The guys at Nash Motorcycle Company are at it again! This time they are rolling out “The Gimp Neck Roller” which was designed with value and showmanship in mind. Since we know these guys personally we can speak to the the quality of their craftsmanship and creativity. These rollers were specifically designed for those riders that have “old school” on their minds and creativity in their heads. Take the Nash style and stance and give it your own unique look to create something special. Available with 16″ apes and 2” Slugger Risers or 5″ pullback Drag Bars with 6” Slugger Risers. Roller sales for $4957.00 and includes free shipping within the US. For additional options please feel free to give Taber and the guys a ring.

Hey, thanks for coming back! Great to see there are a few of you out there that have taste and style! Seriously, thanks for visiting. If you know of stories you think people would be interested in, shoot us a line C'ya!

If your like most people, you’ve probably thought very little about where or how a motorcycle fender is made. Just that it was made from quality materials, fit your tire, was the style you wanted and U.S. made. Well if you dig a bit deeper on this subject you’ll find that there is not only alot of history to it, but also real talent needed as well as time. Our friends over at Cycle Source Magazine have a very cool story covering the techniques needed to make a truly custom made fender. They spent some time with the guys over at Led Sled Customs out of Dayton, Ohio and received a true education on this almost lost art. Hand spinning came to the US in the early 1800’s and unfortunately the art of hand spinning is almost a lost and forgotten metal forming art. Thanks to Chris and his gang they gave us all some great coverage to appreciate. Take a look HERE.

So, if your planning (or wishing) on going to Sturgis this year why not go on someone else’s “dime“! The folks at Sturgisbikerallynews are giving some lucky person the chance of having an all expense paid trip to “biker heaven” this year. Here are the details. Log onto www.SturgisBikeweek.com and register. The drawing will be July 4th, 2008. The Grand Prize Winner will receive $500 in Cash, 2 VIP Wristbands for Glencoe CampResort, Free Admission to all events at Rock’n the Rally, Free Admission to ThunderRoad, plus a $300 shopping spree at the Sturgis Bike Week Superstore in downtown Sturgis. An additional 50 winners will receive a Limited Edition Sturgis Bike Week 2008 t-shirt. Now, that’s a sweet deal!

It’s good news from Billy Lane at Choppers Inc. The company recently launched “The Chopper Diaries”, an Internet based broadcast that will feature a variety of free content such as videos, never before seen photos, staff bios, a message board, as well as a blog hosted by Billy. Motorcycle enthusiast (and yes other builders) will find this informative and even educational. Among the video archives you can find instructional videos, interviews and guest appearances with some of the industry’s greatest builders, and even Billy’s latest projects. Good to hear this is taking off for Billy and the crew at Choppers Inc!

Many think that Americans are fanatical about our motorcycles. We paint, pamper and ogle over our (and others) bikes as well as spend thousands of dollars yearly up-fitting, customizing or building bikes as well as touring our country (and world). But how serious are we if we haven’t built homes that accommodate our passions? Yeah, we have garages to park them in but that’s not really “living with” your bike, now is it? Well, the Japanese love their motorcycles too! And they show it by building an apartment complex that accommodates such passion. If you’ve been to Japan you know first hand that property is at an ultra-premium. And a huge percentage of the population lives in apartments. With the small-space restrictions considered, it only makes sense to have an apartment designed for motorcyclists only. The JaThe NE complex consists of eight apartment units, all of which have space for indoor storage, accessible from the street. Now that is what we can call living with your passion!
Source:TrendHunter.com

In this day and time, we seem to value things such as wealth, status and adrenaline as things that give us status in life. Back in another time (not too long ago either) things were different. Things such as a days work for a days pay, your word was your bond and staying with the passion of ones life meant more and held more status than we think or even know. Such was the case with Rollie Free. If you’ve been involved with motorcycling you’ve probably seen the 48 year old Free laid out on his Vincent attempting to set a new land speed record (which he did at 150 mph) across Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats on Sept. 13 1948.

The newest book from Jerry Hatfield (he already has 13 other published books on motorcycles and motorcyclist) gives an in-depth look at the life and times of Mr. Free, and helps us understand the man behind the legend. Great reading and even Jay Leno wrote the intro for the book and the video interview with Mr. Hatfield is informative.

Seem our friends at Kiwi Motorcycle had a visit from one of our favorite musical legends, Billy Joel. Mike won’t give up much info at this point about Billy’s visit just to say that it was an honor and that they had some very good discussions on the Indian replica’s that Kiwi is known for making. We’re sure to hear more about this when thing start rolling. Also Mike just finished up a beautiful rebuild on well known evening talk show David Letterman. Letterman apparently loves Indians, but wanted something that looked more “authentic” and “period” specific. He definitely got the right person involved and from the pic you can tell Mike hit it out of the park again! Mike sure knows how to hang with the big dogs and give them first quality products! Congrat’s Mike!

If you keep up with economics (or even the current gas prices) your more than aware that times are tight. And the custom motorcycle/parts business isn’t immune to the slow down in the economy. Just take a look at the amount of shops closing over the past 2 yrs. So, part of any smart business owners plans for survival should include some form of diversification of income streams. Which is where Colleen Swartz comes into the picture. You’ve probably recognized that name as the attractive freelance motorcycle photographer who regularly contributes to magazines such as Cycle Source, The Horse, American Iron and many others. Due to her connections in the industry as well as insight into the needs of builders, Colleen has started a new business called “Master Link International” for the purposes of exporting custom motorcycle parts overseas.

The idea behind the venture is pretty simple. Builders here in the states hate shipping oversea! Especially small shop. We just don’t have the manpower, resources, time, money etc! You have to deal with shipping, taxes, tariffs, governmental regulations, insurance, language barriers, etc etc….you get the idea. So after talking with an initial group of builders (Leroy Thompson, Fab Kevin’s, Guilty Customs, Kundratic Kustoms, Matt Daniels Union Cycle, Nash Motorcycles, Walter Siegl, led Sled Customs, Cook Customs and Rich Phillips) who all expressed frustration as well as wanting ways to widen our income opportunities, Colleen teamed up with Eiji Kumagai who worked as a Harley mechanic while in the states; was from Japan and recently having returned to Japan, is working in one of Japan’s largest and well known chopper shops, Satsuma Cycle Works. Satsuma will be our exclusive dealer of “Made in the USA” parts to Japan and will be sharing space with Master Link at shows to display the parts from participating builders. So, as of March 17th 2008, the first shipment of parts left the US headed for the Joints Chopper Show in Nagoya Japan on April 20th, 2008.

Colleens plans for Master Link are to firm up relationships with dealers in Europe, New Zealand and Australia along with any other opportunities that come her way. If you would like more information on how to become part of Master Link International, you can contact them at Colleen@digitalmagicbigshots.com. Or by phone at 414-380-9005.