2008 Donnie Smith Bike show

The show was great! I need some time to put together a post, and some pictures on Flickr. Will hopefully have ready in a day or so. So please take the time to read the post about "Charity" below.

Donnie Smith to be continued...later,

Mr. Motorcycle

I once knew this girl named Charity.

Just kidding.

I got your attention though.

It seems as if charity is the theme of a lot of bloging, including some of mine.

3-27-08, Thursday night’s episode of American Chopper hosted Mikey and U Of Michigan, doing the lead for a theme bike for an auction for a charity event. This is one of many bikes done this way for O.C.C.
O.C.C., Orange County Choppers http://www.orangecountychoppers.com/ is always involved in charity, sometimes indirectly, but still doing charity. It seems every other theme bike they build gets auctioned off for a good cause charity event of some kind.

I’ve seen on blogs lately some of these posts…..

Bikes, Art And Rock And Roll For A Good Cause on http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/

&

Largest Women’s Only Ride. on http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/

&
Builders Breakfast Delivers in Daytona on http://www.thebeachcruiser.com/blog/
&
Inaugural Biker Fusion Event at the Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse
on http://www.thebeachcruiser.com/blog/
&

on my own site, I recently wrote about donating time and or sponshorship monies for the Adopt a Highway Litter Removal Service of America, Inc program.
http://01mrmotorcycle.blogspot.com/2008/03/adopt-highway-litter-removal-service-of.html

&

Non blog related charity events held annually locally where I’m from…

Local Flood Run - Wisconsin / Minnesota for Gillette Children’s Hospital

&

Lightning Run for Diabetes http://www.lightningrun.com/

Are these all just excuses to ride, gather, party, advertise, gain publicity, get tax right off’s, Etc.???
Maybe they are, maybe they aren't.
Whatever the reason behind the charity event, it still just feels good to be a part of something bigger, to give something back.
What ever the reason behind the reason, Keep it going.

Mr. Motorcycle

Not so bright biker stunt

Saturday - Sunday filler (Video of a good stunt gone bad)

By the way (not related to video above) I'm hooking up with a couple of riding buddies this weekend for the Donnie Smith Bike show. I can't enter mine this year as it's still in pieces. I should have her ready to ride soon though.

I hope to have some good Pics from the show. I'll share them hopefully Monday.

Till then, Have a great weekend!

Mr. Motorcycle

ADOPT A HIGHWAY LITTER REMOVAL SERVICE OF AMERICA, INC.

As I was driving around the other day, I noticed the springtime temperatures we are having here in Minnesota are getting the roadside cleanup crews going. They are picking up litter all over. Many crews are directly affiliated with the nationwide Adopt a Highway Program.

I always realize how dirty our roadsides get when the snow melts off and all the winter’s accumulation of litter accrues. I am greatly thankful to those who join forces to clean up this mess each spring, and follow it through until the snow falls again each year. When I was a kid growing up, they did not have this program, and cities relied almost solely on tax dollars and volunteers like the Boy Scouts, and other organizations to help out.

Needless to say the clean up did not always happen, and I clearly remember driving by trash-ridden streets and highways all the time. The Adopt a Highway Program has clearly made a difference in my mind. Since I ride a motorcycle, & the road & roadsides are my view of the world, it sure is nice when it’s clean. Isn’t this after all one of the reasons we ride is for the spectacular views we get on the open road?

I just wanted to take the time to thank all of those sponsors, and volunteers out there helping to keep America’s roadsides clean and beautiful.

The following website shows how corporate sponsorship can get your company name on road signs for advertisement.

http://www.adoptahighway.net/

If you dig a little deeper on the Internet, searching “Adopt a Highway”, you’ll find tons of other sites with information on your local adopt a highway program. Many have free programs that work off the basis of volunteers.

A couple of examples are the two quotes from below came that came from the Texas program. http://www.dot.state.tx.us/trv/aah/ En Español

Make a difference: Adopt-a-Highway today!“Personal involvement has proven to be the best way to keep our roads clean. The Adopt-a-Highway program costs nothing for individual groups like businesses and civic organizations to get involved, and in return for their efforts, they gain public recognition.”—Billy Black, Co-Founder, Adopt-a-Highway

Looking for a way to improve your surroundings?The Adopt-a-Highway program gives groups the opportunity to help their communities by collecting litter and beautifying roadsides. This international program originated in Texas, where it remains one of the Lone Star State's most successful public-private initiatives.

En Español

Thanks again!
Mr. Motorcycle

2008 Donnie Smith Bike Show Sat. 3-29 & Sun. 3-30

For those of you who are local to Minnesota, don't forget to check out the bike show!
Biggest show in the Midwest.
Show times Sat 9AM - 7PM & Sun10AM - 5PM
click link for details. http://www.donniesmithbikeshow.com/

I'll be there and take pics to post!

