IronWorks Magazine

Old School Bobber From Young School Kids

Snakebit Sam — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:20:17 +0000

This bike is called “Betty” and it was built by the Bernice MacNaughton High School Bike Klub up in Canada. That’s right a bunch of young talented focused high school kids built this old school looking custom bobber. Not only that but they entered it into the 2009 Donnie Smith Chopper Class Challenge and took home several awards including the IronWorks Technical Merit Award.

If you have a school that has a bike building class how about giving it all the support you can. Most schools just give them the time and an area to build the bikes. They rely on donations, like the Avon Tires, to assist them on these low budget builds. Remember these kids could be the future stars of bike building.

Source: Avon Motorcycle Tires

Published by Sam Kanish

Spring Fever

Snakebit Sam — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:57:19 +0000

For most of the country it’s been a long cold snowy winter and the bikes have been parked in dry warm garages waiting for spring to arrive. It’s amazing how a couple sunny relatively warm days will get people into the mood to get the old bike out and take a ride. If you’ve gotten the itch, and who hasn’t, there are some things you should remember.

First of all is your bike ready? Check the air pressure in your tires and shocks. Check to make sure the battery is charged. Examine the belt. It wouldn’t hurt to change the oil. You might need to put new gas in it. After 3 weeks gas starts to lose it’s potency.

Are you ready? Remember you’re out of practice so take it easy. Your skills and reaction times may have slowed a little over the winter. Wear appropriate clothes for those sunny “luke’ warm days. The ones that because of the sunshine look warmer than they really are. There’s a wind chill factor when riding a motorcycle so hypothermia and frostbite are definite possibilities early in the riding season.

Are the roads ready? If you live somewhere where snow covers the roads in the winter then there may be all kinds of anti-skid material still covering the pavement. This is very slippery. Early spring is also pot hole time and those suckers can do damage or wreck you in a heart beat. Watch out for black ice too.

Are other drivers ready? Remember car drivers have gotten used to not seeing motorcycles on the roads for the last few months. They have to get acclimated again to having bikes in traffic. Don’t be afraid to use your headlights or horn to let them know you’re out there. As always ride safe!

Published by Sam Kanish

I'll get even with that groundhog!

Sweet Danish ‘37 Bobber

Snakebit Sam — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:44:56 +0000

James Roper-Caldwell built this sweet bobber at his Customs From Jamesville shop in Copenhagen, Denmark. Some lucky customer ordered this build which features a 1937 flatty engine and tranny mated to a Panhead frame. Even though he used a WW II era Harley XA front end, which was longer than stock springers, the bike still has a visible rake to it. The vintage 1947 tanks and Bates seat give this bike the old school bobber look.

source: Paul Holdswoth & Bike EXIF

image: Customs From Jamesville

Yikes!

Snakebit Sam — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:07:19 +0000

Now if it were up to those people that were running the EPA and DOT back in the ’70s this is probably what we’d all be riding today instead of it just being a new option for commuters. I wonder if it will fit in my tourpack? At least you can sit on this instead of standing like on a Segway.

http://www.yikebike.com/site/gallery/video/yikebike-discovery-channel

source and image: Yike Bikes

Daytona Memories Part 3

Snakebit Sam — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:57:48 +0000

After being asked by the police to make a pre-mature check out from our motel in Daytona our bunch again split into 2 groups. The one with Bull headed back north while the group I rode down with headed west. Most of us had tickets to the newly opened “Harley Heaven” grandstands for the 200 mile bike race at the Speedway so that’s where we headed.

En route I made a side trip back to Main Street. I had had a leather-worker sew a pair of custom fit chaps for myself. I paid a good price for the high quality chaps but I think I got my money’s worth since I’m still using them today. Then I had to make a stop at the Boot Hill Saloon. Even though it was early in the morning there was already a line to get in the place. I went up to the bouncer and told him that I was in a hurry and that I just needed to get a shirt. He pointed to the back of the line so I told him that my 5 year old nephew had said he was going to kick my big butt if I didn’t get him a Boot Hill Saloon t-shirt. He smiled at that and let me in. A couple minutes later I had gotten the shirt and handed him a beer in appreciation as I walked out the door.

