The DawgHouse Motorcycle Radio…The #1 Motorcycle Show in the US
Hey all, our Motorcycle radio show # 336 is up for you to listen to any time. You can get the broadcast here!
On this show we discuss:
The King vs. The Queen
The 2016 Ducati Monster 1200
Ducati breaks into the TOP 10 Best Selling Motorcycles, 1st time EVER!
Mission Motorcycles… KILLED by Apple Computers?!?!?!
Full Throttle Saloon back on TV…burnt toast anyone?
SuperPrestigio of the Americas
As a topic of discussion on a recent “The Dawghouse Motorcycle News Rants and Racing” podcast, which has been around for more than six years now, we debated American Motorcycle Icons. More to the point, just what are those icons?
To be defined as an American Icon we said it had to be:
1) American (duh)
2) Most if not all motorcyclists know about it.
3) A large number of non-bikers know about it.
Using that as a starting point we quickly realized that a lot of things that bikers might assume are iconic really aren’t. For example Indian Motorcycles, a classic American bike (Check), most motorcyclists know that Indian is back (Check), non-riders…we think not so much. You can check this yourself by asking a non-rider/follower what they think of when you say Indian.
Some of the others that were discarded included:
Rolling Thunder
Tail of the Dragon
Supercross (and, sadly, American motorcycle racing in general)
We also debated Sturgis and Daytona, I wanted to include Sturgis as an icon and Phil was adamant that Daytona Bike Week was much more famous then Sturgis. Again, both are 100% pure American motorcycle events (Check) and most if not all bikers know about the events (Check). But will enough non-riders know about either of these events to rise to iconic status. I say yes for Sturgis and Phil said yes for Daytona, but he is wrong of course! ☺
Soooo just what did we decide were true American Motorcycle Icons? Excluding Sturgis and Daytona (because we agreed to disagree) we came up with the following American Motorcycling Icons:
Harley Davidson
Evil Kenivel
Hells Angels
Orange County Choppers
Surprised you with the last one? Well consider this; the Teutul’s and OCC have been on television, in some form, for nearly 15 years. OCC products have been in major stores like JC Penny and Wal-Mart. The OCC brand is on all kinds of stuff even a roller coaster. Which brings us to the icon requirements: American made (check), do most if not all bikers know about OCC (check) and does a large number of non-riders know OCC…based on sells of merchandise (check).
Also, sadly, I think that Evil Kenivel’s status as an icon may be fading. I am sure that most motorcyclists are still aware of his all-American daring deeds but as for the general public as a whole, less and less know who he is year to year. In another generation he may have to come off the list.
Think any of those are wrong? Did we miss something you think rises to the level of iconic? Sturgis or Daytona? Let us know what you think.
Based on what I can find this is the most (and only) Harley Davidson Motorcycle in the top 10 list.
When a “barn-find” Harley-Davidson racing machine and sidecar is found after 50-plus years in storage in Australia and then sent to auction, the bidding is sure to be fierce. The expectations were that the bike would go for about US $100,000.
But the bidding was greater than expected. The bike set a new Australian auction record with a final winning bid of AUD$600,000 (US$420,000).
What caught everyone’s wallet on fire? A circa-1927 FHA 8-Valve V-Twin racer complete with its scramble-type sidecar. (The motorbike’s side car was added to the motorbike after it made to Australia and can be angled to adapt to what tracks the bike was running on according to the auctioneer.) 
The 8-Valve racing Harley is one of the rarest and most collectible models in HD circles.There were fewer than 50 built which makes it an exceptionally rare machine anywhere in the world. So for one to turn up in an Australian shed after decades certainly set the motorcycle collector world abuzz.
These powerful bikes were only offered to up-and-coming racers of the times and were not available to the general public. “To many collectors the engine is really what makes this bike. This was probably the holy grail for Harley-Davidson in this era” stated Mr. Boribon the auctioneer.
