Hey,
Another fascinating week in paradise. Folks write and text me about the weather in South Dakota constantly. It’s amazing, challenging and never dull. I tell friends from California, “It’s not cold unless you go outside naked, goddammit.”
The Redhead watches the weather reports constantly. I watch for motorcycle parts and equipment for the new shop.
Just received three issues of Choppers Magazine, a subscription-only Chopper book designed by Beatnik the Magnificent, the former art director of Biker Magazine. It’s a sharp piece celebrating pure chopper freedom.
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.
FRANK BALL’S NEW SHIRT AND TILES—My grandson is cooking on all fronts. He’s rapidly becoming a master tattoo artist. He took over the 5-Ball leather line and is doing a helluva job.
He recently rode his Street Glide north to San Francisco for a Tattoo gathering and painted on some ceramic plates. He also created a new shirt for Bartels’ H-D.
“Doing a small run of these to see how they do,” Frank said. “20% smaller collar and a straight bottom waist with the adjustable snaps. Got a few request.”
He’s rocking out and building a chopper behind the master Domenic M. We’ll bring you reports in the near future.
–Bandit
THE MORAL CASE FOR FOSSIL FUELS REPORT–The greatest energy technology of all time
Last we discussed that for energy to be useful, it must be cheap, plentiful, and reliable, and to be cheap, plentiful, and reliable, every element of the process to create energy must also be cheap, plentiful, and reliable. We saw how this can be difficult to achieve with some alternative energy sources, such as solar.
It’s important to know this because if somebody tells you “Let’s replace the way we currently produce energy with this other way,” you have to be able to evaluate whether or not the process is really viable.
Fossil fuels: cheap, plentiful, reliable energy for billions
The subject of this email is that the hydrocarbon, or fossil fuel, industry is the only industry that can produce cheap, plentiful, reliable energy on a scale of billions. That means that without such an industry, we don’t have the amount of food we need, the amount of technology we want, the amount of anything we need or want.
The first thing to realize is that the vast majority of the world’s energy is in fact produced by the hydrocarbon industry. This was true back in 1980, and it’s also true in the present.
As you can see, there’s much more overall energy consumption now and the vast majority of that is still fossil fuel energy. What that means is that we’re using considerably more fossil fuels, not less.
There is currently no other industry that can match what the fossil fuel industry is producing and on the scale that it’s producing it.
Why? The reason is that the hydrocarbon industry has developed a highly resource efficient process to find, extract, and harness a naturally concentrated, plentiful, and stored source of energy. It’s the only industry that has come up with a process that is cheap, plentiful, and reliable.
To understand why that is, it’s important to understand what fossil fuels are and how to explain it to someone who doesn’t work in the fossil fuel energy. We’ll take that up next week.
–Alex Epstein
THE GRISSLY RETURNS–
I have been contributing for Biker magazine under the name Grizzly. I wrote for many other mags as well. I am now making the Chop, ride & party books ( www.choprideandparty.com ) and I am doing research.
I would like to know when did bobbers turn into choppers. I mean, the first modified motorcycles in the US were called bobbers. In my opinion bobbers are just heavy stock American bikes stripped of all unnecessary shit to make them go faster.
At a certain point people started calling those bobbers, choppers but my question is when? For a long time, I was under the impression it wasn’t until bikers started raking the frames. But I found out that long before that happened they already called their bike choppers.
For instance the Frisco chopper didn’t sport a raked frame but they certainly were not bobbers. So what made people call their bikes choppers? As soon as they started individualizing them? Or when they started making them pretty?
Or was it when they went from smaller gas tanks to bigger tanks. Many people tend to call choppers with a stock frontend and a big gas-tank bobbers, but when they see the same bike with a small gas tank they tend to call them choppers.
Was it when it was not only about stripping but started to become more about making things for them? Custom things like sissy-bars and seats and stuff?
I already asked many old biker guys who were around in the late ‘50s, early ‘60s. Many different opinions. Would like your take on it. Maybe even publish it if you don’t mind. Right now I am just collecting opinions and memories of different people. Can you help me out a bit?
