Mustang is on the move… literally. In addition to adding staff, expanding existing seat ranges for Gold Wings, doubling up on offerings for Victory and introducing an all-new line of replacement seats for Triumphs, Mustang has moved, at least the sales and marketing departments, that is. No more in a satellite office in Terryville, Connecticut, sales and marketing are now located in the original factory in Three Rivers, Massachusetts. “The goal was to bring all of Mustang’s offices under one roof,” explains Marketing Director Marilyn Simmons. “We needed to unplug for a couple of days in order to bring our state-of-the-art call center on line, but we are back up and running full steam ahead! With the notable exception of our big rig crew out at the rallies, our entire team is now in the same New England town we have been in since the company was founded back in 1980.” The reasons for upgrading the historic old factory outweighed the investment. “A benefit of bringing sales, marketing, R&D and manufacturing together is that we can greatly accelerate the time it takes to bring a new seat to market,” says Simmons. “Good thing, too! Mustang is already beta testing the first custom seat program ever offered in our 33 year history.” “We also rolled out a range of seats for Triumph’s Bonneville and Thunderbird models… and that is just the tip of the iceberg,” suggests Simmons. “The synergy of having all of us under one roof cannot be underestimated. What used to take weeks of back-and-forth e-mails can now be resolved face-to-face in a matter of minutes, which will really streamline the product development cycle.” The launch of the new logo last fall and the new big rig being unveiled during Daytona Bike Week was a signal that a revitalized, reinvigorated Mustang was on the move! “We might be expanding, but we are not changing what brought us here,” Marilyn adds. “The same unwavering focus on quality, comfort and total customer satisfaction, combined with our proud heritage of Yankee craftsmanship, will continue to guide Mustang moving forward.”

• Creating a state-of-the-art call center in the Three Rivers facility.
• Revitalizing the historic renovated textile mill building Mustang has always been in.
• Hiring, not firing. On the sales side Mustang recently brought industry veteran Steve Veltri on board… and that is just one of the strategic moves being made.
• Expanding the product range… adding the distressed brown and stitching options (diamond stitch and Tuck & Roll) last year was phase #1. Expanding the Victory and Gold Wing seat applications and adding a Triumph line was phase #2. A custom seat program is the next phase…but stay tuned for more!

All contact info remains the same, with the exception of the mailing and shipping addresses: Tel: 800-243-1392 or 413-668-1100 Fax: 800-243-1399 or 860-585-0407 Web: www.MustangSeats.com FB: www.Facebook.com/MustangSeats Mailing Address: Mustang Motorcycle Products, LLC, PO Box 185, Three Rivers, MA 01080-0185 Shipping Address: Mustang Motorcycle Products, LLC, 4 Springfield Street, Suite 1, Three Rivers, MA 01080

Klock Werks is offering a complete rear fender/filler kit for your 2009-2013 HD Bagger at 50% OFF Retail until September 30, 2013, or until sold out, whichever happens first! The special price of $695 includes shipping!

Klock Werks fenders and fillers are stamped steel for a smooth flawless finish that requires little to no bodywork. The kit includes smooth rear fender, one piece fillers, an oval LED tail light and red cat eye turn signals. Fender and fillers are pre-drilled and use stock mounting locations, and pre-cut for provided light installation. Lighting comes with all necessary wiring and hardware needed.

 

Long Beach Ronald McDonald House Bike and Car Show this weekend, Las Vegas Bike Fest next weekend, Bandit to judge Miss Vegas contest, Sparks Nevada also this weekend and Love Ride is only few weeks away.

Take a Run Down the Strip with Cycle Source Magazine, Check out Kili Hi Boots from Biker’s Choice, Zipper’s Deal of the Week, Bikernet Staffer of the Week, Paughco NEW Replacement FLT Frame, Obamacare Will Question Your SEX LIFE And Everything Else, News from Ironworks on NEW Von Dutch DVD, Bad Joke Library, Bikernet Philosopher, Girls, Bikes, and so much more.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWS

 

Indian Larry Motorcycles is probably one of the most recognizable names in the motorcycle business today. Their shop, located in Brooklyn, has to be on any true chopper jockey’s “must visit” list. There is constantly a flow of traffic through their doors from kids down the street to entire clubs of people who make a pilgrimage to see the shop that still carries the late Larry Desmidt’s name.

