While the exact history of “head lamps” (or “head lights” for some) and their evolution is an elusive one, one thing can be said for them. They are a hardy bunch and they help you see! Pretty simple. Something not to be taken lightly when riding at night, in the fog or during dust storms or rainy seasons on two wheels. Granted lights have had a somewhat sorted, unreliable (sometimes) and mystique past. Sort of like Lindsay Lohan. Unfortunately these guys just don’t carry the “BAM” that say breathers, carbs or front ends carry. Again sort of like Lindsay Lohan! These guys just cut on, cut off and are supposed to work when told. (hmmm, another reference to Lindsay Lohan). Nothing complicated. From what we’ve seen the whole “light scene” starting with lamps that actually burned oil and have progressively refined and transformed themselves over the years. (Something we’d hope Lindsay would do) Now they have evolved to “sealed gas” chambered illuminates that light up the road ways like a 747 landing (which Ms. Lohan could do if she wanted to). Ok, ok, so, enough references to poor “i-am-going-to-jail-for-90-days-Lohan”. You get the idea behind the lights. Now go find your own!
Hey, thanks for coming back! Great to see there are a few of you out there that have taste and style! Seriously, thanks for visiting. If you know of stories you think people would be interested in, shoot us a line C'ya!
Early on Monday June 28th at 4:20am local time, two riders (Frank Kelly from South Carolina and Will Barclay from Highland Beach, Florida) crossed the finish line (together) for the Hoka Hey Challenge in Homer Alaska. It’s reported that these guys didn’t know each other until meeting at the last checkpoint on Sunday. So as not to be disqualified (speeding tickets) or have an accident, they opted to ride together across the finish line at the same time. Hmmm, now is that even possible? The next batch of riders scheduled to cross the finish line are at least one day behind these two finalist. Both riders will need to still pass a drug test, a motorcycle inspection, polygraph and verification of gas receipts and road logs to be declared the winners of the $500k bounty. (more…)
Granted i’m more of a “traditionalist” when it comes to my rides so it’s not a mystery that when i see news about manufactures having a waiting list or releasing a new model i’m either excited or dreading the news (based on the companies ability to really improve upon their model or meet demands).
Seems Royal Enfield has hit upon a thread of sentimentality amoung riders with their Bullet Classic C5. Seems the C5 is maxing out the companies ability to meet demand. Normal production was 4500 units per month, however demand is standing at 6500. Not bad! So guess you could say….”get in line guys!” if your interested in one of these.
In the book “The Devil Can Ride,” which is edited by Lee Klancher, the reader finds an anthology of “the world’s best motorcycle writing,” (ok i stole that from its sub-title) and inferred by other references we’ve found. Seems the author has selected other authors, such as Mark Singer, Hunter Thompson, T.E. Lawrence, Robert Pirsig, Peter Egan, Kevin Cameron, Joe Scalzo, and approximately 20 more to highlight in his unique and witty book. There’s even a previously unpublished story by Darwin Holmstrom which covers the sexuality of motorcycles in which he explains how the Victory Vegas got him laid (by his wife). The story is funny as is the book informative in it’s eclectic collection of writers and styles In addition to the writings, there are black and white photos, often taken by the authors. The book comes in hard cover and is available from Motorbooks for $26.00 in the US, $32.50 in Canada. To access the publisher on line, click here, as well as Amazon.
When traveling across the country as we have, we come across a lot of hot rod and motorcycle art and artist, which i make a point of collecting the business cards, visiting their website or Facebook pages and then proceed to thrash myself for not continuing my artist adventures as a young man! When I saw the artwork of Nick Sinclair from Sinclair Hot Rods I got motivated to pound my skull even twice as hard for not continuing my artistic studies. My passion had always been in the field of tire smoking cars (67 Chevy’s) and long strung out choppers (remember Easy Riders was just out during that time) so our pics were of big muscled bikers on cool bikes…every young adolescent’s dream! Fortunately Nick stuck to his earlier passions of drawing as they show in every drawing we’ve seen appear from his sketch pad. My fav is Super Nugget, a street scraping Rat Rod with plenty of bad attitude and cool flames. The print is a limited edition fine art print and measures 19 inches by 13 inches. Only 50 produced. Each one is signed and numbered by Nick. Yeah, ok, i want one! Nick apparently digs the deeds of Ed Roth, Coop,Williams, Hess, and Kozik, and his work spans the typical Lowbrow, High Octane hot rod portfolio of gassers, street rods, rat rods, pin-ups, and of course, monsters. If you want to find out more about Nick go to his website HERE. You’ll find some cool limited edition prints, t-shirts and much much more.
Retro never gets old. The classic style of motorcycles of the past just can’t be beat for coolness. The problem is, the good old days weren’t always as good as we sometimes remember them – sometimes those old bikes could be cranky and unreliable. Now there’s a way to tap into the coolness of retro style while maintaining modern dependability. The new KN-Kone motor combines the look of a knuckle, with the bullet-proof design and charging system of the 1970-’99 style alternator lower end. In spite of the larger 93″ displacement, the KN-Kone is the same height as a stock 74″ or 80″ shovel motor. That means that it will bolt into any stock big twin chassis from 1970 to 1998, and will fit 1999 chassis originally equipped with an Evolution® engine. This engine can also be installed in earlier chassis if a transmission with a 1970-up mainshaft is used. The alternator style crankcase allows the use of modern primary, transmission, and clutch components, as well as a dependable electrical system. FEATURES: Bolt into any stock big twin chassis from 1970-1998 and 1999 chassis originally equipped with an Evolution® Engine: S&S® Super E carburetor: S&S® Super Stock® single fire ignition system
Regardless of the motorcycle your riding currently, music can make your “2 wheel” experience not only seem shorter (or longer based on the quality of the music), but it can also engage and integrate us even more into the motorcycle riding experience. I guess you could say a more “mental” or “cerebral” experience. At least that was our experience, having taken a cross country ride a few months back from Florida to SoCal. From first hand experience there seemed to be some mental engagement with my bike as well as the surroundings as i twisted the throttle a little harder listening to The Pretenders or Arlo Guthrie sing about riding, girls and life. The benefits of having some good tunes to pass the time while on those desolate and lonely stretches we encountered (i.e. TX, NM and Nevada) can’t be discounted either. Granted, for the sake of the general publics safety we did keep our singing voice inside our helmet. Anyway, this little jaunt across the USA and using our iPod for the first time stated us thinking, “what songs have the words “motorcycle” in them?“. So, here is what we found. If you know others we haven’t identified, tell us so we can add them to our iPod. Thanks to the guys over at “Bikes in the Fast Lane” for some of these.
As readers may remember, (i know some of you have limited attention span) we posted previously on this blog an excerpt from our writing on the subject of “Diversity in the Motorcycle Industry” which was part of a final exam paper we had to write for a college course. Long story short; we received a lot of positive feedback from this and thus wanted to continue our excerpts from that paper. SO her ya go.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary states “diversity” as “the condition of being diverse: variety; especially: the inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization”.
When one thinks of the term “multiculturalism” however, we are referring to the changing age, sex, ethnicity, physical ability, race, and sexual orientation of people across all types and places of work in the United States. Thus I tend to view the “multicultural” workforce as a descriptive term that, correctly or not, has largely supplanted the term “diversity” in describing the increasing heterogeneity of the workplace. Roosevelt Thomas, founding president of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, qualified diversity as a “comprehensive managerial process for developing an environment that works for all employees.”
Likewise the Portable MBA Desk Reference ended its definition of “diversity” in a similar manner. “The challenge posed by diversity, then, is to accommodate different groups by addressing their lifestyles, values, work style, and family needs without compromising the goals and operations of the organization.” And Joan Crockett, vice president for human resources at Allstate Insurance Co., viewed a diverse workforce as being about “unlocking the potential for excellence among all workers.” Allstate’s diversity vision statement sums up this belief: “Diversity is Allstate’s strategy for leveraging differences in order to create a competitive advantage.”
“It’s a good day to die”. That is the meaning behind the words “Hoka Hey” and was the cry of every warrior that rode into battle with Crazy Horse. The war cry only the dedicated can shout and commit their life to. So, are your ready, to say those words and ride into battle with other warriors as they put themselves on the line to find out just who you are and what your made of? Unfortunately, this year due to some issues beyond our control, this Guilty Guy, won’t be participating but will be thinking and praying for our friends and colleagues (you can follow Cycle Source’s participation HERE) that will be having an experience of a life time! So here are the details from their site:
Ok you die hard Sturgis-Bound-Bikers! The Sturgis 70th Anniversary is just around the corner and it seems Jay Allan and his people at the Broken Spoke Campground at Sturgis County Line have a special offer for campers. Refer a friend who camps, RV’s or get’s a cabin and earn some “Broken Spoke Bucks“. So, above the offer of great bands, an olympic size pool, a great bar with super bartenders, cool vendors, a dirt race track, plenty of clean bathrooms and hot showers, killer sunsets and fun all day and night, you can earn some free bucks! The whole Limpnickie Lot crew stays at the County Line each year (three years now) and we think it’s the PLACE TO BE! Thanks Jay for looking out for us bikers! To find out more about this program, click HERE.
