30/06/2009 by info.

PETER Fonda, co-writer and star of Easy Rider, will take a piece of biking history to England in a few days when he rides the Captain America Chopper at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

During the annual event, over July 3-5, Fonda will take the famous bike up the 1.16-mile hill climb course in the grounds of the English stately home of Lord March. The iconic Captain America bike will also form the center piece of a display of custom bikes in the prestigious Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ area. Alongside the Captain America bike, UK custom shop Krazy Horse Custom Cycles will be presenting an Easy Rider Billy Bike, its own European and World Championship bike Zeroesque, Fred Krugger’s Speedbowl, the S&S 50th Anniversary bikes built by Hogtech of Sweden and SPS of the Netherlands. British builders will also be represented by Roger Almond’s radical Ducati and Destiny Cycles’ extreme trike “High Roller”, which won the International prize at the recent Affiliate show in La Clusaz, France.

This will not be the only attraction for motorcycle enthusiasts over the weekend, as there will also be a focus on the World Superbike Championship. Race teams expected to be in attendance include BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Kawasaki World Superbike R.T, Suzuki Alstare Brux and Ten Kate Honda alongside factory riders such as Troy Corser, Broc Parkes, Yukio Kagayama, Jonathon Rea, Leon Haslam and Cal Crutchlow - as well as stars from other walks of motorcycle racing such as Phil Read, Mick Doohan and Troy Bayliss.

Bikes on display and being ridden at the Festival of Speed will include the 1971 Bol d’Or winning Triumph Trident, 1984 Team Bike Honda VF750 which took class honors at Le Mans, and 1998 World Endurance Championship winning Phase One Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD, as well as a selection of other famous endurance racing machines such as 1981 Meyer-Honda and 1986 Ducati 750 F1.

A further celebration will be taking place at the event to mark 60 years of Motorcycle Grand Prix racing, with a gathering of significant machines and famous riders; from the first 500cc championship winning AJS Porcupine, the ex-Geoff Duke Gilera 500GP and ex-Phil Read MV Agusta 500, through the ex-Johny Cecotto Yamaha OW45, ex-Freddie Spencer Honda RS500 and ex-Takazumi Katayama Yamaha YSK33, through to modern machines such as the ex-Loris Capirossi Ducati GP3 ‘Desmosedici’ and ex-Alex Hoffman Kawasaki ZXRR.

www.goodwood.co.uk

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19/06/2009 by info.

Harley Davidson has issued a recall for over 11 thousand FLSTSB FXSTSSE2 and FXSTSSE3 models for a problem with the brakes. Please read below for further details.

Manufacturer: Harley Davidson
Models affected:
2008-2009 FLSTSB
2008 FXSTSSE2
2009 FXSTSSE3
NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V211000
Potential Units Affected: 11005

Problem: Harley Davidson is recalling 11,005 FLSTSB, FXSTSSE2, and FXSTSSE3 model year 2008 and 2009 motorcycles. The acorn stud at the brake reaction link may fall out during use. If this occurs, the front brake and fender assembly would no longer be adequately retained. This condition could lead to a crash and potential injury to or death of the rider.

Corrective Action: Dealers will replace the existing acorn stud with a new acorn stud and retaining clip. The recall is expected to begin during June 2009. Owners may contact Harley Davidson at 1-414-343-4056.

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16/06/2009 by info.

Twin Club MC’s 35th annual Custom Bike Show, one of the World Championship’s oldest Affiliate events, defied poor weather forecasts (and the recession) to pull healthy crowds and, as usual, a good standard of custom bike originality and variety.

After finishing seventh in this year’s European Championship, and narrowly missing out on World Championship prize money with a 3rd place at Norrtälje last year, the winner was Anders Göth, of Skärblacka in Sweden, whose 113 inch Ultima engined 6-speed springer rigid has won him a 5.000,00 euro expenses contribution towards competing at this year’s 6th annual Official World Championship at Sturgis from August 2nd to 5th.

