This piece speaks to so many things. This brother is retired, but he’s not turning the motorcycle flame down. When we started this series, he faced three restorations of 1913-’14 Harleys and one Excelsior-Henderson. I could be wrong. There could be a 4th. Since then, he’s scored more early bikes, sold bikes, restored Museum bikes and is currently trying to buy another JD-model V-twin.



So, don’t mind me if I get crossed up from time to time. The other day Dan sent me shots of lacing and truing early wheels, so here we go. All early wheels are laced with the hub centered over the rims. All early motorcycle wheels came with clincher rims and tires, which are tough to mount and even tougher to install the tubes. All the early bikes had 28-inch in diameter rims.



All the early bikes came with 36 spokes until 1912 when Harley engines grew more powerful, so they switched to 40-spoke wheels. They’ve been the same ever since. Sure the rims changed and widened and the spoke thickness became more substantial.



Let me see if I can get this straight. Dan lays towels down and starts to connect the hub to the rim with spokes. While carefully watching the position of the nipples, he installs a spoke in the hub and counts four dimples over on the rim and installs it. If he was lacing a hummer wheel, it would be three-over.



If you wondered if you were doing it right check the length of the spoke sticking through the rim. If it’s way long or short, you’re off and need to correct.

He laced the inside group and then the outside group crossing four spokes of the inside group with each new spoke. He flipped the wheel over, did the inside group and handled the outside group of spokes before installing the wheel in the truing stand.



In the stand, he applied masking tape to the four, 90 degree corners. Then he started to tighten the nipples up and down and side to side while watching his truing gauge. He has the old cool tightening tools for the job. He can now lace a wheel in just about 10 minutes. Truing takes patience, bourbon and time.





Remember to check the length of the spoke sticking through the rim and nipple. If one is way off, you might have a problem.



Once close to completion, Dan punched each nipple from the outside because of the thickness of the paint. After final tightening and truing, he checked and ground any protruding spokes to prevent tire puncturing. He made sure all the surfaces were smooth and wiped clean before applying the rim strip.



His tolerance for early wheels, which are more forgiving is .060.



Here’s a sidebar story. Russell Mitchell was involved in a TV series. If the contestant could build a bike within 30 days from the ground up, he could keep it. Lacing wheels became the toughest hurdle to the competition. More guys lost because they couldn’t lace and true a wheel in time.





Here’s an adage direct from Dan, “If you can’t find a part—you make it!” Here’s a Magneto cable control sleeve he fabricated.



Okay, that’s it for this episode. Dan is currently restoring a ’13 and ’14 from the Mecum auction donated to a museum by E. J. Cole for Dan’s makeshift shop display. Tom Faber is building Bars for these rollers and with new paint for the tanks and fenders, they will be complete and ready for display.

See ya next time.

–Bandit

Moving to Sturgis is like moving to motorcycle nirvana in the Black Hills Region of South Dakota. It’s either Western or Two-Wheeled in this area. The wild life runs from Moose to Elk, to Knucklehead, flathead and 4-valve heads.

There are long distance riders, artists like Scott Jacobs and his entire family, to Antique Motorcycle Club guys, custom builders like Irish Rich and a master of all Cabana Dan. A Hamster and union retiree Dan builds drag bikes, customs, choppers, bobbers, long bikes and is now building, by chance three stock antiques in the 1913-1914 range. He’s a humble scraggly-bearded biker whose wife worked for the factory as a dealer rep and now is the executive director of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.

Dan, with vintage history, already built two of the most magnificent Peashooter, singles from the ‘20s and a 1914 restored Harley on display at the Sturgis Museum currently. He knows what he’s doing and where to find the shit. So, hang on. We are going to touch on his three current builds and then over the months ahead we will follow their progress, if we can stay in his good graces.

Let’s kick off with his 1914 H-D twin. It’s ready for paint and his first batch of nickel-plated pieces just arrived from D&J Plating in St. Paul. D&J handled everything except the tiny pieces. Dan met a family who plates antique handles and knobs for rare furniture. They offered to nickel his little fasteners and brackets, but when he stopped by with a mag wheel, they cringed. That chopper stuff scared the staff with notions of drugs and outlaws. He had to take the mag somewhere else.

In the case of the ’14 twin, he purchased the frame and the frontend from Dewey Rice EarlyHarley.com. He had the early H-D twin motor from an Ebay score. The frames in those days were very spindly and were often discarded, whereas the engines were used for water pumps and saved.

All three bikes are 1913-‘14 vintage for several reasons. The motocycle industry was flying at the time with new innovations and technology daily. For instance, the ’13 H-D was the first chain drive model, but still no transmissions.

They jumped from pedal start to two-speed rear hubs, low and high gear in ’14 to three speed transmissions in 1915. Floor boards were introduced in 1914. Before that you kept your feet on bicycle-style crank pedals. Early footboards were steel sans pads. The next year footboards came with holes for rivets to hold rubber pads in place.

“Gotta go,” Dan said to me and kicked me out of his shop buried in the hills behind a cemetery. “Going to meet with my painter.”

Later we shifted to his 1913 Excelsior-Henderson. ?“The older the better,” Dan said. The more the bikes developed the more complicated they became and the more parts are required. This will be another shiny restoration but a racer twin.

In this case he had to build the frontend from castings made in Illinois. Each piece had to be sweat brazed together and, in this case, controls were made operable with linkage and not cables like the Harleys. This motor is being used for mock-up and fitment.

He had complete clincher wheels, but he was carefully tearing them down, rebuilding the hubs and painting the hubs and rims, then Tim, an AMCA member in Spearfish, SD, will pinstripe them. He will then re-lace them with Buchannan stainless spokes.

Booted out of the shop hidden in the hills once more, we made a plan. For the final 1913 Harley twin we had a local pretend he needed neighborly help, then quizzed Dan with our pre-written list of questions. The neighbor knew nothing of early bikes but was a rider with an M-8 Softail. Remember what I said. Folks in these parts have horses, cows, goats or motorcycles.

Dan mentioned how much easier the older bikes are to build now, after his first 1913 single cylinder chain drive that is also currently on display in the museum. “I now have connections and know of manufacturers all over the world,” Dan said, but he wouldn’t give them up and shoved his neighbor out the door. “I’ve got shit to do.”

His final vintage project has a twin engine Dan found in Milwaukee, but it needs a rebuild. He has a single brake and brakes are another story, how they transformed from bicycle brakes to outside drum, and then inside drums, hydraulic and finally disc. He has a complete drum brake for this bike and if he decides to build an antique patina bike, this puppy will work like a champ just the way it is.

All these bikes used 28 by 2.5-inch diameter rims. The 28X3 configuration is considered a 22-inch rim. I’m confused, but getting there. If you go to the Coker tire web site you can search Clincher tires.

There’s more critical, early tire info at the Occhio Lungo website.

Dan called me one day about a racer he was building and needed a 1913 H-D engine. “I hang my denims on one,” I said. He darted over to my place to find a 1913 Single on top of my gun safe, holding my pants on a hook designed and mounted to the top motor-mount.

It didn’t work out for his project, but the next time I was in Dan’s secret shop he mentioned selling a patina race roller to someone for, well I won’t mention the price. I said I could put my engine in his roller and suddenly he offered me a “Killer Deal.”

I needed another motorcycle project like I needed a hole in my dented head, but I also needed an excuse to sneak into his shop from time to time and bring you updates on his exclusive projects. I offered to buy it. What a fuckin’ nut.

We moved it into the 5-Ball Racing shop and I took the ’13 single off the gun safe again for the final time, after trying to make a ’24 twin fit, but that’s another story.

Hang on as I attempt to sneak into Dan’s stellar shop to report on his vintage projects, another custom for his wife, Leah and score a piece or two for our ’13 racer project.

–Bandit

Sources:

Sturgis Motorcycle Museum

Coker Tires

Occhio Lungo

What is the Washington Press Corps. It’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves at one time or another. As is the question so what’s actually the deal with Jill Biden’s tits. We see them packed together like pigs to the slaughter….. ok, I’m back to the Washington Press Corps, by the way. I’ve left Jill Biden’s tits. We’ve spent enough time on those butterbags of sadness that dispense the milk of despair.

Getting back on topic and kissing Jill Biden’s tits goodbye, we routinely see the members of the Washington Press Corps packed together like pigs to the slaughter: we see them galloping down hallways of the White House like Andalusians or whatever the fuck they are during the Running of the Bulls in Consuelo Yolanda Con Gleem Spain or wherever the fuck that even happens: we see them packed into their chairs in some hall closet in some White House version of a homeless encampment: they’re treated like subway train riders being herded by A.I. and they don’t mind it one bit.

