Hey,
Let’s shift gears, I tell myself constantly. Need to reevaluate my life. Shit is moving too fast. So tell me, what do you like most about Bikernet? Should we do something different, more, less? This is our full blown readers’ survey, with two questions: How are we doing, any suggestions?
Enough of that. Most responses will be, “Fire the boss.” Ah, then I’ll have more time to fuck off. This news will blow your mind some. Why is it that publicly traded companies don’t have to pay their bills? I thought they were scrutinized. Does anyone know how that works? As you’ll see Von Dutch Motorcycles owes a lot of people in the industry and they’re announcing a public offering. Unbelievable.
Let’s hit the news. My son, Frank, the Tattoo Artist, is headed over to celebrate his 32ND birthday. We may ride on the El Diablo Run to Mexico later in March. We’re working on an engine to send to the H-D Factory for a reman. We’ll bring you a report. And Jeremiah rode to the Long Beach swapmeet this weekend to find a taillight for his bike and a few parts we needed for the reman engine. They need a complete engine and 3 grand to send you a remanufactured factory engine with a warranty. We will bring you the story in the next couple of weeks:
LUCKY DEVIL AND RIGID FRAME RICHARD DUE TO DELIVER MORE GIRLS OF BIKERNET FROM TEXAS–I took these back in ’04? As it stands now I have roughly 32 girls that I have spoken with about GOB pictures, not all want to do bikes and some may never show, but I am starting to schedule them now.
I have 2 GOB lined up, one we are doing with the Victory here in the next week or so. Later. RFR
CONNECTICUT BIKERS SEEKING HANDLEBAR HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS RELIEF ISSUE SECOND NATIONWIDE CALL-TO-ACTION!– Thank you for all of the emails you sent and the calls that you made. It made a difference. The public hearing went very well with the Co-chairman, Rep Tony Guerrera in agreement that the 15-inch height standard for handlebars needs to be changed. A representative of the DMV was at the hearing and also agreed that the current law needs to be changed. We await a decision on what height requirement if any, they are going to choose. It is very important that we contact the entire committee and thank them for their help in getting this law changed.
–Bruce Arnold
Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
www.ldrlongdistancerider.com
BRAND NEW CYRIL HUZE BOBBER/BAR HOPPER CALLED THE BOMB SHELL–This bike begs the question about Bobbers. When it comes to judging a show, this bike wouldn’t make the bobber category. I would call it a bar hopper, but what the hell, no one builds a bike like Cyril Huze. His bikes aren’t for everyone, but they are jewels. Here’s some of the mods:
1- the custom chromed frame (double curved running around the engine cases)
2- the engine is an Evo TP fitted with aftermarket Knucklehead Rocker Boxes.
3- The oil tank
4- The hand tooled left bag with battery inside and cable running inside frame tube.
Watch for a feature on this bike in the near future on Bikernet.
–Bandit
Cyril Huze Custom Inc.
Tel: 561-392-5557
Fax: 561-994-2672
Website: www.cyrilhuze.com
Webstore: store.cyrilhuze.com
Blog: www.cyrilhuzeblog.com
ABATE OF MARYLAND FIGHT FOR BIKERS’ RIGHT OF WAY– ABATE of Maryland, Inc. is continuing a three year effort to pass legislation in Maryland that provides for increased penalties for right-of-way violations when the violation contributes to an accident that results in serious bodily injury or death of an another person. HB 827, titled ‘Vehicle Laws – Right-of-Way – Penalties for Failure to Yield’, would subject a violator to a $500 fine and a 90-day license suspension for causing serious bodily injury or a $1000 fine and a 180-day license suspension if the violation contributes to an accident resulting in the death of another. These penalties would be in addition to existing penalties.
Under current law, if the citation is paid before a court appearance, the penalty for violating the right-of-way of another vehicle is approximately $70 and a one to three point assessment against the offender’s license. If a charged person appears in court he or she could be fined a maximum of $500 and could be assessed one to three points, subject to a judge’s discretion.
HB 827 is especially poignant for ABATE of Maryland, Inc. members because of the August 30, 2006 death of State Director Marty Schultz in an accident that took his life and was caused by an inattentive driver who violated his right-of-way while he was riding his motorcycle. To date the only known charges filed in this accident were ‘displaying expired registration’ and ‘failure of vehicle to yield intersection right-of-way to another vehicle’. For this the driver paid a fine of $70 prior to the scheduled court date.
