At Guilty we try to set a good example for young children, pets and politicians. So we’ll say this upfront….Always wear an approved safety helmet (when your setting at bars, stripper joints or on your bike)…regardless. But for those social occassions where a helmet is just not acceptable, a Guilty cap is the answer. This FlexFit hat comes in Small/Med or Large/X-Large sizes with the Guilty Logo right on the front! This is the “Original” stretchable fitted cap constructed witih spandex throughout, a fiber that maintains comfort and shape everytime you wear it. Geared for active lifestyles and will stay on your head after repeated wear. Cap is Black with off white stitching and has the www.Guiltycustoms.com web address on back side. Strut your Guilty Stuff. $12.00/each. Hey you pundits that were complaining about us not promoting ourself enough…. is the good self promotion?
For the past 20 years, every Memorial Day weekend, tens of thousands of motorcyclists join together as Rolling Thunder to honor the military, particularly the dead and MIA. The coverage is usually positive and focuses on the patriotic bikers and their interesting-looking bikes. On May 27, ABC News went a different direction for this year’s ride. Instead of covering Rolling Thunder and their military and veteran-related issues, the way the Washington Post and the Washington Times did in their articles, ABC turned it into advocacy journalism to inform people about the importance of–wearing helmets while riding motorcycles. After four rather bland sentences about the the event, ABC slipped into lecture-mode (emphasis mine thoughout): Quote:
And as the number of motorcycles on the road rises, so does the number of motorcycle deaths. A recent government report found motorcycle deaths have more than doubled in the past 10 years. Nearly 4,800 people died last year in motorcycle accidents and 87,000 were injured.
Mary Peters, the U.S. secretary of Transportation, is one of the six million Americans who rides motorcycles. She is campaigning to get every American who rides a bike to first put on a helmet. “Of the motorcycle fatalities over the last year, 700 of them would likely not have died had they had a helmet on,” said Peters. “I hope I’m setting the right kind of role model by wearing all my safety equipment, that I check out my bike before I leave, that I ride with others so that we are more visible. “In the entire article, there was only one quote that was not from a safety advocate. In it, I know the speaker rides a motorcycle, but I don’t know if he was a Rolling Thunder participant. I can’t be sure because it isn’t exactly specified whether ABC is still talking to another generic motorcycle-riding helmet advocate or if it switched back to discussing Rolling Thunder:
Quote: So why do so many riders opt for less safety?“Some people just believe in flouting the system,” said Harry Avila, a Harley Davidson rider. “They think they’re cool.” Other people, Peters believes, just don’t know any better. Those are the riders she is hoping to reach.
This close to a holiday that recognizes the men and women who have died in military service to their country, couldn’t ABC have profiled Rolling Thunder the way the Washington Post and Washington Times did, and explain a little to the readers about a sure-to-please Memorial Day topic (for all of those who don’t think American soldiers are terrorists), while making sure to focus on the group’s mission? Maybe next time, ABC will actually cover the event and not just use it as a tool to promote helmet usage. Sure, it is safer for bikers to wear helmets, but write about it in another article, don’t hijack a 20-year tribute to past and present members of the military for an agenda. US Nationwide - Lynn Davidson (News Busters) -
Whenever Guilty Customs finds a great company to align ourselves with, we jump at the opportunity. Such is the case with Doherty Machines. Guilty has recently signed on as a new dealer with Doherty Machines. For those on the ‘builder side” of the industry, you know that Doherty makes some of the most dependable parts ranging from axle spacers to stainless steel and chrome hardware to phantom oil filters. The Doherty guys are at the top of their game with a first rate machine shop and people to support after the sale. And having their custom machined parts on your bike guarantees you’ll have a safe and dependable ride. We’ve used Doherty parts on many builds here at Guilty, and know you won’t be disappointed with any purchase of these products. Like we say around the shop, nothing but the best for the Guilty!