Second place was taken by Andreas Jarledal, Peder Johansson’s partner in their internationally respected HogTech business in Sweden, with a classic and detail-rich chopper named “It’s a Chopper Babe” in homage to Bruce Willis’s famous remark in Pulp Fiction.

Third place was taken by Micke Jonssen of Sweden for an S&S Panhead style engined and Goldammer front-end hybrid that combined old-school styling with very contemporary thinking, an approach that is very much in keeping with the styling diversity and freestyle thinking that is at the heart of the World and European Championship program.

Andreas and Micke won expenses contributions to compete at the next (2010) Official European Championship of Custom Bike Building (at the Custom Chrome Europe Dealer Show) in Germany in March next year.

As ever we’d like to express our thanks to Twin Club MC (celebrating their 40th anniversary this year) for their generosity in putting up the prize monies and in collaboration with the City of Norrtälje, Sweden, staging an outstanding event. We’d also like to recognize Custom Chrome Europe and Motorcycle Storehouse for their generosity in supporting the event with parts and accessory contingency prizes for the class winners.

Our thanks also go to John Lillegård of Norway, Martin Domeij of Sweden, Uffe Karlsson of Twin Club in Sweden and Germany’s Horst ‘MotoGrapher’ Rösler for providing experienced, independent and international perspective in undertaking World Championship Affiliate event judging duties.

www.custombikeshow.se

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09/06/2009 by info.

Demon’s Cycle, the Florida based custom motorcycle company, are pleased to announce the arrival of their new custom motorcycle engine, the 114ci. Working in partnership with Ultima, the popular manufacturer of high performance custom motors, Demon’s Cycles have worked to build an engine with less piston speed and so less wear on the cylinder walls and pistons skirts. This new lower piston speed will make the engine more reliable than other engines which run at higher speeds.

Demon’s Cycle are expert custom bike builder and they had used an engine from Ultima called the 113ci. But they also saw ways to improve it. Demon’s Cycle entered into partnership with Ultima and re-engineered the 113ci to make the new 2009 Demon’s 114ci motor.

“We have finally achieved what no one else has” said Tom Steinbacher, of Demon’s Cycles. “We have created a high performance engine that is reliable and will give our customers the dependability they seek.”

Custom bike building is all about engineering, and the engineering and innovation in the 114ci is up to Demon’s normal high standards. Compared to the 113ci 4 1/2 inch stroke and a 4 inch bore. Demon’s 114ci has a 4 inch stroke and 4 1/4 inch bore. This reduces the piston speed. This reduction in piston speed results in less wear on the cylinder walls and piston skirts. This makes it possibly the most reliable engine available today.

Demon’s 114ci increases the rod ratio (rod length divided by stroke) and so lessens the side load on the cylinder walls, reducing friction, heat, and allowing a much more free revving motor. By utilizing the MWM 248 cam Demon’s Cycle were able to retain the great torque characteristics down low and with the increased cylinder fill provided by the increased rod ratio, the Demon’s 114ci will still pull very hard on the top end.

Another advantage of the shorter stroke is that the Demon’s 114ci is smoother than the 113ci. By using a 4 1/4 inch bore engine family, the Demon’s 114ci has a stronger 3 piece crankshaft along with stronger rods. After all this re-engineering Demon’s Cycle are selling the 114ci for the same price as the 113c but with special air cleaner, better rocker boxes and a thicker head gasket for more reliability and dependability. The 114ci is available exclusively from Demon’s Cycle and comes in high polished, natural and black finish.

About Demon’s Cycle
Demon’s Cycle specialize in the sale of custom parts for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They offer a wide range of parts from engines to LED turn signals. Demon’s Cycle was started over fifteen years ago by Tom Steinbacher and has a reputation as a pioneer of radical motorcycle designs, euro style bikes and custom chopper concepts. Headquartered in South Florida, Demon’s Cycle is an international custom motorcycle wholesale company.

Contact
Demon’s Cycle Inc.
378 SW 14th Ave.
Pompano Beach, FL 33069
Telephone: 954-943-0000
Fax: 954-943-0377

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09/06/2009 by info.