I met up with my friends at the track and we watched all the foreign bikes racing around the track. This was in the era when no Harley race teams could compete with the multi-cylinder Oriental bikes. Harley Heaven was where I first got to meet Willie G. Even back in 1981 with no TV exposure and a lot fewer bike mags he was a larger than life figure and drew big crowds.

After the race our group headed northwest towards Georgia. We’d come down the coast but were going home a different route. When we left Daytona it was about 70 degrees but by the time we found a small motel in northern Georgia it was below freezing. I was sure glad I’d gotten those chaps. The motel only had 1 double room left so all 13 of us crammed in there for the night. The 2 married couples got the beds and the rest of us covered the floor.

The next day we took a detour off I-75 to visit Lynchburg, Tennessee. As you can guess the drink of choice for some of our group was/is JD. We had heard they had tours of the distillery so that’s where we headed, figuring to get some free samples. About half way through the tour we found out that the Distillery is in a dry county and the only sample they could give us was of lemonade. Not hard lemonade but real lemon lemonade. At that juncture we found a side door and made our exit.

We spent the that night in a motel in Knoxville where at least we all had our own bed. Luckily it was right next to the Harley shop so we picked up some new shirts to wear home. I-77 through West Virginia wasn’t completed yet so we had to ride up through Kentucky and around Cincinnati to get back to Pennsylvania. It was snowing when we got home, just like when we left. But we’d done Daytona for the first time and given our friend Bull a much needed lift. I don’t think I’ve had as much fun on my other trips to Daytona.

Shirt Stop

A much younger Willie G at "Harley Heaven"

Debbie and Cheryl doing the tourist thing.

Linda, Dummy, Mickie & "Hagar the Horrible", me. That's my '80 FXWG.

Before we found out about the lemonade.

Doran Celebrates 55 Years

Snakebit Sam — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:39:57 +0000

Doran Manufacturing has been celebrating 55 years of making products to help make different transportation systems safer. One of those products is an air pressure monitoring system for motorcycle tires. The Doran 360M is a wireless system to alert riders when the air pressure in their tires is below specs. low tire pressure not only causes excessive wear but is unsafe when riding. by using this system riders can monitor the air pressure without having to use the old standard air gauges. Just put the valve stem monitors on the wheels and wire up the the display. The system costs about $200. For more info www.doranmfg.com.

Source and images: Doran

Published by Sam Kanish

Mototaxi Madness

Snakebit Sam — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:31:26 +0000

The final destination of the Mototaxi Adventurers was Ascuncion, Paraguay. To get there they had to ride their “trikes” 2400 miles over mountains across a desert and through the jungle. Of the 62 teams that started only 8 finished the ride. They should be commended for their tenacity and bravery on the ride and for raising a lot of money and awareness for the Operation Smile charity.

Through the jungle

Take a run at it.

So much for that map.

Who needs a pit crew.

They look friendly.

Ragtop mototaxi.

Daytona Memories Part 2

Snakebit Sam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:11:50 +0000

On my first trip to Daytona many years ago I’d ridden down with a bunch of old friends. Trailering was not an option to most of us. We were motorcycle riders, not just owners. My bike had done well but right after we pulled into out motel it quit running. Luckily some of the guys with us worked at our local shop. We soon found that the chip in the electronic ignition had broken. They said it would be no big deal to put the old style points in it so off we went to Robison’s H-D to get the parts. I told the guy at the counter what we wanted to do and he never even looked in a parts book. Wham bang thank you mam and in a minute he laid the stuff out on the counter and said “that’ll be 27 – 50′. That was in the days when it didn’t cost a hundred dollars everytime you went in a shop. About an hour later the bike was up and running again.

One of the reasons we’d decided to come to Daytona was to cheer up our buddy Bull. He’d been T-boned on his bike by a drunk driver the summer before and was now a paraplegic. He’d always wanted to come to Daytona so a couple guys built a trike and took it with them so we could take him around town. Back then most of the action was confined to Main Street, the beach and Sopotnicks Tavern out at the Cabbage Patch. In between rides he decided to take a swim in the motel pool. We’d haul him up and then he’d slide down into the water, he loved it.

