Rant Archive - March 2007

March 31, 2007 - WINTER IS NOW OFFICIALLY OVER... LET THE BINGE BEGIN

Winter is now officially over. Why do I say that? Because today was the Spring Thaw Bike Show here in Middle Tennessee and for many of us in the area, the show marks the official end of winter, kicking off an an eight month long riding binge. My buddy Scooter over at BikerDesigns.com always does an awesome job with the Spring Thaw but this years show was exceptional. Tons of cool bikes plus all kinds of vendors... and the place was literally jam packed all day. To make it even cooler, MadKaw took second place in the Custom Metric Class! Thanks to everyone who voted for MadKaw and thanks to Scooter for putting the hard work in to make this one of the best show/swap meets in the country.

CLICK HERE to check out pictures of the 2007 Spring Thaw Bike Show.

Feedback

March 26, 2007 - SPRUCING UP THE CR250 - PART 5... FINISHED (FOR NOW ANYWAY)

Well, I put the finishing touches on the CR tonight and I am declaring myself finished... for now anyway. I was going to do graphics on the tank and shrouds but finding them for a '93 was a little like finding a needle in a haystack and the ones I did find were not compatible with my black & white theme. Honestly though, I'm really starting to dig the plain look without graphics so as of tonight I am done and ready to hit the track!. One of the salesmen I dealt with in all of this told me that the new look should make me at least 10% faster...hehehe. I hope he was right!

CLICK HERE to check out PART 5 of sprucing up the CR250.

Feedback

March 24, 2007 - FALL CREEK FALLS STATE PARK

At 256 feet, Fall Creek Falls is the highest waterfall in the eastern United States.

About 100 miles southeast of Nashville is one of the most beautiful State Parks in the state of Tennessee. Fall Creek Falls State Park covers 20,000 acres on the Cumberland Plateau and provides camping, fishing and breathtaking scenery... plus lots of curvy roads suitable for two-wheeled fun! A couple buddies and I made the trip from Nashville today and it was an awesome ride. The weather was perfect, the roads were great and I got a pretty good shot of the Falls. (See photo above.) Next time you're riding through Tennessee, be sure and check out Fall Creek Falls State Park.

This map gives you an idea where Fall Creek Falls is located in relation to Nashville and Chattanooga.

The Harley, The Kawasaki and the Suzuki at Fall Creek Falls.

Feedback

March 23, 2007 - SPRUCING UP THE CR250 - PART 4

I'm sure some of you are getting sick of the CR250 reports but I'm almost finished and believe it or not, the picture pages of the project have been the overwhelmingly most visited pages on BikerSwag.com this week. I guess that means there are a bunch of off-road freaks like me visiting my site so this is for you guys... the rest of you bear with me and I'll get back to something else soon.

One of my favorite things is coming home at the end of the day to find a box of new motorcycle parts on the front steps! Today I got one of those deliveries and right after supper I started working on the CR. A new shock mud-guard, front fender, gel grips, seat cover and some cool "retro" mx decals were all installed and I had a blast. My dad even came over and lent a helping hand. I'm glad he did because the seat cover was definitely a 2-man job.

By the end of the night I was real close to being finished with this project. Just a couple more things and it'll be GO-TIME!

CLICK HERE to check out PART 4 of sprucing up the CR250.

Feedback

March 20, 2007 - SPRUCING UP THE CR250 - PART 3

Moving right along... Part 3 includes, new shrouds, new rear fender and new side plates. If I crash, at least they'll know who to call for help... (Hello, 9 1 1, there's an old guy here buried in a table top!) Still to come later this week... a new front fender, a new seat cover and lots of graphics. Hopefully I will have everything done by next week so I can go riding!

CLICK HERE to check out PART 3 of sprucing up the CR250.

Feedback

March 18, 2007 - SPRUCING UP THE CR250 - PART 2

It's been a very busy week for me. I've got so many music projects going on right now that it's consuming most of my time... but I did get a little more accomplished on the CR this afternoon. I can't wait to get it done and get riding again. I haven't been off road riding now in two weeks and I'm starting to have withdrawal symptoms! You know, like the sudden urge to start the bike up just to smell the two-stroke fumes, a sudden fixation with the latest MotorSports.com catalog, re-watching the Daytona Supercross for the third time this week, etc... Soon I will be done sprucing up the CR250 though and before I know it, I'll be out there trashing it up again... oooooohhh, can't wait!

CLICK HERE to check out PART 2 of sprucing up the CR250.

Feedback

March 16, 2007 - THUNDER ROADS TENNESSEE - APRIL 2007

The April 2007 issue of Thunder Roads Tennessee will be out next week and features my latest column on page 16. If you are in Tennessee, be sure and pick up a copy at your local shop... or if you are out of state, check out Thunder Roads Tennessee on-line at www.ThunderRoadsTennessee.com.

