Hey,

I am a man of many strange thoughts. Although, they are predominantly centered around riding free and helping others. I woke up the other beautiful morning and noted how the heat has subsided some and it was a perfect day for working in the shop and getting shit done.



Then is dawned on me. If man controls the climate, then he’s responsible for every perfect day, and for every time it rains and feeds the trees. He’s responsible for that perfect grape crop season and all the fine wines. Hell, Fossil fuels have maybe kept us safe and from freezing during an ice age.

Let’s hit the news and celebrate all the good man has done for the human race and the planet.



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 the Smoke Out and Quick Throttle Magazine came on board.











BILTWELL PRODUCT OF THE WEEK-- Darkstar Collab
Pop not Slop!

We recently teamed up with Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Greg Lutzka and our buds at Darkstar to create a couple limited edition skate decks. They only made a few, so grab one while you can!





PISTOL DEAL OF THE WEEK-- PPK/s First Edition - Only 1250 Available
This is the TALO exclusive First Edition PPK/s available through TALO Distributors.

Attention Collectors! Walther Begins Shipping FIRST EDITION PPK/S Pistols.

Timelessness inspires true greatness. Walther is proud to announce the release of the PPK/S First Edition. Limited to only 1250 units, serial numbers 101-1350, the First Edition will only be a one-time run.

This TALO exclusive First Edition model was produced to commemorate the return of the PPK family, and the beginning of Walther’s US-based manufacturing. The Walther PPK/S First Edition features a stainless-steel finish matched with elegant cocobolo wood grips and chambered in .380 ACP. The slide is marked “First Edition” on the right side under the ejection port.

At the time of its invention over 80 years ago, the PPK inspired an entirely new category in the firearm industry, now widely known as the concealed carry pistol.

An evolution of the classic PPK, the PPK/S maintains the timeless features, essence and the elegance of the original with an additional extended grip allowing for added capacity and improved ergonomics. Few guns have withstood the test of time like the brilliantly designed PPK. To this day, the PPK is still one of the most sought after concealed carry pistols on the market. This demand serves as a testament to Walther’s long-enduring legacy of excellence and unparalleled performance. The timeless design and superior engineering make the PPK a true legend amongst firearms.

“We are very excited about the release of the Walther PPK/S First Edition. To build upon the history of this timeless pistol and offer a collector’s item was a fun project. The Fort Smith, Arkansas production is another mark on the storied history of this pistol, and we look forward to the future of the PPK series.” Said Bret Vorhees, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Walther Arms, Inc.

--www.waltherarms.com





QUICK, OPEN THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BAD JOKE LIBRARY-- During his physical, the doctor asked the patient about his daily activity level. He described a typical day this way:

“Well, yesterday afternoon, I waded along the edge of a lake, drank eight beers, escaped from wild dogs in the heavy brush, jumped away from an aggressive rattlesnake, marched up and down several rocky hills, stood in a patch of poison ivy, crawled out of quicksand and took four leaks behind big trees.”

Inspired by the story, the doctor said, “You must be one hell of an outdoorsman!”

”NAH,” he replied, “I'm just a shitty golfer.”

--from Joe Smith





BREAKING NEWS: Trump ends US China trade war; swaps Hong Kong for California in unprecedented deal

Washington DC—After months of growing trade Tensions between the US and China leading to an impending global recession, along with mounting strife in China’s Hong Kong province prompting dissidents to wave American flags, US President Donald Trump has negotiated quite possibly the biggest deal of his life.

The US will trade the entire state of California for Hong Kong in a flat exchange.

“Basically everyone in California wants to be commies and Hong Kong wants to be American, so we did what we call a win-win-win and traded the two in a tremendous deal,” Trump said in a press conference announcing the unprecedented deal.

Markets responded with a complete turnaround from recent declines and posted record numbers.

Californians and Hong Kongers were dancing in their respective streets—Californians happy about the 1-child-only policy and being run by the Communist Party finally!—and Hong Kong happy about being part of the free world once again.





NEWS FROM THE CLIMATE DEPOT--Dems at Climate Forum: Ban Everything! [Supercut]
‘There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking’

By Tom Elliott

Democrats appearing at CNN's marathon 7-hour global warming forum have a plan to solve a changing climate: Ban everything!

