Hey,
I’m reading a book by a doctor Howard C. Cutler and the Dalai Lama on Happiness. I’m also reading a book about the history of man. They talk about civilizations in Turkey 7000 years before Christ. I’m also trying to read a book about our financial situation leading into 2016.
I also listened to the President’s state of the Union speech. He painted a tenuous, albeit rosy picture of progress. Good news.
So, what’s the bottom line. We all know life is nuts, doesn’t make a lot of sense, and is packed with evil, greed, and nasty folks. But at the end, I believe it’s all about our spirit to better ourselves and our surroundings. As long as we can fix up our bikes, build something cool, love someone, and experience another adventure, then life is good and we can smile because we are surrounded by happiness. Did I get it right?
Let’s hit the news.
V-TWIN TO ROCK THE CUSTOM MOTORCYCLE WORLD—You are cordially invited to our 5th Annual V-twin After party. The past four years have been a blast and this year should be even better since our friends at CHOP-IN-BLOCK are helping us host the event.
Feel free to invite your friends attending the Expo!
–Steve Reed, Steve Griffith, and Gary Maurer
BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!—
Victory Factory Racing To Run First NHRA Race March 13th
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=12083
— Drew
Chesterton, IN
LAS VEGAS ACTION--The Streetmasters Precision Cornering One-Day Workshop is coming to Las Vegas Harley-Davidson Saturday, February 28, 2015!
Walt Fulton, former factory sponsored racer for Harley-Davidson Motor Co. and partner Nancy Foote, are bringing the Streetmasters Precision Cornering Workshop to Las Vegas Harley-Davidson.
This one-day workshop will focus specifically on cornering skills and all the component facets needed to comfortably negotiate the tightest of turns with ease. This workshop is not intended as a beginner class, but is designed for the seasoned rider.
A maximum of four riders per instructor on the track. Knowledgeable and well-respected training professionals. Braking, cornering and swerving drills on the practice pad. Instruction on your own touring, sports-touring, cruiser or sport bike.
A secure, closed-circuit track designed to simulate a real-world mountain highway.
How you’ll benefit:
Gain confidence and precision in the corners.
Learn the principles of traction management.
Refine your cornering, braking and swerving skills.
Polish your technique with personalized coaching.
Ladies, want to learn from another woman? Nancy Foote has been riding for over 30 years and Colleen Kevany is a retired motor officer. Let them show you how easy it can be to become a confident rider.
For more information or to register for the class visit http://www.streetmasters.info/ or call (951) 549-1717.
AN AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION—
Here is a shot from a recent photo shoot with my bike by Heidi.
This lovely lady Heidi, would love to send you some submissions for Bikernet.
Of course she can do photos with women as well, but hey, how about something for the girl subscribers.
V-TWIN SHOW NEWS—Convex Representative Seth Doulton, the Hollister Show Manager, plans to attend the V-Twin Expo, since Convex just took over the Hollister Motorcycle Rally. And a member of the Bates Moto boots company by Wolverine will be on hand in Cincinnati, to discuss their new line of boots.
Bates is the largest American manufacturer of boots for law enforcement and military. The just recently at the SHOT show in Vegas, announced a new line of boot specifically for motorcyclists.
–Bandit
BIKE AUCTION NEWS–Jerry Lee Lewis’s 1959 Harley-Davidson could become the most expensive motorcycle ever sold at auction when it’s goes under the hammer Saturday in Florida.
One huge selling point… This isn’t a motorcycle once owned by Jerry Lee Lewis. It is owned by Jerry Lee Lewis and the legendary rock-n-roller, known to his many fans as “The Killer,” will be there in person to send it off to its new home.
It’ll be a long ride to reach the record auction price for a motorcycle, though. That record was set last October when a red-white-and-blue custom Harley-Davidson (HOG) chopper ridden by Peter Fonda in the 1969 movie Easy Rider sold for $1.35 million. The second-most expensive bike ever sold at auction, was a 1910 Winchester, which went for $580,000.
“I could see this going for $500,000,” Bob Golfen, a writer who follows collectible cars and motorcycles, said of Lewis’s Harley.
Had it been owned by someone without a plaque in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame it would still be worth a lot for a motorcycle, said Golfen. He estimated its inherent value, had it been owned by just anyone, at $100,000 to $120,000. Mecum auctions, the company selling the bike, broadly agrees with that estimate.
Lewis has owned the bike since it was given to him by Harley-Davidson in 1959. An identical motorcycle was given to Elvis Presley a little later. According to Lewis, “The King” was jealous that “The Killer” had gotten his Harley first and Lewis even offered, jokingly, to trade with him.
Lewis evidently didn’t ride the motorcycle much. Despite 55 years of ownership, it only has 2,257 miles on the odometer.
