Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2015 i Baggers Magazine

BAGGERS, I moved to Cali from Illinois to be with my high school sweetheart after 43 years. That first ride on his Harley was so special; it made me feel young again. Both of our spouses had passed away and we managed to hook up, and I was in love with him and California. It was a sunny, cool day in February but perfect for a ride as we headed out early for Solvang on his 2007 Harley-Davidson Street Glide. There was so much to see and do that we knew there would have to be another ride in our near future. Mike loves a lot of chrome and it just sparkled in the sunlight, and the black paint job done at Star Auto Body in Oxnard looked as slick…

So you want to take off for an adventure on your motorcycle, huh? You could just hop on your bad mama jama you call a motorcycle and stay in a hotel, right? Or, that’s what I always think. Have you looked at hotel costs for Daytona or, worse yet, the 75th Annual Sturgis Rally? Why is it so expensive to be a biker now? Hotel rates have skyrocketed during bike rallies, and we don’t see the prices coming down anytime soon. Hell, we have a hard time figuring out where to stay every year, and we know where to look. We might rent an RV, trailer, or even camp in some spots depending on what is available for this year’s big rallies. The other option is to go and pitch…

Italy is one of those countries that lives up to its reputation: great food, friendly people, amazing culture and architecture, and, of course, insanely beautiful custom motorcycles— be it baggers, choppers, trackers, cafés, or whatever is currently the two-wheeled flavor of the moment. Being my fifth year to Verona, Italy, for Motor Bike Expo, it never ceases to amaze me that around 150,000 people flock to the Veronafiere every year over the course of three days. There’s no three-day event like that anywhere else I’ve been to. And there’s no wonder folks travel from far and wide because on display are some of the best in the business, whether that’s motorcycles, parts, apparel, artwork, food and drink, or much more! There’s always a reason that I continue to go to…

High-stakes poker, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is an endurance race. You wait for good cards (if you’re smart), make the best decision you can on limited information (Is he/she bluffing? Do I call or raise with my queen high flush?), and hopefully end up richer for your time. It doesn’t always work though. If it did, there’d be a lot more successful poker pros and a lot less bitching and whining about bad calls. One of which led to this Le Mans-inspired Yamaha Stratoliner from Blacksmith Motoring Company. H Gio Giovanni owns and operates the custom shop. It’s been a family-orientated business for more than 30 years, producing innovative, show-quality, performanceorientated, street-reliable machines for the true motorcycle enthusiast. They specialize in building certified Japanese (metric) motorcycles that…

GENERATIONS TO COME // Conner James and his Papa are showcasing their 2007 FLHRC that doesn’t look at all like it did when Papa purchased it in 2007. Known as the “Küryakyn Poster Boy,” Papa, a.k.a. Frank Albanese, has just about every imaginable piece of chrome they sell. In addition, the Road King sports all Dakota Digital gauges, LED lights throughout, custom made seat by Rich’s Upholstery, Freedom Performance Fishtails, and a wide array of many other bling accessories. However, the pic is not at all about Papa; it’s all about Conner James and his showstopping chopper MICHIGAN MADE // John Schultz from Eaton Rapids, Michigan, sent in pics of his 2010 Road Glide Special. He wanted to change the direction of the stock bike and got a little advice…

For years now, auto manufacturers have received heavy pressure to lower emission gases and increase miles per gallon (mpg) within their inventory from the government agencies like CARB and EPA. It makes me wonder when the motorcycle industry will be forced to start making the same sacrifices that the heavy-mandated auto industry currently sees. Motorcycles that are hybrids? Huh?! The technology is here with cars and the question would be, is there a market for a hybrid electric/fuel bagger? I’m not sure if I would buy one given I like the way things are now. But if you look toward the all-electric Tesla model S sports sedan, it goes 270 miles on a single charge. Or look at the Ford lineup of cars and trucks changing from high-displacement engines to…

After a year’s absence of production, the Harley-Davidson Road Glide is back on the streets for 2015 and is better than ever. H-D dived deep into a period of restyling and revamping based heavily on real-world customer/rider feedback. The experiment was dubbed Project Rushmore, and the results have been incredibly well received. Updated features now include an aggressive new “shark-nose” fairing design, brighter LED Daymaker headlight beams, and similar hard injection-molded bags found on other H-D Touring models. Other standard features include a rear air-ride suspension, cruise control, and H-D’s exciting BoomBox Infotainment system, which takes audio/GPS/hands-free utilization to the next level of ease. The next generation Road Glide is as good in real life as it is on paper, but there’s always room for customization, right? No matter how…

