McCain rallies bikers at Sturgis

We’re sorry we couldn’t embed the video for this piece. But go to the site at the end of the excerpt and you can watch it. We think it’s really cool that McCain showed up in Sturgis. It’s a very American thing to do!

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STURGIS, SD — An extremely enthusiastic Sen. McCain stressed energy independence during brief remarks before more than 20,000 bikers Monday night at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

“This is my first time here but I recognize that sound. It’s the sound of freedom and thank you for it,” McCain said as hundreds of bikers revved their engines at a Salute to Veterans rally on the Buffalo Chip campgrounds. “I thank you all very much for that unique Sturgis welcome.”

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The Store is now OFFICIALLY open!

Just in time to get all your Sturgis gear! Check out the great selection and prices. Here are just a couple of the designs.

 

Just click on the tab at the top of the page or go to http://www.thebeachcruiser.com/catalog/index.php

Thanks!!!

Cruising for a Cause

We are big fans of anyone who does anything for a charity, a cause, those less fortunate, etc. We’re proud to say that seems to be part of the biker collective consciousness because every where you go you see rides for charity, Toys for Tots programs, rides to collect money for an injured brother/sister’s surgery and the list goes on. We’ve said it before and will say it again. Bikers have big hearts. So we hope you enjoy this story and we salute Mr. Winokur and all bikers who give back.

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The first thing you see is the bright yellow blur coming down the road. Not a mustard yellow but a nuclear-reaction, not-found-in-nature, highlighter yellow that kind of glows. The next thing you notice, once the bright blur slows, is that it is a man and his motorcycle.

Then you might see a patch on his chest with Hebrew writing. Henry Winokur is one of the founding members of the Tribe, the only Jewish motorcycle club in Washington. It has more than 30 members.

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Chopper Zombie 4-Page Preview

Thanks to the folks at http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/comicsnews.php?id=6865 for this. You can read the whole story and get more pics there. Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it? Maybe they should make a movie…

 

This July, Devil’s Due Publishing and showrunner Thom Beers (Monster Garage, Ice Road Truckers) rev up Chopper Zombie, a new graphic novel from writer Todd Livingston (The Black Forest, The Wicked West) and artist Scott Keating (Death and the Man Who Could Not Die, Elk’s Run).

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Dave Perewitz-The King Of Flames

Hey,

I am writing about some of my favorite people in the industry. I started with the great Bert Baker and tonight it’s grand master Dave Perewitz. Read more

Bert Baker-An American Story

Hey,

  We’ve been at this for just over two years now and we have had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people. I have been thinking about that lately and I wanted to share my take on some of the greats, the most talented, the most influential, the best people Train and I have had the honor to meet and get to know. I wanted to start with Bert Baker who symbolizes everything great in the motorcycle industry. Read more

Of home equity and Harleys

NTRS) in Chicago.

One Man’s Opinion-Billy Lane

Hey,

  This is not really an opinion but, it is editorial and when I do something like this I use this banner.

  We are aware now that Billy’s lawyers are challenging the blood evidence taken at the hospital shortly after the accident that killed Gerald Morelock. This is not a surprise as the lawyers told the judge they were preparing to make the challenge.They are doing the O.J. Simpson thing with a twist. They are challenging the chain of custody, lack of refridgeration( makes the results unreliable) and that Mr. Lane did NOT give the police permission to take his blood.We understand that permission is NOT required in the state of Florida if a death occured so we don’t get that claim. The rest is pretty standard.

  The twist is that Train noticed in the court records dated 10/1/07 that there is a charge of NON CAPITAL MURDER. We don’t know if this is an additional charge or a change in charges. We do know however, or at least we think we know what NON CAPITAL MURDER is. This is the same charge against Phil Spector out in California in the death of a young woman at his home. She died of a gun shot in the mouth at Mr. Spector’s home.

