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Issue #057
What's New at CruiserCustomizing.com
1. Book Review: Honda Motorcycles by Aaron P. Frank
2. We want your input for the new CruiserCustomizing Magazine
3. Hot Deals and Clearance Specials
1. Book Review: Honda Motorcycles by Aaron P. Frank
All photos courtesy Honda Motorcycles, pub. Motorbooks International.
Finally, the definitive volume about the Honda marque...from a writer/rider who truly loves the history behind the winged nameplate.
A study of Honda's grand success must begin with a close look at Soichiro Honda, one of the world's greatest industrial giants and visionaries.
Early Hondas were intended for cheap post-WW2 mass transportation. But Mr. Honda had a dream...
With those legendary words, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda", an entirely new world of two-wheeling motorsports was created as the world discovered the joy of two wheels.
Since 1958 the C-100 Super Cub has undergone four decades of continuous production with only minimal changes. A staggering 30 million have been manufactured to date.
In 1969 Honda kickstarted the Era of the Superbike with the introduction of the in-line four CB750. Pliant and cooperative around town, it coould surpass 100mph on the freeway. It nearly shut down the British motorcycle industry singlehandledly.
Freddie Spencer competed aboard the big machines in the AMA Superbike championship in the early 1980s.
Who says a custom bike has to be a V-twin bar hopper? This piece of riding jewelry built by Cobra Engineering is cool for either cruising or intercontinental travel.
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With the recent publication of Aaron P. Frank's HONDA MOTORCYCLES, we Honda fans have easy access
to all the facts of the company that-at the close of World War Two-started from nothing and rocketed to first place as fast as a drag strip racer. Frank, who just turned thirty, is the editor of SUPER STREET BIKE and a senior editor at MOTORCYCLIST, America's oldest motorcycle magazine. Frank's book is a historical epic which leads his readers through the dynamic history of the world's leading motorcycle company, a brand that builds fast and reliable machines from iron ponies to thoroughbred racers, motorcycles that excel in every niche of riding and competition.
This hardcover, 192-page volume is filled with color shots lending stunning visualization to each milestone. Not content with a history portrayed by images, Frank tracked down and interviewed Big Red's old-timers; men who helped build Mr. Soichiro Honda's motorcycle company out of thin air through vision, race victories and pure salesmanship. HONDA MOTORCYCLES shines all the more because the talented author was content to remain a background organizer and historian who, through countless interviews and intercontinental travel, let the words of Honda's movers and shakers shape his volume.
In fact, Frank first started the project as a master's thesis at Chicago's DePaul University, yet HONDA MOTORCYCLES is no dry college dissertation; the author's love of riding and of Honda lore shines through each word.
As the author told me in an e-interview, "My intention was, as much as possible, to let the people involved tell the story in their own words. To hear the inside story from Bob Hansen and Bob Jameson, or to hear Freddie Spencer talk about his first test on the VF750R, now that's a story. It was plenty of work, 90,000 words and 2 ½ years, and who knows how much long distance money, but I'm very proud of the final product."
Not only is Frank an unrepentant fan of the brand, but he is also a sold-out admirer of the company's founding father Soichiro Honda. In the Introduction to HONDA MOTORCYCLES, the young author poses the question, "Why Honda?" His answer: "Honda Motor Company stands apart from other Japanese motorcycle manufacturers not only because of its reputation for innovative products, but also as the only company with a human face-tell me, who is the founder of Yamaha, Suzuki or Kawasaki?" With that, HONDA MOTORCYCLES takes off with a brief look at the wild ride that was Soichiro Honda's life, an exciting journey that was not built upon the staid conformity of a tradition-bound Japan. This son of the village blacksmith who would someday create the Honda Rebel was himself a rebel through and through. Mr Honda sowed his wild oats in youth, he even drove off a bridge with a car full of Geisha girls and danced naked at his wedding.
For better or worse Aaron P. Frank is also a rebel. In the April '04 issue of MOTORCYCLIST, Frank burst onto the stage of moto-glory with his laugh-out-loud article "Yamahaulin'" about a trip from Huntington to Madison, 2200 miles, in 44 hours aboard his blue and white R1. Readers mostly enjoyed Frank's handlebar wit, but the Iron Butt Association's President Michael Kneebone, "to ensure the integrity and safety of its event", unceremoniously yet paternalistically, booted the Yamahauler from its elite membership for "behavior exhibited by Aaron on his ride." Frank responded in MOTORCYCLIST's July issue with a sarcasm-laced back-page editorial complete with grinning photo of him torching his Iron Butt Membership certificate. Like Mr. Honda, Frank is a two-wheel rebel to the core, and this similarity in attitude perhaps explains the author's respect for "the human face of Honda Motor Company." Though both men are a world and two generations apart, both are endowed with the face of genius mixed with non-conformity combined with a love of motorcycling.
Why Honda? Honda Motor Company has sold over 100 million two-wheelers worldwide and is the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. Honda is also the world's seventh largest manufacturer of automobiles. It is the globe's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines, producing over ten million motors a year, counting its scooters, lawn mowers, tractors, and varieties of power equipment. The company was founded on Mr. Honda's belief in "thinking globally and acting locally," and today builds Honda motorcycles in twenty-seven countries worldwide.
Do you crave American iron? Gold Wings have been built in Marysville, Ohio for a quarter of a century now and, like it or not, that's long enough to start a tradition.
Honda has paved new thoroughfares for motorcyclists from its itty-bitty tiddlers to gargantuan power cruisers; from its awesome dirt and track bikes drawing checkered flags to flagships of intercontinental highways.