Feedback

March 11, 2007 - SPRUCING UP THE CR250

Over the weekend I got started on my project of sprucing up the CR250. I pulled all the plastics off and then nailed just about the entire bike with Simple Green. That stuff works great and the CR is definitely cleaner now than it's been since I've owned it. The two big steps today though were pulling and painting the expansion chamber and touching up the frame. Both came out pretty good. Next it's on to peeling all the graphics and installing new ones.

CLICK HERE to check out pics of the first day of sprucing up the CR250.

Feedback

March 10, 2007 - MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE CAR... THE 1965 CORVETTE COUPE

Today I rode the Electra Glide down to the Tennessee State Fair Grounds in Nashville where Hunters Custom Auto was having their annual custom car show. It was a decent show but in particular there was a sweet 1965 Corvette Coupe that immediately caught my eye. The '65 Coupe is my all-time favorite car and this one was very nice. Personally, I prefer them all stock but even with custom wheels and low-profile tires, this car was smokin. I'm sure I will never be able to afford one but I'd at least like to drive a '65 one day before I kick the bucket.

CLICK HERE to check out pics of this nice '65 Coupe.

Feedback

March 9, 2007 - 2007 YAMAHA FZ6... AHLIKIALOWT

Today on my lunch break I ran over to the local Yamaha dealer to check out the new 2007 FZ6. At first glance the bike doesn't look all that different than it did when it was first introduced in 2004 but further research reveals Optimized Fuel Injection, a new instrument cluster, new four piston brake calipers, a new swingarm and a slightly modified windshield and fairing for 2007.

I've never ridden an FZ6 but it has always caught my eye on the showroom floor and just seems like an awesome all-in-one package, capable of equally serving as commuter, canyon sweeper and sport-tourer. And when you combine a smooth 600cc liquid-cooled, DOHC fuel-injected in-line 4 with killer good looks and sportbike performance in a package that won't break your back (thanks to a more upright riding position) what you end up with is a motorcycle that is very "Swagable". In the words of Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber, Ahlikialowt. (Some of you won't get that.)

Feedback

March 7, 2007 - A QUICK 30 MILE RIDE

I got in a quick 30 mile ride tonight and man it was awesome. I would have gone further but I ran out of daylight. I stopped and snapped the pic above as the sun started to set and within about 10 minutes it was dark. Good news though... the days are getting longer and this weekend we get to "spring forward" the clocks so starting Sunday there will be more daylight in the evenings, which means more opportunity to ride. I can't wait!

Feedback

March 3, 2007 - SOME THINGS IN LIFE HAVE SURE GOTTEN EASIER

This morning as I was loading up the CR it hit me how easy it was to tie it down and be on my way... compared to the old days that is. Transporting a bike was a major headache back then. Typically you used rope and did your best to get the bike clamped down as tight as you could with it. The problem was that the rope would stretch so frequent stops were common to re-tighten them. Of course continually tightening and re-tightening presented a whole other problem for dirt bikes. Because the forks are smaller, the constant downward pressure on them would often blow seals. Thankfully things have changed now though. A set of Nylon Ratchet Straps that don't stretch and lock down (about fifteen bucks at Walter World) eliminate the rope altogether and the invention of the fork brace (about twenty bucks at the cycle store) allows you to strap down a dirt bike in record time with no fear of finding oil dripping down your front forks when you arrive at your destination. I can load up by myself in about five minutes... which is exactly what I did this morning. Got a good three hour ride in and back home before noon with no loading or transporting worries!

Feedback

March 2, 2007 - WILD HOGS... OSCAR NOMINATIONS?

The new Touchstone Pictures film "Wild Hogs" came out today. I have been eagerly anticipating it's release for some time now so this evening my lovely wife and I declared it "date night" and went to the theatre to check it out.

The movie stars Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy as four middle-aged guys who suddenly realize that their lives have become pretty ordinary and boring. In an effort to regain some of the zest of their youth the four set out on their Harleys for a cross country run to the west coast... and a search for freedom.

I won't go any further into the plot so as not to spoil it for anyone... but it definitely has it's funny moments. It also however has it's goofy moments. Some of the stunts and close-up riding scenes are over-the-edge unrealistic and while Allen, Lawrence and Macy deliver their characters well, Travolta in my opinion is a little less believable in his comedic role.

Still, having said all of that, I'd have to say the movie is pretty good and though it won't win any Oscars, if you keep in mind going in that it is a comedy, you will find it entertaining as I did. After-all, it is a movie about motorcycles... which is always a good thing.

BTW, Peter Fonda makes a cameo appearance as do Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. of Orange County Choppers fame.

Feedback

March 1, 2007 - CONGRATULATIONS... YOU MADE IT THROUGH THE DARK MONTHS!

Today is March 1st, one of my favorite days of the year! Congratulations to us all for again surviving the Dark Months. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about.... check my RANT from March 1, 2006.

Feedback