–Beer
www.choprideandparty.com
chopper culture books
PS. I asked your friend Bob Tron as well. He suggested I should ask you
Hey Beer,
I will tell you the exact date and time of the first Chopper. I will tell you who the first builder was, how old he was and what he drank, snorted and smoked before creating the first chopper.
But this isn’t easy. This is a secret that only I know and one other Easyriders editor, Frank Kaisler. Of course J.J. Solari might know, but you can’t believe a word he says. First, I must get their permission, which is nearly impossible.
You are right about many of your statements. In my lifetime, I’ve watched Choppers die several times, but they always return. There are many threats against the Chopper Kingdom currently.
I will be glad to share this with the Chromed Gods and Bikernet Readers.
May the Twisted Steel Santa bless your holidays,
–Bandit
Jesus Christ, as usual Bandit is fulla shit. The answer is simple: When you bob something, you take shit off your bike for performance.
When you chop something, you modify it, like chopping the frame, chopping fenders or gas tanks, narrowing seats and modifying frontends. WTF, over?
–Renegade
WILD REPORT OF THE WEEK FROM SOUTH OF THE BORDER–Mexico’s Supreme Court says you can choose your own age
Think the ability to choose your own sex is the most amazing feature of the Depraved New World? Well, actually, it probably is. But now, at least in Mexico, you can also choose your own age!
That’s right, Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) has affirmed that a “fundamental right to personal identity” includes the right to change one’s date of birth on government documents. The Court ruled that, under the Mexican Constitution’s recognition of individuals’ “right to identity,” a birth certificate should reflect how someone has “constantly identified himself in his private and public acts.” It added that identity is comprised of more than just “biological truth.”
Indeed it is. “My truth” and “your truth” supersede silly old “biological truth” any day. Our feelings don’t care about your facts. So there!
Just because I’ve been “assigned” a sex at birth doesn’t mean that’s my destiny. Doesn’t mean I have to live with it. Just because I happen to have a penis, scrotum and protruding Adam’s Apple doesn’t mean I am confined to being a male for life. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I can be whatever gender I wish to be at any given moment in time.
Man! I feel like a woman!
–By American Thinker
And now, though I may have allegedly been “born” in 1946, I should also be able to alter my birth certificate to identify as whatever age I wish to be. (Tomorrow I’m going to be a coquettish young schoolgirl.)
But this doesn’t go far enough. It should also be everyone’s right to identify as whatever race they choose. For that matter, we all should be able to pick what species we wish to be. The right to pick one’s own sex, age, race, and species should be self-evident. I don’t know how Jefferson and the other Founders missed it. And what was God thinking? Anyway, next month I’m going to present as a seven-year-old female water buffalo! Bisexual, at that! Can’t wait!
Those of us who are allegedly nearing the end of our lifespans need only move to Mexico and have our birth dates changed on government documents. If we do this repeatedly over time, we will never die! Immortality!
I don’t know about you, but I feel better already.
–Sam Burns
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NEWS FROM CALIFORNIA HARLEY–Santa rides a Harley!!! and I know it is alot. That nice lady standing next to Santa with the long hair is Jodi, member of the staff.
The only thing lacking was the bourbon but that is just my preference. Those people over there not only live the life of the H-D legend, they love their jobs and love having satisfied customers
Merry Christmas!!!
–Gearhead
ANOTHER PROGRESSIVE FAILURE–Fentanyl Overdoses Become Leading Cause of Death in 18- to 45-Year-Olds
Fentanyl-related drug overdoses in 2020 became the top killer in adults aged 18 to 45—overtaking suicide, vehicle accidents, and gun violence, according to an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data by nonprofit group Families Against Fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, highly addictive, and deadly. Buyers may be unaware that the drugs they buy contain illicit fentanyl, a 2 milligram dose of which can be fatal.
The substance is most often manufactured in Mexico using chemicals supplied from China and trafficked across the southern border by Mexican drug cartels. Fentanyl is mixed with other narcotics to increase potency as well as pressed into counterfeit pain pills that are made to look like blue Oxycodone prescription pills and are commonly known as “Mexican oxys.”
