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The Body, The Machine

It’s Rally Ridin’ Time!!

It’s Rally Season and soon riders will be rolling into  Leesburg, FL for Leesburg 16th Annual Bike Fest. With a three-day weekend packed full of events and activities April 27-29, 2012.  Riders will be geared up to enjoy beautiful riding in the heart of the Florida peninsula around Lake Whales Ridge near Ocala National Forest and between three of the region’s most picturesque and welcoming lakes.

As usual riders can be sure to see Hot Leathers vendors as they are proud to be at this renowned bike festival, and this long weekend is sure to be an amazing experience for bikers from all over the U.S. You’ll also find a full slate of entertainment, including an impressive array of bikes, poker runs for charity, and bands, including Seven Mary Three and Firehouse. Take in an authentic slice American history with The American Motor Drome Co.’s Wall of Death. And visit great spots like the Rat Hole’s Bar.  Fest hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday thru Sunday. Admission to events and entry fees for participation in competitions vary. Motorcycles only on the downtown streets during the event, and Park N’ Ride services will be available.

In addition Hot Leathers is ready to roll into the Regency Casino in Laughlin. With five days packed full of events and activities April 25-29, 2012,  If you can gear up and ride historic US Route 66 and cruise the hills from Kingman to Oatman, AZ or cool off in the Colorado River.

So if you’re planning on heading to Florida for all the festivities, or Laughlin make sure to keep an eye out for the distinctive flaming logo of Hot Leathers one-of-a-kind merchandise and get up-to-date on your riding gear.

if you are not attending one of these rallies but still need to update your riding gear head over to their site you’ll find everything you need!   hotleathers.com DON”T FORGET TO ADD COUPON CODE GGN for FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT< JUST FOR GARAGE-GIRLS!!

The Body

Perfect Spring Time Foods; Barbecue Chicken and Cheddar Quesadillas

Spring time always finds us wanting new flavors and foods, not just yet ready for the grill, but also done with the heavy oven roasted dinners.
This recipe is that perfect Spring time meal to help you transition to the yummy summer foods to come!
ingredients
2  cups Shredded Chicken Master Recipe (see recipe below)
1/2 cup bottled barbecue sauce
1 4 ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained
Nonstick cooking spray
4 8 inches flour tortillas
1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese or Mexican-blend cheese    (4 ounces)
1 cup bottled salsa
1/4 cup dairy sour cream
1/4 cup sliced green onion (2)
directions
1. In a medium saucepan, cook shredded chicken, barbecue sauce, and diced green chiles over medium heat until heated through.
2. Coat one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. Place tortillas, sprayed sides down, on cutting board or waxed paper. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese over half of each tortilla. Top evenly with shredded chicken mixture. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook quesadillas, two at a time, in hot skillet over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes or until light brown, turning once. Remove quesadillas from skillet; place on a baking sheet. Keep warm in a 300 degree F oven. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. To serve, cut each quesadilla into three wedges. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and green onion. Makes 4 servings.
Shredded Chicken Master Recipe
Bake: 450°F 10 mins to 12 mins
ingredients
4 1/2 – 5 pounds chicken thighs, skinned
4 thyme sprigs
4 parsley stems
2  bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, halved
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1  32 ounce box chicken broth
directions Place chicken thighs in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker. For bouquet garni, cut an 8-inch square from a double thickness of 100 percent cotton cheesecloth. Place thyme, parsley, bay leaves, garlic, and peppercorns in the center of the cheesecloth. Bring up corners of the cheesecloth and tie with 100 percent cotton kitchen string. Add bouquet garni to slow cooker. Pour chicken broth over all. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. Remove bouquet garni and discard. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a large bowl. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones. Using two forks, shred meat. Add enough of the cooking juices to moisten meat. Strain and reserve cooking juices to use for chicken stock. Place 2-cup portions of chicken and chicken stock in separate airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes 6 cups.
nutrition facts
Servings Per Recipe 4, Calories 415, Protein (gm) 30, Carbohydrate (gm) 33, Fat, total (gm) 18, Cholesterol (mg) 115, Saturated fat (gm) 9, Monosaturated fat (gm) 5, Polyunsaturated fat (gm) 2, Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 2, Sugar, total (gm) 11, Vitamin A (IU) 826, Vitamin C (mg) 9, Thiamin (mg) 0, Riboflavin (mg) 0, Niacin (mg) 6, Pyridoxine (Vit. B6) (mg) 0, Folate (µg) 24, Cobalamin (Vit. B12) (µg) 0, Sodium (mg) 1224, Potassium (mg) 517, Calcium (DV %) 313, Iron (DV %) 3, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
The Body