Ok, some people are saying that we at Guilty aren’t promoting ourselves and our products enough!…apparently they are disappointed because we have such great products! Well, that may be true. So, to address those comments and concerns, we’re now resorting to blatant capitalistic strategies (at least for this post). The topic of conversation for this BLOG is our new store front (click HERE for that). You’ll find a variety of products there ranging from typical swag stuff from Guilty (mens t-shirt, womens tops, etc) and then some rockin parts (girders and leaf spring front ends, coil and air shocks, oil bags, timing covers, handlebar cuffs, etc etc). So there, you critics….we’ve done our civic duty by informing the general population of Guilty’s products and our desire to sell them to builders, shade tree mechanics, or fashion conscious riders. BTW, if you find the store front helpful, why not share it with your close friends…..they may appreciate it!
Yep, it’s true..a Gas powered blender! I have to admit, i’m pretty good standing behind a skillet and on the cutting boards, (honest, ask my friends that are still living!) or my wife. Well, maybe not her. Anyway, this new toy for us cullinary want-to-be’s is a great step in bringing together our passions for power and speed with food and drink. See the connection? It’s a match made in culinary heaven, it’s a natural. Daiquiri Whacker Gas Powered Blender ($260) features a 25cc Homelite engine, an unbreakable jar, and Zip Start technology. The most manly feature, however, is the handlebar grip speed controls, which lets you rev it up like a motorcycle. Come-on honey, let me cook tonight! PLEEESE!!
We were recently out with some friends and the subject of “Media Coverage and Motorcycles” came up. Well, to say the least, it started some pretty heated discussions on what the media has/is doing to this industry. Is it good? Bad? And does anyone care? So, we thought we’d try something new here by posting a survey to find out peoples thoughts. So take 10 seconds and give us your feedback. Thanks!
Maybe i’m getting fed-up! Maybe my bones and muscles don’t recover as quickly as they use to! Maybe i’m tired of the H-D ride and all the crap we’ve had to deal with over the years. So, when i see something like this Triumph, it makes me want to try it at least. Take it for a spin and check out how i feel after putting on a few hundred miles. Maybe i’m wanting to have something that says, “Yeah, i’m a biker!” but i don’t have to follow the “Yuppie-come-late’s” that are swooping up H-D’s and prettying them up with tons of chrome and leather or 10k paint jobs, just so they can be part of the “IN” crowd. Am i a turn-coat for saying this? Hmmmm…I don’t really care. Big and beefy with a purr like a kitten, Triumph’s Rocket III is a seductive anti-Harley cruiser. THE Rocket III Classic Tourer is Triumph’s latest entry into the cruiser market, and one thing’s for sure: It’s no hog. But at 751 pounds dry and nearly 2,300 cc, it is quite the heifer. Power. Girth. Flash. Triumph’s biggest and baddest is a real beefcake of a bike that panders to cruisers’ basest instincts. It just does it in an unconventional way. It’s “The beast with three cylinders”.
New for 2007, the touring version of Triumph’s year-old Rocket III Classic is a triple novelty. The long and low profile, the floorboards and rock ‘n’ roll shift are pure cruiser, but the bike is English, not American or Japanese. Its power isn’t cranked from a big, air-cooled V-twin but a gargantuan, liquid-cooled in-line triple. Busting the bucket at a whopping 2,294 cc, it’s also the largest-displacement mass-produced motorcycle with a motorcycle engine on the market. On paper, that adds up to a bike so macho you almost need a mustache to throw a leg over.
Or so it seems. Flipping the switch, it’s a different story. Firing up the bike, I was struck by the timidity of its exhaust note. It was Arnold Schwarzenegger talking with Maria Shriver’s voice.
If you’re a Harley fan, that isn’t a good thing. But Triumph’s elephantine tourer is more of the anti-Harley. It’s for aging Steve McQueen types who caught the biker bug tearing around on ’60s Triumphs but whose bones can no longer take the abuse — guys who prize the nostalgia of this 105-year-old motorcycle marque as well as the performance and novelty of its famed triple cylinder.