Over the course of the television extravaganza, Democrats' leading 2020 presidential candidates floated a variety of proposals to cut Americans' energy use and, ostensibly, to stop the climate from changing.

Among them: Bans on plastic straws, red meat, incandescent lightbulbs, gas-powered cars, nuclear energy, off-shore drilling, fracking, natural gas exports, coal plants, and even "carbon" itself.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), asked if she supports banning fracking, said "of course."

"There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking, so yes. And starting — and starting with what we can do on day one around public lands, right? And then there has to be legislation, but yes — and this is something I've taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue. And to your point, we have to just acknowledge that the residual impact of fracking is enormous in terms of the impact on the health and safety of communities."

When she was asked if she'd ban plastic straws, she also answered affirmatively: "I think we should, yes. I’m going to be honest."

Sen. Warren said she'd ban new nuclear plants: "We’re not going to build any nuclear power plants and we’re going to start weaning ourselves off of nuclear energy and replacing it with renewable fuels. We’re going to get it all done by 2035."

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said he'd ban fracking, off-shore drilling, and, eventually, fossil fuels themselves: "Absolutely, yes, I will ban offshore drilling. Why? Because, again, where have we seen these leases — this is why I’ve been fighting, doing demonstrations on the Jersey shore, to stop new licenses. Because when we know they drill, they spill. ... If my goal is to get our electricity zero carbon emission, that means phasing off of fossil fuels. If we’re going to get there to net zero carbon emissions by 2045 for our whole nation we have to get off of fossil fuels. So why would I allow new leases? But this is not just offshore drilling, this is things like fracking on public land.”

Sen. Harris said she would update government food guidelines to try to phase out eating red meat: "The answer is yes. I’ll also say this. The balance that we have to strike here, frankly, is about what government can and should do around creating incentives and then banning certain behaviors. To be honest I love cheeseburgers from time to time. I just do. And, but there has to be also what we do in terms of creating incentive that’s we will eat in a healthy way. We will encourage moderation. And we’ll be educated about the effect of our eating habits on our environment. And we have to do a much better job of that. And the government has to do a much better job of that.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) went the furthest, saying we should try to minimize human life itself to help the environment. Sanders said he'd use taxpayer money to help fund 3rd world population-control programs: "The answer has everything to do with the fact that women in the United States of America, by the way, have a right to control their own bodies and make reproductive decisions. And the Mexico City agreement, which denies American aid to those organizations around the world that allow women to have abortions or even get involved in birth control to me is totally absurd."

Former Vice President Joe Biden said he'd shut down coal plants and work to eliminate gas-powered cars: "Everybody knows where the world is going. Just like we set out the rules for what kind of plant, coal-burning plants — we have to shut down the ones we have but nobody is going to build a new one. Guess what? ... We have to vehicles off the road as quickly as we can but that create a significant number of jobs and opportunities for people.”

Most incredible: CNN asked most candidates if they support a "carbon-free America" and every candidate answered in the affirmative. How America can become "carbon-free" as every living thing on Earth contains carbon was never discussed or explained.

--Grabie News.com




NEWS FROM HAL ROBINSON’S EX-- I have been watching "Hells Angels Chronicles" and got inspired to send these jokes/illustrations.

Once again, I was really fascinated with Solari's "Short Happy Life of Easyriders Magazine. Solari used a lot of adjectives to describe Hal's work for Easyrider. He used a lot of nouns too, telling about all the things he has seen in his quasi-psychedelic cartoons. I always thought they were quasi-psychedelic too.

Here’s the link to J.J.’s story:
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=14489

He memtioned healthy handsome burley men-of-action bordering on chaos with ultra Daisy-Mae girlfriends. He listed many details like flies, excrement, flying fists, mountains of rubbish, surreal motorcycles, and a complete domination of existence.

No one else did work like Hal. The part about domination of existence is really heavy. I'm glad he appreciated all this stuff he saw in Hal's work and that is why anyone with any appreciation for high quality, great cartooning gets addicted to it. I liked it very much.