Garage-Girls Profile; Chris Gibbany, cars, bikes and hedgehogs!

When we saw that Chris was into cars, bikes and animals (hedgehogs specifically, they are sooo cute) we knew she would fit right into our community of “Garage-Girls”, so we just wanted to share her with you!
GG. Tell us about you, where are you from, what are you into and what do you like to do with your free time?
CG. I was born in California 39 years ago, but have lived almost all of my life in Arkansas, presently in Harrison.  I am married to my soul mate, Gabe and am child-free by choice, having my tubes tied in my 20’s.  I raise hedgehogs, one of only about 40 breeders in the US, I was a professional wedding photographer for 10 years, I am an extreme couponer and I help my husband build bikes.   I am also the Arkansas State Representative for the Worldwide Camaro Club and I started the local Camaro Club here in Harrison.   My whole life revolves around cars and bikes.  I like to ride around the roads here in Harrison-we have some of the best riding around AND you don’t have to wear a helmet.  I like to just throw on a backpack, put on a bandanna, tie back the pink hair and see what happens.
GG. How did you find your passion for motorcycles and cars how long have you been doing it?
CG. When I was just a kid, I never played with dolls or was interested in any of the stuff the other girls were.  My first obsession, was with balls (yeah, sounds funny now).  And then when I was about 6, in first grade, I fell in love with cars- Hot Wheels, model cars, race tracks, etc.  I remember when Christmas exchange came that year and of course all the boys were told to buy girls “dolls and that type of stuff”, we just happened to know the boy (Craig Loggins, now a cop) and my parents told his parents that I wanted CARS!   And they did, they bought me several Corvette Hot Wheels- cars that I still have to this day.  I also was SO in love with Dukes of Hazzard and when we played it on the school yard, I couldn’t understand why all the girls wanted to be Daisy and I wanted to be Bo, driving the General!  So I fell in love with cars at an early age.  I also collected the little motorcycles as a kid and later learned to ride when I was 16, learning to ride before I learned how to drive!   My current obsessive love of bikes came several years ago when my husband and I started building vintage Harleys and now I have sold a LOT of my possessions, even went down to 2 cars, to buy more bikes and parts.  I am a true addict.
GG. What do you love most about it?
CG. I mainly love the lines, the history, thinking about who might have owned it and what happened, why they “got rid of it”, how it made them feel, if they loved it the same way I do.  I really love the machine, pure and simple.  I also LOVE the smell of WD-40, racing fuel and tires burning rubber.  Those smells drive me CRAZY!   First time I ever went to the drag races, my emotions were so strong I just KNEW I had to do that.  I am not a spectator, and after that, I started drag racing.  The feeling you get when riding or drag racing, is almost indescribable to someone who doesn’t know.  The scene of Nicolas Cage touching the car in Gone in 60 Seconds- it just describes the love of the car that unless you love a machine, you don’t understand.  I love being able to manipulate the car, to make more power, to intimidate someone at a stop light.  With bikes I just like the ability to get on, spend a little on gas and just GO.  These  “toys” that we own, they are far more than JUST pieces of metal, in my head, they have emotions, they are my BABIES and I guard them, protect them, and occasionally have to run out of places threatening to kick someone’s ass for getting too close to them.