The advantage of a triple over a twin? There’s just as much bottom-end torque (147 pound-feet at 2,500 rpm) but less vibration and higher revs, for an even broader power band. Then there are aesthetics. On the Rocket III Classic Tourer, the motor’s mounted lengthwise rather than crosswise in a nod to another well-loved though long-defunct English motorcycle manufacturer — BSA.
What’s modern about the ‘07 tourer: the motor is counterbalanced, to make the ride even smoother. In addition to being liquid cooled, it’s also shaft driven and fuel-injected.
Despite these modern amenities, I admit I was prejudiced against this bike before making it mine for a couple weeks. I didn’t care that the bike pulls a whopping 140 horses at 6,000 rpm. In these days of escalating fuel prices, the bike’s heft seemed out of sync with the times. I figured the bike would consume as reasonably as a frat boy at an open bar. At first, that suspicion was confirmed. The fuel light came on exactly 100 miles after I’d filled up. On a 6.3-gallon tank, the math worked out to a worse-than-your-average-passenger-car 20 mpg, but that was inaccurate. When I filled up at 107 miles, only 3.5 gallons fit in the tank. That means the bike actually gets a respectable 30.5 mpg. It turns out there’s a problem with the calibration on the fuel sensor on some of these bikes, Triumph admits, but not so many that it’s issuing a recall.
Once my fuel concerns were erased, it was a lot easier for me to enjoy the bike’s meat-and-potatoes power and tornado-proof stability. Even carving canyons, this 98.4-inch behemoth was a lot easier to throw around than I expected because the front end isn’t raked for raising cain, just kicked out a moderate 32 degrees. Overall, this bike defied my expectations, though I do have one request: I would have liked a reverse gear because I was sweating after three-point turns in my driveway.
2007 Rocket III Classic Tourer Base price: $16,399
Powertrain: Fuel-injected, liquid-cooled, DOHC, in-line three-cylinder, shaft drive, five-speed
Displacement: 2294 cc
Bore and stroke: 101.6 mm by 94.3 mm
Maximum torque: 147 pound feet at 2,500 rpm
Maximum horsepower: 140 at 6,000 rpm
Seat height: 29.1 inches
Dry weight: 751 pounds
Call it our sense of social responsibility or that i’ve got my own kids i care about that i post this article. Granted, it’s not “industry specific” to motorcycles, but our industry, and Guilty specifically as a responsible party within that industry, has to speak up on matters such as this. So read on. The kids just love it when cigarette companies cut their prices — it helps them become regular smokers, according to a new study reported by Nicholas Bakalar in The New York Times (5/22/07). Bill Phelps of Philip Morris USA denies it: “We have a contract with retailers that governs how our products are displayed at retail and assures that they are merchandised in a responsible way,” he says. The study, published in The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, is based on “a nationwide survey of 26,000 students in 8th, 10th and 12th grades from 1999 to 2003.” According to the study’s authors, it’s the one-two punch of in-store ads and price promotions that does the trick.
The ads basically get kids to try smoking and the price promotions enable them to repeat their purchases. The old trial-and-repeat. The study concludes that “if stores had no advertising, there would be a decrease of 11 percent in children who try smoking. If promotions were eliminated, there would be a decrease of 13 percent in the number who become habitual smokers.” Frank J. Chaloupka, one of the study’s authors, says a cigarette tax would help reduce the price incentive to smoke and also endorses “strong smoke-free policies” that other research finds help change “social norms” and discourage kids from smoking.
Another study, this one on kids and alcohol, found that sixth-graders exposed to alcohol ads were “strongly predicted” to start drinking in seventh grade. “The most consistent predictor of drinking was ownership of a hat, poster or T-shirt that advertised alcohol, they said, and one-fifth of sixth-graders who owned such items were almost twice as likely to take up drinking as those that did not.” Jeff Becker of the Beer Institute says the study, is just “the latest in a long line of studies that try to make advertising the scapegoat for underage adults and adolescents who drink illegally. ” He said the solution is “clearly restricting youth access to alcohol, not censoring advertising.” The study, of 1,786 sixth-graders in South Dakota, is published by The Journal of Adolescent Health.
