The International Motorcycle Shows (IMS) is giving women discounts on admissions to their shows on Friday nights. Women get 50% off the regular price of admission by presenting a downloadable coupon at the box office when purchasing their event ticket. The coupon is not good for admission, you still have to buy the ticket. Don’t worry guys, this “Ladies Night Out” doesn’t mean ladies only. This discount should help entice more lady riders and women interested in motorcycling to attend the shows.

Okay, let’s hear that collective HUH? Thanks to a book by Mr. Ken Anderson of Olean, New York about his grandfather we can get at inside look at one of the most innovative pioneers of early American motorcycling, Norbert Schickel. I know you’ve never heard of him or his motorcycles, but there are probably parts on your brand new bike that can be traced back to Mr. Schickel.

At the Chicago Motorcycle Show in February of 1911 the Schickel Motorcycle company of Stamford, Connecticut debuted a revolutionary bike. It had the first American built 2-cycle engine with the first single forged driveshaft-flywheel-crankshaft. Other innovations were a rotating magneto spark advance and a compression release system. Some patented features of the bike were a 1 piece cast aluminum frame and gas tank (which had a tool compartment), a spring suspension front end and a hinged rear mud guard.

David Coker is an interesting personality. His father started the successful Coker Tire Company that bears his name. David could have had a cushy job there but struck out on his own by starting his own company Newstalgia Wheels. Newstalgia is one of the largest distributors of custom wheels for hot rods and motorcycles in the country. He describes himself as “a hot rodder with a passion for blending the old with the new”.

You can see that on his radical 1964 Panhead custom featured in the December issue of IronWorks magazine. The old motor is surrounded with brand new innovative parts and adaptations of old parts. He says the bike gets lots of looks when he rides it at shows and other events. Just as unique is his matching “Rat Rod”, also pictured in IronWorks. ( Coker Image Gallery ) The rat rods have become a popular segment of the rodding community.

All of you who have read my work in IronWorks magazine know that I love music. I start all my columns with some verse from a song that usually relates to the subject matter of the column. I’ve been fond of music since a little kid my passion for motorcycles came later.

Now I like all genres of music but the blues rates near the top with me. My buddy Paul Holdsworth turned me onto James Solberg and sent me one of his CDs, “Real Time”. It has twelve blues and rockin’ blues tracks on it and I just can’t quit listening to it.

When you travel to the Bonneville Salt Flats to watch the attempts at setting speed records you expect to hear the screaming of high revving motors on the white salt and an announcer giving out times over a PA system. But after the action is over you might hear the strings of a guitar being plucked as a singer belts out some blues, boogie woogie or blue grass tune. That would be Drew Gatewood. Music has been an interest of Drew’s since childhood. Though not a professional he still is entertaining.

It has come to light that the FBI had an extensive file motorcycle jumper/daredevil “Evel” Knieval. Now Evel never denied having had some scrapes with the law. In fact it seemed to enhance his free spirited image. It’s been said that Evel thought up his nickname while in jail when a guard made a rhyme out of a fellow inmates name. He also did six months in jail in 1977 for beating a movie studio executive with a baseball bat but wound up never paying the 12 million dollar award to the executive.

But it seems the bureau had been investigating Evel for possible ties to organized crime figures and a series of assaults by alleged Knieval associates. These assaults happened in several different states thereby the FBIs involvement. No charges in the assaults were ever filed against Evel.

Well to be honest I didn’t actually hear her on the radio, but I did hear the BikerNet radio interview Marilyn gave. It’s amazing what you can hear coming out of the speakers from your computer. I doubt that Al Gore would have imagined the progress that PCs and the Internet have made since he invented them back in the 70s.

Anyway the divine Ms. M gave an interview on the BikerNet about IronWorks magazine. If you’d like to listen to her foray into multi-media here’s the link, I may get writers cramp from this: http://www.bikernetshop.com/2008/09/25/marilyn-stemp-talks-ironworks/
It takes just a few minutes more to listen to the interview than to type in the URL, but it’s worth it.