The Pantera motorcycle

I stumbled across these guys. Their bikes sure caught my eyes. It appears as though they have taken the idea of a long and low chopper, & crossed it with a croth rocket to make a highbrid street - drag bike. I love innovation. Looks pretty cool.

Check out their website @ http://www.panteramotorcycles.com/

I know their site lists 2006 models. Not sure if they are not in production still, but their web site does say "© Pantera Custom Motorcycle Design 2008".

2006 Pantera Dragster Base Model $44,500.00
2006 Pantera Dragster SP-1 (Package includes 280MEZ rear and 3D Contour Wheels) SP-1 $48,750.00

Prices are in the range of the Big bucks bikes that Beach Cruiser was talking about. See also Beach Cruisers blog post on big buck Bikes. http://www.thebeachcruiser.com/blog/2008/03/26/posh-bikes-rev-up-amid-slowdown.html

See also my prior blog post: http://01mrmotorcycle.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-kind-of-effect-will-skyrocketing.html

Mr. Motorcycle

Wicked video - off road moto-cross and monster trucks.

A friend shared this with me, and since I thought it was so cool, I had to share it with you. Turn up the volume. Done to AC/DC For Those About To Rock. These guys are insane. I salute them!

Sneak preview of my new paint

On my right side banner area, I did some Flickr flash photos of my new paint job. One set is showing the tins still in taped out phase, and one unmasked. There are two pics in the unmasked set where it show the tins actually clear coated. These pics don't do justice as they are close ups of ghost. They show the ghost flames change from charcoal on black to black ghost flames on charcoal racing stripe. Hope you like. I'm getting really stoked to put them back on my bike and ride. Just gotta wait for that weather now.



Mr. Motorcycle

rock and roll

I designed, fabricated, and custom painted a "one off" guitar body for my son. My son, who plays guitar did scalloped frets, and finished the neck of the guitar. The paint is pearl white, metallic grey, and black. This was a long term project that I'm glad to see come to completion. I'm pretty happy with the results.

.

Mr. Motorcycle

What kind of effect will skyrocketing prices of fuel costs have on the motorcycle industry this year?

I wonder it will have a positive, or negative effect.

Will the prices cause more sales, and more riders, looking for better fuel economy than what a cage on wheels provides?
Or will it cause a plummet in motorcycle sales, parts, and services as the price of fuel is driving the cost of everything else up. Since everything costs more, will the motorcycle industry be forced to charge more as a direct result of the cost of doing business? Will this in turn have a domino effect on potential bike buyers who now have less as a direct result of everything else costing more? Will it make it a double- edged sword for those looking to purchase a motorcycle?
How will the rising cost of business in general affect motorcycle sales, parts sales, motorcycle clothing sales, merchandise sales, repair shops, custom paint, etc.?

I feel fortunate because I can still afford to continue to ride, and those who are hardcore would find a way to continue to ride no matter what. It is our passion in life. It is after all, a way of life. For many, and I’m guessing most, we feel life without a ride, is not life at all. Is this not why the saying goes ride to live, live to ride?

Mr. Motorcycle

"The Scotchbrite look by MeanStreet" is what started this post today.

By the way, for any readers who don't already know, a "Scotch-Brite® " is a course pad designed for scuffing parts prior to painting them for good adhesion, used in place of sand paper, usually for hard to reach areas, etc., or also for scrubbing dishes, etc. Being someone who does custom paint, I use Scotch-Brite® scuff pads often. Anyway, to give proper credit: The name "Scotch-brite® " is pattented & from the creators at 3M. They are made with different purposes in mind, I've probably only touched on a few, The scuff pads however, come in varying degrees of abrasiveness. I also know that Scotch-Brite® has a line of many other products.

I was doing my blog reading this morning, and went to http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/. I read his post from March 19th" The Scotchbrite Look By MeanStreet. " which is about a scratched up look on aluminum parts. The look is similar to brushed nickel. You should see his site if you want to see a picture of it, and want to read more about Mean Street. MeanStreet is who is producing some of the parts now with this type of "Scotch-Brite®" finish.

I commented on the post on his site, and I cut and pasted it here as follows:

"I don’t believe the idea is very original. Look at how many “brushed nickel, bronze, copper” finishes you see just going to Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, etc., in the faucet areas, and bathroom hardware. The finish is very similar. However, I think it is a great idea to bring it mainstream into the motorcycle world. What a better way to open up one more way to help us make our bikes a little different than everyone elses. I don’t know about you, but I’m a fan of never having anyone say to me “Hey I know a guy with a bike just like yours!”

