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11/9/01-11/14/01
Really Late Update
It looks like I'm finally about on vacation from work after a month and a half of deadlines that would make Conan the Barbarian cry like a little girly. We all know what that means right??? It means I'll be updating the headline news at the very least of three times a week! Likely more since I'm goin in for another surgery soon and that means I'm gonna be stuck on me arse for a week or two.
• New Kwakaz:
Here's a strange bit of news, Kawasaki is possibly going so retro wif thier bikes they aren't even including headlights! Seriously tho, They've got two new concept bikes that look surprisingly allot like the bikes they made 40 years ago, ( hmmmm, design staff must be playing too much Quake3). Not that the bikes they made four tens ago were bad, as a matter of fact most of us seem to like em;-)
For everyone who always wanted a modern 250cc version of an old H model, yer wet gooey dreams are a reality:
Word has it this one is a rework of a 250TR (greybike unless ya live n Japan). Word has it you can pull the ton on this one if you haven't got too much arse. For reference I'd probably get it to 70mph with my YSR50 pushing;-)
The next one up is a modded W650 with added flattracker bits, pretty fancy eh?
The bhp is around 49 and it weighs in at a 385lbs(175kg).
If you want one of these real bad I reccomend you bust into Kawasaki R&D (which
shouldn't bee too much of a tast considering they're all playing Quake), otherwise
you may be on the wait.
• Penn and Jersy, I'm movin:
Yeah, you heard that right folx. politicians form New Jersey and Pennsylvania are putting up bills that will give a much harsher smackdown for those moron cagers who voilate the right of way of others. This means that if you get hurt or killed by a four wheeled idiot, they will get punished. Unlike most states (especially Colorado, which all but thanks drivers for running over motorcyclists and pedestrians), this means that idiot drivers can lose thier license and get kicked in the arse with fines up to $1000. Here's the full from the AMA page:
"Nov. 6 - Modeled on the AMA Motorcyclists Matter campaign,
proposed laws in New Jersey and Pennsylvania would increase penalties for drivers
involved in right-of-way violations, the cause of two-thirds of car-motorcycle accidents.
New Jersey Senate Bill 2517, introduced by Senator Louis Kosco on October 3, creates
additional penalties for a driver of a vehicle who is convicted for failure to yield
the right-of-way and who is involved in an accident at the time of that violation.
The additional fines would be deposited in the Motorcycle Safety Education Fund administered
by the Office of Highway Traffic Safety.
Pennsylvania House Bill 2057, introduced by Representative Teresa Forcier would provide
for additional penalties for right-of-way violations causing injury or death. The
Bill was referred to the House Committee on Transportation on October 22, 2001.
Motorcyclists in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are urged to contact their state legislators
in support of these bills.
The AMA Motorcyclists Matter campaign is designed to enhance motorcycle safety by
holding those most responsible for motorcycle crashes and fatalities accountable
...right-of-way violators.
Currently, right-of-way laws do not take into account the considerable vulnerability
of road users such as motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Consequently, the
penalty for a right-of-way violator who dings a car is generally the same as the
penalty for a right-of-way violator that sends a more vulnerable road user, such
as a motorcyclist, to the hospital or grave; a misdemeanor or summary offense with
a small fine from $25 to $100.
The campaign proposes stiffer penalties -- up to $1,000 in fines and a six-month
license suspension -- for right-of-way violations that lead to injuries or fatalities.
Money from these fines would be used to support state motorcycle safety and education
funds."
For those of us in Colorado, where the city government doesn't give a fuck about
this sort of stuff, we need to do something. Personally, I think having someone run
over senator ben campbell might get the ball rolling, but I'm sure most of you think
that's a little harsh eh? I'm open for ideas folx, how can we make these types of
laws happen here?
• Speedvision Victory:
In a victory for bikeys everywhere, Speedvision has announced they will not be fugging us off with motorcycle programming. They'll be keeping the superbike races and two wheeled tuesdays in the lineup, so you can stop with the voodoo dolls and mass emails. In a recent press thingy that one dude @ Speedvision had this to say:
"There will be some changes to the weekly program lineup in 2002 with the additional NASCAR programming. However, Two Wheel Tuesdays and our live motorcycle racing will remain intact, due to the support of the sponsors and viewers. The viewers should really thank all the sponsors of the motorcycle programming because the sponsor support gave us another compelling reason to keep all the motorcycle programming intact."
There ya have it folx, all that dough ya spent on a the Tivo box won't go to waste;-)
Apparently they've cut programming on full contact go cart golf and cooking with
NoS so they can add in the extra Nascar stuff.
• Bike Balk:
There have been some who have balked at the BMW R1200c's popularity in the marketplace. Well balk no more, apparently chicks really dig the 1200c, and here's proof:
Yeah, she's quite a doll eh?
You can find more of this strangeness here:
http://www03.u-page.so-net.ne.jp/wc4/wide/BEAUTYS/PB9/PB9.htm
• Cafe Beemer:
Kodo sent me a link to this page months ago, I figured I've drooled over it enough, now it's your turn:
Why doesn't BMW make this beast???
You can read the full details of it here:
http://www.psk-germany.de/cafe.full.html
• Oh that YSR:
If you've been with us here for a long time....a really, really, really fuggin long time, like way back in the 667 days sorta long ass time, you'll remember that I once had a Yamaha YSR50 project bike. Well, I still got the bike, and in the next month or so, I'm gonna get it running and ready for ten inch burnout madness. Over the years I've aquirred various parts for it including:
a gixxer replica tailcone, new motor, new chain, new rear sprocket, new tires, new predator upper cowl and stock lower cowl, speedo cable, brake and throttle cable, brake and clutch levers, solid disc aluminum rims, seat, and the very important gas cap(courtosey of the RevD Patrick of the 893), so I don't spill hot petrol all over my dangly bits.
The poor little bike has enough cobwebs on it to bulid new bodywork, so I figure it's really about time I finished...er....started the project. Over the next few weeks I'll have a real fancy illustration of what the little bugger will look like when it's all shiny. Then, I'll be adding photos here and there of the progress.
Oh, just so ya know, this one isn't gonna be a little replica of a race bike on the circut, It's gonna be the team Gimp Club Crash Recovery Race bike. With all sorts of fancy sponsor stickers from our friends at Vioxx, Vicadin, Flexoril, Ultram, Preperation H, Metamucil, Band-Aid, etc.
Aughtta turn out pretty nice I think;-)
Yeah, it's a bit of a slow return after a month, but I'm on really bad burnout from
my job, need to spend some time on the bike (not in traffic eh?). More news soon,
I gotta go take some pain killers. BTW, Can I borrow this bike???
10/8/01-10/15/01
Midweek Update
Hey Beemer Dan! Chill out with all the hours of playing Diablo2, put down the vicadin, get of yer fatass, drag yer bike outta the garage and fer the luv of satan....UPDATE DA FUGGIN NEWS EH!?!?!?!?!
• Off me Arse:
I bet you've all been wondering just what the fuck happened to me the last few
weeks...er months? eh? Ok maybe not, but here's the short of it anyhu. I haven't
been sleeping worth a damn, and when I do it's all fugged up, lotsa fancy nightmares
about shit that would make Clive Barker cry like a little bitch. So since no sleep,
I haven't been real safe to ride. Also lotsa other little bits, but I've been hidin
out since I've been in monster jackass mode, trust me, if you haven't been around
me lately consider yourself lucky. It also doesn't hurt that I'm swamped into the
game Diablo2, pretty damn good one too. If given the choice of fighting Diablo's
demons in the dark hours of the night or my own, I'll take Diablo's any day.
• Lucas Engineering:
No no, not Lucas electrical, George Lucas. Ya see, I was watching CNN last night and they were bringing all this full coverage which consisted of worse visuals than an old Apple IIe green and black screen going south. I wonder why the hell we get fantastic shots from every angle when we get sacked by a few looney bastard jihad freaks but when our military (which has all the cool toys....really, they do!) bombs the crap outta someone all we get is that stupid green-screen action. Lame. Anyhu, CNN has this big banner under each anchor schmo that reads "America Strikes Back!". Sorry, call me goofy, but doesn't some thing sound odd about that??
.......America Strikes Back!.....
Holy Wars: America Strikes Back!
Yeah, see what I'm talkin about, sounds kinda screwy eh? I guess we'll find out if there are more attacks on America and they call it: Holy Wars: Return of the Jihad.
On the good side, it seems we're not just dropping bombs, but also food, medical
supplies and western propoganda leaflets! I'm glad we're at least trying to do send
help to the people of Afghanistan, but this is gonna be a long hard road for everyone
over there. In the end, it's hard to know if the US will change much of anything.
• Sway Gets a New Ride:
Talk about good friends, here's a bit of news in from RevD about one of the nicest
things to happen lately:
"Here's some shots of Sway's big day- When Gumby (the human bike magnet) got a line on this clean EX500 for short money, the UTMC all pitched in to help get her up on two wheels again. Are these good friends or what? Imagine her surprise when a routine Sunday barbeque turned into the unveiling of this little beauty- hidden in plain sight under Squeetor's bike cover in the bike lineup at the curb. Lets hope she's riding soon- I'm sure she'll remember this day for a long time!"
This goes way beyond the call of duty as good friends, to all who conspired and contributed to create this wonderful event, you are the top! I gotta apologise for not being involved in this, I've been in my shell for too long and although heard a bit about it the day before, I had no idea that you guys were actually gonna be getting her a bike (and a quite fancy one at that!).
Kym has named her new blue beasty, "Singer", and she's happier than
Woody Allen trapped in a room fulla schoolgirls. Mucho congrats Kym, and mucho thanks
to all of you that engineered this wonderful gift to a fellow bikey in the making!
• No End To IT!
Just when you thought my bitching about my crash was over, it's not, it never will be. On the good side it seems to be having some impact on our world in good ways. There was the article in Westword, a local Denver, CO newspaper. Mike Roberts did a fantastic job in writing an in depth investigative article. He was able to educate the masses and the motorcyclists on the dangers we all face, and what we can do to change it. thank you so much Mike, we are all in debt to you.
There were also the various articles I wrote that were published in the ABATE newsletter, thank you ABATE, for your ongoing commintment to educating riders and fighting for our rights.
Today I picked up the latest issue of Cycle World, it seems my letters to them did not go un-noticed. Quite the contrary as a matter of fact. In his monthly column "Up Front", David Edwards not only talks about the many dangers facing us as motorcyclists such as subrogation, bad drivers, lack of proper gear, etc, but he also wrote a half a page detailing my accident and the difficulties that happened as a result (to serve3 as an example of just how fucked up it really gets). You could say I was a little suprised, well, very suprised, I had thought my letters to Cycle World were a bit on the raw side. I've never seen my words quoted in a international magazine and as I wish it were under better circumstances, the purpose and and intent could not be better. Thank you David, you have educated your readers and made one broken bikey feel a whole lot better about the world.
I hope the justice system and insurance companies are paying attention, because
this is just the beginning.
• Fun From Ames:
Brothah Ames, our resident movie lunatic, has sent links to two of the funninest movie clips I've seen in a long time:
for those of you that have seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this is a recreation of the Chamelot scene.....from legos:
http://www.lego.com/studios/screening/movie.asp?title=montypython
The next is a hilarious strangeness of what happens when the Clerks and Star Wars universes colllide, very good stuff:
http://outpost.thewarbird.com:443/tc_aos/trooperclerksanime.swf
And last butdefinately the strangest is the movie trailer for Robot Bastard, unbeleivably groovy...so groovy it hurts:
http://www.robotbastard.com/robot_bastard.html
Ames, I don't know where you find this stuff, but keep sending it in!
• Wut tu Du?:
What to do indeed! Here's what my Momma had to say about it, I think she's got it spot on:
"What to do with Osama bin Laden?
Killing him will only create a martyr.
Holding him prisoner will inspire his comrades to take hostages to demand his release.
Therefore, I suggest we do neither.
Let the Special Forces, Seals or whatever covertly capture him, fly him to an undisclosed
hospital and have surgeons quickly perform a complete sex change operation.
Then we return HER
to Afghanistan to live as a woman under the Taliban."
• Heavy Barrels:
Word has it that Triumph is cookin up some really fancy new 2.2 liter....yes, you read that right.....2.2 beasties, read about it here:
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/detail?sectionID=50677&documentID=94146
Mucho thanx to RevD for the heads up on this one.
9/15/01-9/17/01
Weekend Update
• Within the stomach of every monster lies the bodies of those who failed to destroy it:
I have been rather quiet since the sickening attack upon our soil last tuesday.
Like you, I am outraged, disgusted and deeply disturbed by the horrible events which
occurred. Most of all I feel the deepest sympathy for the innocent victims of this
tragedy and all who surrounded them. Also, like any red blooded member of the human
race, I want to see some form of justice and retribution for these acts of madness.
I say "our soil", not as much in reference to the USA, but as the world
in which we all live and breathe. The dilemma here is that we MUST take a holistic
view upon the meticulously executed disaster, as an act against and authored by mankind.
There were likely many previous monstrosities that led to this, committed in whole
by very small segments (much like this act), which had the darkest of influences.
The back and forth, violence begetting violence, game of tag that has led to a disaster
that is utterly incomprehensible to most of us.
The UTMC is worldwide, it has it's roots in the United States and United Kingdom,
but it is everywhere. We have members as far away as Belgium, Chile, Nigeria, Tasmania
and India to name a few. As this was the intention, to bring motorcycle enthusiasts
from all over the world to the same table. My hopes for this have always been in
the idea that we all have much more in common that we think. We are all human, we
all enjoy motorcycling, and we have a collective mind that is not narrowed by our
immediate social, political, religious, economic and geographic influences.
What I describe above, is the concept of peoples from everywhere and anywhere on
this earth, coming together to exist in a virtual colony. In every way, this form
of community is a flavor of terrorism. To understand this we must look to the history
and principals that exist often in groups like the Taliban, Muslims, KKK, Christians,
patriotic zealots, etc. I do not mean those mixing of references to offend by any
means, but those are groups that now or in history have been involved deeply (even
instrumentally) in xenophobic practices both passive and aggressive. To many fundamentalists
of these groups, the community we have here is a blasphemy, possibly the worst act
of terrorism that could be inflicted upon them, for it potentially has the power
to tear them apart from the inside. Will our very small community end the racist
and elitist regimes, religions and philosophies of the world? Not likely, but for
us who choose to be involved, it can be a powerful force to influence us as individuals.
Chains are made from individual links, as humanity is made from individual people.
May we be enlightened, thus passing that enlightenment to our fellow humans, to strengthen
the chain.
Over the last few days I have received email from our brothers and sisters from all
over the world. All contained the most heartfelt apologies and condolences for this
terrible act. There was much more though, even some comments that I feel are ill
timed and in bad taste, those comments however, are not without relevance. We cannot
simply take these horrible actions of evil men and attribute them to pure madness.
In all of our respective cultures, we are influenced to commit many actions, some
of which are less than correct. We do not however, murder because our book of god
tells us to. We do not cause suffering in others simply because our society or belief
system condones it. We should never gain pleasure or gloat at the suffering of others.
There are madmen who go against this grain of humanity, but not all who are mad are
born that way.
In some of the correspondences I have received from those of "non-western"
countries (and even from some of those within), I read statements about why the tuesday's
acts of guerilla warfare were a form of retribution for acts the United States and
western powers have committed against others. Can I believe these accusations against
my own country to be true? No, not entirely, a holistic view must be interpreted
from all sides of the social equation. The sad and disturbing truth to be obtained
here is that no major political, social, religious or economic power can interact
in our world without tainting some part of it. The United State's involvement in
the Iraq campaign was pledged as a humanitarian act to end senseless and evil being
committed upon the Kuwaiti peoples by the armies of saddam hussein. Unfortunately,
when we did this, we murdered thousands of innocents when we bombed Iraq. Some question
why the people of Iraq do not overthrow their madman of a leader rather than be punished
collaterally by his evil actions. We ask this question because we live in place where
we are free to do so. Some inquire as to why the people do not leave a place that
has been reported to be so difficult to live in, where as a civilian they live in
peril of punishment for acts committed by those they cannot control? I cannot answer
that for them, but realize where the US would be today if the blacks had simply left
Birmingham, Alabama rather than stand their ground.
We must judge those responsible for what happened tuesday as monsters, who committed
horrible atrocities upon their fellow man. We must punish those who were instrumental
in the design of those acts. We must punish them in a public forum to gain some form
of justice.
What we must not do, is commit the same acts of madness upon the innocent. The talk
of bombing Afganastahn is perilous at best and would only be an act reflecting the
same evil as happened tuesday. We cannot swat a fly with a rocket launcher, not if
we hope to solve this problem rather than perpetuate it. We can use our resources
to destroy ben ladin and cripple groups like his that commit acts of murder upon
the innocent. Or, we can go on a reckless campaign in a "kill em all and let
Allah sort em out", thus breeding hundreds, possibly thousands of future monsters
like ben ladin, with the exception that they will have a legitimate reason for their
acts of terror. Afganastahn has already issued a pre-emptive fatwah against the western
world in response to the threat of us attacking them. Whether this fatwah becomes
reality is very likely dependent upon how the US government and military choose to
react. I for one, do not wish to see any more buildings blown up, or innocents murdered
upon "our soil". We have the ability to track down and deal with those
responsible without the heavy collateral damage of innocents. We have a responsibility
to ensure that no other innocents will die, anywhere.
I am further disturbed by the reports of Americans attacking Americans in mindless
hate crimes. There is nothing to be gained by turning inwards with our rage, there
is much to be lost. We all must understand that dark skin, dark eyes and dark hair
does not translate to a dark heart. No irony could be more sickening than the breeding
of monsters within our own, simply because we are blinded by rage. Extreme situations
will result in extreme actions, we have had much more than enough of that already.
Let us be curious and intelligent with all who surround us, that will have a much
greater result in the end. The best form of justice is promote a society without
hate, fear and xenophobia, rather than to try and corral the monsters we have bred
through our own weakness.
In closing, I want to ensure that the word "terrorist",(in the name of
the Underground Terrorist Motorcycle Cult) is a relative term. To strike fear and
horror into the hearts and minds of others is only criminal when it becomes violent
acts aimed at the innocent. Acts of passive terrorism against those who create suffering
and breed ignorance is something that has occurred throughout history, almost always
with successful results. Do not pick up a gun, pick up a fallen brother or sister
from their hardships. Do not plant bombs, plant concepts of enlightenment into the
minds that are narrow. Do not take hostages at knife point, take your own convictions
hostage and examine that they are truly benevolent. The resounding tone at the moment
is god bless America. To dissect that, let us hope that we are not blessed by the
many gods which cannot ever seem to agree on anything. Let us be blessed by each
other, by tolerance and understanding, by intelligence and the kindness to benefit
each other. Let us be blessed by perseverance for a better tomorrow.