And the reason for THAT is Washington Press Corps journalists have absolutely no pride, no integrity, no minimum standards for personal dignity, no sense of decorum, no conception of civility, a total absence of empathy regarding any life form though sometimes they will admit to a condescending nod to the existence of chemical compounds, such as C02 for example. And those journalists who make it onto the cattle-roster of “The Washington Press Corps” are there not because of talent – whatever that word could even mean regarding journalism – no, they’re not there because of any talent, they’re there because they display the journalistic-world minimum standards of worthless, inept, delusional child-like mentalities who are convinced their snotty, arrogant, petulant temper tantrums regarding other people not obeying the journalist’s decrees of proper behavior…are totally justified.

They’re in the Washington Press Corps because they believe that you, by not obeying the journalists’ decrees regarding the proper levels of whatever they are defining morality and holiness as this week…are deserving of contempt: your individuality renders you as sub human. They’re there in the Washington Press Corps because their superior level of sanctity demands that you – the citizenry – proclaim as valid the journalists’ proclaimed levels of “selflessness” and his relentlessly decreed levels of holiness requiring your worship of the journalists’ Caligula-like journalistic souls. They’re there – in the Washington Press Corps – because those journalists in particular actually HAVE that list of dignity-free and backbone-free and character-free attributes I just itemized and they have them in double-doses of worthless useless talentless whining, shit-ass carloads. The members of the Washington Press Corps have all these bottomfeeder, rancid, very shitty qualities, and not just in spades but in hearts and diamonds and clubs and jacks or better and in a crooked deck with you getting dealt no cards at all and still losing your shirt. And that’s why they’re in the Washington Press Corps: it’s the final step “up” into the talentless toilet of twat infection called “news writing.”

Naturally the only life form LOWER than a journalist – which would be a government official – recognizes these abysmal qualities. And if the journalist has these abysmal qualities in high enough quantities….he is, with a condescending nod, admitted to the ultimate snake pit of human failures known as The Washington Press Corps.

The Washington Press Corps is SUPPOSED to be referred to and honored as the watchdog of liberty: a body of stalwart soldiers of truth holding firm to the sacred oaths, virtues, and perfections of Journalism as iterated and carried forward by the mighty journalists of the past who have bravely and fearlessly fought against the juggernaut of evil that is the ever-present danger of governmental overreach into the rights and liberties of the American People.

However, to review, what the Washington Press Corps actually IS is a collection of “journalists” – or failed novelists – occupying, in the hierarchy of human complexity and aesthetic wonderment, approximately the same level and degree of nobility as plankton occupies in the society of stagnant water, contaminated runoff, and other festering deadly lagoons of deteriorating rot. In other words, backwaters and brackish runoff and mosquito-infested evaporating swamp lagoons of steaming decomposing filth have plankton, and the White House has the Washington Press Corps.

However, unlike plankton, the Washington Press Corps does not go about its random, drifting, sargasso-strewn existence in murmured and quiet, almost hushed, silence. No. Washington Press Corps personnel are forever in a turgid, rolling-boil agitation when assembled in the conference room or the press room or the cramped, homeless-encampment-like hallway or corridor or wherever it is that the “folding chairs for the imaginary elite” are unpacked and opened up and, basically, insultingly slammed into position for them in the White House Assembly Circus. Adding insult to haughty disdain, the folding chairs cavalierly arrayed for the Press Corps Cattle to wriggle their way into are not just orchestrated insults: Austin Theory of the WWE, when Roman Reigns reaches under the ring to haul out a folding chair and then climb with it into the ring to then slam Theory from behind with the chair, sending Theory face first into the canvas while then being mercilessly slammed over and over with the chair until Theory AND the chair are both turned into contorted grotesqueries of ruin……. this is benevolent courtesy and respect to Theory compared to the indignities the White House Staffers display with THEIR folding chairs to the chumps in the Washington Press Corps.

Returning to the plankton theme of Press Corps evolutionary levels: unlike ocean plankton, which is quiet….. terrestrial plankton, or the Washington Press Corps, when it is corralled into a narrow hallway and insultingly plopped into wooden chairs packed closer to each other than quarters in a roll of coins… terrestrial plankton – or the Washington Press Corps, – is not quiet like stagnant lagoon plankton. No: it bellows, shouts and calls-out noisily like seagulls hovering above the stern of a boat that’s chumming the waters with bucketloads of minced salmon skulls.

This raucous bellowing and outcry begins as soon as the “press-handler” announces that the bellowing may now begin. After a brief but preposterous outburst of noise the press-handler will nod or aim a forefinger at one of the pressed and condensed members of the hallway menagerie and a question will come forth from that person. The question will not only have no merit as a question it will have no bearing on anything that would have to do with the citizenry of this planet or any other planet, nor with anything that remotely could be considered of interest to anyone with a communication level higher than that of a kennel operator talking to a cocker spaniel.

Journalists are not aware that there even IS a citizenry. Journalists are only aware of their own personal failure at becoming famous. Like Jim Acosta having failed at becoming George Clooney. If they are aware of the citizenry at all it is a sullen, snarky awareness filled with bitterness that the citizenry does not swarm them with requests for autographs as they would Taylor Swift or Benjamin Franklin or Lucky Luciano. This longed-for goal – actual admiration – is forever denied the journalist. And by the time he gets to being in the Washington Press Corps he knows all hope is forever lost: those crappy chairs are going to be his final throne of authority and influence. Or in other words, a position lower and more battered than Austin Theory’s position face down on the mat being hammered by Roman Reign’s folding chair across his spine.

It gets worse for these sullen, petulant remora. Even though they are part of the “President”’s hand sifted and separated collection of found-to-be-suitable non-entities: they rarely get to “conference” with an actual President. What they usually get is a “spokesman.” And in the case of the present representative of the President, the jury is still out on what the fuck that apparition that is the present “press interventioner” even is. Which is amazing since the one before her pretty much broke the mold on – for one thing bad hair. She was some red headed Borg named Psaki-rhymes-with-buttcracky who apparently took styling tips from DEVO, had the personality of tree bark, and the disposition of a badger with Crones disease trying to shit razorwire out its ass and whose reddish rigor-mortised hair looked like it was colored by feral epileptic children using Crayolas.

She was tough to beat for sheer repugnance but Joe & Co. used the Find-A-Freak dredging machine which never fails them and unearthed an even more worthless candidate.

The Press-Handler at the moment is a chocolate-skinned, completely preposterous walking oblivion named something with a hyphen in it and who looks like she has a sea anemone on top of her head. It is a pretty good bet that what you would think would be the most-asked question from the compressed wall of hysteria-generating gooseherd of journalism-degree holders would be about her hair and when the fuck she is going to do something even remotely aesthetic with that squalid-looking reminiscence of Forensic Files bloodspatter. H.R.Giger has to be looking down – or looking up – from wherever he is and wondering if Miss Hyphenated has picked up the horror mantle from when he dropped it at his demise.

This question about whateverthefuck is going on on top of her empty head is not only NOT the most-asked inquiry of Miss Hyphenated….it’s never been asked even ONCE. You would THINK that it would be the number one question on every White House Press Hack’s agenda list. Her hair is a violation of every rule of Earthly Life Forms to the point where not only should it be number-one on every journalist’s agenda to investigate, it should even be on driving tests. It should just be a worldwide question that’s just out-there until the matter gets answered. It’s not a tough question. Here would be an example of it: “What in the FUCK is going on above your vapid brainless cranium, is that HAIR or is it some sort of virulent parasitic Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse?” If it were to be asked it would not be met with cordial good-time jocularity from Miss Anemone. It would be met with virulent, hiss-filled, saliva spray so hot it would leave chemtrails of steam as the molten particles of spit spread out across the sea of bland, lifleless journalism majors and that PARTICULAR journalism major would be banned from White House Press Corps hallway clumping sessions forevermore. Small price to pay to get the question asked.

While we may never get any answers as to what the present Press Secretary actually IS, Journalists in the Washington Press Corps can to some extent be deciphered through simple observation such that some blanket statements can be made about them that are, at least until further notice, dead on target.

Washington Press Corps journalists are like cops in that 1: they’re stupid, and 2: they’re convinced they’re NOT stupid. They are in fact, like cops, convinced they are necessary and essential for an ordered and calm civilization to exist. 3: They are convinced that not only are they NOT stupid but that they have an insight and focus on proper human behavior that is hundreds if not thousands of years ahead of our time in wisdom and insight into the human predicament. In FACT journalists in general have not only declared themselves essential they have carved out an entire meaningless slogan for themselves that elevates them in equality to the three other meaningless slogans currently in place as Definers OF Humanity In Western Civilization: which, if you are a citizen of Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and are NOT a Muslim – you – you reading this – are actually a part of. We are heading into full-blown delusional crazed psychotic if not sociopathic criminal mentality here so fasten your fucking seat belt. We are going to discuss The Fourth Estate.

