Yeah, that is probably the correct response in this case. I remember how HUGE KISS was when I was a kid… I would have stomped puppies to see them in concert. Then they went away. Then they came back and they came back barefaced… bad idea… they went away. Then they came back fully made up… better idea because it hides just how freakin’ old they all are now. But hey, so are some of their fans.
But KISS is on the prowl and rearing to be the next, next, old big thing again… Heck, they even played Sturgis a few years ago.
It started out with my post about the new KISS Scooter… seriously… a KISS Scooter… check it out here.
And now, taking their fans old bones into consideration, KISS is putting their name and faces all over a new television… yes… a television. “KISS is on the cutting edge of technology with these two new modern and elegant KISS LED HDTV designs,” says Janet Dwoskin, Executive Director of Licensing for Live Nation Merchandise,
Reportedly with design direction from KISS, the two newly designed KISS LED HDTV’s will be available in 32, 42 and 46-inch sizes. One has a traditional chassis and a KISS logo that appears on the TV screen at start up. The other will include the KISS logo at the bottom of the chassis and will feature a close-up image of the members of KISS at start up.
“These new lines of HDTV’s will appeal to a broader base of fans … as we continue to grow and diversify our KISS product offerings,” said Frank Weir of Roundtable Concepts, “KISS has one of the most die-hard fan bases in the world and we enjoy bringing them first-of-a-kind products.“
Ok, so that is odd… but what about the bike at the top of the post? Well, in order to launch the new HDTV’s, Roundtable Concepts has decided to give away a KISS themed chopper.
Being called the KISS Kustom Chopper Silver Edition, according to the giveaway’s website, the motorcycle is being built and will be signed by the famous rock band before handed over to the winner at Daytona Bike Week 2011. However, I have no idea who is actually building it.
If you happen to be a huge fan, and you happen to buy one of these TVs, let me know how it works for ya.
I suppose it is official… Mr. Jesse James has closed the doors of West Coast Choppers. Word on the street was that he was selling so much of his equipment that other industry types were half expecting it. Plus, with his move to Austin a few years ago and his time invested in the Austin Speed Shop, at least he has a place to go. He will not disappear, I am sure. Friends have hung out with him at the Speed Shop parties and have very much enjoyed his enthusiasm for our little state capitol… Damn, at least the freakin’ humidity there is not what it is here in Houston.
Anyway, long story short, the West Coast Chopper brand of parts will still be available to purchase and they will still be produced. You will now get your parts from a local Custom Chrome Dealer. Daytec, a fantastic company by the way, will be making the WCC frames. Other hard parts will be made by the boys over at BDL (Belt Drive Ltd.)… another favorite for many of us.
As for his personal life, I really can’t say. He hasn’t told me. Last I heard was something about him being with tattoo artist Kat Von D. But I can’t tell you if that is true or not. According to the web site of celebrity TV show TMZ (god I hate that show), Kat picked Jesse up at the airport early this month. Hmmm… whatever.
So there it is… look for the new Custom Chrome Catalog soon and if you have been pining away for some WCC swag, you can still get it.
Love, Respect, and Austin is the new West Coast Baby!
Can you believe it?? ArtBiker is making Custom Belts! Yes friends, ArtBiker has been tooling leather for many years and was recently asked to make some custom belts for a local Motorcycle Club. Once he did, the demand took off! Now you can have a custom made belt too. Just about anything is possible so dream big and get with ArtBiker to place your order. All the important info is below.
Love, Respect, and Custom Belts!
The ArtBiker Team
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Sizes Available:
2” – For Big Boys and Bad Asses! Up to 42” waist – $70
2” – For Big Boys and Bad Asses! Up to 43” – 60” waist – $85
1 ¾” – For Tough Guys! Up to 42” waist – $65
1 ¾” – For Tough Guys! Up to 43” – 60” waist – $80
1 ½” – Our most popular size – Great for Everyone! Up to 42” waist – $60
1 ½” – Our most popular size – Great for Everyone! Up to 43” – 60” waist – $75
1 ¼” – Tough Chicks and Nicer Pants! Up to 42” waist – $60
1 ¼” – Tough Chicks and Nicer Pants! Up to 43” – 60” waist – $75
1” – For the Kiddos Big and Small! Up to 42” waist – $50
**** Patch Holders – 10% off
**** Active Military – 10% off
Prices Include:
Handmade Custom Belt
Custom Embossing
Hand Painted Letters – with or without outline (your choice)
Extras available:
Belt Borders (painted or stamped) approx. $10
Riveted Borders approx. $20
Custom Graphic Tooling (have a specific logo or design? Send it over and let’s see
what we can work out). Priced according to complexity of work.
