The pastor wears a sleeveless black T-shirt, blue jeans and a backward baseball cap. The collection is taken in a motorcycle helmet. And the first thing seen as you walk in the door of this makeshift church isn’t a cross or a stained-glass window, it’s a bar.
Steve’s Cape Cod, a seafood restaurant and bar known for all-you-can-eat snow crab Monday and ladies-drink-free night Wednesday, is reborn each Sunday morning as the Salvation Saloon. Worshippers who go by names like Curly Joe and Wild Bill file in by the dozen — many holding plastic foam cups of coffee, some biting at doughnuts — for a service they say is unlike any other. “This is not your parents’ church,” Paul White, who created the service and serves as the pastor, tells those gathered. “This is going to bless your socks off.” White started Salvation Saloon three years ago in this Tampa Bay area town as an attempt to being a unique, low-key spiritual experience to others who shared his love for motorcycles. The occasional service has grown into a weekly gathering, the congregation has grown to about 100 people each Sunday and attendees now represent more diverse demographics than bikers alone. Organizers have even taken their ministry on the road, offering a service in another Florida bar every couple months. “I feel very drawn to this ministry,” said Bill Spellman, a 61-year-old advertising salesman from Dunedin. “It is so powerful to be able to come here and hear people talk about the miracles in their lives.” Christians have long sought to bring their faith to places outside the traditional church, from the rapid growth of skateboarding ministries to smaller-scale outreach to circus and carnival workers. While particularly evident among evangelicals, such efforts are seen across Christianity. Roman Catholics, for instance, have organized spiritual discussions called “Theology on Tap” in bars across the country. Salvation Saloon is non-denominational. Randall Balmer, a professor of American religious history at Columbia University, said it is one of countless endeavors seeking to attract congregants who otherwise might not be reached. “It strikes me as a fairly good illustration of the ability of evangelicals to speak the idiom of the culture no matter where they find themselves,” he said. “I see this kind of thing as the successor to the megachurch — to try to be all things to all people.” It is, admittedly, a motley bunch of black leather vests and Harley-Davidson T-shirts, of tattooed arms and patches that say “In Memory of Jesus.” Congregants’ own personal experiences are a centerpiece of Salvation Saloon. The ministry’s Web site acknowledges many attendees are former thieves, drug dealers and addicts and murderers — “a bunch of outcasts and misfits.” The service includes, at its start, a performance by the “Posse Band” which gathers on a small stage with swordfish mounted on a paneled wall at the back. They sing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day as a projection screen features cartoon characters Ren and Stimpy with the message “Welcome Saloonatics.”
White says they try to keep discussion of Bible stories or Jesus’ works simple and relevant. There are no church songs; communion is served once a month. There are, however, jokes (”This big gnarly biker walks into a shop …”), trivia (”Name that Saloonatic,” complete with a member’s baby picture and the theme music from “Jeopardy!”) and the reading of the “Saloony Report” (comical, fake classified advertisements). “We don’t have any spiritual superstars here,” White said. “We believe that serving God shouldn’t be a spectator sport.”
Several people leave their seats among lines of tables to share their own spiritual stories — of overcoming hatred for a former spouse, of overcoming a drug habit, of accepting Christ. White takes the microphone at the end of the testimonies. “You know where Jesus is?” he asks. “He’s right here, baby.” As the service closes, White hands out three shiny gold trophies with cross on top to the winners of the Salvation Saloon’s bike show. Outside, motorcycles rev up, hugs are exchanged and burly men and women say things like “stay blessed” and “love you, bro.” One of the members, Mark Perryman, says he can’t imagine spending his Sunday any other way. “I can’t think of a better way to worship the Lord,” he said, “than the way we get together.” Source: AP

