"EASY RIDER San Remo, Italy, Jun 17 After dining with friends, Keanu Reeves dodges overeager fans on his motorcycle"

Photo taken from July 7, 2008 People magazine.

My post title quote came directly from their photo.

I first of all must say, I did not even know Keanu was a biker.

Secondly, I think he looks like a total F'n dork in the suit with helmet and bike. Maybe that's why it looks like some of the girls in the back ground are laughing at him.

I know, I know, giddy with exitement. (BARF).

Thirdly.... Don't get me wrong here. I own a Sportster, and love Sportsters, but for a star of his calibur, a "stock" Sporty???? WTF???

I saw this and thought it was interesting.

Just food for thought.

A Visit to Orange County Choppers - Road Trip

The regular monthly gathering of Chapter NJ-F (F Troop) of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) was held at the Empire Diner in Freehold, NJ on July 27, 2008. After the gathering, many members and guests rode to the Orange County Choppers (OCC) headquarters in Newburgh, NY.

We rode in three groups, each with a leader and drag rider. Most members communicated via CBs to keep the groups together and informed.

I had seen the guys from OCC in June, 2004 when I was at the Americade Rally in Lake George, NY. At that time they were becoming well known through their TV show, American Chopper.

The motorcycle community was split as to whether they were amateurs who got lucky or genuine biker craftsmen who knew how to create a masterpiece chopper. I think that most were amazed that they caught on so fast and made a bundle of money doing what backyard mechanics had already been doing for 30 years.

Sometimes when I attend a motorcycle rally, something unexpected happens. At Americade 2004, I found out that the Orange County Chopper (OCC) cast from the Discovery Channel's American Chopper (now on The Learning Channel), was going to be in the area. This was not an official Americade event. It was thought up by the town fathers of Bolton Landing, a town 10 miles north of Lake George. They felt that they needed to do something to attract some of the 60,000 or so Americaders and get them to spend some money in their town. Turns out that a few emails and a phone call did the trick and the whole cast of Orange County Choppers (OCC) showed up for a 4-day run to meet with their fans and sell a few autographed T-shirts.

The Teutuls: Paul Sr, Paul Jr, and Mikey have to choose carefully their visits to rallies to allow them time to build the theme bikes required on their TV show. They skipped Laconia that year and instead did Bolton Landing where they brought 20 of their most popular theme bikes. Here's a picture of Paul Jr signing my OCC T-shirt. My wife, Jane, stood in a long line to get these shirts signed.

The Teutuls were just getting started then. They still had a small shop but millions of fans were watching them on TV every week to see that next theme bike being built and to hear the yelling and screaming as Paul Sr and Paul Jr clashed.

Years passed and they built a bigger and bigger reputation. Now they were in a huge building in Newburgh, NY that contained a showroom of their merchandise and products. Tucked in the back of the building is a small factory where their choppers are built in the glare of TV lights and multiple cameras taping everything going on in the creative process including the antics of the Teutuls and their employees.

Many motorcyclists now visit the facility. It's almost a motorcycle mecca. In fact, our group from New Jersey was only a small part of the riders present that day.

I took a few pictures of the new digs for OCC. The place is quite impressive. I have written descriptions and captions for each picture. Take a look.

If you'd like to know more about choppers, take a look at my Choppers article, my Chopper Gallery, and my Choppers subject. I also wrote a book review, Orange County Choppers: The Tale of the Teutuls - A Motorcycle Book Review.

If you decide to take a trip to Orange County Choppers, you won't be disappointed. Just don't expect to see any of the Teutuls there on Sunday, the day we chose to visit.

First picture ©2008 Jane Ann Kern; second picture ©2004 Walter F. Kern

Your speed...

Click on the picture to enlarge it.



Thanks to those of you participated in my scientific study from the "How Fast Did You Say?" post on thursday July 24th!
http://01mrmotorcycle.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-fast-did-you-say.html

LOL!

Star Wars...... Weekend review

Star Wars stole the day.