The Fourth Estate is a category of Western “society” that was declared as a brand new “estate” that exists just as mightily and righteously and filled with holy and superhuman virtue and essentialness as the other three “estates” and this Fourth Estate was announced and declared real….by the people IN the “estate” who CREATED it: journalists. Or “news” hacks in other words. Talk about bold.

The first three estates were created by something called “philosophers.” Philosophers in Western Civilization are people who come up with sweeping scientific theories that they declare as fact without ever doing any actual research or testing on the declarations and which have nothing to do with science. Todays “climate scientists” are philosophers. Philosophers are basically freelance religious cultists.

In the world of “learning,” meaning what they tell you in “school”….. Western humanity is divided into 4 political categories, which in the world of “learning” are every bit as valid and meaningful and essential as any other list of categories you want to put people into. If not more so. They are, in fact, in the minds of the people IN these “estates,” holy and almost, if not actually, categories of divinity.

These then are the “Estates.” There used to be three of these but now there are four thanks to the menacing and unfortunate ability of journalists to not just take control of vocabulary but to rattle it into oblivion. Much as a coyote might rattle into oblivion the dying body of a ground squirrel via a jawclamp onto its body and a thrashing of its and the ground squirrel’s head into a cornucopia of g-forces that only the coyote is going to emerge from with all its connective tissue still intact.

These three original “estates,” NONE of which are ACTUALLY important to human progress, are, the Church or the First Estate, or the costumed self-proclaimed representatives of the deity-of-the-moment, in this case Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews and likely soon to be replaced by Allah, and which costumed unemployables are the pontificators of morality: the Second Estate, Royalty, which is basically the warlord of the moment, who is in control of the slaves: or the Third Estate, or the citizenry as it is called, or the Common Folk. Meaning people not in celestial authority like the First Estate nor in government authority like the Second Estate but rather under both of these overlords, and these “common folk” are granted “estate” status, The Third Estate, even though they have about as much status as sheep on a hillside being calmly scrutinized by a distant wolfpack sitting down and quietly considering today’s best strategy to eat some of the sheep for dinner.

With the creation of the printing press which instantly threatened the existence of Royalty and what Ayn Rand correctly referred to as the Witch Doctors – or the clergy….. people who could Actually Compose Sentences became “the voice of the people” – a lie created by the new, self-proclaimed Fourth Estate and actually believed by the other three Estates as being factual.

These “voices of the people,” the elite of whom end up in the Washington Press Corps, use their mighty voice of the people to compose sentences like this one:

“On Nov third the President of Nigeria said that he would not consider a renewal of the Commonwealth Pac of 1858 unless there was a renegotiation of the intercontinental agronomy agreement with the President of the Netherlands under the condition of mutual coordination of the Anomaly Agreement of 1702. Given that the President of the US has repeatedly stated that reciprocation without adequate reciprocity from mutually involved non participants renders all agreements null is there any chance that the fallout from any adverse adumbrations of agreements could result in quid pro quo?”

Press Spokesman Anemone La Pierre Cumquat Adieu: “I have nothing on that at the moment.”

This sort of back and forth imbecilic retardation is supposed convince you – the Third Estate – that the Press – the FOURTH Estate – and the Royalty of the Presidency – the Second Estate – are engaged in a mutually productive oversight of the intricate and complex interaction between nations: rather than demonstrating your relentless gullibility in believing that government OR the press is actually anything.

The Press’s creation of themselves as a new and genuine Estate – capital E – is one of the great accomplishments of sheer utter chutzpah in the history of brazen self-righteous bullshit. The first three Estates – bullshit-enough for anyone I should think – have at least SOME credible, arguable, semi-reasonable, kind of understandable justification for applying to themselves the mighty and noble title of being an “Estate.” We are all in one or the other Estate and have accepted these three compartments of fucked-up humanity as being totally noble and worthwhile and necessary and just super fucking awesome. This all STARTED with the Catholic Church. This is not a criticism: my feeling is, if the “public” is that fucking gullible, fuck ‘em: pour it on.

Well, this Estate business got traction, and the “press” realizing that the printing press gave them power – being literate – why not use it and declare yourself, well, basically a branch of government AND religion AND the citizenry: a “Fourth” Estate, created by themselves, not to overthrow the other three Estates but to keep all three in line and having them willing to cooperate with the Fourth Estate’s actual agenda: keeping the other three estates frozen in fear that the Fourth Estate can eliminate the other Three at will via “bad press,” the eradication of conceptual thinking and the igniting of “public opinion.” Or instigating rioting, as it’s also called.

How this is being accomplished is an entire other article. And I don’t know about you but I’m already getting bored. I’m ready for a few tit pics. But before we go let’s give the White House Press Corps the abuse they deserve as a meaningless Estate.

The Third Estate likes being oblivious. It helps convince them that what the other three estates are doing to them is deserved. It’s called guilt. When was the last time you saw a preacher or a councilman or a journalist feel guilt? They don’t feel guilt. They inflict it onto you, the Third Estate.

Next time in American Government 101: The Supreme Court

100 word fiction contest continues…. #100WFC

Nap Time
by Jeffrey
with illustration by Wayfarer

“Your friend passed out.” Sissy, a redhead supermodel bartender at the Buffalo Chip, said to Salas.

Salas, looking at Ronnie, whose face was on the table, a dozen shot glasses surrounded his head said, “You’ve got to be shitting me. We’re staying at the Throttle; he can’t ride for hours.”

“Come with me, I’m on break till 8:00, he can sleep it off at my cabin.” Sissy said.

Salas laid Ronnie on the concrete porch as Sissy entered her one room home.

She reopened the door, her naked body got Sala’s attention. “Want to come in?”

Salas whispered, “I love you, Ronnie.”

* * *

Like Jeffrey’s fiction? Check out his novels at his website https://mikesalasnovels.com/

Tell him, Bikernet.com sent ya

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100 word fiction contest continues…. #100WFC

It’s Beginning to Feel A lot Like Christmas
by Gearhead

Rosa spoke little English, but her Mexican dialect could melt a cold man’s heart.

She walked me along the throng of Xmas displays to her booth. Her dark eyes glittered, a crimson smirk crossed her wet lips and she motioned to me. She bumped and ground into my thigh and allowed for our fingers to touch.

The Xmas song filled the festive night air. I was afraid she’d grind the jeans right off of me. Wet to the feel in that low dark place she moaned. I understood her warmth and longing without another word being said.

* * *

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“The First Motorcycle in history with Aston Martin wings!”

“Only at Heroes Motors Los Angeles”

The very first Aston Martin motorcycle in history, the AMB 001 represents the union of iconic Aston Martin design and Brough Superior’s state-of-the-art engineering. This track-only motorbike is reserved for only the greatest luxury motorcycle connoisseurs. This first collaboration between the two legendary brands takes the form of a track-only motorcycle, produced in an exceptionally limited edition of 100 machines.

The Aston Martin AMB 001 is a technical masterpiece of high performance, designed with a degree of elegance that is rare in racing motorcycles. Beauty and power are the hallmarks of this exceptional machine. Superior in every way, the AMB 001 is hand-assembled by the finest French craftsmen in Brough Superior’s workshop in Toulouse, France.

An Incomparable Limited Edition: The AMB1 is more than just a motorcycle; it’s a mechanical work of art crafted with unparalleled precision. Every detail has been carefully designed to provide an extraordinary riding experience.With only 100 units in the world, this limited edition is one of the rarest and most coveted you can find.

Be One of the Owners: Only one fortunate individuals will have the privilege of owning one of these last two AMB1 motorcycles. It’s a unique opportunity to be part of the elite group of riders who understand the importance of rarity and exclusivity.

A DOHC 997cc 8-Valve 88-degree V-twin, water and oil cooled, short stroke measuring 94mm x 71.8mm, kicks out a turbo-charged 134 kW (180 hp) at just 180 kilos dry weight.

The AMB 001 represents the first Brough Superior model to be presented with a turbo-charged engine. The powerful turbo gifts the rider with a motor that has an incredible response and huge torque over a wide range of RPM.

An Investment in Exceptionalism: The AMB1 is more than just a motorcycle; it’s an investment in rarity, innovation, and excellence. Its value will only increase over time, making you a savvy collector and a privileged rider.

Don’t miss out on this exceptional opportunity. Be one of the two fortunate owners of an AMB1 motorcycle and let this unique opportunity slip through your fingers.

Contact us today to reserve one of the last two AMB1 motorcycles available, our dedicated team is ready to answer all your questions and guide you through the process of acquiring this piece of motorcycle history.

Heroes Motors USA
Brough Superior Official Dealer in California
3835 Cross Creek Rd, Malibu, CA 90265

Open Monday to Sunday – From 11 am to 6pm

contact@heroesmotors.com

Offer valid at heroesmotors.com for limited time only

* * * *

Tell ’em Bikernet.com sent ya !

