Hey,
I feel almost human again. My new computer is singing once more. The key is having an external hard drive, back-up system. Mine is called Time Machine Backups. It’s the size of a flattened cigarette pack and holds everything on the computer, software and all. Makes ya wonder.
Between now and next Thursday I will attempt to catch up with all the news items. There’s a lot going on, but I’ll touch on a couple of hot topics: We rolled over to Sugar Bear’s 70th Birthday yesterday. He’s had an amazing life so far, and now has a new shop. I met with Oliver, the founder of the Love Ride. They just signed Dwight Yoakum for the event in October, coupled with California Bike Week and the first official Flat Track Racing in ten years. This race will be the season finale.
“I think it’s the most exciting motorcycle racing on the planet,” Oliver said, and he just recently brought a couple of Buell records back from Bonneville. But there’s a side of the Love Ride often overlooked; the charity aspect. The Love Ride foundation supports 11 charities and the largest this year is the Autism Foundation, then the MDA and several local charities. One out of every 132 children born in the U.S. encounters autism, and the number is growing. We will bring you report on Love Ride Charities right up to the event.
On a lighter/dark side here’s a couple of oddballs. I read in the Week magazine that Bank of America wouldn’t cash a check from a man with no arms, because he couldn’t give them a thumb print. Steve Valdez, in Florida, supplied the clerk with two picture I.D.s but was still turned down. The check was written on his wife’s account from that branch. I hate, and refuse to do business with B of A. After being a customer for 15 years, they refused to give me a loan because I was a serviceman and wanted to buy a motorcycle (new 1969 XLCH). My folks pulled all their accounts.
One mo:’ Two girls, ages 10 and 12, were trapped in a South Australia storm drain, but they had cell phones, so they updated their FaceBook statuses, rather than calling Australia’s 911 equivalent. What’s that say? Let’s hit the news:
SEMA THE HOT ROD INDUSTRY GRASS ROOTS ORGANIZATION WORKING WITH BIKERNET FOR A MOTORCYCLE CONNECTION– SEMA is reaching out into the powersports industry this year (the original announcement is attached below). My friend Keith Ball, the head honcho at Bikernet.com, has been consulting with the car guys at SEMA to help them develop this market.
“We are making progress at establishing a motorcycle council within SEMA,” said Ball. “We had a conference call this week and hope to organize a meeting at the SEMA show. All invited.”
Association Recognizes Segment?s Growing Popularity, Cross Marketing Opportunities
DIAMOND BAR, Calif. SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, is adding a new section to the 2009 SEMA Show dedicated to Powersports and Utility Vehicles. Located in the South Hall, this section will feature manufacturers of power-driven equipment, such as personal transporters; motorcycles; motor scooters; two-, three- and four-wheel ATVs; pocket bikes; specialty golf carts; mini-bikes; dirt bikes; and accessories and services that support these vehicles.
?We are constantly seeking new growth opportunities for our members and attendees of the SEMA Show,? said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president of communications and events. ?The Powersports and Utility Vehicle marketplace is of growing importance to our core buyers. Manufacturers in this area will discover a slew of potential buyers. Meanwhile, the SEMA Show will serve as a convenient location for veteran attendees to discover all there is to know about this booming market.?
In addition to this a dedicated area on the show floor, attendees will have an opportunity to participate in educational seminars and interactive workshops focused on the Powersports and Utility Vehicle market during the week. The annual SEMA Show gathers over 100,000 automotive professionals from all sections of the automotive aftermarket including over 2,000 media representing 100 countries. Information regarding the SEMA Show and all its sections is available atwww.semashow.com
Schuberth and Cardo announce cooperation– Magdeburg / Pittsburgh- Schuberth GmbH, the German producer of high-end head protection and Cardo Systems Inc., the Pittsburgh based market leader in Bluetooth? communication systems for motorcycle helmets (scala rider), announced the signing of a cooperation agreement, according to which Cardo will design and manufacture a unique communication and entertainment system for the Schuberth C3, C2 and Concept motorcycle flip-up helmets. The new and patented system which can be easily adapted to these helmets will be launched in 2009.
Besides connectivity with mobile phones, bike-to-bike intercom between up to 3 rider and wireless receipt of stereo music from compatible MP3 players, no further technical information about the system was provided. At this point also the name of the new system is still being kept confidential. Schuberth?s executives described their new system not only technologically as cutting edge, but also as a radically new approach in retrofitting communication systems to motorcycle helmets, blurring the line between built-in headsets and after-market solutions. The new system will be offered in the first move for Schuberth flip-up helmets and can be installed within minutes by any end-user. Schuberth plans to present the system this year, possibly at the EICMA motorcycle trade show in Milan, Italy.