Belt Colors Available:
Coal Black, Bison Brown (Dark Brown), Timber Brown (Light Brown), Range Tan (Light Tan), Sunburst, Oxblood, Red, Yellow, White, Blue, Green, and Others (available upon request)
Letter Colors Available:
White, Brown, Black, Red, Pink, Blue, Green, Violet, Yellow, Orange, Oxblood, and Tan
Our belts are the finest hand-tooled quality around, and they are American Leather sold by American Vendors. The leather is 8-10 ounces in weight, which is much sturdier than belts sold in stores (about 5 ounces). The extra weight ensures that your belt will last and is heavy enough for any buckle, tool, gadget, or holster you might want to hang on it.
Our belts come without buckles because you know you want to add your own touch! However, if you need a cheap buckle to get you through just let us know. For $5 we can hook you up with a stand-in buckle until you find just the right one. May we suggest that you check out one of ArtBiker’s personal favorites?
Your Correct BELT Size (use the Sizing Chart below) – including “Waist” Size, “Fold to Hole” Length, and “Buckle” length.
Custom Words or Phrase you would like embossed (we will print anything!)
Specify custom stamps you would like and where you would like them placed
Desired Belt Color
Desired Letter Color
Desired Outline Color (If Applicable)
Any “Extras” you might desire (borders, rivets, metallic paints/dyes, custom logos, etc.)
Also, please remember that each belt is completely Hand Made. We have a normal turn around time of about three weeks, but it could take up to six weeks to complete your order depending on workload and the size/complexity of your order.
Shipping in the continental USA is $5.99 (for up to six belts). For large orders or international shipping rates, please contact ArtBiker directly.
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Proper Belt Sizing:
Using the above image as a guide, put on your favorite belt and note which hole you usually use for a comfortable fit. Now, measure from that hole to the tip of your buckle (or wherever your buckle and belt meet at the hole). Round this to the nearest ¼ inch. This measurement will be used to create the third hole in your belt (the “waist” size) and will ensure the text on your belt will be centered when you wear it. Now, measure from the hole you used to the fold in the belt that holds your buckle. This number is the “Fold to Hole” Length (or FH Length). Finally, measure the distance from the fold that holds your buckle to the tip of the hook or pin that fits into your belt hold. This number is the “Buckle” Length (or B Length). If you add the B Lenght and the FH Length together, you should have the same number you found when measuring the Waist Size of the belt. Please double check these numbers as it will help us to center your text and ensure that your belt is a fantastic fit.
ArtBiker’s Custom Belts is not responsible for errors on orders made by the customer… So be sure belt size, color choices, and spelling are correct before you submit. We will make the belt EXACTLY as you specify, so please double and triple check your order before sending.
OK folks, time to wake up and smell the coffee (and I can say that because I am finally out of bed, sitting in a café, eating soup and drinking… wait for it… coffee!).
Seriously though, things are getting out of hand in this country. Fresh off the road from the Sturgis run, I am just getting over the hard time we all had trying to find a good place to eat and drink without being hassled about our colors. “Sir, I am sorry, we have a no-color policy here… but you can turn your vest inside out if you want to.”
“Yeah… that’s not gonna happen,” were the words that came out of my Enforcer’s mouth. I added, “you might as well ask us to hang them upside down on the wall while you are at it.”
We left.
Anyway, now I am back in Texas and settling back into routine when… There we were, just minding our own business… Going to a benefit for a fallen biker who left his family in a jam (more like the BS insurance companies left them in a jam), when all of the sudden a cop crosses three lanes of traffic while we are in a pack eight deep making a u-turn under an overpass. He points to the only prospect in the group and tells him to pull over.
I slow down, designate a rider to stay close (one with a squeaky clean history, title, registration, insurance, inspection, quiet pipes, low bars, and everything else), and I lead the rest to the next parking lot where we dismount and wait to see what is up. At this point we are interested in keeping our prospect out of trouble while not putting the rest of the club in a position where a pissed-off peace officer might start digging to try to find something wrong with everyone else in the group.
About five minutes pass before our prospect and his chaperone come rolling down the street and pull into the parking lot. Luckily, I suppose, the only thing the cop got him for was loud pipes. Well, the cop wrote “excessive noise by use of a loud engine” on the ticket, which could mean a number of things… but it was the pipes that got him nailed.