Families Against Fentanyl is advocating for the U.S. government to designate fentanyl and its analogs as a weapon of mass destruction under federal statute.
The statute defines “weapon of mass destruction,” in part, as “any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxin or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors.”
More than 100,000 Americans, a record amount, died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in April, according to CDC data. Fentanyl was involved in almost two-thirds of those deaths.
During 2020, as lockdowns became prolonged and widespread as a response to the pandemic, overdose fatalities accelerated.
“This represents a worsening of the drug overdose epidemic in the United States,” the CDC stated in an emergency health advisory issued more than a year ago, on Dec. 17, 2020.
This year, as the southern border became more porous, record amounts of drugs have been seized by authorities.
During fiscal year 2021, which ended in September, Customs and Border Protection confiscated 11,200 pounds of fentanyl, up from 2,150 pounds the year prior.
In addition, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized a record-breaking more than 20 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl this year, according to Cheri Oz, DEA special agent in charge of the Phoenix field division.
Almost half of those were seized in Arizona, she said.
BY CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON
ALERT FROM THE WHITEHOUSE–Omicron Forces Wave of Closures Nationwide as White House Warns ‘Winter of Death’ Coming
The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 has sparked a wave of closures across the United States in recent days, including schools and businesses, as the White House is warning of a “winter of severe illness and death” for individuals who are unvaccinated.
“For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said during a briefing. He then encouraged people to get vaccinated or receive boosters if they’re eligible.
So far, few Omicron-related deaths have been officially confirmed worldwide, and it’s not clear if any have been reported in the United States. The United Kingdom reported the first known death with Omicron, while the UK Health Security Agency, in a Dec. 18 update, reported seven deaths so far, although scant details have been provided.
–Jack Phillips
Epoch Times
Bikernet Covid Analysis:
I don’t know who Jeff Zients-rhymes-with-science is, but he’s broken new ground in “bureaucrats making fools of themselves.” Who knew there was still untraveled Stupid Territory in DC for an idiot Presidential spokesman to trod and explore?
Five days before Christmas his message to America is “You’re all going to die writhing screaming deaths if you don’t do what I say.” Not “Merry Christmas.” Not even Merry Xmas. I’da settled for THAT.
“Happy Goddamn Holidays” – even that would be better than “You are on the verge of killing a whole lotta people, including your loved ones and the heroes on the front lines scratching their fat lying nurses-unions asses in the hallways allegedly filled with the bodies of your parents.
This in on you, kids! You want Santa to bring you toys and you’re not vaccinated against the flu that’s not a flu?” There should be a whole new way to say Fuck You to this asshole.
–J.J. Solari
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ACE CAFÉ–Enjoy your holidays and this cool little twist on a Christmas classic- biker style!
‘Twas the Ride Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas
and I went on a ride.
No creatures were stirring,
myself set aside.
The cold winter night
was crisp and was clear.
No cagers, road ragers,
or traffic to hear.
Just me and my bike,
and the road I was on.
I opened that throttle,
with a roar I was gone.
The moon was out full,
and the stars they were bright.
I picked some great pavement
for my ride on that night.
When all of the sudden,
what was that I just saw?
I stopped my bike hard
and just stood there in awe.
Sure enough, it was Santa.
He was clear, and not hazy.
This couldn’t be real.
This is so crazy!
The legit dude in red
rode a hog through the air!
I rubbed my eyes twice,
but still, he was there.
“HO HO!” he laughed loudly.
On the ground, I could hear,
“You see my new bike
instead of reindeer?
The elves made a point,
That the old way was lame.
Adding some horsepowerupped me and my game!”
“I have gifts for you, brother,”
he grinned as he said.
“Not toys, but I got you
some cool stuff instead.”
He parked down beside me,
and then with a smile,
Opened up his big bag
and dug around for awhile.
Then, in a flash,
he pulled out my loot.
An awesome new lid that
matched with my scoot!
“Wow, thank you Santa!”
