Hey,
The party continues. I just returned from Sacramento where I met with the gorgeous redhead and once Mrs. Ball number 4. What a life she’s lived since we were married in the ‘80s. Her recent beau started feeling poorly about 5 months ago and passed a month ago with complications to Hep C. He was going to college, mentoring drug rehab folks, and working hard to turn his own life around. She was very torn up over the loss.
I tried to hook up with my Son, Frank who is also living in Sac, but he missed our flight, then I could never reach him again. I also wanted to hook up with old friend Bob Bitchin, who also faced serious upheaval in 2012, but survived to start a new magazine, Cruising Outpost.
I’m still in the Holiday mood, so I’ll keep this short and look for the new bottle of Jack Daniels under the Christmas tree. If you have security and loyalty in your life, cherish it. It means so much to folks who are hitting their 50s. I see so many folks who never thought about security, savings, or retirement, and suddenly they are lost, or going back to school at 50.
Yeah, we were all bikers and hippies, who just bounced along, but there comes a time when selling smoke and old motorcycle parts won’t cover the bills. It’s all too interesting. That old adage about knowing a trade, or furthering your education, or investing in yourself through education meant something in our 20s and is critical in our 50s and later years. We all can’t have high-paying union jobs. Let’s hit the news, then I’ll hit on the positive side of security and family even if you don’t want to hear it.
TWIN POWER X-STOP SINTERED BRAKE PADS AN ORGANIC PADS from BIKER’S CHOICE–Born from years of research and brake dyno testing, the Twin Power X-Stop sintered brake pads benefit from the latest in design and manufacturing technologies.
Crafted from a select blend of metallic and compound materials, fused together resulting in greater heat resistance, longer pad life, and increased performance over organic pads. Engineered for heavy-duty use, sintered pads are standard on most O.E.M. machines.
These Twin Power X-Stop pads offer powerful stopping force and an excellent feel for the most demanding of riders. Organic pads are made from a premium quality Kevlar braking material.
V-TWIN MARKETING COMPANY IN AUSTRALIA–Well another year is coming to a close, we wanted to say happy holidays.
We have formed our own company and provide a marketing service for the V-Twin Industry in Australia.
Since September 2011 we have held trade displays at 11 shows, raced at 6 drag meets and carried out 190 Dealer visits.
I placed 3rd and Joanne 4th out of 47 racers in the H-D & Buell Series for 2012.
Please checkout our website at www.bolamfamilymotorsports.com for all the news and updates.
We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year.
–Neal & Joanne,
Bolam Family Motorsports.
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT HOLIDAY VOCABULARY LESSON–glissade gli-SAHD, verb:
And then I hear it, a high tenuous glissade of sound that I might almost have mistaken for a siren if I didn’t know better, and I realize that this is what I’ve been waiting for all along: the coyote chorus.
Bodies which seem to hover over the floor, sinking only to rise. Glissade brushing to releve en attitude.
Glissade entered into English in the 1830s as a version of the modern French verb glisser, meaning “to slip.”
BRAND NEW BIKERNET READER COMMENT– Ho, Ho, Ho, Sunday Post for December 23, 2012
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=10838
Yes Virginia (and virgins) there is a SANTA CLAUS. Totally awesome collection of Playboy Playmates.
Many thanks to this secret Santa. 🙂
May the Lord Almighty solve all your problems just as you have been so kind and generous to solve our hunt for quality collections.
— Raymond Hamilton
BIKERNET MEDICAL CENTER HOLIDAY FINDINGS–Helping Others Helps Yourself–One of the most rewarding resolutions you can make for the New Year is to help others. Thousands of volunteers from every walk of life and from all around the world realize that helping others is, in a way, helping themselves.
It’s a win-win situation no matter how formal the organization or how informal the commitment. The Weil Foundation understands that helping others is necessary for growth and inspiration: the mission of Dr. Weil’s not-for-profit organization is to support integrative medicine by funding the training of physicians and other practitioners, public education, research, innovations in patient care, and policy reform.
