Skip to main content
Tag

Keith Ball

Happy 75th to da Bandit

By General Posts

Wishing Keith ‘Bandit’ Ball a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Birthday from the Bikernet Crew.

The Grand Supreme Editor of vast Bikernet Empire comprising News, Features, Tech, Freedom & Rights Legislation, Novels, Reviews, Event Coverage, Women on Two-Wheels, Biker Artwork, Leathers, Handbanged Choppers, Bonneville Racing, Charity, Veterans’ Support, et al takes another turn around the Sun today.

At 75 years young, Bandit is just getting fired up and ready to find new adventures.

Hold on tight, the Thursday Weekly News is in the shop today.

Motorcycle Mondays Presents “Sturgis Preview”

By General Posts

Open Road Radio –America’s Standard in Motorcycle Talk RADIO Show

Join our host Gina Woods & Scrapper Dan!
Penny FXR & be-Dazzlin in the house with Justin in the Full Throttle Law studios from Viva Las Vegas!

LIVE Mon Nite 9:00 pm-10:00 pm est: Coast to coast & worldwide!
1400 AM 107.1 FM KSHP- Las Vegas

New to the show Dave Ratner makes a special appearance in the Meet on the Street – and Peter Cage our new effin awesome engineer is in the house!

Tonight we discuss Sturgis 2022!

  • Featuring highlights & low lights (jk), of Sturgis 2022.
  • Woody & Marilyn join us and have a full 14 days’ worth of happenings! Sturgis 22 is on!!
  • Keith Ball swoops in to give us his take on what Sturgis is going to look like and gives us a little preview of Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials coming up!
  • We’ll put a wrap on it by discussing motorcycle events coming up and NEXT week a surprise guest from Sturgis!

https://facebook.com/Roadhost
https://facebook.com/gina.woods.961

Our show is fueled by Andrews Products, Sea Foam Products, Harley-Davidson, Full Throttle Law, Bike Show Mafia, Motorcycle Safety Foundation, Kirsh Helmets, Chixs On 66, MegWear, & Biker Belle’s Women’s Day Buffalo Chip

Hold on tight it’s going to be a thrilling ride!

* * * * * * * *

Tell ’em Bikernet.com sent ya!!! Riding Free since 2006. See you in Sturgis.

Save the Salt – Bonneville Report

By General Posts

5-Ball Racing and Bikernet.com set a record with the Salt Shaker, Valerie Thompson (her first) and Barry Wardlaw. Top speed 151.5 in 2006.

Restore Bonneville hopes new data will speed salt flat replenishment

The ongoing pursuit to preserve the Bonneville Salt Flats has scored another victory and SEMA, along with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Utah Geological Survey (UGS), and Intrepid Potash Inc. marked more progress in restoring the area’s precious salt.

A new well installed in the summer of 2021, along with equipment that will collect data on evaporation, will inform the preservation and replenishment of the salt flats as the Restore Bonneville program kicks off.

CLICK HERE To Read about the unique Salt Flats – it’s lot more than a speed test ground

How to Build a Bonneville Salt Flats Motorcycle documents the construction of “The Worlds Fastest Panhead,” conceived and assembled by Keith Ball, former editor or Easyriders magazine and current owner of Bikernet.com, the most popular biker stop on the internet.

CLICK HERE To Buy the Book – visit the 5-Ball Racing Shop

Sturgis Run 2021 of Frank Ball Jr

By General Posts

Frank’s Tattooing partner the magnificent Em.

With techs from the V-twin Visionary, Sawicki Exhaust, and Legends Suspension

My grandson, Frank Ball Jr. and I made the run to Sturgis with a Kendon two-bike trailer, our 1928 Shovelhead and the 5-Ball Racing Crazy Horse powered mascot bike. Both quirky, flat-side tank bikes. We jammed out and rode around the rally and had a blast.

CLICK HERE To Read this Photo Feature Article and the Tech used

Charlie is up high and that’s Frank’s Pro street FXR built by his gramps.

Join the Cantina for more – CLICK HERE to Subscribe

World’s Fastest Female Motorcycle Racer

By General Posts

Valerie on 5-Ball Racing Panhead built by Keith Ball

Valerie Thompson is the World’s Fastest Female Motorcycle Racer and a 10x land speed record holder with membership in the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame as well as eight 200 MPH Clubs and one 300 MPH Club.

She is consistently ranked as one of the World’s Top 10 Fastest Motorcycle Racers.

“The first time I raced at Bonneville, there were only 3 other female competitors, so we really stood out. A lot of people didn’t take me seriously until I established myself as a serious competitor capable of breaking records.” – Valerie Thompson

“I collected my first two records with team owner Keith Ball, who had a lot of faith in me and provided my first two record rides at Bonneville. Now I have Denis Manning, designer of the BUB 7 streamliner and AMA Hall of Fame member, as a mentor and team director.” – Valerie Thompson

Racing the BUB 7 during the 2018 Dry Lake Racers Australia (DLRA) Speed Week competition at Lake Gairdner, she set a new speed record of 328.467 mph (528.616 km/h) to become Australia’s fastest female streamliner motorcycle racer.

2022 Will Be a Busy Year on the Salt for Valerie.

Click Here to Read a Feature Article on Valerie on Bikernet.com

Join the Cantina for more – Subscribe Today.