It’s all I could say!
He gave me the wave
and went on his way.
I stood there in shock
for a little while more.
He rose in the air
and took off with a roar.
I heard his voice clear
as he flew out of town,
“Merry Christmas to all,
and dirty side down!”
–The RumbleOn Rider-Writers
Ace Cafe Orlando
100 W. Livingston St.
Orlando, FL 32801
P: 407-996-6686
HOLIDAY LIFESTYLE CYCLES DEAL OF THE WEEK-2011 Harley-Davidson® FLSTC – Heritage Softail Classic for $11.995.00
SEE IT HERE: https://www.lifestylecycles.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=9680675
This bike is nice Heritage with a cool paint job
ONLY 41837.00 Miles !!!!!
2011 Superior Blue Harley-Davidson HERITAGE SOFTAIL CLASSIC FLSTC
Some of the features/Add-ons on this bike
* 96 C.I. motor
* 6 Speed trans
* Leather saddle bags
* Detachable backrest
* Detachable windshield
* Mini apes
This bike has passed Lifestyle Cycles rigorous 101-point safety and mechanical inspection. Whether you’re looking to commute to work, ride the coast or take that dream vacation, this bike is ready to go!!!
EZ FINANCING-SHIPPING AVAILABLE!!!
Fill out an online application and ride today!!!
**Open 7 days a week**
Just $11,995.00 at Lifestyle Cycles (714) 490-0155
HOLIDAY Wisdom for the Season of Giving—
“Give people the best of what is within you and help others to awaken to their best self so that they too can live a life of abundance.”
“It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.” – Albert Einstein
“Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.” – John D. Rockefeller Jr.
“There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.” – Khalil Gibran
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston S. Churchill
“To do more for the world than the world does for you – that is success.” – Henry Ford
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart
–Professor Wayfarer
Monk in Training
Two-Wheeled Temple
Pillar Peak
Sturgis, South Dakota
EASYRIDERS COMPLETE DIGITIAL COLLECTION DELAYED AGAIN–The Latest from “Classic Easyriders” – below
The original launch & shipping was changed from August to September.
Now the website mentions it will be delivered to customers by December 15 which has not been updated since their below email.
On their website they have promised a free printed issue number 555 of December 2021 with the digital collection as loyalty bonus for pre-ordering the digital collection.
The digital collection continues to be on Pre-Sale at Classic Easyriders website and GIT Corp website.
At Classic Easyriders :
https://classiceasyriders.com/product/classic-easyriders-complete-digital-magazine-collection/
At GIT Corp :
https://gitcorp.online/shop/ols/products/classic-easyriders-complete-digital-magazine-collection
Dear Valued Customer,
As you may know, the shipment of your Classic Easyriders Digital Collection has been delayed due to the backup of freighters in Long Beach Harbor. We are awaiting the delivery of the shipment and have no control over when our products will be trucked from the docks. Because your order is extremely important to us, we want to offer you the entire Digital Collection online so that you can enjoy all 554 back issues of the original Easyriders magazine.
We would also like to make up for this delay by offering you the first issue of the all-new Classic Easyriders December issue that is soon to be a rare “collector’s edition”, most have you may have already received it. You will receive an email from us in a few days that will explain how you can access the entire Digital Collection online as well as the digital version of our December issue.
The email will provide a link to the Digital Collection of Easyriders online and will give you a special password so you can register to grant you full access and enjoy the product. If for any reason you decide that you’d rather have a refund, simply respond to this email and we will refund your money in full.
We are very sorry for this delay in shipping and thank you for your continued patience.
Ride Easy and Happy Holidays,
–Russell Brown
Chief Marketing Officer
Classic Easyriders a Division of GIT Corp
212-220-3651 x703 Office
516-316-6781 Mobile
russ@classiceasyriders.com
www.classiceasyriders.com
[page break]
BIKERNET BOOK OF THE WEEK CLUB—It has never been shown that human emissions of the gas of life drive global warming. Large bodies of science that don’t fit the narrative have been ignored by IPCC, COP and self-interested scientists paid by taxpayers.
