OK, maybe not. But close.

I've been trying to figure out how to compare the "carbon footprint" of an old motorcycle to something new and trendy like a Prius. How cool would it be if we could quantify to that self-righteous neighbor in the semi-electric bubble how he is destroying the planet and the old Panhead is really way more green? Not that I really care that much, but it would be more articulate than just giving them the bird.

With gas prices in the US going nuts, what's a responsible citizen supposed to do? Wring our hands and vote green? I say, ride an old motorcycle! Not that we need an excuse, we are going to ride them no matter what, but with gas at $4.00 a gallon, it actually makes sense from a practical perspective. I'm not even entirely sure how you can truthfully gauge a "carbon footprint" but I'm pretty sure the ten year old sporty I'm riding to work nearly every day has a smaller one than some Urban-crossover-SUV™ with "Hybrid" badges on it.

I googled around and found I'm not the only one thinking this way. Seems there are a few enviro-geeks who've figured it out too. Read what they've got to say if you are really interested, but to distill it down, this is what you get:

• It takes a shitload of energy, some of it real bad stuff to produce a new car, especially one that has giant batteries and is only expected to last 100k miles.
• Any old bike is already manufactured. Duh, no new energy expended. In fact, you do more by keeping it running instead of letting it rot.
• On a bike, you only take up as much room as you need. Hell, you don't even need a lane, you split them anyway. Not to mention you are one less person on a cell phone which has to be worth something.
• I discussed this with Chris last week, and he said "You are giving the dinosaurs back their juice every time you park it!" Now, who doesn't want to save the dinosaurs?
• You can use the carpool lane. And the strip in between the carpool lane and the fast lane...
• It justifies that big truck or van that you need, but only drive when you have to pick up a bunch of parts or a broken bike.
• How fun can driving a car like that be? I rented a Prius earlier in the year and it was novel, but basically sucked.
• You can do your own maintenance and modifications and that's gotta be worth something, right?

A couple quotes from some of these more articulate bloggers:

"One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses." -Prius outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage

"But, what would happen if you kept riding that bike long after you could afford not to? How would you fare had you invested that car money rather than spent it?" From Motorcycle Math 101

An ugly motorcycle still better looking than a Prius. Seriously, butt-ugly-chic? It doesn't exist.
From the Great Motorcyle Pizza Tour

Save the planet, ride an old motorcycle
-Bill

My old '70 Triumph is in the new issue of Iron Horse magazine. Sweet! Thanks, Todd. Kinda made me sad since I sold it in January. Oh well...

-Bill

Working on some new parts that will hopefully be available later this year. All the designs are coming out great and we are stoked. Then off too lunch with our great friend William for some fish heads and beer.
O dolla!!!!


Risers


P-Pad


Points Cover


Lunch


mmmm beer

-Chris

In yesterday's diatribe about underground events I some how forgot about our buddy Dug and the Rogue Run. Sorry dude! Dug is a super down to earth guy that we met on last year's EDR. He'd do anything for anybody and he's throwing this year's RR just for you. Check it out here: Rogue Run.

Here at Biltwell we can't afford to go to every event over the summer. Not to mention the majority of the big events don't suit our style or our customer's style anyway.

What we do try and participate in is nearly every grass-roots, ride-based event thrown by people who share the same two-wheeled passion as we do. This is a good way for us to spread the gospel and support people that are geographically out of reach for us.

Our big trip this year is going to be to North Carolina for the Horse Magazine's annual Smoke Out. We've got too many friends, shops and customers back there to miss this massive party.

Even if we can't make it in person, we will always show our support to guys like Mike Camillo who's putting a little shindig on tonight in Cos Cob, CT. Mike will have a fistful of Biltwell gift certificates to raffle off to a few lucky souls this evening.


As a middle finger to the usual contemporary Laconia crowd, Grail over at Knucklebuster is throwing the Greasbag Jamboree in New Hampshire. If he does the event half as well as he handles his websites, you can count on this thing being a banger. First place this year gets a Biltwell helmet with some fine lines by our friend "Rad Shad".


Speaking of back east events, you can't forget the Gypsy Run. We had such a blast riding with these guys last year and half of them again on the EDR a couple months ago. If you are anywhere near these dudes, you need to make it happen. With Walt, Fritz and crew in charge this year, it's going to be a well-oiled party machine.


Another one is Trent at Atomic Custom's Ground Zero Throwdown 3.0 in Albuquerque, NM. Trent's deal was great last year, and this year sounds even more fun, with some off road riding to a lake it sounds perfect.

What do all these events have in common? They're all organized by guys who want to have a good time and enjoy custom motorcycles. No, I'm not going to sing Kumbaya or hold hands and chat about feelings, but I will say this- take inspiration from these folks and quit bitching about how gay the local scene is and try to put something together that kicks ass. If you do, let us know about it and we'll support it one way or another. Any idea how many free helmets we can donate for the cost of one trip to Sturgis?

