Hey,
Summer is headed directly at us like a sun-lit Tsunami. Already, all June weekends are packed; Rips BAD ride next weekend, Dixon antique swapmeet next, Valerie is flying in for a fitment on the Assalt Weapan. Tuning session is being planned for the last weekend of June. I’m rebuilding the front/rear brake lever and starting on the Pea Shooter. I will pick up the engine from Rodan next week and find the busted Mag/sparkplug component.
I’ve started to mess with the Ceriani front end and fitting it to the Peashooter frame with Paughco neck cups. I’m trying to avoid machining. Plus, I fired up my TIG welder this weekend and took my first lesson. Let’s get to the news and I’ll report in on my TIG welding abilities:
UNCLE MONKEY PREACHES THE GOSPEL ON SUNDAY– You stop into the shop out of habit. It is a guilty pleasure. Your wife rolls her eyes every time you suggest stopping in. Sometimes she gives in happily, others reluctantly. But today she is not there. The showroom is busy, as usual. It catches your eye as soon as you cross the threshold. On the far side, tucked in the back.
You shrug it off and look at the pristine new bikes in front of you. It is part of the routine, checkout the bikes, check out the accessories, talk to Sam behind the counter for a while to see how his race bike is coming together, listen for some tips, some tricks.
You close it out buy checking the t-shirts to see if there is anything new. Simple in and out, same as usual. Again, you glance at the bike in the corner. Even from your vantage point you know it is a sharp bike. You move on. This one, well what the hell was the owner thinking. OMG. That does not go together, you move on. With each bike, you gaze and evaluate, but there’s the intriguing one in the corner. You just need to see if anyone else is looking at it. That couple seems interested but the salesman is up selling them on the Road King in front of it.
You finally arrive at it. Yes, it is a fine machine. The paint flawlessly reflected the deep chrome accessories. The drivetrain, so clean you could eat off of it. How long to get the bugs out? You snap your attention to the wall of chrome behind you hoping no one saw you. There is a nice piece, just your style that would look so good on that bike. You look back, yeah, that would look real good. Sam is racing today, out of state. You stand at the spinning display of rims positioned just right so that you can stand and stare at the bike. Yeah, you would look so badass on it. The t-shirts are the same; you flirt up the cute girl behind the counter. She smiles and brushes you off. As you stand gawking at the bike, the salesman approaches and tells you to throw a leg over it. Everything falls to place. You feel the hot sun on your skin, the wind rustling the hairs on your arm. Your lungs full of fresh air. there is nothing like buying a new bike or new 2U.
Sometimes it is on purpose. You know what you want, what you are going to pay. Sometimes it sneaks up on you when you don’t expect it. The right bike, at the right time, at the right price. We all end up there. Standing in a showroom staring at the perfect bike, like a kid in a candy store. The bike that you have always been looking for is available. Buying a bike is a big decision. Often we already have a bike. It served us well. Miles under the belt, you know what’s been done, what needs to be done. But there is something about a new bike. No matter how old it is, it’s like it just rolled off the assembly line. There are no thoughts of repair, no breakdowns, just the endless miles. Rarely are we disappointed. Rarely do we regret buying a new bike, even if it means going without some of the usual habits that eat away at your bank account. There is nothing like a new bike.
-bad Uncle Monkey
NEW ART FROM ERIC HERRMANN,”Tequila Tycoon”– The latest painting from Eric Herrmann
After a weekend enjoying some of the finer Tequila’s with friends, I found myself wandering around my desert compound looking at Blue Agave plants and trying not to fall in to them. Cool looking plants. Colorful, beautiful, but still spiky and kind of menacing. Like a fine bottle of Tequila. It starts with a beautiful bottle, but you never know where you’re going to end up. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just walk over and pick me a bottle!
Well, in my world I can. I rounded up the bottles scatted around the studio, checked out the Blue Agave plants, when I could focus, and created my perfect Tequila Plantation. If I actually owned this imaginary plantation, I’d be a Tequila Tycoon! I could wander around my plantation, check on my Agave’s, watch them bloom, harvest them before they spoil.