Since its inception in 2005, the Weil Foundation has given out more than $3 million in grants and gifts to medical centers and other non-profit organizations nationwide. Its shared goal is nothing less than to transform health care. Learn more about the Weil Foundation, and consider volunteering this year – volunteermatch.org is a wonderful source of local opportunities.
–Dr. Weil
www.drweil.com
HOLIDAY WISHES FROM THE BIKERNET DESERT TARANTULA EDITOR–
We are so grateful to do what we love in the motorcycle industry and to be surrounded by so many amazing people, customers, suppliers & fans.
From our family to yours, sincerest wishes for a Very Merry Christmas and a blessed, prosperous and healthy New Year.
Our thoughts are with those who cannot be with their families during the holidays. We honor you.
All of us at Rancho Del Placa wish you a wonderful holiday, full of warmth, love and good tidings toward the New Biking Year.
And maybe cheer, lots and lots of cheer.
Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Festivus, Forever
Merry Merry
–Josh Joshua Cactus
GENUINE JAMES Gaskets from BIKER’S CHOICE– James Gaskets have been in the Harley-Davidson aftermarket parts industry since the mid 1970s, and have been credited with providing the much needed sealing solution for the American V-Twin.
Biker’s Choice now offers their full range of gaskets, including the patented Rubber Covered Metal base gasket with silicone beading and their multi-layered steel head gaskets. Using premium materials, advanced technology, and close attention to quality, James Gaskets continues to produce superior gaskets.
•Flathead
•Knucklehead
•Panhead
•Ironhead Sportster
•Shovelhead, Evolution
•Evo-Sportster
•Twin-Cam
A HOLIDAY NOTE FROM THE AMERICAN RED CROSS–Supporters like you make our mission possible. Whether you’ve sent holiday cards to a deployed service member … volunteered hours at blood drives around the country … taken a lifesaving CPR and First Aid class … or financially supported the relief effort following a disaster, these acts of kindness changed lives this year.
You helped us make an incredible impact in 2012, and our work doesn’t stop there. It can’t stop.
Countless people and communities will need your support in 2013 – that’s why our work for next year starts today. Please make your tax-deductible donation by December 31 to bring comfort and relief to people in need right now and in the year ahead.
A HOLIDAY MESSAGE FROM Darwin Motorcycles or BRASS BALLS BOBBERS–
We are giving away a Compu-Fire single fire ignition system to one of the first 10 customers that purchase a Brass Balls Cycles mug!
http://www.brassballsbobbers.com/
NEWEST BIKERNET READER COMMENT– TITTIES, TRAVEL AND TIME
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=10057
Hell-O, great article really enjoyed reading it. A lot of it hit home about riding like it was a job. I see now I need to learn to relax a little more and enjoy the whole trip and not just the miles…………
–Jerry Cullen
Dubuque, IA
Interesting you commented now. Scotty just sent me an article about traveling around Mexico. Hang on for that one.—Bandit
UNCLE MONKEY IS AFRAID FOR 2013–Not much to report. The world keeps spinning, money is still being made and spent. As we look towards a new year the greatest threat we are facing is the loss of freedom for our people by our governments.
We past the tipping point years ago, but the mass populace keep forfeiting their rights, so they can go back to their iPhones and seemingly insulated worlds. We have become a nanny state where the weakest of the herd are now the majority and are controlling our destiny.
It is up to us to pick up a flag – any flag, if our countries hasn’t mutilated it beyond the greatest fears of our founding fathers, and fight for freedom.
-bad Uncle Monkey
AUSTRALIAN EXTORTION–Aussie tattooists told pay up or risk retribution.
Police in NSW (New South Wales), Australia’s most populous state, claim some motorcycle clubs are extorting money from Sydney tattoo parlours – and owners who don’t pay up are violently attacked or firebombed in retribution.
Police say they are embarking on an aggressive campaign to reshape the tattoo industry after discovering motorcycle clubs have divided the Sydney basin into vast territories and turf, using violence and standover tactics to extort thousands of dollars from owners of tattoo shops.