— Andrea Lawn
609-750-9111
alawn@sspr.com
CUSTOM CHROME EUROPE RIDE-IN BIKESHOW FAAK 2009– TICKET TO RIDE! The first European Customizer has received his ticket to the 2009 World Championship of Custombike-Building: At the CCE Ride-In Show 2009, part of the ?Arneitz Custom Show?. The winner ? well known for his stunning stainless steel parts and no stranger to Best of Show wins at Faak: A.T. Cycles new creation ?Osmane?!
Bolt on and Ride is this year?s theme for Europe?s No. 1 Custom parts-distributor Custom Chrome Europe. Now running in its 7th year ? the second with the Arneitz Custom Show ? the CUSTOM CHROME EUROPE Ride-In Bikeshow again showed an incredible high standard of quality. Along with the trophies and a RevTech 125 CubicInch engine for the Runner-Up in the Best of Show voting, the ? 5.000,– voucher has become THE price to participate at this show which is now co-operating with Harley-Davidson?s Ride-In show on Friday, who ? for the first time ever ? also sent a happy winner to Sturgis!
This year?s head-on start into the co-operation will continue into 2010, promoting the two bikeshows together, while every show will retain its individual character and categories. Harley-Davidson Europe?s Jeremy Pick handed out ? 500,– in cash to the Stock class winner at the CCE Show, while Custom Chrome Europe General Manager Andreas Scholz handed out the same amount to the winner in the HD-Ride-In Radical class.
2009 categories included Stock, Old School/Style, Chopper, Sportster Engine, Radical and last year?s added Bagger class for the now up-to-date fast and stylish touring bikes.
www.custom-chrome-europe.com
Fotos: Motographer.de
BAKER DRIVETRAIN OPENS ONLINE STORE– Baker Drivetrain has opened an online store (http://store.bakerdrivetrain.com) that allows consumers to buy all Baker products directly from the company. Also, Baker dealers can request unique login information that will allow them to view special-level pricing, as well as special offers and content.
The company?s Lisa Baker tells Dealernews that out of necessity, Baker Drivetrain has always sold directly to consumers. ?If dealers could sell enough without us selling directly, to keep us in business, we?d be happy to do that,? she says.
Baker Drivetrain will be careful when pricing products on the site, Baker says. ?Our every intention is not to undercut dealers,? she says. ?If we offer a sale to the public, we would then offer a comparable sale to the dealer.? Most of the time, she adds, dealers are given a opportunity to buy products at a lower price before the new consumer-direct pricing takes effect.
In a press release targeted to consumers and dealers, Baker Drivetrain states, ?Buying direct ensures that the service, products and experience are the best you can get!?
The site contains technical information, pricing, availability, shipping info, images, upgrades and unique customer profiles.
Baker Drivetrain says dealers should use the site to educate themselves and order products. ?Perhaps most importantly,? the company states, ?this can be a tool to help you educate your customers, and work with them to purchase exactly what they need for their bikes.?
To promote the site’s launch, Baker Drivetrain has limited-time pricing on the DD6, which the company describes as ?the quietest, most efficient, best-selling transmission we?ve ever made.? The retail price for the builder?s kit is $1,995, which is the original wholesale price. Dealers in turn can buy the kits for 20 percent off their old price.
–DEALERNEWS
The gang at Bikernet will bring you Baker product info often.–Wrench
NRA-Backed Wicker Amendment Adopted By Senate–
During consideration of H.R. 3288 (FY 2010 Transportation–Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill), Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) offered NRA-backed Amendment 2366 to reform policies regarding the transportation of firearms on Amtrak trains. Currently, passengers who choose to travel by passenger rail in the United States cannot transport a firearm in checked baggage as they can on airlines. Known as the Wicker Amendment, this measure was adopted by the Senate on Wednesday, September 16, by a vote of 68-30, and would allow law-abiding Amtrak passengers the ability to securely transport firearms in their checked baggage while traveling by Amtrak train.
Wicker offered a similar amendment to a budget resolution on April 2. That NRA-supported amendment was adopted by the Senate by a 63-35 vote. Unfortunately, the amendment did not survive the conference committee and was not included in the final budget resolution.
“Americans should not have their Second Amendment rights restricted for any reason, particularly if they choose to travel on America’s federally subsidized rail line,” said Wicker.
Wicker’s appropriations amendment would cut more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer funding to Amtrak if the railroad does not change its policy to allow passengers to securely transport firearms in checked baggage. The policy change would also broaden gun owners’ choices in choosing how to travel, and benefit Amtrak by encouraging more business from shooters and hunters.