A huge, subsidized industry of intermittent unreliable wind and solar electricity has been created based on unsubstantiated science. The same hucksters now want subsidized hydrogen, costly inefficient EVs, subsidized mega-batteries and other horribly expensive tried and failed schemes to impoverish people, create unemployment, transfer wealth and enrich China.
Germany, Texas, California and the UK had a glimpse of Net Zero with blackouts, astronomically high electricity costs and hundreds of deaths. We once had reliable cheap electricity and now that governments have gone green, we are heading for hard economic times.
In this book I charge the greens with murder. They murder humans who are kept in eternal poverty without coal-fired electricity. They support slavery and early deaths of black child miners. They murder forests and their wildlife by clear felling for mining and wind turbines. They murder forests and wildlife with their bushfire policies. They murder economies producing unemployment, hopelessness, collapse of communities, disrupted social cohesion and suicide.
They murder free speech and freedoms and their takeover of the education system has ended up in the murdering of the intellectual and economic future of young people. They terrify children into mental illness with their apocalyptic death cult lies and exaggerations. They try to divide a nation. They are hypocrites and such angry ignorant people should never touch other people’s money.
The greens are guilty of murder. The sentence is life with no parole in a cave in the bush enjoying the benefits of Net Zero.
Official Bikernet Review:
Every bureaucrat on earth knows all this environmental crap is just another gateway to forcing civilization back to a point to where government can’t be blamed for “infrastructure problems.” We for some reason put bureaucrats in charge of utilities and transportation, and they can’t fucking keep up. They dont know how! All they know how to do is STOP things. CAUSE THEY’RE FUCKING MORONS!
There are now too many people to service with SERVICE forget about quality of service. We got a light bill that’s so fucking high….we actually have to cut back. Blackouts from the government and now blackouts from the victims of government. and stupid citizens give them the most important jobs in civilization: gas, electricity, transportation. and communication. I mean the game is rigged from the instant people decide they need “to be represented.” Who the FUCK started THAT! Ok: don’t get me started.
–J.J. Solari
Certified Book Review Expert
Bikernet.com™
ART Deal of the Day— “Indian” Canvas Giclee’, Signed, Numbered, 20 x 30, for $600.00 / Frt. Normally $850.00.
An early Indian with one of the coolest Gas Tanks ever! Practical engineering. Notch the gas tank so you can change plugs. Not in todays world. A simplistic painting that makes a powerful statement hanging on a wall.
TEXAS WEATHER REPORT–Christmas weather hasn’t seen New Year’s Day yet. Baring monsoons, I always ride New Year’s Day to start the year off right!
I thought this ring broke. Second oldest ring I have, but it is so thin I don’t even know what it caught on?
Anyway, I think I might have to purchase a 3rd wallet since ‘70 something? The cover flap staring to look like it’s gonna break off. Chain, loop and key hook are all diesel mechanic upgrades ‘70s upgrades.
Merry Christmas! I’ll be waiting for my coal from Santa Clause!
–RFR
TRUCK SHIPPING NEWS–In 2021 we had three shipping rate increases from our domestic carriers. In 2022 the average increase is 5.9% on the rate card but the actual impact of the 2022 rates with the increases in surcharges, fees and new terms that were added meant that the actual rate increase is 10.25%. This hits auto/truck parts, furniture, home goods, and the sporting goods sectors harder than everyone else.
We have worked hard at keeping prices down, but we need to raise our shipping charges and move to zone charging based on our increases.
New Zone Shipping Charges will go into effect on January 6th, 2022. The chart below represents the new zone pricing.
–LMC Truck
Milwaukee, WI (Wednesday, December 22, 2021) – Royal Enfield, the world’s oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production since 1901, has tested the endurance of man and machine time and again, and last week, it made history once again by successfully completing the 90° SOUTH Expedition, the quest for the South Pole on the Royal Enfield Himalayan.
This extraordinary endeavor is a tribute to the brand’s 120-year commitment to pure motorcycling, and to the courage and resilience of countless riders and explorers who have made history on two wheels.