Although the passage of HB 827 cannot restore a lost life, it can make the consequences for violators more than just an inconvenient mark on their driving records. Higher fines and license suspension will make the outcome slightly more palatable for the victim or the victim’s surviving family members.
Email: mdabate@erols.com
Web site: http://www.abate-of-maryland.org
BILLY LANE CHARGES DROPPED– COCOA, Fla. — Two charges have been dropped against a celebrity motorcycle builder in a fatal DUI case. Billy Lane is still facing a DUI manslaughter charge, but is no longer charged with driving with a suspended license or driving under the influence with serious bodily injury.
Investigators said Lane hit a motorcyclist while driving home from a night of drinking in Cocoa Beach last September. Gerald Morelock was killed in the accident.
DISTRACTED DRIVERS CAUSE 80 PERCENT OF ACCIDENTS– Forget the cell phone. You’re half the driver you could be if you’re simply listening to a passenger let alone talking to someone — or doing worse — while cruising down the highway. And all these years you’ve been blaming the tunnels for the region’s bad drivers.
Brain power associated with driving decreases by 40 percent when a driver listens to someone talk, whether it’s a passenger or on the radio, said Marcel Just, a psychologist who directs the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University.
Imagine what it’s like for people who are powdering their nose while pumping their brakes, or texting while exiting, or changing clothes while changing lanes.
“It’s got to be worse,” Just said.
Yet more than 80 percent of drivers recently surveyed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance admitted they were multitask in the car. Some confessed to blatantly hazardous behavior while driving such as:
* Peeing out the window.
* Steering with a foot.
* Painting toenails.
* Feeding a bottle to a baby in the backseat.
* Shaving.
“We’ve got a lot of people out there doing everything but driving,” said Bill Windsor, safety expert at Nationwide.
A man in Schenectady, N.Y., was arrested in 2004 for having a pornographic DVD playing on the passenger-side sun visor.
And a Michigan woman was caught breastfeeding her 7-month-old daughter while driving on the Ohio Turnpike in 2003.
Makes Britney’s son-on-her-lap-while-behind-the-wheel snafu look tame.
“People just don’t use common sense when they’re driving,” said state police Cpl. Mike Bramlet said. “They’re making it unsafe for everybody.”
A study last year by researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Virginia Tech University found that 80 percent of accidents involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the accident.
Cell phones most often are blamed for poor driving. Four states — California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York — and Washington, D.C., have banned hand-held cell phones for all drivers. Fourteen more states so far this year have introduced legislation restricting hand-held cell phone use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
That’s fine with Just, of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging. “There’s this whole attitude toward highway safety,” he said. “Taking risks in driving is sort of a social issue and not just a personal issue. It’s a little different than not wearing a motorcycle helmet.”
–by Rob Amen WFTV news
NECK BRACE AND HELMETS RESEARCH PAPER– Thanks to Mike Hayes for providing the link to study on the Leatt-Brace for helmet wearers: http://www.leatt-brace.com/pdf/research_article.pdf
–from Hawk
WENDY – MODEL AND A TRAVEL AGENT–To my friends both business and personal, Hi it’s Wendy Hamel and I hope that the New Year is turning out to be a great one for you. I hope this letter finds you well.
I am emailing to let you know that I have discovered an opportunity that I am sure will change my life. I wanted to share this news with you and ask you for your help as I build my new business. Please know that I am still Spokes modeling and modeling in general as my main profession.
I am now an online travel agent. I have joined a company called Your Travel Biz (YTB) and offer the same travel-related services as the big boys- Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz. In fact, YTB uses the Travelocity booking engine for all our travel bookings. My website is www.wdtravelsmart.com . Then just click on the “book travel icon” and check it out.
So, if you are doing any traveling in the upcoming weeks or months, please give me a try. Visit my Website at www.wdtravelsmart.com and click “book travel” and check out all the cruises, airlines, hotels, rental cars, golf outings and more that are available there. In those cases, I ask that you book your travel with me and help me build my business. If you need help with anything, please contact me and I will do whatever I can to get you traveling in style. www.wdtravelsmart.com for all your vacation and travel needs.