While we were playing pool puppies we met a young couple from England. They were on “holiday” and come to Daytona not knowing about Bike Week and lucked into it. They were fascinated by all the activity and I’m pretty sure by the time they went home she was bugging him to get a bike. He provided the entertainment one day at the pool. He decided to show off his aquatic prowess by demonstrating the proper technique of the swan dive. He would have scored higher but the Russian judge deducted points for the large lump on his head when he surfaced after the dive. It seems he mis-took the 3 on the side of the pool as meaning the water was 3 meters instead of 3 feet deep and struck his head on the bottom of the pool after entering the water. He was staggering around almost as woozy as we were.

It wasn’t diving into shallow water that was doing it to us, but the “garbage can” punch. This easy but ultra potent recipe was to get a brand new plastic garbage can, some fresh fruit, lots of ice, some grain alcohol, some Spanada wine and mix with ginger ale. Trust me, watch out how much of the fruit you eat. I’m glad they didn’t have camcorders back then. I also think that a weeks worth of using that recipe was part of the reason that Sunday morning the local law enforcement officers asked, no ordered 23 Pennsylvania bikers and 1 German Shepherd dog AKA “Bear” to leave the premises ASAP. Oh well it was almost time to head home anyhow.

Getting Bull ready for a ride.

Bull heded for the pool.

Bull in the pool.

Our bikes at the motel.

AMA Pro Racing & Vance and Hines

Snakebit Sam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:45:09 +0000

AMA Pro Racing has teamed up with Vance & Hines to launch a new 5 race championship racing series using specially modified Harley-Davidson XR 1200 motorcycles. Vance & Hines will supply the kits for modifying the bikes. The kits will include an exhaust system, a fuel management system, a 17 inch front wheel and fender, a steering damper, an oil cooler relocator, race body work and decals. Cost of the V&H AMA Pro Racing kit will be about $3500. For more info plangley@vhmotorsports.com or www.amaproracing.com.

Source and image: Vance & Hines

Published by Sam Kanish

Seth Enslow Sets New Jump Mark

Snakebit Sam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:36:51 +0000

Motorcycle daredevil Seth Enslow has set a new world’s motorcycle long jump distance record down in Australia. Seth soared his specially prepared XR 1200 over 183 feet through the air. This shattered the previous record set in 1999 by Bubba Blackwell who had beaten the mark set by Evel Knieval back in 1975. Here’s a link to see the feat. http://www.harleyworldrecordjump.com

Source: Motorcycle Classics

Published by Sam Kanish

More Mototaxi Madness

Snakebit Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:32:12 +0000

Here’s some more images from the intrepid riders from along their Mototaxi trek through South America. They had to ride their 125cc powered “trikes” over 2400 miles with little or no support on some of the most primitive roads available. My hats off to them.

Published by Sam Kanish

Pit Stop (?)

who needs a bridge

What bridge?

Turn where?

Heiwa Triumph

Snakebit Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:14:34 +0000

Not only does our buddy Paul Holdsworth ride all over the world but he finds sites on the Net that show foreign built bikes that we might never see here in the US. On one of those sites he found this great looking retro custom Triumph. This bike is based on a fine old Brit marque, but it wasn’t built in the UK. It was put together by the Heiwa Motorcycle Company in Japan. Heiwa has an appreciation for the old school British customs and built this bike for the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show that was held last December. To see more of Heiwa go to www.heiwa-mc.jp.

Source and image: Heiwa

Published by Sam Kanish

Fun in the Sun at Daytona (?)

Snakebit Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:30:42 +0000

It looks like all the people from up in the north who went to Daytona for Bike Week to get away from all the cold winter weather got quite a surprise. It seems like Mother Nature is trying to make them feel right at home, their home. It was so cold in Daytona one morning that Doug Quinn of Progressive Insurance found that ice had formed on his gas gauge. Not passing up a photo op someone snapped this picture with their cell phone and sent it to be shared.