The sums being paid to the clubs range from $500 to $2000 per week, police say.
When the cash isn’t paid the shop owners are subjected to firebombings and drive-by shootings.
The five main clubs involved in the extortion are the Hells Angels, Comancheros, Nomads, Rebels and Bandidos.
Police claim the Comancheros are well-known for their control over the eastern suburbs of Sydney while the Rebels have a foothold over the west and south.
Police are presently trying to manage a power struggle involving the Hells Angels, who have a hold over businesses in the Parramatta area.
Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis said club members were approaching new tattoo shops within days or weeks of opening their doors.
“There are legitimate operators who have tried to start up tattoo parlours but have been firebombed out of there or stood over by groups in those areas,” Supt Katsogiannis said.
Supt Katsogiannis said senior members of the different clubs kept a dialogue with each other to avoid disputes over turf.
“They (club members) know if a particular landscape is the domain of a particular group – they talk to each other, just like we talk to each other.”
Police say they have been hamstrung by the lack of regulation in the industry, which has meant that any person could open a studio without any licensing or approval.
According to NSW Fair Trading, there are 350 known tattoo parlours operating in the state.
New laws passed in May have allowed police to gain control over the industry and keep tabs on which people are involved.
Under the recent changes, new tattoo studios will be required to apply for a license to operate, and each application will be vetted by police. The licensing scheme, pending final approval, will begin on February 1.
“We will be using the new powers and those of the NSW Crime Commission to help regulate the industry and reduce the control by these gangs,” Supt Katsogiannis said.
Existing operators will have a six month “grace period” to apply for a license, and may be forced to close if they are found to have criminal affiliations.
ULTIMATE BUILDER ROLLS INTO DC – JAN 4-6–The J&P Ultimate Builder is rolling into DC on Jan 4-6. Enter your bike with a chance to win:
•$7,000 in prize money
•Up to $750 in prizes
•Social media promotion
•FREE photo studio shoot
•Possible feature article with one of our media partners
If you would like to meet new prospects and promote your bike and business, then get the details at www.MotorCycleShows.com.
HOT NEW BIKERNET READER COMMENT–Chopper Live 2012 Deconstructed
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=10839
Patrick Gavin shoots and scores! I used to watch some of the early build off shows, though even some of those bikes weren’t too practical. The more recent soap opera crap, “theme” bikes, and bikes built to look like fuckin’ space ships but are worthless for riding have no appeal. Sort of like watching “Dallas” learn about ranching.
I saw a series about Cafe Racers on Velocity that showed how guys actually modified and improved bikes. I’m more into Harleys but at least that program dealt with real builders and real bikes.
–Mike Powers
Longwood , FL
NEW ARTICLE/ROAD TEST ON BIKERNET BAGGERS– just Launched a new Baggers story on the new Victory Cross Country.
http://www.bikernetbaggers.com/pages/STREET_SmART_2013_VICTORY_CROSS_COUNTRY_TOUR.aspx
THE BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY IS NOW OPEN–
ONE: I was walking through the cemetery this morning and saw a guy crouching down behind a tombstone. I said, “Morning.”
He said, “No, just taking a shit.”
TWO: When I was a kid, I used to pray every night for a new bike. Then I realized that God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked Him to forgive me.
BIKERNET 5-Ball RACING WHEELER REPORT–
THE ADRENALINE CLOCK IS TICKING
2nd Grandchild, June
*Dry Lakes Racers Australia* D R L A Speed Week Feb. 18-22
*Texas Mile* March 22-24
*Ohio Mile 2013* April 27-28 June 8-9 July 6-7 Sept. 28-29
*Loring Maine* The Maine Event July 12-14
*Bonneville, SCTA* ….224 Days….August 10-16, 2013*
*BUB Speed Trials* August 24-29, 2013*
*Mojave Mile* T B A
Here’s hoping your holiday wishes are all good ones with a happier New Year on the way.
