1. Kuryakyn's Bike Build and Bike Give-Away!

You could be the winner of the Kuryakyn Custom

Cruiser Customizing’s Kyle Bradshaw (l.) with Mark Wolfram of Kuryakyn and Jessica Prokup, Editor of RoadBike Magazine

The Kuryakyn Custom redefines smooth. And all it took was fifteen hours.

Kyle cranks up the X for the cameras. You could be next.

On the set of Chopper Nation, Kyle gets ready to release the clutch as the ESPN crew scopes the Kuryakyn Custom through the camera.

Pick up the May issue of Road Bike magazine, which hits the stands on April 11th, and check out the cover shot of the stunning candy apple red VTX 1800F. Fully personalized here at Cruiser Customizing, this beautiful brute has been magically transformed from stock using only high quality, easy-to-install Kuryakyn parts. Cruiser Customizing has donated this dazzling X-custom to the 2006 Road Bike Sweepstakes, and if you are the lucky winner, you could be cruising on this sweet red ride forever.

Cruiser Customizing’s Director of Customer Service Kyle Bradshaw accomplished the entire process of artistic individualization in a mere fifteen hours using only basic shop tools. Fifty form-fitting parts completed Kyle’s labor of love. It’s much easier than you might think to transform an ordinary factory ride into a reflection of who you are, and Kuryakyn’s lines of daring products are the keys to adding character to any cruiser. Known either as the Kuryakyn Custom or Everybody’s Custom, the detailed photos of this centerfold cruiser in Roadbike Magazine will make your mouth water.

When customizing the Kuryakyn way, you get detailed instructions in real English with every part. Kuryakyn’s reputation is based not only upon the superiority of their products, but the perfect fit and ease of installation built into each mod. Kyle’s VTX project was filmed for a forthcoming episode of ESPN2’s Chopper Nation, so be sure to check your local listings.

By teaming up with Road Bike Magazine and Kuryakyn, Cruiser Customizing has proven that now moto-personality is easier and simpler than ever. You do not need a shop as big as your gym, nor a three-month leave of absence from work, to turn your ride into one that will spin every head on the street. All it takes is a week-end. The lucky winner of the Kuryakyn Custom will be announced later this year by RoadBike magazine. So visit www.roadbikemag.com to find out how to enter. Shared Passion. Individual Style. With Cruiser Customizing and Kuryakyn it all just got a whole lot easier.

See more details of Everybody's VTX with an interactive parts list.

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2. Lifetime Exhaust Warranty from Cobra

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3. Crazy Riding With The Crazy 8's

While riding her V-Star, an angry tornado lifted Lori skyward, but the furious storm must have noticed her beauty and her spirit, so it gently set her safely down on the highway once again.

Lori's Beautiful Machine

Last issue we printed “Scooter’s Story”. Scooter is a member of the Crazy 8’s and her fellow club founding member is Lori Maynard, a professional photographer for the Central Wrestling Federation and author of a book of poems called Poetry Carnival. Lori has written to tell us what it was like getting caught in a tornado on her 2003 V-Star.

“Reaching Indianapolis, the sky was the blackest I’ve ever seen. Suddenly, the bike and I were picked up off the Interstate and together we were turned towards the fast lane, all the while being pelted with unbelievable hail, rain and wind. People were parking and fleeing from their cars, so I pulled under an overpass. There was no way that I would run away and leave my bike on the kickstand. Later I found out that a tornado had passed right through!

“My favorite time to ride is in the middle of a summer’s night when the world is so quiet, and I’m usually the only one out. I’m proud to be a woman rider. If we see each other on the highway, be sure to wave.”

Poet Lori’s verses can be read through link at her Cruiser Customizing member profile. Here’s a verse about getting sent skyward while riding a motorcycle in a tornado.

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4. Backfire

Tastes in art are highly individual. As anyone will tell you, “Beauty is to the eye of the beholder.” Be that as it may, not even a few appreciated my praise of Schmidt’s Spirit. One letter suggested that there are thousands of Spirits that look better than that “abortion on two wheels.” Another member with a more liberal point of view, Scott Spayer, allowed that “everyone has their idea of what looks good and what doesn’t.” Still, Scott didn’t think the Spirit was worth the praise I gave it. Sam Rodriguez called the bike “hideous” and said that “nothing flows with anything.” Another member advised me to “educate myself.”

Well, OK, guys. What can I say? I still like Schmidt’s Spirit. It’s purple and it’s cool. It has a nostalgia buzz for me: sorta like a three quarter version of the old-school panhead and shovelhead choppers I used to admire outside Pepe’s Pizza on Telegraph Ave where I used to hang in Berkeley in the 1960’s. Bikes that belonged to the guys who were early innovators and inventors of the chopper concept. But more than that, I admire Paul Schmidt’s spirit of returning to moto-cruising and moto-customization after a hiatus of a quarter century—and taking his lady along for the ride! That is where my praise for Schmidt’s spirit truly lies. It’s the lure of the bikes, bro’s. Irresistible.

Still, we at Cruiser Customizing truly do appreciate all your responses. We are a forum for all riders and there is certainly room for all sorts of opinions. Thanks, Cruisers for the feedback. It’s been a lesson in post-graduate customization, for sure. And the beat goes on…

In our April 1st Newsletter “A New Type of Motorcycle?” we promised you a picture of this revolutionary bike. We finally received it, view picture. Happy April Fools everybody.

Cruiser Paul Mink sent in these profound words: “With drivers it’s about the destination, but with riders it’s about the journey. One is daydreaming, while the other is experiencing. Longing for… vs. grateful for… I am grateful to be awake and enjoying this journey…”

Big Uwe dug this up for us and was in a mood to sh-a-a-a-re: “People are more violently opposed to fur than to leather because it is safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.”

Thanks, and keep sending those e-letters.
Cruise and be happy,
Miles Davis, (Pavandas)
Editor, Cruiser Customizing News

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