-Bill

We're going to be running the show July 19th, so we won't be able to man a booth for Biltwell at the Chop Meet in Wrightwood. Our friend and dedicated dealer Tyler from Lowbrow Customs is coming out and we're going to load him up with inventory so he can hock our goods as well as his own merch. Tyler (in the brown jacket) is a hard-working down to earth dude who is doing his own thing, and we dig it. You will too.

Our friend Joel holds the EOTM plaque about ten months out of the year. He doesn't really work for Biltwell. Let me rephrase that, we don't pay him, but he does work his ass off with us, going to events, setting up the dog and pony show, etc. It seems we can always count on him to show up and be totally self-contained and ready to rock. He also knows his way around a machine shop, has a nice collection of old HDs in various states of repair/customization and loves long road trips on any bike from his quiver. He was my wingman on the long way 'round for the EDR this year and I think we're going to ride out to the Smoke Out in NC together here in a couple weeks. Here's a couple pics of his nearly-done pan project. You can see he's running the Solo Seat and Aces bars. Good work Joel, just remind me not to get too close to that damn rear fender!

All gave some. Some gave all.



RIP Daniel Unger 3-21-85 to 5-25-04
3rd Squad (Misfits) 1st Plt, Aco

Check out the Biltwell seat pan that Rob Watt from Victoria BC, recently carved up. He drew the art and tooled it all by his lonesome. Nice work, eh? Even more respectable once you hear it is the first time he's tried covering his own seat! Good job, Rob, we look forward to seeing more in the future.

Justin Kosman is a good friend of ours and a professional photographer that came on the EDR and rode chase with McGoo. His skills are freakin Rad! Enjoy . . .







More pics here.

As of yesterday, the cue balls are in.

New color in stock: Plain Ol' White.

Nothing looks more stock and non-descript than a all white lid.

Now available from your favorite retailer.

Since getting back from Mexico I've been hammering the sporty as much as possible. With gas prices what they are and a bike this fun the team van pretty much stays in the driveway these days. Hey, I've got a low-carbon footprint or whatever Al Gore and the hippies say I need a Prius to do.



Anyway, the bike is loads of fun. A few things I've changed since the initial work; Old tailight mount cracked and the whole assembly folded into the rear tire. Sweet, now the brand new license plate has some patina. A simple repop Sparto was the solution and it looks better than the original anyway. I changed out the Aces bars for some black Friscos. I liked the Aces, but these just felt more comfortable and are great for my lane-splitting commute every day. The pipes are a little short and the lack of back pressure seemed to be affecting performance a little. A cheap set of anti-reversion cones from eBay and the butt dyno says they work. I wondered if they were snake oil or not. I guess in this exact application there are notable improvements. I still might do the washer-welded-to-a-bolt trick just to see if more is better. Added some heat tape too. Not real fond of the look but my leg digs it. I'm making a new seat for it this weekend, because this one is going off to the factory as a prototype.



Other than the short pipes and the tailight falling off the thing is bulletproof so far and has been a blast to ride. I plan on riding from So Cal to the Smoke Out East in North Carolina next month with my friend Joel, so we'll test it's long haul capabilities (and mine!) then.

p.s. Thanks Willis, you little bastard. (For once that's not oil under the 45...) See the post below.

Here is Willis he is our newest edition to the Biltwell Family.

-Chris

Easyriders, September 1987. Was it really that long ago?

Why didn't super solid ideas like this survive?

Stickers for Whiskey bottles, that's exactly what we need!

Get up early and come out to the Swap Meet on Sunday. We'll be against the fence promoting the Chop Meet and trying to sell some used stuff as well!

Bodie

Ken


These guys are BadAsses! Started in Westbank B.C. about a month ago and rode down to Guatemala and in 4 days will be back home in Canada. This is one of those trips every motorcycle guy has to do in his lifetime. Going to big events like Sturgis and Daytona and all that is something everyone does and should atleast once. Doing a trip like this to Guatemala will give you more culture, and experience than any bike week event could ever do though. Cheers to Ken and Bodie. Dice magazine gave us the quote "Fuck this let's ride" and these guys are doing just that!

But this is kinda cool...

I bet you could build a fun, amateur rally car with less money than the silly chair though.

Sevanna Grace 05/14/08 1:26pm 7lbs. 10 oz. 20"
I'm an uncle! (and I did great!)

If you live anywhere near the North East, there is NO excuse for missing this run. Grail over at knucklebusterinc has done a bang-up job of putting together what promises to be a premier Anti-Laconia event. Check out the Greasebag site for more details.

