I was born a Harley Davidson fan, have been a fan of the bikes even through the somewhat troubled seventies of my youth … more for the Harley Davidson brand than for me and I will probably die a Harley Davidson fan. Still, a man who has a passion for blonds does not hesitate to compliment a beautiful brunette when she walks by. Likewise, the 2014 Moto Guzzi California 1400 is indeed a wondrous looking work of art and one I would dearly love to throttle up some day. Moto Guzzi will never compete in the same arena as Harley, at least not in my book, but the machine that they have come out with looks to be a very impressive bike which actually may be moving them more into the realm of the big cruisers.

Financially speaking, it is very competitive with both its American and Japanese (Standard and Metric for your gearheads) counterparts. It crosses the dealership floor at just over fifteen-thousand dollars for a stock model making this a very affordable and competitive motorcycle for its class. Considering that even an Iron 883 is going to run you about ten grand and one of the larger Ducates over twenty, the 2014 Moto Guzzi California 1400 is sitting very comfortably in the middle of the pack where it can ride out the storms more comfortably from either side.

It is not lacking anything when it comes to testicular fortitude either. It pushes out about eighty-seven feet-pounds of torque through a very smooth-shifting, six-speed gear box and a shaft-driven drive train. Measuring in at some thirteen-hundred and eighty CCs it is not by any means a small or a weak little sister to the bigger cruisers. It generates a pretty impressive and surprisingly powerful ninety-six horsepower that is more than enough to allow even my biggest brothers to cruise down the road comfortably.

If there is any downside, it may be the weight of the 2014 Moto Guzzi California 1400. While it may not weigh an entire fourteen-hundred pounds, its seven-hundred and fifty pound idle weight is going to be more than most men can pick up if they ever did lay it down. Still, that weight does seem to be well utilized and when figured in with the new and improved Moto Guzzi mounting system, the bike itself is said to handle exceptionally well at road speeds.

The bike does tend to rattle a bit at low speeds so between that and the weight, it probably is not the best fit for a bike just to run around town on. It may be a bit awkward for the commuter or the weekend warrior. Still, once you get up to speed, it is said to be able to provide a smooth and comfortable ride. If you are looking for a solid, dependable road cruiser,. I would not trade in my Iron for it, but the 2014 Moto Guzzi California 1400 does seem like an exceptional value and an incredible ride.

Any bikers who have been riding for a few decades have lost brothers and likely sisters riding. Far too often this is due to some hapless cager who always has the “I swear I never even saw them” thing going on. Sometimes it is a tragic mistake on the part of the bikers, sometimes it is an unavoidable obstacle such as a deer and sometimes it is just something that nobody really could have seen coming … and no amount of training can adequately prepare you for. Sometimes these situations do seem fairly obvious in hindsight, but seriously, had it been one of us, we probably never would have even thought about it had somebody not told us a story about the friend of a friend.

I have lived in parts of the world where roads commonly have what are effectively six or eight inch “curbs” in the middle of the road. How does that work? Well, in a great many parts of the world, the streets are still made out of concrete. Concrete tends to have seams, the ground tends to shift and traffic pushes sections of the road up and down. Add in the lack of solid underground for some of the more tropical regions and the problem is actually much more common than many people who have not traveled much would think.

I have seen cars, vans, trucks and far too many scooters, bikes and other modes of transportation get totaled coming across something like this at night or in the middle or end of the bend in the road. While it is certainly not common, one would think that when you are about to nail a curb, you would probably slow down before you hit it. Such a thought is easy enough to say sitting around in a bar or talking with friends, but seriously, when was the last time you encountered such a problem? Do you really prepare for something like that while you are riding after dark or along unknown roads?

We all should know better than to get too close to eighteen wheelers. A biker does not even have to be running in the driver’s blind spot or too close behind the truckers to know that we are in a very precarious situation. There are just far too many things that can go wrong riding too close to a truck to make it safe. We all know that and I seriously doubt that many bikers ever have to think about it. Still, even the wind coming off a tractor-trailer can be a dangerous thing. Most of us know this as well. The same can be said for cruising through a great many plains and valleys out west as well.

