Seems there are actual people these days that want to leave a legacy. Thank goodness! Matt Olsen of the Youth Program of The Antique Motorcycle Club of America (AMCA) is the guy behind this project to give a young person (18-25) a chance at owning a classic motorcycle. “As classic motorcycles become more rare and expensive it is getting tougher for young people to afford them,” Olsen explained. “Knowing how frustrating this can be, I decided to try something to help encourage young people like me to better understand, preserve and enjoy classic bikes and possibly to own one.”

The contest is limited to young Americans (guys and gals and they don’t have to be a member!) between the ages of 18 than 25. They simply have to write and submit a 1,000 word essay describing what they hope to learn about classic bikes, why they want the bike, what they plan to do with it once the build is completed, and any other reasons why they feel they should win this motorcycle. The entry must be received by Matt Olsen at amcayouthprogram@hotmail.com no later than August 15th 2009. In addition to winning the Harley-Davidson WLA motorcycle, the lucky winner will also win a grant from the AMCA Foundation of up to $5,000 for parts and travel and living expenses to spend up to two months shop time at Carl’s Cycle Supply in scenic Aberdeen, South Dakota. This will allow the winner to learn how to put his or her new motorcycle together under the watchful eye of trained professionals.

The bike’s restoration and assembly process will be featured in a series of tech articles in Iron Horse magazine. Once finished, the bike and new owner will be photographed and featured in various magazines, including American Iron Magazine as well as The Antique Motorcycle® so that others may share in the adventure of owning and restoring a classic motorcycle.

If you are interested in “old iron”, or just want to check out how the contest is coming along, please check out the Antique Motorcycle Club of America www.antiquemotorcyle.org, Classic American Iron www.caimag.com, and Bikernet www.bikernet.com for regular updates. You have to be in it to win it!!!

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!

Take note of the bikes featured!

Jesse James, say it ain’t so…please. You in a suit? Save yourself before it’s too late! The cast of this seasons of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice was recently announced and among them is none other than Mr. James. Joining Jesse on the show are: Clint Black, Andrew Dice Clay, Annie Duke, Tom Green, Natalie Gulbis, Scott Hamilton, Claudia Jordan, Khloe Kardashian, Brian McKnight, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Brande Roderick, Dennis Rodman, Herschel Walker and Tionne Watkins. Hmmm, lets see….Andrew Dice Clay, Jesse James and Tom Green?…oh yeah, Mr. Trump is going to have his hands full for sure.

In an earlier post (see here), we’d started listing various cool helmets we see either in person or on various sites. Here are a few that definitely strike us as cool. It is interesting to see the various styles and transitions that helmets are going through whether you view them as more “functional” or as “mediums of artwork”. Either way, seeing such pieces makes you want to go and get a cool lid to ride around with or (if your really strange, sit in front of the TV and munch chips and drink a beer). We know, we know..TMI, TMI.

Back in 2004, film makers Scott DiLall and Zack Coffman started shooting their first film, a low-budget motorcycle documentary that came to be known as “Choppertown: the Sinners“. Now 4 years later they launch into a new venture, Choppertown Nation. This new site will allow users to creat their own profiles (post pic’s/videos/chat, etc) and join/build their own online communities. AND it’s FREE. We’ve watched (and envied) some of the independent video’s and materials that the guys at Choppertown come out with over the years and am excited to see this new venture. For those of you not familiar with ChopperTown, you should take a browser over to their site as you will find some of the coolest independent made movies, dvd’s, manuals etc in their online store. Congrats guys!

There are people all over the place toting film cameras around shooting whatever comes across their lens. Their work, is like you’d expect, crap! Then there are others that make it an “Art Form”. Such is the case with Richard Grabbe. We met Richard while at Sturgis this past year (08′) at The Broken Spoke with the Limpnickie Lot. Not only does he make a cool bike, but he’s also an up an coming film maker with a very keen eye for detail and creativity. This is his documentary of the lives and times of the custom motorcycle world. A free form art picture dedicated to bringing you the nitty gritty of what the custom motorcycle lifestyle is all about. It documents time spent on the road by guys that have nothing but their bikes and tents and delves into exactly what it takes to build one of these custom one off motorcycles. You can pre-order this video at the Free To Wander website. Click HERE.

Harley hasn’t sold any new motorcycles in Cuba since Castro’s revolution in 1959, but that hasn’t stopped Sergio Morales from making his living as the last Harley mechanic in Havana. “These engines are practically immortal,” says Sergio. And his wife is clearly a saint. She “steps over and around the nine engines” scattered about their dining room, which doubles as Sergio’s repair shop. “It’s how we’ve been living for 36 years,” she says.