I hope this message finds all of you safe, healthy and among your loved ones. I hope
that as a world society we can transcend the madness and put our anger and outrage
into preventing these types of hostilities rather than feeding them. Let us not just
hope for a better tomorrow, let us make it happen
9/12/01-9/13/01
MidWeek Update
• This morning's ride in:
I didn't update the news yersterday, as really there
wasn't anything bike related that seemed of any importance, and I figured we would
be paying close attention to the AP news organizations anyway. Like most of you,
I am still in a state of denial/shock over what has happened. I'm at a loss for words.
John "Bugs & Bikes" C. sent this in:
"I commute to work as many days as I can
on my bike, recently upgraded to a 2001 Yamaha YZF-R6. I figured after 10 years on
an EX500, I deserved it.
That 20 miles is normally the best part of my day, even when traffic is moving at
a shitty 20 mph, and I'm fighting the urge to lane-split with thoughts of my imminent
death should some yuppie bitch decide that if she's not moving, neither am I.
Today, I had to commute on the bike, no matter what the weather was like. If it had
been snowing, I probably would have pulled out the EX and still rode. I don't think
anything could have stopped me.
Why, you may ask. Because it forces me to think of nothing but what I'm doing, gets
me into a zone of alertness when I can't think of anything else but if the cage driver
in front of me's gonna slam on them, or if the yuppie bitch in the tank behind me
is going to try to cram my taillights up my arse.
Today, I needed 20 miles of not thinking of anything but riding, since everywhere
I look, it's a reminder of the world gone mad. The World Trade Center doesn't exist
anymore. 220 total stories of towers, gone in an hour, thousands upon thousands of
potential dead, entire FDNY companies wiped out.
When I was working as a stagehand, theatrical folks used to talk about willing suspension
of disbelief, where you convince yourself that what's happening on stage is real.
I'm having a hard time convincing myself that what happened yesterday is real - an
unwilling suspension of belief. I see the pictures, hear the sounds, and see the
effects all around me, but I can't actually bring myself to believe it.
By tonight, I'll need that commute home again, and get into a place where I know
it's all real. The bike is solid beneath me, the pavement hard under my wheels, the
cages just as unyielding.
I may never get off my bike again.
John "Bugs & Bikes" Cloonan"
8/29/01-9/3/01
MidWeek Update
Two news updates in one week?? Cats and dogs sleeping together! Mass hysteria!
• Kawasakazuki?:
In an abrupt bit of puppy strangling news, Kawasaki
and Suzuki are teaming up their motorcycle divisions. Not really a merger, more of
an alliance, the two companies will stay as separate entities yet share product development,
procurement and production, but involves no equity tie-up, the two companies said.
``We decided to join forces to raise our profitability by reducing costs amid increasing competition in Europe, North America and Asia,'' a Kawasaki Heavy Industries Group spokesman said.
It appears the greatest changes will be directed towards the China and India markets, but there will also be some involvement in the off-road and scooter product lines.
Personally, I'd love to see a hybrid between a Hyabusa and a ZX12 Ninja, but sources say there will be very minimal interference in the mainstream street and sport bikes.
And in case you think I'm pulling yer crank on this, here's a link to the Reuters story:
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010829/t19654.html
• HD-AMA-86'D:
It's official, Harley Davidson will be leaving the
AMA superbike races after this season, the official press release follows:
"Harley-Davidson announced today the Company has chosen to end its factory VR
1000 Superbike racing program and retire from the American Motorcycle Association
(AMA) Superbike series after the final round of the 2001 season at Virginia International
Raceway on September 28-30...
"Our development team took a hard look at rebuilding the program this year,
and what it would take to bring the VR 1000 to a competitive level and replace it
with a new design. Harley-Davidson has determined the resources required to do that
are simply too costly to pursue given our other business priorities," said Director
of Racing John Baker.
The VR 1000 Superbike racing program helped Harley-Davidson develop and refine technologies
such as liquid-cooling and electronic fuel injection. The program also led to the
development Harley-Davidson's first production liquid-cooled motorcycle, the VRSCA
V-Rod(tm), which was introduced this summer. Despite memorable performances in the
8-year history of Harley-Davidson's Superbike racing program, including a pole position
in 1996, and podium finishes by Pascal Picotte as recently as 1999, Harley-Davidson
has concluded the VR 1000 is at the end of its development cycle and is no longer
competitive in the AMA Superbike series.
"I'm thankful and proud of the dedicated efforts
of our racers, Gemini Racing Technologies, the Harley-Davidson development team and
external partners," said Director of Racing John Baker. "Hundreds of talented
people worked on the VR 1000 Superbike program from its inception. They gave thousands
of Harley fans a thrill at racetracks around the country, while teaching the Company
a great deal about high performance technology."
Harley-Davidson has competed in various forms of motorcycle racing since 1914, winning
countless racesand championships at the national and world level. The company will
continue to field a factory team inU.S. national dirt track events. Harley-Davidson
also plans to enter the National Hot Rod Association(NHRA) drag racing series with
a new effort, the Screamin' Eagle®/Vance & Hines Pro Stock team, which is
currently developing a new highly modified race motorcycle for competition."
I can't say I'm disappointed with this decision, since Harley
did a sneaky job of bending the rules to get the VR1000 in there in the first place.
To compete in the superbike races, a company must use a motorcycle that is sold to
the public in quantity. The VR1000 carried a ridiculously high pricetag and the buyer
had to sign a contract that disallowed the them from riding the motorcycle on American
soil {and most other places on earth too} unless on a racetrack. As a matter of fact,
the only place the VR1000 was street legal was Poland, no shit. With any luck, this
opens the door for Buell to get into the Superbike series, now that would be cool.
• Ninga Returns:
I got an emailo dealio recently from Sistah Mel:
"hey Dan,
Just a quick note to say that I got the daytona back on the road, She's got a brandy
new motor and runs great. (Its a 2000 955i motor w/ 2146 on the clock.) "
Right on! We want photos eh? Good to hear you're back on
da streets terrorizing the rainy parts!
• Victory Invents The Motorcycle:
A couple years ago, Victory Motorcycle Company announced
the Victory V92SC was the first of a new breed, the "Sport Cruiser", yeah,
what a load of bollox! If you think I'm joking, here's a quote from their webpage:
"The V92SC is the bike that defined the sport-cruising category with its introduction last year.".
Yeah, never mind that Vmax thingy or the Magna or the R1200C Stiletto or any of that, those were...um....."Sports Cruisers!" yeah, that's it! But Victory changed the whole landscape of motorcycling by removing the "s" from "sports"! Fuggin whatever!
Anyhu, in the tradition of having skulls thicker than the
front door of Norad,
Victory has announced their next new innovation that will change the motorcycle world
as we know it: The Touring Cruiser! Yeah, they're claiming to be doing R&D to
create the first "touring cruiser", do these guys live in a cave or what?
Do they have george w. bush running the marketing department? I do like their bikes
(as overpriced as they are), but they need to nuke their marketing dept.
• OMFG!:
That's it, it's settled! I am buying a rocket launcher:
http://robocar.vila.bol.com.br/rob.html
This bit of scary news was sent in by RevD.
• New Rocket:
Mucho congrats to Rocket Joe and the entire Rocket
family on their most recent addition, a 1980 Yamaha XS650! RocketJoe will be piloting
this vintage beast on many rides in the future, eating bugs and tearing up the asphalt.
Hopefully we'll have photos in soon too!
• XS to Excess:
A heavy congrats also goes out to brothah Pavement
for recent his acquisition of Yamaha XS650 (the second XS650 to join the fold in
the last week). It looks like it'll need a bit of luv to get roadworthy but it'll
be very nice to have Pave back up on two. Also, a huge thanks to Les the Molester
from the BoozeFighters MC
of Colorado for hookin Pave up with the bike!
8/27/01-8/30/01
EarlyWeek Update
A somewhat paltry news update, I'm still recovering from the weekend eh?
• Racing Days:
A bunch of us made it to race days @ PPIR over the
weekend, some damn good racing it was too. It was great to see Bostrom win the 600
and then go on to grab second in the Superbike series. The winner of the Superbike
was Nicky Hayden, who was pretty much untouchable for most of the race. Pretty good
racing all around, lots of diggers tho, I think the final count for the day was 7
crashes. Kenny Roberts smacked it twice in the same spot during the 600. Ya gotta
admit he's got some big huevos to bin twice in the 600 and then get right back into
the superbike races.
Something I've never heard directed to a racer by a crowd before, people were actually
booing Miladin! I kept hearing comments around me like "I don't care who wins
as long as it's not miladin" and "I hope I didn't pay $30 just to see Miladin
win". Everyone was rooting all of the racers on except for, you guessed it,
numberplate 1. I have to admit, I dislike seeing him win, he's about as pompous as
a guy can get. It's loads of fun to watch him lose tho, always blaming the bike,
tires, road, alignment of the planets, etc. Not to say he isn't an incredible racer
( much better than most of us will ever be), but the reaction by most that were in
the stands yesterday proves that you need a lot more than skill and talent to get
the crowd rooting for ya. Miladin landed in fourth place in the Superbike races,
almost 9 seconds behind Chandler, Bostrom and Hayden.
As far as the winners went, I can't think of more deserving riders (except maybe
Duhamel, but I watched him win @ PPIR a couple years ago). I went to see Bostrom
win, that he did in the 600 and was #2 in the Superbikes. That puts him just 15 points
behind Miladin for the season, and we still have two more races;-) If there was anyone
else who I would have been just as happy to see in first for the Superbikes, it was
Hayden. At 20 years old, that guy is bound to be a terror on the track for many decades
to come! All in all a good day at the races!
• Foogin Great!:
If you haven't had a chance lately, go take a gander
at MCN's
movie of the day archive. Some really choice bits that make the Starboys look like
a bunch of amateurs:
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/video?sectionID=50681&navID=10
• Urailgun:
This in from Brothah BillyZed:
"That's the German Ural IMZ "Gear
Up" Military Issue. 7.62mm machine gun comes standard. Anti-Tank rocket
& mounting optional (I'm not kidding). SUV drivers had better watch their six.
http://www.pashnit.com/bikes/sidecar-ural.htm
Keep the faith,
BillZ"
Can it be? This is just what I need! Having a bit of trouble
getting the Ural rep to call me back tho, guess I shouldn't have used my Kill-da-Man.org
email address eh?
• Cafe Racer History:
In case you've ever wondered what the big deal is
all about with the newly reborn cafe racer world, you'd have to look back at the
history of the original cafe racers. Brothah Kodo was kind enough to find this link,
for the enlightenment of all:
http://www.caferacer.com/hist.html
• Wanna be Evil?:
This one in from Brothah Ames:
Yep, it's the how-to book for those of you who always wanted
to be mean nasty evil bastards but were afraid to ask how.
• True Motivation:
8/21/01-8/26/01
EarlyWeek Update
Hey Dan, when ya gonna update da fuggin news aigh?!?!? Yeah, that's what I'm hearin, so here ya go:
• Emergency Cards:
For FREE! Yeah, no shit, free emergency cards courtosey
of Cycle Gadgets.com. They have an online form you fill out, kick the submit button
and poof, ya got a card with all yer vitals in yer mailbox. A few months back we
had anarticle on the
importance of an emergency card, really, it could save
your life.
http://www.CycleGadgets.com/Products/EIT/index.htm
Also, if you'd rather not send all yer vitals out over the
net (not really a big deal), you could always use thier page as a template. If you
ride, you should have one of these. Thanks to Known Associate for this link.
• BeemerMedics:
This in from Kodo, a article about paramedics who
ride. My only question is where do they carry the stretcher??
http://www.nem2000.org/English/nem2000e.htm
• I'm Late Again:
So I'm goin through my email and find out that Espresso
shot me an email many moons ago and for some reason it ended up way in da back. Sometimes
this computer stuff is outta control:
Made it to CENTRAL (not So) Cal a week ago,
and FINALLY have email access! I am working for Factory Pro, makers of jet kits,
engine covers, ignition advancers, and other nifty tidbits. Learning the bidness
from the maestro of AMA race tuning himself. Went to Laguna Seca's races last week,
saw the unveiling of that fuggin' super-trick Honda, and shot a bunch of pics at
http://www.flatrabbit.org/adam
Where are the pics of the double yellow law enforcement incident, anyway? I need
copies ASAP!
Things are going great, I love it here, and I might just stay. Have RevD drop me
a line, if you would. Next week I meet more sexy single chicks who ride, split more
lanes, hang out with Keith Code's instructors, and raise more Cain.
Sorry about that Espresso, I think I got my digital head up my arse sometimes;-) BTW, here's one of Kodo's glorious shots of the double yellow incedent:
for a larger print click on da pict. Man, da look on yer
face is priceless!
• Top o' da Rockies:
Got this in from RoadsterCorey in da middle of July,
I need to get off the drugs eh? :
Dan,
Here are some pics. of the Paonia rally. Great rally if you didn't mind riding in
the rain! Ride was definitely treacherous at times. Overall, it was about 500 miles
round trip - mostly on I-70 though. McClure pass holds some potential for great riding.
Only wish the roads were drier to test em out. Mostly stock bikes. Doesn't like too
much aftermarket creativity in the Beemer nest. Like you say the bikes run too damn
good to fuck wit em.
http://communities.msn.com/TopoftheRockies
click on the above and then on photo albums on the left of the screen.
Thanks man, great picts, sorry it took me so long to get the link up here.
• Life Behind Bars:
This in from Kodo:
Just thought I'd toss this up for the group. I'm diggin' these cafe racing clubs and can't wait to get some fake leopard fur for a seat cover. Hell, I'm even thinking of removing my front fender on the next "Work On Bike Day", stripping paint, hammering out the dent, and hand polishing the bad boy. Whaddya think? Check out this Ton-Up page:
http://www.ton-up.com/contents/page1.html
Cheers!
• Chopper Research:
Now here is a man with a serious project on his
hands, send him some info if ya can:
I am gathering research for a comprehensive exploration of choppers and similar deconstructive forms. This project will have a heavy historical emphasis alongside subcultural anthropology and art appreciation. I hope to compile an encyclopedic canon of historical facts and personal insights related to all aspects of the chopper and the culture surrounding it. Bobjobs, caferacers, streetfighters, rat/survival bikes will all be addressed in their relation to choppers. I intend to be extremely thorough and accurate. I want to represent chopper subgroups from around the globe. Regional styles and historical progressions will be documented to whatever extent I am able to acquire information. This project depends on the collaboration of chopper freaks everywhere. As with any chopper project, the magic will be in the details. So share as much information in as minute detail as possible. I am also seeking high resolution, copyright-free bike photos.
* Here are some general questions. Please share as much
as you can and freely communicate whatever is of importance to you. Every little
bit of your insight is greatly appreciated.
What is a chopper?
What isn't a chopper?
Where did choppers come from?
Who (what group) started building choppers and why?
Where did the term 'chopper' come from?
Where, when and why did specific chopper traits such as extended forks, apehangers,
sissy bars, etc. originate?
How, when and where did aftermarket companies appear on the scene?
What, when and where were the first organized events, magazines, movies, etc. which
catered to the culture?
How and when did choppers catch on with popular culture?
How did choppers develop regionally?
Are choppers still relevant? Were they ever?
Do you have any comments on caferacers, streetfighters, rats, bobbers, etc?
Comment on various marquees (HD, Triumph, Honda, etc.) and their place in the chopper
universe?
What influence did outlaws have on the chopper scene?
Define 'hardcore' as it relates to choppers and the culture?
How do you rank form relative to function in building chopper?
What is the appeal of a chopper? or Why don't you like them?
What texts/resources should I be aware of?
Note: Any information/photos shared may be used in a published text. This is a labor
of love. I will credit my sources but I cannot pay anyone. Please do not respond
if you do not want to be published without payment. Thank you for your help.
Josh Rinas
Chopper Historian
319.221.1046
rinas13@home.com
*Photos should be high resolution (300 dpi or greater) preferably in a TIFF, EPS,
or JPEG format. They can be Zipped or Stuffed. Or send hard copies with a self-addressed,
stamped envelope to 1957 4th Ave. SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52403. Please cite photographic
sources when possible.
I know we've got alot to say on this one, contribute if ya can.
• Bad Gas:
This is pretty funny:
• Liebography:
This page is fantastic! I first saw one of thier
films a year or two ago on iFilm, priceless stuff! Liebography: The Drunken Cliffs
Notes of History, is a journey into the history and stories of lives and events....they
way they happened according to someone with a head injury. Really, ya know how it
goes when CrazyRob tells a tale? Elvis becomes half Jew and half Cherokee, that kinda
stuff. The three guys who are responsible for this great stuff, Ezel, Jay Barba and
Brian Farrelly are true masters of satire. Thier list of Liebography works include:
• The Liebography of John Wayne
• The Liebography of L. Ron Hubbard
• The Liebography of Led Zepplin
• The Liebography of Bill Gates: King of the Computer Nerds
• The Liebography of Ronald Reagan: The man, The Myth, The Melonhead
• The Liebography of Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper
• The Liebography of Calvin Klein
• The Liebography of Colonel Sanders
• The Liebography of Princess Diana: Grace, Beauty, and a Fantastic Pair of Knockers
and also:
• The History of Hanukkah
• The History of Space
• The History of X-mas
And special presentations:
• A Rudy Giuliani Christmas Carol
• Project Reach-Around
These guys are incredible, really. The Liebography on Led Zepplin is unbelevably halarious. Check em out:
• The Bastards:
Can you imagine working for a company that has a
little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:
29 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year
Can you guess which organization this is?
Give up yet?
It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group of idiots that
crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.
• SuperBike Races:
A bunch of us from the Denver UTMC are headin out
to the AMA Superbike races @ Pikes Peak International Racewaythis weekend. If yer
out there just look for some loons in Nuke and Pave shirts, ya can't miss that can
ya?
8/13/01-8/16/01
EarlyWeek Update
What a fuggin mess it's been around here lately! I just got my laptop back from the wrenches at Apple, needed a new clutch...no shit it did! Anyhu, there's a huge amount of stuff goin on and I'm tryin to catch up. If the headline news isn't all you've been expecting, not to worry, in another week or so I should have my arse together again. For now, here's some newsy bits:
• Foalin around:
So I just got my CDROM copy of Tony Foal's new edition
of The Art and Science of Motorcycle Handling and Chassis Design. All I can say is
WOW! This book is a must have for anyone who does custom design or is simply interested
in the fundamental principals and physics of motorcycles. It's a whoppin 438 pages
(well worth the $40!) and is complete with diagrams, pictures, graphs, etc. It has
entire chapters on tires, geometry, front and rear suspension, brakes, frame building
and a great deal more. He's even included some of his own case studies like a 1973
r75/5 modified to have a zero degree rake! Get this, it handled BETTER that way!