It’s good to be a “Tequila Tycoon.” The original ?Tequila Tycoon” painting measuring 48 x 30 is available for $22,000.00
Limited Edition Gicleeâ„¢ prints on canvas are available in several sizes from $500.00.
For availability, sizes, and pricing, contact Eric at (888) 200-6554 or visit his web site at www.EricHerrmannStudios.com
BIKERNET BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM DISCOVERY– And they say there are no new business ideas? Lady Selling Lemonade on Daytona Beach The Psychology of business is to “know what your customers want!”
–from Rogue
ARE CAMERAS THE NEW GUNS?– In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.
Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.
The legal justification for arresting the “shooter” rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where “no expectation of privacy exists” (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.
Massachusetts attorney June Jensen represented Simon Glik who was arrested for such a recording. She explained, “[T]he statute has been misconstrued by Boston police. You could go to the Boston Common and snap pictures and record if you want.” Legal scholar and professor Jonathan Turley agrees, “The police are basing this claim on a ridiculous reading of the two-party consent surveillance law – requiring all parties to consent to being taped. I have written in the area of surveillance law and can say that this is utter nonsense.”
The courts, however, disagree. A few weeks ago, an Illinois judge rejected a motion to dismiss an eavesdropping charge against Christopher Drew, who recorded his own arrest for selling one-dollar artwork on the streets of Chicago. Although the misdemeanor charges of not having a peddler’s license and peddling in a prohibited area were dropped, Drew is being prosecuted for illegal recording, a Class I felony punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.
In 2001, when Michael Hyde was arrested for criminally violating the state’s electronic surveillance law – aka recording a police encounter – the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld his conviction 4-2. In dissent, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall stated, “Citizens have a particularly important role to play when the official conduct at issue is that of the police. Their role cannot be performed if citizens must fear criminal reprisals.” (Note: In some states it is the audio alone that makes the recording illegal.)
The selection of “shooters” targeted for prosecution do, indeed, suggest a pattern of either reprisal or an attempt to intimidate.
Glik captured a police action on his cellphone to document what he considered to be excessive force. He was not only arrested, his phone was also seized.
On his website Drew wrote, “Myself and three other artists who documented my actions tried for two months to get the police to arrest me for selling art downtown so we could test the Chicago peddlers license law. The police hesitated for two months because they knew it would mean a federal court case. With this felony charge they are trying to avoid this test and ruin me financially and stain my credibility.”
Hyde used his recording to file a harassment complaint against the police. After doing so, he was criminally charged.
In short, recordings that are flattering to the police – an officer kissing a baby or rescuing a dog – will almost certainly not result in prosecution even if they are done without all-party consent. The only people who seem prone to prosecution are those who embarrass or confront the police, or who somehow challenge the law. If true, then the prosecutions are a form of social control to discourage criticism of the police or simple dissent.
A recent arrest in Maryland is both typical and disturbing.
On March 5, 24-year-old Anthony John Graber III’s motorcycle was pulled over for speeding. He is currently facing criminal charges for a video he recorded on his helmet-mounted camera during the traffic stop.
The case is disturbing because:
1) Graber was not arrested immediately. Ten days after the encounter, he posted some of the material to YouTube, and it embarrassed Trooper J. D. Uhler. The trooper, who was in plainclothes and an unmarked car, jumped out waving a gun and screaming. Only later did Uhler identify himself as a police officer. When the YouTube video was discovered the police got a warrant against Graber, searched his parents’ house (where he presumably lives), seized equipment, and charged him with a violation of wiretapping law.
2) Baltimore criminal defense attorney Steven D. Silverman said he had never heard of the Maryland wiretap law being used in this manner. In other words, Maryland has joined the expanding trend of criminalizing the act of recording police abuse. Silverman surmises, “It’s more [about]?contempt of cop’ than the violation of the wiretapping law.”