Las Vegas BikeFest Team Selected to Produce Hollister Motorcycle Rally for 2015 and Beyond-–
Las Vegas, Nevada, January 23, 2015: The Hollister Downtown Association of Hollister, California has selected ConvExx to produce the iconic Hollister Motorcycle Rally starting in 2015. Known as the “Birthplace of the American Biker” the Hollister Motorcycle Rally has been around for over 70 years. ConvExx is an event production company based in Las Vegas with over 40 years’ experience producing public events and trade shows. ConvExx is the same team that has produced Las Vegas BikeFest for the past 14 years and has also produced many of the top trade shows in the United States including the SEMA Show and the SHOT Show, both based in Las Vegas.
“We are very focused on bringing our experience and innovation to this great event with our sole objective being to provide bikers and vendors an exciting, fun and safe experience. We’ll be bringing in a higher level of entertainment and new attractions”, says Chuck Schwartz, Chairman of ConvExx. Joining the ConvExx team as Event Manager is Seth Doulton, who produced the Hollister Motorcycle Rally in 2007 and 2008. “Together we will produce what we expect to be a rally with a deep history within the motorcycle community with a 21st century twist”, Schwartz continued.
“We are very excited to have ConvExx on board to produce the Hollister Motorcycle Rally. With the experience they have producing Las Vegas BikeFest for the past 14 years, and their 40 plus years producing a variety of events, we feel that ConvExx will bring a breath of fresh air and renewed excitement for motorcycle enthusiasts to this iconic rally”, said Ray Pierce, President of the Hollister Downtown Association. The 2015 Hollister Motorcycle Rally will be held July 3-5 in downtown Hollister, CA.
For further information about becoming a vendor or sponsor, contact Penny Osiecki at pennyfxr@lasvegasbikefest.com or 702-216-5846. Website coming soon!
S&S SET TO UNVEIL NEW PRODUCTS AT V-TWIN SHOW IN CINCINNATI—Behind the scenes exclusive to Bikernet, we learned through Ken Conte, about a new product announcement at the V-Twin Expo in a couple of weeks in Cincinnati.
Hang on for more reports.
–Bandit
WILD BOOK OF THE WEEK–The Blue Journal: An Explosive Blend Of Suspense, Intrigue And Erotica–
Greenwich, CT, January 23, 2015 – Critics agree The Blue Journal (Seventh Street Books, 01/06/15), by L.T. Graham, is a sexy, solid mystery. Kindling the blaze is marriage, infidelity and divorce; fueling the fire is a private journal titled Sexual Rites.
When Elizabeth Knoebel is found dead of a gunshot wound, the investigation is turned over to Lieutenant Anthony Walker. Formerly a New York City cop, Walker is a man with his own issues, who now serves on the police force of an affluent community in Fairfield County, Connecticut. He lives among the privileged gentry, where he understands that appearances are often far removed from reality.
As Walker untangles the steamy secrets of Elizabeth’s memoir, the threads begin to converge on her psychotherapist. He becomes convinced that Elizabeth’s killer is another of Randi Conway’s patients. But which one?
L. T. Graham is the pen name of a New England-based, highly successful suspense writer who is the author of several novels. Graham is currently at work on the next Detective Anthony Walker novel.
The Blue Journal
Seventh Street Books, an imprint of Prometheus Books
Available in print and digital formats January 6 in bookstores and online everywhere
$15.95 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781633880603
WICKED WEEKEND FIND–This is Wikked Steels one off Cobra bike. It’s powered by a 2005 S&S 117-inch hot rod motor, and geared with a Baker 6-speed. Bike is completely hand fabricated ALL STEEL with one-off wheels.
Steve has been leading the pack with his Ironman and Batman bikes and his team visits kids in hospitals with cancer in the Ironman costume!
–Jack McIntyre
Co-Editor Bikernet Baggers
HUPY/ABRAHAM LEGAL FILE OPENED–Justifiable Use of Deadly Force
Tony Pan Sanfelipo
Over the last few years, we’ve seen and heard a lot about police officers using deadly force on civilians. Most often the ruling comes down as “justifiable use of force.”
Police are protected by something known as qualified immunity when they injure or kill someone while attempting an arrest. This immunity protects police from lawsuits alleging that they violated someone’s rights. There’s a two-step process in evaluating if an officer’s actions were legal: Did the action violate a person’s constitutional rights? If the answer is yes, then the second question is: Was the right so clear that a reasonable officer would know his or her conduct violated the right?
That second question is important because if an officer makes a “bad guess” in gray areas of the law, he’s protected as opposed to knowingly violating someone’s rights.
