Creative Cycles Trailer Reel

Unfortunately, we aren’t able to embed the video here because the player is proprietary and incompatible. So please just take one more click to head on over to Brightcove and enjoy the video! Creative Cycles Trailer Reel at Brightcove It really is awesome and we thank Doug and Liz for sharing it with us!!!

New Laws Seek to Stifle Noisy Motorcycle Exhausts

Here’s an interesting article about a topic we all have an opinion on. What are your thoughts?

 

From Basem Wasef,
Your Guide to Motorcycles.

MSNBC and Forbes have cited a growing movement by US cities to restrict motorcycle noise levels, and while the issue is not a new one, some of the most recent developments are downright alarming.

Among the new ordinances, the articles mention that a New York law passed on July 1 will fine riders a minimum of $440 if their mufflers or exhaust systems can be heard within 200 feet. Denver, Colorado has apparently banned any aftermarket exhaust system on motorcycles less than 25 years old, an offense punishable with a $500 fine.

American Motorcyclist Association spokesman Bill Wood states the obvious: “From our perspective, this creates enormous problems for us because people notice the one motorcycle that makes a lot of noise, they don’t notice the 50 that pass that don’t. So there’s a perception that motorcycles are noisy.”

While most motorcyclists can identify with the annoyance of having to endure the ear-splitting roar of those who choose to ride with straight pipes, there’s no telling how far local government offices will go to stifle the right to customize bikes; this isn’t a debate about whether or not loud pipes save lives, it cuts to the core of the right to mechanically modify motorcycles.

I don’t know about you, but it seems that while the intent of these laws is clear, the manner with which they seek to quiet down the noisy minority verges on the ridiculous.

Thoughts?

Photo © Basem Wasef

Video from Doug Keim

Hey,

  We just got a video from master builder Doug Keim. The video is about the fabrication of “Agnes”.” Agnes” is the motorcycle Doug will bring to Las Vegas for Artistry In Iron. Artistry In Iron is the custom bike show and competition at Las Vegas Bikefest.

  Doug is a great guy and a fabulous creator of motorcycle art. He is constantly challenging himself as all the great ones do. You can see Doug fabricating this motorcycle, you can listen to Doug as he tells us what he is thinking, you can see some of Doug’s other work and, you Allman Bros. fans can listen to a little southern rock.

  This is the new wave of video that we expect to be at the forefront of the web. It’s a great mode of communication and, as usual Doug and Liz are “right there” The video will go up today(it’s 2:a.m.) Friday. This is great stuff!!! Check it out!!!

                                   Beach

Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you!!!

Hey,
I have learned not to count on too many things in this life. People will let you down sometimes as will things you thought you could count on.That is kind of what happened to www.thebeachcruiser.com over the last 36 hours.
We were erroneously shut down by a company we depend on. We have no choice as you can’t do this without dealing with things like servers, domain providers, you know the list. Well, one of these companies that we have been doing business with from the very beginning made a mistake and shut us down. No problem right? WRONG! We had to figure out what happened and then had to figure out what to do about it( Train actually spent a bunch of hours on the phone and writing e-mails trying to fix the problem). Train is the woman who keeps us running.
Well, after speaking with a lot of non-tech, non-intelligent, hapless people she finally got to someone who could help. We thought we would be up within a couple of hours but, it too more than 36hrs. to be brought back to life. Needless to say there was a lot of anxiety around here and not much sleep.
We want to thank Liquid Web for being as knowledgeable and courteous as they are. We highly recommend them. We won’t mention the villian here in fear of reprisals. Fortunately, the crisis is OVER.
We want to apologize to all of our viewers and our family members who visit with us pretty much daily. Actually, we want to thank everyone who takes some time to visit with us. Without you, there is no Beachcruiser.
Beach

We’re BAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!

We are happy to announce that we are back up and functioning. It will take us a little while to get our feet back under us, but you should expect some news very soon. Thank you everyone for your patience and support! You are awesome.