  We are NOT attorney’s nor do we have any legal back ground. What we do have is the desire to research what we say and get answers. It seems that Non Capital MURDER is when a person does NOT intentionally kill another but has contributed to the circumstance which led to anothers death. In the Spector case, it was his gun, his house, blood all over him, his record of having used a gun to threaten women before as well as other witness’s testimoney. The first trial of Mr Spector ended in a hung jury.The case will be re-tried. The jury vote 10-2 for conviction but the decision must be unanimous.

  So, why is this interesting? It is because the prosecution must only convince a jury that Mr. Lane due to his past behavior, his behavior that day and all of the evidence collected proves that he is responsible for Mr. Morelock’s death. There is supposedly eye witness testimony, the accident itself, the crossing of a double yellow line, speeding, as well as the blood evidence available in this case. The prosecution must prove that Mr. Lane is responsible for Gerald’s death. It does NOT have to prove that he was drunk or that he intended to do it.

  I want to repeat that We Are NOT lawyer’s and we are reporting  the story as we understand the charge and what was filed a few days ago. We would love if one of our readers or family members who DOES have a legal background would comment.

  We report news. We try and report it accurately and objectively. We try and get there FIRST OR DAMN CLOSE.We are www.thebeachcruiser.com.

                                                              Beach

One Man’s Opinion

Hey,

I got a little down time today so I thought I would share some thoughts with you.  I hope you will comment wether you agree or disagree.

I was reading one of the “trades” which people inside the motorcycle industry get each month. There are always interesting articles but one in particular caught my attention and got me thinking. The article stated that sales in the industry have dropped every month this year as compared to last year. The numbers are not catastrophic but a trend has unfortunately emerged. The industry has slowed down and is much more challenging.  It’s a hard reality but reality none the less.  I started to think about why and I came up with several ideas.

We had more than ten years of hot, to white hot sales in the motorcycle industry.  Custom motorcycles,  production customs, Harley, Victory,  Big Dog and others were just smoking. Things began to soften last year and that is ongoing now.  Turn out at a number of rally’s is down and several have been cancelled altogether. Motorcyle T.V. shows have all but disappeared.  We still get re-runs every Thursday of OCC but that’s about it.  All the programing on Speed T.V. has come down to repeats and the new stuff kind of stinks.  They do a few re-runs of American Thunder and a re-run of V-Twin every now and again and that’s about it.  I communicate with Hugh King every few weeks to see if BBO has been renewed and so far,  it hasn’t.  Last year at this time they were well into production. There is nothing on Discovery and the Metric series on ESPN 2 was not what we had hoped. What this says to me and what I have thought for a long time is that the T.V. shows gave a huge boost to the industry and to the people who build motorcycles and otherwise make their living from parts to apparal etc. The T.V. shows made a number of folks household names, exposed the fun and excitement of the motorcycle world and no doubt were instumental in the boom from around 2001 to 2006. The shows like Build or Bust, the Motorcycle Mania shows, American Chopper, BBO, and various others are mostly gone.

The next thing is the people we lost over the last few years. Indian Larry and Johnny “Chop” Vasco passed on. Larry was arguably the most famous, most well known of all the guys and girls. He was an industry icon and a great spokesman for motorcycles. Johnny was just taking off after appearing with Chica several times on BBO. Jesse James of West Coast Chopper fame just stopped building motorcycles and appearing on T.V. very much.He married a movie star and went poof. When he did appear it was about customizing cars. Jesse was another icon and personality extraordinaire that simply disappeared. Next is Billy Lane. Billy is/was arguably the biggest personality of them all. He was on T.V. all the time. He was in the magazines, he was at all the events, he personified the rough, tough, screw you motorcycle guy that so many want to be. People either love him or hate him but, he undoubtedly was the king for several years. Billy is now awaiting a civil and criminal trial in the death of Gerald Morelock and has been very low profile for almost a year. He does appear at some shows but he is just a shadow of the enormous personality of the last five years. It ws when he was arrested and charged in the Morelock tradgedy that things really started to slide. Sponsors were lost, T.V. shows disappeared, everything turned south. I am not saying it was Billy’s fault but it was more than a coincidence that his arrest was right at the time everything changed. We haven’t seen Russell Mitchel, Arlen Ness, Rick Fairless, Eddie Trotta, Dave Perewitz, Paul Yaffe, The Martin Bros, Matt Hotch, or much of anyone in quite awhile. I am saddened because I really loved to see these folks and others who I admire and respect. I still get to see them occassionaly but, it’s not the same. I really feel a hole in my life. My friend Rick Fairless had Texas Hardtails and Russell had Build or Bust. Now, we have nothing. The industry is not the same.