Published by Sam Kanish

Daytona Memories, Part 1

Snakebit Sam — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:45:48 +0000

By now Bike Week is getting into full swing for all the lucky dogs who have made the trip south to Daytona. As usual I’ve stayed home to keep on eye on the snow in my yard so no one will take any of it. It keeps on disappearing. But years ago I did manage to manage to make it for some fun in the sun.

I’d always seen action photos about Daytona’s Bike Week in all the magazines so a bunch of guys that used to ride together in a local club decided we wanted to see it person. About 2 dozen of us made preparations to do Daytona. Due to work schedules we would be leaving in two groups. So in the cold pre-dawn darkness I headed out to my bike and fired it up. When I pulled it out of the garage it was snowing and the roads were already covered. Taking it easy I managed to make it to my friends house where I found about ten other bikes and a chase van with a trailer. On the trailer was the owner’s bike. Of course all of us were on our bikes and he said he planned on riding and letting his wife drive after we got out of the snow.

It kept snowing most of the way from Pittsburgh down to almost Washington D.C. Finally the sun broke through the clouds and the temperatures warmed up into the 50s. The ride was pretty easy on the interstate and we got to our first days destination with no problem. we’d decided that we’d stay the night “South of the Border”. If you live in the East you probably have heard of Pedro’s South of the Border. It’s a giant truck stop tourist trap right below the North-South Carolina border. Not having made reservations we found a little flea bag place and rested our weary bones.

The next morning the sun was shining and it was actually pretty warm out as we headed further south. Somewhere around St. Augustine we made a gas stop. That’s where the wife of the owner of the van said she wanted to ride into Daytona on a bike. Of course that meant that her husband had to put his bike back on the trailer so he could drive it. Somehow I got volunteered to give her the ride.

Now let’s put it this way, Debbie was known as a chatterbox, a non-stop talker non-parallel. But the whole time she was riding behind me she never uttered a syllable. When we reached our motel I commented that she had not said a word during the ride. She said, “That’s because everyone told me that if I talked too much you would elbow me off the bike and just keep on going”. I laughed and told her that wasn’t true. I would have stopped first and then give her the elbow.

To be continued.

Mickey wishing he could ride

Warren at South of the Border

Waiting for the others to catch up

Headed to the fun in the sun

Mototaxi Madness

Snakebit Sam — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:02:14 +0000

As you know we like to feature riders who like to go the extra miles. We like the tales of being out on the road for days on end. seeing what’s around the next turn. Well here’s some riders who take it to the next level. They do a charity trip down in South America that goes from Cuzco, Peru to Asuncion, Paraguay which is 4000 KMs long. Or about like going the 2400 miles from New York city to Phoenix, Arizona.

The best part is they do it on 3-wheelers. No, not a Lehman or Harley Tri-Glide but a “Mototaxi”. These are best described as a moped welded onto a garden glider with wheels. These contraptions are built for inner city taxi service, not boogieing through the Andes Mountains, a desert and jungle. Of the over 60 teams that started out only 8 of the adventurers completed the ride. The group did raise a lot of money for the Operation Smile Charity which does dental work for underprivileged native children. Here’s some photos from the adventure and a link if you want to see more. We’ll publish a couple more posts with pics from the Mototaxi junket.

http://mototaxijunket.theadventurists.com

Source and images: Media, The Adventurists

Published by Sam Kanish

In the clouds

Mountain pass

No passing zone

Nice road

Mototaxi photo op

Open Road Radio at Daytona

Snakebit Sam — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:58:12 +0000

Open Road Radio has gone South and will be broadcasting live from the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show during Bike Week in Daytona Beach this Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 1 PM EST. You can stop by and see Gina Woods and the Open Road Radio crew do their thing at the HUB at the Oceanfront Convention Center. Special guests like ace lensman and editor Buck Lovell and some of the characters from the Limpnickie Lot will be joining Gina. The ORR stage will be rocking as the Chrome Cowgirl Sasha Mullins will be belting out her new hit “Ridiculous and Jasmine Cain will perform songs from her album “Locks and Keys”

You can stop by the Open Road Radio booth starting March 3-6th. While there you can check out the batting cage, see special guests, learn about the newest motorcycle parts and pick up a free copy, while they last, of IronWorks Magazine. For more info go to www.openroadradio.com and to hear the show www.sportsbyline.com.