On December 16, 2021, two riders Santhosh Vijay Kumar and Dean Coxson reached the geographic South Pole in 15 days, making the ambitious attempt a reality.
The Royal Enfield Himalayans and crew arrived at the geographic South Pole on December 16, 2021. (The team is in communication via satellite phone, hence the low-resolution image.)
The team arrived at Novo in Antarctica from Cape Town for four days of acclimatization, loading of supplies, checking equipment and the motorcycles. From Novo, the team covered an overland distance of 3200 km (1988 miles) over the next 9 days braving extreme weather conditions with temperatures between -30° to -25°C (-22° to -13°F) and wind speed of 60 km/h (37 mph), towards Ross Ice Shelf.
The Ross Ice Shelf was the designated start point for the riders, however, an unexpected blizzard forced the team to alter their course. Instead of starting the ride from 86 South, the team started the 400-km (250-mile) ride from 87 degrees South. Despite a few initial roadblocks and a slight detour, the expedition team completed the quest by reaching the South Pole on December 16, 2021.
For this expedition, two Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycles were modified in-house, with functional upgrades to be able to navigate snow and ice, and function under extreme conditions in Antarctica. The motorcycles were ridden on a compacted snow track from the Ross Ice Shelf to the South Pole, to reduce motorcycle drag and limit emissions to an absolute minimum.
Royal Enfield is consciously ensuring no footprint is left behind by the expedition team except wheel tracks that will be quickly lost to snow drift. In line with our #LeaveEveryPlaceBetter initiative, the team is ensuring all waste including human waste is brought back for appropriate disposal.
The team is currently heading towards the western part of Antarctica, Union Glacier, from where they will fly out to Punta Arenas, Chile.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As Helping A Hero has already awarded over 150 homes to veterans across 24 states, Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, issued the 100 Homes Challenge to help fund the next 100 homes. As part of the challenge, Lee Greenwood and Paula Deen will serve as hosts of the Helping A Hero Telethon, which will premiere on Monday, December 27, at 8e/7c PM on RFD-TV, The Cowboy Channel, and One America Network.
Music performances by Crystal Gayle, Debby Boone, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Frontmen, John Conlee, The Gatlin Brothers, Home Free, Darryl Worley, and a finale with Sam Moore and T. Graham Brown with special guests Janie Fricke, Lee Brice, Michael Ray, Tim Rushlow, and Darryl Worley will highlight the one hour program.
The goal of the telethon is to raise awareness and money to fund the remaining seventy-five percent of the 100 Homes Challenge, initiated by Morris, who is funding the initial twenty-five percent (25%) of the total cost of the homes.
“I am thankful for the friendships that I have nurtured over the years with so many fellow artists that when I simply asked for their help in performing for this telethon event, so many quickly agreed,” says Greenwood. “This program is going to be something fans of country music will enjoy and I am hopeful that we raise lots of money to help fund these homes for our veterans.”
The Helping A Hero Telethon is executive produced by Kim Greenwood and Lee Greenwood.
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP TO THE SEMA ACTION NETWORK IS NOW OPEN–Now YOU Can Be Part Of Our SEMA Community And Protect Your Automotive Freedoms.
As part of the SAN community, you understand the importance of working together to protect the future of our hobby.
For the first time ever, SEMA is opening up a unique opportunity for individuals to support the organization in its uphill battle to preserve and grow the aftermarket. The SEMA Individual Membership program will give YOU the power to help make change for the automotive community as a whole and get access to unique benefits and cool merchandise along the way. For more information, click the link below and stay tuned for updates as the program gains momentum.
BURMA SHAVE SLOGAN OF THE WEEK–I drempt we took a road trip /
and I gave my tongue a callus /
because I licked your pussy /
from San Berdoo to Dallas /
Burma Shave
–J.J. Solari
DIME BAG LEATHERS MEETS SONS OF SPEED— Adam Croft is making a custom leather seat for Billy Lane’s Sons of Speed Racing coming up in Daytona Beach, Florida. Stay tuned for more and the completion of this seat. The brilliant blue on brown leather is solid.
