The new adventure unfolding before me was so exciting that I totally forgot I’d been up the entire night.  No tiredness was evident, just joy and awe.  In Western New York the predominant color is green and the sky is often cloudy.  Riding through this semi-arid part of the country everything is tan and the huge bowl of sky above is the deepest blue I can imagine.  The Black Hills were still a couple of hundred miles ahead but the passing undulating landscape of this prairie was very unique to me.  I found it interesting and beautiful.   I didn’t even mind the Wall Drug Signs, the billboards advertising Murdo’s car museum and the Gutzon Borglum story.  As a stranger in this strange land everything was fresh and new

If you’ve never been to Easyrider you have no excuse.  Seriously.  It’s not like Sturgis or  Daytona that might be half way across the country. It’s a traveling show that comes to you.  You and about 10 million other bikers. It goes to

I’ve written on this space about my early years riding a Harley because I thought it might be interesting to some to hear they weren’t alone in their love of two-wheeling.  But as most Bikers know, its more than a love of biking, it’s a love of living that attracts us to this life style.  You don’t have to be a rider to relate to incidents of living.  There are stories that let us all know we aren’t alone in our love for life and when there is one silly little story that combines both of these loves, it’s priceless.  The most interesting stories to me are always the real stories of other riders.  Stories without moral or hype, just human bits and pieces that makeup what we are all about.  This little tale is true and about a rider currently residing in Northern California named “Star”.

Charlie Brechtel introduced me to Berry Wardlaw at the Buffalo Chip in August of 2004 but it was actually in November of that year that a bonding took place when Charlie invited the whole crew to join the band at The Love Ride in Los Angeles.  That was the year they opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd.  Early the following year Berry invited Wild Bill and I to help him at his booth for the 5th annual V-Twin Expo in Cincinnati the first weekend in February.

Charlie Brechtel and Bill Hayes are two talented guys who, for most THUNDER PRESS readers, require little or no introduction. But for those few who have, say, been lost in the woods for a while, here are their nickel version bios. Brechtel writes rocking blues tunes that focus on bikers and the lifestyle and performs them across the country, including holding forth at the Buffalo Chip Campground annually in Sturgis. Hayes is a busy man too. He is the author of "The Original Wild Ones: Tales of the Boozefighters MC." He also pens stories for THUNDER PRESS, teaches martial arts, and plays in a band.

When I woke in the Dubuque, Iowa motel room it was raining and the bike wore it’s cover.  So I went back to bed.  The 1st nap of the day is always the best.  I was very glad I’d spent the money for a room.  Next time I looked out the rain had stopped so I started getting everything together.  By the time I packed, ate free motel food and fired up there were patches of blue in the Western sky.  This was going to be another grand day.

A week or so later I ran into Ernie at work.  When I told him I was going to Sturgis he said the words that would change my life forever.

This is a story that begins in the 21st century.  Sure, I’ve been riding motorcycles for 40 years now, but it wasn’t until after I turned 50 that I started to develop it into a lifestyle.  I’ve never had an attitude that Harley Davidson is the only bike to ride, but I own one now.

Now that we’ve all survived the mania of the holidaze and are safely ensconced in the New Year, the ho-hum of winter weather has begun to seep deep into the psyche of us saddle tramps. Riding is down to a minimum for most of us, at least if we wanna stay anywhere near dry, and we start finding ways to divert our attention from the dreary, rain soaked roads. Instead, we seek indoor activities and take time to tend to our bikes in anticipation of bluer skies. As a means of diversion, folks turn to their hobbies and fervent sports junkies sit huddled around the television slinging about such verbiage as holding, off sides, and horse collaring.

It is not uncommon to have more crankcase pressure and increased venting when engines are modified. In most cases it is minimal and just enough to be aggravating.
 In the case of the 1999 – 2006 Twin Cam 88 Harley Davidson engines this is easily eliminated by installing a Doherty Machine MYSTFREE breather unit.