June 15, 2003

SUNDAY POST-ON TIME-ON FATHER’S DAY-ON DISCOVERY COMPETITION-ON PAINT

I gotta tell you this. Yesterday (Friday) Sin Wu and I drove to Pasadena and bought some 12-year-old and some the of regular Dew. That’s quite a trek for a bottle of booze. Last night I tested the pair. Good stuff. Today we escaped the headquarters to work solely on the bikernet waterfall from a 1929 H-D engine. You wouldn’t believe this tin and porcelain contraption. It’s made from the engine, a Ford truck trailer hitch, corrugated steel, angle iron and three 90-pound, 75-year old porcelain sinks.

After welding all day, digging holes and mixing concrete to anchore the sonuvabitch, Sin prepared a drink with Tahitian coconut liqueur,lime juice, mint, sugar and triple sec. She gave me a sip of this divine liquid, then offered me Tullamore. I declined. Her mixture was incredible, better than any Tahitian remedy. We’ll hit it hard tomorrow. Let’s get to the news:

Motorcyclists Can Run Red Lights

KNOXVILLE — Beginning July 1, Tennessee motorcyclists can legally run red lights — if they stop first and “exercise due care” — under a bill signed into law by Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Motorcyclists had complained they were forced to wait excessive periods of time at stop lights because sensors that control the lights did not recognize motorcycles, which are now made mostly of aluminum and fiberglass, not metal.

For Nashville area resident and motorcyclist Steve Lundwall, the law can’t begin too soon. “Sometimes, I put down the kickstand and just wait (at a stoplight),” said Lundwall, a business analyst in Nashville and state director of Concerned Motorcyclists of Tennessee. His group helped push the bill through the Legislature.

The new law isn’t as popular with the state’s law enforcement and transportation community, who say it will be difficult to enforce. “It almost takes it out of our hands to write a ticket for motorcycles running a red light,” said Lt. Bob Lyons of Nashville’s Traffic Division. “How do we know if he’s been sitting there or not?”

Sgt. Jeff Keeter, a motorcycle officer in Nashville for six years, said he’s felt the frustration of being stuck at red lights but thinks the law may cause accidents.

At least one other state, Minnesota, has passed a similar law, the model for Tennessee’s statute, said Wayne Shaub of Brentwood, legislative chairman for Concerned Motorcyclists of Tennessee.

from the Associated Press.

Crazy Horse Paint Job Of The Week

The thunder clouds are rolling in, so I better get this sent off. I didn’t get struck by lightning this past weekend, but that’s the only thing that didn’t happen to me. While getting ready to leave on a 700 mile bike trip Thursday morning. I somehow slammed my right foot against a 100 year old chest and broke the connecting bone just behind my little toe. My foot quickly turned purple and looked as if it were pumped full of air. After searching through my hundreds of boots, I found one that fit over my now very swollen foot. I limped around. The sporty was already packed so I said ‘screw it’ and hopped aboard. My destination was Athens, GA where I would meet up with nine other riders, three of which were members of the Amazons M/C Club, of which I am a member. We were on our up to a mountain top lodge in Townsend, TN where 4 other members and some friends were waiting. The solo ride across a sunny South Carolina was relaxing. The rest of the trip was as twisted as the 65 degree loose gravel driveway that led up to the lodge. I still haven’t gotten all the pictures developed, but as soon as I do I’ll post a feature on Bikernet showing the breathtaking views that made it worth it all. Towards the end of the trip I was standing by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere with half a Harley key in my hand, 3 hours from home, wondering if I’d ever get there. My foot stopped throbbing Wednesday and it no longer looks like a purple pillow. Check out Bikernet in the next few days to see the tale of the broken key and what happens when 12 women spend 2 nights stranded with 3 guys.

This week’s paint job belongs to none other than Jeff Moore. Never heard of him? Maybe the name Cheeseman is more familiar as that is his penname. He’s a staff writer for Easyriders. Jeff wanted a simple tribal to go with the funky green candy color he picked out. Hey Jeff! Your paint’s ready!