Most of the physics covered are basic Newtonian and require Algebra basics. Of course
if math isn't your thing you can still get a great deal from the book.
I know I seem to be really going on and on about this book but I've been looking for something like this for many years. Anyhu, check it out here:
• Da Races!:
A bunch of us from the Denver UTMC are headin out
to the AMA Superbike races @ Pikes Peak International Raceway near the end of the
month. It looks like it's gonna be a heckuva party since we got a few hotel rooms
too (mucho thanks to Sway for organizing the rooms!). If yer out there just look
for some loons in Nuke and Pave shirts, ya can't miss that can ya? With any luck
we'll get to see Bostrom win and Miladin nuke the motor in the first lap;-) Am I
an arse or what! BTW, I'll be bringing a rocket launcher just in case they let a
chevy truck loose on the track...just kiddin!
• S.C.U.L.:
The Subversive Urban Choppers League, mad mofos
on chopped bicycles. Yeah, and you thought you'd seen it all! RevD sent me the link
to the SCUL page and I gotta admit I was really blown away! These whackos from the
East do insane things to bicycles that we wouldn't dare do to our motorcycles! Really
over the line straight up loony stuff! Definitely check it out, it's well worth it!
• Gettin Goosey:
White House, the killer custom shop in Japan is
now selling their many "Jim Goose" groovy bits including a replica MFP
helmet, a Jim Goose sticker and the unbelievably cool MFP Jim Goose monkey bike replica:
And yes, I will be getting one of the above as soon as I got some dough and get ahold of someone who can read Japanese!
http://www.whouse-jp.com/goose1100.html
Also, if you'd like some seriously heavy bikey Mad Max lookin gear you aughtta check out this:
Pretty cool gear, it's a bit pricey tho. You can take a gander here:
http://www.ekadoya.com/products/products.html
• Akira Project:
Ok, so I dropped the little teaser for ya and got
ya all wondering just what flavor of crack I'm smokkin. Here's the idea, there are
sick hordes of us bikey sorts out there who saw the movie Akira when we were youngins
and never got the image of Kaneda's beautiful red motorcycle out of our sick brains.
We tried to find lotsa photos and such of the bike, but didn't have much luck. As
a matter of fact, until McFarlane toys came out with a toy replica of the red bike
just recently, the only options were an extremely rare 1:9 scale model (less than
250 produced and sold in Japan) or the Bandai 1:35 scale replica toy (500 produced
and only sold in Japan), both of which fetch prices between $100 and $300 on the
open market. The books, such as Akira Mechanix 2019 (which detail many aspects of
the bike) go for between $125 and $300, ouch. Even the VHS tape was a bitch to find,
and the DVD just arrived about a month ago.
Well, I was lucky enough to get some valuable resources, including the Akira Mechanix 2019 book on some recent Ebay stomping. I've also gathered many photos and 3d renderings of the bike, various toys and even some secret stuff to be revealed later. The point is, I knew that with enough planning, time, energy, hard work, trial and error, etc, myself with lotsa help of many friends could make a real working version of this ride (with modern day technology of course, so no "ceramic, double-rotor two-wheel drive, computer-controlled anti-lock brakes, 12,000 rpms"....ok, maybe the ABS brakes). So I was thinking, what if we took all the info we had and made a web page with it? All the elusive and mysterious texts available for download in high resolution. All the Japanese that most of us can't read could be translated. All of the images in a large format for close examination. Best of all, add a message board and some dedicated sections here and there and we suddenly have the think tank power of every bikey loon and anime geek on the entire web! Yeah, it might get a little messy with everyone trying to design everything, but hey, that's half the fun right?
So here's the deal: In another month or so we'll be launching
up the "Open Source Akira PowerBike Project", (and no, I won't be the webmaster
of it so it'll actually get timely updates). You'll be able contribute your own thoughts
and ideas, resources, concepts, etc. You'll also be able to take all of the ideas
and apply them to your own projects. Nobody will have any financial/ownership/copyright
claims on any of the designs or mechanics (well, I'm sure that Mash-Room, Young Magazine,
The Akira Committee, US Manga, etc will have their respective copyrights and such),
it will all be available to anyone who visits the sight. Of course you can just take
a look at all the groovy imagery if ya like. Either way, it aughtta get pretty interesting
and with any luck we'll figure out the best way to build the bike we've all wanted
for years.
• Slackin!:
It appears in other countries they need a day for
it! Check this out:
"The National Slacker Day campaign aims to raise awareness of the increasing need to take time to sit back and relax - on Friday August 24th 2001 we want to see people taking the day off and doing absolutely nothing. "
Right on! Gotta love that! You can read more here....unless yer too lazy:
http://www.oncus.com/slackerday/
• NoB's:
Well, it appears that our brethren of the 667 motorcycle
cult have been slackin hard again. Not only has someone else taken their name (of
sorts), but they've also got the domain name! It appears to be a websight for a race
team, friendlies with the Army of Darkness:
http://www.neighborofthebeast.com/
• Oh gawd!:
I'm not gonna say who sent this link to me, mostly
because every once in a while there's a mixup and a reader thinks that the person
who contributed the link is actually the one that the linked page refers too. Anyhu,
here's this really sick but damn funny link:
http://www.well.com/user/cynsa/newbutt.html
• Just 4 Kellen:
I couldn't believe this site when I first found
it. I thinks to myself "Self, is this real, or am I just poppin to many pain
killaz again?". Well, I'll let you, the loyal readers decide:
• Video games:
Yeah, I know I'm way off the subject of bikes here
but I know way too many of us two wheeled bastards that like to play video games
to keep this under my hat. We've all heard and read all the bullshit studies showing
how horrible and detrimental video games are to anyone who might be anywhere near
em. Well, finally a well written and well researched article has gone to print showing
the positive side of video games. And get this, it's even based on a government study!
Here's a snippet:
"People who play games regularly seem to develop a mental state that we have seen before only in serious athletes or professionals such as astronauts, whose life depends on concentration and co-ordination," said Jo Bryce, who led the research. "Their minds and bodies work together much better than those of most other people."
Hell yeah! Take a gander here:
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/07/22/stinwenws03005.html
7/31/01-8/1/01
EarlyWeek Update
Wot?!? In protest of animal rights violations worldwide I will not be using spellcheck today either!
• Sistah Mel:
This just in from dear Sistah Mel in Seattle (where
tha chicks are really wet!):
"Hey there you big gallute! Haven't talked
to you in a dogs age !!
howz things in Denvah these days ? I spoke to Eyeball Eric a couple O days ago and
to Sumo Pat as well, wuz wonderful to speak to them.
So news on the storm front... The daytona has ben in the garage for the better part
of a month and a half due to her blowing a rod at sixty MPH and puking 2 or so quarts
O oil all over the rear tire, that was exciting to say the least, but I left a 250
foot skid mark and still managed to bring her to a stop in the upright position.
I'll send some pix when I get em.
Found a new motor for her though, it's a 955i 2000 model with only 2100 miles on
it, so the daytona will be better than ever in a couple o weeks.
In the past few weeks I had been astride a mad max replica ZX 750 circa 1989, my
buddy Willam was kind enough to letme borrow his race bike (the afore mentioned)
not only to get to work but to take the WRRMA novice class on, whitch I passed woth
flying colors and I am now a novice racer. WOOOO HOOOO!!
Had to give the ZX back recently nad I am now on a yamaha TDM (think Laura Croft)
It is the ultimatre suburban assault vehicle.
not too much else to report , hope that all is well in Denvah,
Love and kisses on all your pink parts,
Sistah Mel out..."
Good to hear from ya! Bummer about da busted motor, I hate
it when that happens. Mucho congrats about da race license, maybe we'll see ya in
da privateer ranks at da next races??? BTW, when we gonna see you again eh? We miss
ya darlin!
• Coming Soon:
The Akira Project:
7/16/01-7/20/01
EarlyWeek Update
Wot?!? In protest of animal rights violations worldwide I will not be using spellcheck today either!
• Ride To Work:
Heyhey, this Wednesday the 18th is annual Ride to Work Day! You
know what that means folx, ride yer bike to work on da 18th! Seriously, this is a
real deal and the more of us take part the better things will be for bikers everywhere!
You can read more about Ride to work here @ the Ride to Work webpage:
Also of note is that the UTMC is a HUGE supporter of everything
Ride To Work
stands for. If you haven't joined RTW yet, you should really take a look at their
webpage. It all makes sense and if they have their way we'll all be in a much better
space, on and off two wheels. If nothing else, make sure you ride on the 18th (even
if yer lucky enough not to have to work).
• Got Phibes?:
I'm sure some of you from da Muddy's days remember
Alia. Well low and behold she's got her own killer webpage rollin and does some really
funny comics too. Not to mention she can also hammer nails into her nose, pretty
damn cool eh? Take a looksie at her page, especially her visit to SanFran wif our
dear Sistah Risa (really funny stuff):
A killer page, I wonder if she's got a bike???? Hey Alia,
we'll get ya a bike if you'll draw comics fer da UTMC page eh?
• BlackLetter Grows:
So anyone who has sent an email to to this here
page in the last year or so has only had a 20% chance of me not being on painkillers
and remembering to email em back, a 50% chance of their email getting obliterated
in one of my many hardrives that crashed into HawkingSpace, a 12% chance of me actually
having time to finish the emails that I start but forget to finish ....I got a head
injury gimmie a break eh? Anyhu, there's also this problem that the many Brothas
and Sistahs and Reverends of th UTMC send me killer juicy news on killer juicy stuff
and unfortunately my brain don't always work so good and I don't get around to putting
it in the news on time. And of course all sorts of other fabulous bits here and there.........
What the fuck was I yakkin aboot? Oh yeah.
So anyhu, I got some volunteers and a plan and a flag (you Eddie Izzard fans will understand the significance of the flag). So here's da deal:
-I'd like to set up the Headline News so that a select few UTMC members can update it with news they see fit all by themselves, thus diversifying not only the news, but having more frequent updates and of course a cast of real interesting news anchortypes. The news here is a bit one sided as I'm usually the one doin it, it'd be nice to get more voices down here. As an added bonus things might actually be spelled correctly for once, cool eh?
-I'd like to set up a direct message board to the news, so folx can yak easily aboot specific news items when they appear. Fancy!
-Little Sarah has volunteered to help out wif answering the heavy slew of emails that we get here (whadda sweetheart eh?). Also, anyone who is interesting in helpin out with the page will get their very own Blackletter.org email address, kinda groovy eh?
I'm lookin into getting all this stuff rollin soon (that's
soon in Beemer Dan time, so who knows really), get me some feedback wif yer thoughts
over on the message
board.
• BoozeFighters:
Met up with a few of the Colorado BoozeFighters
for a couple of drinks last night and had a great time! Anyone who knows their biker
history has heard of the BoozeFighters and knows that they're one of the few patch
clubs that really represent what motorcycling is about. No bike prejudice, no nazi
crap, no criminal bullshit, just riding and having a good time. I'd like to extend
an invitation for them to join the Denver UTMC for breakfast at Zorbas this coming
Saturday @ 11am so we can all get to know each other better!
• Digital Crack:
So I've been playin this really great game lately
called Deus Ex.
Any of you who have tried to have a conversation with me in that past couple of weeks
of course know this already (sorry 'bout that). But seriously, this game is really
great! If yer into first person shooters where you need to use yer brains more than
yer guns than this is a game for you. Only downside is that there are no motorcycles
at all in it, ah well, maybe in the sequel eh?
• Mad Quinn:
It looks like the bronze are out busting balls again
in force. It's too bad they only nail folx for doing something potentially dangerous
tho. When someone actually hurts people they get a slap on the wrist, but god forbid
you cross the double yellow without hurting someone, then yer gonna get the book
thrown at you. Here's an email in from RevD:
"Seems like everybody's getting ticketed
these days, and today me and VooDoo Dave had a run-in-with the law as well- As you
can see the guy totally crept up on us silently then ticketed us. Dave tried to reason
with him
but he was completely inflexible. If you're passing through Alma watch out for this
cop- his names Quinn.
keep it unreal
-rev-d-"
Yeesh, good thing my 1200c is slower than a skateboard eh?
• Halo of Flamin Lead:
More good news in from Brothah Ames on the movie
front:
"Dan,
Looks like we won't need to find a donation helmet for Pave to go ablaze with because...Ghost
Rider: Jon Voight confirmed to Empire Online that Nic Cage will be starring in the
adaptation of the GR comic - "It's very exciting - we've got the script and
Nic Cage is going to do it. It's going to be quite terrific". Nicolas Cage with
his head on fire, HELL YEAH I'd pay to see that!
Cheers,
Ames."
This is gonna be a great flick!
7/11/01-7/15/01
MidWeek Update
Wot?!? In protest of animal rights violations worldwide I will not be using spellcheck today!
• OMG!WTF!BBQ!:
So after the heavy slew of emails I've recieved
it seems yer all wondering what the fuck happend to the Rants and Rides section of
the message board. It's a long and screwy story really, and it turns out that there
is some sort of nasty mojo happening on that one particular directory on the server,
it seems we can't even get to it from the server itself!
So here's how I found out it was all fucked:
There was this thread up there wif a map showing all the joints that the Denver UTMC likes to hang at and some talk of turf. I know this wasn't done with any sort of malice in mind but with well over a thousand lurkers on the message board on a daily basis there are issues. Yasee, the server logs tell me that there are a couple hundred hits a day from the US Govt. and US Military. Now that might just be our old DOD pals from the 667 days, but maybe not. Also, over one third of the hits to the page itself are of 'unkown origin', whaddaya think? NSA? CIA? RTD? BBQ? Also is the case that there is a big swarm of old school uglies movin into CO and I'm sure they're just looking for something interesting to do. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind if anyone yaks on the message board about where we hang out or what we do, but lets not throw down a map or give anyone the idea that we're claiming turf. Really, trust me, I've dealt with some of the bigger egos in the motorcycle underworld and the govt. and they don't listen to logic or common sense, only themselves.
The biggest issue about the 'turf' thing is that the UTMC has no physical turf. If you have turf in the physical world, it can be taken, and that weakens the strength of the whole. The UTMC is worldwide, in every nook and cranny of this big rock, and our potential turf is the frontal lobes of every brain on the enitre planet. A philosophy has no physical turf, and those who believe, will do so of thier own free will. There is no force, no intimidation, no muscling and none that resent thier membership here because they can't leave. We don't need to worry about anyone trying to take the UTMC, it has no assets other than it's members, and it's members are only here because they want to. I know this all sounds a bit on the paranoid side but seeing as this page is the mouthpiece of a self proclaimed terrorist organization, paranioa comes with the territory.
So anyhu, back to the real problem at hand, when I went
in to the server to do some message board maintinence, I found out that there is
a big nasty problem within that particular directory. I'm gonna give a call to da
Outta Miracle Whip, our ultrahacker host and see if he knows how to fix it. Until
then, please use the Buggery 101 section or the Tech Stuff section.
• Bastards!:
The bastards at Honda are at it again. I'm sure
some of you remember that really groovy prototype cafe racer the FN1 that was plastered
all over the moto news a few years back. Yeah, that one. Did we ever see it? Hell
no! That's cause the the guys at Honda R&D are bastards! They make this really
cool shit and then say it was just a bunch of thier engineers and designers having
a wank.
So here's thier latest:
I'm not even gonna bother goin over the specs since we'll never be able to get one, but you can check out more on it over at Motorcycle.com here:
http://news.motorcycle.com/article.motml?sid=991&mode=nested&order=0&thold=1
BTW, if anyones up for putting together a crack team of
superthiefs we aughtta bust in and snag a few of these right fancy concept bikes
eh?
• Sisco and Tommy bring in da goods:
So for once I got a scoop on the rest of the online
motorcycle rags on something all mainstream and juicy and wot happens? Well, I've
been really hooked on this video gameDeus
Ex lately and have been blowin off da news, D'OH! So anyhu, a week or so ago Brothah
Sisco kicked down some secret spy photos of the new watah cooled Harley-Davidson.
Pretty damn cool if I do say so myself! Even though the price when it arrives will
be between $17,000 and $22,000, at least they aren't teasing us wif goodies we can't
get like Honda is. (god, the day I'm praising Harley and baggin on Jap bikes.....someone
slap me hard!) Also, Tommy D Cat of the 893 Boston just kicked me down a link to
a great article about it at Motorcycle.com:
Click da pict for bigger photos and a link to the
whole story aboot it on that
other page.
• Prank Authority:
Remember that crazy Net Authority fiasco a couple
a weeks back? Well guess what? it's a big prank site! This in from Brothah Mark C:
"I thought it was too funny to be real
check out http://www.netauthority.org/hoax.html
keep up the good work"
Holy Crap! He's right! I sure feel like a big donkey mesself
now! Thanks for the heads up Mark! I guess this means that Brothah Stephan from the
Ratbike zone can stop stockpiling schoolgirls
and Silk Cut smox for when we gotta go underground eh?
• Manzruin News:
This just in from Brothah Manzruin:
"Area Man Sells Child, New Sportbike On
The Way
26 year old area man Darryl Littleton, of Peoria, IL, says he and wife Jamie plan
to sell their 2 year old
daughter to make way for a new 2001 Honda CBR600 F4i.
"I know Darryl's had a lot of fun with Gina", Jamie says of the couple's
daughter, "but I think he
understands that we all have to make sacrifices sometimes. I like Gina too, but we
just don't have enough money
right now to have a child and a sportbike".
"I'm going to miss being a father, but I've had my fun and now it's time to
do the responsible thing",
Darryl said. He also added that he doesn't have much time for his daughter anymore
anyway, and it'd be nice to
see her go to someone who will be able to enjoy her more.
The Littletons currently have their daughter listed in several classifieds, as well
as on Ebay, and are hoping
to make enough from the sale to pay for the sportbike's first year of insurance."
• Laptop Problems:
So after the third time I sent back my Powerbook
G3 because the power manager system was so screwed it was corrupting batteries and
hard drives, I figgured there was a problem. And gee, maybe it had something to do
wif dat power supply that gets awfully hot eh? Well like usual the folx at Apple
weren't gonna listen to me eh? After all, I've only been using Apple products since
I was ten years old, what the fuck would I know anyhu?
