June 11, 2008
If you want to check out a chopper custom built by the famed Teutul family of Orange County Choppers and cable TV show American Chopper, a new Dryvit custom penguin chopper will be displayed today at 1 p.m. at the Rhode Island headquarters of Dryvit Systems Inc., according to a news statement from Dryvit Systems Inc.
The motorcycle will be featured on a new episode of American Chopper on The Learning Channel (Cox channel 39) at 9 p.m. tomorrow, June 12.
The one hour program will show how the custom chopper was built for Dryvit, whose wall system was used in the new Orange County Chopper headquarters in Montgomery, N.Y.
Dryvit's headquarters are at One Energy Way, West Warwick, RI 02893. The chopper is expected to be available for viewing and photos for about an hour.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 9:48 AM | Permalink
April 15, 2008
Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. –– the stars of the television program American Chopper –– were scheduled to appear at the headquarters of Dryvit Systems Inc. in West Warwick yesterday, according to The Providence Journal.
The Teutuls are creating a custom Harley-Davidson chopper motorcycle for Dryvit that will be featured on a future episode. They will be filming a short segment for that program at Dryvit in which they will apply the company’s exterior insulation and finishing product to a wall.
The Teutuls founded Orange County Choppers, a custom motorcycle manufacturer, in 1999. It is featured on their “reality” TV show that debuted in 2002. Their company is also constructing a new headquarters, production facility and retail store in Newburgh, N.Y., and the building features Dryvit products on the exterior.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:59 AM | Permalink
January 25, 2008
MILWAUKEE -- Harley-Davidson Inc. said Friday its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 26.3 percent due to slumping U.S. motorcycle sales amid a weakening economy, according to the Associated Press.
Harley said its profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 totaled $186.1 million compared with$252.4 million a year ago. Salesb dropped 7.7 percent to $1.39 billion from $1.50 billion.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:02 AM | Permalink
January 4, 2008
If you know the differences among a Ulysses, a Blast and a Lightning, we know where you'll be this weekend, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Those are the names of the latest Buells, the sports bike subsidiary of Harley-Davidson. The models will debut at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Mich, which runs Friday through Sunday.
This is the show's 13th year in metro Detroit, and last year it drew 40,777 enthusiasts to the area. The 27-year-old event is part of a 16-weekend series across the United States and Canada that attracts about 600,000 enthusiasts a year.
The show will feature hundreds of 2008 street bikes, dirt bikes, cruisers and ATVs from more than 19 manufacturers.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:35 PM | Permalink
November 2, 2007
The federal government is unveiling a broad program to cut motorcycle death rates that have doubled in the past 10 years as aging baby boomers hit the open road, according to USA Today.
The Department of Transportation's initiative includes a national training standard for beginning riders and added training for police officers who enforce traffic laws.
"Our nation's greatest traffic highway safety challenge is motorcycle fatalities," says Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, noting that biking deaths are rising while other vehicle fatalities are declining.
"We have a significantly disproportionate representation of motorcycle fatalities," Peters says. Motorcycles represent 2.5% of all registered vehicles but 11.3% of traffic deaths.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 7:13 AM | Permalink
October 16, 2007
COVINA, Calif. — A motorcycle that grew an extra wheel. Or a car that somehow lost one. It's possible to make the case for either when it comes to the Can-Am Spyder, a head-turning, motorized means of transportation that will start showing up on American highways this month, according to USA Today.
The Spyder is licensed as a three-wheel motorcycle, has cycle-style handlebars, engine and seat. It shifts like one, too.
But how many motorcycles have power steering, stability and traction control, anti-lock brakes — even a reverse gear?
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:46 AM | Permalink
July 17, 2007
The world's first rechargeable plug-in motorcycle, called the Enertia, will be available next year, according to a press release last week from its Oregon-based maker, according to thecarconnection.com
The Enertia is the first in a new series of electric commuter, commercial, and recreational vehicles from Brammo Motorsports, a privately held company based in Ashland , Ore. It's the same company that makes the minimalist Ariel Atom sports car, which has found a niche following among the enthusiast crowd; but the Enertia looks to be a no-brainer for the environmentalist set, especially those who can't quite stomach the $100,000 price tag for Tesla Motors' Roadster.
To that end, the Enertia has more than eight times the wheel-to-well efficiency of a CAFE-average car and more than four times that of a typical motorcycle, according to Brammo.
Posted by at 9:39 AM | Permalink
July 10, 2007
They rally in Laconia. N.H., in June, in Sturgis, S.D., in August and now in Gotemba, Japan, in July, where the numbers may not rank up there, but about 20,000 Japanese bikers, many on Harley-Davidsons, are beginning their own tradition of motor-cycle rallying, according to the New York Times.
However, the spectacle of 20,000 Harley owners gathering last month for an annual rally at a racetrack in the shadow of Mount Fuji, Japan’s tallest peak and most sacred mountain, was jarring. The unmistakable growl of the big Harley V-twin engines was unlike the refined whirr typical of bikes on Japanese roads, and many riders were dressed as if they were pulled straight out of Harley’s Japanese Lifestyling Fashion catalog, right down to the $800 leather jackets and $85 garage shirts.
At first glance, the extra large Harleys — quintessential emblems of American brawn and self-reliance — are an odd fit in Japan, where many roads are narrow and congested and there are already four giant companies — Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha — selling bikes. But the cultural disconnect may be even greater: Japan is also a society that values conformity, not the spontaneity and independence that Harleys represent.
Posted by at 11:03 AM | Permalink