Well, Guilty attended this years Horse SmokeOut in Salisbury and have to admit, it was sort of a bitter sweet experience. The weather was incredible, food good, great vendors, awesome bikes and friends present….however, knowing that the event wouldn’t be held next year in my home state (and not too far from my families home), was a bit of a dissapointment. Hearing the stories that are normally associated with this event (you know the type…women, booze, bikes, bike smokeouts, concerts, bull riding, water vs tshirts, butts, etc, etc) as well as experiencing them first hand, always brought a smirk to my face. So, we’ll have to see where Edge ends up next year, as rumors were abundant. We have to take our hats off to the Salisbury Police Officers, medical and support people who again, made this event one of the safest and fun events we’ll probably attend this year. One note to the City Council and Commissioners there in Salisbury, NC….don’t come crying to the guys at The Horse Magazine next year because your tax base takes a dive due to not having this event in you fair (but somewhat narrow minded) city. Shortsightedness is not an excuse for the decision to fold due to a small minority of vocal “naval-gazers” not able or willing to see that all people are equal…regardless of where and what they do, look like, ride etc. “Pride goeth before the fall” as the Good book says.
Guilty teamed up and enjoyed the event (inspite of the heat) with the guys/gals from Jailhouse Choppers and what a great group of people! And their bikes are awesome! Not only were they hospitable but just great to be around. We’ve signed Jailhouse Choppers up as a dealer for our newest Chopper Shox system and from the response from the public, we’re definitely onto something that is needed and wanted. If you get a chance, check out Jailhouse at www.jailhousechoppers.com and tell them Cj said hello!

There are all types of publications out in the motorcycle industry now. Whether your into choppers, cafe racers, vintage, stocks, baggers, metric’s, etc, etc. However, this has not always been the case. Take for example the 60’s-70’s era, when the choice for mag’s on motorcycles was somewhat (some would say “very” limited). There were always the creative types that blazed a trail. Some lasted, others faded into the mist. Now, there are some people that are helping us stroll through memory lane by offering us the covers of various magazines produced during that time. Here Motocycho.com offers postcards of various chopper magazine covers from the 60s and 70s, with free stickers & buttons that we can share with our friends. Now, where did i leave my GI Joe?

Hey, looking for that perfect “handle” or “Biker Name” to fit your rider image? Need a patch or trying to get into a MC but don’t have the perfect nickname? Well here you go, enjoy. It’s called the Outlaw Biker Name Generator.

Like we’ve previously said, “We’re not that smart”, however we do know when to just say, “look here for more information”. Which is what we’re doing now. The most recent news in the rumor mill about Harley-Davidson circles around Honda and them doing something….which we can’t see, but hey, we’re not that smart, remember? Anyway, he’re the article in Forbes…Interesting, now we have two articles/rumors on this topic. Wonder where it will stop?

Honestly, we’re not on a trend here with this posting or our prior one on Sneaky Leaker, but we had to comment, as this is something those of us that travel frequently have to deal with. The continual demise of the American based airline industry. We American’s have had to deal with the constant decay of service(s), truly inadaquite security, quality of aircraft, along with delays/cancellations as well as the absence of simple curtious customer service. We at Guilty, have flown airlines from the UK, India, Japan, France etc, but no other industry has reached the depths of distain for the american travelling public, like the American based airline industry. Now in this recent posting about a flight from Ireland, passengers had to deal with “Crap”, literally. I just have to wonder when will we American public say “enough is enough” and start speaking up when things don’t meet our needs or expectations? More importantly, when will corporate america see that while they may be gaining revenue/profits by cutting back on certain levels, they are losing cunsumer loyalty and respect. Something you can’t put a price on. Read on.
New Jersey (eCanadaNow) - People traveling by plane have become use to bad food, long waits and maybe even the occasion yelling child. However passangers aboard Continental flight 71 traveling from Ireland to New Jersey had to put up with a lot more “crap.” The 168 passengers on the flight had to deal with leaking sewage from the lavatories for the entire duration of their flight. Flight crew encouraged people not to eat or drink during the flight so they would not need to use the washroom. The plane did have one working toilet. The flight resumed the next day after the problem appeared to have been fixed. But over the Atlantic, the problem returned, said Continental spokesperson Dave Messing. What could cause such a problem? Airline officials say the cause of the leakage was due to someone “trying” to flush a latex glove down the toilet. Continental said they were very sorry about the problem and gave passengers travel vouchers.