Thanks for sharing this with us Cyril.

Mr. Motorcycle. "

Let me know what you think about the finish.
Several others commented about it too on his site. I'm kinda a fan of it myself.

P.S.,
Why do they call them Scotch-Brite®, when they make things dull?
Maybe 3M should change the name to Scotch-Dull.

Don’t be afraid to step out of the box.

When I decided I didn’t want stock handlebars anymore, I started shopping around for something different. I already had the Harley (somewhat drag bars), and I was tired of my shoulders, and neck being stiff from riding in the semi crotch rocket riding position. I felt that everyone else either changes stock handlebars out to drag bars, or ape hangers. O.K. maybe “everyone else” is a bit exaggerated, but I’ve seen enough. No offense to anyone who has either kind and loves them. Most of my riding buddies have one or the other. To each their own. However, anyone who knows me and has seen anything I’ve ever owned knows I’m not a huge fan of anything stock, or anything called “custom” that’s mass produced and then mass used. It all starts to look the same to me. I wanted something truly different.

I went to Stormy Custom Bike Works for a peek at what he might have in stock for me. He said He was building a Chopper for a guy, and he had some bars he was going to use on it but the guy decided he didn’t want them on his bike because he thought the rake of the bars didn’t match nicely with the extreme rake of the forks on the chopper. So here they were, waiting for my dime. They were the weirdest looking things. I’d never seen anything like them before. And when I saw them hanging on his wall at first, I didn't even know tell they were bars, let alone how the hell they go on a bike. He said they might look cool, so we held them up to my bike. Lo and behold they did look really cool. So there you have it, many dollars, and many hours later, they are on my bike. I get looks everywhere I go with the new bars. Hopefully they're good ones. Try something different!

Giving credit where credit is due:

The bars are Chica “Flying V” handle bars from Chica Custom Cycles.

I’ve linked Chica Custom Cycles on my page permanently, and here also.
http://www.chicacustomcycles.com/.

Scott Storms, A.K.A. Stormy, did great work on my bars. This is, by the way only the beginning of the mechanical work, and other custom work done at Stormy Custom Bike Works on my bike, and many others. He works on all makes.
Call the shop at (763) 785-1600 or stop by and Check em out for yourself at 10501 Central Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55434.
.
There's a great similar article that you must read about "one offs" and "innovation" and "copy cats" on Custom Motorcycle Talk by BeachCruiser Custom motorcycles - Your one stop resource! The article I refer to is called The Greatest Compliment Of All
.

I woke up this morning and said WTF?

I woke up to snow, and lots of it. Can't it be spring already?


Very pretty, But.........

Mother nature is putting a damper on my spring fever. I thought this snow was going to be south of us. I want to ride so bad I can taste it. I know there are lots of people who ride snowmobiles in the winter to replace the obsession of riding motorcycles when the weather permits, and I've done both. I can say I don't think sledding compares to riding a bike. I don't even own one, cause it holds that much of a lack of interest for me.

I don't think God cares about my ridin weather either, but it can't hurt to pray for warmer weather.

Hopefully soon it'll be ridin time. .....(sighs)

Mr. Motorcycle

What do you call a brand new motorcycle? .........A starter kit!

The above 3 cartoon pictures are from: The ORIGINAL Illustrated Catalog Of ACME Products http://home.nc.rr.com/tuco/looney/acme/acme.html

If you are planning on buying a bike and want something custom, and you are planning on making it that way yourself, why buy a new bike?
It doesn’t make much sense to me to spend the money on brand new stock parts to turn around and discard them for brand new custom parts. I started my favorite bike project on a low budget.

I had to sell my pick up truck to drive a used "paid for" Saturn for a while to help me afford the economy Harley to begin with. I drove My used stock Harley for about a year before I could start the customization process. Even with a used bike, Cursing Mama could not understand why I needed to take off perfectly good stock parts and exchange them for new custom parts. If you understand biking, no explanation needed. I believe after seeing what I'v created, from what I started with, She sees the picture. If you read my post from March 11th, you'll see I'm in the process of doing my bike yet "again". I've included a sneak preview picture of the gas tank in process. It is taped out here. There is more to it than it looks like in this photo. The real magic will happen when it is cleared. More will pop out that you cannot see in the photo. When it is all done, and bike is put back together, I'll share more.

Get Yer tickets here!

I love stories about other people getting tickets, as I've surely had my fair share.

