Photo A: The all new Bikernet East work shop on Heping Lu street in Tianjin.
Photo B: A shot of the outside of our state of the art galley
Photo C: Not to be outdone by todays standards here?s the guard shack to the Bikernet Headquarters parking lot.
While you mull over the images of this vastly expanding world wide enterprise, let?s get to the news.
A Report From Walker’s Caf? In San Pedro, California— The Hawaiian Bondano with a bad leg hobbled into Walker’s one afternoon. He painfully sat down at a booth and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee. The Hawaiian looked across the restaurant and asked, “Is that Jesus over there?”. The waitress nodded so the Hawaiian told her to give Jesus a cup of coffee too.
The next patron to come in was Irishman Brad with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth and asked the waitress for a glass of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked “Is that Jesus over there?” The waitress nodded so the Irishman said to give Jesus a cup of hot tea too.
The third patron to come into the restaurant was Biker Bandit. He swaggered over to a booth, sat down and hollered “Hey there sweet thing, how’s about getting’ me a cold glass of Coke!” He too looked across the restaurant and asked, “Is that God’s boy over there?” The waitress nodded so the Biker said to give Jesus a cold glass of coke too.
As Jesus got up to leave. He passed by the Hawaiian Bondano and touched him and said, “For your kindness, you are healed. The Hawaiian felt the strength come back into his leg and got up and danced a jig out the door.
Jesus also passed by the Irishman Brad, touched him and said, “For your kindness, you are healed.” The Irishman felt his back straightening up and he raised up his hands, praised the Lord and did a series of back flips out the door.
Then Jesus walked towards the Biker Bandit. The Biker jumps up and yells, “Hey man don’t touch me……I’m drawing disability compensation!!!!!
Hey Bandit,— Got a sec? Lemmee tell ya a lil story… It’s about the love of keepin things fixed.
It starts in my great-uncle’s shop in Rhode Island. It was one of those old backyard garages, four bays, I think it were. The first to the right was converted to a shop area with lathes, mills and even a forge.
Bay 2 was an open pit and the other two bays were off limits (Uncle Johnny’s cars and such were in there, no place fer a seven year old!) And overhead throughout the garage, were the drive belts that ran all of the shop equipment with the gas engine in an other room that drove all the belts.
With a busted family, my father being broke most of the time, he’d take us there on his weekend visits. Lookin back on those cold, snowy days, that warm, coal heated garage was heaven! The usual queries to the ol man when he came to pick us up were along the lines of “can we go change the oil at Uncle Johnny’s?, etc…)
Long about 22 years, an ex-wife, the Navy and about 50,000 miles on my first H-D later (kind of hard to afford a bike in the Navy AND alimony), I was on a toy run coming back from Olympia, Wa when the scoot decides that she’s had enough for the day. Naturally, I was running with a brother who was on HIS first H-D and on HIS first long run. So, we’re sittin there on the side of the road when this guy pulls over, sez his brother lives one exit back and that he’ll be back with a truck in a while. One hour later, scooter in truck, we show up at his brother’s place, and, Grateful Dead shows aside, I had a major flashback to my Uncle’s shop in R.I. This shop was the spittin image of my Uncles.
We had a beer, and busted my ’83 FXSB down and found out that steel spline shafts and aluminum drive sprockets don’t mix, ‘specially when the lock screw backs out. That’s when I decided to make wrenching part of my life instead of just out of necessity. I’ve worked at a couple H-D dealerships, but now-a-days prefer to just help out a brother when they’re down and need the ways-n-means. That and my ol lady actually encourages me to when I can. And I figure that HER seven year old might just help pass the torch along.
So, stay safe and gitchyerass back here, spring’s comin fast!
watch yer topknot…
bagger
Travel Warnings From Bakersfield—- Good to hear from you so soon!!! Good choice on staying on the boat in Jakarta. It is even nastier once you get inside the city. I spent three days there giving a seminar to the National Oil Company on best practices. I’m glad that I won’t have to return. If you can, I hear that Haiphong and Vietnam in general treats Americans pretty well. We have a big base there serving the Oil and Gas operations. There is plenty of black market goods to be had, but be careful about your surroundings, bad shit can happen and the local gendarmerie isn’t going to get too worked up if you come up missing.
I’ve flown through Hong Kong once, but only saw the airport. Shanghai is supposed to be the most western of the People’s Republic and the food is supposed to be outstanding. Lots of fresh seafood and it used to be one of the place for real world class silk items, but that may have changed.
Korea, you’re on your own!!!!!