3) Police spokesman Gregory M. Shipley is defending the pursuit of charges against Graber, denying that it is “some capricious retribution” and citing as justification the particularly egregious nature of Graber’s traffic offenses. Oddly, however, the offenses were not so egregious as to cause his arrest before the video appeared.
Almost without exception, police officials have staunchly supported the arresting officers. This argues strongly against the idea that some rogue officers are overreacting or that a few cops have something to hide. “Arrest those who record the police” appears to be official policy, and it’s backed by the courts.
Carlos Miller at the Photography Is Not A Crime website offers an explanation: “For the second time in less than a month, a police officer was convicted from evidence obtained from a videotape. The first officer to be convicted was New York City Police Officer Patrick Pogan, who would never have stood trial had it not been for a video posted on Youtube showing him body slamming a bicyclist before charging him with assault on an officer. The second officer to be convicted was Ottawa Hills (Ohio) Police Officer Thomas White, who shot a motorcyclist in the back after a traffic stop, permanently paralyzing the 24-year-old man.”
When the police act as though cameras were the equivalent of guns pointed at them, there is a sense in which they are correct. Cameras have become the most effective weapon that ordinary people have to protect against and to expose police abuse. And the police want it to stop.
Happily, even as the practice of arresting “shooters” expands, there are signs of effective backlash. At least one Pennsylvania jurisdiction has reaffirmed the right to video in public places. As part of a settlement with ACLU attorneys who represented an arrested “shooter,” the police in Spring City and East Vincent Township adopted a written policy allowing the recording of on-duty policemen.
As journalist Radley Balko declares, “State legislatures should consider passing laws explicitly making it legal to record on-duty law enforcement officials.”
Wendy McElroy is the author of several books on anarchism and feminism. She maintains the iconoclastic website ifeminists.net as well as an active blog at wendymcelroy.com. The author of this post can be contacted at tips@gizmodo.com
–from Rogue
Consumer Reports Motorcycle Rider Survey– June 6, 2010 – Consumer Reports conducted a survey of U.S. motorcycle riders recently and found that 70% of the respondents “consider themselves to be experienced riders and have held their motorcycle license or endorsement for at least five years”.
10% of the respondents said they had been in an accident within the last five years, and reported that almost half of those were single-vehicle crashes, with many of them either running wide on a curve or sliding out in a turn. This is consistent with the Hurt Report information from nearly 40 years ago.
Slightly more than half of the riders responding to the survey said they had taken a formal riding instruction course, and about 25% indicated that they do not always wear a helmet when they ride.
The report also found this information about the respondents:
* Only half reported regularly wearing protective boots, and less than half said they regularly wear gloves.
* About 25% said they always wear a leather or other protective jacket when riding.
* Fewer than 10% always wear protective pants or clothing in high-visibility colors.
* Three out of five riders admitted to riding in a short-sleeved shirt, and about 25% said they rode in shorts.
* More than 33% of all accidents resulted in a painful road rash and almost 25% involved broken bones.
More information on the survey can be found in the Consumer Reports Car Blog. Note that the respondents to this study were not from the general public but from Consumer Reports readers, so there may be some bias in the results.
–WebbikeWorld
–Marc
Bikernet Insurance God
Press Release from Twin Club Mc. – Custom Bike Show 2010– Festival! Sun! Success! Never before have there been so many exhibitors, never before has there been such a high class of the motorcycles in the show. Creativity and quality in conjunction with any Finish retrodesign of high quality was the hallmark of this year’s Custom Bike Show. A top weather also helped to attract more than 12,000 visitors to Norrtälje. A show that had all the best.
Today’s big winner was Minna Heikkinen from Bro, Stockholm, her red chopper took voters and jury by storm. First she won the class of HD Choppers, the class with most participants. Then she also won the Jurys Grand Price and Minna will therefore be the ones to represent Scandinavia at the World Championships of Custom Bike building in Sturgis, USA, in august later this year. Minna is historic as the first woman ever to participate in the World Championship.
