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BUELL STATS–We are considering a long distance Buell test run. As part of the process we are looking at the stats, so we decided to share them:
Buell Lightning CityX XB9SX
Rake (at Steering Head) 21.0?
Fork Angle 21.0?
Lean Angle: Soft Contact, Right 42?
Soft Contact, Left 42?
Hard Contact, Right 50?
Hard Contact, Left 48?
Trail 3.3 in. 83 mm
Wheelbase 52.0 in. 1320 mm
Buell Blast
Rake (at Steering Head) 25.0?
Trail 3.4 in. 86 mm
Wheelbase 55.0 in. 1397 mm
I have not ridden the Lightning yet, but I have the Blast. It was almost too small for me, but really easy ’cause it was so small.
–Nyla
RUCKER PERFORMANCE DISTRIBUTES ICENGINE WORKS PRECISION HEADER MODELING SYSTEMS– FORT WORTH – June 12, 2007 – Rucker Performance, a leading designer and manufacturer of custom American muscle, chopper and pro-mod motorcycles, has teamed up with IcengineworksTM, a manufacturing and engineering firm, to distribute their patented new line of exhaust header modeling block systems that provide manufacturers and builders in the motorsports and automotive industries with the freedom to design and mock up exhausts.
Icengineworks has created a manually operated, 3-dimensional modeling system based on sets of interlocking plastic blocks that are molded in shapes and represent actual tubing, straight and bent after assembly. The blocks, always 1-inch in length at the centerline, show information on the metal sections, bend radii and length in inches. Fabricators can attach, disconnect and rearrange the blocks as many times as needed. Different sizes or series of the blocks can be combined to mock-up stepped systems.
Due to the versatility of the blocks, builders and manufacturers can quickly and inexpensively develop and test limitless designs without committing expensive materials and other resources until they are satisfied with a final product.
“The main objective is creating the simplicity and speed to manually assemble, break apart, modify and rearrange precise sections of blocks representing tubular designs,” said Victor Franco, founder and President of Icengineworks. “The designer becomes more efficient, reaches the optimum design in less time and can explore layout possibilities limited only by the imagination.”
Icengineworks has designed the model block system for performance driven individuals in the marketplace. “This system has the potential to save labor hours and cost while increasing the profitability of the company,” said Bill Rucker, founder and CEO of Rucker Performance. “We have incorporated this system at Rucker Performance and believe this product will make a strong impact in the motorsports industry.”
Rucker Performance now distributes the Icengineworks exhaust modeling system. To learn more about the precision exhaust header modeling systems from IcengineworksTM, contact Bill Rucker at 817.838.3200 or log onto
AMA CONCERNED OVER DENVER NOISE LAW–A new law passed by the Denver City Council essentially requires all riders in the city to use only stock exhaust systems on their motorcycles. It’s a law that addresses sound issues by unfairly targeting only motorcyclists, and the AMA is seeking a dialogue with Denver city officials to try to find a solution.
On June 4, Denver officials approved changes to the city’s vehicle noise ordinance that allow police to issue tickets to riders if their bikes don’t have a federal Environmental Protection Agency sound-certification label on the exhaust systems. The new ordinance, which takes effect July 1, would apply to all motorcycles made since 1982, which was the first year that federal law required motorcycles sold in the U.S. to comply with EPA sound regulations.
In practical terms, that means the bike would have to have the original exhaust system installed by the manufacturer. Violators would have two weeks to prove to a judge that they have fixed the problem or would be forced to pay a $500 fine.
Previously, the Denver ordinance required all motor vehicles to pass a sound test that set a limit of 80 decibels at 25 feet. That type of performance standard remains in effect for cars and trucks, except that the allowable limits have been raised. Under the new ordinance, vehicles with a gross weight rating under 10,000 pounds couldn’t exceed 82 db(A) at 25 feet, and trucks over 10,000 pounds couldn’t exceed 90 db(A) at 50 feet. Only motorcycles would be subject to the EPA sound certification labeling requirement.
“We understand the motivation for cities to pass laws controlling sound levels from traffic,” said Ed Moreland, AMA Vice President for Government Relations. “But the approach being taken in Denver creates a special class of enforcement that unfairly targets motorcyclists. Loud trucks and cars are every bit as annoying as loud motorcycles, but only motorcyclists would be subject to this new provision of the labeling law.”
To understand the restrictions being imposed on motorcyclists, Moreland asked car drivers to consider the impact if Denver city officials had instead required stock mufflers on cars, making it illegal for Denver drivers to buy replacement exhaust systems from companies like Midas or Meineke.