Sergio caught the Harley bug in 1972, “when he began fooling around with them as a young mechanic … re-building an engine takes him between one and two years, given the need to fashion his own parts.” Usually he makes parts “from bits of the cheap Communist-built cars around Cuba,” and makes repairs without the benefit of a manual. When he finally did get his hands on a manual, in 1990, he realized he didn’t really need it, having “already learned pretty much everything just from doing it.”

There were only about 2,000 Harleys in Cuba at the time of the revolution, but Sergio thinks there may be only 100 still running today.His “personal bike is a 1950 Panhead, christened El Indio, which he bought in 1986 for $1,000 … The bike, which would easily fetch $10,000 in the United States today, still carries nearly all of its original parts.” But Sergio suggests that Americans wouldn’t understand what the bike means to him. “In Cuba, it’s an entirely different relationship,” he says. “It’s not about the fine art worship of the machine as a rolling sculpture, but a reverence for the bike as something cool and something useful.” I don’t know about you but there has got to be an opportunity for the resourceful person that can figure out how to get bikes from or to Cuba.

Source: NYTimes

The book “The Old Man & The Harley“ written by John Newkirk, captures the imagination and spirit of this great country and the people that make it up, by retracing the cross country motorcycle trip his father took as a 19 year old. In the summer of 1939, an ambitious teenager sets off across America on a rickety Harley VL Big Twin with $45 in his pocket and the audacious intent of seeing both the New York and San Francisco Worlds Fair. Both the boy and his country were on the brink of an irrevocable transformation. For both boy and country it was the autumn of their youth and both would emerge forever changed. Nearly 7 decades later John retraces this epic odyssey with his aging father and along the way, discovers the healing power of the road, the faith of the American people, and the inspiration to face some of today’s most pressing challenges. This is a “two-thumbs up” must read. You can purchase it a Amazon.

The 9th Annual V-Twin Expo will open its doors February 6th and run through Monday the 9th. Like past years thousand of dealers, members of the media and industry will flood into the Cincinnati Duke Energy Center to meet hundreds of exhibitors showing their 2009 products. This year is special for a few of us as the Limpnickie Lot will be present showing off the various products from the participating builders in the Limpnickie Builders Manual. See ya there!

Here is a thought….introduce a new word into the biker vocabulary that gets away from the over used term “rat bike”. The term “Gutter Bike” tips it’s hat to those bikes our forefathers (grandparents or parents, etc) rode that were actually daily rides, that they had personally modified. We thing there are plenty of bikes that represent this style but get lumped into “Rat Bikes” simply because they don’t fit a certain look or style. Gutter Bikes ain’t pretty, they use common everyday parts (and even uncommon parts), show their blemishes and definitely don’t have billet. So, how’d this all come about. Too many late nights crammed back to back where sleep depravation kicks in and your brain goes wild on you…regardless of what your body is saying.

Tired of having those “run-of-the-mill” lights on your ride? Fret no more. These custom hand made tail/brake lights will make sure your ride stands out from the crowd. Each one is hand made and numbered. Sorry, no fancy LED’s. These hand polished aluminum bodied beauties come with brass hardware and brackets that pivot to any angle for either over, under and side mounting. 3″ long, 2″ round & 2 1/2′ high. Glass is cut from old Harley lens then shaped and polished. They are 12 volt with 3 wire shrink wrapped hook up. Retail $175.00. You can order by emailing Guilty Customs at info@guiltycustoms.com.

Now this is one way to support our troops AND help some through recovery! Gina Elise, 26, is bringing retro back with her annual “Pin-Ups For Vets” calendar, which features herself in costumes and poses that were popular among America’s fighting men in the 1940s. Profits from the sales of the calendars provide assistance to U.S. military hospitals.

“About two years ago I started hearing stories of wounded soldiers that were coming back to underfunded hospitals, so I just decided that I really wanted to do something to help out,” says Elise. “I‘ve always been a huge fan of the pin-up era, so I figured I can sort of combine my love for this era to not only use the money for the hospitals but also help boost morale with the calendars themselves.” The UCLA grad started spreading the word about the project in hopes of enlisting some help.

“Some people thought I was nuts,” she said. “But I have a lot of friends that are artists and photographers and costume designers that actually donated their time and services. Wal-Mart also gave me a community grant to help get the project off the ground.”

So, with a donation of $22 or more, anyone can purchase a calendar for themselves, a hospitalized veteran or a deployed service member, along with a personal message of appreciation. If the calendar is being sent overseas, Elise mails it in a care package. For those recovering in U.S. hospitals, she hand-delivers every calendar. For more information or to order go to Pinupsforvets.com.
Source: Foxnews

Yeah, we know, we’ve not posted in a few days…ok more than a few days. But we’re back and starting to get things under control. So look for some items over the next few days. Our trip up north brought some friends back into our lives as well as some needed rest. Talk soon!