Yep, that’s right! Now for the rider that hates to stop for a pit stop, it’s the Sneaky Leaker: It’s exactly what the name implies. It works off the same idea as a blatter bag but less clean-up (for the rider, anyway). Once “installed” (Lets not think about that too much), it allows the rider to urinate/pee/wizz (you get the point) via a tube that is routed inside the pant leg and out the end, near the boot. Word of caution though: Do not ride behind anyone with a tube hanging out of his pant leg. I can hear the theme song now (sorry Steppenwolf):

Get your motor runnin’ — heading down the highway.
Not looking for a bathroom — ’cause I’m peeing down my pant leg.
Yeah, darlin’ gonna make it happen — hit the world with some urine spray …

If you read any press your eventually going to run into the debate of “Who’s at Fault in crashes between motorcycles and cars?” So we thought we’d join the flow and see what our readers are thinking.

This is our newest pole, which is easy for all to do. Pass it around to your motorcycling friends etc and see what kind of responses we can get. Enjoy and we’ll update when we finish getting results in 30 days.

We here at Guilty are big supporters of Bikernet and Keith Ball, thus we read his site quite often. Recently while cruising the site, we came across this insightful commentary from Renegade of Biker Republic. Take some time here and read as there are some painful reminders for us all to consider.

It is any mid-week evening. Across our great country, we rush home from work, clean up and don our best looking riding clothes. We touch up the chrome grab mama and climb aboard. All is smiles because we are going out to our favorite watering hole (or two) for bike night. We know hundreds of fellow bikers will be there; some, we see daily, others we only see on Bike Night. Every make and model will be leaning on the kick stand in the “bikes only” parking area. Bikers and interested spectators will be milling around, some discussing the latest engine upgrade, piece of chrome, paintjob or whatever else grabs their eyes or fancy. Most often a long neck is firmly in hand. The biker babes are always well represented; scant tops, no bra, jeans and boots, ya got to love it. Everyone is having a few drinks, socializing and chilling with our favorite kind of people, bikers. The boys know they will probably see a tit shot or two before the night is done. The loner at the end of the bar is trying to get lucky with that little woman down the way. He buys her drinks and, gets himself one too. The band is sounding good! Oh hell, my favorite place is running a “Bike Night” special. Five cent wings and one dollar long necks. I’ll get two at a time to save the little waitress leg work besides; it takes her way to long to get around to my table. This place needs to hire more help! But, since the beers are so cheap, I might as well get a shot to go with it. Hey, there’s so and so and the guys. “Come on over here, I’ll buy you a shot.” The owner of the establishment is working the crowd. He wants to make sure everyone is having a good time and buying his booze. A little girl in short shorts and halter top is carrying a tray of jello shooters peddling them to every biker who meets her eye. She is making a killing. Business is good, bikers are having fun, “We like it!”

Many of us need to stop talking out both sides of our mouth. On one hand we are all about our biker rights, safety and awareness and our basic freedoms. On the other we play into the hands of money grabbing business people by supporting their bike nights at the expense of our very lives. We, the Biker Nation, must police ourselves and thereby protect our way of life. If we do not awake to that call, we hand our Liberty to every safety nanny who ever thought of “saving a life”. Ride safe my brothers and sisters!

There’s another side to this nasty coin. No brother needs to ride home drunk. There’s cabs, pick-ups, coffee shops, friend, and maybe real true brothers who won’t let riders ride drunk. We make a point to have a garage attached to our make-believe Bandit’s Cantina. If we ever open one for real, it will have a garage to store bikes, when a rider needs to take a cab home. Yep, there’s a flip side. Maybe more bar owners need a secure shed or garage to save customers’ lives with.–Bandit

You know the type: The guys/gals that have everything imaginable to keep up their “motorcycling lifestyle”! Doesn’t matter what it is…they’ve got to have it. Well here’s a product that you can be sure they will want to have in their “own” category. But, if you want to piss them off first, invite them over, serve them a nice meal with these one-of-a kind “dual use” beauties.

For $24 a set (includes “closed pliers” knife, one “closed wrench” fork and one “open wrench” spoon. They make the perfect gift by coming in a ABS presentation box which resembles a took case. Yeah. Anyway, they are made from 18/10 stainless steel and are machine washable and microwave friendly….(hmm, guess it won’t blow up the microwave). Anyway, for your own peace of mind, you can check them out at www.wrenchwareinc.com. Remember, don’t choke on your food!

