Baker in Gear, Shrines, Weirdoes… - the old site

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Contents
APRIL 2012
20
ON THE COVER
Volume 22 • Number 3 • Our 182nd Issue
Rick Krost considers himself more of a component designer and vintage bike aficionado than a builder for
hire. But when U.S. Navy Fireman and Afghanistan
veteran Gabe Wingard asked Rick to build him a bike,
Rick couldn’t refuse. His US Choppers board track
platform was the perfect basis, aided by authentic H-D
parts such as the drivetrain and front end—plus a
slew of capable friends.
FEATURE BIKES
FEATURE STORIES
Screamin’ Yellow Psyclone ........................8
Running the Front Range........................24
Creatively cloning a classic
2-wheeled traction in the Mile High City
US Choppers Board Tracker ...................20
Chopperfest .........................................34
Convention takes a contemporary turn
Honoring Dave The Man Mann
Super Glide in the Family ........................30
From neglected to noteworthy
Boney Joe’s Black & White Rider.............36
Is simplicity an illusion?
Persistent for Performance ....................44
“Pipes” resurrects a respected race bike
“SALT” Bike Helps with Horsepower.........48
DEPARTMENTS
Empowering girls to grow strong
Readers, Writers and Riders ..................19
Pappy’s Flatside Flier .............................52
This Shovel goes the distance
Your letters
Bagger Buyer’s Guide.............................70
Get road ready
IW GARAGE
IW Product Review ................................40
Mustang touring seat
Seasoned Citizens .................................76
A winning Wagner
IW Eye .................................................82
Worth a thousand words
T-Man Performance ...............................56
Demystifying performance headwork
REGULARS
About Avon...........................................62
Marilyn Stemp ........................................6
Talking about tire types
S&S Cycle Story ....................................64
Engine Science 101
Shop Time ............................................68
Billy the kid rides again
IW Product Review ................................73
Kreiga tool roll
Making frugal fun
Sam Kanish ..........................................12
Sunny side up
Bert Baker ...........................................14
Recognizing the new normal
Kiwi Mike Tomas ...................................16
Honoring man and machine
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The Other Half
MARILYN STEMP
Making Frugality Work
y parents grew up as
Depression kids, people who lived through
America’s formidable economic
times of the early 1930’s. After
the excesses of the Roaring
Twenties and the stock market
crash of 1929—when investors
leaped to theirs deaths in despair from Wall Street office windows—
there was a serious economic awakening in
America. Pundits and observers in today’s
media have referred to the Depression era
in light of our current economic woes and
rightly so; there are parallels to draw that
can be educational if you’re paying attention.
Depression kids like my folks developed
coping mechanisms and a sense of austerity that became ingrained in their lives. Their
attitude of frugality became second nature
to their kids, too. In my family of five children and one wage earner, my stay-athome Mom managed our resources with
care. Funny thing is, I don’t have any recollection of feeling deprived. We had a big
backyard to play in, ate dinner every night,
and all of us kids got a dime to put in the
collection plate on Sundays. We even took
vacations–all seven of us packed into an
Opel station wagon for a (free) week at my
aunt’s beach cottage.
My parents were frugal with dignity. Making do created character and built work
ethic. Fact is: we had enough. Hand-medowns and a car from the last decade got
the job done and no one complained.
The difference between then and now is
the long stretch of fat years we’ve had in between. During that interim we got brainwashed into thinking that if something wasn’t
the very latest thing, it had no value. Lately
though, it’s heartening to see a different
trend that harkens back to Depression diligence: one in which buying used isn’t considered merely acceptable but even smart. The
M
number of posts on Ebay and Craigslist, in
both the buying and selling sections, proves
this. And the can-do spirit is regenerating as
people are taking pride in fixing up a vehicle
or house on their own instead of depending
on experts, no matter that it’s out of necessity rather than choice.
These attitudes bode well for the motor-
6
cycle industry. Companies in the
American motorcycle aftermarket today have their noses to
the grindstone as they concentrate on making solid products
that people want and need to
keep older bikes viable or to
piece together runners from
parts. And smaller American
manufacturers are making strides in ways
that are gaining notice.