Looking good Mike!

I believe I'm gonna puke.

Our east coast friend known on the innerweb as Flat Iron Mike just finished his third bike built from scratch. His other two are equally gorgeous, but this one is my personal favorite. Nothing stokes the thunder like a BT flatty. It also showcases the Biltwell seat pan and pipe kit nicely. Well done, Mike, well done.

-Bill

Thanks to Walter, Fritz and everyone else who's working to put this thing on.

Apropos of nothing, here are some shots from my friend Leland Thurman's workshop. Leland is a early 30-something BMXer and poker-playing member of the Louisville, KY, UPS graveyard shift. How he managed to collect so many cool vintage hot rod stickers is anyone's guess, but I'll go with his dad was a badass in the day, and Leland copped the old man's stash in some bizarre inheritance scam.



I know "Garage culture" is an oxymoron, but in Leland's case, it fits. Nice shop my friend.





all photos courtesy of Scott Towne

I talk to a lot of local Biltwell customers who share the same complaint; there's nothing to do out here, we need to get together and hang out, go riding, yada-yada.

It's true, more stuff happens in Long Beach and up in LA than in our slice of suburban hell. That's part of why we are throwing the Chop Meet in July. But, until then we still have plenty of time to get out an enjoy a Saturday.

Last week a friend emailed me a flyer for a birthday party for a dude named Chuck at my favorite Lake Elsinore bar, the Roadhouse. Now I don't know Chuck, but I like live music almost no matter who the band is, and the 'house is a comfortable joint. It's also pretty centrally located and easy to get to from both the IE and the OC. So, we made our own flyer and we're inviting you to go and help us crash the party. It's a big place, I don't think Chuck will mind.

See you there.

-Bill

There's no place that I'd rather be than right here
With my red necks, white socks and blue ribbon beer
The bar-maid is mad 'cause some guy made a pass
The juke box is playin' there stands the glass
And the cig-a-rette smoke kind-a hangs in the air

Red-necks, white socks and blue rib-bon beer

A cow-boy is cus-sin' the pin-ball ma-chine
A drunk at the bar is get-tin' nois-y and mean
And, some guy on the phone says i'll be home soon dear
Red-necks white socks and blue rib-bon beer

No we don't fit in with that white col-lar crowd
We're a lit-tle too row-dy and a little too loud
There's no place that I'd rath-er be than right here
With my red-necks white socks and blue rib-bon beer

The sem-is are pass-ing on the high-way out-side
The four thir-ty crowd is a-bout to ar-rive
The sun's go-in' down and we'll all soon be here
Red-necks, white socks and blue rib-bon beer

There's no place that I'd rather be than right here
With my red-necks, white socks and blue rib-bon beer

I understand that your main customers are getting so old that many of them are asking for a reverse gear on their baggers. I also understand that you are trying to make a connection with the next generation. I understand that the EPA, CPSC and every other acronym-based government agency out there seriously restricts what can be done with a production motorcycle. BUT, this Dark Custom stuff is just gay. Quit trying so hard. Just make some motorcycles that we can afford. We'll figure out how to modify them. If you have to show open belt primaries to gain street cred and then apologize for it in the fine print, its probably not worth showing in the first place. I'm not saying I know what you should do, but that Rocker Tail seat-thing and all this hard core "dark" attitude nonsense is pretty vacant and quiet a few of us are just not buying it. We don't need attitude and lifestyles, we just need motorcycles.

-Bill
P.S. If you are going to come up with a new slogan to target this new demographic, don't steal it from our favorite zine...

Saturday is a toast to MARK UDELL

Saturday May 3rd is the day we celebrate Mark and to all who knew him,
he is here with and in all of us.I put out this token gesture last year and I am throwing it out there again that at 3pm OKC time everyone wherever you may be raise up and toast to Mark. I'm gonna go with a Car Bomb but you may pick a Red Stripe, Fosters, Sierra Nevada, Saki or whatever else you ever had with Mark, he loved them all. Maybe some german food or sushi, if you are in Norman or within reach of it go to the greek house. If you have a board, go skate something, anything! If you have a motorcycle take a ride for Mark! Today enjoy some Van Halen, The Who, The Clash, X, Bad Brains, J.F.A., Big Boys, you know what he liked. Play it loud and play it late!!!


"Irish Car Bomb" recipe if you need it.
1/2 pint Guinness
1 oz Jamison
1/2 oz Bailey's Irish cream

Pour Guiness into a pint glass. Float Baileys on top of Jamison in
shot glass. Drop shot glass, carefully, into Guiness. Drink quickly
before it curdles.


An Irish Funeral Prayer

Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Everything remains as it was.
The old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no sorrow in your tone.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effort
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around
the corner.
All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting, when we meet again.

+Chris