Today, the shop sits just a few blocks over from its original location that many will remember from the fame it garnished through the Biker Build-Off craze. While some of the names and faces have changed, a few things have stayed exactly as they were. 

Bobby and Elisa Seeger — owners of Indian Larry Motorcycles — go above and beyond to make sure that the bikes themselves carry the classic look and function that Larry built his name upon. The vibe in the shop is exactly like it was back in the day, but the one aspect that is the point of this article is the Block Party — their annual celebration of friends and customers.

So this year, like usual, the party started days before the event with people arriving early to help get ready for the actual day. Everyone was hustling beer, stealing wooden pallets and cleaning the shop; anything that needed done to make ready. This alone is a great thing to be a part of; a real sense of community is established days before the event even begins. The work goes on late into the night as visitors continue to show up in the big city.

Friday might have come way too fast this year, but with luck and hard work most everything was ready. Elisa had a pre-party all set up in the most famous heavy metal bar in New York: Duff’s. Duff’s has become an institution displaying art and photos all over the walls of the bands who have visited this place through the years. Jimmy Duff — the owner and namesake — stands about 6’ 5”, wears a black leather vest and has a long goatee that would suggest he’s been around the world a few times. All the cool kids were there, although my sleeping arrangements didn’t allow for me to hang at the pre-party too long. Zach and some of the boys from West Virginia were more than enough to fill the room with that particular kind of ambience that only we can bring to a joint.

Saturday morning came quick for all of us, but we still put on our game face and went to work. There was still so much to do. This year was the first time that there would be a Smoke & Mirrors Gallery that  featured the work of Darren McKeag, Richie Pan, Seth Leibowitz, Chris Galley, and yours truly (Chris Callen). Each of the five artists had finished works on display, while we also sat and did live art the whole day of the event. The gallery itself was made from NYC wood pallets — pretty fitting. 

One of the coolest features was a helmet auction that raised funds for the Aidan Foundation. Aidan Seeger, Bobby and Elisa’s son, lost his battle with ALD, and since then, Elisa has made it her goal in life to change the laws that would require screening for this horrible disease. The foundation that’s set up in his name raises money to help other families whose children suffer from ALD as well. So, 13 artists volunteered to paint custom helmets to raise money for that cause. Among them were: Robert Pradke, Seth Leibowitz, Darren McKeag, Risky, Richie Seen, Paul St. Savage, John the Painter, Greg Bemis, Chris Machin, Troy Denning, Ewok, Kostas Seremetis, and myself. This amazing artists came together to donate their time and wonderful art to such a great cause. The finished helmets, that were donated by Biltwell, were on display all day, but the auction will be carried out for the next week. Please go to Indian Larry’s eBay site and make a bid. http://stores.ebay.com/Indian-Larry-Motorcycles/Mens-Gear-/_i.html?_fsub=3219070010 

 

Hellbound Glory, Wardogs, (all the way from Italy), Judas Priestess, Wrench, Scrapers and Big House Pete played music well into the night. There were killer bikes everywhere you looked — ten blocks worth actually — making this the largest block party of them all with an estimated 8,000 people. Our emcee for the day was Little Jimmy, who few people know was actually one of the original oompah loompahs. He’s a funny little shit too. 

Inside the shop there were bikes from the pages of magazines, some of Larry’s originals and of course, the latest from the boys at today’s Indian Larry Motorcycles: a little red Knucklehead called “Bloody Knuckles.” You can check that one out in an upcoming issue of The Horse.

The Trinity LLS was designed utilizing state-of-the-art technology and features a durable one-piece body with a classic design and Lehman’s popular seamless fit and finish. A large, lockable trunk space, standard parking brake, exact color match paint available, and optional mechanical reverse, triple tree, and hitch kit among other accessories allow the rider to customize the trike to their specific needs. FULL STORY LINK BELOW

http://bikernettrikes.com/pages/LEHMAN_ANNOUNCES_THEIRNEW_TOURINT_TRIKE.aspx

This past weekend British artists Jamie Wardley and Andy Moss accompanied by numerous volunteers, took to the beaches of Normandy with rakes and stencils in hand to etch 9,000 silhouettes representing fallen people into the sand.