There’s recent news that Sucker Punch
Sallys will continue building bikes, as an example, and you’ll find only American made
parts for V-Twins at www.stores.allamericanharleyparts.com. Every bit that goes into
Rinehart Racing’s exhaust systems is made
in-house or sourced in the U.S.A. and
thanks to current growth the company plans
to build a new facility to make even more
components on their own. And I’d be remiss
if I didn’t mention Baker Drivetrain. As a domestic manufacturer, Bert Baker is justly vociferous (in these very pages) about banging
the gong to support American companies
and buy American-made products. (Please
write and tell me about other ones.)
And if you can’t find exactly what you’re
looking for, there’s no scarcity of metal fabrication and machine shops staffed by American craftsmen who would gladly make that
one-off component you’re after. Yes, it will
be pricier and the process requires more effort than clicking the “buy now” button, but
you’ll end up with something truly unique and
the benefits will ripple far and wide.
Garage bikes built on a budget are now
getting more respect than they used to and
you have to admit, they have individual cachet you can’t always find in production
bikes. Motorcycling in general is looking economically smarter as gas prices stay high.
This isn’t simply my opinion and I’m not making it up; there are surveys showing that the
ratio of used to new bike sales is on the increase—and has been rising for several
years now. We’re finding ways to keep our
current machines healthy instead of greedily
buying the next new thing. What a switch
from the days of waiting lists!
According to a 2009 Polk Report, registrations of used bikes were increasing substantially, reflecting the used-to-new sales
ratio. Said the report, “Historically this ratio
has been around 1.45, meaning that used
motorcycle registrations top new motorcycle registrations by 45 percent. In 2008,
the ratio rose to 1.88 and is on track to
reach 3.07 in 2009.” This was especially
true in the Midwest where used over new
sales increased more than 20% within one
year in several metro regions. Early in
2009, Polk projected that year would show
the fourth consecutive increase. Though it
might not sound like it, this trend is good
for bike retailers, too, because the profit
margin on a used bike is often greater than
that of a new one.
You might think this trend bodes ill for
new bike manufacturers, but at least where
Harley-Davidson is concerned indicators
show otherwise: used Harley-Davidsons are
outselling some other OEM brands and
2011 totals for new bike sales from H-D
show an increase of 5.8% in the U.S. and
5.9% worldwide. Increased production is
planned for 2012.
With more people riding motorcycles for
frugal transportation, the need to purchase
necessities such as oil, tires, and bad weather gear is increased. Used bike buyers are
worth catering to because they need parts
and accessories now and present the potential to “buy up” later.
Statistics aside, I see the best news as
this: people are still buying motorcycles and
riding them. If you already have a bike
you’re keeping it maintained. At the same
time, both new and current riders are buying both new and used bikes. And the tendency to ride for economic reasons, which
may be the current impetus of the trend, is
as good a reason as any. Bikers have always known that riding is fun and hip, along
with the showboating and superiority we
enjoy on two wheels compared to cage drivers. Now that the secret of riding’s efficiency has become more apparent, we can
be proud for being frugal, too.
America in recent years, with job losses,
home foreclosures, and ubiquitous belt-tightening, is not so different from those Depression times that my parents survived. The
persistence and fortitude of the people who
weathered those tough times in the past to
thrive and persevere is a lesson to us now. If
you wonder if we’re up to the task, just look
around or glance in the mirror: we are
those people and we’re making it work. IW
IronWorks April 2012
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Baker In Gear
BERT BAKER, BAKER DRIVETRAIN
Shrines, Weirdoes, and Two-wheeled Americana
started at General Motors in
in the movie Silence of the
1984 and it took me fully 14
Lambs. Don’t let his Thorazine-inyears to figure out I was a square
fused personality and Texas drawl
peg in a round hole. The stuffiness
fool you, Rick is a sharp businessand constraints of the large corpoman and a freak. But the threerate confines were nauseating and
ring circus showroom is just a
it took me that long to figure out
front to pacify the proletariat
the hot steamy turd sandwiches
masses. The parts department in
served up daily by GM were making
the back is massive with really
me sick. We used to call it miscompetent parts people and a
sion-of-the-month. Management
large inventory. The service dewould hand down an edict for
partment is not just that; it is sereveryone to stand on their left foot
vice, fab, and a dream works.