GG. Do you have one specific car or bike you would like to tell us about?
CG. I’m down to two cars now- my 81 Corvette and  my 78 Z-28.  The 78 is truly “My baby”, I’ve had it for almost 20 years. I bought it while in college and bought it with my “extra” money left over from scholarships.  It was the second car I ever bought.  Instead of eating out everyday when I went to school, I packed my lunch (was made fun of) and saved all my money to buy cars.  I have virtually built it from the ground up, even built the motor myself, sanded it before being sprayed at the body shop I worked at, and I have a TON of money and love in it.  I actually sold it to my husband about 6 months ago because I was going to buy another Corvette and after seeing it sitting at his work, I had to buy it back.  We buy things from each other all the time.  I first built the car to enter in car shows, but that was really impossible to compete against people making $50,000+ a year.  So then I turned it into a drag car.  It has around 500 true horsepower and since not everyone has the balls to race, I figured I would have a little more luck on the track than at the shows.
GG. What are you most passionate about in life?
CG. Definitely my cars and bikes.  My world literally revolves around them.  I bought my first Corvette while making minimum wage (goal being buy a Vette before I turned 30) and then ended up with three of them before I turned 29!  Everything I do is really for the continual enjoyment and gaining of new toys.  I just bought another one (that only YOU Sara knows about).  Other areas of my life that I am passionate about are my hedgehogs, my husband, GOD, my Pit Bull and changing people’s views of them, eating healthy and living as naturally as possible in today’s toxic world.
GG. Is there anything you would love to learn to do?
CG. I am learning to weld and of course, I have to learn to kick start my 56 Panhead that I am presently building in my living room.  My 2 major goals of this year.  I am very goal oriented  and each year I set new goals.
GG. Where would you most like to visit?
CG. Not really much on traveling, but if I had to, I would travel to England just to bring back a bunch of hedgehogs.
GG. What is your idea of relaxing?
CG. Riding my bikes, washing my cars is relaxing.
GG. What type of music do you normally listen to?
CG. Waylon, Hank Jr, Merle, Don Williams, Johnny Cash, David Allen Coe, Jamie Johnson, Alabama, Kid Rock and Everlast (but NOT when they are rapping), Metallica, AC/DC- Most “real” country and 80’s rock- I also like Neil Diamond
GG. Do you collect anything?
CG. Hedgehog stuff, of course!  My kitchen is done in hedgehogs as is their room.  All my other rooms are done up in motorcycle, Corvette or Camaro type art/pictures/signs.  I also still collect Hot Wheels in late 2nd gen Camaros and C-3 Vettes.  I guess I also “kinda” collect bandannas, fingerless gloves and scarves and really cool knitted hats.   Oh and pink hair dye!
We knew we had a connection with her when we read that she liked to “play” Dukes of Hazzard on the school play-yard as a kid, hell yeah, thats a Garage-Girl right there!!! Thanks Chris for taking the time to share your great “Garage” lifestyle with us!
The Machine