Hey,

I want everyone to have a magnificent holiday season. This news column says it all from romance, to the freedom fight, to the need for truth.

It says the holiday spirit, from gift giving, to warm and family joy. What could be better.

In the meantime, ride free or die trying.

–Bandit

Click here to read this week’s news only on Bikernet.com

* * * * * * * *

Stuff stockings or your own Bandit’s bedroll with goodies from 5-Ball Racing Garage.

Checkout with style: https://5-ballgarage.com/

Hey,

I want everyone to have a magnificent holiday season. This news column says it all from romance, to the freedom fight, to the need for truth.

It says the holiday spirit, from gift giving, to warm and family joy. What could be better.

Let’s hit it:

The Bikernet Weekly News is sponsored in part by companies who also dig Freedom including: Cycle Source Magazine, the MRF, Iron Trader News, ChopperTown, BorntoRide.com and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.

UNDER SIEGE WARNING— Huge network of Chinese fake accounts set up to disrupt, US and India 2024 polls exposed

In a recent quarterly threat report released by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, it was revealed that Meta has successfully dismantled a large network of over 4,700 fake accounts originating from China. These accounts, pretending to be Americans and Indians, were actively involved in disseminating misleading information on divisive topics related to US politics and US-China relations as well as Indian politics.

While Meta did not explicitly tie the profiles to Chinese officials in Beijing, the company expressed concerns about the surge in such networks originating from China, especially with the approaching 2024 US elections. According to Meta, China now ranks as the third-largest geographical source of such deceptive networks, trailing behind Russia and Iran.

The deceptive Chinese network, as outlined in the report, engaged in a variety of topics such as abortion, culture war issues, and aid to Ukraine. The accounts utilized profile pictures and names stolen from legitimate users worldwide, sharing and liking each other’s posts. Notably, some of the content appeared to be directly copied from X, formerly Twitter.

In addition to the large Chinese network, Meta also uncovered two smaller networks—one from China focusing on India and Tibet, and another from Russia posting primarily in English about the invasion of Ukraine and promoting Telegram channels.

In a notable development, Meta highlighted that the US government ceased sharing information about foreign influence networks with the company in July, following a federal ruling related to a First Amendment legal case. This decision is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court, contributing to the broader debate about the collaboration between the US government and tech companies and its potential impact on the free speech of social media users.

READ FULL ARTICLE AT
https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstories/under-siege-huge-network-of-chinese-fake-accounts-set-up-to-disrupt-india-us-2024-polls-exposed/ar-AA1kWTk9

–Wayfarer
International Editor
Bikernet.com™

POSSIBLE BOOK GIFT FROM VELOCE PUBLISHING—

Pontiac Firebird The Auto-Biography
 — New 4th Edition — by Marc Cranswick

A new, enlarged and updated fourth edition of THE Firebird book – now available WORLDWIDE!

Updated and enlarged fourth edition of Marc Cranswick’s complete model history of General Motors’ upmarket F-body variant. Featuring a new foreword – and five new sections – written by legendary Firebird designer John Schinella, plus 128 new photos and 24 extra pages, Cranswick brings the Firebird legend to life in even more glorious detail.

Over a 40-year period the Pontiac Firebird earned a unique place amongst speedy American domestic cars, and what began as just another contender in the pony car race, ended up a true American classic. The Firebird’s tale is a reflection of the development of the mainstream domestic car in the modern era: V8s, turbo V8s, turbo V6s, HO V6s, overhead cam I6s, and even a Super Duty four banger. If there’s a performance avenue to be explored, then the Firebird has been there.

Popular in the sales charts, the Firebird has also been high profile both in television and movies, cementing its legendary status in pop culture and beyond. From the go-faster 1960s, gas mileage- and pollution-controlled 1970s, performance renaissance of the 1980s, through to the indifference of the 1990s, the Firebird was always there. This is its story.

Close attention is paid to both regular models and high level variants such as Formula and Trans Am, and an appendix featuring model highlights from the Firebird’s 35 year span details the specifications and statistics covering sixteen notable models, from the 19671/2 Firebird 400 Coupé, to the 1999 30th Anniversary Firebird Trans Am Convertible. Revealing all aspects of the Firebird story, from social, to economic and beyond, Cranswick shows how Pontiac made the Firebird unique.

Enlarged and updated fourth edition of the definitive Firebird book

Foreword and five new sections by Firebird designer John Schinella

Features 128 new images and 24 additional pages

Tells the ‘twin origins’ of the Firebird story – performance and style

Charts model development and appeal over its lifetime

Detailed model and variant descriptions throughout

Stunning photography, plus reproductions of advertising and marketing literature

Appendices cover model highlights, Firebird clubs, and resources for specific models
PRICE: £35 UK • $50 USA • $65 CAN

SKU V5804 FORMAT Hardback • 25×20.7cm • 232 pages • 400 pictures
ISBN 9781787118041 UPC 636847018047

DAV HOLIDAY ANNOUNCEMENTS— NEW CAREGIVERS PROGRAM

DAV is excited to announce the launch of its latest innovation – the DAV Caregivers Support program. The program allows veteran caregivers to access online resources and risk screening to better understand their role as a caregiver.

BE PART OF A LARGER TEAM AND MISSION
More than a million veterans have joined DAV — for a million different reasons. Join now before fees increase in 2024!

JOINDAV.ORG

“All veterans should be members, most helpful.” — Bandit

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATION ALERT–House of Representatives Votes to Defend Internal Combustion Engines

Wednesday, the U.S. House Of Representatives passed H.R. 4468, the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act of 2023 (CARS Act). The CARS Act is a bill designed to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from instituting emission standards that force manufacturers to produce more electric vehicles, thus limiting consumer choice.

The final vote on the bill was 221 to 197. 216 Republicans and 5 Democrats supported the bill, authored by Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan, the co-chairman of the House Motorcycle Caucus.

After his introduction of the CARS Act, Representative Walberg said, “The Administration cannot continue to create regulations that limit consumer choice, hamper mobility, make vehicles more expensive for families, and cede America’s auto leadership and jobs to China.”

H.R. 4468 is the second bill in 2023, passed by the U.S. House, that pushes back against the attack on internal combustion engines. In September, the House passed H.R.1435, the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act. That bill limited individual states from making their own rules on emissions. Recently, California and like-minded states have been using a federal exemption to pass laws that would constrain the sale of internal combustion engines. H.R. 1435 would put a stop to that exemption.

The passage of the CARS Act shows that some members of Congress are concerned about the rush to eliminate the internal combustion engine. Thank you to all the members of the House who voted to protect consumer choice!

Both bills now await action by the U.S. Senate. If you have not already, click on both links below to support the Senate bills that aim to protect your right to choose the type of engine you want.

S. 3094 – Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act of 2023

S. 2090 – Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act

PANHEAD OF THE WEEK—

A 1949 Panhead by Bobber FL motorcycles.

–Sam Burns
Feature Bike Editor
Bikernet.com™

DIRECT FROM THE CLIMATE DOOM FILES–Wyoming Governor Backs Out of Debate

On November 10, 30 members of the Wyoming legislature and the secretary of state sent a letter to Republican Governor Mark Gordon. In it, they challenged the governor, “joined by our allies, the scientists of the CO2 Coalition”, to debate his proposal to turn the Cowboy State “carbon negative.”

The governor initially accepted the challenge but on November 21, reneged on his agreement, formally backing out of what would have been a landmark event.

Our press release issued after the governor’s withdrawal can be reviewed here and my commentary about his refusal here: Gordon Was Standing Tall in the Saddle Until He Backed Down.

“Somebody wants to hide from the truth”–Bandit

NEW GREASY KULTURE ISSUE COMING–New issue 96. (And some seasonal discounts!)

Scotty Dettwiler makes some beautifully fabricated parts and motorcycles under his shop’s moniker ‘Junior’s Hand Made’. This ’78 Shovelhead chopper was hand-built from the frame upwards and won a couple of awards at last summer’s Born Free show. And it’s on the cover of our new issue 96.

If you’re still looking for a cool gift for the biker in your life, or want to treat yourself this Christmas, don’t forget our 2024 calendars are still available – and check out some of the discounted items in our collectibles cupboard!

THANK YOU for your support over the years. Season’s greetings to you all – we wish you a prosperous and peaceful 2024!

BEWARE THE MASK–Higher Incidence of COVID-19 Found Among Consistent Mask-Wearers: Study

Some mask wearers were found to have up to 40 percent higher incidence of infection, contradicting earlier studies and opposing the narrative of mask mandates.

People who wore protective masks were found to be more likely to contract COVID-19 infections than those who didn’t, according to a recent Norwegian study.

The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection on Nov. 13, analyzed mask use among 3,209 individuals from Norway. Researchers followed them for 17 days, and then asked the participants about their use of masks. The team found that there was a higher incidence of testing positive for COVID-19 among people who used masks more frequently.