Rumble attracts cycle enthusiasts

This is an interesting story about a tiny town holding a very special event. It’s for a great cause too. Aren’t bikers just the most awesome, generous people?! Okay, I’m biased… ;-)

Photo by Karen Clark - Bike designer “Big Rick” Hoffman sits atop a custom cycle that will be auctioned for charity by bikersfortykes.com. He is pictured with world famous bike builder Arlen Ness (back left) and Rumble on the River organizer Dan Habjanetz.

For the past few days, Tionesta, with a population of about 736, has been home to more motorcycles than residents.

Beginning Thursday evening and continuing through Sunday night, thousands and thousands of motorcycles descended on the rural Forest County community for the second annual Rumble on the River.

Under the pale blue sky of a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon, organizers declared the fundraising event for the Hunting and Fishing Museum hugely successful.

“We blew the top off it. We had more than 20,000 people for the weekend,” said Dan Habjanetz, the museum’s secretary/treasurer who serves as fund-raising chairman.

Sunday was also the busiest of the three-day motorcycle rally that was a draw for bikers and would-be bikers from around the country.

Headlining the attractions was world-renowned bike builder Arlen Ness, whose California company is a pioneer in the industry of custom bike design. Ness, who only makes six to 10 yearly appearances, is a celebrity within the bike world.

“My son, Cory, runs the company and I spend most of my time building bikes for myself and doing appearances,” the soft-spoken giant of the industry said.

Admittedly, Tionesta has no similarities to most of the areas Ness regularly visits.

“Well, it’s not like New York. It is really pretty here and the people are very nice,” said Ness, who is accustomed to such locales as Las Vegas, Daytona and New York City.

Ness’ custom designs, which range in price from about $45,000 to $150,000, are made for customers all over the world. Two of his productions were brought to the Tionesta event for show by unidentified buyers in the area.

Although his coveted designs are admired by bike builders at the top levels of the industry, Ness said there are more important reasons to make his public appearances.

“We need younger guys in this industry. Ninety percent of our customers are 50 to 70 years old. There are more older people than younger people,” he said.

Having achieved a pinnacle in his career, Ness reflected on one thing he may have changed along the way.

“I would have spent more time in school. I’ve had a great life doing something I really enjoy 12 hours a day, seven days a week. But, traveling to all those foreign countries, it would have been nice to know some languages,” he said.

Ness was joined at the three-day rally by fellow bike builder “Big Rick” Hoffman of Salem, Ohio. Hoffman was born in the New Castle area and, unlike Ness, has been to the area countless times.

“My father drove trucks and hauled cement up here about 40 years ago,” said the jovial, large-framed man.

Hoffman, the spokesman for Geico motorcycle insurance, attended last year’s event as a spectator and was instrumental in Ness’ attendance this year.

“He opened a lot of doors and put us in contact and assisted in getting Arlen to come here,” Habjanetz said.

“The only reason I’m here and the (bike builders) are around is Arlen. He is the godfather of motorcycles, a real pioneer. People owe a lot to these guys, it’s where the industry came from,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman’s entourage includes two trailers holding many of his own production designs and a specially crafted bike which is to be featured on a late fall episode of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. The bike includes the Geico gecko logo and was built for bikersfortykes.com. It is anticipated the cycle will raise about $100,000 for the charity.

The festival was expanded from last year’s one-day inaugural event, and included three live bands each day, food, children’s activities and contests. Last year’s event raised about $35,000 for the museum, which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2009.

A final tally of this year’s proceeds will be determined within the next few weeks. A larger-scale analysis, to be completed by professionals at Clarion University, will outline the profit estimates for the area with regard to influx of money to restaurants and lodging facilities.

Local merchants with booths on the grounds at the Lighthouse included the Tionesta Volunteer Fire Department, Boy Scouts and the Hunting and Fishing Museum. Hotels and campgrounds within 50 miles of the event were booked for the weekend, Habjanetz said. In addition, gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants all had extra clients to service.

Meanwhile, as the dust is barely settled from the 2007 event, planning for the ‘08 Rumble has been under way for several months.

“Hopefully, more and more of the townspeople will get on board with joining the event. We are doing it all for the museum and the community,” said Tionesta Mayor Juston Mealy, a member of the rally’s planning committee.

“No matter what, we are going to keep it cost effective,” Habjanetz said.