Titled The Fallen 9000, the piece is meant as a stark visual reminder of the civillians, Germans and allied forces who died during the D-Day beach landings at Arromanches on June 6th, 1944 during WWII.

The original team consisted of 60 volunteers, but as word spread nearly 500 additional local residents arrived to help with the temporary installation that lasted only a few hours before being washed away by the tide.

 

 

 

Cycle Source Magazine and Grease & Gears TV are back in Vegas for another “Best On The Strip” bike show with Hogs & Heifers Saloon in old Vegas.

 

Hogs & Heifers Saloon has been hosting Cycle Source Magazine for two years now and letting us do a killer one night bike show in front of there place on 3^rd Street. For the third year in a row we are heading back and now adding more classes and prizes for the Saturday Night show during Las Vegas BikeFest. It will be held on Saturday October 5^th and signups will be free from 4-6pm with awards following sometime in that chaotic period before things really get crazy at Hogs.

 

The Best Bike On The Strip winner will not only get a bitchin trophy from Kevin “Teach” Baas of Baas Metal Craft but will also get a full feature in Cycle Source Magazine in the Vegas Issue. Instead of only picking one winner this year the staff of Cycle Source will be on hand to select winners from the following classes as well.

Sportster, Bobber, Chopper, Asian Import, European Import, Antique, Café, Burly Bagger, Best Pan, Best Shovel and Best Knuckle.

 

This is one of our favorite spots for the whole year of travel with the Grease & Gears tour and we can’t wait to throw down with you guys at Hogs & Heifers so make plans now to tear it up with us in Vegas.

 

For more info go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hogs-Heifers-Saloon/226090980772450

By John S. Hausman  September 24, 2013 at 7:11 PM, MLive.com, Muskegon

 

MUSKEGON, MI – Eric “Rick” VanDam of Muskegon wishes the driver who cost VanDam his leg and two of his friends would have looked him in the eye when they sat a few feet apart Tuesday in a Wisconsin courtroom packed with bikers and supporters.

But VanDam says he’s reasonably satisfied with a plea agreement that will put Clinton Lovelace behind bars for decades.

 

Clinton Lovelace MLive file photo Lovelace, 26, entered pleas Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 24, that convicted him of two counts of homicide by negligent use of a motor vehicle and three counts of reckless injury/endangering safety. The pleas were entered in Fond du Lac, Wisc.

Lovelace will be sentenced Feb. 6. Under a plea agreement, his maximum sentence could be more than 30 years, while the minimum will likely be capped at 20 years, although the judge will make the final sentencing decision.

Lovelace now stands convicted of plowing his car into a group of Muskegon-area motorcyclists May 31, 2012, near Fond du Lac. The crash killed two Muskegon residents and injured eight others.

Muskegon Motorcycle Gang riders Daniel Winsemius and Douglas Yonkers died in the crash. VanDam lost a leg and suffered other medical complications. He now uses a wheelchair.

Authorities say the riders were struck when a car driven by Lovelace crossed the center line and barreled head-on into the group of 12 motorcycles on U.S. 151. The riders had taken the Lake Express ferry from Muskegon to Milwaukee and were heading north to the Mackinac Bridge as part of their annual Bridge Run.

VanDam and six other Muskegonites traveled to Wisconsin for Lovelace’s Tuesday plea hearing.

They had plenty of company. “The courtroom was jampacked,” VanDam said in a telephone interview after the plea hearing. “All the ABATE guys and Harley guys were there. It was standing room only.” As with every court hearing for Lovelace, dozens of members of Wisconsin ABATE, a motorcycle rights and safety organization, filled the courtroom to show support for their Michigan comrades.

VanDam said he’s all right with the plea agreement, although it included the dismissal of several counts.

VanDam sat in the front row of the courtroom directly behind the prosecutor. He estimates he was about 12 feet from Lovelace.

“He was in the room already when we went in there,” VanDam said. “I wanted the guy to look at me. I wanted to make eye contact with him.

“It was a little different being that close to him. … It was just kind of surreal seeing the kid. I just wanted to see him kind of put it on a personal level.”