Which is totally BS anyway because, his pipes are not excessively loud and may not even be the loudest pipes in the group. He was just an easy target who was going under an overpass that amplifies and reflects sound and the cop had a wild hair and had to pull someone over. In fact, the cop acknowledged that he had a daughter who was “distracted” by a motorcycle and it “caused her to get into an accident.” So he was looking for someone to bust.
Whatever.
Anyway, on to the real issue here which is noise ordinance laws and rider responsibility. I personally feel that loud pipes DO save lives. You may want to look into the statistics of how many riders are killed because they were rear-ended. No, the noise of pipes may do nothing for oncoming traffic, but it can be a clear indication to that crazy soccer mom on the phone in the mini-van that is riding up your ass from behind!
And with that being said, I also think it is our responsibility to not be a-holes about the whole thing… really loud, ear splitting exhausts gunned in quiet neighborhoods or in the middle of the night… or even when people are just standing too close can be a really rude thing. I mean, my Panhead is pretty damn loud, but if I don’t gun it in the neighborhood, kick start it in my closed garage at night to muffle the noise, and coast on through to the main drag in a mild mannered fashion, I don’t see a problem with it.
OK- done with the soapbox portion of our show and on to the meat. You see; there are a number of cities in this fine land of ours that are working to silence loud exhaust pipes. Not loud car stereos, not jackhammers and noisy construction, not the jets that fly 3 feet from my freakin’ roof at 9:30pm when my two little girls have finally fallen asleep, not the neighbor’s gas powered lawn mower, trimmer, and blower that he just LOVES to use at about 7am on a Saturday, not incessant car alarms that don’t do a bit of good anyway except to make you hope someone steals the damn thing and shuts it up. No, none of this is an issue… what is the real burden on society’s fragile eardrums are loud motorcycle pipes. Makes sense right? I mean, according to the US Department of Census, motorcycles make up approximately .12% of the vehicles on our roads! What, and with at least 80% of those falling at or under any noise ordinance level, we are looking at a HUGE number of bikes simply destroying the quality of life for the average citizen. Sheesh.
Regardless of the above rant, you have cities like Boston, New York, Daytona, Myrtle Beach, and others trying to silence the droves of bikes on their streets. And now California is looking at a statewide bill to strike down loud pipes. SB 435, known as the “motorcycle exhaust bill,” which would require stock exhaust on all model year 2013 and newer motorcycles, HAS PASSED and is currently sitting on the Governator’s desk waiting to be signed into law. There is a link at the bottom of this post to contact the governor and tell him you DO NOT WANT SB 435 signed into law!
In a related vein of thought, Edmonton, Alberta, claims to be the first Canadian city to officially start fining motorcycles for excessive noise levels that exceed 92 decibels while idling or 96 decibels while the engine is revving to benchmarks of 2000 and 5000 rpm. The city council passed the new bylaw amendment that took effect on July 1st; the fine was set at $250.
During the demonstration prior to July 1st, police tested in excess of 100 bikes and found about 15 percent of the motorcycles failed by using a sound meter that was placed 20 inches from the exhaust. 15 percent!!
Reports go on to say that police officer’s are “fine tuning” their hearing to be able to distinguish the illegal pipes as they travel down the road.
So, there you have it… no colors, helmets required, only short ape hangers, and now no loud pipes! Do what you can to fight the good fight and be sure to let us know if there are issues in your area that need to be addressed.
I just love the boys at Choppertown Nation and think what they do is simply swell… and now they do more than movies and building community, they host on-line bike shows! You may have participated last year… or you may have been building the past 11 months just for this occasion. Regardless, get out there and get your bike shown. You will be happy you did.
L&R,
ArtBiker
It’s that time again! We’re holding our second annual Online Backyard
Build Bike Show!
Simple rules, cool prizes, ANYONE can enter (and just look too.)
Rules:
1. We’re not really into categories, but here’s the three we decided on:
Chopper, Bobber, and Cafe.
2. Post two (2) pics under the appropriate category and tell us something about the build.
*(The best way is to post your pics using the little camera button above. Try to keep the pics 500 pixels wide so everyone can see
them easily. If pics are too huge they may be deleted!)*
3. The bike MUST have been built by you or your buddies in your backyard or garage.
4. Pics can be posted for the next ten days: Aug 31st-Sept 10th, 2010.
Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 in each category:
1st place gets a Lick’s solo bag (Chopper and Bobber class), Set of