So now it appears Apple is doing a recall on all of thier
power adapters for my particualar model, big soooprize eh? Apparently they might
catch fire! Gee, I wonder what they're doin to the inside of my computer eh? Maybe
frying the power manager system?? And get this, now I gotta send the whole thing
back because the hinge is all fugged up and I'm using a piece of high grade aluminum
to prop it open! Hey, if anyone out there at Apple is reading this I want a new G4
Powerbook, the titanium one....like my leg! $3,000 for a computer that might explode,
FACK!
• News from Buck:
Me and Lis got this email in from Commander Buck
Fitty of da 893 Boston (or is dat Bahstahn?) and we just had to share:
Subject: you want sumthin' hard to geta holda?
Well, as I live and breathe, and i can't
believe i still am, the
shit i pull. So there i was basking in friendship and warmth at the
annual 4th bbq over at Fingers' shack when Tommy
the Cat says ta me, he
says, Buck have ya seen da utmc
site lately? i replied " why no
Thomas,
my stalwart and true companion, i have not had the joy for i am
currently technologically deprived." there was this mixup with customs.
How was i to know that the g-men really did have guys in outer
orbit
scanning for terrestrial introduction of alien technology. the truth is
stranger than fiction i suppose. as you might expect they were happy to
liberate from me the quantum impeller
bearings and plasma field
generator couplings i was bringing back
to fix the mighty gixxer. hers
are almost worn to nubs and as interstellar bike traffic is tough on
just gasoline, what's a guy to do? finished with the initial interview
these men of my best interests decided to look close at lil' gixxer,
before i disengeaged its molecular decelerator which i use as an alarm.
they peered a bit too closely and i just covered my eyes as with a flash
and a pop that good ole boy's molecules slowed to a stop and left him
with that same dumb grin, just looking more like a titanium cast of
himself. yep harder than an oat bran turd he was, which made his cronies
lees thrilled with yours truly than they already weren't. they made me
shut off the "alarm" and went to scanning and metering and guageing and
finding out that although a leather clad biker on a 91 suzuki may be an
unlikely thin to snag in you tractor net on a very quick approach to
earth, what they found on my poor steed caused quite a bit more alarm.
"where in hell and its nineteen
moons did you get this stuff?'' they
inquired politely while pulling on very slippery
rubber gloves."here and
there i said." gosh you aren't arrogant to think the u.s. guvmint are
th
only ones to pick up a pal or two on the outside, are you." all they had
to say after that was "we'll ask
the questions here" and they proceeded
to. with a barquotonian interrogation
terminal. these can be real nasty
as they're mighty snobs and react to lowering themselves to your
language by delivering a big hanbasket
of pain in resonse to your
answers. this not being ol' buck's first time out the box i had up my
sleeve a smattering of barquotonian
phrases as i have had to flatter one
or two incessantly to get a gizmo or two out of their orbit. knowing
that they see us as nothing but talking
monkeys (and we are by the way,
the guys who made us thought it would be funny, this being their dad's
prize winning terrestrarium and all. a story for another day.) i
flattered its shiny carriage and apologised for maiming horribly its
orchestral language. appealling to the fact that he had to be a very bad
find stuff out machine to have been given to earthlings for service, and
that i could'nt imagine how that happened given its obvious poise and
grace, we covered the weather back home, it grabbed the g-man by his
jimmy
and i was free to go. well kind of. the other guys were worried
now. i mean after all i was a guy on
a motorcycle picked up in an energy
net doing a high speed sweeper around our moons dark side (great twisty
bits if you ever get up there)unlikely on its own
, but when they found
the intake frequency emitters for the
quark compression plasma field
generator and slipstream drive they
took a better look at the old gixxer
and saw more than they wanted to belonging to someone as seemingly out
of place as me. most of them anyway. that one guy's gonna be harder than
a new groom's willy wonka for the better part of a week.bottom line, i
had some splainin' to do. so i did i told them who and what i had run
into in my travels how i got hold of these taty lil' giblets of e.t.
know how and what i had been and was planning to do with it. i lied
about that part. they tried to take the off world drive units from my
bike, but being uncle sam's clumsy goons, they only managed to lose
their eyebrows and singe their ties. settling for yanking or frying all
the wires their fat little fingers could wrap around, they plopped me on
an earth-bound maglev beam and shipped me tut sweet back to boston. of
course a couple more polite and well
groomed thugs of our great
democracy were waiting for me on my
stoop. eating italian ices and
fanning themselves with handfulls of george jr.'s promised tax checks
they proceeded to unceremoniously, although disturbingly gaily remove
from my home any form of technohow past that of the rotary
dial phone
and the clock radio desklamp. all that
seems to work on lil gixxer is
her internal combustion drive so i can't even leave the ground for the
time being. although i have some tentacled
little freinds sending me the
goodies i need to truly be back up on two. one of these days ask me to
tell you what fedex really means! so here i am rigging a blender,
a
pocket calculator, a soapdish, and an ashtray with mel torme' in it
together with telegraph wire to send you this note.
so, now that i have
seen my little corner of your site through a haze
of soap scum, i would
like say thanks and all my love to you and the beautiful lisa, for you
have captured a snapshot of my soul
with your pitchas and narratin. so
thats why i've been tough to get a hold of lately, and why my e-mail
donna worka nomo. well that and laconia,
immersing myself in bikes of
all kinds and filthy dirty rotten littles
whores
all in their g-strings
and chaps
and thigh highs and what not. i couldn't decide which to look
at more so my neck is killing me. oh yeah, if you wanta hear a good
yarn, ask the rev. about 1. riding in
a tropical storm, 2. my ultrasonic
mosquito penis, and its dragonfly warriors,
and 3. the story of that
guy's chopper. that last one'll make
ya misty. at the bbq today da
cookie man says ta me, he says, hey
ya wanna take a ride ta denva? shooa
i says, lets go! so knowin' us ya might be seein us soona than latah. so
get tha broads lined up and the boys on bikes behind em. and tell aaron
i'm goin' fer a ride on that t509 he wrangled outta some obviously naive
trumpet salesman. if he new what that
boy would do to i mean with it, or
that he was freinds with twisted lil' monkeys
like us, he woulda tossed
im' on is' arse! i figure its the least he can to for my not tellin' the
dealer he knew me. oh yeah tell him to take it easy on the java. when
riding after 57 anna haf cups seems
like a GOOD idea...well i wanna ride
it, not sit on its remnants on his parlor floor. its not like he can
handle his coffee like say, i dunno, ames
or anythin'. yeah right . i'm
just instigatin' again just so ya know. anyway this note has been a long
winded way of saying 3 important things: love you guys and the new site,
couldn't have said it better myself; sorry i haven't written in so long
my misadventures here and beyond had had me a bit tied up; and the
question is not did we ever go to the moon? it instead is did we ever
leave and what did we do with it when we had it.
if i had time i could
tell ya stories.
may ganesa provide you with sticky, sticky
rubber bottom bits,
Commander Buck Fitty, 893."
7/05/01-7/09/01
Weekend Update
Fuggin 'ell! It's 7thirty on Friday and I'm still at work waitin for shit to render in Photoshop. Work is for bitches and people wif hands! FUGGIT! I'm the fuel snorting, arse raping, crotch stomping hell OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!
• Espresso goin west:
We all had a great time hangin wif Brothah Espresso,
I wish I coulda been out more wif him, crazy week man. Here's a brothah that can
guzzle down 1200miles in a day and be up early the next for a mad dash through the
hills! Splitting double yellows, cutting off unimogs and scrapin his barrend mirrors
through da turns (so I heard, I sure as fugg couldn't keep up widdim!). It was a
pleasure to meet ya and to do some riding man, come through on yer way back if ya
can eh? Brothah Espresso is heading up so SoCal to turn some wrenches and live it
up, I'm sure we'll be hearing from him soon.
• Rev. Jon Arrives Home:
Got a call from Revrend Jon the other day. He made
it back from his long trip (including da visit to Denvah!) and is currently chillin
at his own crib and scrapin the bugs off his Sportster. He wanted to thank us all
for the warm welcome, the couches and a great few days hangin wif da bunch of us.
He still can't understand how we don't go mad as hell in all this oogly city traffic,
(the truth is, we do man!).
It was great havin you out here for a visit Revrend! I'm
sure we could all spend endless nights hangin out at coffeejoints talking philosophy
wif ya, and riding some twisty roads together, we'd be better for it! You got a great
way of living man, Wif any luck some of us will be out your way in the next year
or so and we can take in some of the great riding ya got out there! You're always
welcome here Revrend, it was an honor to hang wif ya.
• Ticktz-R-Us:
Man, season is ripe for getting whacks from da law!
In the last week or so Rocket John, Voodoo Dave, RevD Patty, Espresso and Gumby all
got nailed by the local road tax enforcers. Since getting tickets suck arse, and
no good comes of it, we need to do somethin!
• A Little Jaunt:
Well, Revrend John
• Raider:
Well, Revrend John
• Make it stop! Make it stop!:
Well, Revrend John
6/29/01-7/03/01
Weekend Update
Fuggin 'ell! It's 7thirty on Friday and I'm still at work waitin for shit to render in Photoshop. Work is for bitches and people wif hands! FUGGIT! I'm the fuel snorting, arse raping, crotch stomping hell OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!
• Thanks Revrend John:
Well, Revrend John was only in town for three short
days but it was great hangin with him! We hit all the usual spots, Zorbas, Market,
Paris, a couple of garages, DUMP, 2 Wheelers, etc. And as luck had it, Sway, Wingnut
and Squeetor were throwin a big bash last weekend (that was one great party too!)
so he got to meet lots of the locals. All in all a killer weekend! Nothin like spending
some time with a fellow bikey that takes his touring seriously eh. Not to mention
some truly stimulating conversation(this guy will convince you to leave your job
and hit the road if yer not careful). Revrend John, our home is always available
if yer ever on your way through again. We'll even make it up to the twisties and
get outta this godforsicken traffic!
• RevD Returns:
I got a email from RevD Patty this morning:
Here's a shot I grabbed for you on the fun part of my ride
back from N.H.
You can see a gravel truck pulling away in the near distance- one of two
that I was racing with on a beautiful scenic road along the Alleghany River
in rural Pennsylvania. The truck drivers obviously knew the road well and
had a schedule to keep- I was going 70+mph and every time I looked in my
mirror I could still see them back there... it got a little scary after a
while! I just had to stop and get a pic of this road sign for you, and I
barely had time to get the camera out of my tankbag and take the pic before
the trucks came barrelling past me like Hell's Fury!
I've got loads of other pics to bore you with, er, show you, and some
presents as well- lets hang soon!
Keeping the black side up and the black side down,
-revpatty back in Denvah-
• Espresso Arrives!!!:
Thassright! The brothah that's been tossed outta
New York is gonna be here tonight(friday). He'll be in town for hopefully a few days
or more and aughtta be at Paris late tonight (maybe), and definately at breakfast
tomorrow morning! So get outta yer damn hice and come meet him eh?
• Page Updated:
Gawd! What a fuggin mess! I had about 10 more articles
I wanted to drop in plus the new tech section plus additions to the mugshot section
plus the BTM gallery section, etc,etc..... But, I didn't. Didn't have time if I was
gonna get all this out for readin before it got stale (yeah, even more so). So it's
probably filled with bugs, broken links, bad spelling and missing bits here and there....not
to mention the layout on some pages may be all fugged up. I'll try to tight it up
in the next week or so. Enjoy folx!
6/21/01-6/24/01
Update Tho!
Fuggin 'ell!
NEWSFLASH......
• Revrend John Arrives!!!:
I just got a call from Rev. John of the Malcontent
Yuppie Bikers Page. He has arrived in Denver and is currently somewhere! I had a
little trouble figuring out his exact coordinates (somewhere near 225 and Federal?).
So we're gonna try to figure all this out and meet up down at Paris Cafe. More news
at it happens folx.
• Hooker Blues:
The best bluesman ever, John Lee Hooker, died in his sleep yesterday morning.
In a recording career that spanned more than 60 years and whopping 100 albums. Some
of his best works included "I'm In The Mood", "Decoration Day",
House Rent Boogie", "Shake It Baby", "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
and "Never Get Out of These Blues Alive". He cut tracks with Van Morrison,
Carlos Santana, Los Lobos, Pete Townshend, Keith Richards and Bonnie Raitt. He was
also in one of the best movies of all time, The Blues Brothers.
Hooker's Delta blues were unmistakeable and pure. He was a major influence in bands like the Rolling Stones, The Animals, The YardBirds and ZZTop. His work also influenced solo artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
You can read an online biography of John Lee Hooker at the American Music Archives:
http://www.eyeneer.com/America/Genre/Profiles/BLUES/john.lee.hooker.html
The news sources seem somewhat confused as to his exact age, since several biographies list his birthdate as either August 17 or August 20, 1920, making him 80, or August 22, 1915, making him 85 - at various times he's also given the year 1917. The official statement released by his family and management said he was 83.
Thank you Mr. Hooker.
• Blasphemers!:
This is possibly the funniest shit I've ever seen! Check out this email
I got this morning (my comments are the ones in white, thier rather hateful letter
is in blue):
"Dear Blackletter,
Blackletter? Who the fugg is Blackletter?
It has recently been brought to our
attention that you are, or
have been, in violation of the Net Authority Acceptable
Internet Usage Guidelines. It has been reported that you
distribute offensive materials over the Internet:
Hey! Finally the recognition I've been waiting for!
- Hate Literature Offenders
Hey man, fuckin trucks really do fuckin suck, don't even get into that argument wif me, you'll lose big time!
- Pornography Offenders
You think the stuff here is bad, you aughtta check out The Donkey Lovers Web Ring or DonkeyLovers Anonymous or better yet, maybe you should readthis or this for a better understanding of things.
- Child Pornography Offenders
Um, no. You got that wrong, I was talking about KITTY PORN:
Not to mention, you churchy types seem to be getting in hot water all the time over that altar boy/ snickers candy bar thing!
- Bestiality Offenders
Maybe you'd be a little less uptight if you had a sheep more often!
- Homosexual Pornography Offenders
Since when is gay sex a crime eh? I happen to be a big fan of girl on girl action! Not to mention I got plenty of male friends that like to suck dick every now and then, just ask /6! (It's an inside joke folx, /6 doesn't really suck dick....as far as I know).
- Interracial Pornography Offenders
You nazis have obviously never had a Black, Asian or Latino girl. You don't even know what your missing do you? Hey, more for us blasphemers, WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!
- General Blasphemy Offenders
That's Admiral Blasphemy Offender to you!
Net Authority has investigated these
claims by checking your
webpage at http://www.theregister.co.uk and verified that they
are true.
Hmmm... that's funny, since you're showing the URL for The
Register (a mighty fine news source) and not the UTMC page;-) BTW, if you were offended
by The Register, you really aughtta check out the UTMC page, you'll burst into flames
baby! Time get some better investigators eh?
As a result, your personal information
has been added to one
or more Net Authority Internet offender databases.
Shit fellas, you shoulda just called the CIA, FBI, NSA, etc for all the info ya needed. I'm sure they got much better databases on the UTMC than you could slap together! If yer gonna get into a 'wigs n' ski masks' operation at least do it right.
Your
information will be stored in the databases until enough
evidence has been gathered against you to warrant further
actions.
What did you say? "Fuhrer actions"?? Oh, further actions. So lemmie guess, yer gonna come throw holy water on me? Cool, it's been a bit since I've bathed;-)
To help avoid such a situation, it is strongly
recommended that you cease your immoral actions on the
Internet at once.
You gotta be kidding! The Dark Overlord would have my head
if I shut down the page now! Not to mention the message board just got a few new
posters like Minx, Espresso and Lurchman. And Pavement just got home too (you noticed
the weather change eh?). Things are goin way too good to shut down the page now just
for some silly 'gawd' stuff. As a matter of fact, stick around, it's bound to get
even MORE immoral! Thassright folx, in the new issue we've got an extra fancy dose
of super potent immorality!
You have been added to the following
databases:
- General Blasphemy Offenders
Ha! You missed the rest of the databases the UTMC belongs
in....did you know we urinate on churches too? (at least I do)
If you would like more information about
Net Authority or the
Net Authority Acceptable Internet Usage Guidelines, you may
read the details at http://www.netauthority.org/.
Gee, that's odd, your server is down in the toilet as we speak.....I wonder how that happened?
It is imperative
that you fully understand the guidelines if you wish to avoid
further prosecution.
Hey look folx, these whacko nazi bible fuckers are threatening us with an inquisition. Diddn't mommy tell them NEVER TO FUCK WITH TERRORISTS?
While the individual who reported your actions
to us will
remain anonymous, he or she wished to pass these words on
to you:
\"Blackletter is a very blasphemous site.\"
What a lovely compliment. How come you can't tell if it's
a he or she tho? You guys workin wif hermaphrodites?
May God be with you as you struggle
to overcome these evil
impulses.
God is always wif me (you should see the kinda porn she reads eh?). And struggle to overcome evil? What are you talking about dude?
You will be in our prayers at night.
Man, I don't wanna know about your sick wet dreams allright?
you just leave me and the rest of the UTMC outta yer sick altar boy fantasies!
Net Authority Investigations Department
This is so damn funny! And these dildo's take themselves seriously! The UTMC page is in good company tho, Stefan from the Ratbike Zone got a similar email and so did The Register.UK(you can read about it here), it's good to know were in such good company;-)
So at this point I'm trying to use their "report offenders" form on
thier site to add the website cylink.com. Cylink has a server security product called
NetAuthority, I see a lawsuit in the future;-)
Anyhu, I love to screw with the religious wrong and this is just the opportunity
I've been waiting for. I think that if we get everyone we know to hit their site
at once it'll crash the server hard. Even better, let's have everyone we know go
to the site and report large corporations and religious groups to their database!
For more fun, we can flood their email box with "warning letters from Satan's
minions"! This shit is so funny!
• USMC to UTMC:
Pavement has returned! It seems he's for an indefinite period of time
to heal up from some smashed bits here and there. He's also in the market for a bike,
so if anyone has a line on an old Zed 750, post it up on the message board eh? It's
great to have ya back Pave!
• Double Ton:
It would seem that the number of deaths 'caused' by Firestone tires on
ford exploders is up to 203, WOOHOOO!!!! Funny enough tho, it appears that the Goodyear
tires that ford is replacing the Firestones with are having fatal problems too. Maybe
this whole problem is caused by ford selling a shitmobile that just happens to be
dangerous to everyone eh? Of course, ya gotta admit it's just poetic justice for
a bunch of yahoo morons who want to be 'safe' at everyone elses expense to get coffin'd
in thier very own gas guzzling deathtank. I say make every suv to the exact specifications
of the ford exploder and let the good times roll!