Today’s second hit was the new exhibition class Modified Harley Davidson, which got just under 50 exhibitors and meet the organizer Twin Club all expectations of participants. – The class has come to stay at the Custom Bike Show, said Twin Club’s prize-award presenter Marlon Larsson, who along with his hat is a given element on the show. The class turns to more modern motorcycle where the foundation should be a frame and an engine block from HD .
The Exhibitors competed in eight classes, best paint and peoples choice. In addition, Custom Bike Show are also a affiliate to the World Championship of Custom Bike Building, where three winners are qualify to the European and World Championship. Nearly 300 motorcycles were participating, all of high caliber, so the voters and the jury had many difficult choices.
The audience was also participating in the voting, and here they quickly found their favorite in Peter Forsberg from G’vle with a charger powered piece of art on two wheels. Basically an HD with a stunning design of the charger, carburetor arrangements by God’s grace with an advanced ignition system, a unique engine construction. On the petrol tank was a painted instruction for any racing, where the last instruction was “Pray”. Besides the Peoples choice, Peter was also winner in the Custom class.
Finland and Finnish culture and craftmanship showed their best side when six of today’s prices went east. Finland dominated the classes Classic Custom and Chopper by taking home second and third prize in both classes. The best was for Stefan Phik’ from Chemical Choppers, Imatra who received third prize in the Custom Classic. Stefan also won third prize from the AMD jury which send him to the final of European Motorcycle Building. Custom Bike Show is for the sixth year an affiliate and semi final to the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, which means that the winner of the AMD Jury is sponsored by Twin Club MC of 5000 .- Euro to be able participate in the World Championship final, and 2nd and 3rd place sponsored by 1500 .- Euro each to participate in the European Championship 2011.
Robin Bradley who is representing the AMD World Organization made a speech where he said that the Custom Bike Show is one of the coolest and best-organized exhibitions in World Championship competitions and the organizers Twin Club is one of the best.
Besides all the wonderful motorcycles, Twin Club offered music with Crucified Barbara and Tres Hombres ZZ Top Tribute. Did you not listen to music, there was a wide range of goods and services in more than 60 different businesses and organizations which were represented. Here you could buy anything from a t-shirt to a ready Chopper.
More information:
Twin Club
Box 212
761 23 Norrt’je
+46 176 15790
+46 70 2211322
info@custombikeshow.se
www.custombikeshow.se
BLACK NITRATE CARBONIZED FLUSH MOUNT AXLE KITS– Once you’ve swapped wheels, rotors, fender, legs or taken any steps to sanitize your bikes front end this FLUSH MOUNT AXLE kit from Renegade provides the finishing touch pulling everything else together for a sanitary, truly custom look. Shown here is the company’s 25 mm axle assembly for 2008 to present Baggers (FLHT, FLHR, FLHX and FLTR). Renegade axles are manufactured of STRESS-PROOF 4041 steel and then black nitrate carbonized to add strength and corrosion resistance.
A side benefit to this unique finish is you’ll never have to deal with the bearing sticking to the axle.
Renegade FLUSH MOUNT AXLES come with highly polished stainless steel end caps for a lifetime of shine and retail for just $129.00. The same style kit is also available in a 1″ version for 2000-2007 FLHT, FLHR and FLTR models.
For complete details call Renegade direct at 714-998-7241 and be sure to visit their awesome site at http://www.renegadewheels.com/.
BIKERNET TECHNICAL INSTITUTE REVELATION OF THE WEEK– Subject: Calculating Milage Between Cities
This is kinda handy.
http://www.routeblast.com/
–from Irving Marsh
Big Texas Chop-Off and Military Bike Give-Away– The 2010 Big Texas Chop-Off and Military Bike Giveaway are different than any other year. 2010 has combined that two exciting traditions! The lucky finalist for this year’s Military Bike Giveaway, who serves or has served this country in the military, will have his choice of one of three custom built motorcycles to choose from.
