On Saturday, January 29, 2011, hundreds of motorcycle riders from the central Florida area converged on the Wing House restaurant on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland to pay tribute to fallen officers, and to donate money to the officers’ loved ones. 

The Bubba The Love Sponge Foundation, Inc., a 501(3) (c) charity organization established by the radio show personality in 2008, hosted the event, with plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to various families of fallen officers, such as PCSO’s Sgt. Wes Whitmore, who was killed in the line of duty in Winter Haven on December 12, 2010.

Wes’ wife Sherry appeared at the event today to thank the foundation and the Sheriff’s Office for their support. A PCSO deputy sheriff escorted her in a patrol car during the ride.

Preliminary figures indicate nearly 500 bikers registered for today’s event. The ride, which was led by Sheriff Grady Judd in a PCSO patrol car, began at the Wing House, went south on South Florida Avenue, then west on County Line Road, back to Drane Field Road and eventually back to South Florida and the Wing House. The ride last approximately 45 minutes, and Polk County residents all along the way respectfully waved, took photos, and cheered to see all the bikers and law enforcement officers. The riders were then treated to a meal at the Wing House.

Special thanks to the hard-working Wing House restaurant and staff, Steve Hurley from Stingray Chevrolet (who has been a huge supporter of the BTLS Foundation, donating $100,000 total so far), and the PCSO deputies and other law enforcement officers who conducted traffic control along the route for the safety of the riders. 

A special check presentation ceremony by the BTLS crew, Stingray Chevrolet, and PCSO staff will commence at a later date and time to be announced, to present money raised during this event to Sgt. Whitmore’s wife, Sherry.

“Bubba the Love Sponge and the foundation that he created has done so much good in the light of so much tragedy for the families of the officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and we can’t thank them enough,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “It is very humbling to know that the dangerous jobs that Florida’s law enforcement officers do are appreciated and recognized by this man, his crew, and Stingray Chevrolet. On behalf of the families they took the time to pay their respects to and raise money for today, I thank them for all their support.”

Share

Share

Call for consignments announced for third annual motorcycle auction

Following Bonhams’ highly successful inaugural motorcycle sale in Las Vegas earlier this month – where approximately 200 motorcycles brought buyers and sellers together from around the world for a sales total exceeding $2.5 million, the world’s leading auctioneers of motor vehicles is proud to announce its third annual auction at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering.

Share

For more info on this bike, check out the site here

Share

Share

Jeff Gibson won his third consecutive AMA Arenacross race tonight at Dayton.

TUF Honda’s Jeff Gibson, of Blacklick, Ohio, is looking to make the 2011 AMA Arenacross Series championship his campaign of redemption. After capturing the overall victory in the first two rounds of the season in Tulsa and Kansas City, the 2009 champion kept it going inside Dayton’s Nutter Center with win number three. In the Arenacross Lites class, DG Flooring Kawasaki’s Adam Gulley, of Jonesburg, Mo., also stayed perfect with his second win of Eastern Regional Championship.

After failing to capture a win in his title defense last season, Gibson has been better than ever so far in 2011. On Saturday night, he took advantage of a good start and capitalized on every opportunity that came to him, as he’s done all season. He held off his TUF Honda teammate Cole Siebler, of Emmett, Idaho, to make it a 1-2 podium effort for the team while Babbitt’s Monster Energy/TiLUBE Kawasaki presented by Maxxis’ Chad Johnson, of Rhinelander, Wis., finished third.

Similar to the Arenacross Lites Eastern Regional Championship season-opener in Kansas City, Gulley established himself as the rider to beat in the ultra-competitive field and is now the man the beat in the championship after another strong outing. Gateway Cycles Kawasaki’s Steven Mages, of Sardinia, Ohio, finished in the runner-up spot while FHK Honda’s Kyle White, of Freeport, Ill., rounded out the podium in third.

The AMA Arenacross Series continues next weekend from Denver, Colo., and the Denver Coliseum for the first two-night round of the season next Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. MT.

Arenacross Class Results (Dayton, Ohio)

1. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio, Honda
2. Cole Siebler, Emmett, Idaho, Honda
3. Chad Johnson, Rhinelander, Wis., Kawasaki
4. Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
5. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
6. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
7. Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Honda
8. Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Honda
9. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, Honda
10. Kevin Johnson, Spring, Texas, Yamaha

AMA Arenacross Lites Class Results (Dayton, Ohio)

1. Adam Gulley, Jonesburg, Mo., Kawasaki
2. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
3. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda
4. Patrick Massie, Washington Court, Ohio, Honda
5. Travis Merrill, Fowler, Ill., KTM
6. Tanner Moore, Auburn, Kan., KTM
7. Tyler Sehr, Belleville, Ill., Honda
8. Max Malatia, Itasca, Ill., Honda
9. Jason Hussey, Moscow Mills, Mo., Kawasaki
10. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., Honda

Arenacross Class Points (After Race 3 of 19)

1. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio, Honda – 75
2. Chad Johnson, Rhinelander, Wis., Kawasaki – 60
3. Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 58
4. Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Honda – 51
5. Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Honda – 48
6. Cole Siebler, Emmett, Idaho, Ho nda – 45
7. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 43
8. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, Honda – 36
9. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 35
10. Kevin Johnson, Spring, Texas, Yamaha – 30

Arenacross Lites Class Eastern Regional Points (After Race 2 of 10)

1. Adam Gulley, Jonesburg, Mo., Kawasaki – 50
2. Patrick Massie, Washington Court, Ohio, Honda – 40
3. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 38
4. Tyler Sehr, Belleville, Ill., Honda – 25
5. Steve Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 22
6. Austin Coon, Spencer, W.V., Honda – 21
7. Zachary Jaynes, Princeton, Texas, Yamaha – 20
8. Kyle Hussey, Moscow Mills, Mo., Kawasaki – 19
9. Chad Cook, Oklahoma City, Okla., Kawasaki – 16
10. Travis Merrill, Fowler, Ill., KTM – 15

New for 2011! Live timing and scoring from each round of the AMA Arenacross Series. To follow the intense racing action live, log onto www.Arenacross.com. For all media requests, please contact Brandon Short at brandon@nextlevelsportsinc.com or 949-365-5750.