• Double Ton:
This in from Sway:
Hey kids,
As many of you know (or may not know) Scott, Squeetor, our friend Royce (Schproket)
and myself are all moving into a PHAT new crib on June 15. That, in itself, is enough
reason to throw a little soiree. But, as it just so happens, my b-day is June 21,
and Squeetor's b-day is June 25. Taking all these factors into consideration has
led us to the conclusion that we are morally obligated to throw a party. Here's da
411...
Saturday, June 23
6:00pm-Whenever we're done
71 W. Byers Pl.
One block North of Alameda
One block West of Broadway
We'll have the grillables (unless you want something outrageously specific) If you
would like to bring stuff, we won't argue with you.
So that's da scoop folx, I'll be there eh?
• Picture of the week:
Don't try this at home....or on the track...or in your bedroom...or anywhere....
• More Akira:
Damn! Does it ever end? I hope not! McFarlane toys has a new series of
groovy figures lined up in thier anime batch #2:
And they even got Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell:
Way groovy! I'll keep ya up to date on when they should hit the stores, or you can read more here:
http://www.McFarlane.com/toyfair2001/catalog.anime2.intro.html
• GSXR50:
Yeah, I didn't even know they existed! All I could find was this photo:
If anyone has more info send it my way eh? I gotta get one!
• PocketfulOPudin:
If you havn't checked out PocketfulOPuddin.com
I seriously suggest it! It's a rather groovy site done by Brothah Tyler with all
sorts of good stuff including Names
for porn movies. Too cool man!
• XXXWebcam:
Remember folx, don't leave the webcam on if yer goona boink yer girlfriend....
http://www.retecool.com/webcamlessons/index.html
6/15/01-6/19/01
Weekend Update
Hey looksie, a news update just like last weekend! This whole day job thing is really interfering wif my hobbies eh? Anyhu, here's tha news....
• Trippin:
It looks like Brothah Espresso might be rollin through town in the next
few weeks, just in time for the killer BBQ'n' weather! More info on that as it comes
in. Also, Reverend John of the Malcontent
Yuppie Biker's Page had to postpone his trip 'cause of sick huge torrents of
rain slammin the whole midwest. Hopefully we'll be seeing him soon tho!
• Poundin Poudre:
Analog is up for a serious romp thru the hills folx, dig it:
"Anyone down for a ride up the poudre canyon? It would
end up being a long ride, probably an overnight deal, but here's the skinny...
Fort Collins: 1 hour north of denvah,
Ted's Place (yes, that's a town, sorta) / entrance to poudre canyon: 30 min north
of FC
Poudre Canyon Run: anywhere from 3 to 4 hours, up to 100 miles each way. (yes there
is a gas station on the other side,) what we could do for all ya denverites is make
the loop... run poudre canyon all the way through, take whateverroadisontheotherside
south to walden, then shoot through Winter Park, and back down I-70 (ugh)... basically
circling Rocky Mountain National Park.... anyway, lemme know what ya think!
Analog Off"
If yer up for it post a yap on the message board here: http://www.blackletter.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000162.html
• Biker.RU:
The first independent bikers site in Russia. Damn this page rocks! It's
all about everything and anything bikey related in Russia, very cool! Lot's of photo
galleries of custom bikes, races, rallies, links to Russian biker rock and punk,
and not to mention some truly great articles including "How
to harm an enemies car". And of course more chopped Urals than you can shake
a wrench at....
Here's the English version:
And here's the Russian version:
•WOad RarRior:
I know some of you have been getting nervous with all this cruiser coverage
as of late. Too bad. Almost every reason we used to have to bag on the old chrome
reclining toilets on wheels have been ousted (well, except for the RUB wackoff wannabee
dipshit no gear no license no insurance/raise our insurance rates idiot mid-life
crisis dweebs that seem to buy them sometimes.....of course that happens on sportbikes
too, the wanks are just allot younger.......but I regress)
....Anyhu, like I was saying. The cruisers that are coming off the front lines today have great goodz like inverted forx, fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, single sided swingarms, high compression, shaft drive, blah, blah and even more blah(wif extra chrome). All the stuff that has all the gaga that makes yer mouth water like a hungry baby lookin at a pair of DD boobiez! They used to save all these goods for the sports machines, but somewhere between the guy on the hog getting passed by a Vespa and the guy that burned out his clutch trying to burn the rear wheel.....folx weren't satisfied. Needless to say, Japan and Europe are kicking in with some seriously high tech cruisers. Rumor has it that soon maybe even Huckleberry Davidson will be bringing in a new water cooled beasty pounding close to 100bhp......
.....That's fuggin scary eh? The day that a stock production Harley can roast a Zed1,
a Japanese cruiser can keep up with a YZF R1, some old baby boomer on a chrome couch
can hang wif you in da twisties, cats and dogs sleeping together.....mass hysteria!
Yeah, I bet you think it won't happen, but take a looksie at the latest offering from Yamaha:
Yeah, that's a R1 front end on there, a 200 series rear steak and horseys galore. I think that with rear sets, clubman bars and hack job on da fenders it could make a pretty smooth dragster. My only complaint? it's called the Road Star Warrior, kinda cheezy eh? You can read more about it here:
http://www.AMADirectlink.com/features/warrior.html
• Triumph Choppah:
For anyone living in Indianapolis.....or somewhere close to there, you
just might be able to start off that chopper project a little easier. It seems on
Ebay there is a unit twin hardtail chopper frame for sale and the current bid is
only ten bucks! So what's the catch? the guy won't ship it anywhere. Yep, you gotta
go pick it up yourself For anyone living close to this it's a real steal:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1605210665
• Blueski Beemer:
Here's a nice jobby from Bayer Motors in Russia:
They've got some great stuff, the Projects section has some very strange stuff (think overkill on the Harley eagles), and the restoration projects are incredibly damn cool: http://biker.ru/bikedesign/superstar/index.html
I wonder if these guys will help me out with my Area 51 Triumph?
• HAHA:
Here's a groovy little animated gif to send out to all those computer
illiterate bozos who send you 10 jokes a day and stupid shit that takes forever to
download (and really isn't too funny). Yeah, I know it's crass, but it's funny too.
Just email em later and say, "hey man, great joke eh? I figured it'd take a
real biggie to balance out all those jokes ya sent me eh?" What the hell, we
can't all be nice now can we?
• Tarantulan Chupacabra :
I just found the next cool bit of performance grind to throw on me bike:
Oh yeah, just like da one Jesse "da governor" Ventura had in the movie Predator, well except this one is a chrome.......I wonder if they got one in flat black..... If you have no idea what the fuck you're lookin at, think of a high speed, high power machine gun with six barrels, cool eh? Funny enough this tarantulan chupacabra (actually called aminigun) is made by General Electric, "we bring good things to death"! Anyhu, what the hell does this have to do with motorcycles you say? Well.....
For all you Airsoft loonz, there are actually airsoft type replicas floating around out there, powered by....you guessed it...no, not a motor from a RD350.....you didn't guess it. Anyhu, it uses a motorcycle battery of some sort. Of course a two stroke powered vulcan cannon would be real cool! You can get a little more info on the airsoft cannon here Ames:
http://www.ccfa.com/minigun.htm
Maybe we could even do one of these in the hardbags
of a Beemer ala Replacement Killers style!
6/8/01-6/13/01
Weekend Update
It's 7pm on friday and I'm off for the weekend. We all doin breakfast @ Zorbaz tomorrow??
in other news, I'm outta smox
• Lara's Vibrator:
Hey hey folx, this just in from Joel in Massachoozitz on the inquiry aboot
Lara Croft's motorbike:
"It seems to be a hacked up Yammie TRX 850 - trellis framed Euro/Japan market sportbike powered by the weird but cool TDM 850 motor. Here's a better view of the bike :
http://www.tombraidermovie.com/flash_site/ipix/stills/motorcycle.jpg
and a virgin example :
http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mccompare/twins/trx2.jpg
later ,
xjoelx"
Looks like he got it straight on the money! Damn! Figured they woulda used a greybike;-) Anyhu, I'm sendin off a brand slappin new "Nuke and Pave" t-shirt to Joel for gettin this to me (wif pictures even!). Now the big question.....what the hell kinda helmet is she wearin???
(BTW, Brothah Espresso, I'll still be sending you a t-shirt since yer scoots gonna
be up on the gallery)
• Movin to Jersey:
This is one of the best bits of news I've heard in quite a long time.
Apparently the new Motorcyclists Matter campaign introduced by the AMA is making
some headway! We may be witnessing the beginning of the end for stupid cagers being
able to get away with running us down:
"June 1, 2001
New Jersey considers motorcycle safety initiative
The first attempt to turn a major new safety initiative on behalf of motorcyclists
into law has begun with the introduction of a bill in the New Jersey Legislature.
Using a blueprint drawn up by the AMA, the Concerned Motorcyclists of New Jersey
organization has worked with state Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi (R-Morris, Somerset)
to introduce AB-3528, a measure that would increase penalties for drivers who injure
or kill other road users.
The bill is modeled closely after the Motorcyclists Matter campaign developed by
the AMA early this year. The campaign directly attacks one of the root causes in
a majority of car-motorcycle accidents -- car drivers who pull into the path of motorcyclists,
leaving the riders no escape from a painful, sometimes life-threatening, crash.
"Research shows that more than half of all car-motorcycle crashes are caused
by other vehicles violating the right-of-way of a motorcyclist," noted Sean
Maher, AMA director of state affairs. "This campaign is designed to hold drivers
accountable for the injuries they cause."
The bill would increase the penalties for a driver who is convicted of or pleads
guilty to a charge of failing to yield right of way in an accident. The minimum penalty
would be $200 and a 30-day drivers license suspension if the accident results in
bodily injuries to another person. If the injuries are serious, the penalty would
rise to a minimum of $500 plus a 90-day suspension. And if the driver's actions result
in the death of another person, the minimum penalty would be a $1,000 fine plus a
six-month suspension. The additional money raised by these increased fines would
be deposited in the state's Motorcycle Safety Education Fund, where it would be used
to train new motorcyclists in defensive-riding techniques.
The bill has been referred to the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee.
In a related development, Washington Gov. Gary Locke has signed
into law a bill supported by the Washington Road Riders Association that takes a
similar direction to the Motorcyclists Matter campaign. Under the new law, a person
can be charged with the felony crime of vehicular assault if he or she operates any
vehicle with disregard for the safety of others and causes substantial bodily harm
to another.
"With these two bills, the first steps have been taken toward making car drivers
accept responsibility for the injuries they cause to motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians
and other vulnerable road users," Maher said. "We hope that legislators
in other states will help spread this program across the country."
To get involved in this effort, contact Maher at (614) 856-1900, ext. 1265, or by
e-mail at: smaher@ama-cycle.org and ask for the Motorcyclists Matter information kit."
• Wot's a Stoppie?
For those of you who are known to not know the more slangy bits of bikey
speak, help is here! After recently being corrected by the RevD on my reference to
a 2 stroke single as a "thumper", I figured I'd better get my lid on straight
and research scoot terminology before I start calling Honda's "Zeds" or
something as gratuitously sick as that. Low and behold, I found Bikerslang.com,
which not only has lots and lots of definitions as to what all that stuff really
means, but even a section where you can submit your own bikey speak for listing.
Not bad!
• HOG Test:
Here's a nice bit of poking at the Harley folx:
"Harley-Davidson Owner's Group (HOG) Qualification Test
1. The primary purpose of HOG is to promote:
a. Fellowship among Harley-Davidson owners
b. Chrome-plating
c. motorcycle gangs
d. inbreeding
2. You see another HOG member riding the opposite direction on the highway you are
on. You either:
a. Hold your arm off to the left and gesture with a proud salute
b. act too cool to notice and keep going
c. Turn around, chase him down and beat him up for his chrome accessories
d. Run after him frantically waving for help, since you've been stranded on the shoulder for over 5 hours"
You can read the rest here:
http://www.hondavfr.com/humor/harley.html
I'm sure this is all in good fun and not meant to offend.
• Bonkers and Borkers:
Get ready to get Gaered Up! Yeah, I spelled it right, were talking a mean
750cc's of pure COMMIE RED....well...um....I guess they
aren't really all that commie anymore....you'll have to ask someone more up on current
events like Voodoo or Ames;-) Anyhu, for those of you that thought that all the Russian
made Ural motorcycles (which would be all of em as a matter of fact) were just a
bunch of old WW2 lookin clunkers, THINK AGAIN!
Yeah, that's one of the new ones! Not fuggin bad eh? I gotta get me one o' these! Word has it they got the mad bikey folx from the Night Wolves, possibly the biggest Russian motorcycle club to help "profeschionaly" design these beasts! They also have some other models including the Voyage: a more mellow cruiser and a the Gaer Up: a military model including sidecar and MACHINE GUN! They also have a more 'British' looking style, called the Solo Classic. So how much will one of these Mad Migs cost ya? Around three grand, not bad for a brand slappin new bike that's sure to be the only one for miles! I am a little worried about getting one since the waiting lists for stuff in Russia makes Harley look like fast food! I'll keep my eyes out and see if I can find someone selling these things stateside, I gotta get one of these Marxheads!
You can read more bits about em here
andhere if you read Russian.
• Russian Punk:
Yeah, I think that's spelled with a backwards 'K', but anyhu. You think
American Punk was hard? Ya think UK Punk was treacherous? Try Russian Punk! Damn,
fighting skinhead nazis over here was mostly just fun, but is Russia you got 'rednecks'
(different from US rednecks....well kinda) that run around with big nasty hatchets
and swords and shit, not to mention the cops hate you (like beat you bloody for fun
kinda hate), and the only good drugs yo can get are glue and paint. Yeah, nuthin
like preaching anarchy in a place where it's almost there eh? Here's a really interesting
documentary on the punk scene in 1992 Russia by a very talented writer and photographer
by the name of Cammie Toloui:
"I traveled to (what was then) the U.S.S.R. in search of punks, where I found a number of bands and artists functioning under the screws of the restrictive government. There, I wrote and photographed many stories for San Francisco-based MAXIMUMROCKNROLL magazine, and returned in 1992 and again in 1993 to continue shooting the punks and motorcycle gangs I had befriended. Included here (below) is a story I wrote for MRR in 1992........."
You can read it all and check out the photos here:
http://www.best.com/~cammie/Russia/russia.htm
• Area 51:
Workin on some designs for the Area 51 Triumph:
Whaddaya think??
• Ice Cream:
Mucho thanx to Sway, Cha Cha and the intern guy who's name I forgot (head injury getting to me again), the nice folx from Jammin92.5
for stopping by my dayjob with a bunch of ice cream and smiles to liven our afternoon.
It was a nice break from the usual digital sweatshop. Not to mention ya gotta love
it when a cute young girlie offers ya some ice cream:-) Thanx again!
• Hamster Madness:
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING NEWS BLIPPY IS TWISTED, IT MAY
EVEN DISTURB BROTHAH /6
I found this ::oh so disturbing:: chunk of newsy stuff
over at TheRegister, a swell (or maybe
swollen) place to get geeknews. I saw a news blip of theirs on this and I couldn't
stop laughing. I'm sure some of you have heard of those "realdolls",
they are really disturbingly real life size sex dolls. You can buy one for about
the same as a new GSXR.....I'll take the GSXR thanks, some plastic is better
than others. Of course it's a interesting concept: a totally realistic babe, done
up exactly to your fancy, will let you do whatever you like, no nagging, no shoes,
no guilt, etc, etc. Of course when you bust your leg riding like a hoolie, she'll
just sit there and look at you wif blank eyes.....kinda like some real girls you
may have sacked with. I think they make male versions of the things too....maybe
get one that looks like me to stuff at my desk at work so I can play hookey eh?
Anyhu, back to this sick RealHamster dealio, it's a spoof on the realdolls, and it's sick funny! Get the disclaimer and some of the insert text:
"By entering this site you certify that you are over 18
years of age, wish to view or purchase some filthy smut, that this smut is not prohibited
in the community in which you live and that you will not show any of this smut to
minors." The site of hamsters in various sexy poses will no doubt get you clicking
on Enter before you can say toilet tube.
"Realistic, life‹size and beautiful. Elastic flesh, luxurious fur, a cybernetic
infrastructure and sexy features like no other buggering hamster in the world. If
you've had wet dreams over a hamster like this, you'll know exactly what we're on
about. Most buggering hamsters are made of cheap bits of sackcloth. They look pathetic
and laughable not buggerable.Don't expect to see any of those goofy sandbags on this
site. RealHamster is the REAL DEAL.
"If you hired an engineering company to craft a custom buggering hamster for
you, with all the features and whizzy bits of RealHamster, you would most likely
have to pay $20,000 or more. Even then it would probably turn out to be a retrofitted
RealSheep. If anyone caught you buggering a hamster with cloven hooves, you'd be
giggled at for the rest of your life. Don't risk the embarrassment go for the REAL
THING.
So, how do we do it? In four words: CHEAP NEW ZEALAND LABOUR!"
You really have to check this site out, it's sick, wrong, disturbing and you'll
break a kidney belt laughing. And of course if that isn't enough, check out FurniturePorn.com,
Lego Porn and don't forget Barbie Bondage....which seems to be having
trouble with photos right now.
5/31/01-6/4/01
Unexpected Update
Updating the news already??? Yeah, I know, It's not in my unusually proficent slacker abilities to do so but I had all sort of goodz to get to you all. Well, in good news I told the truth and got meself outta jury duty, it appears they don't think I'd be a fair juror with all my angst towards the system and my hobby as a terrorist. Not that I think everyone aughtta skip jury duty, but lets face it folx, would you want my lunatic /post traumatic stress disordered/ the man will pay/ fuckin trucks fuckin suck/ give everyone the chair/ ass on your jury if you were up for murder? Didin't think so;-) So get this, the rent-a-cops at the metal detectors "temporarily confiscated" my swiss army knife, you know, the one wif da 2 inch blade and little scizzors? So I ask the bonehead with the plastic badge (but very real gun), "So how many cripples DO ya get in here tryin to take the place over with a nail file eh? Don't worry, I got the cane if I need to pass out some thumps" Those fellas sure don't have a sense of humor! I guess I aughtta just be glad they didn't take away my leg eh? Well it is a two foot long piece of metal with big gnarly screws stickin out of it;-)
Anyhu, enough of all that jive, lotsa good reading for ya today. BTW, the new issue of the page really is almost done, I got stumped up on jury duty/DR. appts/blah/blah/blah for a bit but really, this time it's almost there.
• Gone Strapless:
The girlie folk got thier strapless dresses, bras, sandals, etc, etc.
But what do us blokes got? Strapless nuthin and a bunch of it! So know, thanx to
Ames for the tip, we got this here extra fancy.....
