June, 2006 Archive

A friend of mine, who works for a prominent motorcycle magazine, made a comment recently that caused me to think about metric cruiser riders. He believes that Harley riders are somewhat easier to profile than your average metric cruiser rider. The question became, “what is the profile of your typical metric cruiser rider or enthusiast?”

While we both agreed that there is no real way to prove or disprove a factual answer to this mostly subjective question, it would be very interesting and useful information to posses.

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No, I don’t ride a horse…or a Hog… I ride a Kaw…a Vulcan, the finest bang for the buck cruiser out there in my humble opinion.

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Can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been asked the following questions about pipe noise and performance… Continued »

Now that we bikers are heading into the heart of winter, thought I’d pass on an observation about passing the time while waiting for the snow to melt…

Although I live in southern California and ride year round, a large contingent of our customers live further north and are “bike hibernating” for several months.

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Save money, save time and get a better end result in creating that custom look for your cruiser by having a plan in mind before you begin.

  Thunder Bob gives you more on the design process. Click the VCR button to hear all the details.

Although lots of chrome usually always looks great on a cruiser, it’s important to remember that your ride should be an expression of the rider and not just a magnet for chrome.

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Took my 11 year old daughter, who is a biker in training, out to see the “World’s Fastest Indian” last night. It’s the story of Burt Munro of Invercargill, New Zealand who overcame enormous odds to achieve his lifelong goals on the Salt Flats of Bonneville beginning in 1962.

Burt was the living extreme of motorcycle enthusiast. He literally lived in his garage/shack along side his beloved Indian Scout that he bought in 1920 at the age of 21. He would continually ride, modify and set records on that bike up until his death 58 years later in 1978.

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Got into a conversation with a friend of mine the other day and we were rambling on about the number and type of motorcycles we have owned or ridden over the years.

His experience was almost a mirror image of mine. He’s owned Harley’s most of his life and ridden metrics from time to time. I’ve owned metrics all my life and have been known to saddle up a Hog now and then.

My first bike was a used 1968 Yamaha 80 that I rode to and from High School in ‘73-’74. Yeah, yeah, I hear you saying, “old fart.” If you’re lucky and keep the bike vertical, you too may be called an “OF” some day yourself!

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Dave Rash on Bikernet Radio

Exhaust pipes are one of the few things that make more power immediately. Add a cam and iginition and you are cooking with oil. Continued »

From Bikernet Radio

The Saxon Motorcycle Company storms in from the Southwest to dealers across the country with designs that are truly unique and well executed. Continued »

From Bikernet Radio

Thunder Bob gets the 411 on Hardbikes… the company that allows you to create your own custom motorcycle. From pro-street to choppers, Hardbikes allows you to deliver your dreams. Continued »

From Bikernet Radio

Thunder Bob dials up Jaz to get the lowdown on R-Max USA by Roadmax. Over 50% of the custom bike builders run a R-Max product. Continued »

From Bikernet Radio

Thunder Bob chats up this custom bike designer from the Great White North. No wonder Brian builds such outstanding bikes… It snows 6 months out of the year! Continued »

From Bikernet Radio

Jesse Rooke profiled his new KTM Custom MotoBike at California Speedway during the opening round of the 2006 AMA Supermoto Championship presented by Parts Unlimited. Continued »

Bob Feather’s Photographs Tell a Story

Bob Feather knows his way around a camera. Feather has been a professional photographer for over 16 years and is currently a staff photographer for both American Iron and RoadBike Magazines.

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BUB AIMS FOR 325 MPH in 2006

What does the Big Ugly Bastard (BUB) have to say about Bonneville, Rinehart exhausts and running one of the most successful exhaust pipe manufacturers in the world?

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Bandit from Bikernet.com selected Thunder Bob to kick off Bikernet Radio. Over 300,000 bikers make Bikernet a monthly destination and many are listening in on TB.

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Saddlemen provides innovative designs and produces industry-leading products that have your comfort in mind. Tom Monroe talks about what is happening at the firm and how they are meeting the needs of the cruiser marketplace Continued »

Jon Von Chaldy, The Baron, talks with Metric Thunder Bob about Sturgis, design, customization and a new biker TV show… don’t miss it! Click the left button to start, the middle button to pause and the right button to stop.

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Metric Thunder really knows their stuff. They had everything I needed for my V-Star 1100 Classic. - Robin

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“The Road Queen” rides with Metric Thunder!

Here’s a great looking Road Queen with her great looking Road King!

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Benny rides with Metric Thunder!

So you say you like a classic studded bagger?

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Garry Montague rides with Metric Thunder!

Ahh, the look of newly installed Hard Krome Bigs..

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Roy Iacuzza Rides with Metric Thunder

Roy and his sled, the Rochester Rocket, are breaking cover from the long cold NY winter.

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James “Dragon Slayer” McCracken Rides with Metric Thunder!

This smokin’ 1500LC has just come out of it’s winter hibernation to emerge as a real eye-catcher! It took quite a bit of burning the midnight oil to get this one back on the road, but it clearly was time well spent.