This one I know is true for certain, 'Cause it's about a good friend of mine. He was coming over a hill crossin state lines, and just as he started downhill, he saw Smokey at the bottom with radar in hand. He knew he was busted as the lights came on right away. He was doin about 100 MPH. He immediately hit the brakes when he saw the cop and pulled over. When the cop arrived at his bike he said that he asked if he knew how fast he was goin. He stated "No". "I clocked you doing over 87 MPH IN A 55 MPH zone." He said "I was slowing down!". This believe it or not got him a warning. I should be so lucky. He asked "How fast is that thing anyway?". "Almost fast enough to outrun a Motorola Radio.".

Another of my Faves. is the Biker who was speeding through South Dakota on his way back from Sturgis doin about 90, and a Smokey radars him and pulls him over. Says, "Son, Ive been waitin here for Ya all day!" Biker replies, "I got here quick as I could." True of not? Don't care. Still love it.

Doing the Can Can (no not the dance)

I must admit, Cursing Mama and I are a bit "green". We're not complete tree huggers or anything like that, but we are very conscientious about protecting the planet so its as nice for our children, and grand children as it is for us today today. We try to use less plastics, try to recycle as much as possible, waste as little water as possible, etc. You know the usual, that I think more and more people are doing to these days. I think we recycle 2/3Rd's more than we throw away.

Enough about us. I bring this up as I believe strongly in recycling, etc... But is there not a point when you've gone way too far?

I see this guy 5 days a week as I drop off Princess to St. School each morning during the week. He is, I would guess in his late 60's. He wears a goofy ass bike helmet, and rides his bike to the school every morning, rain or shine, snow or sleet, 100 degrees F., or 50 degrees F below. It just does not matter. He goes into the school, and digs through the trash, then proceeds to go outside and dig through the dumpsters for aluminum cans and then puts them into the aluminum can collection trailer that the Boy scouts have parked in the back to deposit his findings. Usually he only gets 3-5 cans I'd guess by the small size bag I see. Not only do I find this odd, I find it disconcerting as he is going into a school, where children are. I've expressed this to the Guy who watches the kids when I drop Her off, and he said he would bring it up to the principle. I don't think he did, or the guy wouldn't still be hanging around right? Am I nuts for caring?

I think I should bring it up to the Principle myself. I Know this guy comes in before the principle arrives.

The foot bone is connected to the ankle bone,.... is connected to my wallet.

Most bikers learn early on, that just about the time you try to do one thing custom to your ride, that you rarely can do just “one thing” without it directly affecting something else. For me anyway, it usually amounts to about two to three times the cost I initially thought I was going to end up spending for just the one thing. Thus, my title the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, ....is connected to my wallet.

I've been doing a lot of bodywork and painting on motorcycles lately. I used to custom paint for a living, but I've scaled back to doing it as a side job and or hobby. I am currently doing my 3rd bike now for about the 3rd or 4th time. I suppose you can say I'm never content with one paint job for very long, as I have the ability to do bodywork and paint myself. Plus, this way it’s a little easier to swallow the cost of the new paint. However, it never comes without a price. There is still a lot of expense and time involved. I usually end up picking up another paint job for a paying customer to help pay for my habit. So needless to say I've been busy lately. I must thank my wife and kids for putting up with my lack of being around lately as I have spent many hours away in the shop.

The cause of the problem to start with was that I put in a larger motor, which decreased clearances that I used to have with the smaller motor. I ended up "having" to do my bike again because I had a crack in a gas tank weld, caused by one of my lower gas tank brackets hitting one of the rocker box covers, which was caused by the motor heating and expanding the jugs under the rocker box cover, thus pushing it upwards into the bracket. This caused a lot of unwanted vibration on the gas tank, thus cracking a weld. (Bracket bent upward, clearance given, welded crack, problem averted). Since I cracked the weld in the gas tank, bodywork and paint was necessary. I also broke my drive belt due to having a small weak stock belt that was not suited for the larger motor. Since I am doing bodywork and paint, and need a new belt, this means the rear fender needs to come off to. Since I'm doing the gas tank and rear fender, I'm already painting two thirds of the main painted parts, so why not paint the front fender and change out the custom paint to a whole new paint job. While it is apart and in the shop, why not change the fluids. I also have easier clearance to change brake pads now, so I may as well do them too.

The larger motor is connected to the gas tank, is connected to the belt, is connected to the rear fender, is connected to the front fender, is connected to the brakes, is connected to the fluids.
Thus "the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone,...is connected to my wallet."

I’m getting that spring fever thing goin on here, since we’re climbing into high thirties. Did I mention I’m in Minnesota? Hopefully, soon it’ll all be over and I'll be happily picking bugs out of my teeth again.

Keep the shiny side up!

Hope to see you in the wind come springtime.