Hauling a trailer on a motorcycle also prevents many unique challenges and those of us who have ever hauled one on our bikes know and understand this. I never did haul one of the single-wheeled motorcycle trailers as the looks of it alone were enough to make me think I was going to take a spill. Still, any small trailer is overly susceptible to some problems … though some times more than others.

A brother down south was recently heading out on a trip to go camping, hauling a trailer … but one that had been packed very lightly it would seem. If there is anything worse than hauling a trailer on a bike, it is hauling a small, light-weight trailer on a motorcycle. Now if he had been riding the back streets and mountain roads, he may have been fine but he decided to get on the highway. Mind you, this is down south and not out west where we get zephyr winds that could toss the tractor trailer over, never mind the bike and biker.

Still, with the lightweight trailer, when the truck passed him, the wind alone was enough to create an eddy for the motorcycle trailer to get caught up in. Unfortunately, this brother paid the ultimate price. While I have hauled a great many trailers, mostly small ones at that, I never thought about the how much more dangerous it was when it was not packed full and able to at least maintain some traction with what should, by all accounts at least, be relatively minor side winds … I just never thought.

I had to laugh when I was going through the headlines dumped so haphazardly into my inbox today. For whatever reason, there were about a half-dozen articles about how to prevent motorcycle theft. Granted, maybe no method is one-hundred percent fool-proof and very little will stop a persistent and dedicated thief. That said, there are quite a few viable options whether you are at home, staying at a hotel on a long road trip or even camped out beside the road. My personal preference is the twelve-gauge approach. Not that one silly … I mean using a twelve-gauge stranded wire … okay … well maybe it is kind of that way.

Twelve-Gauge stranded steel wire is my favorite theft deterrent. I use a piece of stranded steel wire maybe twelve to eighteen inches in length depending on the load that will have to push it. Onto that wire I mold eight to twelve thirty-three caliber lead balls. Fishing weights can work though I had custom molds to pour my own right on the wire. Yes, for those of you beginning to see the picture here, the thirty-three caliber lead shot is also commonly referred to as double-ought buckshot. Adding it to the steel wire (and guitar strings seem to work especially well) makes what we used to call garroted rounds.

They are very effective for hunting as well, though they are illegal in some locations. They are also not very good if the thieving, testicularly-challenged individual is standing right beside your bike. (If you wonder how someone with big enough testicles to break into a biker’s home becomes challenged when it comes to testicular fortitude, the sound of a round being jacked into a twelve-gauge pump seems to have that affect on the criminally active for whatever reason. A three-inch magnum driven garroted round tends to remove any doubt that may remain regarding the immediate concerns that their predicament has found them involved in) 

The simplest solution I have found when I spend the night outside off my bike, generally off some back road where I have ended up camping for the night, is to use a piece of chain out of my bag. I padlock one end to the bike and I padlock the other end to my ankle generally. As you may have noticed from my writing, nearly all of my rides are written from open-carry states so if you think some punk with a hacksaw may still have a chance … well, it may not be a garrote they have to worry about but … I suppose I am also fortunate to date as well. Yes, for the record, I do often ride with friends that I cannot carry around so … there are times when other security measures are needed.

For those rare times and occasions when I do find myself in the rather rare position of being housed in a hotel, I have a pair of fuzzy handcuffs … oh wait, further down in my bags … I generally keep a chain that has been rubber-coated so as not to scratch up my bike. My security chain is actually about twelve feet long and I did have to pay to have it “vulcanized” but it has been a lifesaver before. I use that to strap it to solid, well-secured locations in conjunction with a good brake-lock and a motion sensor.

The rubber-coating on the chain does cut down on the sound when people play with it … and for whatever reason, that does seem to happen more than I can understand why it would. (I know it is not the wind blowing it around for sure) However, anyone patient enough to remove the chain without setting off the motion sensor and then able to remove the brake-lock and/or move the bike … would probably not be done before I woke up anyhow. Seriously, there is no absolute cure for motorcycle theft but no matter where you may end up, there are always steps that you can take to minimize your risks.