Among individuals who “never or almost never” wore masks, 8.6 percent tested positive. That rose to 15 percent among participants who “sometimes” used masks, and to 15.1 percent among those who “almost always or always” wore them.

–Epoch Times

QUOTE OF THE WEEK—

“To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given the chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life.” –Bette Davis 

from Epoch Times

ASSALT WEAPAN TO RETURN TO THE SALT–

I spoke to Berry Wardlaw this morning. We are working out something to get the Assalt Weapan “World’s Fastest Panhead” on the salt once more.

The following is on Berry’s Facebook page,

“This morning I had the great pleasure of speaking on the phone with the Big Boss. He said to me, ‘”Berry, come get the Assalt Weapon and get your butt back to Bonneville. Oh, and Berry. Don’t come back without another record”.’

No pressure. I will be hawking my wares for race funds. T-shirts, caps, etc. SPONSORSHIPS GREATLY APPRECIATED!! Videos soon to follow. Vroooom!!

We have some plans for next year and I will contact him about getting involved in covering this and whatever else I can do to help.

–Rogue
Senior Editor
Bikernet.com™

HARLEY MUSEUM HOLIDAYS—With photos from the Black Bear Brand from Sam Burns.

The Harley-Davidson Museum is a hub of holiday fun this month

Breakfast with Santa, a NYE party at MOTOR and special offers – including free admission for Milwaukee County residents – make this a December to remember.

There’s no place like the Harley-Davidson Museum for the holidays. The campus is lit and is ready for the arrival of St. Nick for Breakfast with Santa (Dec. 10 & 17). The shelves at the Harley-Davidson Shop and the H-D Factory Outlet are packed with goodies for those who made the “nice list” (and maybe even those who’ve been a little bit naughty).

MOTOR Bar & Restaurant has a sleigh full of fun holiday specials – including a Hawaiian-themed New Year’s Eve bash – to keep you in a jolly mood (did someone mention the Rum Rum Rudolph cocktail?). And there’s even a new custom bike on display that’s recently been unwrapped.

But in the spirit that it’s often better to give than receive, the H-D Museum is looking to provide a holiday gift for our amazing neighbors, friends and family who have supported H-D for more than a century and made this summer’s inaugural Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival a roaring success.

Join us on New Year’s Eve (12/31/2023) when all Milwaukee County residents will receive free admission to the world’s only Harley-Davidson Museum.* The orange-carpet treatment extends over to the Harley-Davidson Shop where your purchase of $25 or more includes a free hat (while supplies last) and on to MOTOR Bar & Restaurant where county residents can score free Clock Shadow Creamery Cheese Curds with the purchase of a beverage, too (one per table). Does it get any more Milwaukee than that?!

If you’re looking to pay it forward this season, consider donating one of life’s most precious gifts on Dec. 12 when the H-D Museum partners with Versiti for a holiday blood drive. All attempting donors will receive a ticket for free admission to the H-D Museum along with a coupon for 10% off in the H-D Shop, a free ice cream sundae at MOTOR as well as a Versiti 2024 calendar (while supplies last).

Finally, don’t forget: We want you to be a part of the H-D Museum’s 15th Anniversary celebration. It’s your last chance to score a four-pack of general-admission tickets online for use on the 15th of this month (12/15/2023) for only $15! These four-packs are on-sale now and advance online purchases are required to visit on the 15th of December. Same-day purchases are allowed.

Visit H-DMuseum.com for details. It’s the perfect time to check out the recently opened special exhibit, “Mama Tried: Bringing it Together” and see custom builds and art fresh from the show floor.

Please take note of holiday and seasonal hours:
Christmas Eve: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Christmas Day: Closed

Please also note that aside from MOTOR® Bar & Restaurant (which will remain open seven days a week) and private events hosted by 1903® Events, the H-D Museum™ campus will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in January and February of 2024.

Breakfast with Santa, Dec. 10 & 17, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

 Join us for our annual Breakfast with Santa tradition! Bring the kids down to the Harley-Davidson Museum for a special MOTOR breakfast with Santa! In this annual tradition, parents and children get the opportunity of a lifetime as they saddle up next to Santa on a Harley-Davidson® motorcycle. Our full brunch menu will be available.

Space for the event is limited and reservations are required.

Call (414) 287-2778 to make a reservation.

BONUS! Brunch guests will receive a ticket voucher for free Museum General Admission for children (ages 0-17) following your meal with Santa. Plan ahead and make a day of it! (One adult ticket purchase required.)

Group bookings are available for 2-50 guests. Call 414-287-2799 or email groups@h-dmuseum.com for reservations. Check out the tour calendar for public tour availability, too.

MUST-SEE EXHIBITS AND INSTALLATIONS
“Mama Tried: Bringing it Together” (on display now)
The Mama Tried Motorcycle Show and adjoining Flat Out Friday races are a bright spot in the dead of cold, Wisconsin winters. The show has amassed an army of followers and fans that give the weekend its signature style: People are the heart of the show; the bikes are the social lubrication. The Harley-Davidson Museum’s special exhibit, “Mama Tried: Bringing it Together,” focuses on the builders, the racers and the fans that gather over a bike or a brew.

A riot of bikes await you: outrageous custom bikes, lovingly restored vintage machines and one as rare as hen’s teeth – 1929 FHAC with FLXI Sidecar Factory Racer. Don’t come alone; bring your crew. That’s what Mama Tried is about, after all.

“My Papi Has a Motorcycle” / “Mi Papi Tiene una Moto” (on display now)
From award-winning children and YA author Isabel Quintero and illustrator Zeke Peña comes the Harley-Davidson Museum’s first-ever bilingual exhibit, “My Papi has a Motorcycle” / “Mi papi tiene una moto.” Based on the beloved children’s book of the same name, “My Papi has a Motorcycle” shares a story of family bonds strengthened by the simple act of taking a joy ride on a two-wheeled machine.

[page break]

LET’S TAKE A BREAK IN THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BAD JOKE LIBRARY—

I choked on a carrot this morning, and all I could think of was, “I’ll bet a doughnut wouldn’t have done this to me.”

Nothing spoils a good story more than the arrival of an eyewitness. (Mark Twain)

It only takes one slow-walking person in the grocery store to destroy the illusion that I’m a nice person

It turns out that when asked who your favorite child is, you’re supposed to pick out one of your own. I know that now.

It’s fine to eat a test grape in the produce section, but you take one bite of rotisserie chicken and it’s all, “Sir, you need to leave!”

One thing no one ever talks about, when it comes to being an older adult, is how much time we devote to keeping a cardboard box because it is, you know, a really good box.

I can’t believe I forgot to go to the gym today. That’s seven years in a row, now.

–El Waggs
Certified Librarian
Bikernet.com™

BRAND NEW BIKERNET READER COMMENT—Biker Hawaiian Style

Mahalo for the article story. What a blessing Hawaii has in its local motorcycle clubs banning together to form a brotherhood that is unique to the world let the world see what Hawaii is.

Imua local style, I’d like to share that my father Frederick smithy Smith was born and raised in Wahiawa, Oahu. My dad started riding when he was very young in the ’40s. He built his own bikes in the local style. My dad rode for many years until my mother was tired of worrying he might not come home one day, because you know my dad he was rascal and he rode the bike in a kind of rascal way too. But anyway, my mom was tired and she made him sell his bike, because we his children were coming left and right and we needed him in our lives.

Anyway, I always used to share with friends about my dad having a local style motorcycle a lot of my friends most of them didn’t know what a local style motorbike was. I am still proud that my dad rode a local boy. My dad passed away at the age of 80 in 2015. I wish I could have rode with him. Anyway Mahalo, for the article blessings to you the motorbike clubs and everyone else in the world aloha peace . Waianae!

–Henry Smith
Honolulu, Hawaii

The PETERSEN MUSEUM REPORT—

Your generous contributions helped fuel so many of our accomplishments this past year. Thank you for being such an important part of the work we do.

Please enjoy a short recap of our year:

We’re so proud of all we’ve accomplished:

100 unique, large-scale exhibitions and smaller installations since reopening in 2015.

Over 50 one-of-a-kind rallies, cruise-ins, collection tours, and special events for our Petersen Members and community this year.

Over 6000 people and 3,000 cars participated in our Cruise-ins this year.

Over 10 million images, 3,000 volumes of research stacks, 230 rare books, 525 bound volumes of Robert E. Petersen’s magazines, and 650 cans of both 16mm & 35mm motion picture film have been repaired, cleaned, and digitized.

Over 100,000 kids participated in Discovery Center, Little Sparks, Field Trips, Free Bus and Admissions program, Auto Maintenance and Detailing workshops, Teen Auto Workshop, and outreach programs.

