Category Archives: The Machine

The Body, The Machine

Four Legendary Custom Bike Builders to Build Tribute Bikes for Rolling Thunder’s 25th Anniversary

With the 25th anniversary of Rolling thunder coming up in 2012, this is a great way to kick it off!
Rolling Thunder in Washington, D.C., an annual motorcycle Demonstration Run that attracts over 450,000 motorcycles and one million attendees.  To commemorate this honorary event, four custom motorcycles will be built by four legendary bike builders.
“The commemorative bike build is such a great idea and it’s one of the better things we’ve ever done. It’s the builders giving back to veterans and troops and all branches of the service with this project. We’re very grateful to the sponsors and everyone involved for their generous support and recognition of Rolling Thunder’s efforts,” said Ted Shpak, President of Rolling Thunder.
Jay Allen, creator of the legendary Broken Spoke Saloon, is facilitating the tribute build project.
Rolling Thunder is reaching out to some of the world’s top bike builders to complete the military recognition to include all branches of the service.
“This history-making tribute bike build is coming together so beautifully. S&S Cycle and Baker Drivetrain are the definition of American made pride and they’ve stepped up to the plate bringing their high quality products to this entire project,” said Allen.
The bikes will be unveiled at the 25th Anniversary event on May 26th and the entire build process will be featured in leading motorcycle publications. U. S. Marine Corps: Brigitte Bourget of Bourget’s Bike Works feature with Iron Works magazine; U.S. Navy: Dar Holdsworth of Darwin Motorcycles feature with Cycle Source; U.S. Coast Guard: Kiwi Mike of Kiwi Indian Motorcycle Company feature with American Iron; U.S. Air Force: Billy Lane of Chopper’s Inc. feature with The Horse Backstreet Choppers. The build project is destined to be epic as these road-worthy bikes will then be toured around the country with the traveling “Wall that Heals,” at various military installations and events, Veteran Affairs locations, major motorcycle rallies, and potentially taken overseas to the
troops. An impressive publicity campaign and production surrounding the Rolling Thunder 25thAnniversary observance is currently underway. Further production details to be announced.
“We’re so excited and honored to be a part of this monumental, historic event and to be selected because our bikes are no-compromise, American made motorcycles,” said Dar Holdsworth, who hails from a military family having served in Desert Storm, his father in
Vietnam and his grandfather in WWII. “We truly understand that we could not do what we do without the sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces. Each and every soldier has my deepest gratitude and respect.”
Rolling Thunder’s Demonstration Run has evolved to be not only a demonstration for the
Prisoner of War, Missing in Action (POW/MIA) issue but also a demonstration of patriotism and respect for Service Members and Veterans from all wars. visit  rollingthunderrun.com
The Machine

Windshield Wipers in Winter!

As a self proclaimed Garage-Girl who loves to perform maintenance on my vehicles there is one task I take so seriously, my windshield wipers. There is nothing I can’t stand more than not being able to see clearly while driving, especially in bad weather. For that reason I change my windshield wipers twice a year. I use a winter blade that I usually install around October, it has a rubber boot over the metal arm to prevent ice and snow build up, and then I switch to the rain-X windshield wiper for spring.  I never got around to installing my new winter set of blades this fall and planned on doing so just before leaving for a road trip for the Holidays. Well you know how crazy the Holidays are, running around trying to get everything done and ready. I just simply ran out of time. Not too worried though since the weather for my day of travel looked clear. While I was out of town the weather was great, actually a little warm, so the thought of the wiper blades was not even in my mind. That is until the ride home. Traveling across interstate 80 of the state of PA I ended up encountering lake effect snow bands that were reminiscent of “light speed” travel capable by the Millennium falcon in Star Wars. As I turned my wiper blades on I was frustrated to find out they were not up to my standards, I couldn’t see a dam thing…. Traveling along, the traffic started to get tighter and the big trucks were closer, can’t stand the spray from big trucks. I decided I better pull off the exit and see if I could do anything to help my visibility.  I had some hand sanitizer which is mostly alcohol and I used that to clean the wiper blades of any debris. This was a huge help and got me back home safe. While I was tending to my wiper blades, I heard numerous fire trucks and police cars zooming past. I later found out there was a 20 car pile up on the exact road I was traveling on…. The hi-way was now shut down. Used my maps app and found back roads to take me home. Ok, so maybe my bad wiper blades saved my life, but I decided this experience was a good time to bring the issue up and remind you all how important good wiper blades are. If you haven’t changed them in a while here is a video showing you just how easy it us. Here is a step by step of how to care for your wiper blades.  Stay Safe this winter!
1. Wipe the windshield wiper blades each time you fill up with gas. Dampen a paper towel with the window washing solution. Lift each wiper blade away from the window and rub the moist towel along the blade from one end to the other.
2. Wash the car windows to remove accumulated debris, bird droppings and insect splatters. Removing the larger debris protects the windshield blades from catching and tearing.
3. Run windshield wipers only when there is moisture present on the windows. In dry weather, use the windshield washer to spray fluid on the glass.
4. Remove snow and scrape ice off of windows before running the windshield wipers. Allow the car to run and defrost the windows long enough to melt ice before moving the wipers.
5. Park your vehicle in the shade or in a garage whenever possible to avoid sun damage, which can make the rubber blades brittle.
6. Inspect the windshield wiper arms and the blades once a month. Replace damaged, bent or broken wiper arms immediately. Replace the blades at least once a year, before the cold weather season, or sooner if the blades have become warped or ripped.

The Machine

More Last Minute Gift Ideas!

Running out of Ideas on what to get the “Garage-Fanatic” in your life?  How about some Wizards! Killer cleaning products that will be a hit! They have cool gifts besides the usual awesome cleaning products!
Order now on the site and save 20% with their 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS 20% OFF SALE!
Just use coupon code 12DAYS in the shopping cart at the beginning of your order to receive 20% off your entire purchase!*.
December 12th through Friday, December 23rd
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Wizards Products!
The Body, The Machine

Last Minute Gift Ideas for your Beloved Biker

It’s December 16th and you still have to do some shopping???  Geeze, talk about being a slacker!, No just kidding, you are not alone. Good thing is online shopping can save you from the rush of people at the mall and the traffic! Blech…  so for the Biker on your shopping list head over to Mustang’s Biker Essentials site. They have everything you need from Christmas cards, ornaments, to cold weather riding gear and cute items like mailboxes or wind-chimes, You will no doubt find something very unique and cute for the biker on your list.

Now, go visit the site, grab some eggnog, crank up the christmas tunes and do your last minute shopping online, HURRY go order now!