–Gunracer
Easyriders Bike Show In Dallas Features Bandit?s Shovelhead Project—- We are having the big Easyriders Magazine show here in Dallas on April 6th so we are trying to get 3 bikes ready for that show. We are gonna take your shovel to the show in the pre-teardown stage.
–Rick Fairless, Dallas Easyriders
Run For Breath Report—- I hope all is going well for you. I have secured a new location for the 4th Annual Run For Breath. It will start at Ben’s V-Twin and end at Carolina BBQ. It is a great spot with a huge parking lot.
The date is Sunday July 28th. That is the good news.
–Mike Pullin, Charlotte H-D
Reading Material—- I read a novel not long ago that is related to what you are experiencing now. It was about life and death and how people deal with their own faults and weaknesses. The author used a little tale to make her point. It went like this: after death, people had to tell their story to the other dead around them and to a mediator. The more they unraveled their life story, the lighter and more transparent they became. Once they were done, they would disappear into thin air, rejoining other spirits in eternity. Some took a long time to get things out and erred around miserably, while others who relieved their hearts quickly could happily go onto the next stage. To me the point of the story is simple: we all have things that weigh on our consciousness. For some of us, the burden is heavy. In order to make your spirit lighter, you have to pinpoint the dark spots in your heart, face them, comprehend why they exist and then forgive yourself. With forgiveness comes enlightment and peace.
Have you thought that this “someone” who threw you on that boat was nobody else but you, with an unconscious need to sort things out? You gave yourself a great opportunity to become a better man. Most people are too caught up in their daily life (or too coward) to stop a minute and reflect. Even if it is painful, even if you shed some real tears, what you are doing is really good. You’ll come out of it a taller man, with your head straight, knowing where you have been and where you do not want to go anymore. When you step out of that boat for good, may be the road will never seem so wide open to you.
–Mich?lina
Excelsior-Henderson Web Site—- One of the reasons my son and I started the website was to help raise the awareness and value of Excelsior Henderson Motorcycles. Bandit?s Excelsior-Henderson is listed for sale on the site, superxowners.com. We?d like to hear from anyone interested in E-H or who has comments on our site.
–Nick Trumbo, TrumboNL@aol.com
Bikernet Relationship Mentoring—- Sadie lost her husband almost four years ago and still hasn’t gotten out of her mourning stage. Her daughter is constantly calling her and urging her to get back into the world. Finally, Sadie says she’d go out, but didn’t know anyone. Her daughter immediately replies,” Mama! I have someone for you to meet.”
Well, it was an immediate hit. They took to one another and after dating for six weeks, he asks her to join him for a weekend in the Adelaide Hills.
Their first night there, she undresses as he does. There she stood nude except for a pair of black lacy panties, he in his birthday suit. Looking at her he asks, “Why the black panties?” She replies, “My breasts you can fondle, my body is yours to explore, but down there I am still in mourning.”
He knows he’s not getting lucky that night.
The following night the same scenario. She’s standing there with the black panties on, and he is in his birthday suit …….. except that on his erection he has a black condom. She looks at him and asks, “What’s with this… a black condom?” He replies, “I want to offer my deepest condolences.”
–RSB
Indy Report—- Great show, I thought. They gathered all the Big Twin crowd (pretty much) in one room and it worked out real well.
A lot of grumbling over the split show. Depending on who you talked to, Cincy was either terrible, not bad, or pretty good. Whatver, Indy’s not going away, and the smaller mfgs. can’t attend both.
Talked to Panzer a little, they’re building bikes for BRM, and Barry Wardlaw’s building their engines. Very, very nice bikes. I think the best of the aftermarket crowd in terms of fit and finish.
Ironhorse had a nice selection, and NY’s Orange County Choppers jumped in with both feet. Some very radical rides that look well built.
–JS
Michigan Robbery—- A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, “Nobody move”! When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.
Bikernet Headquarters Closes For Sunday Afternoon
Sure, the above was supposed to be a gag. We don?t have headquarters anywhere. It?s our design to have a good time and reflect it. No offices, no working hours, no secretaries, except the babes. For the people of China building a city is a glorious step toward a level of freedom they only dreamed of in the past. In a sense they are trying to emulate what they believe freedom is to us. They see New York City, Chicago and LA and thinks that where it?s at. The people are moving to the cities in droves. They can?t build, clean or repair anything fast enough, although they are trying and smiling all the time.
The bottom line is that we have it all in the states and we need to treat it with a great deal of respect like you do a new paint job by an accomplished artist such as Dawn Holmes. Where does Dawn live? In Prescott, Arizona on a hill in a town of 65,000 (if that) and wishing it wasn?t growing so fast. These cities in China are growing like crazy. Shangai has a population of 19 million. China has a population of 900 million more than the US on the same amount of soil.
