No Shortage of MC News:

In Order of Importance..to you, the riding public!

HD to Recall 111,600 Motorcycles?

Mo-Co reports to the nhtsa that gas tanks on 2009-2010 Tourers, CVO's & Trikes may have a design flaw which allows the gas tank to leak petrol in the aftermath of a hard crash. That wouldn't be good, so they're bringing 'em back for who knows what. ABM's guess is that they'll swap out your old tank for a new unit, and send the oldie back to be refurbed, or smelted down.

Father vs Son:

Teutuls are at it again. Dad suing the kid in NY court for the return of OCC stock options he says Junior can't keep because he's left the show. Ratings tool, or the real deal? Who knows? Anyone care?

Never On A Sunday:

Indiana MC dealers fighting for the right to sell bikes on Sunday! Chopping off 1/7 of available showroom time pretty much sucks when sales are hurting, and the dealers are miffed. ABM wishes them luck. This is what happens when lousy legislation passes, ya never get it offa the books.

Ugly Fla Wx:

Last good riding day was Christmas Eve. Ever since, it's been cold, wet, or both. Ocean temp already in the 50's, something we'll have to watch as Daytona spring bike week approaches.. Only 7 weeks until it cranks up. With all the cold weather, this year's citrus crop is the best ever, especially the navel oranges. If you're lucky enough to score a bushel, you'll never forget the taste. Look for the "Florida" label. California's are prettier, but ours have killer taste! It's like sticking yer tongue into a bowl of sugar, they're that good..

"Fine Flu" Sweeps Georgia!

...The latest "new taxes"?

Do more than 20mph over in the Peach State, and you get to pay an extra $200 on top of what's likely at least a $500 ticket to begin with. Please don't call it a "fine". It's a "speeding tax".

Registering your bike in the Sunshine State? Rude awakening time, dudes. Price of putting a plate on your scoot has doubled in one year. Last year, $27 each for the ABM rides. This year, $54. Please don't refer to it as a "fee". It's a "tax". Florida is scrambling to cover nearly $2 billion dollars in revenue shortfall, even as the gov seeks a senate seat..

Hey Jeff, lighten it up with a Christmas Eve yuck? No problem here in the great southeast.. South Carolina announces free chicken for speeders! (i swear) Get pulled over for speeding in SC, and if you're wearing a seat belt, you get one coupon for a free "Chick-fil-a" sandwich. Will we be seeing a lot of SC police and their families in line for free fried chicken?

Hope this is a great day for you and yours! ABM already has our Christmas present.. A nice morning, and highs in the 70's today, before heavy rain tomorrow. Can you say... ride?

Gift Links: ABM's 12 Days of Biker Christmas, week 2!

Monday, 12/21/09: Gifts for Bikers On the Run (for entertainment purposes only!)

Tech MC Radar/Laser Detector Under $300.00 http://www.radarforbikes.com
Drop/Flip License Plate Brackets (Illegal in many States!) 50-90$ bucks http://www.plateflipper.com
Waterproof Bike Enclosure, Under $300.00 http://www.mdmshelters.com

Tuesday, 12/22/09: Long Ride Red Rear End Cures!

Long Ride Shorts, around $40.00 http://www.zoneperformancewear.com
The ultimate powder for red rears...available locally or at http://www.antimonkeybutt.com
10-20$

Wednesday, 12/23/09: Local Shopping Opportunities:

Your local MC repair facility. Pick up your biker a gift certificate. Support your local shop, keep more bucks in your home town.

Thursday, 12/24/09: It's Christmas Eve! Shoulda tuned in sooner...you're on yer own!

Reindeer Atop A Pro Street Chop!

ABM's Siberian Sunday Ride:

Dude putting thru our 'hood on a 10' long, low, pro-street style chopper, blue with silver leaf job. Nothing too unusual, except for his all white helmet, sporting trophy sized reindeer antlers. Seemed appropriate, it's almost too cold. I'm wondering if we'll hit 52 this afternoon. One unanticipated gift: Air cooled V-Twins love cold air, the colder and denser, the better. An engine with mileage runs like it's brand new, one very large advantage to doing your riding where it's colder than here.

Big Dog MC Going Broke?

Slow sales, disappearing tax break may spell disaster:

What a shame. First it was American Ironhorse, then Buell, along with a slew of lesser known manufacturers of higher end semi-custom bikes. Bad enough that Polaris, owner of Big Dog Motorcycles, builder of mid to high end factory customs has it's share of economic slowdown headaches, exacerbated by our wonderful banks refusing many consumer loans. Now BD is facing an extra tax burdon from the city in which they operate, the town citing the company's failure to keep up with projections of additional workforce hiring. Kick 'em when they're down. Real smart, knowing the company has had to idle it's production line twice already this year, and is said to be seeking a merger of equals, or, perhaps in the worst case scenario, an outright sale.