--Ann Robinson







BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT VOCABULARY LESSON OF THE WEEK--
ikebana

[ik-uh-bah-nuh; Japanese ee-ke-bah-nah]
noun
1.
the Japanese art of arranging flowers.

QUOTES
... were you to consider the philosophy at the core of ikebana, grounded as it is in Japan's ancient polytheism and its Buddhist traditions, you might find something quite relevant to the times we live in: an art that can expand your appreciation of beauty.
-- Deborah Needleman, "The Rise of Modern Ikebana," New York Times, November 6, 2017
ORIGIN
Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, comes from the Japanese verb ikeru “to keep alive, make alive, arrange” and -bana, a variant used as a combining form of hana “flower.” Ikebana dates to the 6th century when offerings of flowers were placed at altars; later, flowers were also displayed in tokonomas (alcoves in private homes). Ikebana entered English at the beginning of the 20th century.




BIKE SHOW BLUES-- Hello bandit,

Finally took my '51 FL to a bike show. At first, felt like a jackass.......got it normally dialed in....1 or 2 kicks to start.....after registering, went to fire up and I kicked, and kicked, and kicked.

After a while, a couple of guys felt sorry for the old man and tried to push start me.......nada.....ended up pushing it to judging area. Figured had no spark, so took off distributor cap to check points. For some reason looked at kill switch on handlebars and realized I had bumped it…



When I shut down to register, turned it to the run position, 2 kicks later it came screaming to life......dork. Anyhow, ended up winning best in show--made me happy.



Got goals.......next one is to kick-start my FL in December on my 66th birthday. My next goal will be to kick-start it on my 67th birthday and so on—gotta keep going.



--Andy





NEW SOFTAILS VS. DYNA GLIDES—A couple of guys asked about the differences and I started digging. We published a factory, brief description about the new frame, but I need someone who could discuss the differences.

I just spoke to Gene Thomason, at Gene Thomason Racing.

He said the new Softail frame is killer strong and secure. He actually said the whole rubber mounting system and the Twin Cam chain-driven cams made for a much more insecure operation.

Link to the Factory description:
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=14503

The new mono-shock system is much better, although can’t be raised more than 2 inches. The new balanced engines with gear-driven cams have less vibration.

Here’s Gene’s shop address: Gene Thomason Racing, 22632 Normandie Ave, Torrance, CA 90502
Phone: (310) 618-1908

I also spoke to Dave Perewitz who recently gave up baggers for a new M-8 Softail. He took it from 72 horsepower on the Dyno to 92 horsepower and well over 100 pounds of torque with just S&S cams, a new pipe and air cleaner.

He changed out the dual 16-inch wheels for a carbon fiber 17 on the rear and 19 on the front. “It handles like it’s on rails,” said Dave.

We’re still digging.

--Bandit





LATEST FROM MAV ARTS-- The Menagerie Kickstarter is Now LIVE!

This section is generally entitled "Moore from Monte", but I figured I would take the reigns on it this week, as we have a very important announcement. As Operations Manager for Maverick Arts, I am pleased to have the honor of writing this message.

As many of you Montiacs already know, Monte is an artist who works in many different mediums and styles. Over the years, he has found great success in the areas of Fantasy Art, Pinup Art, Western Art, Automotive Art and Wildlife Art - just to name a few! We are pleased to announce that the Kickstarter Project, The Menagerie by Monte Michael Moore is now live!



The Menagerie is a fine arts portfolio that will showcase Monte's different styles and techniques available in collectible art prints of various sizes and designs. This will be the perfect opportunity to get to know your favorite artist even better through the scope of his work, and to fill out your personal collection of signed art prints from Monte. Some of the pieces featured in the Menagerie have never been available in these formats before, and will be offered for the first time through this Kickstarter project. Check it all out here, and get your hands on your very own Menagerie portfolio, or a Metal Menagerie, a piece of original art, an original sketch cover or commission, or for one truly lucky Montiac, the opportunity to have Monte paint an oil masterwork just for you.

That last one? That's pricey, but it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We are currently in discussions with galleries, licensees, and major publishers on a daily basis, and direct access to Monte's work is bound to become quite a bit more limited over the coming months and years.

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor of collecting one of America's premier artists.

Thanks - Joshua Andrews #EXPECTMOORE