Performance Machine present the 12 annual Los Angeles Calendar Motorcycle Show The Biggest Custom & Performance Streetbike Show in America Adds Dyno Shootout, Burnout Contest, A Charity Ride and a National Super Motard Races July 19-20th at the Queen Mary Event Park in Long Beach

Things are kicking into high gear for the annual Los Angeles Calendar Motorcycle Show weekend scheduled for July 19-20th at the Queen Mary Event Park, Long Beach, CA, is held right on the edge of the beautiful Pacific Ocean overlooking Long Beach Harbor. Sponsored by Iron Works magazine, Performance Machine, Corona Beer, Aprilia Motorcycles, BikerNet.com, The Los Angeles Times/Recycler /Cycle Buys, AutoTrader.com Publications, the FastDates.com Calendars and Speed Channel’s American Thunder, The LA Calendar Motorcycle Show has continued to grow every year to become the biggest and most popular streetbike show in America catering to the custom, cruiser and sportbike markets. Always the 3rd weekend of July, the 12th Annual Show is scheduled for Saturday July 19th and Sunday July 20th, 2003, and is expected to draw some 20,000 motorcycle enthusiasts.

Cantina Barber Shop

A little girl went to the barber shop with her father. While her dad got his hair cut, she stood right beside the barber chair, eating a Hostess snack cake.

The barber smiled at her and said, “Y’know, sweetheart, you’re gonna get hair on your Twinkie.”

“I know”, she replied. “And I’m gonna get tits, too.”

–from Rogue

DRINKIN’ TULLAMORE DEW

Oh, won’t you help me, Sergeant. Get me out of this old jail.
I don’t know how I got here. I was drunk on a swampy trail;
On Tullamore Dew, Tullamore Dew; drinkin’ Tullamore Dew,
Tullamore Dew, Tullamore Dew; drinkin’ Tullamore Dew.

I didn’t mean to be drunk and bring ya all this shame,
But I had a fight with the Shore Patrol, down in old Blauvain,
Over Tullamore Dew, Tullamore Dew; drinkin’ Tullamore Dew.

Now, this old jail has rats and fleas and snakes crawl on the floor.
Take me back to my swamp, Sarge and I won’t get drunk no more,
On Tullamore Dew, Tullamore Dew; drinkin’ Tullamore Dew.

There’s Friendlies all around us and it’s lookin’ bad, I think.
We can’t do a thing, Sarge, so let’s have a little drink
Of Tullamore Dew, Tullamore Dew; drinkin’ Tullamore Dew.

–Stroker

WAR VETERANS RIDE FOR FREEDOM TO PUBLICIZE THE POW/MIA ISSUE The 16th annual Rolling Thunder Parade brought more than 250,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles to Washington for the Ride for Freedom to recognize the POW/MIA issue and to honor veterans on Memorial Day weekend.

Jim MacCaslin, President of Harley-Davidson Motor Company, rode among the tens of thousands of other motorcyclists in the Rolling Thunder parade through the streets of Washington, D.C. Riders included soldiers who fought in the 1991 Gulf War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War and World War II. Members of Operation Iraqi Freedom also participated in the parade that roared through Washington, passed the White House and ended at the Vietnam War memorial.

INDIAN LARRY WINS DISCOVERY CHANNEL BUILD OFF AT LACONIA

Indian Larry of Gasoline Alley NYC beat master builder Paul Yaffe in the Discovery bike build off in Laconia, N.H. this week.

We were there for all the drama. The winning bike was a tribute to the late Ed ” Big Daddy” Roth and was a smokin’ Ole Skool hand jammin’ honey of a hard tail, complete with the infamous Rat Fink emblazoned on the golden tanks.

Indian Larry and his amazingly talented crew will now go head to head against Billy Lane and the reigning championship Choppers Inc. Crew. This is gonna be the build-off of all time. Both teams will be at the Horse Mag’s Smoke Out in Salisbury N.C. on June 20-22. More on the bike from fabrication to completion after the Horse magazines Smoke Out next weekend.

Congrats Gasoline Alley NYC on a truly inspiring effort.

–TBear

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY–We’re out of here to meet KiKi from Tahiti, at the airport. He’s on his way back to the islands from Laconia after hanging with TBear for the week. We’ve got bike parts and a care package for him. He’s the president of the Harley Riders Club of Tahiti.

Yesterday we hit the fountain hard with the frame securely cemented into the ground. What a wild ride this project has been, from trying to cut corrugated tin, to our plumbing of the engine and the final coup de gras was Tim from San Pedro Muffler. He made the exhaust system.

Have a great day,

–Bandit