their members from congregating in groups of more than three or meeting at their clubhouses. The Queensland government would go on to establish a “bikies only” prison, where inmates may be dressed in fluoro pink overalls. READ more…  

Folks, here’s a video that’s sure to chase the Monday Blues away and get you in trouble at work. Now don’t come telling us we never give you anything nice…. Advertisement

Harley-Davidson is recalling 19,000 2012 Dyna and Softail motorcycles, citing that the threads for the brake line banjo bolt in the front brake master cylinder may corrode. If the threads corrode, a sudden loss of brake fluid could result, causing a loss of the front brakes. Models affected are the 2012 FXST103, FLSTC, FLSTC103, FLSTF, FLSTF103, FXDL, FXDWG, FXDWG103, FXDC, FXDB, FLSTN, FLSTN103, FLSTC103 Shrine, FLSTFB, FLSTFB103, FXS, FXS103, FLS, FLS103, FLD, FLD103, and FXDF and FXDF103 motorcycles manufactured from Aug. 22, 2011, through Feb. 24, 2012, for the United States and some world markets. This totals 19,015 units, Harley-Davidson told NHTSA. The NHTSA recall campaign number is 14V794000. Dealers are asked to flush and inspect the front brake master cylinder and, if necessary, replace the master cylinder. The recall is expected to begin Jan. 14. “We have voluntarily declared this a defect related to motor vehicle safety (Campaign 0163 for the Softail model and Dyna model motorcycles and 0164 for the FXDF/FXDF103 model motorcycles) to allow us to formally recall all affected motorcycles. Two recalls are needed to cover all affected models because of the differences in the kit component content required for the two populations,” the Motor Co. informed dealers. “Based on warranty information, the prediction for motorcycles requiring master cylinder replacements is extremely low,” Harley-Davidson said in its notification to dealers. Dealers are permitted to sell but must not deliver any of the affected motorcycles until the remedy is complete, the OEM added.

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  It’s not too late to enter your motorcycle in the Easyriders Bike Show in Anaheim on January 10th. EXCITING NEW CLASSES & CUSTOM TROPHIES! – Basic 5′ x 10′ Display space is FREE!!! – Space upgrades are available with additional fees. – All competitors must pay standard entry fee for the show date(s). – First 50 competitors to pre-register will receive a commemorative bike show mug. The competition has been streamlined this year – all bikes will be voted on by the public as well as the judges. The Editors of Easyriders magazine will choose the winners in the event of a tie in any category. Bike space is going to sell out fast. Book your spot and get more details here. – NEW VENUE! January 10 – Long Beach, CA: Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center – January 17-18 – Sacramento, CA: Sacramento Convention Center – January 24 – Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Convention Center – NEW VENUE! February 7 – Nashville, TN: Hendersonville Expo Center – February 21-22 – Columbus, OH (Invitational): Greater Columbus Convention Center Get more eyes on your bike(s) at the shows! Be sure to like us on Facebook: Easyriders Events and tag us in your photos! We’ve got over 500,000 followers on our combined pages, and you never know when we’ll share your photo(s) on our page with links back to your shop page! If you’re on Instagram, follow @easyriders.events and be sure to #ezrevents when you post pics of your shop/garage, your builds and your Easyriders lifestyle! Advertisement

Having launched a comprehensive line of old-school-inspired motorcycle accessories, Bikernet partner and sponsor EMD is gearing up to a number of special announcements in 2015. Stay tuned! Advertisement

Over 750 antique motorcycles are coming up for auction in Las Vegas Jan. 8-10 when Mecum Auctions brings MidAmerica’s 24th annual Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction to South Point. Dubbed “the most anticipated antique motorcycle auction of the year,” the three-day event is open to all and draws participants from all 50 states and around the world. This year will see a record 750 antique and collector motorcycles cross the auction block spanning a full century of production from 1903 to 2003. More info here.