Time marches on at the Bikernet headquarters located in beautiful downtown Wilmington, California. We are headed to Bennett’s Performance tomorrow with Bandit’s son’s Mudflap Girl FXR for a new Crane Cam, lifters and pushrods. We will load-up my bike and bring it back to the headquarters.
Managed to survive Christmas and am looking forward to one helluva New Year. In four days 2013 will hit us like ten tons of freshly surveyed and manicured Bonneville salt ready for Land Speed Racing. We’re scrambling to make tech on time in August, as usual.
The to do list for our 5-Ball Racing Team’s, Raycer is much shorter today than five months ago. We now have a running motorcycle headed for a dyno tuning session, Race Tech suspension, then we connect the headlight/tail light, turn signals, gas and haul ass to the freeway.
We’ll keep you posted.
Thanks to all of the people who made it all possible, some of it anyway.
Aerocharger, All Balls Racing, Kent Rich, Dutch and the Crew@Air Tech Streamlining, Arai Helmets, Keith Ball and the Crew@Bikernet, Bikers Choice, Bred Beach@Beach Racing ,Cometic Gaskets, Dan Thayer@vtwinfuelinjection, Allen Alvarez@Daytona Twin Tech, ERC Race Gas, George The Wild Brush, ET Krankvents (Thanks Ted Shrode, Ph.D—- R. I. P.), Fisher Harmonic Damper, Dan Stern@House of Thunder H-D, Horsepower Inc., Ron Williams, Jeff, Kevin@Hardtailz, Randy, Michelle and the Crew@Hyperformance, Jim’s Machine USA, K&N Air Cleaner, Paul Kittrell@Lyndall Racing Brakes, Marc Susman@Colorado Custom Cycle Wheels, Ray Whitehead@Pegasus, Pingel, Jim @Sharp Eye Transmission, Reggie and Crew@R&R Cycle, Ben Kudon@Rivera Primo, Matthew Wiley@Race Tech Suspension, Rick Tedder@ R/T Performance, Schnitz Racing, Mr. McCahill@Spyke, S&S Cycle, Matthew Negherbon@Thunder Motorcycles in San Jose, Guy Caputo@Tiger Racing, Steve The Turbo Doc, Tsubaki Chains, Vanderbeck Race Cars, Vanson Leathers, Dr. Willie, World Wide Bearings, Duncan Keller, Yankee Engineuity in San Jose, Ca..
Haul Ass!
Ride for your Fukin Life!
–Ray C Wheeler
Performance Editor
wheeler@bikernet.com
2012 ADVERTISING MISTAKES–When in doubt, hire a pro! Even then, your marketing message can still get misconstrued. Did you see the Spy Sunglasses epic brand failure with their billboard in Encinitas was #13 in AdWeek’s list:
This “Happy to sit on your face” billboard, for Spy sunglasses, was supposed to stay up in its Encinitas, Calif., location for five weeks. It was taken down in September after just one week due to complaints.
Of course even Spy failed to see the humor in Nestle’s “Pedobear” campaign on Instagram!
Nestlé’s first official Instagram photo, posted in July, didn’t go over so well. It featured a bear who bore an uncanny resemblance to Pedobear, everyone’s favorite unofficial pedophilia mascot.
“The picture is not Pedobear,” a Nestlé rep was forced to explain. “We had never heard of Pedobear. But when the possibility of its similarity to the so-called ‘Pedobear’ was raised with us, we immediately removed it.”
–RH
LONG TIME FREEDOM FIGHTER DOWN–My Brother and Friend Billy “Irish Ryder” Gannon has left this world to ride with those who have left before us. Billy and I go back to the ‘70s and have continued to work for motorcyclist rights through the years.
Billy continued doing so even though he fought Cancer for many years. Many of us have lost a Brother some a Friend But every Motorcyclist a Freedom Fighter.