The Motorcycles are being built by this year’s Big Texas Chop-Off participants! This year’s Big Texas Chop-Off bikes are being built by Jason Barron of Primer Inc. Customs, Troy Nichols of Lightning Customs and Bronson Willard of Southern Metal Choppers. Willard of Southern Metal Choppers.
Guidelines for Entries:
Must have served in the military
All services and branches of the military eligible
Must present an active duty military ID, retired military card, or s/n number
Can also enter by presenting membership card to VFW or American Legion
ONE ENTRY PER PERSON
Deadline for entries on-site is 6:00 p.m. Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Thunderdome
WINNER WILL BE DRAWN PRIOR TO BRET MICHAELS PERFORMANCE AT MAIN STAGE
MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN
PS photo of Roland Perssons art in silicon and handpaint, cost 1500 US………………… nuthing connected with above
VICTORY, THE NEW MEXICAN MOTORCYCLE– Started by Alex A.
Well, Well just as I started liking the new crossroads. Morons (I mean MBA’s) at Polaris decided to shut down the US plant and relocate the operations to Mexico. Great move there Polaris, I guess they just can’t learn.
I know, I know – they are claiming to leave Victory factory in the US – sure of course, how stupid do they think we are? No wonder they changed the slogan to “Gas it” or was it “Fuel it”. They sure fueled it by moving to Mexico.
So here are few new slogan suggestion for the Morons ahhh… I meant MBA’s at Polaris”
“Gas it Amigos!”
“Fuel it Muchachos!”
Brilliant move there Polaris. I can just see the all the geniuses in the conference room, tripping over each other:
“Oh! I have a great idea! Lets move our factory to Mexico, fire bunch of US workers and enjoy the great reduction in costs!”
Great way to kill a new cool new bike, its the revenues you Morons, the people you are firing probably are the ones who ride your bikes not to mention friends and relatives and PR backlash.
What’s the cutting costs is good for – if your revenues are going to fail?!
By Alex A.
–from Robin Hartfiel
MICHAEL HUPY SCORES THREE TRIAL VICTORIES LAST WEEK– I am proud to let everyone know that in the last week the firm had the three trials in three different venues and won them all. Congratulations Tim, Pete and Brandon. Just another example of what separates us from other firms.
Some of our competitors don’t try three cases in a year. Everyone should be talking up the firm at every opportunity.
— Jason
Attorney Michael F. Hupy
Hupy and Abraham, S.C.
100 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1110
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Main: (414) 223-4800 Fax: (414) 271-3374
P.S. Mike Hupy and his law firm support motorcycle rights, cycle awareness campaigns, and clubs in their region. He is an avid motorcyclists and has been on our side for decades. Don’t hesitate to reach out to him for help with any matter.–Bandit
LOWBROW FENDER MOUNTING DYI– In addition to the usual work around here, we are preparing for The Lowbrow Getdown coming up soon on June 19th! This is going to be a total blast, we have guys coming from all over including a bunch of east coast guys and all over Ohio and Michigan and even further out. A bunch of hot rods should be cruising in as well, the Speedshifters out of Philly are coming with bikes and cars, and the Vagabond Kings from Cleveland will be in full effect, as will others I am sure. Drop the kids off at the orphanage, tell your wife to pound salt and head on out and party! Or bring your wife, I am bringing mine. I love you honey!
Not only are we busy with the Getdown, but Kyle and I are stressed on getting everything done for Bonneville Speed Week. It isn’t until mid-August but this whole year of prep has been flying by and next thing you know we will be headed for Utah. My ’55 Triumph is coming along nicely, and Kyle’s ’67 Triumph 650 is as well, with his motor just finished by Wes over at Four Aces. We just printed a batch of Lowbrow Customs Bonneville Support Shirts, the proceeds from these shirts goes to help pay for our gas cross-country and back, hotels, entry fees and all that. So it helps us with our low-buck race efforts and you get a rad t-shirt out of the mix!