We are immeasurably grateful for the generosity that made these exhibits, archival work, events, and educational programs possible and for the outpouring of support! Next year marks three decades of work towards becoming “the world’s best automotive museum.” We look forward to celebrating our accomplishments and continuing to build a global community with you – the opportunities are endless!

With profound gratitude and appreciation,

Terry L. Karges
Executive Director

TENNESSEE MOTORCYCLES & MUSIC REVIVAL SET FOR MAY 16 – 19 AT LORETTA LYNN’S RANCH IN HURRICANE MILLS, TN

FOUR-DAY FESTIVAL WELCOMES ADV RIDERS TO THE ADV EXPERIENCE

TICKETS & CAMPING GO ARE ON SALE NOW EXCLUSIVELY AT
WWW.MOTORCYCLESANDMUSIC.COM

Tennessee’s ultimate “Moto & Music” event, Tennessee Motorcycles and Music Revival (TMMR) will be held May 16-19, 2024 at the historic Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN. The 7th annual event, presented by Harley-Davidson Motor Company, is a motorcycle enthusiast’s playground and a music lover’s paradise. Tennessee’s largest motorcycle festival will feature a spectacular selection of artists across several genres and a huge variety of two-wheeled action. Tickets and camping are on sale now. For more information, visit HERE.

The ADV Experience was an exciting addition last year and is returning in 2024. The ADV package includes three days of trail riding on the Ranch, biker games, morning coffee, along with skills building and demo rides by Harley-Davidson Pan America. The $149 ticket price ALSO includes general admission to all of the live music, motorcycle action, food trucks, vendors and comradery of the 4-day event.

“The ADV Experience was the perfect addition to this event! It already has great music, exciting motorcycle action and the location at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch is pristine. We get to ride the trails plus get the bonus of all the other happenings. It’s like an event within an event. We are also able to reach a lot of street bike riders and give them a taste of adventure riding. We look forward to it every year,” Shawn Wells, White LIghtning Harley-Davidson. More info at ADV EXPERIENCE.

Known for its “two-wheeled playground,” the event offers something for everyone who enjoys motorcycles of nearly any kind. Included will be Harley-Davidson demo rides, motorcycle racing, ADV trail riding, a hill climb, V-Twin Visionary performance bike show, an all-class bike show, biker games, group motorcycle rides, mini bike races, stunt riders and an extraordinary showcase of hand-crafted custom motorcycles from across the country in the BC Moto Invitational. More info at at EXPERIENCE TMMR.

The exciting musical lineup always delivers! Artists and bands are specially curated primarily from the region and the booming talent coming out of the Music City USA. Genres include outlaw country, southern rock, country, bluegrass and some rock’n’roll. Promoters from around the country have been making their way each year to the festival to choose bands from the extraordinary plethora of talent — it’s a musical showcase of sorts. The 2024 lineup will be announced after the new year.

A wide range of Ranch Camping is available in three unique campgrounds including RVs, Glamping, Tent Camping, and Vehicle Camping. Nearby hotels and Airbnb’s are also available. For details, please visit WHERE TO STAY.

TMMR also has a commitment to supporting U.S. Military veterans and will be working with the Special Ops Xcursions to provide complimentary tickets and camping to members of U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF). Helmets for Heroes will showcase a variety of custom-painted ICON Motorsport helmets available at auction with funds going to the military non-profit.

Subscribe to the email list HERE or text “TMMR” to (888) 306-6093 for updates. General public early bird on-sale starts on Dec. 1.

For more information, visit MotorcyclesAndMusic.com, Instagram @TNMotorcycleRevival, Facebook @TnMotorcycleRevival.

CALIFA ELECTRIC TRUCK MANDATE CONUNDRUMS–

Electric trucks at any cost should have conversations about the conundrums associated with this mandate, before implementing a Mandate.

Published Dec 5, 2023 at Heartland https://heartland.org/opinion/california-aims-to-force-adoption-of-electric-trucks-but-19-states-sue-to-block/

By Ronald Stein

Ronald Stein is an engineer, senior policy advisor on energy literacy for the Heartland Institute and CFACT, and co-author of the Pulitzer Prize nominated book “Clean Energy Exploitations.”

The California GREEN movement, at any cost, is progressing at warp speed.

Earlier this year, California passed regulations that would turn the trucking industry upside down. Zero emission mandates would disrupt the industry, raise shipping costs, and put trucking companies out of business.

A group including 19 states and several trucking organizations recently filed suit to block the California regulation.

A little background on the EV Truck mandate: California’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Regulation goes into effect on January 1, 2024. The ACF requires that truck operators buy only Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) trucks for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucking operations as early as January 2024. The ACF also requires that trucking companies transition their fleets to 100 percent ZEV trucks by 2035 to 2042, depending upon class of truck.

This EV truck mandate lacks conversations about the many conundrums associated with this mandate, i.e., the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about:

For those huge EV truck batteries there is virtually non-existing transparency of the environmental degradation and the human rights abuses occurring in developing countries with yellow, brown, and black skinned people. Both human rights abuses and environmental degradation are directly connected to the mining for the exotic minerals and metals that are required to manufacture those EV batteries. The children used to produce the lithium for an EV battery is appalling.

California has almost 400,000 miles of roadways used by the State’s 31 million vehicles. Those roadways are heavily dependent on road taxes from fuels that contribute more than $8.8 billion annually, the same gas tax revenues that also funds many environmental programs. That $8.8 billion revenue source will diminish in the decades ahead as EV’s begin to replace internal combustion engine vehicles.

The heavier EV trucks will put more wear and tear on the California roadways. How will the State replace $8.8 billion from fuel taxes to maintain the California roadways?

California is the 4th largest economy in the world and has three of the largest shipping ports in America—No. 1 in Los Angeles, No. 2 in Long Beach, and No. 7 in Oakland. Ships arriving and departing from the ports up and down the coast from San Diego to San Francisco.

Many truckers are individual operators that may just stop coming to California! Those trucks that access three of the largest shipping ports in America move a lot of products for the entire country.

Trucker’s travel all over the nation, thus heavy EV truck charging stations sites would need to be built all over the nation to keep those trucks moving.

EV trucks are only for those in wealthy countries as Nearly Half the World Lives on Less than $5.50 a Day, as billions still struggle to meet basic needs. They may never be able to enjoy the materialistic living styles of those in wealthier countries.

Electric trucks suffer major disadvantages when compared to diesel trucks:

• Diesel trucks can travel about 1,200 miles after filling the tank in 15 minutes. The range of electric trucks is about 150-330 miles, and recharging may take hours, even on a high-speed charger.
• EV truck cabs cost two-to-three times as much as diesel cabs, an incremental cost of as much as $300,000 per truck.
• EV cabs also weigh about 10,000 pounds more than comparable diesel versions.

China emits more greenhouse gases in a day than California trucks emit in a year.

–WUWT

BABES OF THE WEEK— Renee Stephenson is a motorcycle road racer and is on Instagram at renees_racing.

She lives in Odessa, Texas.

Celia Serrato Becerra is an Emergency Medical Technician en AR Médica Querétaro living in Queretaro, Mexico.

–Sam Burns
Talent Scout
Bikernet.com™

WHEELS THROUGH TIME HOLIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT—

With Christmas just around the corner, don’t miss your opportunity to give the gift of history!

What better gift could you give the motorcycle lover in your life than a chance to win The 1936 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead!

SUSPENSION TECHNOLOGIES CHRISTMAS ANNOUNCEMENTS–Merry Christmas Specials

As a VIP Shock-Talk Subscriber, you get in on the deals before the general public! From now until December 31, 2023, take advantage of these THREE offers:

OFFER #1: $50 Off Front + $50 Off Rear
OFFER #2: FREE INSTALLATION
OFFER #3: $50 Off or FREE INSTALLATION Gift Card

Online Only Special
As a VIP Shock-Talk Subscriber, you and your buddies get first crack at these offers:
Purchase a set of Front Fork Cartridges and get $50 Off!

Purchase a set of Rear Shocks and get $50 Off!

Purchase a set of Front Fork Cartridges & a set of Rear Shocks and get $100 Off!
This offer is only valid if you order online and use the codes below:

$50 Off Code for Front Fork Cartridges or Rear Shocks Only: ST50
$100 Off Code for Both Front Fork Cartridges & Rear Shocks: ST100

BUY NOW

Call-In Special: FREE INSTALLATION

As a VIP Shock-Talk Subscriber, you get the first crack at scheduling your FREE Installation. Starting December 5th, we will open this offer up to the general public. So, if you have a new bike or want to share this offer with your friends, call and schedule an appointment.

CALL NOW

Gift Card: $50 Off or FREE INSTALLATION

Want to surprise your wife or husband, but don’t have the time to bring your bike in for the Free Installation? Give a Suspension Technologies Gift Card and receive Free Installation at one of our 2024 shows. The first advantage here is you don’t have to pay for shipping, as we will bring the shocks or cartridges to the show where we are setup. Or you can use the code and get $50 off your Gift Card.