We love Sportsters. But we also love the functionality of baggers. Why not have both, right? Long before Harley-Davidson released its XL1200T (factory-bagged Sporty), there have been a few companies out there making components to bag a Sportster on the cheap. One such company is Cycle Visions out of San Diego, California. We had a 2013 Iron 883 owner who was in a similar situation: He loved everything about his Sporty but wanted to haul some gear on his daily commute to work. Luckily, Cycle Visions offers its Bagster Tail kit ($299.99), which fits most ’04–later Sportster models and includes mounting brackets and all the necessary mounting hardware to make the installation a breeze. You’re obviously going to need saddlebags and everything involving getting them working properly (latches, tethers, Dzus…

The life of a student revolves around the classroom, which unfortunately means having to lug around brick-weight textbooks, pens, pencils, notebooks, and a shiny red apple for the teacher (seriously, though, does that even happen anymore?). Now, schlepping all that around wouldn’t be so bad if said student didn’t like riding motorcycles. If that wasn’t the case, all that learnin’ junk could be shoved into a JanSport and tossed in the backseat until pop-quiz time. But, alas, the student in question, a respectful lad by the name of Stefan Villanueva, is quite fond of the freedom he gets from riding his Sporty every day but figured he had no other option but to wear the required school supplies on his back when commuting to and from campus. Well, good thing…

“F—king nuts.” That is how Jordan summed up the next bike feature in Baggers. Our editorin-s ubtlety dabbles in hyperbole from time to time, and he wasn’t so gracious as to censor his language for me as I have for you, so you will forgive me if I received his words with a certain amount of skepticism. Upon first glance at the photos, there wasn’t much to latch on to in the way of looks either. However, wise men don’t judge books by their covers. Thankfully, intelligence isn’t one of our strong suits, and in this case, you actually could adjudicate this manuscript by its visual aesthetics (thank you, thesaurus) and not be far off. The key is not looking at the rattle-can flat black as an indication of simplicity;…

More is better. We always want more. Whether that’s an extra zero on the paystub, another cold one, or a fifth bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch at 2 a.m. while watching DVR’d episodes of Better Call Saul or whatever it is that tickles your pickle. For motorcycle junkies, it’s always more horsepower. And Harley-Davidson definitely recognizes that desire, hence the release of its all-new street-legal 120ST Touring motor. The 120ci of street-legal power is definitely a substantial feat (given the current state of emissions restrictions), and Harley-Davidson accomplished just that with its new Screamin’ Eagle 120 “Street Tuned” Engine made for 2015 Rushmore baggers (excluding Twin-Cooled models). However, H-D hasn’t reached the 50-state-legal designation just yet (the engine is only 49-state legal at time of print), but the MoCo is…

If you follow history (or Game of Thrones), you find that there are two types of kings: those who stand out and those who blend in. The same holds true for the monarchs we call Road Kings. Those that go with the flow meld into the chrome sea of bikes outside of rally bars. It’s the ambitious ones everybody remembers. All of us know King Henry VIII. No one remembers King George IV. With all the one-off artisanship that went into this unique Road King from AR Baggers, you’d have a hard time forgetting it if you met it in person. From the raked front with its speakerhousing nacelle to the street-skimming extended hard bags, it’s not exactly a bolt-on weekend job. AR spent five months giving it the artistic…

HARDSTREET FROM CUSTOM CHROME ABS Saddlebag Kits Looking to add bags to your Sportster, Dyna, or Softail model? Check out Hardstreet’s injectionmolded ABS material saddlebags available with top-quality OEM grade paint in satin black or gloss black. Kits come complete with locking saddlebags, mounting brackets, and necessary hardware. Some applications may require turn signal relocation brackets, sold separately ($39.95). Dimensions vary by bike model, but there are many bag options to choose from. $619.99–$749.99 //customchrome.com DRAG SPECIALTIES Low-Profile Solo Seats for Baggers Feeling comfortable with your seating position is key to a great ride. Check out Drag’s new Low-Profile Solo seats. Th e low-profile design lowers the rider up to 1-1/2 inches, depending on the model of bike, with improved styling. Seat comes with all mounting hardware and includes the…