As noted above the fact that less than 50 were built makes it rare, the fact that a lot of race bikes ended there racing lives in spectacular fashion contributes to even lower numbers left in existence. I am sure more than a few of the 50 blew up or crashed on the track. So based on those facts it is very surprising that very few 8-Valve racing bikes have survived from that era.
This is the only Harley in the top ten most expensive bikes at auction coming in at
1 – US$580,000 – 1910 Winchester
2 – US$551,200 – 1915 Cyclone Board Track Racer
3 – US$480,000 – 1939 BMW RS255 Kompressor
4 – US$463,847 – 1922 Brough Superior SS80
5 – US$452,234 – 1926 Brough Superior SS100
6 – US$450,000 – 1958 Ariel 650 Cyclone
7 – US$448,156 – 1929 Brough Superior SS100
8 – US425,943 – 1939 Brough Superior SS100
9 – US$420,000 – 1927 Harley Davidson FHA 8-Valve V-Twin racer
10 – US$394,101 – 1934 Brough Superior SS100
(Bumped from the top 10 – US$383,317 – 1949 Vincent Black Lightning)
The wife and I participated in this motorcycle ride sponsored by Frederick, MD Harley Owners Group Chapter. We decorated our bike in pink ribbons. By the looks our convoy of Harley’s received I hope we might have had a couple people think about cancer. Debbie is a breast cancer survivor so we think about it a lot.
The wife and I have had the Nolan N104 Evo motorcycle helmets for about half a year now. We have worn them in a large variety of conditions including 100+ degree (F) days, monsoon rains and cool but not yet frigid temperatures (I am sure we will get that soon here in North America).
OK…so what did we like about the helmet.
1) Fit was good. Tight but not uncomfortable. As we wear it more, the padding is conforming to our heads well.
2) Easy to use “controls” (sun shield, buckle system)
3) Ventilation was good, up to a point (see below).
4) Communications, the speakers could be of better quality but they work. The microphone is good, people could not tell I was on the bike when I made a phone call.
5) Not too heavy on our heads…at the end of a long ride we were not unduly tired.
Now what did we not like.
1) Ventilation, when the temps hit the upper 90s(F) and above the vents were not enough. Even locking the chin bar up (creating a ¾ helmet) it was not enough as the tight padding would not allow air to flow around our heads. Up to those temps the vents worked well and I had no issues. During one of our trips the temps were over 100 for many days… we had to get new half-helmets to compensate.
2) Fogging was an occasional minor issue. I am not a big fan of the pinlock system in general and I know this would fix my problem.
3) There is an occasional wind induced rattle that I cannot find or recreate…it just happens for no apparent reason at weird random times. The wife has not had this issue. UGH!!
Overall we like the helmet. Other than during high temps it is comfortable and works as advertised. At this point I would recommend the Nolan Helmet to friends with the caveat about the ventilation. I give the Nolan N104 four stars.
BY: Ania Todua
After helmets, biker jackets are the essential accessories for the motorcyclists’ safety. Thankfully, while protecting you, these armors accentuate your style quotient as well. Of course, like most other niches, the biker jackets market is also swarming with immense styles and designs. Making a buying decision is often very confusing. Here are some basic things you should ensure about your jacket:
Some of Ania’s other works:
The Rattle the Runway motorcycle ride indirectly follows the path of Flight 77. That airliner was the one that that the terrorist flew into the Pentagon on 9/11. Proceeds from the event go to the Pentagon Memorial fund. More on that in the next post.
This year, Patriot Harley Davidson held a pre-ride party at their location in Fairfax, VA. The event had a band, food trucks, a bike show and all around good time. I was a bit disappointed in the turn out but it was a major holiday weekend and I don’t think it was well publicized.
My Army Bike won 1st place in its category (Best Harley). The prize was a $100 gift certificate from the dealership. As I don’t get by this way very often I thought it best to spend the money while I was there. My wife got a nice new shirt and I now have a new pocket knife, the total came to $99.60. I guess that is about as close to $100 as I could get.
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 