In addition you can buy tickets to sporting events and concerts-just like Ticketmaster-and flowers and gifts just like 1-800-Flowers.
What I ask is simple. Instead of giving your travel business to some large, faceless corporation, give it to me. Let me make the commission. I promise service on par with the best available anywhere on the Internet.
While you are on my Website, please also check out the company presentation on YTB. I am truly excited about the opportunities by YTB and I am pretty sure you will be, to.
If I can answer any questions directly, please email me at wendy@wdtravelsmart.com or of course at my regular email wendells69@earthlink.net. Or call me at 702-403-7729.
If you don’t mind I would like to place your name on my email distribution list for weekly travel specials. You will receive the Steals and Deals newsletter within a week or so.
I truly thank you for reading this and appreciate your support as I start my new business.
Sincerely,
Wendy Hamel
www.wdtravelsmart.com
wendy@wdtravelsmart.com
702-403-7729
BIKERNET INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST STUDY– The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.” Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.”
Londoners have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to a “Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was during the great fire of 1666.
Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide.” The only two higher levels in France are “Surrender” and “Collaborate.” The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country’s military capability.
It’s not only the English and French that are on a heighten ed level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout Loudly and Excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides.”
The Germans also increased their alert state from “Disdainful Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two higher levels: “Invade a Neighbour” and “Lose.”
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.
The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.
–from J.T.
MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATION FIGHTS BIKER DISCRIMINATION– This is the HIPPA repair act, it fixes HIPPA. Currently you can not be denied medical insurance (if you have the money) however they can deny you coverage for injuries received while engaging in hazardous sports such as motorcycle riding, horseback riding etc. This happens with some company’s’ health insurance, if you are driving a car and you are legally drunk health insurance will cover the injuries. If you are riding a motorcycle sober and some one turns in front of you your injuries are not covered. Makes sense to me. Ask your federal Representative to support HR 1076 and your two US Senators to support S 616.
–Chuck
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation reports that legislation to close the loophole that currently exists in our nation’s health insurance industry has been introduced in the US Senate (S 616) and House (HR 1076).
Under current law, group market insurance customers – that’s everyone who has insurance from a job in the private sector, military or government – can be denied benefits for a particular injury just because it came from an motorcycle accident.
Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996 to ensure proper access to health insurance for all American workers. Once the bureaucrats at the US Department of Health and Human Services issued their final ruling on the law they managed to allow a loophole that can be used to discriminate against motorcyclists when the need health insurance the most, after an accident.
The loophole also is used by insurance companies to deny benefits for any accidents that stem from horseback riding, snowmobiling, and snow skiing, just to name a few.
“This legislation will right an injustice done to America’s motorcycling community,” said Jeff Hennie, Vice President of Government Relations for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. “We are asking the Congress to tell the insurance industry that they can no longer get away with refusing benefits that have been bought and paid for by motorcyclists”.
The House legislation has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, while the Senate bill is sitting before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
In order to pass this legislation, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation needs your help. Please join your fellow freedom fighters and ask your Members of Congress and Senators to co-sponsor this important legislation.
The legislation to close this loophole has been around for the last few sessions of Congress, but the bills introduced in this 110th Congress have a few new twists. First, the House Democrat lead is new. Welcome Bart Stupak to the picture; he is a 8th term Democrat from Upper Peninsula Michigan and the geographic top third of the mitten state. Mr. Stupak’s district has tens of thousands of miles of snowmobiling trails and most of his constituents use their snow machines to commute, run errands and socialize, making the snowmobile an integral part of everyday life. Mr. Stupak is also close friends with the Chairman of the House committee that has jurisdiction over the measure; and is a subcommittee chairman on the same full committee.
The House Republican lead is the same, Michael Burgess. Burgess is medical doctor from, Flower Mound, TX. Burgess was an OB-GYN, delivering 3000 babies before running for Congress in 2003.
The Senate sponsors are the same returning Senators as previous sessions of Congress, Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME). The Motorcycle Riders Foundation thanks all of the champions of this legislation.
Another new development is that the House has adopted the Senate language, making passage into law slightly simpler by eliminating the need for both bodies of Congress to form a conference committee to iron out the legislative differences. Previously the House and Senate had slightly different solutions to closing the loophole.