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OzKruz Rides with Metric Thunder!

The wonder from down under…Here’s Neale’s Boulevard C90 that’s ready to tour the outback or cruise the streets of Brisbane. What’s he done since it left the showroom?

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Leo Runs with Metric Thunder Gear

Leo has assembled a list of custom parts to make his ride distinctive.

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Keith & Ann ride with Metric Thunder!

Known as the “Bolox Bike” down under, this Volusia just recently added front and rear Kuryakyn ISO boards for touring comfort in the Outback.

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Rider Terry Bishop Rides with Metric Thunder

Add Your Bike: Send your name, your motorcycle year and make, and a description to:thunder @horsepowermarketing.com

We now have custom kits - call (866)-744-7900 for details

Is that an Indian?? No, it’s Helges and his 1998 Intruder 1500LC. He’s done an amazing job of customizing his ride.

The “Intrudian” is not only a great looking bike, but it set up for the long haul. Keith has taveled all over the country on his LC in comfort and style.

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Gordon Marantz Rides with Metric Thunder

Gordon’s got one of the most “customizable” bikes on the road, the V-Star Classic. He’s done a great job of making his mark on this fine looking classic.

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Robert Bolt Rides with Metric Thunder!

So you like fast? This ‘00 V-Max claims to deliver north of 110 foot pounds of torque to the rear!

Robert brought his muscle bike to the Metric Thunder Open House. Obviously, steroids in streetbikes are not illegal.

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“Dirty” Rides with Metric Thunder!

This Meanstreak has “Show Bike” written all over it! This ride has a very long list of modifications.

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Rider Doug Forsythe Rides with Metric Thunder

Cruise 4 Kids Winner Doug recently won several hundred dollars in Metric Thunder products and Gift Certificates during this year’s Cruise 4 Kids. He’s already put his winnings to good use, Doug wisely chose to put all the new stuff on the Wife’s new V-Star 1100!

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Prince Rides with Metric Thunder!

The Intruder comes with a 1360 CC - 4 stroke mil that pumps out 68 HP @ 4800 RPM .

Details included on this sled includes a Bore x stroke: 94.0 x 98.0 mm , 3 valves per cylinder, 4 speed tranny and a shat drive. Continued »

Doc Parker rides with Metric Thunder!

When he’s not realigning a spine or two, you just might catch an orange blur speeding past you on the highway.

Take a look at some of his work: Continued »

Skip rides with Metric Thunder even though he lives in Thailand!

He’s set up his big VTX for touring as you can see from this photo taken at the Golden Triangle, (where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet). Continued »

JimJC Rides with Metric Thunder!

1999 was the only year that Suzuki produced a Red & White Intruder 1500LC and Jim’s done a great job with his…Here’s just a few of the mods he’s added to the bike: Continued »

Eric Nichols Rides with Metric Thunder!

Is this a great looking V-Star or what?? Eric’s done a killer job of customizing his ride: Continued »

Kenny Metcalf Rides with Metric Thunder. The VTX 1800 Retro in red, a great looking ride for the founder of X-Cessories, Kenny Metcalf.

Here’s a snapshot of what he’s done: Continued »

Built for the highway and backroads…Here’s “Crow’s” Suzuki Intruder 1500LC and a sample of some of his modifications: Continued »

Joe Gschweng Rides with Metric Thunder.

Here’s “Big Joe’s” award winning VTX 1800C. As the President of KewlMetal, you have to dress to impress, and Joe has really dressed up this bad baby… Continued »

Vince Beltz Rides with Metric Thunder

The “Czernobog” as Vince calls it, is his black with yellow trim 2003 VTX 1800C. Continued »

Here’s Bill’s 2005 Black Suzuki Boulevard C90. He’s made some great choices for customizing his new ride: Continued »

Pat Sanders Rides with Metric Thunder.

Here’s Pat’s black VTX 1300RS… Continued »

Kevin “Revkev” Crawford Rides with Metric Thunder. Deep candy red on top of green gold on his 2001 Suzuki Intruder 1500.

Accessories include, Continued »

Kevin “RevKev” Crawford still Rides with Metric Thunder!

See the guy in the photo above on the 2001 Suzuki Intruder 1500LC…either he has an identical twin brother or it’s the same guy!

Hey, it IS the very same Guy! Continued »

Dean Crowson Rides with Metric Thunder.

That purple VTX1800R looks sharp with that matching front fairing. Continued »

Rider Mike Hanes Rides with Metric Thunder!

If you are ever in the Colorado Springs area, there’s a good chance you’ll see this custom Intruder 1500LC. If you ask Mike, he’s likely gonna tell you that “there’s more to do.” Here’s just some of what he’s already done… Continued »

Gotta love the classic lines of the Road Star. Raymond went with the black and white paint to match those great looking whitewalls. He’s just starting to customize his ride and already has a nice start… Continued »

Here’s Bill and his 1500LC in blue. His ride is really set up for some long distance touring… Continued »