“Sportsmen who would like to use an Amtrak train for hunting trips cannot do so because they are not allowed to bring a firearm in checked luggage, something that is done every day at airports across our country,” Wicker said during floor debate.
Naked Motoryclist Arrested– Early Tuesday morning Dante Krauss was arrested when Marion County sheriff’s Capt. Mike Rolls spotted Krauss riding a motorcycle naked and apparently intoxicated.
OCALA – A man who already has several DUI convictions and his driver?s license revoked for 10 years was arrested Tuesday morning after he was determined to be drunk while riding a motorcycle naked, according to a Sheriff?s Office report.
Watch Commander Capt. Mike Rolls told Deputy Christine Post that he was driving on Interstate 75 by the State Road 200 exit after midnight when he saw someone on a motorcycle and that the person appeared not to have on any clothing.
Rolls said he turned around and followed the motorcyclist, who exited at State Road 40. He was stopped in the 3800 block. Post noted in her report that Dante J. Krauss was standing next to his silver 2006 Kawasaki motorcycle and was not wearing any clothing.
The unemployed man told the deputy he did not remember where he was coming from and said the last thing he remembered was going to Hooters.
When asked if he had anything to drink, the Dunnellon man said yes. He had no explanation for why he was nude.
Krauss was given a shirt, courtesy of a nearby hotel, and his lower body was covered with a shawl that was on the handlebars of the motorcycle.
A field sobriety exercise was performed and Krauss failed, at which time he was transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was booked at 3:35 a.m.
During a breathalyzer test, he blew a .178 and a .162. The state?s legal limit is .08.
Krauss? driver?s history shows he has four DUI convictions. In 1991, his license was revoked for 10 years.
By Austin L. Miller
Staff writer
–from Rogue
CODE OF THE WEST TEST FAILED IN FLORIDA– I may catch a lot of flack over this statement BUT!!! I do not feel sorry for the punk. He had a fight with a man and then went outside and intentionally ran into motorcycles.
I think the motorcycles were more valuable than his life. In the old days when a cowboy lost a fight he didn?t go out side and shoot the other guy?s horse. CODE OF THE WEST!!!–Rogue
Two men, one identified as a member of the Warlocks motorcycle club and the other a security guard, were behind bars Wednesday after Apopka police linked them to the slaying of a one-time Palm Bay resident. Police say Chad Brickey, 29, was shot to death about 1:25 a.m. Saturday after a fight at an Apopka bar.
Investigators later arrested a security guard identified as Holguy Louissaint, 41, in Seminole County and Warlocks member James Madison Bedsole, 39, in the Orlando area. Both were charged with first-degree murder, police said.
“It began with a fight between Brickey and (Bedsole). Brickey got in his car and then slammed into some motorcycles,” said Officer Ed Chittenden, spokesman for the Apopka Police Department.
“That stirred a hornet’s nest, with everyone running outside.”
Police said Louissaint, a private security guard, just happened to pull up in his pickup truck as the incident unfolded and decided on his own to chase Brickey.
Bedsole jumped in the back of the truck and urged Louissaint, who never contacted police about the incident, to chase Brickey.
After a chase that stretched two to three miles, both vehicles stopped in the area of a gas station. Police said Bedsole got out of the truck, ran up to Brickey, a father of one, and fatally shot him in the head.
The shooting death left Brickey’s family stunned.
“They chased my son down the road. They thought the motorcycles were more valuable than his life,” said Brickey’s mother Ginger Hammachi, who lives in Indialantic.
–BY J.D. GALLOP ? FLORIDA TODAY
ACTION ALERT: Los Angeles City Motorcyclists MUST act now to STOP SMOG CHECK for Motorcycles before 10 am on FRIDAY MORNING, 9/11/09– California State Senator Fran Pavley introduced Senate Bill 435, the smog check for motorcycles bill in February of 2009.
It has NOTHING to do with Pol-lution…it’s all about Pol-itics. The politicians think motorcyclists are easy to push around. Show them they are wrong!
ABATE of California did what it could to shut the bill down, temporarily, but Senator Pavley and friends are trying a NEW tactic; asking cities and counties to use the resolution process to garner support for the bill – which could cripple the motorcycle industry.
The L.A. City Council is voting on a resolution in SUPPORT of SB 435, smog check for motorcycles, at FRIDAY’S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
ALL MOTORCYCLISTS MUST ACT NOW!!!
Please ask ALL your riding friends that live in Los Angeles to contact their City Council Member, BE COURTEOUS AND POLITE, and ask that they please, “Vote NO on the smog check for motorcycles resolution, 09-0002-S95.” It was item number 11 on the agenda for the 9/11/09 council meeting.