BY KEYONNA SUMMERS
FLORIDA TODAY

In June 2002, motorcycle builder Billy Lane of Melbourne Beach was on top of the world.
He and his team of “gearheads” sold custom-built motorcycles at $30,000 to $40,000 a pop out of his well-established shop, Choppers Inc., on U.S. 1 in Melbourne. The Discovery Channel’s motorcycle-themed reality competition series “Monster Garage” had just featured Lane on the show’s first installment. He was invited as a featured guest to motorcycle shows and festivals all over Florida and beyond.
Now, the 39-year-old Lane is facing up to nine years in prison on a single felony charge of vehicular homicide in connection with a Labor Day 2006 car crash that left a Melbourne Beach man — also a motorcyclist — dead.

After several delays, Lane is expected in court Tuesday morning to change his not guilty plea. He would then be sentenced at 9 a.m. Aug. 14.

“We did get the written plea agreement in,” defense attorney Greg Eisenmenger told FLORIDA TODAY. “Based on my review of it, I don’t anticipate any problems. I anticipate we are good to go Tuesday.”

Lane was charged two years ago with one count of DUI manslaughter in connection with the 2006 traffic accident in which Sebastian Inlet park ranger Gerald Morelock, 56, died.

Police said Lane’s blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he crossed a double yellow line to pass slow traffic on State Road A1A south of Melbourne Beach. He crashed his Dodge pickup head on into Morelock’s small Yamaha motorcycle on Sept. 4, 2006, police said.

In light of ongoing legal discussions over the permissibility of blood evidence at trial, prosecutors in late December added an alternative charge of vehicular homicide, which requires the state to prove that Lane was driving recklessly but does not include the drug or alcohol element needed to prove DUI manslaughter.

Both charges are second-degree felonies, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

But under the terms of the plea deal, Eisenmenger said prosecutors will drop the DUI manslaughter charge. Instead, they will seek a nine-year prison term for the vehicular homicide charge, a term Lane is eligible for under state sentencing guidelines when his prior criminal record is considered.
Eisenmenger will seek a sentence that calls for no time in prison.

“We believe there are mitigating factors in this case. . . . And we’re going to be presenting those to the court at sentencing,” he said.

Since the crash, Lane’s public persona has suffered.

A message on his motorcycle shop’s Web site says the shop is closed to the public, though merchandise is available for purchase online. Court records indicate that Lane’s Melbourne Beach home is going through foreclosure.

Lane reached a confidential out-of-court settlement on a wrongful death suit filed by Morelock’s family. Also, records show that Erin Derrick, a 22-year-old woman who was in the car with Lane at the time of the crash, is suing him for injuries she says have rendered her unable to work.

Most people contacted by FLORIDA TODAY declined to comment, but several observers from the motorcycle community said the case has hardly tarnished Lane’s celebrity.

Mike Odom, a Melbourne motorcycle photographer who blogs about the case and has attended all but one hearing, said Lane’s booth at Biketoberfest 2007 in Daytona Beach attracted a long line, so he decided to informally poll 10 people in line.

“Out of those 10, 50 percent were not aware of what happened, and the other 50 percent were aware but didn’t care,” Odom said.

On his blog, Odom said, a lot of reader comments have called for prison time. But there also is a sizeable number of people who want to see a “positive outcome,” such as having Lane build and donate a motorcycle in Morelock’s name or do public service announcements about the dangers of drunken driving, Odom said.

“He has enough of a following that people would listen to him,” he said.

Like workers at most local businesses that sell motorcycles, Mike Marconi, general manager at Champions Honda in Cocoa, said Lane’s custom motorcycle market and the “average Joe” market Marconi caters to are “entirely different.”

“So most of our customers, they don’t talk about it, and I’d guarantee a lot of our customers don’t know who Billy Lane is,” Marconi said.

Asked to offer his own opinion of the case, he said: “I don’t really have a comment. I think the media likes to play it up because he’s a known figure. If my parts manager got arrested for the same thing, I don’t think we’d be talking about it.”

Contact Summers at 242-3642 or ksummers@floridatoday.com.

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01/06/2009 by info.