I’ll admit it, i lust after Chica’s bikes almost as much as i lust after my wife! I said ALMOST! Alright, its out in the open now, deal with it! Chica (Chica Custom Cycles) has always had what we say as the “touch” when it comes to pure artistic functional designs and his designs shape trends. Since our own influences are from the 60-70’s hot-rod era, it’s no suprise we were attracted to the latest creation from Chica. His overall approach and intrepretation is different than our, but the execution is one we greatly admire and appreciate. The simplistic use of components, coupled with the artistic sensibility is something Guilty appreciates. There we said it, look at someone elses bikes… This special built “Captain Japan” is the Japanese version of what a chopper would have looked like in his native country in the early 70’s. I think he hit it straight on with this build! Great job Chica!
Just got back from one of the local bike nights with some friends. The ride into the event was non-eventful and pleasant. The ride back though, involved large amounts of that “liquid sunshine” you hear so much about in FLA. After drying off, this experience got me thinking about all those times we as riders get caught out unexpectedly in a rain shower. Clouds move in quickly and what looks like a pleasant ride, suddenly turns into a challenging ride. Since we live in Florida….during the summer it’s going to rain!! Period. It’s like clockwork. So what do we do? Do we ride or not ride? Here are some things to remember when you’ve decided to dodge the drops.
Gear - Oh, yeah, like us chopper guys are going to have a handy set of slickers around to throw on. But if your riding a bagger, crotch rocket or cruiser, trike, etc, then this can be helpful. Chopper guys….remember, ya got to look cool, even if your wet! So either stay at home or wear cool leathers! For the rest of you invest in some all weather riding gear including waterproof boots! The minimum investment you should have on hand when it comes to rain gear is waterproof gloves that fasten securely around your wrist. Not only do gloves keep your hands dry during a rainstorm, but they’ll also help keep them warm too. Another option is purchasing a rain suit to wear over your leathers if you don’t have all weather gear. Waterproof your boots prior to riding in the rain as an extra precaution.
Tires - Diehard bikers, if you haven’t worn out the tread on those puppies, get some new ones quick. Tires with a good tread pattern on them are the safest type to use when it’s raining. This is because, there’s more rubber to grip the slippery road. Still, even with decent tread on the tires, pushing your two-wheeler to the limits in the rain, be it a drizzle or a downpour, is not advised unless you want to hydroplane or worse yet, lay your bike down in front of oncoming traffic or God forbid, the neighbors kids.
Wait - So what’s the rush? Not like your the head economics decision maker for the nation and the President needs you in DC immediately! Just remember, oil and grease on the road tends to loosen up and sit on the surface during the start of the rain, so allow a solid 15 minutes or so for cars to splash the excess muck off onto the side of the street. Otherwise, you’re just asking for trouble!
Avoidances - Along with those slow walking pedestrians, dogs and random fire hydrants, steer clear of the painted lines on streets and highways and be careful around manhole covers and railroad tracks because they all become extremely slick when wet. Common sense (which i’m told some have) should encourage you to ride in the path of the tire trails left by vehicles in front of you since it will be the area on the road with the least amount of water on it. Regarding manholes and RR tracks…avoid them if at all possible, but if you must cross over them, heed with caution, keeping a steady throttle.
Visor Care - That is, if you wear a helmet! Since we live in FLA, helmets are optional. But so is pulling over and waiting, but thats another discussion. If you are wearing a helmet, remember you can’t see, what you can’t see! So to help eliminate rain from building up on your visor and impairing your vision, you should apply something that helps the rain bead up and roll off easily (such as Rain-X). Remember, your visor may also become foggy while riding and there are products on the market to help prevent that. But, just cracking your visor open a bit every now and again will help quickly eliminate this problem.