By Thursday, the Bikernet legislative investigation staff will bring us an update. –Renegade
MOTORCYCLIST FATALITIES PLUMMET IN TEXAS– While most states across the country continue to experience increases in motorcycle accidents and fatalities in the wake of increasing motorcycle usage, the state of Texas has reported a significant decrease in rider deaths due largely to safety and awareness programs initiated by motorcyclists and the Texas Department of Transportation.
According to TxDOT, fatalities declined more than 23% over the same time period from 2008, with 264 deaths reported from January 1 – August 24, 2009, versus 344 deaths the previous year.
?I would say this is a direct result of the Texas Transportation Institute put together to cut down on Traffic fatalities, especially for motorcyclist,? explained Sputnik, State Chairman of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association (TMRA-II) and Chairman of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists Legislative Task Force (NCOM-LTF). ?Several of our members sit on the Board of that newly formed Institute.?
Sputnik gave further credit to the Motorcycle Awareness Program put together by TxDOT at riders? insistence and added; ?We have very high hopes that SB 1967 (a multi-faceted motorcycle safety bill enacted earlier this year) and the year round airing of Public Service Announcements, increased penalties for negligence and Rider Training will bring that number down even farther.?
Texas is one of the largest motorcycling states in the nation in terms of motorcycle registrations and year-round riding weather, and largely through the efforts of TMRA-II under Sputnik?s leadership repealed their mandatory helmet law in 1997.
SCOTT JACOBS PREPARES FOR HOLIDAYS–Coming into the Holiday Season is usually the busiest time of the year here at the Scott Jacobs Studio. Knowing that a new work of ART is the perfect gift idea we are committed to making that a reality in the easiest and most cost effective way possible. Whether a Harley enthusiast or wine connoisseur you will undoubtedly be attracted to both of the following Jacobs? limited edition canvas giclees.
Both are exceptional examples of what he is most known for; exacting detail, beautiful composition and the uncanny ability to make a painting look exactly like a photograph. Of course they are hand signed and numbered by the artist and very low edition amounts.
These artworks will be shipped to you with custom framing completed in house as always and the prices reflect a forty per cent (40%) discount from the established list price. I believe this is the deepest reduction in price we have ever offered so don?t delay as the saying goes; ?While supplies last?? Call or email me to take advantage of this special pricing.
1. TABLE FOR TWO (APPROX. 40? X 30 framed; edition of 30) Your cost: $1170 Retail list: $1950
2. HEIDI?S BOUQUET ( APROX. 23? X 27? framed; edition of 60) Your cost: $630 Retail list: $1050
–Ron Copple
Scott Jacobs Studio
303-431-4453
www.scottjacobsstudio.com
NEW FROM DAVIE ALLEN AND THE ARROWS– Throughout the ?60s, Davie Allan established himself as the King of the Fuzz Guitar by composing and recording classic guitar instrumentals for some two dozen exploitation films. His manic, buzz saw guitar tone became the sonic trademark of a whole subgenre, the biker flick. One of his instrumental hits, ?Blues? Theme? from The Wild Angels, remains an evocative rock-instrumental classic.
?Allan?s rich sense of melody and atmosphere drew much from pre-eminent 60?s sound track kingpins Henry Mancini and John Barry, but with Allan?s warped fuzz-OD whammy bar shimmy-shake proclivities.
Allan could meld both sweet and sour into a convincing presentation, delivered with such just-for-the-Hell- of-it, because-it?s-there disregard. Allan?s overall style, in fact, is a breath takingly well chosen manner of assaultive barrage, one whose sensitivity in terms of notes per solo is practically stoic in comparison to the immoderate noodling of so many contemporaries. The breadth and ambition with which Allan wielded his axe was, and still is today, nothing less than stunning.? ?Jonny Whiteside (L.A. Weekly, 2005).
Many of Allan?s classic 60?s recordings have been reissued by Sundazed Records, giving a whole new generation access to his unique guitar style. Released were the ?Apache ?65?, ?Blues Theme? and ?Cycle- Delic Sounds Of?? albums plus two anthologies. Sundazed is in negotiations to also re-release many of the 60?s soundtracks on CD.
Davie continues to record not only his own compositions but also classic tunes known to all audiences. His latest CD on his ?Arrow Dynamic? label, ?Retrophonic? features new tracks with the amazing Dusty Watson on drums and the equally amazing Sam Bolle on bass. Included are many previously unreleased tracks, one of which features Wayne Allwine on lead vocal from 1967. After his stint as an ?Arrow? in the 60?s, Wayne became the 3rd official voice of ?Mickey Mouse? in 1977. He passed away in May 2009 and this album is dedicated to his memory.
www.davieallan.com
www.myspace.com/davieallanandthearrows
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