Click To See the book on Building the Salt Shaker – a Panhead on which Valerie set her First Speed Record. “The Worlds Fastest Panhead ” by 5-Ball Racing Team.

Art inspired rumble Sidecar Project

By General Posts

Twenty Years of Chopper Dedication and Hard Work
by Dan Stern

Decades ago (mid ‘90s) Paisano Publications came out with an upscale magazine called VQ. I’m sure a take-off on GQ. People scoffed because the RUB thing was in full swing. I didn’t care because it was another great publication from bikers for bikers. It was tailored for the upscale market complete with ads for cologne, soap and other things you’d never find in Easyriders. The best part was a feature on artists concepts.

VQ’s editor, Keith (Bandit) Ball was running it while juggling the editorship of Easyriders and countless other publications.

Owner: Dan Stern
Bike: 2004 Harley-Davidson Softail w/left-hand sidecar

Click Here to Read this Photo Feature Exclusively on Bikernet.

Join the Cantina for more – Subscribe Today.

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

Sam’s Picks for the Week, October 12, 2020

By General Posts

Remember when life was simple. We thought about Weed, Whiskey, Women and of course Wheels. We didn’t much care about four wheels just two and mostly choppers.

Hell, in my day, we would jump off a building to see how it felt. I know guys who went into a bar just to see how long it took before they got into a fight. We were bikers and nuts, loaded on reds flying down a freeway on a bike held together with bailing wire. Fuck it, let’s ride.

We partied and slept on the beach, ran from the cops, slept with the mayor’s old lady, it didn’t matter. We loved being on the edge. When I was in Jr. High, we snuck into any local building or government facility that wasn’t locked down. We didn’t fuck with much, except to steal a gearshift knob. I remember running home being chased by the cops. Scared shitless, I lay in bed waiting for the cops to pound on the front door and arrest my ass.

CLICK HERE to read this Photo Feature on Bikernet.

Join the Cantina – Subscribe Today

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

Debatable Bikernet Weekly News for October 1, 2020

By General Posts

Hang on for Some Wild Shit!

Hey,

Here we go. The 5-Ball Racing Team lost a member this week. Ray C. Wheeler fought off death numerous times in the last 20 years. He succeeded right up until this week. It’s an interesting time, because many of the brothers I hear from are at Ray’s age in his mid-70s including myself. It’s a decision point for many, whether to keep working or stop and how much activity can we still deliver accurately and effectively.

Some brothers are forced to keep going. They don’t have the financial wherewithal to kick back. I remember a brother saying, “Fuck that union gig!” Other brothers refused to pay into social security. It comes back to haunt them big time. But there’s a chrome side to the equation for us grubby bikers in the motorcycle industry. We love what we do. Every day is a play day full of creativity and adventure. We’re still having a blast.

I just ordered another batch of Prize Possession copies. It’s my first book the second edition. Have a terrific weekend. Ride safe.

The Bikernet Weekly News is sponsored in part by companies who also dig Freedom including: Cycle Source Magazine, the MRF, Las Vegas Bikefest, Iron Trader News, ChopperTown, BorntoRide.com and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. Most recently Quick Throttle Magazine came on board.

Ride fast and free forever!

–Bandit

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWS ON BIKERNET

Join the Cantina – Subscribe Today

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

The Banned Bikernet Weekly News for September 24, 2020

By General Posts

Hey,

This is another fascinating week.

I’m reading Deadwood, the Golden Years, by Watson Parker. It’s basically a history of the region and mining, the impact on the region and the Indians. Since I’m trying like hell to move there, I need to know.

I’m also reading the Moral Animal, Why We Are the Way We Are, the New Science of Evolutionary Psychology. It’s a heady book about us and where we come from and how we got here. That term natural selection comes up over and over. Did you know that 99 percent of all species on the planet do it the same way from a wasp to a human. It’s also about the differences between men and women.

Speaking of Magazines, another motorcycle magazine, Cycle World bit the dust last week, maybe two. The new Easyriders seems to be stumbling, although it never got off the dime over the last couple of years. A lot of talk, a couple of parties and very little action. Ah, but I just got a peek at the new Choppers magazine, issue 2 and the new issue 3. This is tough. Cary Brobeck, the owner and editor only prints maybe 2,000 copies and attempts to sell them mail order. That’s a tough one, for lots of reasons.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWS ON BIKERNET

Join the Cantina – Subscribe Today

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

Cantina Episode 90: Covid Threat

By General Posts

Bandit awoke with a start to a blistering Monday morning in the middle of July, Wuhan Covid 2020. He couldn’t turn on the air-conditioning. Hell, he couldn’t pay his bills. The formidable stack of requests for funds grew like mold on a neglected peach. He wanted to reach for a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels. Times were tough on restaurants. He wasn’t alone.

The mayor of LA punked out to the forces supporting the homeless and raised all the taxes on LA homeowners and businesses. According to him and his group of socialists, homeownership was at the root of the problem. Just take the homes from the hard-working middle class and give them to the addicted homeless. Bandit rolled violently in his large round bed surrounded by brass framed, large ship portholes allowing the fog on the water to shroud his dire day.

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS STORY ON BIKERNET

Join the Cantina – Subscribe Now

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx