It’s hard to explain some times (even to ourselves much less others) what exactly is going on in the motorcycle scene these days.  We have so many different aspects of the motorcycling world that are changing.  We ask the question “What is this new scene that is comprised of a somewhat younger breed of rider on modified cruisers rippin’ up our streets?” Whether it’s due to economics, restlessness, or simply the ebb-and-flow of a generation that takes on and reflects the state-of-affairs with us as a culture, one thing is for sure….there is “a change a happen’n”.

One guy that we are familiar with and respect for his insights into the industry is Scout Underwood, (who when we met him was working for Baker Transmissions) and then went onto H-D and other companies afterwards.  His hands on experience in the industry teamed up with insightful writings have caught our attention and we’d like to repost one article (in it’s entirety) that clearly attempts to answer the question posed above. It’s here for you to read and comment on.  You can check out his site The Bikereader.org here. So here is the article: (more…)

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!

CRASHING SUCKS!!!…as most riders can attest!  And to reduce that “suckage” you need to make sure your tire pressure and wear on your tires is correct and at a minimum. Although it may seem obvious that the tire’s purpose is to hold the motorcycle up, tires actually perform several different functions. They help maintain balance of the bike while in motion, they change the steering and handling geometry, they absorb some of the shocks and vibrations from the road surface (without involving the rest of the suspension), and the more obvious transference of energy between the bike and the road (braking, turning forces, acceleration) — as well as handling the disappation of heat from that frictional transaction of energy transference. (Sounds “teckie” huh?  We threw that part in to show ya we’ve got some learn’n involved here). (more…)

Throughout the 2010 season the Limpnickie Lot has adopted a new practice under the  direction of Lisa Ballard called the “Limpnickie Lot Footprint” in order to give something back to each community they visit. These included pizza and skateboarding with Boys and Girls club Kids, food drives for local communities and several other interactions and we are pleased to announce the next step in this action. This year in Sturgis, there will be many footprints left behind from the Limpnickie Lot. Athena” Chickie” Vagabond will be working side by side with three high school bike builders, which happen to be all girls.  They competed through essay to win this once in a life time opportunity. The bike will be raffled off at the Broken Spoke Saloon downtown location. Be sure to stop by and support this great cause. (more…)

There’s something archaic, yet satisfying, about the presence of a barber pole.  Maybe a welcome glimpse of a past perceived as simpler and even slower, one could say? Barbers and their poles (did you know that barbers in the middle ages were actually surgeons?  Practicing “bloodletting” to cure ills. And the modern barbers pole had it’s start during that time) are anachronisms in an age of pretentious, gleaming, massive, high-tech salons where the stylists look better than their clients, (before and/or after services). Even the word, barber, which stems from the Latin “barba” – for beard – is less sexy than the term, “stylist”. So, who goes to barbers nowadays? (more…)

So, your minding your own business doing what you do…. hanging out with friends or at a rally or racetrack or feeding your face at a local watering hole or even at work.  Then when your ready to find your bike to leave, you can’t find it! No where! Did you park it in another place? Nope, you’ve just been robbed! Violated.  Not the best way to either start or finish a day.  Bob Feinen, motorcycle theft and fraud specialist, has a few common sense tips for preventing motorcycle theft for new and veteran riders. Feinen, an expert in motorcycle theft investigation and fraud, has worked in the motorcycle insurance field for more than 20 years. (more…)

In our continuing effort to instill some “ed-u-catchen” with our readers and others browsing the internet, we’ve hit on another “just-gotta-have” bit of information for our readers.  Which is, the tightening of that annoying and somewhat dangerous thing called the “chain”. Granted most of us figure if ya got it greased up and it’s not taking off body parts as it spins we’re ok.  But seriously, there is far more to this situation than just that aspect dude.  So listen (read) up. And just for clarification this is something pretty much every motorcyclist can (and should know) how to do! And it won’t take you away from your favorite episode of House or The Simpson or the PC for more than 10 minutes every 400-500 miles, and is an excellent investment in keeping your sprockets and chain healthy. Plus, for you performance hounds, an improperly adjusted motorcycle drive chain can dramatically reduce rear wheel horsepower. And we can’t have that can we!?  The procedure does differs from bike to bike, but the general principles described here apply to all bikes.  But do consult your bike’s owner’s manual for specifics.

Here are a few tips to make the job a little easier.

1. Place the motorcycle on a stand or centerstand, allowing the rear wheel to spin freely.
2. With the proper tool(s), loosen the nut securing the rear axle.
3. Gently “snug” the chain by wedging a wrench or other tool between the chain and rear sprocket and rolling the wheel rearwards. This will ensure that the axle is fully clamped against the adjustment blocks, will aid in adjustment, and will also keep the axle from moving when you re-tighten the axle nut.
4. Adjust the chain tension so that there is proper slack as recommended in your owner’s manual (remove the tool wedged in your chain to check the tension.) Off-road machines usually require more slack than street bikes. Be sure that the rear sprocket is in line with the drive chain.
5. With the snugging tool re-inserted in the rear sprocket, firmly tighten the axle nut according to the manufacturer’s torque specifications.
6. Tighten the lock nuts on your chain adjusters, and you’re finished!
7. Now go ride!  Enjoy your freedom and fresh air for a few hours.

While we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about our suspension while riding, it happens to be the one element that can and does have the most profound affect on our comfort and satisfaction as a rider.  (Granted if your a Horsepower fan you’ll say “power” but hey this is our forum and we’ll write what we believe!) Anyway, standard front forks are rather simple objects to work with and/or even understand. They are just like emulsion shock absorbers with straight wound springs, except the springs are on the inside instead of the outside. Since the forks get shorter when you hit a bump, all forks are effectively air-assisted. (Because of this, it is important to get the oil level set correctly when you change your fork oil, or the spring rate will be wrong).
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While most people are familiar with this form of fork, (not to be confused with the one you eat with) many have no idea what is actually going on internally with this component.  Here’s the scoop. A tube fork incorporates an internal shock and spring in one sealed cylinder unit. The smaller tube slides in and out of the slightly larger tube that is sealed around it. Sound pretty simple, right?  The more detailed mechanics of it are that the internal springs and hydraulic fluid serve to dampen the movements of the tube forks to smooth out the ride, (providing the active suspension for the front wheel). (more…)

Since bikes have various purposes as well as each rider has various views of what their bike should look and handle like, there are a number of styles of front ends for biker to choose from.  So, we thought we’d weigh in on various types of front ends we’ve used on builds.  Which covers, Girders, Springers, Leaf Spring and Inverted Tube Forks. The primary function of forks, regardless of their look is to attach the front wheel to the motorcycle. That’s pretty simple. Motorcycle forks also provide the suspension and framework for mounting some brake components, lights and fenders if needed or wanted. Understanding the characteristic differences between various front ends though, will help you in making your choice of the right forks when creating your own custom bike. With this post, we’ll cover the Springer.  Later post will cover, girders and leaf springs and inverted tubes. (more…)

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!

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.

If you were not able to participate and enjoy the Born Free event, well you can catch up on what all the excitement and chatter was about.  The video is HERE.

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.

Whether your talking about Pin-Up Girls (for automobiles, tattoo’s, motorcycles, machinery or planes) the inspiration behind them is extremely personal and historic.  At their infancy these “ladies of lust” were highly personalized designs that had their roots in squadrons fighting in American’s toughest air combats (specifically WWI/WWII/Korean and Vietnam wars).  And to this day, these beauties still carry themselves proudly while ensuring their legacy!

While seen by some as offensive (dependent on how “graphic” the artist gets i guess), today’s political correctness has tamed some designs to a whisper in comparison to the earlier renderings when the popularity of aircraft nose art was at its peak. In order to personalize any persons machine (i.e. equipment, motorcycles, cars or planes), individuals have continued to show their diversity of designs (and limits of sexual content) for these beauties ranging from true pin-up girls and girlfriends – to slogans and cartoons.  Todays art has taken on some more details and usage, but one can still see the influences from earlier years when innocence was the norm, and imagination was left up to the viewers.