and stick their right index finger in
Rick can manufacture anything he
That's Rick Fairless, with Mark P on the left and Bert on the right.
their right ear. And everyone
dreams up right there; he’s got
would do it. The next month it was
talent on his staff. Then there’s
stand on your right foot and stick your left pinky finger in your left
the bar out back. They could have a Led Zeppelin and Rolling
nostril and everyone would comply. It was dumb but thankfully I finally
Stones concert there; it’s massive and they fill that sucker up. The
figured out I was a weirdo, a lone wolf, a sociopath, whatever you
economic doldrums of the last few years have barely touched the
want to call it. This is not a slam to GM and corporate America; I
Dallas area which means people there party, ride, and have a good
simply lack the genetic programming to run with the corporate herd.
time; good Americans in my book. That’s Mark P on the left in the
This is why I love the wacky world of American motorcycles,
picture; he works at the same sanitarium as I do.
which celebrates weirdoes, freaks, and anti-establishment behavior. It’s the polar opposite of corporate America. Those who make
Caesar’s Motorcycle Empire, Salt Lake City
a living from this scene are generally wacked, and wacky people inThis was my first time to SLC. I thought there would be a bunch of
trigue me. I got a chance to travel around America in 2011 and
religious zealots running around waving the book of Mormon and
there were a few visits worth mentioning.
snatching up spare wives; not so. I didn’t see a one. But I did see a
lot of bikers, tweakers, and weirdoes: just my kind of place. And the
Wheels Through Time Museum
undisputed heavy weight champion weirdo is Caesar. To quote a
Dale and Matt Walksler run this museum located near the Blue
franchised H-D dealer in SLC, “In every major metropolitan area
Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, in some of the most beautiful ridthere is an ambassador of the bizarre. Our ambassador is Caesar.”
ing in the country. They are obsessed with old iron and riding old
His enthusiasm for life is infectious; he just made me feel good
iron. In my book, there’s a close relationship between “being obabout life without weed or speed. If you’re lucky you’ll get a tour of
sessed” and being a freak. I felt like a moron around these guys
his collection of old bikes, old cars, and Americana. Then there’s
because they know so many details about very old American mothe camel. A real live one. He races camels overseas and is a
torcycles. Their museum is the realest bike museum I’ve ever been
card-carrying camel jockey, no lie; he will freely show you his card.
to because you can fondle the bikes and parts, and most of the
He showed me documentation where he was turned down by the
bikes on display actually run. No velvet ropes and rude security
state of Utah by the license plate division for “CAMLTOE” and
meatheads, just gobs and gobs of authentic American motorcycle
“CAMLJKY” vanity plates.
history. But here’s the difference: We were walking through the
The point of these loosely articulated ramblings is this. Most
museum with Matt and spied a 1928 Harley 8-valve alcohol hill
who read this magazine are enthusiasts and/or work in businessclimber. Matt said, “Wanna hear it run?” and I said, “Yeah, right.”
es related to the American motorcycle industry. At some point we
He hopped on, gave it two pokes, and it came alive with blue alcogot sucked into the intoxicating vortex of the American motorcycle
hol flames shooting out the short head pipes.
scene. We did this not because we were normal; we did this beIf you live anywhere within a 750-mile radius of this place you recause we were slightly or even severely abnormal. If we were norally need to see the museum and ride the scenic roads. Don’t formal we would have gravitated to bird watching or gardening. The
get: the Tail of the Dragon and all those groovy death roads are in
people detailed above got sucked into the American motorcycle
their back yard, too. BAKER-Spedia travel agency rates this trip
vortex and never let off the gas. As a result, they’ve amassed
ten stars out of ten.
these shrines that pay proper tribute to two-wheeled Americana;
visiting their shrines is highly recommended. IW
I
Rick Fairless’s Strokers Dallas
The front showroom in this place is a motorcycle-based interpretation of Madame Tussauds wax museum and Buffalo Bill’s parlor
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IronWorks April 2012