–LowBrow Customs
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY WORD OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY BARTELS’H-D AND THE BAD RIDE– bathos BEY-thos, noun:
1. Triteness or triviality in style.
2. A ludicrous descent from the exalted or lofty to the commonplace; anticlimax.
3. Insincere pathos; sentimentality; mawkishness.
After one character undergoes a particularly lightning-speed change in temperament, the director lays on a ludicrously coincidental plot twist with sentimental bathos that nearly swamps everything that has gone before.
— Ann Hornaday, “Movie review: In ‘Mother and Child,’ Bening and Epps give strong performances”, Washington Post, May 2010
Neither, in the end, can Jacob weave his own pattern. His trans-oceanic dream of liberty and learning will close in the damp bathos of a Zeeland backwater – until, in a last spine-shivering gasp, the free spirit of the story walks again…
— David Mitchell, Book review: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet”, Belfast Telegraph, May 2010
Bathos was introduced into English by Alexander Pope in his satirical 1727 essay, Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry.
MOTORCYCLISTS FORCED TO BE QUIET?–This is happening now and something that the readers should be aware of. Some riders will agree and others disagree.
Better get involved or be prepared for the consequences. http://www.weeklycalistogan.com/articles/2010/06/03/opinion/editorial/doc4c06ea1d13db4234472344.txt
BIKERNET TECHNICAL INSTITUTE REPORT– I see you are using some copper gaskets on the pea shooter. Through out the years I have used copper gaskets on different projects. I have found that they usually need a re-torque after engine has been run.
In some cases people heat and cool them before installing. I use Loctite 568 Flange Sealant. It is a plastic gasket sealant. It is not cheap, and you usually have to find it in an industrial supply company. It is so good; I have even used it in place of gaskets. It has a tighter seal than a bull’s asshole, so I have been told, not being familiar with how tight they are.
Just for shits and grins you may want to get some. Use it to bolt two parts together, let them set over night and then try taking apart the next day.
You will have to tap the parts to break the seal. The trick is to use it sparingly. It will get into the pores of the metal and form a thin plastic seal. NO LEAKS!
I originally found out about it when I worked in the steel mill and they were using it on steam pipe flanges and then we started using it on some of the heavy equipment.
–Rogue
GOOD WORD FOR KENDON– Bandit, I’ve used a Kendon single bike trailer for years. They fold up and stand on the back end. They also have wheels at the back end so it can be moved around while standing on its tail. They store in about 2 feet by 5 feet of space. Mine sits against the back wall of the garage when not in use.
I used it to haul a 2007 Heritage Softail Classic, from El Paso Texas to Superior, WI. No problems anytime, no excessive bouncing, pulled nice and smooth. Loading is even easier. Ride it right on or walk it up with the engine running and in gear. The positive locking aspect of the front wheel chock means you can ride it on and get off. It will stay upright. Plus it has 4 tie down points built in. The only thing now is that I need a double bike hauler. So we can haul both bikes.
Great trailer for big twins.
–Richard Tyler
“Education is what you get when you read the fine print…..Experience is what you get when you don’t.”
SUMMER SUNDAY POST COMES TO AN END–But that’s not the end of the action on Bikernet. We’re just kicking off a new week. This year I took on a couple of learning missions. I needed to learn to TIG weld and to play the Harmonica, or piano. TIG welding came a lot easier, and I may need to put off the musical instrument until after Bonneville and a couple of Book projects.
This year is scrambling. Next week we will haul ass on Bonneville projects. I will bring you a feature on a magnificent vintage Indian project by KIWI Mike. He is the master. I’ll also work with Matt at the Wheel Through Time Museum on his recent 1916 build. You’ll see a video of his first burn-out with the rebuilt ’16. I have an update from the vintage WERA race FlatRat team.
We have a couple of techs hanging over us like a cloud that can’t decide when to rain. We’re just waiting on the parts. Watch, they’ll all arrive at once. It’s time for a cold Corona and tinkering in the shop.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