Follow, like and share Billy Lane’s @choppers.inc on Instagram for more Sons of Speed and choppers
–Dime Bag Leathers
NEW FROM LOWBROW–The gas tank you like won’t bolt on to your bike?
No problem.
There are a number of ways you can mount a custom gas tank to your motorcycle. And here at Lowbrow we make tons of fabricator bungs, tabs and parts to make the job easier.
Check out their 30-minute video and see one way you can mount a gas tank using straight-forward methods and basic tools!
PS – We have a wide array of gas tanks and fenders, many of which are not available anywhere else in the world! We also have a custom fender mounting how-to video that you may find useful.
–LowBrow Crew
BIDEN EPA Introduces New Regulations To Force Electric Vehicle Transition
The Biden administration rolled out a series of new emissions regulations for passenger vehicles and light trucks that it said would “unlock” $190 billion in benefits for American consumers.
The regulations will be enforced beginning with 2023 car models and will be revised with more stringent standards in 2027, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. The EPA said the new emissions standards would ultimately quicken the transition from traditional engine vehicles to zero-emission cars.
“This day is truly historic,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said during an event on Monday.
“At EPA, our priority is to protect public health, especially in overburdened communities, while responding to the President’s ambitious climate agenda,” Regan said in a statement prior to the event. “Today we take a giant step forward in delivering on those goals, while paving the way toward an all-electric, zero-emissions transportation future.”
The standards are the “most ambitious” rules of their kind ever put into place, the EPA said. They are projected to cut car emissions by 3 billion tons over the next three decades, the equivalent of half the carbon dioxide emitted in the U.S. per year.
The rule announced Monday will also lead to 15% less gasoline consumption nationwide, according to the agency.
“Today’s action is a tremendous step in the right direction in our fight against the climate crisis,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone said in a statement. “Paired with the investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law, this action will accelerate the process of transforming our transportation sector to the benefit of public health and the environment.”
–Thomas Catenacci
Climate Depot
BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!–CHOPPER CHRONICLES Episode 1
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/CHOPPER_CHRONICLES_Episode_1.aspx
I love the first chapter. Everything in life centered on the next move.
–Koz Mraz
Sedona, AZ
FIRST CLASSIC EASYRIDERS SWEEPSTAKES 2022—
Classic Easyriders has a Sweepstakes to Win accurate replica of Captain America Chopper built by Bikernet.com Sponsor Ron Paugh of Paughco with Mondo Porras of Denver’s Choppers.
https://classiceasyriders.com/sweepstakes/
To Win the chopper all one has to do is Subscribe to Classic Easyriders Magazine and the Winner will get this replica at Buffalo Chip Campgrounds during Sturgis Bike Week 2022.
–Wayfarer
SHOULD THE BICYCLE BIKELASH BE OVER–Even before the pandemic, bike lanes were springing up all over the country in cities large and small. Most motorists weren’t happy, mainly because fewer travel lanes typically translated into longer trips through congested traffic. During the pandemic, the rate of cities building bike lanes and banning cars on streets rose dramatically. The anti-car crowd used every trick in the advocacy playbook to make this happen.
The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail recently posted an opinion piece entitled: Is the War against Bike Lanes Finally Over? The writer proclaims:
“Bike lanes, in Vancouver and across Canada, have grown from political flashpoints—and ideological signifiers—to standard-issue civic infrastructure. They’re being built everywhere.”
The article pointed out that the critical element is that many bike lanes in Canada are protected and not just white lines drawn at the side of the street. The paper’s editorial board even used the term ‘induced demand’—build it, and they will ride it. A cited Boston study used “causal inference,” i.e., an educated guess, to suggest that protected bike lanes increase bike traffic by 80 percent.
