Hey,

Here we go with another stellar news column. Yesterday we ran out to Big Bear Choppers and witnessed the final stages of 20 long bikes being prepped for shipment to Katar.



Ray Wheeler, the Bikernet Performance Editor tagged along and road tested Kevin’s Big Bear Chopper Titanium FXR. Kevin is the King of long Choppers and now the second manufacturer to embrace the FXR platform with a much improved performance model.





We like to say FXRs Forever around the Bikernet headquarters, and it’s cool to see, ride, and feature Kevin’s Titanium version. You will see the story next week right here. Behind the styling of Sons of Anarchy Dyna’s Kevin stepped even beyond the Dyna configuration to bring riders a tough as nails 110-inch S&S powered, Ohlins suspended hot rod capable of constant cross country runs. A recent customer considered buying a new Dyna and making SOA upgrades, but after he ran the numbers, he decided on a Titanium instead.



Let’s hit the news:








KIWI MIKE ON THE ROAD--Ed Kretz Jr passed away last Sun so I thought it was fitting to ride an Indian from the west coast to bring everyone's sympathy along. Sort of a tribute ride.

Little did I know a storm was about hit and make it such a challenging adventurous ride with knocked out secondary roads I like to take and way outa the way detours like hours out of my way.

Oh well. I finally made it Castle Rock, Colo, which is just south of Denver only to be by the storms again. Ya just gotta laugh about this stuff.

Looking forwards to some sun lol.
And the real shitter is I had to stop at a Harley store in Durango to buy some heavy-duty rain gear and give those buggers $200.00 of my Indian money.

This shot was taken last Sun early in the morning. The bit of blue sky lasted only 15 mins. Then back to clouds and the usual Colorado storms. Pikes Peak, 14,110'. Awesome experience to be up this high in the clouds.

Got back home last night in time for wife good home cooking. Funeral went good. Sun left early to head up Pikes peak. Excellent ride to 14,110 feet. Some 2,600 miles, six days in the saddle, multiple rain storms, road closures, stabbing deaths in roadway and so on. All good mate.

I came across several groups of Harley riders. They asked where my back-up vehicle was and where's my luggage. I'd say, “See that little bag on the back, if it doesn't fit in there I don't take it. My clothes are six pairs of undies, three T-shirts, four pairs of socks, one jeans, shaver, toilet bag and riding gear. That's it!!!


--Mike Tomas
Kiwi Indian Motorcycle Co
"We Do Indians Right"


PS. Also add to my clothes list one each Minus 33 brand of long sleeve thermal undershirt and longs. This stuff isn't synthetic and I learned from the around the world riders that it is super warm, doesn't smell from extended wear as its special Marino wool.

My safety gear is Olympia Moto Sports. Love their gear and I will never ride with a leather jacket again.

It ain't bad for a 1948 Chief and a 53-year-old rider who still hasn't found his limits. I have a wonderful wife who allows me such adventures.
Turn every ride into and adventure, ride a Kiwi Indian.







MEETING OF THE MINDS LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE COMING --Meeting of the Minds is just a few days away. I have a couple of reminders for all who are planning to attend.

Please clean out your closets and bring your clean, gently used t-shirts to put on the “New to You” table. This is the table in the Products room where we sell gently used motorcycle related t-shirts. Bring yours in to help raise money for the MRF. And be sure to purchase a few for your wardrobe; again to raise money for the MRF.

For those who will be flying into Columbus, remember to take the hotel phone number with you. When your flight lands you will need to call the hotel for shuttle pick-up. They will check your name against the room reservation list and send the shuttle for registered guests at no charge. You cannot pre-schedule the shuttle. They will only take the information upon your arrival. The phone number is (614) 885-1885.

I just checked the long term weather forecast and it appears those who will be riding in should have nice weather. There is a slight chance of rain moving from the west coast to the east coast so all should be dry. I look forward to seeing you all soon.







FXRS FOREVER, New Bikernet Reader Comment!-- First Million-Mile Harley-Davidson



http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=236


Congratulations! I own a black 1984 FXRT also. These are great riding motorcycles. Mine has 48,000 miles on it. It runs great. This is my first Harley-Davidson and the first year for the Evo engine I believe. I am the second owner.

The first owner was flat tracking on pavement when he hit some gravel. He broke his ankle pretty bad. That ole girl needed a new home. He gave up riding. My bike now, she is a sexy old lady. I have test ridden newer bikes and liked them but my old sexy lady feels better. When riding to big gatherings sometimes I feel envious of all the new Harleys.

Just about every time some seasoned biker will walk up and give the old girl a compliment. That makes my day. One time on a run at the coast we pulled into a dealership (which was one of the poker run stops) all that chrome and polished bikes filling the parking lot.

Three mechanics were standing outside taking in the sights on break. They walked past all the other bikes to check out my ride. They pointed at things that I machined and custom built. Good feeling.

So when I look at the million mile Harley-Davidson I know what Zein is feeling. He has my utmost respect. I`ve got some riding to do to wear my old lady out. :)

Ride free



--Bob Fegles
jhbf06@aol.com
Springfield, OR







BIKERNET MEDICAL CENTER RELEASES DR. WEIL FINDINGS--Two Reasons Not to Eat Before Bed-- You may remember being warned not to eat just before you swim. But what about not eating just before bed?