Well, we’re heading north to the Horse SmokeOut and we’re stoked. We’ll be able to catch up with some of our friends in and out of the business and meeting those we’ve only been able to talk with via phone or email. Guilty is supposed to have a few interviews with magazines and TV shows about the new products we’ve got rolling out as well as one of the bikes. So we’ll keep you updated. One other note is to take a look at the show that is becoming dear to our hearts, called Carolina Cruiser TV. Hosted by Dawn…(we look forward to meeting while up in the tarheel state), this show is really gathering alot of fans and publicity. Maybe one day we’ll be able to say “We knew Dawn when…...” Anyway, check them out at their website.

I’ll go ahead an say it so as to get “it” out of the way. I’m not that smart. I just sort of observe and listen, try to access and learn what i’ve seen/heard/done and make the most of it. No long term “strategic thinkin” going on here in the old gray matter. So i’ll let the sources speak for me on the rumor mill of the “possibility” of some sort of merger between Harley-Davidson and Ducati. Recently in the Financial Times there was this article.

There are literally only a few (say, three) people who’s life we’ll give space to and comment on here at our Guilty Truth BLOG. Mrs. Graham’s is one of the three. The news about an evangelist wife’s death may seem out of place on a site dedicated to the motorcycle industry and it’s lifestyle. However, when you think about it, this is exactly the type of impact Mrs. Graham would have wanted her life to have. Having been a student at Montreat College (and the city the Grahams called home) during the 70’s, and having the opportunity to have sat in on classes, met, talked, shared meals and enjoyed the company of the Grahams, (and particularly Mrs. Graham), i am saddened by the news of her death. After thinking on it further though, one has to remind themself that while she’ll be dearly missed by family, friends and countless others her life has touched, she’s now where she’s always been talking about and questing for….at the side of her Saviour. We know that the words “Welcome home good and faithful servant” have already echoed through the heavens. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Graham family. Read other articles about her life HERE.

The Warden was interviewed the other day by our friends at American V-Twin UK for a feature story on our recent build Errant. ( Click HERE for their link) and was discussing various differences between the land masses (UK vs USA). While there are some differences such as taxes, (which side of the road to ride on), ticketing for various infractions, various importing regulations, emissions, build preferences and necessities etc., one thing became quite evident of the common bond between the two land masses…the culture of motorcycling is contagious. One other similarity between the cultures is that we (riders/builders) have a desire to have a motorcycle(s) that looks cool. Some do it with styling cues, others with wild paint jobs, chrome, metal fabrication etc. We at Guilty Customs tend to gravitate to pinstripping as a way of expression for our builds. Well there is a new magazine being published that will stroke the need for those of us that love pinstripping. The magazine, is called “Pinstripping and Kustom Graphic’s Magazine“. From what the editors are stating “It doesn’t matter if you just want to check out the latest kool looks, learn how to achieve them or find the right equipment or people to do the job, this magazine is for you. P&KG is packed full of features, interviews, Hints and Tips and How To’s from the best artists. At present the magazine is available at a few select locations here in the States. One we found is in Kustom Kulture Gallery.

There are a number of us in the Guilty family that ride our bikes regardless of the weather. You know us because while we try to keep our rides clean, we don’t obsess over them. We figure, why build them if your not going to ride them regardless of their (or our) appearance. On the other side of the spectrum, are those that just have to have the cleanest and most buffed bike around. And then there are those that fall in the middle of the road too. Well for whatever group you fall into, this product will be of interest to you. The S100 Special Surface Cleaner. A spray on cleaner, it is designed specifically for exceptionally streak-free cleaning of plastic surfaces such as helmets, face shields, fairings and windshields, and the formulation’s cleaning power enables it to remove insects and other soils quickly and easily with minimal wiping required. It is safe for polycarbonate and acrylics such as Lexan, Lucite, Plexiglas, fiberglass, etc. We’ve used it for awhile on our own rides and you can find it online at AutoGeek.net. or any of your better retail stores. Check it out HERE.