Last Congress saw no major movement on the legislation. With your help, we can close the loophole that allows our health insurance providers to deny benefits for an injury simply because it involved a motorcycle.
Ask your federal Representative to support HR 1076 and your two US Senators to support S 616. Should you receive any commitments or denials to support the legislation, or if you have any other legislative question or concerns, please contact the MRF.
Ride With The LeadersTM by joining the MRF at
SUNDAY LIFESTYLE DEALS– You can always expect the unexpected at LifeStyle Cycles! For example, who would have thought you could purchase a good, clean pre-owned motorcycle for under $13,000? Well we did, and you can bet only LifeStyle Cycles can make it happen! We’ve got Harleys, American IronHorse, BMC and even a mean green Golf Cart! But don’t wait, these deals are going to fly off the floor, so call us today!
1995 HARLEY DAVIDSON FAT BOY
ONLY $9,000.00
2002 AMERICAN IRONHORSE RANGER
ONLY $12,345.00
This 2002 American IronHorse Ranger rubber mount bike gives awesome performance and killer comfort. Features white pearl paint, custom billet wheels, 107 cubic inch S&S motor, 2 into 1 exhaust and more! A great pro street bike at a fraction of the cost!
Only $12,345.00 CALL LIFESTYLE CYCLES (714) 490-0155
BIKERNET DUNK TANK–Von Dutch Motorcycles is known around the industry for not paying their bills, now this:
LOS ANGELES, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — 02/22/2007 — Providential Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: PRVH) (German Stock Exchanges: PR7, WKN 935160), a company providing international advisory services specializing in mergers and acquisitions and investing in the rapidly growing economies in Vietnam and Asia, announced today a definitive agreement to arrange for initial funding and take California-based Horsepower & Chrome LLC, public in the United States. In exchange for its services Providential Holdings will receive stock in the company. The company posted revenues of $1.7 million last year and is currently projecting $7 million in revenues for the next 12-months, fueled by an aggressive national and international expansion plan.
Horsepower & Chrome is a leading U.S. motorcycle and lifestyle company manufacturing American V-twin Cruisers, Choppers, Bobbers, Customs and accessories, operating under the Von Dutch Kustom Cycle brand since 2003. Retail and distribution outlets are rapidly growing worldwide, with various sites throughout the United States in Caesar’s Palace For more information on Providential Holdings and its subsidiaries, visit http://www.phiglobal.com. As part of its activities in Vietnam, Providential has been hosting seminars in conjunction with the Nasdaq Stock Market, the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a leading U.S. investment-banking firm to help Vietnamese companies go public and raise capital through the U.S. financial markets. A profile for investors can be accessed at http://www.hawkassociates.com/prvhprofile.aspx. For investor relations questions regarding Providential, contact Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, Hawk Associates, at (305) 451-1888, e-mail: info@hawkassociates.com, or visit http://www.americanmicrocaps.com or http://www.hawkassociates.com
2007 IRISH MOTORBIKE AND SCOOTER SHOW– THE 5th Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show, which is a World Championship of Custom Bike Building affiliate show, will take place over the weekend of 2nd – 4th March.
This is the second year that the Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show has played host to the event and it is sure to build on the previous year’s success, given that this year the winner will represent Ireland at the Official World Championship Of Custom Bike Building 2007 in Sturgis.
In addition the show will feature Flat Track Speedway racing, the first time this has ever been seen in Ireland.
The Red Bull X Fighters, featuring top stunt rider Fredrik Johansson, will be doing displays daily along with shows by World Stunt Champion Chris Pfeiffer.
Celebrity biker Charley Boorman will also be in attendance signing copies of his book and DVD about his experience in the Dakar Rally.
SDL EXHIBITIONS LTD
Rathfarnham, Dublin, Ireland
Tel: +353 1 4900600
Fax: +353 1 4908934
mail:sally@sdlexpo.com
CALIFORNIA CUSTOMS DIS-ASSOCIATES WITH CYBER SHOPS–California Customs has spent the past 18 months in an effort to dis-associate itself with any and all cyber only motorcycle shops. In the past few years we seem to have been overwhelmed with requests for dealerships and partnerships from shops we knew were cyber only shops or later found out was the case. Most notably of these was the partnership with Phantom Choppers. That partnership was initiated by the owner of Phantom Choppers in January 2005.