I wrote a while back about the Polaris takeover of the Indian motorcycle brand. I seriously doubt there is a biker alive today … at least any from my generation or before, who do not have a profound love and respect for the classic Indian motorcycles. Indian Larry alone virtually made the Indian motorcycles a legend among the best of the best. There can be no doubt that Indian has a place in the heart of a great many fans, devotees and aficionados around the globe. Given that fact, I suppose their push at a global tour really is not at all surprising … but is it actually merited just yet.

When Polaris first announced the introduction of the 2014 Indian Chief, the price tag was expected to be somewhere around forty thousand dollars. I made mention of the fact that this would be their very first obstacle to overcome as it would greatly limit any chances of success. I seriously doubt that Polaris and Indian are acting on my advice at all, much less alone but they have acted to reduce the price greatly. The 2014 Indian Chief is now expected to hit the markets and the showroom floors with a price tag closer to the thirty thousand dollar range with some less expensive lines of motorcycles to be introduced at a later date.

Even so, thirty thousand dollars is a pretty steep price to pay for a bike even in theUSmarkets. While there may be some die hard Indian Motorcycle Devotees, we saw in the AMX/AMC takeover during the early seventies that new and improved management does not always make for a better bike. Add an unproven machine under a top-of-the-line price tag and hey … any startup is going to be rough but Polaris is definitely fighting an uphill battle here. If the new Polaris design has already been proven and the bike is a known quantity, it may be substantially easier to hit the market with both wheels rolling but as it is, some unexpected braking may be showing up as the market share builds up alongside of the reputation … whatever that reputation may prove to be.

I want to stress yet again that I have fallen in love with many a vintage Indian, though I have never actually owned one. What Polaris is attempting to do is to revise a classic and put it back out on the street where it belongs. I am duly impressed by their efforts and wish them nothing but continued success. That being said, it seems that with the struggles that they are already facing, the lack of production capacity to keep up with a global demand should there be one right off the bat and all sorts of other harsh realities that constantly pop up to slap down the hardest among us, it may be just a little bit premature to begin courting places like China and India for potential customers. I would certainly like to be proven wrong but somehow or another, I doubt that Harley Davidson needs to circle the wagons just yet, much less actually duck and cover.

Lots of Custom Motorcycles are out on the streets these days and they do come in all shapes, sizes and varieties. If there is anything at all unusual about this, it is the seemingly large number of Harley Davidson Sportsters that have been fully customized.

Some people claim that the Sportster is in fact nothing more than a small “chick’s bike”. Anybody who has ever lived or even spent a good amount of time overseas would probably have a very difficult time imagining something like an 883 Iron or an XL being anything remotely resembling small, much less a “chick’s bike”. Given the ever-increasing number of female riders and what could only be considered as true, female bikers, this view seems not only outdated but most definitely out of touch with reality as well.

Despite such a very limited perception, the Sportster is certainly among the most commonly customized motorcycles in the world … but why? For some custom bike builders, it would seem that the sleek, low-slung and natural lines of the sportster right off the line are the ideal starting point for a classic chopper. Add in to that the fact that some simple modifications are available before it ever leaves the factory and some of the custom motorcycle work can be done right there by true masters of the Harley Davidson Craft and yeah, I can see how that would be a good starting point.

The front ends on the Sportsters are … at least according to my few friends who do work on my bike(s) and who know what they are doing. It can be overly difficult to get the extended forks and rake just right to maintain the smooth ride that most of the touring models and larger baggers almost require for long-distance riders like me. The low center of gravity on the sportster and the ease with which the front forks can be lengthened and raked out makes it the first choice for many bobber and chopper builders.

Apparently, some of the larger Sportsters are a bit more top-heavy and taller and as such, are a bit more difficult to work with but still very popular. Watching these programs on television where they build an entire custom chopper in a half hour or an hour, it is difficult to imagine, but the physics of the bike are very important. While I am not personally a designer, I have ridden some very poorly built bikes and trikes that take everything a good rider has just to keep them on the road. Still, even the larger model sportsters remain very popular among custom motorcycle builders.