If you have ever eaten a big meal late in the evening, chances are you have had trouble falling or staying asleep. Why?

Instead of eating large meals later in the evening, eat them earlier in the day, when the body will best use the energy the food provides. And be sure to limit any late-evening eating to small, healthful snacks.




HISTORIC PHOTO OF THE WEEK-- The smallest shop in London – a shoe salesman with a 1.2 square meter shoe store, 1900.

--from Vern





I WALKED TO THE MOUNTAIN—And sought higher learning. A brother reminded me of a couple of truths that hit home. If someone makes more money it benefits others. He hires more folks, buys my shit, etc. So if you restrict that individual, or stop him, he stops benefiting others. Simple.

On the other hand, you can’t add liberty or freedoms. We only have so much, and every time the government passes another restriction more liberty is gone, period. We can’t make more. Plus, it’s almost impossible to eliminate government entities once they are born. Scary

There is a coin. On one side is freedom and on the other is responsibility. You can’t have one without the other. So how can you take on more responsibilities-- through education.

--Ming the Merciless






JOHNNY CHOP’S DOG--I was digging through looking for Eastwood related stuff to send you for the Thursday News, and found these two images of Johnny Chop. That's his dog Louie as a puppy. I'd had email contact with his girlfriend some months after Johnny's death, and she said was she living in Florida, and Louie was with her.

I guess it’s not hard to tell, dogs mean more to me than anything.


--John Gilbert






GOOD NEWS FROM INDIA--
Are you sick and tired of the paid media bombarding you with negativity and bad vibes. Paid Media in India and rest of the world are paid by Corporations and Governments and Political Groups. The paid media spreads negativity and does fear-mongering so that you the audience run to the Corporations and Political Groups for soliciting their products and services.

Free yourself from the burden of negativity focused on you by daily news in TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazines.

Presenting www.GoodNews.name
Only Positive Vibes coming your way.

In Christian mythology, the term “Good News” means a message from a God-realised Soul. We promise to motivate you everyday with real world stories about real people who do good and ask no favours from man nor God for continuing to do good.

Best Wishes,
Ujjwal Dey
www.GoodNews.name
www.FreedomFiction.com




BAD JOKE LIBRARY NOW OPEN—Just Fred: An Arizona Highway Patrol officer stops a Harley for traveling faster than the posted speed limit, so he asks the biker his name.

'Fred,' he replies.

'Fred what?' the officer asks.

'Just Fred,' the man responds.

The officer is in a good mood, thinks he might just give the biker a break, and write him out a warning instead of a ticket. The officer then presses him for the last name.

The man tells him that he used to have a last name but lost it.

The officer thinks that he has a nut case on his hands but plays along with it. 'Tell me, Fred, how did you lose your last name?'

The biker replies, 'It's a long story, so stay with me.' I was born Fred Johnson. I studied hard and got good grades. When I got older, I realized that I wanted to be a doctor. I went through college, medical school, internship, residency, and finally got my degree, so I was Fred Johnson, MD. After a while I got bored being a doctor, so I decided to go back to school. Dentistry was my dream! Got all the way through School, got my degree, so then I was Fred Johnson, MD, DDS. Got bored doing dentistry, so I started fooling around with my assistant and she gave me VD, so now I was Fred Johnson, MD, DDS, with VD.

Well, the ADA found out about the VD, so they took away my DDS. Then I was Fred Johnson, MD, with VD. Then the AMA found out about the ADA taking away my DDS because of the VD, so they took away my MD leaving me as Fred Johnson with VD. Then the VD took away my Johnson, so now I am Just Fred.'

The officer walked away in tears, laughing.

--from Rogue





UNCLE MONKEY MEETS A NEW H-D--Not just new to you but brand spanking new, fresh out of the crate, straight from the factory. A new bike on the street, on its first ride, not just another bike sitting in the showroom waiting. It is a rare sight, something that actually catches you off guard. Nothing added, nothing taken away exactly like the factory intended it to be. My friend picked up his new bike the other day, his first bike and as he fidgeting when we talked I knew he was anxious to be riding rather then talking to me.

Harley's are made to be customized. Hell, they even gave him a "free" accessory catalog before sending him out the door. We all can't wait to make the bike ours and ours alone. Different bars, seat, paint, chrome doodads for chrome doodads, an avalanche of parts to individualize the bike to our taste. But for right now Bob's bike is as stock as a bike can be.

It is almost refreshing, a change up. Ride it the way the factory intended. The thought is a gut check that sends us Harley riders reeling as we try to grasp the concept. Yes there are lots of stock bikes but mostly metrics, blazing fast bikes bred for the track and not the street, BMW and GoldWings roaming the interstate but a stock Harley? It's blasphemy.

It will only be a matter of time before Bob starts the bike down its inevitable path of modifications, changes. So as you begin to strip the countless layers of paint, grease and gaudy from that Shovelhead in the shed remember that at one time, one time when it was just a plain stocker.