What does the city want, a total failure? Politicans don't get it. Maybe obtaining a real job would help, that is, if you find one.

ABM's 12 Days of Biker Christmas!

On-Air Gift Info, thru 12-20/09:

$100 or less:

Helmet Secure......... www.helmetsecure.com

Saddleman's Pilon Bag..... www.saddlemen.com

Expensive, cheap, or convenient:

Flat tire repair kit.... www.aerostitch.com

photo chromatic face shield changes tint shade...www.shieldtechllc.com

auto zone......... mobile one under $60/case, at local stores.

Whole Bike Stocking Stuffer:

Buell motorcycles, at many local Harley Dealers*

*(abm's wrench says after market performance parts for the new buell's are almost nil, like replacement for the often scraping under-the framerails muffler, and that parts may become hard to find in the comming years. We say, for well less than half of msrp, and a two year warranty, it's probably still a good deal, but go in with eyes wide open!)

Green Gifts for Your Favorite Biker:

Baye's Waterless Cleaner (under $10) www.bayescleaners.com

$20 Flashlight that never needs batteries www.essentialgear.com

$80 Hybrid mp3, cell phone recharger www.solio.com

One More Green Biker Day:

39$ One year membership includes free towing! www.ama-org.com

Plastic polish has no amonia, alcohol great for mc's, under $15 www.brilliantize.com

Do It Yourself, Save Thousands:

Self-help DVD instructional Vid's: www.fixmyhog.com

1500 pound capacity mc lift: your local store, or www.harborfreight.com

Check in Next Week for ABM's featured gifts for days 8 - 12!

ABM Z Bar Install Nearly Complete!

This is what the corporate ride looked like yesterday morning. Internal wires needed to be lengthened a few inches to accomodate for the extra travel inside the bar. Cool. Where's the speedo? Gone. Our thankx to Scary Larry for the install, and to Slash for the pic. With a predicted high temp of 81 today, I need a ride!

Caddyshack Moment?

Exploding Irrigation System Drives Golfers Insane!

It's the big Christmas tree lighting extravaganza at a nationally-famous golf mecca here in Florida. Eighty degree weather, you'd never know the peeps were suffering near whiteout conditions to the north. This night, our only concern is that we might get a rain shower, which never happened.

That doesn't mean we didn't get w-e-t!

What is ABM doing on a golf course, anyhow?

Dragging down a few extra bucks to pay for the Z-Bars which haven't made it back from the powdercoater. A couple of us agreed to set up a big sound system for the hundreds of country club members who come out each year to imbibe, hit the buffet line, & get fuzzy with their neighbors. Highlight of the nite is when your faithful servant rocks the mike with a 10-9-8, & we light the tree.

Get to the point will ya?

I'm trying, don't bother me. So we lite up the beautiful spruce, floating atop a small barge in the middle of a palm tree surrounded lagoon, which is in the middle of the golf course, which is where we're standing, atop a riser with the speakers. With less than 30 minutes left in the gig, and the crowd at it's max, the first sprinkler goes off like a busted Manhattan water main, directly underneath the right speaker, and this is not a little old chicken-poop lawn sprinkler, this is a heavy, million gallon per minute commercial atomic-hydra-death system! Three feet away, it blasts rows of bottles of top shelf liquor off the fancy banquet tables, along with the servers, and formerly dry cc members standing in line for a shot or two. Anticipating further mayhem, (this ain't our first rodeo), ABM stashes the electronic stuff, and prepares for the worst. Santa & Mrs Claus got it next, then various pods of adults and kids all over the course from at least a dozen irrigation outlets. You could be standing in a dry spot, when suddenly, a 90 foot plume of H2O provided an unexpected golf course enema! It's probably a safe bet that the grounds keeper will have a little "splain-in" to do this morning!

..and you thought this was gonna be another TW story..

"Straights" exhibiting "Biker Behavior"?

This ain't piling on...It's a legitimate question:

Sordid details: 2:30 in the morning, he's laid out in the street, snoring, having wiped out a hydrant and a tree. If this was you, wouldn't you expect that a breathalyzer would be shoved into your pie hole? The very people who look on bikers as "road garbage", seem to be harboring a "few" secrets of their own. Politicians, pundits, preachers, movie stars, and athletes notwithstanding, bikers may be one of the few bastions of normally behaving humans left on earth. From what we're hearing this morning, the latest "fallible" dude may have a bad case of writer's cramp from excessive check writing.

Bikers, normal dudes? Yeah, I think so, depending on one's definition of "normal".