In the past few years, the French market has emerged as a major ‘player’ on the European custom scene despite the difficulties that the market there faces with some of the most difficult regulations in Europe.

Builders such as Nicholas Chauvin, Claude Babot and Bertrand Dubet have been respected for years, but success at the Official European Championship and elsewhere for the likes of Xavier Chante (Riverside Motocyclettes), Cyril Gautier (Art of Racer), Jean-Claude Passetemps (School Bar Atelier), Laurent Dutruel (Zen Motorcycles) and Fred Duban (Dub Performance) has firmly placed French customizing at the ‘top table’ in innovation and creativity terms in recent years.

Indeed, 2007 saw two French builders in the top three at the Europeans, with five in the top twenty, and top ten placings at both the last World Championships.

AMD is therefore pleased to recognize the efforts of Wild Magazine in France to forge a relationship with the picturesque town of La Clusaz, in the popular motorcycle touring area of the French Alps, close to the Swiss border, in getting a new Rally underway this year which will be a World Championship Affiliate event for the French market and will take place June 19th to 21st.

The event will promote domestic French customizing and attract leading ‘international’ competitors from elsewhere in Europe by offering the International Affiliate program of two Sturgis expenses contribution prizes, one for the leading French builder, and one for the leading ‘international’ entrant.

VIVA LA CLUSAZ!
La Clusaz, Haut-Savoie, France
vivalaclusaz@live.fr
kustomlaclusaz.monsite.orange.fr

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01/06/2009 by info.

Following the recent announcement that Harley-Davidson is to be a World Championship of Custom Bike Building Official Partner and to sponsor the program’s Modified Harley Class, we are proud to announce this year will see the return of the legendary Ace Cafe London to Sturgis.

Champions Park, the downtown Sturgis venue that hosts AMD Magazine’s Official World Championship, with many of the custom motorcycle market’s finest vendors, will again be the venue for what was last year a hugely successful debut in America for Ace Cafe London.

Ace Cafe London Managing Director Mark Wilsmore said “last year was the first time that Ace Cafe London had staged a remote location exercise in its entire 70 year history anywhere. We were amazed at the enthusiastic response we got to the Ace being in America, and at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in particular, so we are delighted that we are able to continue as an integral feature of the exciting Champions Park concept.

This will be the 6th annual Official World Championship, and the third year for Champions Park, a Sturgis Motorcycle Rally feature that is quickly establishing itself with Rally visitors as a premium destination.

“It was always a natural idea to create a branded hospitality facility to add to the quality features that Rally visitors already know Champions Park for,” said AMD’s Chris McGee, the Event Director.

“The opportunity to partner with Ace Cafe London was irresistible. It is an iconic destination in its own right; one whose history is woven into the fabric of the development of 20th century motorcycle culture. Hosting Ace Cafe London at Champions Park, and having it associated with the World Championship, is a perfect fit with everything that the event and facility is about. We are proud that the Ace has decided to team up with us again for the 2009 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.”

Ace Cafe London’s Sturgis facility will be open throughout the Rally from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm each day. Right alongside Jack Daniel’s popular Lazelle Street facility, it will be serving breakfast, lunches, snacks, meals, coffee, light refreshments and beers in a shaded inside environment with direct access into the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building and onto Champions Park.

This year a record number of vendors have chosen Champions Park as their Sturgis Motorcycle Rally venue of choice. Ranging from S&S Cycle, Custom Chrome and Big Dog Motorcycles to Orange County Choppers Motorcycles, ProCharger and Midwest Motorcycle Supply, Champions Park has quickly established itself as the premier vendor venue for premier vendors, right at the heart of Rally visitor traffic since its inception in 2007.

Ace Cafe London offers Rally attendees a unique visitor experience. It is an opportunity to sample and enjoy a relaxed ambience that, through décor and historic displays, recalls the legendary days of the British, indeed London, motorcycle scene of the 1950’s and 1960’s; the era that truly made the Ace the legend and icon that is revered worldwide.

This rare opportunity also gives rally visitors a chance to buy sought after and highly collectable items from the unique Ace merchandise range.

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