$50 Off Promo Code for Front or Rear: ST50
$100 Off Promo Code for Front & Rear:

ST100
FREE INSTALLATION at a 2024 show:

ST2024
When using ST2024 you will see a $1.00 deduction from your cart.

This lets us know you want free installation at a 2024 event.

We will contact you to schedule a show install or you can give us a call.

BUY GIFT CARDS ONLINE NOW

Check Out Our New Website:
www.SuspensionTechnologies.com

We welcome you to check out our new website, where it is easy to navigate to your favorite Suspension Technologies products. Purchase online, view installation instructions, read news and tips about Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, and much more.

A TIMELY QUOTE OF THE WEEK–

‘Truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it. Ignorance may deride it. Malice may distort it. But there it is.’ –Winston Churchill

from Epoch Times

[page break]

FEATURE BIKE OF THE WEEK— Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Niederrhein Amsterdam.

The Thunderbike Top Chop is a classic vintage chopper and is based on a 1957 EL, which has been refined down to the last screw. Many handcrafted parts and surfaces in copper, brass, and nickel make this bike an absolute one-of-a-kind.

The finish is a homage to the glittering choppers of the ‘70s, but with the matte nickel surfaces, we have set the right contrast to the paint.

–Sam Burns
Feature Bike Editor
Bikernet.com™

QUICK, New Bikernet Reader Comment!–

There’s No Place Like Home

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Theres_No_Place_Like_Home.aspx

Comments:
Fantastic I loved every word. I have actually met Amy and she is equally as fantastic as a writer. Keep up the great stories.

–Lee Bledsoe
Albany , NY

Breaking News: U.S. House Schedules Vote on Bill to Stop EPA’s Tailpipe Mandate

Encourage support from lawmakers on this proposal:

The U.S. House of Representatives announced that it will vote Wednesday on the SAN-supported “Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act” (H.R. 4468). The bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing new emissions standards that would limit consumer choice and push the auto industry toward electric vehicles.

The CARS Act also prevents future EPA motor vehicle emissions regulations that would mandate certain technologies or limit the availability of vehicles based on engine type.

If passed into law, the legislation would stop regulatory overreach by the EPA, allowing consumers to have the freedom to decide what car works best for them and their families and preventing auto manufacturers from being forced to meet unrealistic mandates driven by the most aggressive light-duty emissions regulations in U.S. history.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee passed H.R. 4468 in July. Send a letter now telling your U.S. Representative to vote to support the “CARS Act.”
Lawmakers Must Hear from You Right Away!

Use the following website link for an overview and lawmaker contact.

–SEMA

ALL New Bikernet Reader Comment!–CHRISTMAS DREAMS

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/CHRISTMAS_DREAMS.aspx

Comments:

–Bill May
Nashville , TN

“Thanks Bill, I needed that…” –Bandit

GET THE PARTY STARTED—With art from Eric Herrmann.

Deal of the Day “Tequila Tycoon” I was wandering our property, Drinking Tequila, on which we have many Blue Agave plants. I thought wouldn’t it be cool if different Tequila’s bloomed out in bottles from these plants. I’d be a Tequila Tyccon!

I have (1) Canvas Giclee’ 30 x 40 signed & numbered, for $500.00 / frt.

Normally $850.00. eric@ericherrmannstudios.com (480) 280-8738 #Tequila #tequilashots

— at Eric Herrmann Studios.

“I asked Eric if they were all 100 percent agave. I recently attended a Tequila tasting party. Only 100 percent Agave Reposado was allowed. Makes a difference.” –Bandit

FIVE-BALL RACING XMAS ACTION—Check out all the new shots and videos on Instagram.

Five-Ball Racing
Venice, California

HOT, New Bikernet Reader Comment!–

There’s No Place Like Home

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Theres_No_Place_Like_Home.aspx

Comments:
I only rode on a bike once (wore a denim mini skirt and my high-top white sneakers) from The Bronx to Closter, NJ. I burned my calf on the exhaust pipe, & this young man’s Mother was aghast, that he maimed me on my first ride! She showed more distress than her 19-year-old son had the capability to embrace.

I love your writing style. Hearing “One hot, muggy, crawfishy night” & I was “Voluntold” made me a reader of yours, ad infinitum.

Rock on, Biker-Bitch!

–SusitheJ
Littlestown, PA

I00 WORD FICTION FOR XMAS—It’s Beginning to Feel A lot Like Christmas

Rosa spoke little English, but her Mexican dialect could melt a cold man’s heart.
She walked me along the throng of Xmas displays to her booth. Her dark eyes glittered, a crimson smirk crossed her wet lips and she motioned to me. She bumped and ground into my thigh and allowed for our fingers to touch.

The Xmas song filled the festive night air. I was afraid she’d grind the jeans right off of me. Wet to the feel in that low dark place she moaned. I understood her warmth and longing without another word being said.

–Gearhead

BILLY LANE CHOP FICTION BOOK—

Another Xmas gift notion from the Chopper master in Florida.

Billy Lane
2280 Avocado Avenue
Suite #5
Melbourne FL 32935
United States

THE BIKERS FOR TRUTH DEPARTMENT OPENS–New Bikernet Reader Comment!

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for November 30, 2023

(Click here for November 30th news)

Comments: Idea for poster or meme: Climate Change (big Letters)

Winter | Spring Summer | Fall

Nice scene or picture of each season

Cool caption about how you learned this in grade school

–David E
15634, West Pa.

“We are in the process of creating a non-profit behind the name: Bikers for Truth. Our first project includes humorous memes to break the doom. If you come up with something let us know. Just comment below or drop me a note to Bandit@Bikernet.com.” –Bandit

A HOLIDAY SERMON FROM THE PILLAR PEAK TEMPLE—

What Kind of Day am I Going to Choose to have?

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them.” –Denis Waitley

Life is shaped by the choices we make. I appreciate the notion that even when we believe we have no choice, the act of not choosing becomes a choice in itself. The Universe grants us the ability to shape our lives through the Law, determining what will manifest based on our predominant thoughts and conversations.

If we fixate on problems, they intensify until we shift our focus to solutions. The mindset of victimhood attracts reasons to maintain that belief. A belief in sickness, financial scarcity, or perpetual misfortune tends to materialize as reality. It’s crucial to be mindful of what follows the words “I am.”

Having one foot anchored in the past hinders our ability to live fully in the present. Some of us encounter the same life lessons repeatedly without learning from them. Life’s lessons persist until we glean wisdom from them.

The profound truth is that changing our mindset transforms our lives. The Universe provides solutions to challenges and problems aligned with our conscious thoughts. Today, as I write this, I am making a deliberate choice to have a great day. I am no longer part of the problem; I am actively contributing to the solution.

As I embark on this day, I accept responsibility for choosing to live it to the fullest. My day will be infused with laughter, joy, peace, and love. I acknowledge and appreciate the divine gifts bestowed upon me, expressing gratitude for the goodness in my life. Every facet of my life is cherished, recognizing that my experiences have shaped who I am.

I embrace obstacles and challenges, knowing that within them lies the divine creative solution. Pausing to remember that I am not alone on this journey, I affirm my trust and faith in the Universe. Today marks a step towards a higher level of living and expression. I release this prayer treatment to the Universe with the affirmation:

And So It Is.

Namaste.’

“Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made.” –Wayne Dyer

–Yale

THE SIDECAR OF THE WEEK–

It was interesting enough that everyone at the swap meet went to check it out as soon as it pulled in to the lot.

–RFR
Texas Reporter
Bikernet.com™

COP-28 ANNOUNCEMENT— COP28 President Challenges Mainstream Climate Narrative on Fossil Fuels

In a startling divergence from the conventional climate dialogue, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber has boldly questioned the so-called scientific consensus on the need to phase out fossil fuels to achieve the 1.5°C climate goal. At a recent event, Al Jaber’s remarks signaled a stark departure from UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s stance, drawing sharp criticism from environmentalists.

Al Jaber’s assertion that there is

“I accepted to come to this meeting to have a sober and mature conversation. I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist. There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels

This is a direct challenge to the prevailing climate doctrine. His argument strikes at the heart of policy discussions that have been increasingly dominated by calls for the rapid elimination of fossil fuels.

Drawing a line in the sand, Al Jaber posits that a wholesale phase-out of fossil fuels would regress society to a pre-industrial state, “back into caves.” This hyperbolic metaphor underscores his contention that current sustainable development cannot be disentangled from fossil fuel use.

“Please help me, show me the roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves.”