The problem with protected bike lanes is that cities generally put them on arterial roads, taking out parking and narrowing the driving lanes. Gridlock generally ensues for drivers who can no longer drive the speed limit. As evidenced along Venice Blvd. in Los Angeles, those protected bike lanes are inconsistent from block-to-block. Intersections are a complete mess. Compounding the confusion, bicyclists emboldened by Vision Zero often use an Idaho stop—stop signs mean yield, and stoplights are stop signs—which drivers and pedestrians don’t always anticipate.
Narrowed lanes are more difficult for first responders to move through during an emergency. If there are protected bike lanes at the side, drivers have nowhere to pull over to let police, ambulances, and fire trucks through. Not only that, when protected bike lanes are built in areas susceptible to forest fires, they can become death traps, as happened to 85 people trying to flee Paradise, CA, during the Camp Fire in 2018.
The anti-car media loves to tout their goal of eliminating private car ownership as we know it. Groups are becoming more emboldened than ever before. In early November 2021, for example, the Los Angeles-based Streets for All announced its 25×25 Challenge. The group wants city leaders to endorse giving 25 percent of street space back to the people by 2025. If implemented, this program would expand bus and bike lanes, pedestrian spaces, green space, outdoor dining areas, plazas, and what some folks call ‘slow streets.’ Los Angeles has 55,360 acres of streets with 61,358 intersections. However, most residents still drive to work, and one of the most congested cities in the world will likely become even more so.
NYC Streets for All has a similar 25×25 campaign. New York City just elected Eric Adams, already being touted as ‘the bike mayor.’ He might be the kind of elected official to push the 25×25 project through.
UK’s The Guardian newspaper recently posted a piece about the bikelash paradox. Even though bike lanes are opposed by many, public officials who endorse them win votes. This is especially true in many European cities, Australia, and Canada.
In America, mayors can also get elected on the promise of adding bike lanes. During his campaign, the aforementioned Eric Adams promised to build 300 miles of new bike lanes in the city that never sleeps.
Motor City Mayor Mike Duggan easily won reelection in November. In 2018, he released his four-year, 82-step plan that focused on Detroit’s traffic flow, transit options, protected bike lanes, speed bumps, and even lowered the speed limits. He recently saw the most extensive one-year buildout of protected bike lanes in the US.
As protected bike lane infrastructure is built, resistance to using the 85th percentile rule to determine proper speed limits is often a byproduct. Motorists get hit with a double whammy, dealing with longer trip times caused by increased traffic congestion while watching lightly used bike lanes absorb their tax dollars.
So, the emphatic answer to our own question of whether bikelash, the organized opposition to the building of bike lanes at the expense of drivers and driving, should be over is NO!
THE BILL MAY REPORT–This is the son of my old pal Dave Ruth. He didn’t look so dorky 11 years ago when he and his mother worked at a casino on the north east side of Deadwood. I been looking at this stuff of maps. I think it had to be the first gold casino. I see there is a Cadillac Jacks up there too. My crazy stepdaughter worked at the midnight star in the ‘90s. She should have stayed.
Dave Ruth Sr. playing at Rochford during bike week 2010. I played a few Steve Earle tunes there too. He was a true brother. It is warmer there now than Nashville is. Amazing. Love the girl pics but prefer saggy real tits to those huge plastic ones. Ride on brother.
–Bill May
MERRY CHRISTMAS—I’m making all sorts of progress on Bandit’s Knucklesled. Shortly, I’ll bring you a report on the VL frame being rebuilt and modified by Irish Rich of Shamrock’s Customs. He’s a master with frames and just moved to the Badlands.
I was hunting for a Knuckle driveline and Steve suggested a flathead 74 or 80, which intrigued me. Then this Flathead 80 complete scooter popped up at a great deal, so I jumped on it. So, I’m back to looking for a Knucklehead driveline for the VL frame.
My son is kicking ass in Austin Texas, downtown tattoo parlors.
This bike built in 1970 by Paul Wheeler was an inspiration to me, although I ran into some handling issues with super-stretched scooters.
Check out this feature, from Dangerous Dave, celebrating Wounded Warriors.
We are making progress on the shop yesterday and today. Can’t wait. In the meantime have a terrific Christmas.
Ride fast and free forever,
–Bandit