-bad Uncle Monkey

At one time, long, long ago the factory intended bikes to be ridden as designed, but I doubt if that’s the case now. The factory and the dealers make larger margins off accessories and service work than they do on motorcycle sales. Now, they want you to come back for more, to personalize your ride, to increase the performance, etc.--Bandit


BOULDER COLORADO’S 100 YEAR FLOOD--
“We got 9 inches of rain in 24 hours, more than twice the record set in 1914 and just under half of our annual 20 inches of precipitation,” said Michael Lichter.

We said we would bring you more on Michael’s effort in the Thursday News.

“My assistant found some things we needed in South Denver and throughout the day, roasting hot sand bags (a factory was loading them and trucking them in as fast as possible) became available in town. My studio was compromised with a skim coat of mud through it, but I lifted the computers and whatever equipment I could manage to get off the floor earlier, so it isn't as bad as it would have been.

“We got 100 sandbags in place Thursday, dug channels around the house and finally went to bed at midnight that night after being up 28 hours straight. Friday was mostly dry, allowing us to start the cleanup, but warnings were still in place as the rivers and reservoirs were swollen and they were forcasting more storms.”

We wish Michael, his family, and all the residents of Boulder and affected Colorado communities the very best in these tough times.--Bandit








RICK FAIRLESS ON Mumbley Peg at Eight Years Old!--Ya know, I absolutely love the motorcycle industry! I mean, this is what I was born to do. It’s my livelihood and my passion, my entire life. But it wasn’t always that way. The first eight years of my life, I was lost and alone except for my Ma and Pa and my brother Randy and two mean sisters. I didn’t have a girlfriend or a motorcycle—dear God how did I survive? Surviving without a girlfriend wasn’t so bad, but no motorcycle? WTF! I wasted those first 8 years on comic books, spinning tops, skateboards, shooting marbles and our favorite pastime—playing Mumbley Peg! Then, when I was nine years old and my brother Randy, (now a big shot lawyer) was eight, our lives changed forever when our Great Uncle, Sarge, gave us a Bonanza mini bike.

I would submit to you that my life began at nine years old. When Ran and I got that mini bike, we were instantly obsessed and totally consumed with riding it and wrenching on it. We just had the one bike, so we took turns riding it at my Uncle’s ranch in east Texas. Since me and Ran wanted to race each other, we had to race using a stopwatch to see who was the fastest. We would time how long it took to ride from the main barn to the front gate and back, a good mile. We would also see who could jump the bike the farthest over a dried out pond. Whoever lost would say the other one cheated. I usually won and Ran always said I cheated…so what, sore loser!

When we each turned 15 our Dad said we ought to get a job so we could start saving up for our first car. Well, we told our Dad that we didn’t want a car, we both wanted motorcycles. He thought we were crazy, but he and my Ma were okay with it as long as we rode responsibly (yeah, like that was gonna happen.) So, we both went to work at the Skaggs-Albertsons grocery store as sack boys. We made $1.62 an hour. (Is it crazy that I still remember my starting wage?) I wanted to buy a Honda 100, $440 out the door, and Ran wanted a Yamaha 100. My Dad said to save up half the dough and we’d go get the bikes. Ran and I thought that was pretty good; we save up half the dough and Dad pays the other half. When I had my half, $220, Dad took us to the Honda shop to get the bike. He told me to pull out my half and when I did he pulled out a pen from his pocket and told the salesman that he would cosign for me to make payments on the other half. The same thing happened when we went to pick up Ran’s Yamaha 100. DANG IT! We thought we could quit our crummy sack boy jobs and just ride around acting cool and terrorizing the neighborhood chicks! (Well, we did that anyway.)

Within 6 months, we had those bikes completely stripped down and set up for racing! I had a Preston Petty plastic gas tank and fenders, motocross bars and a Bassani megaphone. We rode the bikes to school every day and on Friday after school, we would strip off all the lights and put on a number plate (3N by God!) so we could race all weekend at Rock Island and the Dallas International Motor Speedway! Then on Sunday night, while my Ma and Pa and squirrelly little sisters were watching Junior Samples and the gang from Hee Haw, me and Ran would get the bikes street legal again so we could ride them to school Monday morning. My God how we loved those little 100s!

Well, I’ll tell ya, the way I felt every time I rode or wrenched on my Honda 100, it’s the same dang feeling I still get every single day up here at Strokers Dallas. Little did I know as a nine year old kid that the little Bonanza mini bike was gonna shape the future for the rest of my life. Ya know, I wonder what would have happened if my Great Uncle Sarge had given me a guitar instead of a mini bike. Heck, I maybe could have been the fifth Beatle, or at least a dang Monkey!

I bet a lot of ya’ll reading this column are lifelong motorcycle junkies just like me. I know you have stories of how the motorcycle sickness struck you too! Please email me your story and maybe my sweetheart/editor Marilyn will print some of them in a future issue of IronWorks.

How do you like me now???

--RF
STROKERS DALLAS



This was reprinted courtesy of IronWorks Magazine and Rick Fairless. Watch for his next column in the new issue of IronWorks. We get the old, stale ones.--Bandit