Whatever the ultimate reason is for any particular custom motorcycle builder to select the sportster, given some of the bikes I have seen (and rarely, though occasionally) ridden, it does seem to be a pretty wise choice somehow. If by some chance, you are one of those people that believed and/or still believes that the Harley Davidson Sportster is nothing more than a “girl’s bike”, try living somewhere that you need a special license for anything over 50 CCs for a while. When you get back stateside, that “little bike” will start looking real good!

There are all sorts of custom bikes out and about. Custom Harley Davidsons are virtually at least, far more common than custom cars or other motor craft. I have seen some truly beautiful custom knuckleheads, custom panheads, custom sportsters and all sorts of other custom motorcycles gracing these very pages. There seems to be one very common thread among almost all of the custom motorcycles that I have seen. There are the rare exceptions but for the most part, they do remain the exceptions and not the rule.

In nearly all of the custom motorcycle creations that I have seen, they are built on existing models of bikes and are built with the same old engines. The rare exceptions still tend to use relatively common engines even if they are not all very common on the motorcycles. The rotary engine motorcycle was clever and probably did run very smooth … though I would never personally be very likely to get a chance to actually try it. The trike with the Cobra Jet helicopter engine is certainly a unique contraption. The Colossus as it is known is without any doubt going to get people’s attention when it is fired up, though getting it street legal may be a bit difficult. The Boss Hogs took an existing 350 Chevy and chopped them in half at first and then used the entire engine to power a rather large, bulky motorcycle frame down the road in style. Yet all of these examples are using stock engines in one form or another.

Okay, granted, building an entire concept engine is certainly going to be a bit more difficult than building a custom frame or driveline. Many of the parts are going to need to be fully machined, cast aluminum or custom molding of any kind is very likely to make these kinds of projects far too expensive for the average, shade-tree mechanic working on his own projects on the weekends. There is a level of complexity and expense that is definitely going to hamper creative ability here.

There has got to be some kind of software that is available that will show some results before an engine has to be built from the ground up only to be tested in real-world environments. I do know that even among some professional engineers, real-world results are often very different from what has been projected. Still, it would be kind of nice to see at least someone with the wherewithal and fortitude to open a shop specifically for custom motorcycle engine design and building. There are no doubt a lot of designs in existence that have been dropped on the design-room floor and forgotten, many with good reason. Still, to assume that everything good that can be designed has already been designed is fallacious at best.

Such a project may not be viable at all with the current levels of technology but that does not mean it is wholly out of the question or off the table. Laser cutters, three-dimensional printers and other technological advances are becoming increasingly cheaper and more readily available to the weekend engineer. It will probably not be too long before projects like this are the new frontier for custom motorcycle builders … and indeed, for custom builders of all manner of motor sports machines and other vehicles.  While this may not happen anytime this year or even next, chances are better than not that it is not too far down the road. We will see what we will see I suppose.

There have been many master motorcycle builders, hot-rodders, rat-rodders and other custom motor vehicle throughout the history of motor sports but few truly reach the level on an unmatchable master in their fields of interest. Randy Grubbs has certainly reached a level where he is un-paralleled in many ways. Among his endeavors of a chopped down Peterbilt truck that is now a super-hot hot-rod, The Blastolene Special powered by a V-12 tank engine and far too many cars, trucks, motorcycles to mention in a single article and even an RV that is unique to say the least.

The Decoliner is itself probably one of my personal favorite innovations by Randy Grubbs. I could personally not pick a better chase vehicle for a long run even if I wanted to. If I had my choice, this would be it. Where else can you find an RV that you can pilot much as you would a boat … from the observation deck? The whole concept is as insane as it is beautiful, unique and a classical work of art even in the world of custom motor-vehicle builders. The basic design is a unique combination of an older GMC recreational vehicle, an Airstream Trailer and includes what can only be a custom built observation deck complete with vehicle controls. While you may not be able to get your knees in the breeze from the top of the Decoliner, you could certainly feel it blowing through your hair (though I could not as I am proudly bald) and … that has got to give the cops fits.