Strapless Helmet!
Yeah, no shit! I'm not sure if I'd wear it, looks a bit like a space age circumcision device to me. extra fancy none the less tho. Here's a link to the page so you can take a closer looksie at it:
http://freespace.virgin.net/david.emerson/gpa/index.htm
• Satahdeh Ride:
Some of the UTMC-BTM decided not to waste this fine weekend sitting on
their arses at home and went out storming the canyons. This in from RevD:
"here's me, /6 and Evan at the Continental Divide today.
It was a nice
200mi sport-ride to Breckenridge and back. Unfortunately, moments after
this picture was taken Evan accidentally dropped his keys in the
Continental Divide and we had to find some chewing gum and an 11,000 foot
piece of string to get them out..."
• SGW/OAJ:
Yeah, that stands for Some Guy Without A Job". Brothah Espresso is
on the hunt for employment somewhere in the New York area. If anyone has need for
a wrench, parts guy, etc, etc. I'm sure he's also got lotsa other skillz too. Please
drop him a line @ espresso_doppio@yahoo.com.
I know we got some readers in the NY area so let's pitch in folx, he's got bikes
and kids to pay for eh? Now that I think aboot it, we got some bike shops here in
Denvah that are in need....but who wants to move here. For those of you who do not
know Brothah Espresso, he's been on the message board a bit lately and has a screamin
Kwaka Zephr that'll be up on the gallery soon.
• Johnny's Journey:
Reverend John of the Malcontent
Yuppie Biker's Page will be makin the cross country loop from Pennsylvania soon.
He'll be stopping here in Denvah along with a whole bunch of other places. I'll keep
everyone up 2 date on his travelings and we all gotta go for the traditional mad
sushi when he gets in town....
......ok,
maybe not that mad.
• Riding through Bollox:
Brothah Ames sent in this link to a page with all sorts of nice photos
of the special edition BMW R1150GS. Real groovy....
http://www.steinborn.org/jim/r1150gs/
I know you're all bitchin now cause you can't afford one, but neither can we so
don't get cranky.
• Bad Air:
No, I'm not yakkin about Eyeball Eric's underpants. Here's a page for
yet another guy who likes to tag suvs with nasty bumperstickers that say "I
don't care about the air. He's got some good info on there too:
http://www.idontcareabouttheair.com/facts/more.shtml
• chevy to buy Motorcyclist:
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! It was bad enough when Motorcyclist, the only mainstream
US bike rag that had no truck advertisemnets, finally buckled under the mounds of
dough chevy and dodge were throwing at them and finally gave in. Now it get worse.
Truck World, formerly known as Cycle World, may actually be buying Motorcyclist!
Rumors floating around say the name will likely be changed to Motortrucker, hmmm....rhymes
with motherfucker...figures. Even worse, there is also a possibility that the two
magz might merge together to bring us TruckTrucker, a full 62 pages of truck advertisements
with maybe a two page shootout of which bikes fit best in the back of a dodge ram....or
under a chevy silverado. You can read more about it here:
http://news.motorcycle.com/article.motml?sid=875&mode=nested&order=0&thold=1
On the good side, if ya actually want motorcycle related news from a source inside
the US, you still have the UTMC(which has a 60%US writing staff and NO truck ads...EVER!).
You've also got Manzruins page Bad
Motorcycles For Bad People, and Norman has Motorcycho
which is in Canada, same continent, more expensive smox.
• Woofers & Wankers:
Here's a intersting snippet of news from Minime over at Motorcycle.com.
It's about a recent jaunt to work that involved morons in suv's and stray dogs....and
yes, the stray dog was much smarter than the suv driver:
http://news.motorcycle.com/article.motml?sid=876&mode=nested&order=0&thold=1
• Nothing is Sacred:
According to a recent article in The Register, a UK based computer geek/fight
the man webpage, nothing is sacred. Apparently the UK pubs are now selling the clear
and clean bottoms of pint glasses to dotcom advertisers. As they say over there,
"WOT A LOAD OF BOLLOX!". First the ad agencys fugged with our to go coffees
with those dumbass 'hot cup holder cardboard thingys', printing all sorts of stupid
advercrap on em, and now they are attacking the pint.
You can read more about it here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/19270.html
5/24/01-5/29/01
Issa Bout Fuggin Time You Slackin Fool Update
"Naw man, he's real close" --Aliens
Sorry 'bout the long dry spell on the news folx. I've been swamped with Doctor's appointments, a change in my pain killaz, some heavy projects at work and all sorts of other buggery. My free time, the wee bit I've had, has gone into polishing up the new issue, due out.....real soon. Yeah, I know, I've been promising for weeks now, but I've run into little snagz and stuff. Really, this time we're close!
• 4-4=2:
Little Sarah, no, not that one, the other one, yeah, not the one that
does all the leather bits, but the one that used to ride the Ninja 250. Oh, you didn't
know her then? Um....The one that has brown hair and not pink hair. Oh yeah, she
just dyed her hair pink, like last week or somethin. Oh, well I guess that won't
work. Damn. Anyhu, Little Sarah had a bit of a much on saturday night and her car
is toast, I'm assuming she's doin ok since she's emailing my gimpy arse and all happy
tho. So on the good side of this it means she very likely will be up on two again
in the near future. Also, she's workin on some groovy articles for da page AND she'll
be helpin me out with some of the neglected bits around here, fancy eh? So maybe
I'll even be able to get the news updated more than twice a month now. BTW, anyone
got ideas on how to tell the two Sarahs apart when yakkin?
• PANIC!:
One of the greatest masters of contemporary literature left us last Friday
morning. Many of us grew up reading the works of Douglas Adams, best known for his
"Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" series. Adams penned a number of books
as part of the "Hitchhiker's" series -- The Restaurant at the End of the
Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything; So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish;
and Mostly Harmless. The books told the continuing story of Arthur Dent, an average
Brit who's suddenly thrust into an interstellar imbroglio after the Earth is destroyed
to make way for an interstellar freeway. Adams also created a couple of books based
on the character of Dirk Gently, a "private detective who is more interested
in telekinesis, quantum mechanics and lunch than fiddling around with fingerprint
powder." If you haven't read that one, you should just for the witty and disturbingly
accurate explanation of the "Schodinger's Cat" theory. Adams had recently
completed a screenplay for a motion picture based on the "Hitch Hiker's"
series. Also in the recent list of contributions he made to our world was a the "Starship
Titanic" video game, a new Hitchhiker's video game in the works and the online
and constantly updated Hitchhiker's Guide
To The Galaxy: H2G2
H2G2 is the real effort of many to create an actual Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, that can be accessed and updated via computer or handheld PDA with wire capabilities. Too cool eh? Check out some of the following motorcycle related entries:
Introduction to motorcycle racing
The Hanger Lane Gyratory System
I personally can clearly remember the first time I saw the BBC produced minisiries
based on the books. That, along with reading the first three books in the series
and also "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency", had a great deal of
influence in my writing and thinking. Not to mention the useful advice about the
towel, you got one on yer bike right?? It's just sucks to lose this great guy, the
universe will never be the same. At least it wasn't on a thursday eh?
• Dog on Duty:
Check this shit out, I got summoned for jury duty next week, fuggin rediculous
eh? This worthless jerkoff of a justice system we got wants me to 'participate' after
giving me the big fuckoff when I was in need of a little paper thin slice off the
old justice cake. Fuck! With all the other crap I got goin on I sure as fuck don't
have time to go sit in some wood box with a bunch of other slackers and listen to
a bunch of lawyawz bitch off 'bout stuff. Maybe I'll get lucky and It'll be a traffic
case and I can help roast some stupid SUV driving peckerhead.
• CrotchICBM:
I threw a heads up on this turbine beasty a couple years ago before it
really hit the market and was still in prototype stages, but hadn't heard much about
is since. This latest news in from Brothah Billy Zed:
"Hey Dan,
Dunno if you've seen or heard of this friggin' monster yet, but I think yer readers
oughta pool their hard-earned pennies and spring for one. If what they claim is true,
the "Y2K Turbine Superbike" would make a 'busa look like a '74 Z50 mini
trail. I had to wipe the drool from my keyboard after readin' the speccies:
Engine: Allison Rolls Royce 250 Gas Turbine
Power: 320 hp @ 52,000 rpm (286 hp @ rear wheel) !!!
Output RPM: 6,000 rpm
Torque: 425 ft lbs @ 2,000 rpm
Compressor speed: 54,000 rpm
Fuel: Diesel
Lubrication: Dry-sump/ 3.5 quarts turbine oil
Transmission: One speed/neutral
Rear Mirrors: Concealed TV camera
Uh, 0 to 200 in 15.0 seconds with a single gear!?? The manufacturer guesses a top
speed of 250 mph, but they could only find someone nuts enough to push it to
227 (apparently just before his leathers combusted). Best of all, they claim it's
street legal. Whoohoo!!
pics and full specs here:
http://www.marineturbine.com/y2kinnov.htm
yerz,
Bill Zed, Seattle, WA"
Word has it Jay Lenno has got one of these turbine bikes and roasted the front bumper of a Lexus that was riding his tail. Good for him! All hail Lenno the Great, may we all someday own that many fuggin bikes!
Hey, you notice the bottom end on that Turbinasarus Rex? $150,000.00! Doin the
math on a five year payment plan it's only......$2,500 per month! Not bad eh? Well
it can melt down a Lexus, that's worth it without the rest of the goodz! Thanks for
the good word Billy!
• Autopilot:
Here's a really good clip that was sent in by um.....I think It was Espresso.....damn.
Ya gotta love those side affects from head injuries and pain killaz. Anyhu, here's
the clip: Autopilot.mpg
• The Clone Wars:
No, it's not a sneak peek at the upcoming Star Wars movie, Ames is bound
to know all of that and get all the good scoopz way before I do. Anyhu, it appears
that there has been yet another gnasty victim in the war to make a better Harley.
Ultra Motorcycle Company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 21, 2001. The reason
for the drastic measures had to do with threats of a foreclosure sale scheduled later
that day by the company's secured creditor. UMC states it'll be continuing all normal
business operations and will continue uninterrupted services to its dealers and customers....well,
at least as long as they're still around eh?
• Tom Brokaw is a Bitch for the Man:
In case you didn't hear, the big media hype machine has rolled out another
anti-motorcycling story onto the airwaves. Lead by Tom "I'm a bitch for the
advertisers" Brokaw, the nbc nightly news blathered on endlessly about how dangerous
those motorized bicycles are. They biased....I mean based thier story on NHTSA's
open ended report that if you have more of a a particular age group participating
in a hobby, more people that age will be injured or killed when participating in
that hobby. Yeah, our tax moneys pay for this drivel too! Here's the latest release
from the MRF with the full scoop:
"1NR18 - RESCUE MOTORCYCLE SAFETY FOLLOWING NHTSA/NBC NEWS
ATTACK!
Washington, D.C. … The joint Motorcycle Riders Foundation/State Motorcyclists’ Rights
Organization (SMRO) campaign to advance motorcycle safety through the 107th Congress
hit full steam last week, only to suffer damage when a torpedo hit was leveled by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and “NBC Nightly News
with Tom Brokaw.”
You may have missed the broadcast that millions watched, so here are the details
and an urgent call to action.
On Thursday, May 17, ABATE of Colorado became the ninth SMRO to visit Washington,
D.C., in concert with MRF, to advance, among other initiatives, a meaningful, no-strings
resource injection to help eradicate the waiting period for safety training for all
riders. The motorcycle safety component of the joint MRF-SMRO agenda calls also for
the first-ever national campaign of Motorist Awareness of Motorcycles to wake up
clueless motorists who continue to be at fault for most serious accidents involving
cars and bikes.
Colorado’s intervention on Capitol Hill came at a pivotal time and brought the total
to nearly 100 Members of Congress who’ve heard our pro-safety/pro-freedom message.
Thursday evening, as your brothers and sisters returned to Colorado after a job well
done, NHTSA and NBC News launched an agenda of their own: mandatory training and,
of course, a bid for more and more research.
Not content with lobbying state legislatures to restrict motorcyclists’ freedom,
NHTSA came to the aid of NBC News last week to point out that there has been an increase
in fatalities among older riders. Armed with what NHTSA later confessed to an MRF
member as “a power point presentation” based on “raw data,” NBC News took aim at
all motorcyclists and wrote a prescription for disaster: mandatory training for older
riders and a scare campaign aimed at large motorcycles.
A news organization that has never seen a regulation it didn’t like (absent First
Amendment restrictions), NBC pointed with concern to only two states that mandated
training for “older” riders. “Thousands of injured and dead riders,” the network
broadcast to millions. “Is it worth the ride?”
To which MRF responds: --- “Millions of misinformed Americans. Is it worth the airtime?”
“Mandatory training of motorcyclists -- particularly of riders of certain age groups
-- is a solution in search of a problem,” observed MRF President Tom Pauley. “When
it comes to rider training, there is overwhelming demand, insufficient supply and
absolutely no need for any mandate. In state after state, riders must wait upwards
of ten months to a year for the life-saving training they demand. Meanwhile, SMROs
are still pushing for laws as rudimentary as protecting rider training funds from
the raids they’ve sustained by other elements of state government. That’s the story
NBC News should have targeted.”
“The solution is simple,” said Tom Wyld, MRF’s Vice-President of Government Relations:
“a no-strings resource injection to states to kill the deadly waiting period, bolster
rider training, and establish, for the first time ever, a national program of Motorist
Awareness of Motorcycles. Think of the people we could save, because if the motorist
can’t or won’t see a motorcyclist, they won’t see the bicyclist, the woman in a wheel
chair or the child crossing the street.”
And how did NBC balance the May 17th piece against the call for new mandates? By
talking to dealers and riders who speak only for themselves and rely on best guess
and anecdote. Had NBC bothered to talk to national advocates of motorcyclists’ rights
and safety, the network would have learned the truth:
· As the average age of any road users increase -- or, for that matter, decreases
-- the incidence of all behaviors will increase or decrease accordingly. If average
age goes up, so will fatalities and injuries -- and the incidence of trouble-free
riding as well.
· As noted in letters to various media outlets by Kathy Gill, a certified
(by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation) instructor with the Evergreen Safety Council
in Washington state, “fatalities and accidents are not increasing at the same rate
as ownership, suggesting that riders are practicing defensive riding skills [and
that] courses like the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s new and experienced rider courses
are well worth the time and money.”
· In states like Arkansas and Texas, which modified their mandatory helmet
laws to allow rider choice with some restrictions, motorcyclist fatalities went down
as a function of the number of motorcycles registered before and after the laws took
effect.
· The constant danger is motorists, not motorcyclists. In 6 out of 10 two-vehicle
crashes, it is the car driver’s fault. Not the size of the motorcycle. Not the age
of the rider. And, evidently, not a matter of interest for NBC, if not NHTSA itself.
· In virtually every state, motorists who injure or kill motorcyclists because
they happen not to see us will get little more than a fine.
In all but one state, motorists who injure or kill motorcyclists because they happen not to see us will get little more than a fine. In Washington, motorists will now be subject to various felony charges, thanks to the WA. Roadriders Association, who worked with a coalition of interests, to ensure passage of a "Vehicular Assault" law; signed by the Governor on May 14th of this year."
That last part is damn important, we need it in every state!
• CHiP's for Rent:
For everyone who always wanted a 'CHiP's' style escort for thier wedding,
funeral, bar miztpha, etc, your chance is here! Check out this story about two NYPD
motorcycle cops that have an extremely unique service available:
http://www.americanmotor.com/news.cfm?newsid=1678
I'll bet you a fifty that Dr. Jason will have these guys at his next big event!
• Cops To Amputate Dongs:
Reuters
Thursday May 10 6:59 AM ET
Safety Drive Hit by Helmet Shortage
HANOI (Reuters) - A shortage of crash helmets appears to
have cooled Vietnam's determination to cut mounting road
deaths by forcing motorcyclists to protect themselves.
Thursday's state-run Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper
quoted Vice Transport Minister Pham The Minh as saying a
new rule requiring all riders to wear helmets from June 1 could
be unenforceable.
``There are seven million motorbikes throughout the
country ... we won't have that number of helmets available by
June 1,'' he told the paper.
Minh said his ministry would propose to Prime Minister Phan
Van Khai that police should stick to enforcing an existing rule
for riders to wear helmets on key highways, where most
deadly accidents occur.
The official Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper reported on
Thursday that around half the 7,882 transport deaths in
Vietnam in 2000 were the result of motorcycle accidents.
Despite this, the vast majority of the millions of motorcycle
users still do not wear crash helmets.
Awareness of the June 1 deadline is high, however, with
many riders worried about the prospect of fines of 20,000
dong ($1.4) stipulated for riding without helmets from June.
Official media said the state quality control agency was
operating at full stretch to approve helmet specifications and
shops selling helmets had raised prices in advance of the
deadline.
• Comix:
Just in case you are in need of some lively stuff to brighten that mood
today:
http://63.99.109.92/DC/wldo.swf - Requires flash, it's not bike related but pretty funny none the less. Thanks to Sistah Steph for this one.
5/8/01-5/12/01
EarlyWeek Update
Update the damn news already! Yeah, I know that's what's comin outta a few mouths for sure. On the good side, I'm updating, and it's some great stuff! So take a moment to catch up on all the latest news before you call in to work and tell em yer feelin too good to show up today;-)
• Custom Leather Goodz:
Little Sarah ( the one who used to work for Bloodnickel leathers), is
in the process of putting together a business plan to open up her own shop! Thasright!
Custom leather goodz like jackets, pants n' stuff all made to your inches. Also,
along with much of her own fashion lines of club gear ( nightclub more than MC),
will be various other lines of clothing and other sundry goodz. At the moment she
is also currently the ONLY leather stitcher in town who isn't backlogged for the
next few months. Yep that means she's available for custom leatherwork from minor
modifications to entire articles of clothing, and also cool leather back patches
too. Kick me down an email if you got some
stuff you need done and I'll get you her phone numbah.
• Local Roundup:
-Skinny Rob is the proud new owner of a slick red Vmax -
-I Saw Elmo, Shannon and little Dean(who is growing damn fast and isn't so little anymore!) last night. They are in the midst of moving but things are goin well for them. Elmo was kind enough to throw me a terrific deal on the 80cc Binelli basket I've been wanting to pick up from him and even cut me some slack on the payment until I get some bux in the door. Also, Elmo has some extremely cool projects in the works that will surely end up in the Gallery -
- /6 got stung by a wasp when he was doin da nasty in the shower (wif a girly that will remain anonymous) last week. Watch out folx, it looks like spring is here with a bite this year -
- Ellen da Vespa Chick ordered a pizza a couple of weeks ago from Pizza Hut. When the delivery guy arrived wif da pie, he just happened to have his schwantz hangin out of his pants! Yeah, so joke! So watch out for rampant undersexed perverts delivering pizza, and by all means, DON'T order the Meat Lovers, Stuffed Crust, Whitesauce or "hairy anchovy" pizza specials. -
- /6, Gumby, Rocket John and RevD continue to perform groovy little additions and subtractions on their Speed Triples. Hmmm......We got what four, five folx with triumph Speed Triples, plus Crazy Rob who is the proud owner of a vintage 'Slow Triple'..... I see a mondo hooligan photoshoot possible for the Gallery...... Lemmie know what you guys think eh? -
- Sumo Pat's jeep was stolen, but the good news is the cops recovered it a day or
two later, unharmed and with a full tank of gas! I'll admit it, the cops did something
truly good for once! Mucho thanks to the officaz involved -
- The other Little Sarah (not the one mentioned above, da other one) is lookin
to pick up a new motorcycle soon, right on! -
• RaiderCycle:
This in from Adam aka Some Guy On A Bike is response to my general inquiry
on what kind of bike it is in the new Tomb Raider movie:
"The Lara Croft bike in the stunt scenes? Looks like an EX500 with no bodywork, some trick wheels, and an older GSX-R swingarm."
Hmmm... that sounds pretty righto to me. If nobody else comes up with a topper
for this I'll be sending off an OFFICIAL "Nuke and Pave" t-shirt to Adam.
Also, Look for Adams Kwaka Zephyr cafe racer in the next issue's Gallery installment.
• OOPS!:
This is a movie of a guy that had
just a bit too much coffee before he hit the track.
• Unamerican:
What a great page this is! Just the thing for a bastard like me who is
all disgruntled and all that crap. Not to mention they have great t-shirts for those
fancy events like jury duty:
• Roof pumps out new pail:
One of da coooolest helmet manufacturers, the Frenchy born Roof Helmets,
has introduced a brand new full face lid. It's rather sharp looking too!
Wow! Maybe they'll send me a freebie to review since the UTMC is the ONLY online publication to do a writeup! Not likely;-) Anyhu, this one looks like it rivals the performance of the Boxer model and even includes VENTS! Of course it lacks the mucho bueno flip up chinbar. You can check out some smokkin info of on this new pail over @ ThunderChild and read the press release here:
http://www.frontiersmc.co.uk/shopping/roof/diversion.html#PressRelease
• Smokkin Valkz:
The AMA has an article discussing the four smokkin concept Valkeries that
Honda has been quietly flashing here and there. Apparently none of these concepts
are going to end up as full production models (lame guys, take a chance eh?), but
we might see many of the groovy elements of these bikes in future models. Personally,
I'm still waiting for a cafe racer version, guess I'll have to build it meself;-)
You can read all the details here:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/features/concept.html
• Sore Lamerz:
We've all seen fistfights in hockey and rugby, but how about motorcycle
racing? You say you haven't? Well take a peep at the link below. This is really funny:
http://geocities.com/ecumike5/sfx/
• Denvah Crazies:
I found this page the other day and was pleasantly surprised. For those
of you that live in Denvah you'll recognize the photos of the urban landscape featured.
For those of you that don't reside in the mile low city you'll be able to get a fancy
look at some of the bettah sights around here:
http://www.batmanandbarbie.com/
• Film Festival:
So you say you want a helmet cam to record all of your rush hour hooliganisms
to show off to the rest of the gang? Well now you can! It's a bit pricey at 300 bux
(and you still need a regular old video camera to hook it up to), but it looks to
be the real deal if you wanna get it on. Speaking of getting it on, there's no telling
all the great stuff you could inconspicuously film if you really wanted to;-) Anyhu,
here's the link on it, and if you do pick one up feel free to kick down some vids
for themovies page eh?
http://rka-luggage.com/pages/65helmetcamera/camera.html
• Yo Joe:
So you sniveling nose, mamma's boys, wannabee wrenches can't figure out
how to wrench on your Honda Valkerie? Well, buck up you wet diapered babies, Gi Joe
is here to run you through the numbers, show you the ropes and prove that you don't
need to anatomically correct to get that Valk purring like the tank it is!
This is so damn funny I almost fell outta my chair! You gotta see this, even if you don't own a Valk, it's just too much! Mucho thanks to Stefan of Ratbike.org for the heads up.
http://bongo.www8.50megs.com/maintenance.htm
5/1/01-5/4/01
EarlyWeek Update
Aw fuck, I'm late again!
• Back in the twisties:
Last Saturday was such a fine day for hitting the hills for a few curvies
I just couldn't resist. Gumby, /6 and I rode up through Golden Gate Park to Nederland
for lunch and then back down 119 to Boulder just in time to get stuck at a really
long light;-) It ws a killer ride, I went relatively slow for the most part, this
being my first romp through twisties since the great smackdown of Y2K. I gotta say,
riding behind Gumby and /6 is getting me itchin to get a Speed Triple. I was getting
all sorts of nasty gougy pain in my hip from being in the saddle that long, but ti
was well worth it! I can't tell ya how bad I want to put clubman bars on the Stiletto
now, it handles way too nice to be a cruiser. Can't wait till the next ride!
• Fookin Grate:
Late Saturday down at Paris we met up with a mighty nice guy by the name
of Evan who rides a 900SS Ducati. After a bit of coffee and yapping Sisco arrived
and told us that Larimer was gettin all nutso and stacked up with bikes. So we headed
down to grab a peep at everything. Well, as happens to all of us sooner or later,
Evan hit a rough of sour luck and accidentally dropped his bike key into the sewer
grate down on Larimer. For those of you who don't know, those sewers are about five
feet deep, steaming hot, rancid like Spyders socks and populated by roaming cockroaches
the size of Hyabusas. Luckily, all it took was a midnight run to the hardware store
and a little backroom engineering with a magnet, some wire and a flashlight to set
things right. Mucho thanks to Sisco and /6 for thier fast action and good deeds in
retrieving the key and returning things to normal, talk about good brothas to have
around in a pinch eh. For those of you who want to read the full story, Evan himself
sent in an article about the ordeal that'll be up in the next issue of the page.
• Revd's Stiffy:
RevD Patrick was out of the ride last weekend due to some gnarly back
and shoulder lockup. In good news I hung out with him a bit on Sunday and he was
feeling much bettah. With any luck he'll be up for more hill romping this weekend
with the rest of the bunch.
• Tomb Raider:
I've yet to meet a computer geek that didn't like the the Tomb Radier
series. I also have yet to find a bikey sort that doesn't get gooey in the knees
when they see a sexy lady on a motorbike. Last but not least, I have yet to find
ANYONE, male, female or otherwise that doesn't like Angelina Jolie (always helps
when there is a really fine actress behind the nice face and sweater puppets eh?).
So to bring a bunch of real good things together it looks like the upcoming Tomb
Raider movie, starring Angilena Jolie will actually have several scenes of her riding
'all Mission Impossible 2 like'. And get this, one of the scenes she's riding stunts,
shooting bastards (the bad ones, not the good ones like we know) AND wearing her
pajamas. That combo sure makes the old "chocolate and peanut butter" combo
look like a yawn eh?
So I know the big question now (besides "Do we get to see her sweater puppets widdout da sweater?") is, "So what kinda bike is she riding?"
Allright, this one is a bit tough but I got some goodz below that will help us in figuring this out. Here are some grabbies from the stunts/bastards/pajamas scene:
It looks like a vertical twin, water cooled, double sided swingarm, monoshock rear, chain drive, upswept high pipe 2 into 2 setup.....
The footpegs also look like enduro types rather than streetbike or rocket ones. It looks like the front wheel might be a solid disc rim, of course it might just be moving real fast too.....
Maybe a enduro Japanese machine. Except the Speedo is center mounted above the headlight and it's chrome, not to mention the headlight is round and big, two elements not often found on enduros. Maybe a Rotax motor? The squareish head doesen't look like the normal type. Also to note is that the front forks are standard travel and design. Maybe an MZ Skorpion, even tho those are a single cylinder, they do have dual port exhaust from the block.
Here we see that the rear wheel appears to be a solid disc rim with a tubeless tire. The only bikes I know of that have a solid disc rear are an old Honda Magna 750 (a v motor, so that's not likely it) and the "Japan only" Honda Magna 50cc, this sure isn't that one either. Not to mention that both of those were "street cruiser" style rides and this one has much more of a standard look.
Hey, nice tailcone eh? Notice that the pipe on this one is one that rides low on the right side, not two riding up high on either side. Different bike? This does appear to be part of the same scene with the bike we see in the previous images tho. Maybe she's got several scenes where she's riding stunts and wearing pajamas (could be nice), or possibly there is a bit of switcheroo MI:2 style goin on. Also, maybe that's not a pipe but the bulge of a driveshaft.....that would really contradict the others that are obviosly chain drive.
Here she is smackin one of those bastards around. Also here note the red switch next to the handlegrip....looks kinda similar to the horn "trigger" button on the Triumphs......could this be a Triumph of some sort? Not unless they have a boxy water cooled twin in the works. I'm inclined to beleive that this is a home grown bike, based off of an enduro with lots of street parts added. Notice the somewhat sloppy routing of the cables from the bars and the fact that the bars rise just milimeters over the top of the fork tube tops.
This one appears to be a different bike, maybe a black Ducati 996 minus the plastic, the upswept pipe pattern does however mathc that of the bike in the first few photos, hmmmm... this is starting to get confusing.
Hey, whitelineing in the rain! I can do that.....
Jumping over a car.....I can't do that....
So that's what I got for now. In the video game Lara rides a classic Norton Commando Cafe racer, but it looks like they are going with more modern stuff for the movie. I read one rumor that they were using the same Triumph Speed Triples that were romped in MI:2, but from what I see here it doesn't look like it. Also, I read that Angelina Jolie is doing her own bike stunts, that aughtta get you trading in you bucket of popcorn for a box of mansize tissues eh? You can watch the trailers and read all sorts of bits about the movie (slated for June 15th) at the official Tomb Radier Movie website here:
• Congress actually does SOMETHING:
Here's some intersting news that I ripped straight from the AMA
website:
"April 27, 2001
More congress members fight insurance discrimination
A full 20 more members of Congress have joined forces with their colleagues to send
a letter asking that officials reverse recent federal rules legalizing health-insurance
discrimination against motorcyclists and others involved in various forms of recreation.
Addressed to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and Labor Secretary
Elaine Chao, the letter comes in response to the recent rules that implemented the
1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The rules, issued
by the Clinton administration in the final days of his presidency, are to take effect
May 8.
The letter is written by Rep. Philip M Crane and signed by 20 members of Congress
from the state of Illinois, including House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. This latest
letter comes on the heels of an earlier letter signed by more than 50 members of
Congress over the same issue, which the AMA has pushed since the rules were first
released.
As originally written, the bill was designed to protect workers from discrimination
in the health insurance they receive through their employers. When the regulations
were released -- five years after the original act was passed -- the rules allowed
insurers to deny coverage of any injury sustained while participating in legal recreational
activities like motorcycling, snowmobiling, skiing or other similar activities.
The members of Congress say the rules should not stand.
"We are concerned that the regulations create a "source of injury"
restriction that makes clear a person cannot be excluded from a plan for engaging
in certain recreational activities, but benefits for a particular injury can be excluded
based on the source of an injury,'' the letter states.
It then spells out the initial intent of the HIPAA regulations, passed five years
ago.
"Because of the practice of insurers denying benefits coverage for injuries
resulting from recreational activities, such as motorcycling, Congress intended that
individuals not be denied benefits coverage for injuries they may receive while participating
in the specified recreational activities."
The members of Congress are asking the Bush administration to amend the HIPAA rules
that govern such activity -- and fix the apparent loophole.
"These are Congress members who are standing up for motorcyclists and others
who enjoy all kinds of outdoor recreational activity,'' says Edward Moreland, the
AMA's vice president for government relations. "I encourage motorcyclists and
others to thank their members of Congress who have gone on record to end this insurance
discrimination."
The list of Congress members is:
Judy Biggert (R-Ill.); Rod R. Blagojevich (D-Ill.); Jerry F. Costello (D-Ill.); Philip
M. Crane (R-Ill.); Danny K Davis (D-Ill.); Lane Evans (D-Ill.); Louis Gutierrez (D-Ill.);
J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.); Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.); Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.);
Timothy V. Johnson (R-Ill.); Mark S. Kirk (R-Ill.); Ray LaHood (R-Ill.); William
O Lipinski (D-Ill.); Donald Manzulo (R-Ill.); David Phelps (D-Ill.); Bobby Rush (D-Ill.);
Janice D. Schakowski (D-Ill.); John Shimkus (R-Ill.); Jerry Weller (R-Ill.)"
• Revrend Jon goes west:
Reverend John, contributing writer to the UTMC and webmaster of the Malcontent Yuppie Bikers Homepage
is getting ready to pack up his Sportster and hit the road from Southeastern PA to
out west somewhere. He'll be taking lots of the nice twist sideroads but will be
more or less paralell to I-70 for a good part of the trip. If you live along the
way between Pennsylvania and Colorado and would like to hang with Rev. Jon or have
an extra room, send me an email and I'll
get it to him.
• Dumbya bush:
So has anyone noticed that the moron that was stuffed into the white house
can't properly pronounce the word "nuclear", but he is one of the few with
the ability to get them launched??? Holy shit this is scary, we're all fucked!
4/23/01-4/26/01
EarlyWeek Update
Ya gotta love any day that starts out with wiping the snow off the bike and ends with t-shirt weather!
• Weekend goes to the Bastards:
Some of the BTM crew sneaked in a fast romp through Golden gate Canyon
early Saturday morning. But by the time we all met up at Zorbas for the big ride,
the weather was already looking a hemmerhoidal doggy rectum. Yeah, that's CO in the
springtime. Just goes to show that we gotta enjoy what we can when we have it eh?
The day wasn't a total loss as some got to ride allot, some got to ride a little
and we all had nice tasty breakfast at Zorbas! Let's hope for better weather next
weekend eh?
• Take away their tools:
So if you thought that stupid useless custom projects only lived in the
world of the 'hawg', think again! Apparently a really stupid thing happened and our
fearless friends over at Motorcycle.com were
powerless to stop it:
"Kawasaki teamed up with Leeora Catalan, lead designer for
the esteemed accessories and fashion house Noir by Catalan, to create what you see
before you here: A first-of-its-kind silver 2001 ZX-12R, covered with 50,000 Swarovski
Crystals."
First of it's kind??? Let's hope it's the last of it's kind too, yuck! You can read more about this abomination here:
http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mckaw/mcphotos/crystalzx12r01.html
• Hell Freezes Over in Tennessee:
In a follow-up from some news which was posted on a few months ago, it
looks like hell is actually freezing over near the vicinity of Rockford, Tennessee
Apparently, the city commission of Rockford, (a town with a population of 650 in
Blount County, about 15 miles south of Knoxville) is expected to decide May 3 whether
to disband its four-member police force following two incidents with police that
seriously injured one motorcyclist and murdered another.
One Rockford officer is already under investigation on criminal charges, this prompted the Blout County Sheriffs Dept. to end it's 'mutual aid agreement' with the Rockford police Dept as of May 20th. The sheriffs department and the Rockford police face civil lawsuits because of the overzealous and dangerous actions of the city's officers. Also, Rockford commissioners have been told that the city will lose its liability insurance when the policy expires June 30.That's gotta hurt!
The cases in which the officers used heavy handed tactics may have involved minor traffic violations on the side of the motorcyclists, some reports say. Even if this is true, since when is speeding 10mph over the speed limit punishable by death? It's really good to see that the reckless police dept. is going to get their balls strung up over this, gives me faith that sometimes the system actually can police itself. You can read more about the original incidents here:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/legisltn/releases/g01006.html
• Outlaws Are Criminals:
Wow, must have taken some brain surgeons at the FBI to figure out that
one! Here's an excerpt from the newsfeed over @ Americanmotor.com:
"Tampa, FL - (MCNW) Harry "Taco" Bowman, the alleged "boss" of the Outlaws motorcycle club, was convicted of ordering the deaths of rival club members, firebombings and other crimes...."
This is such a shocker, almost as surprising as when the 'sons of silence' got raided and they found a bunch of full auto weapons, a grip of meth-amphetamine and shrine in the closet to adolf hitler. You can read the rest of the story here:
http://www.americanmotor.com/news.cfm?newsid=1657
• They Are All Columbine:
You know, I'm usually pretty sympathetic to the tragedies of others, but
suburbia, as always, has a way of changing that nice side of me into a ruthless bastard.
Unless you've been in a coma for the last two years you heard about the two suburban
looney brats that shot up Columbine High School, and then did everyone a favor by
offing themselves.
Well now, the wife and family of the teacher who was murdered by these two nutballs is suing......
not the school, not the cops, not the gun makers, oh no, they wanna go after who's REALLY at fault....
....the programmers and publishers of......
VIDEO GAMES!!!!
Apparently the suit is against 25 media companies, most of which develop or publish video games. These suburbanite weenies want five billion in damages, plus damages of $5,000 to $10 million for individual parties in this joke of a class action law suit. So if a dead teacher is worth $5 billlion, how come a living one is only worth a paltry $25 a year??? I surely think that a teacher that hasn't been shot dead is a much more valuable asset to society than a dead one. Of course maybe we're seeing a new trend where teachers will get the same status as artists and only be worth anything after they die.
Anyhu, the dipshit attorney, John DeCamp (fuckin campers) was quoted saying "But money may be the smallest part of the deal, this is a class action that says that, ultimately, money aint gonna do it." Oh yeah, money may be the smallest part of the deal to someone else, but he's a fuggin lawyer! Money is the only thing pushing this wankers buttons, that and the hopes that he can get his damn picture in the paper! He seems to think that the video game industry is not regulating itself enough, and that it is once again the job of the overlord nanny state to make things go his way. The suit alleges that without tight restriction "It is guaranteed that more monsters will be created and more school killings will occur.".
Yeah! No shit! Are these suburbanite wankers on crack or what? They really think that it was the video games that caused the two angry rich kids to go nutso and shoot up their school! Not the fact that they had illegally obtained guns, or their parents let them make bombs in the damn garage, or the fact that this bullshit suburban school, like so many others favors athletes over everyone else and allows all sorts of bullying to go on every day. Oh no! it must be because video games cause everyone who plays them to be influenced greatly! Yes! A violent video game causes those who play them to go out and KILL people! Of course! It makes so much fucking sense now! Let's go sue Midway, because Pac-Man is responsible for all of the overeating disorders! And let's sue the makers of Defender, for they are responsible for all of the 'alien abductions'! Let's sue the makers of Asteroids because of all of the really bad movie plots that they influenced! And let's not stop there, let's sue the makers of Monopoly for influencing the goddamn world trade conspiracy....er organization!
I can't believe this horseshit, these idiots are completely missing the point here! They continue to refuse that students who shoot up their schools are influenced the most by all of the bullshit they have to put up with at their school, from their fellow students. This is the problem of the way that most suburban schools value the rich kids and athletes over everyone else and allow harassment and bullying to go on every day. This shit has to do with the fact that the parents aren't spending enough time with their kids to know if they are having difficulty at school, let alone making explosives in the fuggin garage. Why is having children halfway down the list in the 'American Dream'? Money, power and material goods seem to all take precedence over taking care of our kids in this fucked up country! And we wonder why they are going on killing sprees!
I can understand the anger and frustration of the victims of the Columbine tragedy. It was a horrible disaster that could have and should have been prevented. But amassing an army of lawyers to sue the video game and music industries for disasters they did not cause is ridiculous Even more so when this fine country of idiot politicians decided to throw a moron into the presidency that wants to cut funding for schools, law enforcement and community groups.
There are school teachers that are affiliated with the UTMC. They are some of
the smartest and nicest people I know. They are also some of the best parents I've
ever met, and I hope to be as good of a parent when I have children of my own. So
guess what? They play violent video games, watch action movies, ride motorcycles
and some of them even wear black and listen to goth music! Maybe the common folk
should stop listening to the media and the lawyers on how to stop kids from killing
each other, and start listening to the teachers and kids themselves.
• Titan goes tits up:
Titan Motorcycle Company changed their Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
to the ominous Chapter 7 liquidation on April 11, 2001. This occurred after their
largest creditor, Wells Fargo Bank, declined Titan's plan to sell the company away.
Under the Chapter 7 liquidation, Titan's assets will be sold to pay creditors, along
with the companies 40 employees getting their pink slips. Personally I was none too
fond of all the 'high dollar' motorcycle companies that were popping up to deal to
the R.U.B.'s, but it's a little sad to see all of them dying off so quickly. I hoped
that the small market custom industry would gain enough momentum that we could see
something more than just overchromed Harley copies. Oh well, maybe the next economy
boom will do it eh?
4/18/01-4/20/01
PostTaxDay Update
Lotsa news, some good, some bad. How aboot this weather tho eh?
• Hoof in Mouth in TT:
Minime over at Motorcycle.com
just slammed down the news that the Aisle of Man TT is being canceled due to the
hoof in mouth rampancy. Talk about a bummer eh? Not that most of us coulda made it
but we at least had hopes of seeing some rough cut footage at 3am on ESPN8.....probably
woulda been pre-empted by ladies golf or Dogs n' Frisbees anyway.
Apparently the reason for this is because even tho humans can't get Hoof in Mouth,
us bikey types are close enough to our animalistic roots and behaviors that we could
be succeptible. The fear is that hundreds of thousands of mad frothing bikey sorts
would take over the island and all hell would break loose, kinda like Australia but
with more bikes.
• Satadeh Brefface:
It was great to see so many faces and wheels down at Zorbas on saturday!
Gumby, Analog, Mel, Jim, RevD, /6, Scott, Kellen, Sway, Ames, Bear, Sisco.....I'm
sure I'm forgetting some folx. Anyhu, it was great to see so many, kinda like if
the Hollister riot happened on the patio of a resturaunt......ok, maybe not. Anyhu,
We'll all be doin a pre-ride breakfast again this saturday at 11am or so. All are
invited to join, yeah that means you, come get some eggs tho!
• BTM BBQ:
A huge thanx to /6 for throwin a smokkin BBQ on Saturday! I think I can
speak for everyone when I say it was the official bash to ring in the spring! To
Sway, Sisco, Danelle and anyone else who got snappies of the festivities, please
send some scans my way when ya got time. And hey, whaddawe doin next weekend eh??
• Hey Ho, This Sucks:
One of the saints of original punk has passed on to the other side. This
in from the Official Ramones webpage:
NEW YORK CITY, APRIL 15, 2001
OUR BELOVED JOEY RAMONE PASSED AWAY THIS AFTERNOON AT 2:40 PM,
IN A HOSPITAL IN NEW YORK CITY WHERE HE WAS BEING TREATED FOR
CANCER. JOEY'S LOVING FAMILY WAS AT HIS BEDSIDE.
IN THIS MOMENT OF PAIN AND SORROW, LET US FIND COMFORT IN THE WORDS
OF THE KING OF PUNK HIMSELF:
Life's a gas, Life's a gas, Life's a gas, a gas, oh yeah
Life's a gas, Life's a gas, Life's a gas, a gas, oh yeah
So don't be sad 'cause I'll be there
Don't be sad at all
Joey Ramone.
In memory of this music great, may we all get real fucked up and crank the stereo
till the windows shake and the neighbors leave.
• Pinball:
So the harddrive on my powerbook finally hosed itself into the great depths
of the abyss of fuckall. Yep, once again I lost a few emails from last week and a
couple of things here and there that would have been nice to keep. lame! This is
the FOURTH 6gig that has fucked itself to death in my computer. 4xlame! On the good
side, the great guys over at MCE are gonna send me a replacement 10gig with the hopes
that I'll never have to replace it. It sucks that the 6gig drives have been so screwy,
but at least the support folx at MCE are being real nice about it, customer service
is everything these days, considering it's next to impossible to find it;-) With
any luck I'll still be able to ramp up the next issue of the page without too many
delays, maybe another week or so.
• GOVT FUCT:
This just in from my sweetheart Lisa:
"WASHINGTON, April 17 ‹
Assoc.Press
The Immigration and Naturalization Service could not account for hundreds of
weapons it owned and has not been keeping track of thousands of computers
that may contain sensitive information, a government audit has found.
The weapons, including six that were eventually linked to crimes, were among
61,000 items worth nearly $70 million that auditors said were missing, the
Department of Justice inspector general said."
Man, that's fucked up!
4/10/01-4/14/01
Midweek Update
Man, I'm toasted! Too many pain killers or somethin....
• Mack Daddy:
Great news folx! Our minions swell once again with the addition of another
to the 893 family! Praise the dark one, grab the sacrificial sandwiches and roar
the pipes:
"I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know there
has been yet another addition to the 893. Madison Jennifer Mack was born real early
in the morning on March 30th. Her papa JMack and her mama KMack are very happy and
we are already starting a fund for her first YZ50. I'll send pictures of the family
soon. The weather is starting to clear and the riding has commenced, commencing in
Boston. Hope all is well in the Rockies
Faith in friction.
JMack"
Woohoo! Big congrats to all three of you!
• Neon Burns Out:
Fuggin hell, this is some real sad news in from Muppet. It would appear
that the best damn gyros & eggs in this town has gone the way of the dodo bird
and rotary engine motorcycles....
"So I was driving down pearl this evening and what did
I see??? neon is GONE.
Yes, GONE. Not being remodeled. GONE. :*( no more. The space is for rent.
I couldn't see anything else, just the "FOR RENT" sign. sadness.
shitty.
i no likey this 6-10" of snow shyte. hmpf!!!!
--Muppet"
I managed to find a photo of Cafe Neon with my old Mellenium Pidgeon parked out
front. Can we have a moment of silence for the loss of a fallen cafe.
• Draggin Knee:
This just in from RevD...
"Woo Hoo! Spring is here in Colorado and we're getting
some good rides in- my skills are improving a lot- today I got my knee down, even
though the roads were a little gravelly...
xxoo
-rev-d-"
This is one of many photos from last weekends mad romp through the hills from the BTM (beyond the market) crew. I'll have a gallery of the rest of the antics up soon, as Sway sent me a whole slew of photos (yep the very same ones that are getting posted up on the message board) till thenAnother ride is planned for this weekend!
BTW, what the fuck is with that photo of me at breakfast???
I look like a fat deformed used car salesman, WTF?
• Rest in Fink:
This in from MotorDaddy Norman of Motorcycho:
"Rest in Peace!
Ed Roth
March 4, 1932 - April 4,2001
We lost our big guy on April, 4th 2001 the doctors said it was a heart
attack. Ed Roth's genius has created a timeless monster. Rat Fink and the
Gang will still reach the diverse demographic appeal of the young adults of
today and us baby boomers of the fifties. Rat Fink and the gang will
continue into the new millennium capturing a new group of Finks young and
old for decades to come"
You can read about the life of Daddy Roth and see some of his great stuff here
Here's a link to
a real cool helmet!
• Drive it like you broke it:
Just when I thought my thrashed and sodomized laptop was workin ok, it
gives me the raw smackdown again! Yep, I'm doin this particular run of the weekly
news for the second time after my hard drive blew out a sector into the vast and
uncharted land of fuckall. I also lost a half a dozen email responses I was on my
way to send out, that'll teach me to procrastinate eh? Anyhu, here's hoping I can
get my FOURTH hard drive replacement soon and get the latest issue of articles and
such up on the page.
• Soggy News:
Salutations in from our soggy Sistah Mel screamin signals straight from
da space needle in Seattle:
"News from the storm front:
Well all is going well and I will be getting my racing license come July 1 st ( I
hope I hope Ihope) provided that I pass the NRC and don't throw my bike down the
track. :} My other racing teammates passed the NRC this past April 1 st and will
be racing on the 16 th Mik and I are going to be the umbrella girlz... wooo hooo
hopefully it will be warm enough that I can put Mik into something , shall we say
risque? As for every thing else out here in mold and moss land there is not much
to report.
Hope every thing on the home front is going well and that you are all happy and healthy
will rant soon, Sistah Mel out..."
Good to hear from ya Mel, glad things are goin well and you are chewin up da fruits
of summer! Best of luck to ya at the track too, I'll email ya as soon as my laptop
is all fixed! (BTW, loved the attachment, I'll add it in).
• Fuck this:
If you live in Colorado haven't looked out the window yet this morning, DON'T!
Just call in sick and go back to bed! Hibernation season is apparently not over and
we're getting slammed with a bunch of the crappy snowy slushy stuff again! Last weekend
it was so nice we all had snow on da front of our pants, now it's everywhere! Let's
all keep our fingaz crossed that /6 left the new Speed "Tripple" at home
and didn't get stuck in the stuff (or at least if he did he got some good snappies
of hisself ridin in it)
• Eatin Bugs 4 Us:
It's just barely springtime and there is already word in the smoke signals from
over the horizon that we'll be getting several visits from folx here in Denvah and
several of our motorjunkies will be wandering abroad. To anyone heading anywhere,
drop me a line or post it up on the message
board, we'll see if we can find you some like minded scoot jockeys to put you
up for the night and show you around. We're all one big scary community here eh.
• Thief Speaks:
Some news in from Johnny The Thief:
"Ola chitlins,
Found this lying on the newsstands, (see enclosed file), the art that Jeff Wood &
I did for High Times back when the majority of Americans were still saying "GW
who?", finally made its way to the front cover of the publication. A little
too little too late maybe, especially for a president that suspends all funding for
abortion assistance overseas the first day he's in office. *sigh* ...one day you
people will listen to me,... God help you all,...
Nothing is a stranger headfuck than trying to bulk email a mailing list of intense but very distant relations (move out of the sticks!) on how you are in the middle of a divorce, based on little more than not enough phone calls from work. Due to my busy, night owl tattooing schedule, many of you havent even heard that Shea & I are splitting up, & I'm still reeling from the blow like Mike Piazza taking a 96 mph fastball to the head. My psychologists friends have a stiff betting pool as to whether I make it through to the other side; I say its only a short amount of time before I'm disemboweling the clientele of Taco Bell's with plastic sporks.
At times like this, friends are a precious commodity, so please
keep in touch. I may be moving to Jersey, a more heartbreaking thought than the divorce,
actually, so I can put my head into the two shops I work for now, & let work
be my new mistress. I promise I'll write more later, when I can focus on reality
& things aren't so blurry around the edges,...
Peace out, Johnny"
We're here for ya Johnny, if you need anything, a ratty bike, some hard drinking
(or vicadin if yer hangin wif me), someone to yak wif or a shoulder to perform lude
acts upon, we're here for ya.
4/2/01-4/4/01
PostWeekend Update
Yeah, I must be in a nasty bout of pain induced depression, I never miss pulling it all out on April Foolz Day! Well, that was my excuse until the weather got so nice yesterday I just couldn't waste it inside on the digital waffle iron. I got tons of news to make up for the drought of the last two weeks, and the next big festering issue of the Blackletter is almost ready too! It's gonna be another week or two as I have a few reviews to cram in and an article or two to finish. Not to worry tho, I think the weather is gonna do wonders for busting me outta the pain/PTSD/nightmare/exhaustion I've been stuck in. It's really not fair to all of you when I slack off so bad, not to mention I've been a straight up ass to some of you, in person or on the message board, sorry about that. And to brothah Ames, I owe the largest of public apologies, I was a complete jackass on the message board to you. I apologize for taking out my own personal bucket of angst at the world and dumping on you. I want everyone who has felt I've been a little edgy lately to know that it's nothing personal, without all of you I surely would have lost my marbles and started blowing shit up by now.
I'm really ready for the summer this year since last year I didn't get much of one. It looks like the local weather is also gonna be pretty good, I'll have to finally get the service done on my new bike so I can ride more;-) Here's the news....
• 2/6=3?:
Let's all congratulate Brothah Aaron /6 on his new accusation of a brand
slappin new Triumph Speed Triple:
Doesn't he look smug eh? He's got some of the extra plasticky bitz on order, like
the bug catcher up front and a seat cowl. It's a really nice ride, makes me miss
my 850 Roadster. So now we'll all be having trouble keeping up with him, especially
me, between my slow ass bike and the extra girth I've acquired I'll be spending allot
of time in the rear view mirror. Now the big question, what's Aaron gonna do about
that identity crisis deal? Thanks to RevD for the photo.
• A day for FOOLZ:
Yesterday was a fuggin blast, nice weather, lotsa bikes, lotsa friends,
who could complain eh? Here's a few photos of the bunch of us taking over Zorba's
for breakfast:
The mad eggs consisted of /6, RevD, Squeetor, Scotty, that racer guy from Pablo's,
the girlie with the Vespa (still can't remember her name), a bunch of mad FZR crazed
brothahz, the other guy with the new black Speed Triple, some random dames and my
titanium ass. I tried to remember everyone's name but then the eggs benedict showed
up and I got distracted. What a good time, I'm glad spring is here! Lets see how
many we can gather up for next weekend's breakfast eh?
• The coolest:
I got lots of email submissions for the "perfect garage" article,
thanks so much to everyone who wrote in! Funny enough over half of you wanted a butler
named Alfred;-) Anyhu, there was one submission that just about knocked me on my
ass! I'm gonna save the details for the article, but let's just say you'll soon all
be very jealous of one of our lucky bikey brothahz by the name of Michael Byrne.
• RUBbed Out:
It looks like the wanker loft owning group of yuppies that live in Larimer
Square finally got their way...sort of. Parking in Larimer Square now costs a buck
per hour and they have a plastic badge meter mongrel out enforcing it too. Apparently
they want folx to stuff a buck into a box that then kicks out a time stamped receipt
that the needs to be placed on the mode of transport. Lame.
So the loft owning wankers were sick of hearing bikes with loud pipes and seeing
wannabe thugs and hooligans on em (well, I'd say that 95% of the riders on Larimer
are RUBs anyhu, so they are kickin out their own kind). Of course the RUBs will all
pay the parking fee anyway, they'll just leave after an hour, rather than hang out
all day. That of course means even more obnoxious straight pipes and wheelies than
ever before. Way to go guys.
• Finally Aloha:
I've been jealous of RevD, Dr. Jason and /6 for long enough, as my lengthy
search for a groovy motorcycle print aloha shirt finally ended at the local Mervin's
of all places:
It's even got BMW's on it! Gotta love it eh? There are still a few left in x-large
for $30. I'm fuckin happy!
• Russel Recovery:
Straight from ScreamingCheif.com ( Russel's homepage), here's the latest
(well, since it was updated last week) on Scott Russel's ongoing recovery from a
nasty masher:
"3:26:01- Hello and good morning.
Here is the latest on Scotty's condition. He is still at Piedmont, where we think
he will be at least a couple of more days. The doctors are hoping they can discharge
him soon, and let him go home until they are ready for the next surgeries. (Bone
& Skin Grafting) He, of course, will have a nurse by his side at home (hope she's
a hotty, it makes the recovery easier). He will remain on antibiotics for another
two weeks to prevent any infection that may occur. After which he will undergo bone
grafting for his arm. The swelling is starting to dissipate slowly from his leg,
but there is still a long way to go before the skin grafting can begin. He is able
to wiggle his toes, and fingers which is a good sign. He is still experiencing a
great deal of pain, but at the same time he is trying to get back on his feet as
quickly as possible. He's like an iron man full of determination. He and our family
want to send a special thank you out to Richard, Ryan & Don Bok for their constant
vigil at Halifax (you guys are the best). Also, guys please remember that the pictures
on the website are copy written so please contact Don if you would like copies for
yourselves. Send them in and we'll get them autographed for you if you would like.
I can't say thank you enough, but I will say it once again, for all of your thoughts,
prayers, email, flowers etc....Scott has some great friends and fans out there, and
he and our family are proud to be a part of this industry!
P.S. Check out Scott's hospital interviews:
Tuesday 3/27 MotoWorld on ESPN2 @ 6:30 PM
Tuesday 3/27 Bike Week on Speedvision @ 7:00PM
Sheri Russell Cycle News, Inc."
You can keep up to date on his recovery, read about him and even sign an online get well soon card here: http://www.screamingchief.com
Also, MotorDaddy Norman of Motorcycho
Zine sent me a snapshot of Scott's leg, post gnarlmash. You can see it here
but be warned, it's really fuggin nasty, kinda like my leg looked but with BIG GAPING
HOLES. I'm not responsible for anyone puking on their keyboard...and neither are
MotorDaddy or Scott.
• Unimog Trivia:
Apparently those whacky Germans are right proud of their giant tanks!
This just in from Stefan of Ratbike.org:
"I lived in Gaggenau, Germany (where they make Unimog trucks)
for a while in 89/90, and the main drag in that town is called Unimog-Strasse. They
also have an Unimog Stadium, a Unimog Arena and a sculprure of one in the town square.
Proud lot these Germans."
The more I read about the Unimog, the more I agree with Mikey Vegas that it's highly
unlikely to show up in the private sector,
Dusty fuggin January February and March news here
November and December ancient news found here
Musty old October news found here