The relationship officially ended only a few months later when overwhelming evidence was presented to us that Phantom Choppers was indeed not a brick and mortar shop as we had been assured they were and were possibly involved with questionable activities such as VIN swapping.
Since that time we have changed our approval process for our dealers as well as any other shop we may have any type of a relationship with. We feel the cyber only shops are hurting the local motorcycle shops and builders. Our new process for dealer approval and other relationships will help keep our products in the hands of true brick and mortar shop owners; they are the backbone of the custom motorcycle industry to us.
For more information you can reach California Customs at www.calcustom.com or 650-254-0963.
HOLLYWOOD COMES TO NEWBURGH WITH STEVE MCQUEEN AN AMERICAN REBEL— Saturday March 17th – St. Patricks Day World Premier at Downing Film Center. 7:30pm Showtime – Downing Film Center -($25.00 per person) – A Richard Martin Film – Steve McQueen “An American Rebel” (Wine & Cheese Reception) Barbara Minty McQueen, assisted by Marshall Terrill, have written a new book entitled, STEVE MCQUEEN: THE LAST RIDE. Both Barbara McQueen and Marshall Terrill will appear on the David Letterman Show on Tuesday, March 13 to discuss this special collaboration in honor of Steve McQueen. Both will also be available to sign their book at Barnes and Nobles Book Store in Newburgh on Saturday, March 17 between 12:30 and 2:30 PM. A Hollywood premier is set for March 17th at the exclusive Downing Film Center in Newburgh. “What better way to honor McQueen an Irish/American that with a tribute on St. Patrick’s Day,” said Ed McCartney of the Human Beinz. A concert after the premier party by the Human Beinz will follow at the East Side Bar and Grill, along with in person appearances by Barbara McQueen, filmmaker Richard Martin and Author of the newly released book, Steve McQueen: The Last Mile. Newburgh, New York has been a specially chosen location for a Hollywood premier by the films writer/director Richard Martin. Martin tells the life of Steve McQueen in the film via their close friendship over many years starting in the very early 1950’s. The films soundtrack features music form Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, Ann Murry, The Rolling Stones, and The Human Beinz. The last time a Hollywood premier was held in Newburgh was with Tyrone Power and the West Point Film, “The Long Grey Line” in the 1950’s.
AMAZING NEW MATT HOTCH BATTERIES WITH GOLD PLATED CONTACTS–The video (fast UTUBE link) of the test is up at: www.TekBattery.com as well as some battery specs and details (and a link to you).
We have started gold plating all connections at www.TekBattery.com on the Matt Hotch TekBattery. This is the battery crank test that cranked for almost 4 MINUTES with the coil wire off. See and listen to the high speed cranking on the unedited video. Matt Hotch is the crankiest biker around!
— 949-497-3600 (best between 10am and 10pm)
WRAP IT UP– Ray Wheeler just called from W8Less Rotors. He’s to the moon with joy. He’s representing a company that developed a rotor that weighs _ or what steel rotors weigh. That reduces your rotating mass by some enormous percentage. Harley-Davidson will run them shortly. They’re amazing and he’s the happiest guy on the planet.
For every flake we mention in the news there’s 10 brothers out there, busting their asses to build outstanding products, pay their bills and treat their people right. It’s not about the money. It’s about so many other things, like a man’s word, his reputation, his creative endeavors, his family and his accomplishments. Take for instance Ray Wheeler above, Matt Hotch and their new battery development that will change the industry, Chet and the Baldwin-Wilson guys, and a guy we met recently Peter DiOrio. He’s an artist, a designer and a mystical apparel manufacturer. We will see a lot of him in the near future.
There’s bike builders like Cyril Huze, mentioned above, brothers who work in the shops 24 hours a day, like Kent Weeks at Lucky Devils Metal Works in Houston and Leo DiOrio who is designing our Assalt Weapan front end, with the constant assistance and design concern from Chris Kallas, the artist behind my crazy notions. Hang on for next week, the content is pouring in. But keep in mind, if you miss anything, it’s archived and you can find it tomorrow, next week or next year. See that Google Bar on the home page? That searches only Bikernet for anything you plug in. If you want to see Cyril Huze bikes, type in his name and it’ll bring up every feature that ever involved Cyril. If you want S&S stuff, type it in. If you need info on Carbs, type it in. It’s amazing and so is this industry.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