Spectro Oils; a new site designed for you!

We get tons of questions daily around here about which oil to use on certain applications. Synthetic vs. semi-synthetic?, what to use on transmissions etc.
Well,  those answers are now even easier to come by with the launch of Spectro Oils newly designed website which focuses on an easier Navigation and Simpler Design To Help Customers Find Exactly What They Are Looking For.
The website was updated for easier navigation, and to provide visitors with an extremely user-friendly environment; one that enables Spectro® to supply detailed and helpful information across more topics, more often. Additional features to the site include an updated “dealer locator”, photo galleries and a customer Q&A section. Coming soon:  will be software for a lubricant consultant, which will inform customers which Spectro oil product to use in their specific application.
“Our new site is bigger, better and packed with the latest information about Spectro’s product lineup and motorcycle events that we support,” stated Rollin Karoll, Vice President of Sales at Spectro Oils. “You can now buy Spectro promotional products directly from us and review MSDS and technical information sheets about each product with a few simple clicks.”
So, if you have some questions about oils, which to use, and why head on over to the Spectro site and “click around”, all the info you could need will be right there!
The Body, The Machine

Stitched to Perfection; another hit from Mustang Seats

Who do you turn to when your looking for comfort in a motorcycle seat? Simple, Mustang.  Who do you turn to when looking for great styling in a motorcycle seat? Simple again, Mustang.   Especially now since the newest seat in Mustang’s Tripper line is their Wide Tripper solo that features a detailed diamond stitch design.
The 14” wide solo fits 2008-up FL models and is shipped complete with a matching mini bib plus chrome mounting hardware giving it a finished look for one-up riding.  The matching passenger seat is 11.5” wide.
Mustang’s Wide Tripper Solo with diamond stitching is only $289; the rear seat is $169.  Solos are also sold with a removable, fully adjustable driver backrest and will be available soon in a distressed brown.
Mustang seats for Metric Cruisers and H-D® models are all proudly handcrafted in the USA.  For more info, visit MustangSeats.com Check ’em out today!
The Body, The Machine

Ed Savko, Whose Rock Store on Mulholland Highway Provided Haven for Bikers, Dies at 86

By, Dana Bartholomew
The late actor Steve McQueen once convinced Ed Savko to buy a motorcycle for screaming hill climbs across the Malibu Hills.
But the patriarch of the Rock Store never took to two wheels. Instead, he and his wife Vern created the world’s most famous gathering spot for motorcycles.
“He almost killed himself,” said Vern Savko, 84, of Thousand Oaks. “He probably only rode one day.”
Hundreds of motorcyclists from throughout Southern California descended Monday on the Mulholland Highway diner to celebrate the patriarch of all motorcycle hangouts.
Savko, who ran the Cornell diner with his wife since 1961, died April 2 of congestive heart failure. He was 86.
He was credited with helping Vern turn a sleepy country grocery into a Sunday pitstop for up to 1,000 thirsty motorcyclists on any Saturday or Sunday.
“Ed was a straight shooter,” said Tony Martorelli, 52, of Moorpark, who has been riding the twisty highway for two decades, where Ed greeted motorcyclists from the parking lot. “He’d say, `That sonofabitch.’ Absolutely good soul.
“He gave us all a place to gather, like a big family.”
Edward John Savko was born Sept. 28, 1925, to Czech parents John and Mary Savko in the steel town of Homestead, Penn.
There was little he didn’t do. During World War II, he served on the destroyer USS Waller in the Pacific.
He later drove a cab. Manned a milk truck. Then in 1947 he and his wife Veronica settled in Van Nuys, where he delivered bread from a Log Cabin truck.
One day he noticed the brown rock store on a dirt road in the hilly community of Cornell, and bought it. Business was so slow that Vern did her family ironing behind the counter.
“All day, if we made $25, we were doing well,” said his son, Richard Savko, 61, of Monterey.
But soon McQueen rolled in on his famous Triumph, followed over the years by the likes of Jay Leno, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee, plus a virtual Who’s Who of motorcycling.
The Rock Store, featured in scores of films and magazines, became a worldwide motorcycle destination. Or a place even to park a four-legged steed.
Ronald Reagan, who once lived in the Malibu Hills, would tie his horse out front before he became president. As a hobby, Ed once raised thoroughbred racehorses.
“(He) was my love. (He) was my whole life,” said Vern, after her husband’s funeral at St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Westlake Village. “Sixty-five years tomorrow.”
Bikers gathered beneath majestic oaks to celebrate the round-faced man with the infectious smile who played host to generations of riders.
On a flag-topped terrace hung a banner, “The Rock Store Family We Will Miss You Ed.” “Rest in Peace, Ed,” read one inscription. “Mulholland Highway won’t be the same without you. Or, “Save a seat for me in the Rock Store in the sky.”
Condolences poured in from France, Spain, Italy, Germany and beyond, family members said.
Out front were motorcycles that rarely park side to side, from low-slung Harley-Davidsons to sexy Ducatis to high-strung Japanese sport bikes.
“Boston has its `Cheers.’ And we have the Rock Store,” said writer Lisa Sonne, who grew up nearby.
And everyone had fond memories of Ed, who never discriminated no matter what you looked like, what you did or what kind of bike you rode. “He was terrific,” said Stan Duffy, 41, of Oxnard, who rode in on a 749 Ducati. “I came back (after three years) and Ed remembered me.”To me, this is the epicenter of social motorcycling.”
Edward Savko is survived by his wife Veronica; his daughter, Sandra Clark; his son Richard, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. His son, Edward Savko Jr., preceded him in death.