What about us, as citizens? What protections are we afforded if we use deadly force? It’s widely accepted across the country that you have a right to defend yourself, using lethal force if necessary. Determining the justification of lethal force comes down to the “reasonable man” doctrine. In other words, what force would a reasonable man use if faced with the same situation as you?
Read the whole report right now on Bikernet:
Tony Pan Sanfelipo is the senior Motorcycle Accident Investigator at Hupy and Abraham, S.C.
www.hupy.com for more articles and free constitutional rights card.
2nd SMOKEOUT 16 UPDATE – Pro Chop Off–
It is great getting to talk to the Pro Chop Off builders as these creations come together. I am not sure if we have ever had a Chop Off where each vision is so radically different. Other than being massively creative there is not much commonality.
I am really looking forward to next month’s update where y’all can see more, including the direction the builders have chosen to go with the engines and such.
One of the requirements for this year’s Chop Off is to have the bikes at the Wednesday night pre-party at the Suck Bang Blow in Murrells Inlet, SC (Myrtle Beach).
Wednesday night’s party will be a salute to the military and there will be rides organized from several military bases to the Suck Bang Blow. The idea is to have Hammer who served in combat as a Marine, meet the Marines outside Camp Lejeune.
Keith Ball, who served in the Navy will meet the Navy outside the Navy, Joint Base Charleston and such. George Miller, who served as a Green Beret is helping to put this together with contacts from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines.
Everyone is invited, active duty, retired and any American who is proud of our service women and men. Thursday we will have a free breakfast for the active and retired military (with military ID).
There will be a gypsy ride to Rockingham from the SBB Thursday and the Pro Chop Off bikes have to make the ride. It is just a fun two-hour ride but it is a chance to see these creations in action and see that these are not just show bikes, they are runners.
INDIAN TUNING UPDATE—
As far as a performance full 2-into-1 goes we have not made one of those yet. We have done a lot of different things using the stock header and cat. Basically just making custom slip-ons. That way you still keep the stock 02 sensor which will adjust for more or less air flow.
The stock map on an Indian will adjust it self for and S&S air cleaner and slip on muffler. We have done a lot of these in the past. On Indians and Victorys, the only way to change the map on an Indian is to buy a set of stage one exhaust that will come with a new calibration card. But most people don’t want to spend that much money and just decide to do the slip on mufflers.
We just did one on the green bomber bike.
If you want a full 2-into-1 exhaust from D&D I will give him and call and see what we can figure out.
— Rich Worley
American Biker
Charleston, SC
Abate of Illinois legislative ALERT Call now H.R. 21 & S. 127—
We now have a US Senate bill, S 127, which forbids the US Sec. Department of
Transportation from giving to states and state agency’s money that would be used for “motorcycle only checkpoints”. The bill was filled by US Senator Jeanne of New Hampshire and has bi-partisan support.
We have had that luxury here in Illinois for a few years and now we need the whole nation of bikers enjoy this.
Talking Points are:
H.R. 21: To provide for a comprehensive assessment of the scientific and technical research on the implications of the use of mid-level ethanol blends, and for other purposes. This bill is from Wisconsin Congressman James Sensenbrenner. Is the new ethanol bill that takes the place of last years bill that calls for the “Independent and Comprehensive” testing of E-15.
Lets do our part to get this bill passed and get this stuff tested and tested properly with an “Independent” and “Comprehensive” test.
We are not anti-ethanol but just want this fuel tested to make sure it is safe to use.
Call your Congressman/woman and be respectful when speaking to them!
S. 127: A bill to prohibit Federal funding for motorcycle checkpoints, and for other purposes.
Valuable Tax dollars should not be used for only stopping motorcyclists or any singled out mode of transportation. That’s just not right and discriminatory. Motorcyclists are just as likely to have insurance and properly licensed as other motorists Those dollars used for check points would be better spent on motorcycle Safety and Education to reduce accidents and fatalities. Call your Senators!
The link below will give you all 17 Congressional members and both US Senators.
Right now just call your congressmen and leave the calls to your Senators when
Keep this link handy as you will need it in the future. ALSO I got 10 more rooms added to our block of rooms for the 3rd & 4th of March for our Legislative Day.
You must get your rooms by FEB. 17th or the block will be taken down. Right now
there are 17 rooms rented out of the 30 room block. 13 rooms left, HURRY!
This is our most important day we have and the gun owners don’t have theirs the
same day either Call and get a room and have some good camaraderie with your friends.
State House Inn
102 E. Adams
Springfield, Ill.
(217) 528-5100
–Bob
verb
1. to settle or stay after descending: The bird alighted on the tree.
Quotes
My father squatted in the dirt, looking at the placid field all around the prison, the long grasses on which birds alighted, flew, alighted.