I talked with his daughter briefly and they are in the process of making arrangements. I will post more as his family lets us know details
–Rogue
Jackson’s departure is expected to take effect as the president is sworn into a second term in January. President Barack Obama has not announced whom he will nominate to fill the post, however her deputy, Robert Perciasepe, is expected to fill the position until her replacement is confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“I will leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right direction, and ready in my own life for new challenges, time with my family and new opportunities to make a difference,” Jackson said in a written statement.
She has not indicated whether she has accepted another job, however the New Jersey Star-Ledger speculated she might run return to her home state and run for governor.
Obama praised Jackson’s four-year tenure and said her work was marked by “an unwavering commitment to the health of our families and our children.”
“Under her leadership, the EPA has taken sensible and important steps to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, including implementing the first national standard for harmful mercury pollution, taking important action to combat climate change under the Clean Air Act, and playing a key role in establishing historic fuel economy standards that will save the average American family thousands of dollars at the pump, while also slashing carbon pollution,” Obama said.
Those actions sparked high-profile disputes with Republicans on Capitol Hill. Most recently two House panels and the inspector general of her agency launched investigations into Jackson’s use of a secret email account using a government-endorsed alias, and whether official business was conducted using the private account.
The secret account was discovered by Christopher Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who wrote of the alias “Richard Windsor” in his recent book, “The Liberal War on Transparency.”
The institute said in a statement released after Jackson’s announcement that “the timing was no accident.”
“She claims to have told President Obama shortly after his re-election she planned to leave in early 2013, but her announcement went public just days after the Justice Department agreed – as a result of a lawsuit filed by CEI – to begin producing 12,000 emails from her “Richard Windsor” alias account,” CEI said. “The emails relate to the war on coal Jackson was orchestrating on behalf of President Obama outside the appropriate democratic process.”
Her use of an alias email account to conduct official business if left unchecked could set a dangerous precedent in which those who administer massive public agencies attempt to do the people’s business using secret names, CEI said.
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and a leading critic of EPA decisions under the Obama administration, praised Jackson for her honesty. In particular, Inhofe praised her assessment that passing climate change legislation would not lower worldwide CO2 emissions.
“While so many other Obama administration appointees don’t tell the truth, she did, and I hope that is not the reason for her departure,” Inhofe said.
“I truly wish her the best and thank her for her service in state and federal government. This provides President Obama with an opportunity to appoint an EPA administrator who appreciates the needs of our economy. I have recently highlighted the regulatory cliff, which has been delayed, but which would further slow our nation’s economic growth.
Although I take a skeptical view, this appointment would provide this administration an opportunity to change its regulatory course,” Inhofe said.
—from Human Events.com
By: Audrey Hudson
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT HOLIDAY BREAK VOCABULARY LESSON–tidings TAHY-dingz, noun:
News, information, or intelligence: sad tidings.
— Arthur Edward Waite, Quest of the Golden Stairs
— Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Wives of the Dead,” The Oxford Book of American Short Stories
Life is so damn interesting, but the key is to stay focused on your own success, no matter who is around you. You can’t help others, if you don’t help yourself. So, I spent some time with some folks who are struggling at midlife, then we went to the home of a retired Army colonel from the Vietnam era. He and his second wife have a magnificent home on the American River (just down stream from Sutter’s Mill, where gold was first discovered in California), full of toys and secret passages. He was in the Army Reserve, yet did a couple of tours in Vietnam. He spent time teaching school, worked on Cruise ships and traveled around the world.
He is now closing in on his 80s with a wife who is perhaps in her mid ‘60s. What a terrific couple, and it’s wonderful what they created. He once owned a Softail and on his 70th birthday his wife invited all of his old ex-girlfriends to a massive birthday party. Then, since his balance was faltering, she got rid of the motorcycle. They stuck it out, saved, invested and built some security for their future. Times have been tough, but sticking it out works for families, investments, and business. Ask Arlen Ness, or Kenny Price from Samson, or Dave Rash from D&D. They’ve all stuck it out through the hard times, so they have security moving into the years to come.