The last thing I want to discuss today is the economy. The talking heads keep telling us how great things are but I for one say, bull. A great source of financing for the industry came from people taking lines of credit or refinancing their homes. We have been in a housing recession/depression going on two years now and it isn’t a coincidence that the industry has suffered. People just don’t have access to the money they had for many years during the housing boom. Credit standards are tightening and that creams industries such as ours whose product is not essential.

Most experts think this down turn will last another couple of years. We hope that is the worst case. My partner Rick Fairless said that this was inevitible and that a lot of weak owners and builders will be flushed from the industry. As tragic as that is, most think that ultimately this will be good for the industry and the consumer. Rick, who I admire greatly does not count on any one thing to keep going. He has his motorcycle buisness, his service business, his parts and apparal business, Strokers Ice House and now Strokers Ink. Rick is well diversified and one smart dude. He also truly loves the industry and will always be there. Rick, Arlen, Kim Suter, Roger Goldammer, Matt, and a number of others will survive and flourish because the truly live what they do and are real smart about how they do it. That can’t be said for those who are in it just for the buck or who can’t deal with times like this.

We will be at Sturgis to get a better feel for what’s happening. We can’t wait to go. The Beachcruiser will be here no matter what because we love the industry, the life and our friends. Me and Train well,we’re tough. We are hoping to feel the energy increase in the industry and for the buzz to pick back up. We love the buzz and the excitement.

Happy Fourth!

Beach and Train

One Man’s Opinion

Well,

  Here we are again. We finally got some news on the Lane-Morelock tragedy. I’m not sure I understand the further delay or why Billy’s “new attorney’s” need more time to examine the blood evidence. These guys have been on the case for months now and got all the “due dilligence” that Kepler Funk had done before them. You would think that enough time, taxpayer money and stress has been expended by now. Well, it’s another three months or so if everything goes on schedule which by now is kind of a joke. I remember that Funk had requested a speedy trial by jury.The defendant has the right to request that and  as I understand it that means 90 days. The law was put into effect so that people who couldn’t afford bail or didn’t get bail would not have to spend forever behind bars awaiting trial. In this case Billy never spent a day in jail and has been free to roam the country so, who needs a speedy trial?

  I am most confused by the fact that they are scheduled to begin the civil case way before the criminal one. So, the prosecution must reveal all it’s evidence and the defense must reveal facts about their take on what happened.The rules of evidence and proof of guilt are totally different in a civil trial and a criminal trial. A person may be found guilty in a civil trial by just a simple majority of the jurors.The prosecutor must only show guilt by a preponderance of the evidence. In a criminal trial the verdict must be unanimous and beyond a reasonable doubt. These are two very different things.As you may remember, O,J. was found not guilty at the criminal trial and liable at the civil trial. The biggest difference is that the criminal trial preceeded the civil one.

  You have to wonder how it would be possible to find an impartial jury for the criminal case if a verdict has already been reached in the civil one. I don’t think that’s possible.I can’t believe they won’t postpone or settle the civil case first.If settled, the verdict would have to be sealed until after the criminal trial. Maybe I am missing something here but, I don’t know what.

  This has been a fiasco since day one and a fiasco it remains.I can only repeat that I hope the result is fair and just for all parties and the justice system can find a way elivate itself from the mockery that it is. I won’t hold my breath.

  Billy is supposed to be at Sturgis in August so, we may know more by then. He created the Bikers breakfast which is a great event. Train and I will be there.

                                                              Beach

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