Artilce written by: Media Release http://moto-racing.speedtv.com

OBB was there!  We will be posting some of our photos.

Share

For 2011, the Harley Owners Group Fly & Ride motorcycle rental program grows nearly 10 times bigger as rental locations for Fly & Ride increase from 37 to more than 300 locations around the world.

Share

This day will be a memorial day for our son, brother & friend Matt. We will celebrate his life and honor a heroic little boy who battled cancer at such a young age.

Schedule of Ride
10:00-11:15 AM- Javelina Harley Davidson Boerne, Tx
12:00- 1:30 PM- WB Saloon & Cycles Blanco, Tx
3:00- 4:30 PM- Gruene Harley Davidson Gruene,Tx
5:30- 12:00 AM- Josabi’s Helotes,Tx

Check out the ride’s facebook page by clicking on the photo or for more info you can e-mail grueneharley@yahoo.com

Share

Share

The Honda CR110 is best understood if I relate the story told to me by six-time World Champion and Honda team captain in the 1960s, Jim  Redman.

“It was my first visit to Honda and I was taken through the R&D department which was working flat out on the following year’s race bikes. There was a change in my guide’s attitude as we passed a middle-aged bloke in a white coat working at a bench. I asked who the engineer was. My guide smiled and replied: ‘That’s Mr. Honda who owns the factory. He’s your new boss!’”

In 2010 you couldn’t even imagine the CEO of a major manufacturer having oil on his hands and a spanner in his overall pocket. But 50 years ago things were different and Soichiro Honda in particular was obsessive about proving that he made the best motorcycles in the world, and the way to do this was by winning races.

In 1961 the FIM – the body which governs world motorcycle sport, announced that the world championships for the following year would include a 50cc category. With a new championship to win, Honda wanted a slice of the action.

Mr. Honda was frightened of nothing technically and also wasn’t afraid of spending a lot of money on racing. In later days this policy was to bring Honda to the point of real financial problems, but in the heady days of infinite expansion Sochiro’s word was law. If Mr. Honda wanted a 50cc racer then he was going to get one.

Initially, the works entry and production racer intended for general sale were almost identical. In fact, there was a third model also: the street legal hyper-sport 50. This miniature masterpiece actually went on sale in Japan, complete with “street scrambler” exhaust and lights.

The heart of both the factory and production bikes was a breath-taking piece of engineering. In the huge cylinder head are four valves and a central spark plug. Opening the valves of the CR110 are two camshafts operating through a gear train.

Although only barely oversquare at a 40mm bore x 39mm stroke, the tiny 49cc engine revved to 14,000 rpm and produced an astonishing 8.5 horsepower. With a feather-light pilot glued to the gas tank, a stock CR110 would manage over 90 mph. Peak torque came in at 12,700 rpm, although this was only 2.89 lb-ft – barely enough to open a jar of airtight olives!

The first CR110s left the factory with a five-speed gearbox and a blanking plug covering the aperture occupied by the kick-starter shaft. With miniscule torque, the five-speeder was soon replaced by an eight-speed gearbox on the customer bike and works machine also. A dry clutch of considerable size was fitted and of vital importance. Once the motor dropped out of its small powerband, the only way to tease it back into action was via the clutch.

The miniature drum brakes were, in fact, over engineered for the 50: simply sitting up from behind the fairing and closing the throttle was enough to induce a dramatic reduction in speed. Typically, a CR110 weighs around 140 pounds at the starting line and in physical form is very tiny. That’s why the top 50cc riders of the day were all extremely light. What wasn’t small, however, was the booming “braaaah, braaaah, braaaah” emanating from the long, tapered megaphone exhaust.

This brings us to the present day and a rather interesting shift in the classic motorcycle market place. Go back to 1970 when the CR110 was just another old, slow and redundant race bike selling for $600. Move on 30 years and the fever for classic Honda race bikes had kicked in to epidemic proportions. CR110s were now fetching $45,000 and then some. However, currently the market is heading in reverse and now there is a good sprinkling of unsold CR110s.

There are a couple of reasons for this fall in price. First, the CR110 never won a World Championship or even a GP for that matter, so the mystique of owning a racing icon isn’t there. Legendary deeds in the past are what attract rich collectors, most of whom never even start their bikes. For race bike enthusiasts who do actively parade their machines at classic festivals the problem is running a CR110. There is nothing that mankind has made which can’t be re-made but spares for the baby Honda make hen’s teeth look common and unicorn horns quite freely available.

If you have a spare $30,000 I would hang onto it for awhile until the credit crunch becomes really tight in Europe. As miraculous as the CR1110 is, the bike is sure to be a lot cheaper in the coming months and years.

Article Written by: Frank Melling Contributing Editor motorcycle-usa.com

Share