Even Jay Leno … who by his own claims has more money than brains … and really good … and expensive tastes … is a big fan of Randy Grubbs. Since Jay Leno has sold all or at least a major portion of his collection, it may not be possible to know exactly how many of his vehicles were custom built creations of Randy Grubs but there have certainly been a few of them pass through his garage.

One of the more notable (again, in my book) constructs to come from the mind of Randy Grubbs was a motorcycle that again, seems to be based on the principles and the design of the Airstream camper from the days of my youth. The Decoson is a fully customized Harley Davidson that I would hate to polish and clean almost as much as I would hate to even think about laying it down. It is made on top of a 1984 Sportster and has what he calls an Art-Deco style, fully customized aluminum body. Now I have long held that were I ever to ride a moped, I would never have my picture taken on it but Randy Grubbs has announced the creation of a series of Decopods described only as “scooters” which are made along the same lines as the Decoson. The word scooter could mean motorcycles or it could mean mopeds and not being able to get in touch with him, I am not sure which … but I bet I would dig owning one no matter what was under the art-deco and I would certainly not hesitate to have my picture taken on one. What I would really love to see would be a very long and productive life for Randy Grubbs just to see how many pieces of motorsport and motor-vehicle art and history he can create and what they will look like. The future for Randy Grubbs looks brighter than polished aluminum with chrome trim from here.

There are a lot of people that wonder about how far you can actually drive a motorcycle in a single day. My personal best was about 770 miles going fromJacksonville,Floridato a small town in West (By God)Virginia. I bring that up because while I personally know some people who have traveled a bit farther than that in a single day, many people call me everything short of a liar when I explain it to them. My position was quite simply a need to get home before winter hit too hard and not wanting to spend a night out in the country during that time of year when the nights were really starting to get cold. All in all, the entire trip lasted about twelve or thirteen hours I suppose. It was a long day to be sure but certainly not anything even close to the outermost limits of day rides.

It is also relevant because the seven-hundred mile marker is one that Matt Hitchen is apparently going to be very pleased when he hits, though it is going to take him a bit more than a day to achieve this. Matt Hitchen is a biker and indeed, a rough-rider of sorts … in pretty much every sense of the word. However, his bike is not of the motorized variety. His choice for this particular venture is a vintage Penny Farthing … yeah, like the one in the picture … one of those old-timey bicycles with the outrageously over-sized front tire and the seat sitting up about chest level on the average man. Now I have never honestly ridden such a contraption but I have to imagine that any full day on something like that should pretty much qualify any biker for a medal … or at least a strait jacket.

The motivating factor for Matt Hitchen is much the same as it is for many bikers, to help raise money for a charity that he believes in. In his particular case, he lost a cousin at a very young age and The Sick Children Trust went above and beyond the call of duty in their efforts to help his family. In return, he has been raising money consistently for this charity ever since. The Sick Children Trust is a charity that, much like the Ronald McDonald Houses in the states, provides temporary housing for parents whose children need specialized and distant medical care for particularly debilitating and difficult diseases. It is indeed a charity very dear to his heart and apparently, one he is prepared to quite literally put his backside on the line to support.

Matt Hitchen is slated to put in the entire seven-hundred miles in vintage clothes as if the trip alone was not enough of a challenge. (Hey, say what you will about modern technology, but personally, there has been a great many occasions when I was very grateful to have a zipper for quick and easy access) His route will also take him to each and every one of the eight homes for The Sick Children Trust along the way. If it were me, I believe that I may have picked a bit more modern … or at least more motorized bike. However, given his tenacity, Matt Hitchens certainly deserves some attention and support for his efforts.

There can be little doubt that Sammy Halbert is pretty hardcore, pretty intense and every bit into the game of racing. Anyone who has sustained the numerous injuries he has had over the years would either have to be grossly incompetent or totally committed to doing whatever it took to win. Given the impressive number of wins and podium appearances by Halbert, incompetence does not seem to be anywhere close to the real picture so it looks as if he is just bound and determined to win. Is Sammy Halbert going to be able to not only continue down the road to recovery but complete that journey with a podium placing finish or a win?