“That would force everyone who drives a Ford to return to the Ford dealer and get the exact replacement muffler every time their exhaust system wore out,” he noted.
The AMA’s position on the new Denver ordinance got support June 7 in an editorial in the Rocky Mountain News which stated: “As more than one critic of the ordinance?noted, it just doesn’t appear ready for prime time.”
Several years ago, the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, passed a similar certification ordinance affecting motorcyclists there. Motorcyclist groups, included the AMA, worked with city officials for two years before that provision was rescinded and the city went back to a performance-based sound standard.
–from RogueSturgis Freedom FightersMotorcycle Hall Of Fame Member 2005
Bikernet.com established a Independent Noise Study to reach out and create a better understanding with communities. It’s always available to print out and use in your community. Copies were recently sent to community leaders in Denver and this weekend Bandit will be interviewed on Biker Nation Radio in Colorado.Click here for a direct link to the study: Bikernet Independent Noise Study-Sin Wu
FATHER’S DAY SALE– Come into LifeStyle Cycles all this week (June 11-16th) and get 10% off on your purchase of any Men’s apparel, leathers, boots, helmets and more in our apparel department! Don’t delay, as this sale is only lasting for the rest of this week, and will end on Saturday the 16th. So come in and buy your Dad (or yourself, for that matter) something really special from your friends at LifeStyle Cycles.
OR IF YOU STILL CAN’T DECIDE You want to give Dad a new motorcycle? You can buy them a pre-paid Gift Card! Want to buy your pop a year’s worth of oil changes? Buy them a pre-paid Gift Card! All you need to do is come in, tell us how much you want on the card, pay for it, and then give it to your favorite dad.You can even re-charge the card with more value later on. Come in to LifeStyle Cycles today and get the gift card that keeps on giving!
CALL LIFESTYLE CYCLES
(714) 490-0155
IMMIGRATION LAWS–HARSH YOU SAY?? There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools.
No special ballots for elections.
All government business will be conducted in our language.
Foreigners will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they are here.
Foreigners will NEVER be able to hold political office.
Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers.
No welfare, no food stamps, no health care, or other government assistance programs.
Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage.
If foreigners do come and want to buy land that will be okay.
BUT options will be restricted.
You are not allowed waterfront property. That is reserved for citizens naturally born into this country.
Foreigners may not protest; no demonstrations, no waving a foreign flag, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies.
If you do you will be sent home.
If you do come to this country illegally, you will be hunted down and sent straight to jail.
Harsh, you say?……..
The above laws happen to be the immigration laws of ” MEXICO”
–from Dave Johnson
SEMINOLE HARD ROCK ROADHOUSE SPONSORED BY BIKERNET.COM FEATURED AT THUNDER ROAD STURGIS BIKE WEEK,AUGUST 3RD – AUGUST 10TH–Matthew McConaughey, James Caan, Green Day’s Billy Joe, and Metallica’s James Hetfield Bikes on Display
STURGIS, SD (June 4, 2007) – The 2007 Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse sponsored by Bikernet.com will be featured at Thunder Road during Sturgis Bike Week, from August 3rd to August 10th.More celebrities are riding motorcycles than ever before. In a similar fashion with which the Hard Rock is known for showcasing Rock’N’Roll memorabilia worldwide, the Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse is showcasing motorcycles owned or ridden by celebrities.
“Celebrities are attracted to motorcycles for the same reasons the rest of us are, but with the additional allure of privacy and freedom they may not have in their daily lives. So many celebrities ride and we’re excited to showcase their bikes and feature the builders who built them,” said Carrie Repp of R&R Promotions. “In the custom bike world, the builders are celebrities in their own right, so each bike is encased by a wonderful Hard Rock Photo Exhibit featuring top builders as photographed by world renowned motorcycle photographer, Michael Lichter.”
The Sturgis Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse display will feature Russell Mitchell’s Exile Bull-Fighter built for rock’n’roller, Billy Joe, lead singer of Green Day; the Texas Longhorn Bobber built by Ralph Randolph from Ralph Randolph for actor Matthew McConaughey; Eddie Trotta from Eddie Trotta’s Custom Designs and his signature bike built for actor James Caan, and Kirk Taylor from Custom Design Studios bike for rock star, James Hetfield lead singer of Metallica.
Beginning Friday, August 3rd, the bikes will be displayed at Thunder Road’s 40,000 square foot Thunderdome, The Custom Capital of Sturgis, located three miles east of downtown Sturgis on Highway 34. With a variety of exciting events, Thunder Road will kick off Bike Week with the “Feel the Thunder? Race Bike Show,” featuring drag racers, short trackers, motocrossers and hillclimbers on Sunday, August 5th. Tuesday, August 7th the fun continues with the Fifth Annual Metzeler Sturgis V-Twin Custom Bike Contest.
