Southwestern Group Programs Added

Twisted Trailz Excursions has rolled out motorcycle tours that focus on the Southwest’s unique culture and otherworldly landscapes.

The company’s guided motorcycle tours have been developed through years of riding and research, uncovering the Southwest’s hidden treasures, according to a spokesman. Twisted Trailz programs include accommodations chosen for their cultural or historic Southwestern ambiance, and route planning on some of the most scenic back-roads in the country, added the spokesman, who said, “Twisted Trailz hallmark personal service and dedication to customer satisfaction has quickly earned it a reputation as a premier tour operator.”

Owner Ron Booth said, “The idea of guided motorcycle tours in Arizona is certainly not new. What sets us apart from virtually everyone else is the level of service we provide, and the overall experience we strive to create for our guests. We create adventure.”

Twisted Trailz offers several distinct adventures, all of which have a particular theme. For example, Arizona Frontier Towns explores some of the state’s historic Old West towns, such as Tombstone and Bisbee.

“Our guests come from all over the world to ride motorcycles through this beautiful area, so why not create an adventure that makes the most memorable vacation they have ever had,” added Booth.

Other excursions include the Grand Canyon; the red rock wonderlands of Sedona; the Painted Desert, the mysterious Canyon De Chelly set deep inside the Navajo Reservation; Monument Valley; Arizona’s pristine White Mountains, southern Colorado, and parts of Utah and New Mexico.

Accommodations are typically highly rated rustic lodges and inns, bed and breakfasts, and historic hotels, said the spokesman. The company likes to avoid chain motels used by most organized tours in favor of more quaint and authentic samplings of Southwestern hospitality.

Meanwhile, Twisted Trailz has added specialized group programs. Custom-designed guided motorcycle tours are available for H.O.G. Chapters, motorcycle clubs and organizations, or any group of friends who want to share “a memory of a lifetime,” said Booth.

Group discounts and personalized programs are available for clients booking four bikes or more are available on any of the tour operator’s six scheduled tours throughout the southwestern United States.

For more information, call Twisted Trailz Excursions at 602-795-8888; visit www.twistedtrailz.com

LeAnn Rimes, Kansas Headline Event

Country music superstar LeAnn Rimes and rock legends Kansas head the list of entertainers slated to take the stage when the Harley Owners Group’s (H.O.G.) 26th annual CLUB H.O.G. OKC rally rolls into the Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, June 26-27.

Rimes kicks off the rally’s opening night with a performance Friday at 8 p.m. at the fairground’s Harley Stage, where Kansas will close the show the following afternoon at 1:30 p.m. In between, there will be a full schedule of additional musical performers, including D.B. Bryant, The Outlaws, Stage Country, Dead or Alive and Silver Bullet.

Other highlights of CLUB H.O.G. OKC include the Ride-In custom bike show featuring the Willie G. award on Friday at 3 pm, motorcycle stunt and drill teams in the Stunt Zone, and the Wall of Ink tattoo contest, among other fun stuff.

“We are really excited by the reception we have received from the folks in Oklahoma City, and we expect to have a great turnout for our annual rally,” said Benny Suggs, General Manager of the Harley Owners Group. “As we used to say in the Navy, it’s going to be ‘Sierra Hotel.’!”

While the concerts and many of the activities at the fairgrounds are exclusive to registered rally participants, there will be much for the general public to see and do throughout the weekend, such as Harley-Davidson factory demo rides (open to all licensed motorcyclists), the Biker Mania vendor mall and the Harley-Davidson traveling museum. On Saturday morning, the OKC Parade of Harleys will depart the State Fair Park at 9 a.m. and make its way to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, Bricktown, and return to the fairgrounds by 10 a.m. A map of the parade route with various public viewing points is online at www.visitokc.com/hog

In addition to the activities in and around the fairgrounds, the Bikes & Bricks Street Party—claimed to be the largest street party ever hosted in Bricktown—will wrap up the weekend events, beginning at Noon on Saturday, June 27. Free to the public and CLUB H.O.G. OKC rally attendees, the party features 12 bands on three stages, Bikes & Bricks merchandise, beverage tents, delicious restaurants and free motorcycle parking throughout the streets of Bricktown. Other area activities include events at local Harley-Davidson dealers H-D World and Fort Thunder H-D throughout the weekend.