VanDam said he and other victims and family members met with the prosecutor afterward. He and others plan to speak at Lovelace’s sentencing, something the prosecutor encouraged.

Lovelace entered no-contest pleas to the vehicular homicide counts. No-contest pleas aren’t an admission of guilt, but result in conviction and are treated like guilty pleas at sentencing. They’re allowed under several circumstances, including when civil lawsuits are possible and when, as in Lovelace’s case, the defendant claims not to remember the crime.

He entered what are called “Alford pleas” to the three reckless endangerment counts. Those are guilty pleas where the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence but admits that enough evidence exists that a prosecutor likely could convince a jury to convict.

Lovelace originally was charged with two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, three counts of injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle, five counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, two counts of bail jumping and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

Blood drawn more than three hours after the crash showed the presence of the narcotic painkiller Oxycodone in Lovelace’s system, and syringes and narcotics were found in Lovelace’s pockets at the hospital where he was treated afterward.

But difficulties in determining how much of the drug was in Lovelace’s system at the time of the crash presented potential problems for the prosecution at trial, contributing to the plea agreement.

VanDam isn’t disappointed with the way things turned out, and he noted that the judge could still impose a longer sentence.

“I’m glad we came,” he said. “And, you know, even if it is 20 years, that doesn’t bring anybody back, but it’s a long time for a kid his age.”

 

 

 

–from Rogue

 

By Frankie Barbato/Daily News Correspondent The MetroWest Daily News 

 BOSTON — Even though he was injured in a motorcycle accident, Rick Gleason thinks that Massachusetts motorcyclists should have a choice about wearing a helmet.

Gleason, who started riding motorcycles behind his father at age 5, testified Tuesday on behalf of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association in support of legislation that would lift the state’s requirement that all motorcyclists wear helmets.

“The bills in no way direct you to not wear a helmet, they just give you a choice,” he said.

The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation is considering two separate bills that would make helmet use optional. One, filed, by state Rep. Marc Lombardo, D-Billerica, would require riders and passengers under the age of 18 to wear a helmet; the other submitted by state Rep. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, would set mandatory helmet use under the age of 21. Both lawmakers filed their bills at the request of constituents.

Gleason said the choice of to wear a helmet goes beyond issues of personal safety, noting that the state could be losing revenue from motorcyclists who often choose to ride their motorcycles in states other than Massachusetts that don’t require helmets.

Instead of driving a motorcycle to vacation on Cape Cod, for example, he argued that motorcyclists now ride to places such as New Hampshire that do not mandate helmets.

Massachusetts has required helmets for both drivers and passengers of any age since 1998. There are about 400,000 registered motorcycles in the state.

Testifying against the proposal, Thomas Higbee, a former police officer from Florida, spoke to his own experience riding motorcycles.

“(Without a helmet) you’re unprotected whether you are an adult or a kid,” he said.

Higbee, now of Medfield, suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1993 while wearing a helmet and only riding 29 mph on his motorcycle. As a result, the 51-year-old now suffers from memory loss. Speaking haltingly, he said when his head first hit the pavement, his helmet cracked open and could not protect him from another hit on the ground.

Without a helmet, Higbee argued, a motorcyclist’s head would hit the asphalt right away, increasing the risk of life-threatening injuries. He said that because motorcycles do not have seat belts, helmets are necessary to protect against a motorcycle’s momentum.

“It’s your choice,” he said. “But it’s your safety.”

—from Rogue

Of all places Massachusetts should be the bastion of Freedom. What is safety without Freedom? It’s imprisonment. –Bandit 

Why We Ride is a story about who we are. Individuals with a desire to dream, discover, and explore. Seeking a life outside our daily confinements and sharing those moments together. It’s a story about the journey, not the destination.

Motorcycles represent the milestones of our lives. From a kid’s dream come true, to a retiree’s return to freedom. From a family riding together on the sand dunes, to hundreds of choppers carving through the canyons — the bond is the same. It’s about the passion of the riders and the soul of their machines.

Your senses will heighten as the world rushes in, your heart will beat to the pulse of the engine, your mind will race and set you free. Once you let a motorcycle into your life, it will change you forever.

Why We Ride opens this November.

Rating: PG

Running Time:  89 minutes