Origin
SPECIAL BIKERNET INVESTIGATION—
The Harley Davidson Touring Suspension Air Pump – Part Number 54630 03A has a new box and price.
This photo shows both boxes and as you can see the price on the older box on top is $39.95.
The price for the one on the bottom is $49.95
The part number is the same and no difference can be see between the pumps.
Oh both pumps were bought at the same dealership.
–Rogue
Bikernet East Coast Tech Editor Supreme
QUICK, New Bikernet Reader Comment!
Justifiable Use of Deadly Force–The Code of the West
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=12085
Thanks Pan , I love how you always make it real. I think everyone should learn situational awareness and conflict avoidance. When are you going to teach another self defense class?
–Spitfire
Big Bend
18-WHEELER DEAL OF THE WEEK–1993 Frieghtliner
48 foot Kentucky air ride trailer
20,000.00 14′ X 44′ awning with all sides
aluminum stairs and ramps
logistics throughout
400,000 miles
roving direct TV system
I ordered brand new and I have been only driver. It has all bells and whistles.
Not a scratch or dent. Needs to be buffed
Must sell $35,000.00. I lost my storage spot.
–Seth Doulton
sethhpp@yahoo.com
Senator Wants DUI Charges Dismissed Citing that Lawmakers are “Privileged from Arrest”—
Frankfort, KY — A Kentucky state senator is having no reservations about proclaiming his political privilege. In fact, he’s simply citing a section of the Kentucky constitution that claims politicians are in fact, above the law.
Sen. Brandon Smith (R) was charged with driving under the influence and wants the case dismissed citing that lawmakers are “privileged from arrest.”
His attempt to circumvent the hand of justice have thus far proven to be successful too. On Wednesday a judge delayed Smith’s arraignment after his attorney filed this request.
“(Smith) has raised a serious constitutional issue regarding his immunity in this case,” attorney Bill Johnson wrote.
Smith and his attorney are citing a century-old rule, Section 43 of the Kentucky Constitution, which is still on the books and states:
“The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases except treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance on the sessions of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House they shall not be questioned in any other place.”
The Senator was arrested on January 6, by a Kentucky state trooper, just after 9 pm — on the opening day of the legislative session. Smith was charged with DUI and speeding 20 mph over the posted limit.
The State Journal reports that according to the citation, Smith was stopped on Village Drive after he was seen driving 65 mph in a 45 mph zone on Leestown Road, near the intersection of Copperleaf Boulevard. The trooper described several failed field sobriety tests and said Smith blew a .088 on a preliminary breath test.
Once in the custody of police at the Franklin County Regional Jail, he refused an official breathalyzer. Under state law, refusing a breathalyzer is an automatic suspension of one’s license.
However, Johnson claims that Smith didn’t refuse. Instead he claims that the phone in the jail malfunctioned, “He was instead told that he had ‘refused’ after fifteen minutes of attempting to get the phone to work to contact his attorney,” said Johnson.
Johnson is requesting that the license revocation be held off until the judge rules on the motion to dismiss the charges altogether, based on the assertion of the senator, that he is above the law.
According to the Kentucky law, the senator could have also been caught breaking the following misdemeanor laws of pimping out prostitutes, possessed meth, stolen prescription drugs, used stolen credit cards, and received stolen goods and he would simply have to claim political immunity, and the charges are then rendered invalid. Seems legit.
Many of us believe that certain portions of society get special treatment and here is proof That They Do!
There Should Not Be Any Law That Does Not Apply To All Equally!
–Rogue
HOGSLAYER DOCUMENTARY NOW AVAILABLE—
“This film is one of the coolest drag racing and motorcycle films I’ve ever seen!”
~DeWitt E. verified buyer
Have an awesome Biker Movie Sunday, thanks guys!
Stay independent,
–Zack and Scott
BIKERNET MAGAZINE COVER OF THE WEEK—from Freeway Magazine in France.
SHERIFFMEDIAGROUP SWEDEN
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
46-70 5678 666
Remember the cover we pushed through at Prime Media on Street Chopper of Scott flipping the bird. All hell broke loose.–Bandit
We are working on the Bonne Belle, preparing for a new engine, one built by Departure Bike Works to meet all the AMA requirements to run in the vintage class.
I have a couple of features headed your way. I’m scrambling on the second chapter about the magnificent ARCH motorcycle by Gard Hollinger and his team.
This super-sharp VL is heading your way, plus a tech on a CV carb build.
I found an old friend who is going to help me with my next Chance book cover. Pamalina is an amazing artist and was the official air brush artist for Fender Guitars.
Our line of 5-Ball T-shirts are picking up steam. Guys keep stopping by the shop for another one. I need to re-order.
Like I said, we’re living the dream of custom everything all the time. Hang on for the next installment.
–Bandit