Founded in 1983, the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) is the official riding club of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. H.O.G. currently has more than a million members and more than 1,400 chapters worldwide, making it the largest factory-sponsored motorcycle organization in the world, according to a spokesman. H.O.G. rallies are held around the globe to celebrate Harley-Davidson motorcycle riding.

For more information, visit Harley-Davidson’s Web site at www.harley-davidson.com

Move Would Further Strain Industry

By CYRIL HUZE
The state of California may require biennial smog checks would for motorcycles manufactured in the 2000 model year and later under a bill making its way through the California Legislature. SB 435 targets bikes with illegally modified exhaust systems and would go into effect in 2012 if passed, and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an avid motorcyclist.

Motorcycles account for 3.6% of registered vehicles in the state and make up just 0.8% of vehicle-miles traveled, yet account for 10% of passenger vehicles smog-forming emissions, according to the California Air Resources Board, which backs the measure. Although fuel-efficient bikes emit significantly less carbon dioxide per mile, the ARB says they are, on average, 14 times more polluting per mile when it comes to emissions of oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons smog-forming pollutants that have been shown to trigger asthma attacks and worsen respiratory and cardiac illnesses. The ARB estimates that 5.2 tons of pollutants would be prevented from entering the atmosphere daily if motorcycle smog checks become law.
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Buell Sponsors Adventure Grant

Rolling through the Valley of the Gods, UT

Buell Motorcycle Company has launched the American Adventure Grant program, which will present the grand prize winner of an essay contest describing the ultimate American riding adventure with a new 2009 Buell Ulysses XB12X motorcycle, $2,500 in credit for Buell Parts & Accessories, and a check for $2,500 to complete the trip of his or her dreams.

“Since we introduced the Ulysses in 2005, riders have been sending us ideas for two-wheel adventures they’ve dreamed of taking on one of our bikes. For many of them, something was getting in the way of their dream ride – they didn’t have a bike, there wasn’t enough money, they didn’t have the right gear. We wanted to put together a program that would help make their dreams a reality, and the Buell American Adventure Grant will do just that for one lucky winner,” said Chad Hockerman, Buell Market Outreach Project Manager.

To enter, participants need to complete an online profile and submit a 250-word online essay describing their trip by the deadline of 5 pm EST, June 23, 2009. In their online essay, applicants are asked to describe their vision of the ultimate American on- or off-road riding adventure, including destinations, the planned route, their reasons for wanting to complete the trip, and a description of previous riding experience. A direct link to the contest details and entry forms can be found at www.buell.com/adventuregrant

All applicants must be legal U.S. 50-state residents at the time of entry, age 18 or older, and possess a valid motorcycle license, but do not need to be current owners of a Buell motorcycle. For more on Buell bikes and products, visit www.buell.com

Riding with the Pack

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed by Mr. Ball are not necessarily that of this publication, or anyone else’s.

By K. RANDALL “BANDIT” BALL
Riding in a pack is terrifying. You’re flying down a freeway jammed together with 50 other guys. At speeds over 80 mph, it’s like a NASCAR ride on a motorcycle. The man at your side is less than two feet away and clutching his apehangers white knuckles. The guy in front of you is less than two bike lengths from your front tire.

Keep in mind that from a citizen’s standpoint, 50 bikes with straight pipes thundering down the freeway at breakneck speed sound like 100 locomotives charging through their bedrooms. They’ve never heard or been so close to so much jagged iron and power. Kids will be in awe, secure in their SUVs and mini-vans, pointing fingers and screaming at their parents. Women will go to mush and gawk at the pure freedom and power thundering past. The gentlemen in their compact cars will abhor every one of you, wishing only that he could express such independence or destroy it with the flinch of his computer-aided steering wheel.

You, on the other hand, are gripping your throttle like a mountain climber grips a piton after losing his footing. You hear nothing and feel nothing except your motorcycle’s pulse beneath you. Only if mechanical failure interrupts your concentration will you become aware of your motorcycle. The guy next to you has been drinking all day, his wife just left him and he doesn’t care if he lives to see the end of the weekend. The rider in front is more scared than you. His boot is poised above his brake and two fingers constantly test the fluid level in the front brake system. He’s a nervous wreck who is more afraid to leave the pack and ride on his own, so he’s testing his nerves, and he doesn’t have any.
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Queer Eye For The Biker Guy

By J. JOSHUA PLACA
We’re tough. So tough, we don’t even care what we look like. Just rub the pizza sauce off your face, throw on some animal hides and kick it. It has taken years to grow that specially sculpted biker gut and no low-carb conspiracy is gonna’ keep us from our cold golden beverage or fat burger of choice. Svelte and sassy is for sissies, right?