Suffering any injury has got to be one of the roughest experiences that any motorcycle racer can go through but it seems as if Sammy Halbert has had more than his fair share of injuries. Injuries suffered on the track or off are probably equally devastating to the racers but it almost seems as if Sammy Halbert has more misfortunes away from the track than he does while racing … again pointing towards skill and ability to win and not incompetence in any sense of the word.

Since breaking into the world of professional motorcycle racing, Sammy Halbert has consistently performed well even if he has not always had a winning season. In ten years of racing though, he has had some exceptional runs and some exceptional seasons. It has to be rough for any professional athlete to be sidelined, much less to have it occur on multiple occasions. Still, Sammy Halbert has seemed to be convinced of his ability to not only recover from his injuries, but from any lost time on the track. The same tenacity that allows him to push in the realm of rehabilitation allows him to push just as hard on the track.

If his recent performance atStocktonis any indication, it looks like Sammy Halbert is not only on the road to recovery but back on the fast track to the winner’s circle. In what can only be described as a back and forth battle that was hard fought and hard won, he managed to pull out a win at the Stockton Half Mile. There was no search for a pity party and certainly nobody willingly giving ground to allow an injured comrade to make a triumphant return. He fought and won atStocktonwithout any doubt.

If this is an indication of what Sammy Halbert has in store for the rest of the season, this could very well be another stellar year of spectacular performances by the still young and potentially rising professional motorcycle racer. Mind you, Brad Baker was looking pretty good too so when these two are thrown into the mix together, this could be a banner year every bit as difficult for the fans as it will be for these two as they battle for their places on the podium. Now if everybody can just stay healthy, 2014 looks like it could be an even better year but that remains to be seen.

While I do my utmost best to keep politics out of my writing here in deference to both the readers and my peers … not that I am overly passionate or anything … I shall never hesitate to do that which I can to show support for the troops, for veterans and especially for recently returning veterans, disabled or not. One program in particular seems to deserve some special recognition not only for what it is doing for disabled vets returning to a very uncertain and often difficult future, but for the world of motorcycle racing as well.

VETM is short for Veterans Empowered Through Motorsports. Among the many groups that do offer some form of comfort and support to returning vets, I have a special admiration for those that focus on the disabled vets … especially those that focus on their abilities more than what they have lost and figuring out ways to get them actively involved in what they can do rather than focusing on what they cannot.

Who among us would not dig the chance to work on a Pit Crew for Vance and Hines or some other top-tier motorcycle racing team? Thanks to the efforts of VETM, many disabled vets are getting the opportunity to do just that. And unlike many programs, these programs do not sit our veterans in the corner allowing them to turn a token wrench from time to time but right in the middle of the mix when the race is for real. While the VETM started out with some very big dreams and very limited means, it has grown into something truly meaningful for the participants on all sides of the equation.

Team Ohio Racing is the first one to utilize the vets in the actual pit during the races and for that we salute them as well. The Team Ohio Racing crew works with VETM, The Wounded Warrior Project and with Motion Pro who has been there side by side with the people at VETM since the beginning. As time goes on, it looks as if they are expanding the programs for disabled veterans as well as for the racing teams willing to sponsor a disabled Veteran. The AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Harley Davidson series seems to be an exceptionally appropriate venue for these returning veterans but there are other programs and series getting in on the action as well.

A great many of us may joke or speak figuratively of giving up a body part or two to get involved, up close and personal with racing but many of these returning vets have quite literally given that much and more in service to their country. To say that the returning veterans deserve nothing but the best is, in my humble opinion at least, a major understatement. Programs such as the TOR-VETM venture are exceptionally valuable as they focus on skill, ability and what can be done while exploring new possibilities and new challenges … in a very supportive, exciting and discipline-oriented field. Together, these combine to provide a scenario that should be somewhat familiar while at the same time being challenging and rewarding, a definite winning combination for those select few who are currently able to participate. Now, if we can just get some more of the teams to begin participating … anyone up for a new challenge?