It’s been reported that motorcycle riders generally avoid riding in the rain at all costs (that’s what i’ve been told by reliable sources), however, there is still that rare occasion that may sneak up on you and leave you in a compromising situation. Be prepared and alert so that you’ll still be around to ride on future dry weather days as well! Your family and friends will appreciate the extra caution and preparation.
Here at Guilty, if you take the time to talk with us you’ll find we have some pretty opinionated people hanging around. When it comes to the war our nation is involved in thought, we’re not going to get into any debates on the validity or purpose. But one thing we will do is support our troops and their families. So watch this video and next time you see a serviceman/woman tell them you appreciate their sacrifice. Regardless of whether you are for or against the war.
Since spring is hitting most of the northern stated around now, we thought they’d appreciate this little motivational picture. We’re always looking for ways to reduce time, effort and money spent in and around the house, but with this ride, i’m not sure that would be the case. I’d be riding this baby up and down the neighborhood just looking for lawns to cut. Now if we could find a “trash chopper” or “weed-eater chopper” we’d be in business! We haven’t been able to find the builder yet, but we’d love to hear from them.
Like Huey Lewis’ old song that went, “I need a new drug”, after reading this story i guess i need a “new obsession”….I guess there could be worse problems. This story is from Blog, VisorDown. A BIKER who was involved in a motorcycle crash that left him with side effects causing him to be obsessed with mobile phones and daily sex has been awarded £1.2 million pounds damages. London’s High Court heard that Kunal Karl Lindsay became obsessed with playing mobile phone games, and also became “obsessed” with having sex daily. The court was told that the delivery driver was now unemployable and faced the breakdown of his marriage following the motorcycle crash in September 2002. Justice Mackay said Mr Lindsay had no motivation to work anymore and would spend hours just playing games on his mobile phone. The insurers for the other party in the accident agreed to a payment of UK£1.2 million, but are disputing ongoing costs for his mental damage. The hearing has been adjourned pending negotiations between the insurers and lawyers.
We’re all about supporting the “weaker” sex here at Guilty. Ladies, we’re being sarcastic! Have you seen who gives birth repeatedly? Definitely not a guy! Seriously, we found this one of those “about time” features. Sarah Lyon, an artist and motorcycle enthusiast travelled over 6000 miles on her 1978 Yamaha during the summer of 2006, photographing women mechanics from around the country for her 2007 Calendar featuring 14 Female Mechanics photographed in their environments. Found mostly through word of mouth, Sarah met with automobile, motorcycle, hot rod, jet airplane and diesel truck mechanics. This calendar challenges stereotypes of the typical tool-girl, pin-up calendar by showing real women mechanics working in their shop environments. The Female Mechanics Calendar is a full-sized 14-month wall calendar that includes multiple images of each mechanic, along with bios telling their stories of how they got into the non-traditional labor field of mechanics. She’s searching for Female Mechanics for a future calendar…so if you or any women you know would be interested in participating in a project that gives visibility to real women mechanics, please contact Sarah at studio@sarahlyon.com or via phone at 502.558.3230. Good luck ladies. We’ll gladly put you up on our shop walls.
This FlexFit hat comes in Small/Med or Large/X-Large sizes with the Guilty Logo right on the front! This is the “Original” stretchable fitted cap constructed witih spandex throughout, a fiber that maintains comfort and shape everytime you wear it. Geared for active lifestyles and will stay on your head after repeated wear. Cap is Black with off white stitching and has the www.Guiltycustoms.com web address on back side. Strut your Guilty Stuff. $12.00/each. Hey you pundits that were complaining about us not promoting ourself enough…. is the good self promotion? 
Ok, some people are saying that we at Guilty aren’t promoting ourselves and our products enough!…apparently they are disappointed because we have such great products! Well, that may be true. So, to address those comments and concerns, we’re now resorting to blatant capitalistic strategies (at least for this post). The topic of conversation for this BLOG is our new store front (click 
This calendar challenges stereotypes of the typical tool-girl, pin-up calendar by showing real women mechanics working in their shop environments. The 