Many bikers have forsaken fashion for loose-fit jeans and leather, which thankfully hide an abundance of sins. I wondered, however, since a biker should always look his best, that perhaps we should reexamine our wardrobe. Let’s see if we can add some panache. Nothing wrong with panache.

There appears to be a direct correlation between battling the Baby Boomer bulge and being in total style denial. First we must admit there’s a problem and then, with the proper help, we may begin our closet healing.

We consulted with the fashionistas. The core problem is that we are just too predictably monochromatic. There is more to cool than black and cow. Just because all your drawers are stuffed with foreboding T-shirts boasting your best brand of bike, or all your hangers are drooping under the weight of tatty jackets and chaps doesn’t mean they represent all your options. We are ladies and gentlemen, are we not? And ladies and gentlemen dress with class and style, and maybe a little sparkly color to bring out our eyes, right?
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Confessions of a Bikerwear Buyer

By J. JOSHUA PLACA
The Salvation Army has got a hold on me. It has its dirty hands around my throat. Its iron grip is squeezing me, pulling me, dragging me down. Its used but nicely clean clothes and quaint little knickknacks are like dope, ceaselessly, sweetly, tirelessly tempting me. I tell myself I can quit anytime, but I’m an addict. I admit it freely and without hope.

I wasn’t always this way, oh no. It didn’t seem so very long ago there was a time I shopped at the usual retail outlets for my bikerwear—bike shops, dealerships, that sort of thing. I was normal. There was the occasional excursion to a harmless flea market or yard sale, but that was just for fun, nothing serious, nothing I couldn’t handle. That’s what I told myself.

When I lived in New York City, there wasn’t the vast array of Salvation Army and Goodwill stores there are around here, or at least I didn’t notice them. Sure, there were some street markets and pawnshops, but like classy bars and big cars, I never found myself in them.

I’m not sure what really happened or how; do any of us when a nasty habit takes over?  Something went wrong. Somehow I was drawn into this lurid world of pre-owned shoes and pants, and most seductive of all, perfectly broken-in leather jackets. Lord knows what stories their well-worn sleeves could tell.

I’m sure you agree, a gentleman biker can never have enough jackets. You need one for cold weather riding, one for warm, and another for those blistering hot days. You need one for summer, one for fall, more for winter and spring. You need formal for distinguished affairs; casual for everyday; one with lots of pockets for scoots to the grocery; one for hanging at the local dive; one for working on the bike; one for just looking cool, and at least one of a slimming cut for romance. And, of course, one for the rain. And one more ragged-but-warm, don’t-care-if-this-gets-robbed bike coat. Special circumstances may demand a few more contingency jackets.
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Prices Slashed for Spring

Vanson Leathers will be hold a one-day “Spring Cleaning Inventory Reduction Sale” sale April 18 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at their facility in Fall River, MA. Prices have been cut on a variety of men’s and women’s leather and fabric apparel.

Vanson is located at 951 Broadway, Fall River, MA 02724. For more information, call 508-678-2000; email vanson@vansonleathers.com; visit www.vansonleathers.com

On-Track Training, Demo Rides Featured

Buell and Sportbike Track Time his inked a deal to partner for a series of enhanced motorcycle track days at select venues during the 2009 season.

Under the partnership, Buell will provide instructional sessions for intermediate and advanced group riders on eight dates at four track locations during 2009. The instructional sessions will be conducted by experienced professional riding coaches Nick Ienatsch and Ken Hill. They will be open to all intermediate and advanced riders. Limited on-track demonstration rides will also be available.

The dates and locations of the combined Buell/Sportbike Track Time events are:

Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw, SC, April 25-26
Barber Motorsports Park, Leeds, AL, May 8-9
Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI June 8-9 (immediately following AMA race)
Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH, July 20-21 (immediately following AMA race)

For more information on registering for the events, contact Sport BikeTrack Time at 888-390-4020, www.sportbiketracktime.com

Motorcycling makes you want to get naked. Strip your leathers off, jump into the nearest creek and have some damn fun. This biker right is guaranteed in the Constitution. Check it, bud.