The motorcycle industry is fraught with “serious people“. You know the type. Those that seem to find dread, despair, conspiracy, corruption and whatever else in almost any nook and cranny they look at. Which is a good thing i guess cause it gives us balance. Balance because when we actually run across those people that see the exact opposite of those “serious types”, we readily embrace their work and them as people. Sort of a “Ying/Yang” thing i guess. And who wants to spend their days with downers anyway?! One guy we recently ran across that helps lighten the day and life in general of many, and especially in the biker community, is a guy named Rob Campbell, the mastermind creator of “Keeping Up with Jones” comic strips. Rob is a mild-mannered teacher by day, however he turns into super hero cartoon artist/rider by night! Rob’s work has found it’s way into various publications and most recently is featured in Biker101magazine as well on his own website HERE. I can tell you from flipping through his archives he not only understands the biker mindset he also lives what he writes/draws about. So yes, he’s coming from a point of “experience” when he draws. Kudo’s Rob! Anyway, check out his work and even laugh at others, and even yourself if you so choose. And remember to send Rob a “thumbs up” if you like his work or want to pick it up and use in magazine or something. We’re out’a here!
Living in Southern California, you can see how easily one can get tainted in thinking that EVERYONE owns, drives or is in the process of building some custom ride (i.e. bike or car), simply because of the sheer number of customs you see at cruise nights or shows. From seeing 32′ highboys at the gas station to cruising down Hwy 55 beside a group of Camaro’s, or checking out the next door neighbors radical Triumph, (BSA, Honda or Iron Head), you do start to take the “availability of them” for granted. Well at least until you get a dose of reality while visiting or talking with friends back on the east coast where we’re originally from. Granted, there are some radical builders and cars back in our old stomping grounds and we’ve had some ourselves, however what IS different on the west coast is that; 1) there are more sunny days to drive-the-rides; 2) the sheer volume of cars in one concentrated spot (we’re in Orange County-the meca of custom cars); and 3) the car clubs and drive-in events are off the chart in sheer numbers! So, while we’ve feverishly trying to finish our own 67 C-10 custom build for our “time-in-the-sun” opportunity, we’re just walking, driving around with our eye’s peeled for just a glimpse of someone else’s idea of cool.
Seems Keino has been busy in his hide-away up in NYC over the past winter. Coming out with these “Kwicky” extended polished brass screws that replaces those annoyingly tiny hard-to-reach, never-should-have-used-them-in-the-first-place float bowl screws on S&S carbs. The Kwicky makes it super easy to get those giant paws around the screws to quickly clean the bowl and change jets! Pretty cool vintage look and matches Keino’s idle adjuster too. Nice pair there Keino! You can find Keino’s site HERE.
Everyone knows (well, at least my kids and wife do) that I’m never seen at motorcycle events or rallies without my shades. The one pair of glasses i still have, (people tend to steal them once they see how well they are made and work) have gone with me across the nation on the back of my motorcycle; fallen off the back of “1/2 Pint” during last years Sturgis Rally; been sat on in the planes i frequent along with trains and an occasional automobile. They go with me to events all over the world or to the corner grocery store. They are just part of the “look” that goes with me and i seriously think people won’t recognize me without them.
So to make it legit, we’re announcing that the manufacturer Liquid Icon Inc., (the mfg of the “Metal Warrior” line) are now the “Official Eye Wear of Guilty Customs“. Granted i get a lot more out of this relationship as i get to be seen in some cool shades. And all Liquid Icon gets is an obnoxious biker that likes their shades because they have awesome optics and quality and come with a 100% guarantee and 1 year warranty that is 2nd to none! So in spite of us wearing them, go check the Metal Warrior glasses out. Then you’ll end up like us and never be seen outside the house without some cool shades wrapped around your jug!
Growing up as we did, part of most saturdays involved baseball practice, war games, “road runner” cartoons and the newest comic books shared with brothers, friends and even a stray sister if she was cool. Hot Rod and Motorcycle rags took those innocent minds to places, events and situations we’d just imagined as rednecks in the country. They exposed us to locations that we thought we’d never see; cars we hoped to drive one day, women we’d only dreamed about and situations we either dreaded or looked forward to in anticipation. Regardless of the reasons we read these paperback “escape” rags, we all enjoyed the brief transport to another world that awaited us at the turn of each page or the arrival from the drug store.
While the exact history of “head lamps” (or “head lights” for some) and their evolution is an elusive one, one thing can be said for them. They are a hardy bunch and they help you see! Pretty simple. Something not to be taken lightly when riding at night, in the fog or during dust storms or rainy seasons on two wheels. Granted lights have had a somewhat sorted, unreliable (sometimes) and mystique past. Sort of like Lindsay Lohan. Unfortunately these guys just don’t carry the “BAM” that say breathers, carbs or front ends carry. Again sort of like Lindsay Lohan! These guys just cut on, cut off and are supposed to work when told. (hmmm, another reference to Lindsay Lohan). Nothing complicated. From what we’ve seen the whole “light scene” starting with lamps that actually burned oil 
and have progressively refined and transformed themselves over the years. (Something we’d hope Lindsay would do) Now they have evolved to “sealed gas” chambered illuminates that light up the road ways like a 747 landing (which Ms. Lohan could do if she wanted to). Ok, ok, so, enough references to poor “i-am-going-to-jail-for-90-days-Lohan”. You get the idea behind the lights. Now go find your own!
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