Workers protest Choppers

Several hundred union members protested outside the Orange County Choppers retail store yesterday morning before they were dispersed by several police agencies.

Several unions have accused the Choppers of using nonunion workers to build its new world headquarters in Newburgh, a charge the construction company denies.

The protest remained relatively calm throughout the morning and into the afternoon, but police broke it up to avoid any clashes, and because some fans who had converged at the shop became upset, said Town of Montgomery police Sgt. Alex Landolina.

There was no inflatable rat — commonly brought to union protests — but there were trucks with big billboards and balloons.

Many union members came on motorcycles wearing T-shirts reading, “Shame on you Orange County Choppers.”

On a few occasions, people who said they were union members came into the store and became belligerent before being asked to leave by police.

At one point, the large crowd assembled in front of the store and began shouting union slogans and profanity, Landolina said.

Police moved the group back to its place across the street.

Around 1 p.m., police, with the help of neighboring police departments, state police and the sheriff’s office, peacefully dispersed the protest.

There were no injuries and no arrests.

Raja Abdulrahim

MySpace Update

We realize we’ve been a little lax with our MySpace page, so be sure and head on over there to check out the updates! We’ve put up some new pics, a slideshow, some video and even made a blog post! Now if I can somehow figure out how to put more hours in the day… :-)

Please take a moment to check out TheBeachCruiser MySpace Page and leave a comment if you’d like. We would be glad to have you.

Thanks

Harley Wouldn’t So Heritage Did

Finally, a throttle / cruise-control for Harley-Davidson, Victory and Metric motorcycles that’s easy to install, easy to operate and looks great on your bike.

Bellingham, MA (Bluehost) August 25, 2007 — Harley-Davidson has been telling us for years their stock throttle lock was there for warm-up and service “only” and never intended to be used as a mechanical cruise control device. Although that may be Harley’s stance, anyone who does any long distance, or cold weather riding has used the throttle lock to give their right hand a break.

Tom Lane, owner of Heritage Machine, took on the challenge to convert the original equipment thumbwheel to a lever operated, throttle lock / control that would be easy to use, look like it came with the bike and affordable to anyone that rides a Harley or Custom motorcycle.

The result is Cruise-Mate, an inexpensive (under $100.00), easy to install, easy to use throttle lock that looks Kick-Ass good on any Harley or Custom motorcycle.

Cruise-Mate is available in two configurations (Cruise-Mate and Cruise-Mate II), both units use solid stainless steel stud, spring, bolt and bushing. Cruise-Mate uses a solid polished-303 stainless steel handle where Cruise-Mate II uses a die cast zinc handle with black powder coat finish. Functionality of both units is identical and guaranteed as long as you own your bike.

Although created with Harley-Davidson in mind, Cruise-Mate and Cruise-Mate II are now available for Victory and many Metric Cruisers.

For more information regarding Cruise-Mate products contact Tom Lane at curise-mate @ comcast.net or visit the Cruise-Mate web site at www.cruise-mate.com.

The Best Event Coverage EVER!!! Sturgis 07

Hey,

  I have just finished editing over 500 photos that Train and myself took at Sturgis 07. We have also posted over an hour of video on The Family Jewels. I believe this is the BEST EVENT COVERAGE ever done. There is NO magazine, NO blog, No Website, NO newspaper that has ever created and shared the experience of an event the way we have!!

  We had a dream!! We wanted to provide the very best motorcycle website with both class and content. I believe we have accomplished that with our coverage of Sturgis 07, our podcast interviews, our photos, articles, and editorials. We wanted to represent the motorcycle industry, the people who work so hard and are so talented and the motorcycle life as it is!! It is the best of the best and we love to document all of these truly amazing people and events.We have only been at it for 16 months and we think we are beginning to accomplish our dreams. We hope you enjoy and appreciate the work that goes into the beachcruiser. We will only get better and better.

  We want to thank all of our motorcycle family, all of our motorcycle friends and I would especially like to thank Train and our partner Rick Fairless for taking this trip with me and supporting this effort since day one. This is especially tru of Train who hard work, love and inspiration have given me the drive to keep going.

                                                                             Enjoy The Show

                                                                               Beach

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