Snow Harley

Snakebit Sam — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:33:51 +0000

Are you one of those people who are bummed out this winter because you can’t get your Harley out of the garage because of all the snow? Well if you had bought this blast from the past ’70s Harley at the Carlisle Summer Bike Fest you’d be enjoying the weather instead of griping about it. Of course if this AMF/Harley-Davidson snowmobiles broke down as often as the AMF/Harley-Davidson motorcycles did back then you’d still be griping. But it is a collectors item. It’s hard to believe that some shops sold more snowmobiles than they did motorcycles.

Published by Sam Kanish

American Thunder Bike Show Schedules

Snakebit Sam — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:23:11 +0000

Fans of the American Thunder Bike Shows will be pleased to know that a new show sponsored by flamboyant Rick Fairless of Strokers Dallas has been added to the lineup. Now besides the Donnie Smith and Arlen Ness shows fans can venture down to Texas to see some of the best show bikes in the world.

First up will be the Donie Smith Bike Show and Parts Extravaganza up in the RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 27-28, 2010. Besides 200 great bikes one of the highlights of this show is the Donnie Smith Chopper Class Challenge. That’s where high school kids show their choppers they built in school. For info www.donniesmithbikeshow.com.

On April 10-11, 2010 will be the intro of the new kid on the block when the Rick Fairless Bike Show and Parts Expo hits the Dallas Market Center. Visitors will get to hear great music and see some wild bikes. Don’t forget to wear a tye dyed shirt.. For more info www.rickfairlessbikeshow.com.

The American Thunder Bike Shows wind up out in California with the Arlen Ness Bike Show and Parts Expo at the San Mateo County Event Center on April 17-18, 2010. On hand will be some of the best choppers from West Coast builders. For info www.arlennessbikeshow.com.

Published by Sam Kanish

Rick Fairless

Legend Air Suspension 10th Anniverary

Snakebit Sam — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:57:53 +0000

To help celebrate their 10th Anniversary Legend Air Suspensions is offering something very special to their current customers who refer their friends to Legend. They get $100 and their friend gets $100 off the purchase of a Legend Air Suspension System!

Legend Air Suspensions knows their customers LOVE their Legend Suspension equipped ride. They want to reward them for telling others about Legend AND allow new customers to get a discount for trusting their friend’s sound advice. So if you buy a Legend Air Suspension system you’ll have a suspension system that offers the best ride quality available, the most adjustability possible, and lasts a lifetime!

Current customers simply log onto www.legendsuspensions.com or www.legendoffroad.com and click the “receive discount offers and more” button then enter their information. Once registered, you can refer friends, get Legend news and receive special offers. When your friends log in to buy, tell them to use referral code LRP137 and include your email at checkout. It’s that simple. You get $100 from Legend and your friend gets $100 off their purchase!

For more information contact legend Air Suspension’s sales and technical staff or visit us online.

www.legendsuspensions.com

www.legendoffroad.com

source: Legend Air Suspension

Published by Sam Kanish

Heaven on Earth

Stephen Berner — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:13:27 +0000

Totally off topic - I am going to stretch here a bit on a snowy, stormy winter night here in the wooly Northeast and share with our fans a true gem of NYC eating - Katz’s Deli, located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. You all like food, right?

Katz’s is just one of those places that make you feel good. For being a Type A, NYC born and bred creature , I have to admit that this is the only place that doesn’t set me on edge when I have to wait on a line. This is coming from a guy that cant handle waiting on a line for more than, lets say…hmmm….2 seconds. I’ve waited 20min to get my sammie at Katz’s – no problem.

So, I am not going to get into the history of this fine joint, you can sniff that out yourself if you are interested, but i will say this – me & my bestest friend Pupkin can put a dent in a couple of Corned Beef & Pastrami beauties, uh huh. if you are ever heading towards Katz’s – let me know – I am always down for a Pastrami & Dr. Brown’s Black Cherry Soda.

Yea!!

-steveb