In 1968 Honda ushered in the era of the superbike with the CB750. In 1975 Honda created the luxury tour category with the GL1000 Gold Wing. Honda's 1800cc VTX launched in 2001 was for a while the biggest V-twin power cruiser available, a musclebike generating 107 foot-pounds of road-ripping torque. Just this year Honda's factory custom, the Rune, marked Big Red's entrance into the now popular $25,000+ market segment.
So after all this is considered, which motorcycle bearing the winged nameplate does Aaron P. Frank dub the most important Honda ever made? You guessed it: the 49cc C100 Super Cub, considering its "longevity, profitability and (even) oddball style." Frank observes, "(Since 1958) in more than four decades of continuous production, only minimal changes have been made. Well over 30 million units of the C100 and its descendants have been sold internationally making the Super Cub one of the most successful appliances of all time, wheeled or otherwise…In a large part the Super Cub is responsible for building Honda's reputation in America, and for introducing tens of thousands of people to the joys and pleasures of two-wheeled transportation."
Aaron P. Frank's easy style, combined with his affection for Mr. Honda's company and its dedicated associates (they are not called workers), makes HONDA MOTORCYCLES a volume that belongs on the shelf of every rider and fan of this reliable and legendary marque. Here at last we have at our fingertips a smooth, definitive and concise history of Big Red.
HONDA MOTORCYCLES by Aaron P. Frank is available for online ordering through our partner Amazon.com.
Book Review by Miles Davis
2. We want your input for the new CruiserCustomizing Magazine
Last year's releases of the CruiserCustomizing Newsletter have been pretty spotty.
For 2005 we have some exciting changes planned and want to have our members
participate in the final outcome.
The newsletter will be converted into an online magazine and the editorial content
will be based on your feedback. You will even have a chance to name the new magazine!
To participate please complete this quick survey now.
Thank you
Your CruiserCustomizing Team.
3. Hot Deals and Featured Products
CruiserCustomizing.com - Newsletter #103
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JULY 02, 2011
CRUISER NEWS
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Motorcycling and the quest for freedom go hand in hand. In fact it's safe to say that the motorcycle industry as it exists today was born from this quest and the wars that resulted.
WWI and WWII gave the biggest boost ever to motorcycling. They played a major role in the rise of motorcycling around the world. For me motorcycles would have to be near the top of the list of good things that grew out of war because they provide me and many others with a physical expression of the freedom and independence that soldiers around the world fight so hard for. Read More >>
by Dimitra Schonekas
Apparently those who know me would say that I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to how much I love my bike. That may be true. I have many riding buddies who have a bike, bought a second bike, traded in a bike, got another bike. My ride is one and only humble Yamaha V Star 650 Classic, that I have spent time (and will continue to) customizing it to fit and suit me and no one else.
In the beginning: My first bike was restricted by the 250cc max capacity for learner riders, before LAMS (Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme) came into effect in Victoria. I chose the Suzuki Intruder 250 LC. A great little cruiser bike that I was (and still am) attached to. I bought this bike with the thought that I would keep and ride it forever, because the size was extremely manageable for my small frame of under 5 feet tall. I was of the mind that I couldn't manage to ride anything bigger (read: taller, wider, heavier). Read More >>
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Cruiser of the Week
kingskid
I immigrated to Sydney, Australia in 1999 from the Philippines. An accountant and banker by profession, my present occupation is Postal Delivery Officer. I had this full U-Turn from my previous occupation of Bank Manager to a Postman for the love of motorcycles...
Stop and Say Hello to kingskid >>
Featured Bike
mbrock29609
Check out this awesome looking 2002 Honda Shadow Aero 1100 that belongs to mbrock29609. The hard work and attention to detail really shine through on this custom bagger
Learn More About mbrock29609 >>
Video Library Index
Check out our vast Video Library with hundreds of installation tips and in depth information about specific product categories.
The Video Library can be found on the Cruiser Customizing Message Board where you can easily locate and view the videos that you are searching for!
View the Video Library Index >>
Video Contest
We all need to give Robin001 a huge "Thank You" for all of his support as the Video Coordinator over the past 18 months. Rob has taken the idea of a contest and has turned it into a living reality. Rob has decided to retire, and you can read more here: Robin001 Retires
The May Video Contest was a close one! It was a three way tie for a while… but Tezza walked away with 5 more votes than Dim and 6 more votes then polssken. Great work to all who participated!
Watch the Video >>
Photo Contest
June/May Photo Contest - Dirty
Please swing by electra member page and thank her for all of her hard work and dedication in the coordination of the photo contests.
Top Viewed Photo goes to bporre's
Best Bug Splatter!
Highest Rated goes to AussieSteve's
Bug Splatter!
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The Tip of the Week
Help Our Community Grow!
As the number one biker community online today, we are always looking for creative ways to contact new riders and get them participating with us in the community. The more bikers the merrier we always say!!
We just launched the Refer a Biker program to get Bikers like you actively recruiting your friends and loved ones to join us and participate in the number one resource for bikers helping bikers online.
Its simple and its fast and you earn valuable CRUISER POINT for doing it, check out the story and refer some bikers today!
Earn Some Points Today >>
Wednesdays With Greg
Episode 44 - Motorcycle Tool Kits
Call 888-857-5417 or visit www.cruisercustomizing.com if you have questions or are looking to purchase a motorcyle tool kit.
In this WWG, Kyle and Greg talk about the tools you can expect to find in fairly standard tool kits, why took kits are important, and where to store or cary your tool kit.
Watch the video >>
Celebrate 4th of July
Today through July 4th Cruiser Customizing is offering the American Made Madness Sale where "The deals explode now through Independence Day!"
Watch the video >>
Download Your May Member Calendar
Don't forget to download your July member calendar! See if you are featured this month! Get a new background on your computer, we have all different sizes for the best possible fit!
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