The stage is also set for the legendary Rat’s Hole Custom Bike Show on Thursday, August 9th and for Trike Wars, a trike only show, to conclude bike week on Friday August 10th. Thunder Road and the Thunderdome will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., August 3rd -10th.
For more information and an updated list of Thunder Road and Bike Week activities, visit
BIKERNET.COM ALABAMA NEWS DESK HUNTING INVESTIGATION–Last week, an eleven-year-old boy in Alabama, on a hunting trip with his father, killed a wild boar hog weighing 1151 pounds. The pig is reportedly larger than the famous Hogzilla of the state and is the largest reported boar kill ever. The family announced that they plan to mount the head and make sausage from the meat.
In a possibly unrelated story, Rosie O’Donnell has been reported missing in the state of Alabama one day after resigning from The View. The activist, comedian, lesbian, and talk show hostess quit because of conflicts with just about every member of the cast and crew on the show. At last report, she was going to an Alabama lesbian nudist colony to enjoy “communing with nature.”
Theories that the two stories could be related could not be confirmed because it is believed that Rosie weighed more than the pig and was not as attractive.
HELEN GEORGIA HOSTS U.S. RIDERS NEWS– The Alpine Village of Helen Georgia complete with cobblestones and old world style buildings is approximately 100 miles North-East of Atlanta nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains and a place that motorcycle riders visit on a regular basis through out the year. The beginning of June for the last 7 years US Rider News has hosted a party there complete with a Bike Show, Vendors and Games and invites everyone one no matter what they ride.
In the evenings there are Bands and VIP Parties as well as entertainment in the local businesses.Scott and Sylvia Cochran who put on the event even work out special lodging rates at some of the hotels.This year the Victory Motorcycle Rides held their event at the same time and increased the attendance even more.
My wife Doris got to ride to it with me this year and said it was one of the more relaxing and fun events that we get to attend.Do yourself a favor and check it out and plan to attend next year. Check
–ROGUE
US HOUSE INTRODUCES MOTORCYCLE SAFETY MONTH RESOLUTION–The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) has learned that the US Houseintroduced a non-binding “sense of Congress” measure supporting the goalsof a “Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.” Motorcycle Champion MichaelBurgess (R-TX) introduced HRES 339, with a strong second from GabrielleGiffords (D-AZ).
You should recognize HRES 339’s main sponsor, Mr.Burgess, as the same member of Congress who is leading the charge onreforming the HIPAA law that allows for insurance discrimination ofmotorcycle-related injuries.
The bill’s second sponsor, Ms. Giffords,hails from Arizona where she has a terrific relationship with ABATE of AZand all of the other rider organizations in Arizona (and yes, she ridestoo).
The US House of Representatives now operates under a rule that prohibitsmarking periods on the calendar for any specific purpose or cause. Theyhad to preclude themselves from officially appointing special weeks,months and days because of the huge push from every advocacy group in thecountry during the mid 1990s trying to secure an official designation fortheir cause.
When it became apparent that the calendar is very limitedand the demand for recognition is very unlimited, the House changed therules and banned any legislation that officially recognizes a specificperiod of time.
So what does this mean for a nationwide motorcycle safety awarenessperiod? Well basically since the House cannot pass legislation for aspecial time period that will read identical to the Senate counterpart, asit must before the President can sign it into law, no law can ever againbe passed setting aside a special week or month for any cause. Therefore,HRES 339 merely “supports the goals of a motorcycle safety awarenessmonth” but does not and cannot officially designate such a month.
Instead, HRES 339 lists a multitude of positive aspects of motorcyclingsuch as fuel efficiency, decreasing congestion, and how being aware ofmotorcycles benefits all road users. And then there’s what I think is thebest line of legislation, “Whereas the motorcycling community is dedicatedto decreasing motorcycle crashes through training, education, licensing,enforcement, personal responsibility and increased public awareness.”
Similar pieces of legislation that many Motorcyclists’ RightsOrganizations have passed into state law officially set specific dates forincreased motorcycle awareness, but those pieces of legislation onlyaffect riding community in their particular state.
HRES 339 provides the perfect opportunity for you to make contact withyour federal representative regarding a non-controversial motorcyclingresolution. And co-sponsoring ceremonial resolutions like HRES 339 is agreat way for your federal representative to show his or her support formotorcycling, and it is an easy ask. The MRF encourages you to contactyour federal elected officials on this issue.
–Jeff Hennie
MRF
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