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Here I am again, head pounding, eyes bloodshot, in dry mouthed hangover hell. Bandit just finished screaming at me about having to wrestle with his underlings, Renegade and Wrench, over going to lunch with Layla and Sin Wu. He was red-faced mad and not in any mood for excuses. It seems having to build a […]

Duane Ballard is no stranger to the custom bike scene.Having made custom hand tooled seats for Biker Build-Off winners Hank Young, Cole Foster and Greg Westbury to name a few. Duane knows how to put a bikes “look” together. Duane is also an aficionado of 1970s pop culture. He's been building model cars and collecting

It’s almost universally recognized that “the birth of the American biker” occurred during the infamous Gypsy Tour in Hollister, California, during the Fourth of July weekend in 1947. Hollister ’47 seriously affected not only the motorcycle culture but the entirety of American society as well. (See the history piece by Bill Hayes in Special Reports.)

Seven time world champion Formula One racer Michael Schumacher expresses his reaction to surprise present from friends on the occasion of his retirement from racing.Baseball players have their stats based on their batting average and runs, basketball players have their average points per game, but when it comes to Formula One race car drivers, it

Discovery competitor concept drawing.Unbelievable but true. Two build-off competitions in one year. Yes Zeel was a participant in the 5th season of the Discovery Channel Biker Build Off. The engineers at Zeel took part in a trike build off against CC Trikes of Texas. The voting took place at the ROT bike rally in Austin,Texas.

By far, the best part of my job is flying and riding around the globe meeting new people and checking out some of the world’s finest custom-built motorcycles. This June found me, for the third year in a row, on the judging panel for Twin Club M.C.’s Custom Bike Show in Norrtelje, Sweden. Twin Club

Think about this: I’ve been writing bike features for 35 years, and it’s never boring. Once in a while an owner will say something like this, “Ya can’t mention my ex-wife. I don’t ride much, but we need to talk about all the cool parts I paid a guy to make for me.” That makes

Bandit asked me to write this article. When it comes to stories involving relationships with the opposite sex he’s like a pussy-allergic kid tossed into a cat box. After five marriages he breaks out in hives. When Terry, the boss of Envy Cycle and Street Walker exhaust told Bandit about a show, his wife and

This is one of those mornings. My cursed mind is swimming with projects, options, calls, e-mails and to-dos. Fortunately I’m not in the middle of some mad romance and chasing women all over town. It’s the curse of the 21st century and our society. If the phone ain’t ringing, the e-mails are popping, the mail

I first became aware of this bike’s existence one late afternoon in January of 2006. My good riding buddy, Jerry Gray, called on a Saturday morning asking if I would take a ride with him. I’ll ride anywhere, with almost anyone, at a drop of a hat; but when Jerry calls…I don’t even ask “where

I’ll give the boss a break since young Derek Pauletto, of Trillion Industries, out of Calgary, is such a tech head. We spent a half-hour discussing Plasma cutters and TIG welding before we shifted to his Rovad, one-off motorcycle. The name came from the owner, although he’s not sure he liked Derek’s choice. It’s the

This is a rare opportunity. Ralph Randolph of Ralph Randolph Designs and Knockout Motorcycle Company is a friend and a brother, so I can write this article straight up, no bullshit, reporting style. I don’t know what I’m saying, but Ralph is one of those rare individuals you can speak to comfortably and know he

This is the rear of the bike Mr. Boxell built in his garage. He used a mille, lathe, and a welder. While Bandit is off in Australia humping Kangaroos, I am getting bombarded with rampant e-mails and incessant death threats. Here’s one small example: Dear sir, Bandit is ten times the writer you are. How

I got an e-mail from Bandit saying, ”hey, ya gotta check out Jessica!” Me being the perverted sumbitch I am, gladly obliged by checking the link to the website he gave me. Following the link under galleries labeled “Jessica,” I was a little surprised by the discovery of a chopper, not a girl. Ah Bandit,

You can bling your car. You can bling your Chihuahua. You can even bling your teeth, so why not bling your bike? Well, we’ve been doing it for a hundred years what with all kinds of nickel and brass then chrome and polished aluminum. And then there’s the paint job where it’s easy enough to

“You’re the storywriter…my story is a common one,” said Dan Bergman from Mesa, Arizona. Bandit gave me the assignment to write this feature, but I wanted to buy a six-pack of Coronas and chase a bubbly blonde named Coral around the shop, while he was picking up parts at Bennett’s Performance in Long Beach. I

Two unique designs from Minnesota’s newest custom bike venue, The Shop. Here at Bikernet.com, we are always looking for new and exciting bikes that are built with one thing in mind; riding. Bandit sent me some info on a couple of bikes built in Minnesota by a relative unknown to the custom motorcycle world, Billy

The author and builder, Kevin Brooks. To understand the Bike you must first know the two parties involved, I am The builder and conceiver of its whole, the man who twisted the steel and gave life to its thundering heart, who saw a means to an end, to reach its owner’s, desired results. My history

This is a follow up to the chopper drawing article that was published about a year or so ago. You can find it through this link: http://www.bikernet.com/garage/PageViewer.asp?PageID=778 Jerry Blanks commissioned the drawings from me, in the first article. He owns a carpet company but was interested in starting a new venture called So Cal Hot

Lisa, the model, www.lisaangeline.com, called me before the shoot. “What’s up with the green bikes on Bikernet?” I didn’t have a good answer. I asked her, “Are your peaches sweet?” Now days when you read an article about a bike build it reads like a service manual documenting how this was machined and that was

I often feel like a basketball player during the final game of the season, when I start a bike feature. I’m pumped to share a passel of info about the bike, the girl, the builder, the owner, their dog and the naked chick in the window next door. I’m dribbling like crazy trying to make

Nash Motorcycles, based in Vancouver, Washington, is the home of 150 inches of rain annually and the highest suicide rate in the country, or was that Seattle? The Nash clan runs the show with a pile of brothers and Taber Nash’s wife Jenna. The older brother Trent also has his own business, Knucklehead Clothing, but

It’s interesting, some companies are growing and running strong whereas some of the most talented guys in the industry are struggling. Some are masters at marketing while others are masters at style and stay clear of the limelight. Gard is one of the latter. When it comes to design and fabrication he gets the job

The “W” series 45 cubic inch Harley Flathead motor has been around since 1937. It was very reliable but slow as molasses in January. Decades ago, the legendary Randy Smith came up with the idea of mating the top end of a 900cc Ironhead Sportster to the bullet proof Flatty’s lower end. The result THE