“I don’t think [you] will be able to help solve the climate problem by pointing fingers or contributing to the polarisation and the divide that is already happening in the world. Show me the solutions. Stop the pointing of fingers. Stop it,”

Fantastic! Maybe now the open debate can begin, and we can educate as to the correct uncensored science. Then we can eliminate the hysteria.

–WUWT

“But wait, what about the reparations for a decade of lies and insanity.” –Bandit

JIMS MACHINE NEW PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS—This transmission case is exciting. We may bring you a tech shortly.

–Bandit

CALIFORNIA HARLEY-DAVIDSON XMAS PARTY-– CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE PARTY

Saturday, December 9, 2023 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST

WHERE
California Harley-Davidson
1517 Pacific Coast Hwy
Harbor City, CA 90710-2741

Don’t forget to join us Saturday, December 9th, for our Christmas Open House Party from 9am – 5 pm. Santa will be here to take 360 photos with while you tell him just how naughty or nice you’ve been.

Join ILWU Longshore Brotherhood and California Harley-Davidson as we host a Toy Drive and Run for the Boys & Girls Club of Los Angeles Harbor. We will be accepting toy donations through December 9th at California Harley-Davidson. Every donation helps. Thank you!

We’ll help you find your holiday spirit with a decadent Hot Chocolate & dessert bar and get ready for the grand opening of the California Motorcycle Museum, located inside California Harley-Davidson!

ANOTHER New Bikernet Reader Comment!–Frames and Frame Geometry 101

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Frames_and_Frame_Geometry_101.aspx

Comments:
I have built a few choppers in my time and been around this community for a while, this is one of the best technical and easy to understand explanations of motorcycle geometry I have seen.

The idea of “using what ya got in your garage” is where choppers came from. While I love and appreciate the rolling pieces of art that some of the modern builders are making, choppers started out as LOW BUDGET DIY affairs not 40,000 dollar queens with paint jobs so impressive you contemplate suicide or homicide if a bird shits on it.

I learned by following one simple motto I got from my friends at the El Foresteros “Build it then Ride The Fuck Out Of It, if you don’t like it change it”. My opinion and mine only is follow some simple geometry and safety rules and build for yourself, you are the only one who has to like it.

Truth about the chopper scene is that you’re most likely going to lose money when you try and sell it but that’s not the point. The point is building, riding, meeting other chopper guys, hearing their opinions, stories and sharing a few laughs.

If you really want to know some of the chopper history research Tom Fugle (RIP). He invented more about building choppers than anyone I know.

Talk to guys to ride choppers every day. The El Forestero MC are chopper gods and as long as you are respectful about asking they usually love to talk about their machines. You can learn more form them for the cost of a couple cold beers than the Internet could ever teach you.

I am sure there are other clubs out there who love choppers, but I am in the Midwest, so I am only familiar with the EF guys. No disrespect to others.

Anyway, the point is to get out there and start wrenching. There are a million dreamers and tire kickers but only a few of us willing to get the saw out and make that commitment. Chop that bitch, there are hundreds of us out there willing to help you with your questions.

In the immortal words of Tome Fugle “Ride Choppers or Fuck Off”

— Chez
Pleasant Hill, IA

IT NEVER ENDS—

We are going to rebuild Bikernet.com this coming year, but I get it. We are all inundated with text, videos, and images from every corner of the globe. From the evil media to scams, love letters, tech articles, you name it, they keep coming.

Bottom line, we enjoy what we’re doing and what we contribute to the motorcycle world. So goddammit, we’re going to improve how we do it or die trying.

I promise, I’ll deliver on Dan’s wheel lacing article in the next couple of days. He proofed the copy and marked-up any and every correction he could dream up. I’m kidding. We try to be as accurate as possible.

We did get a taste of snow and it feels like snow today.

I need to finish John’s 4-speed transmission rebuild for Xmas or Santa will be pissed.

We received the final parts we needed and it’s ready for final assembly. I hope…

Here’s a shot of Sandy the cat. Karley brought it to the Wilmington headquarters over 14 years ago and she’s still going strong on a boat in the LA Harbor.

We had a couple of dark walls in our Ranch Road Livingroom. When I discovered the master of Flat Earths Paint had a son who paints home interiors I reached out.

I installed a propeller on our 5-Ball Rocket Ship and it spins in the wind. My neighbor wants to harness the energy.

We discussed getting a pet, but we have pets including these fucking turkeys, who stop by daily. A family of deer roam around and shit on the lawn but don’t eat the thistles. There’s a mountain lion or two…

I mentioned Tim, the boss of Flat Earth Painting. He’s working on replacing the dragons at the Deadwood House. They couldn’t handle the weather and were coming apart. Basically, he’s painting on aluminum sheet, like the side of a van, so it will last.

I caught this shot about 6:45 this morning. I hope your Christmas is magnificent, although our current government wants to eliminate us. Who votes for that?

In the meantime, ride free or die trying.

–Bandit

Yesterday, I roamed to the Arkansas Confederation of Clubs chili cookoff. I loaded my truck down with chili and pastries and cornbread and headed to the Longbranch Saloon in Little Rock. It has been the heart of Arkansas bikerdom since Moby Dick was a minnow…

Even though biker bars come and go, the Longbranch remains the staple, the home place where our memories are seeped into the darkened walls that are stained with photos and momentos of those who have joined the forever chapter for perhaps forty or fifty years now… a bar wallpapered with brothers and sisters who now forever preside over the clacking pool balls from a blurry photograph.

The Longbranch is the place where we always congregate to discuss the memories after our marryin’ and buryin’ and pool tournaments and of course, the chili cookoff, the night before Little Rock’s Toy Hill run… the largest toy run in the state.

So, I loaded up and went… the same as I did my very first Christmas as a brand new biker… twenty five years ago… and as my eyes adjusted to the dark smoky pool hall I saw that many of the same people were playing pool and standing at the bar, who were there over two decades ago the first time my eyes took in the room. Of course, I saw the ones who weren’t there anymore, too.

Even though my move from Iowa to Arkansas was several months ago, and even though I been back in my hometown in Arkansas since early summer… my soul didn’t truly feel the click of Dorothy’s heels until I stomped the dust off my riding boots, walked past the row of Harleys, and stood in the doorway of the LongBranch.

People I haven’t seen in seven years hugged me. I made my way through the building and the hugs and the familiar smells, remembering the times I walked through the door so many times, so many men, so many minutes, so many memories before, like the time I rode in wearing a fur coat and heels… the times I rode up with tears streaming down my face… the times I carried my drunk out the front door… the times in rain, pain and mud, the fear and the courage, the chill and the heat, the music and the laughter and the beer. I put my prodigal chili, my restitution for my absence for far too long, on the tables with the other entries in the chili contest. I would not win… I did not care… I was home.

I spent the day in nostalgic stupor. While I was sitting there watching people fooling around at a table full of patches with men who wore patches the first time I came to that old bar, 25 years ago.

I watched the VnVMC members walking around who were literally at the Dermott, Arkansas Crawdad festival in 1999…. When I rode up on a Road King with one of their friends, a man long gone, the old biker who taught me to ride and died in my arms. Those of his friends who are either lucky enough or cursed enough to still be livin’ were all there last night, the same old men who were around the campfire my very first ride on a motorcycle ever, one hot muggy crawfishy Arkansas night that changed my soul and the course of my life irrevocably forever.

I felt like Dorothy once more, reunited with the Tin Man and the scarecrow and the lion who lead her on a grand adventure like none she ever dreamed before… over a rainbow of colors, indeed! I watched the 1%ers and the church folks and the other clubs in the Confederation hug and smile and fellowship together.

Plus, there was this precious little lady bug of a girl selling tickets and being a little doll. I smiled as I watched her innocent smile, and figured to myself she was someone’s ol’ lady in a mom ‘n pop probably. She made a little crack like about she was being voluntold to sell tickets… She goes ‘if anyone knows how I got roped into this let me know cuz I don’t know how I got here.’ I laughed at her little joke, and I said ‘its ok baby girl. I been sitting at this table since my booboos were up where yours are, and I still don’t know how I got here either.

–The Wicked Bitch

‘TIS THE SEASON TO GIVE BACK WITH THE LAW TIGERS

https://lawtigers.com/

CHARITY EVENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Arizona
Trolls Teddy Bear Run
Apache Junction, AZ 12/2/23

California – North
MMA Toy Drive
Sacramento, CA 12/3/23

California – North
Oakland H-D Toy Run
Oakland, CA 12/9/23

Florida
Abate Gulf Coast Toy Run
Pensacola, FL 12/3/23

Montana
39th Annual Road Dogs Toy Run
Billings, MT 12/3/23

New Mexico
Duke City Coat Drive
Albuquerque, NM 12/16/23

Oklahoma
Tulsa ABATE Toy Parade
Tulsa, OK 12/10/23

FIND A FULL LIST OF EVENTS BY FOLLOWING YOUR LOCAL LAW TIGERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA