Featuring Traveling Museum Creates Holiday Cheer
On the weekend of December 15, 2007, when many folks rushed to stores for holiday shopping, thousands of riders rushed to Anaheim-Fullerton Harley-Davidson to partake in the dealership's once-in-a-lifetime combo event featuring a particular legend on 18 wheels. That's right, every year the Harley-Davidson Traveling Museum rolls across the country and stops with its historic cargo at select dealerships, with one of them last year being the Fullerton, California-based dealer. As mentioned, the event offered motorcycle enthusiasts multiple attractions aside from the Traveling Museum.

He once described himself as "the last gladiator in the new Rome. I'm not a stunt man, not a daredevil. I'm an explorer." Friday, November 30, 2007 marked the end of the man who will forever be remembered as the world's greatest daredevil. Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel died in Clearwater, Florida, after a threeyear bout with the lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Knievel was born in Butte, Montana on October 17, 1938. He was 69 with over 40 years of constant battle against the persistent pain of broken bones and severe trauma from jumping and crashing motorcycles like no man had ever done before. He fought to overcome the tremendous obstacles of diabetes, hepatitis C, a liver transplant, numerous surgeries and two strokes. Knievel's legacy as America's Legendary Daredevil, Last of the Gladiators, and King of the Stuntmen will undeniably live on among millions of fans, past, present and future.

In Memory Of
The Godfather of gasket technology, James Michael Clark, passed away on September 7, 2007. The founder and owner of James Gaskets, Inc. was 56 years old. He is survived by his wife, Gere, and three sons, James Jr., David, and Ryan Clark. James was a loving and devoted husband and father.

Legend of the Motorcycle: International Concours d'EleganceThe world event exclusively for motorcycles.

Celebrating the past, present and future of motorcycling, this luxury charitable event will feature 200 of the world's best historic bikes, a representation from the kings of cool, Elvis and McQueen, participation from legends like Giacomo Agostini, Jesse James, and Willie G. Davidson, a cigar & spirits lounge, displays of racing and custom bikes, and more. Featured marques are MV Agusta and Norton. The landmark world event takes place May 3rd at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay just south of San Francisco. To buy tickets, or for more information, go to: http://www.LegendoftheMotorcycle.com

Lighter, pen, and razor company BIC USA Inc. awarded Ogden, UT, resident Casey Whitely an '07 Big Dog Motorcycles (BDM) K-9 Chopper with a custom seat and a $500 BDM gift certificate as the grand prize in the company's BIC Lighter Big Dog Motorcycles Sweepstakes.

So we just got back from being on the road for about two weeks at the Sturgis rally, and things are moving along pretty fast. From what we saw and heard from vendors and others, attendance at the rally was down, but that didn't stop us from having a blast and shooting some amazing bikes. Among them is this month's cover bike, Darin Yoerger's full-figured '99 Fat Boy. The Fat Boy's transformation started with a 240mm Metzeler that Darin got from his wife, and the bike just blew up from there.

Samson Exhaust has big news for you. As the sponsor of this department, Samson will give you a $75 gift certificate toward a set of Samson pipes if we select your bike. That's right-get your bike published in full color in your favorite mag and receive bucks off your next set of Samson pipes! You can't lose.

No More Lugging

Want to be able to use Sixth gear on your '07 Harley-Davidson without attracting the attention of The Man? How about more torque through all the gears? Baker Drivetrain's 30- or 31-tooth transmission pulleys ($203) effectively "gear down" your ride to optimize performance. First, you'll get more torque and power from the take-off gears. This remedies the common criticism of the new bikes being a little sluggish off the line for some riders. Second, you can utilize the Sixth gear at a slower, more reasonable highway speed for a more comfortable rpm.
The nitty gritty:

* Increased Rear Wheel Torque (30T- 7% increase 31T- 3% increase)
* Cruising RPM Sixth gear (75MPH) 30T @ 2830 / 31T @ 2756
* No more lugging the motor in Sixth gear at lower cruising speeds (60-70 MPH)

Each pulley requires the use of a 1-tooth shorter belt (H-D 40056-07) and a 2-1/2-inch pulley nut socket available from Baker Drivetrain. For additional information, call Baker Drivetrain at (877) 640-2004 or www.bakerdrivetrain.com.

This past March, Hungarian custom shop Sapka Muvek took home top honors at the annual AMD European Championship of Custom Bike Building, held in Mainz, Germany. More than 100 bikes from 18 countries, including the U.S., Russia, and Japan, competed in the Freestyle class, which was judged by the builders themselves as well as 15 experts with extensive motorcycle industry experience.

Each year the Kids & Chrome fundraiser gets bigger and bigger. It's a great charity event benefiting the Children's Home Society and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame. This year, NYC Choppers and Independent Cycle have created a custom bike for the raffle.

"Meet the Librarian" is your chance to send in media-books, DVDs, books on tape, eight-tracks, whatever-related to the motorcycle industry. Your material(s) will be checked in and reviewed by yours truly, then safeguarded on our shelves. This could be your space below. Drop your media in the slot addressed to: Meet the Librarian, HOT BIKE, 2570 E. Cerritos Ave., Anaheim, CA 92806.

Editor Down But Not OutAs many of you may know, Courtney Halowell recently came aboard as editor of STREET CHOPPER and HOT ROD'S BIKE-WORKS. He's quickly become a beloved and integral part of our team, so it shocked us as much as anyone else when he was struck by a sudden illness. We are keeping the magazines going in his absence, but he's unfortunately accumulated some very high medical bills. The industry is rallying around him to help pay off those bills via donations and an auction. Keep an eye on www.streetchopperweb.com and www.bikernet.com for more information, or e-mail donations4tito@johnsonsgarage.com.

Samson Exhaust has big news for you. As the sponsor of this department, Samson will give you a $75 gift certificate toward a set of Samson pipes if we select your bike. That's right-get your bike published in full color in your favorite mag and receive bucks off your next set of Samson pipes! You can't lose.

Exile Cycles 10th Anniversary Open HouseNot only has Exile Cycles reached the 10-year mark, but it has also just acquired a new 20,000-square-foot facility in Southern California. Russell Mitchell and his crew cordially invite you to help them celebrate on Saturday, April 22, 2006, at their new address, 13209 Saticoy St., North Hollywood, CA 91605. Kickoff is at noon, and you'll be kicked out at 6 p.m. Russell promises "Bikes, Beer, and Birds," but he hints that music, food, and cars will also feature prominently in the celebration. The Exile boys count among their friends nearly all the custom-bike scene's heavy hitters, so there's no telling who might show up.

Harley-Davidson Honors Military ServiceHarley-Davidson will provide those who have served their country the chance to customize their motorcycle with details honoring their military service with the '07 Patriot Special Edition program. These specially decorated models will be sold only to active U.S. military service men and women, veterans, and immediate family members of both those categories.

Caddy ComfortRiders using RaceTech's Caddies suspension will notice a much plusher, smoother ride on square-edge bumps such as expansion joints and railroad crossings. They are available with chrome or black springs, and different lengths are available to accommodate lowered and custom applications. The spring preload can be quickly adjusted to accommodate those extra-load journeys. Made in the USA, Caddies are constructed of the highest-quality materials. The shock shaft is hard-chromed, the body is made of highly polished chromed steel, and the eyelets and spring collars are polished-billet 6061-T6 aluminum. For more information, contact RaceTech at (951) 279-6655, or visit www.race-tech.com.

Editor's note: Due to the timing of the release of Harley's new models and our print schedule, in this issue we're giving you just a brief glimpse into some of the highlights of what Harley has to offer riders for the new model year. Next month we will give you an in-depth, more comprehensive look at the entire lineup.

If you've been reading HOT BIKE for any length of time, you're probably familiar with the road tests we perform on a regular basis. For this month's article we decided to go through all the bikes we tested in '06 and come up with our top five picks. While all the bikes we brought you were worthy of consideration, we found the following ones to be outstanding. In no particular order, here they are.

Spare The AirAccutronix Motorcycle Products is proud to announce the company has just added an entire line of Orange County Choppers parts and accessories to its complete line of custom billet products. Manufactured from 6061 billet aluminum and chromed to perfection, this OCC air cleaner may just be what you are looking for. The air cleaner fits S&S E and G carburetors, and it is supplied with a pre-oiled air filter. For more information, contact Accutronix at (623) 516-9600, or visit www.accutronix.com.

Everyone who owns a sweet ride knows how great it feels to be riding a shiny, clean machine. Chrome glimmers, and scenery reflects off the glossy sheetmetal. A necessary chore for owning-make that riding-a nice sled is having to keep it looking its best. This usually means cleaning off road grime, brake-pad dust, grease, oil, debris, water spots, and anything else before the motorcycle is ready to be presented to the world in all its glory. The major downside is that washing and detailing your bike takes valuable time and energy, time better spent out riding on that perfect summer Saturday morning.

Win This BobberDon't miss your chance to win the J&P Cycles and HOT BIKE magazine Panhead Bobber. Built by J&P Cycles and painted by Underground Studios, the motorcycle was donated to the National Motorcycle Museum to be used as its 2006 raffle bike. Tickets sold will benefit the museum, which is located in Anamosa, IA. The museum currently has more than 180 motorcycles from around the world on display. Cruise into the museum to experience the extensive collection of vintage motorcycles (dating back to 1903), as well as thousands of photographs, posters, postcards, and pieces of motorcycling memorabilia. The museum is a not-for-profit corporation that relies on fundraisers like this to continue the preservation of motorcycling's past history.

MGS Liquid Steel Fenders MGS Custom Bikes introduces its new Liquid Steel line. Using the same creativity that goes into the company's award-winning custom motorcycles, this new line gives the builder a substantial foundation to work from. These fenders are spun from 12-gauge steel for excellent contours and fitment. They come in 10-1/2 through 15-1/2-inch widths with the radius-cut chain or belt relieved at no additional charge. Of course, any custom cuts are available upon request. For more information, contact MGS Custom Bikes at (661) 951-9878, or visit www.mgscustombikes.com.

Wiring-scary. Well, actually, not anymore, with the help of Mercury Customs. Owner Joe Takai and his wife Pam have come up with a central wiring system for custom builds that brings all wiring connections to one mounting point on the bike. One mounting point not only makes getting to your wires less intimidating, but it will also make your bike better-looking for around $150.

Doherty Machine OnlineIf you're serious about Harley performance, www.dohertymachine.com is packed with the kind of detailed information you thrive on. The site is extremely user-friendly, even for amateurs. Easily maneuver through technical articles, magazine writeups, videos, and real-world product evaluations. In addition, you'll find detailed installation instructions for Doherty's most popular products, including Mystfree, Power Pacc, Power Vents, Phantom Oil Filter Kits, Wheel Spacer Kits, and Fat 200 rear-section conversions. There's even a printable version of the company's catalog. Check it out at www.dohertymachine.com, or call (928) 541-7744 for more information.

Hooters Casino Hotel to Sponsor Las Vegas BikeFest Grand Prize GiveawayThe Las Vegas BikeFest Partnership announced that the new Hooters Casino Hotel will sponsor a Grand Prize Giveaway at Las Vegas BikeFest, scheduled for September 14-17, 2006. Hooters Casino Hotel has contracted with American Motorcycle Co. 1902 to build a custom Hooters "Ol School Bobber" for this Grand Prize Giveaway.