There are Trekies, and there are Star Wars nuts.

My son is a Star wars nut. He has Star Wars collectibles, and ALL of the movies. He's got multiple sets, special editions and so on. Although I don't really get it, I did enjoy the movies, and I can appreciate them.
When my son found out that the Science Museum here was having a Star Wars exhibit, he was dying to go. So, Mrs. M. and myself got tix to go and brought the young ens with.

We started out with an Omni theatre movie about movie magic, and technology, primarily based on star Wars, but not exclusively. Got to see ton's of stuff blow up. That was cool. The movie screen is Ginormous, and round so you feel like you are watching everything around you literally.
Kinda can make you motion sick if you aren't careful.
Then we went onto the exhibit portion where they had actual characters, costumes, and real props used in the Star Wars movies.

All in all, we had a great time. I especially like spending time with my family doing stuff like this, even if I'm not the Star Wars freak that my son is. I know it made his Universe, at least for one day anyway.

Here is a mix of photos that I took of things I thought were cool. I didn't want to post them all, as I took a ton of them, and barely caught everything they had.

Excuse some of the quality. I had to shoot through glass.





























































USE THE fORCE!

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Jimi

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery.

See Jimi with his 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. Jimi is shown with his daughter. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.

how fast did you say?

I need you to tell me how fast is the fastest you have ever driven a motorcycle.

Be honest. No exaggerations.

I'm going to use this in a future post with your permissions of course.
I have my reasons.

Me, 110 MPH (Aprox.) but I'll say 110. I was not clocking myself. Someone else said I was doing that.
.
To Mrs. Motorcycle. Disclaimer...If you are reading this, It was a very long time ago, and I NEVER ride like this anymore!

Harley-Davidson Introduces the Tri Glide Ultra Classic for 2009 - a Trike

Yesterday, Harley-Davidson introduced its models for 2009. One of them is a motorcycle trike called the Tri Glide Ultra Classic.

Harley-Davidson hasn't made a trike since the Servi-Car that started out as a vehicle that could be attached to a customer's car so a mechanic could deliver the car and then use the Servi-Car to return to the garage.

Later the Servi-Car had other uses mainly for police use. Here's a YouTube video of a 1954 Servi-Car now owned by an enthusiast. He shows off the trike with the siren blaring.

Servi-Cars were made from 1932-1973. 35 years have elapsed since then without a trike in the product line -- until now.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an article by Rick Barrett that gives more details about the new Tri Glide trike. Here's an excerpt:

"There’s a Harley-Davidson coming for those of us seeking more comfort or who have a fear of falling. Harley-Davidson Inc. has introduced a motorcycle for those of us with a taste for comfort or a fear of falling. The Tri Glide Ultra has three wheels and a brand-new chassis design. It retails for $29,000. The maker of Fat Boy and Softail bikes has sized up its customer base and found that many riders would rather be on three-wheelers than two-wheel behemoths that are too tall and too heavy for some people. Starting in the next few weeks, Harley will begin offering three-wheel touring bikes called trikes." -- Rick Barrett

Here's what Harley-Davidson has to say about the Tri Glide in a Press Release on its Website.

It appears that trikes are now more than just kits added to an existing motorcycle. They have attained a new level of acceptance as Harley-Davidson embraces them in its product line and, more importantly, backs them up with Harley-Davidson service.

I've been riding a motorcycle trike for eight years. My wife got hers before I got mine. I wrote an article about her experience in getting her trike.

In the beginning there weren't too many of us out there and we got a lot of attention on the road, in parking lots, and especially at gas pumps. I even wrote an article with standard questions I get and my answers.

I also wrote a How To about learning to ride a trike.

Then I created a Trike Picture Gallery.

Maybe trike riders are becoming mainstream after all. Thanks Harley-Davidson. Let's hope that Harley's 42 year run of Servi-Cars will be surpassed by a 50 year run of Tri Glides.

Picture ©2008 Harley-Davidson