Biker|Geek

This is an email I got from Harley Davidson that I thought I’d pass on. Kinda cool IMHO.







	Web link to this page. Click here.
	Harley-Davidson is bringing the biggest motorcycle party of the season to you on H-D.com with Direct from Daytona – extensive daily coverage of Bike Week '07 by our world-class crew of writers and photographers: Join Biker Billy as he rounds up riders in Daytona and shares their stories and the unique journeys that brought them to the rally. Just how rockin' is the rally? Pete Steinkopf and Bryan Kienlen are rolling into Daytona to hit up the concerts, restaurants, parties, and more. Beau is on a mission to discover the greatest and wildest creation on two wheels to hit Bike Week in order to find the ultimate custom motorcycle. Use our interactive map and tell us where you hail from. Vote on the hot spot for Pete and Bryan to check out next. Cast your vote for the virtual Ride-In-Show champion. Jessica Craker brings you full coverage of the bikes, new products, races, and more – at the Ocean Center and Daytona International Speedway. It's an entire week of fun and sun-drenched chrome as we bring you all the excitement and action of Bike Week back home to you.

I have received this before in an email as text. But, I didn’t know that someone made a video out of it. It holds an excellent message and it’s also a little chilling if you ride a motorcycle.

I found this article orginally on John C. Devorak’s blog http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=9903. However, he is apparently not a Harley Davidson fan. As a result, I chose not to quote his remarks directly but rather those of the original article at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070219-9999-1n19harley.html

Note: This is used without permission.

By Anne Krueger
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

February 19, 2007

Jose Santana hadn’t ridden a motorcycle in years, but when the 67-year-old Jamul man died of a stroke last week, his four children wanted his funeral to reflect his free-wheeling side.

They agreed their father’s idea of heaven would be a final ride in a Harley-Davidson hearse.

CHARLIE NEUMAN / Union-Tribune
El Camino Memorial’s Doug Trobaugh drove a Harley-Davidson hearse carrying the casket of Jose Santana down Steele Canyon Road on Saturday. The mortuary began using the hearse last month.

“They said it was a Harley, and I said, ‘Yeah, he’d like that,’ ” son Jorge Santana said. “My dad liked his freedom.”

So Saturday at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Jamul, a black three-wheeled hog with shiny chrome fixtures pulled a glass coach with Santana’s casket inside. Driver Doug Trobaugh wore a black leather jacket embossed with “El Camino Memorial,” the mortuary where he works.

Santana’s funeral was the third time El Camino Memorial has put the $80,000 hearse in service since the Sorrento Mesa-based mortuary began using it in mid-January.

Two Harley hearses are in use west of the Mississippi, according to manufacturer Tombstone Hearse Co. of Alum Bank, Pa. The other is in Victorville.

The hearses are a hit with bikers, veterans, even little old ladies, said Tombstone owner Jack Feather, who came up with the idea of hitching a hog to a burial coach five years ago and has sold 18.

Veterans’ families like the coach’s glass sides “because then they can view the flag-draped casket. It reminds them of a military caisson,” Feather said.

And seniors? “They think it’d be a real hoot for their friends to see them,” he said.

Mike Miller, president of El Camino Memorial, said the Harley hearse is part of an effort to make funerals less somber and more celebratory. Miller said funeral directors want to offer creative ideas that focus on life, not death.

“We don’t want to be Herman Munster,” Miller said, referring to the character on the 1960s TV sitcom. “We’re about caring for people and giving them services about the life they’ve lived.”

For now, El Camino isn’t charging extra for the use of the Harley hearse. Miller said an additional charge may be added if demand increases. Three El Camino Memorial managers who ride Harley-Davidsons, including Trobaugh, talked Miller into buying the outfitted Road King.

Trobaugh, a member of San Diego HOG, a club for Harley lovers, said the group wants to use the hearse for charitable events in which they’ll load up the glass coach with blankets for the homeless or toys for orphans.

The hearse already has gotten lots of attention. In the first funeral, the young man who died was placed in a gold casket inside the coach. El Camino’s offices were flooded with calls from people who thought a celebrity had died.

“Our receptionist said we treat all their families like they’re a star,” Miller said.

This month, the family of Robert Montano, 31, of National City chose the Harley hearse for his funeral.

Carmen Montano said her brother, a construction worker, loved motorcycles but never could afford one. The Harley hearse was a way to give him the ride he never took in life.

“We were kind of worried if it looked foolish or disrespectful,” Carmen Montano said. “But it did look like something he would like. It was something different for him.”

The Harley hearse drew attention even as Miller showed it off in the parking lot outside his office. Bob Shelley of Poway, at the mortuary to make arrangements for his mother-in-law’s funeral, had to check it out.

“It looks like it’s just for the Hells Angels guys,” Shelley said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Anne Krueger: (619) 593-4962; anne.krueger@uniontrib.com

Finally some progress for the Indian Motorcycle Company. http://www.indianmotorcycle.com/ Apparently they are taking deposits for their 2008 models right now. $1,000 is all you need to guarantee your very own Indian Chief. I’ll post pictures as soon as they have something worth posing on their site.

Harley-Davidson chose the venue of their winter dealer meeting in Orlando, Florida to reveal the latest addition to their classic Sportster range. The XL 1200N Nightster is a super-low riding Sportster 1200 with an aggressive look highlighted by a flat gray/black engine with chrome highlights, and a paint scheme making use of satin finishes for the black and silver bodywork. The Nightster is powered by the same fuel-injected 1200cc Evolution as the rest of the Sportster 1200 range.

The XL 1200N Nightster features:

* Rubber-mounted 1200cc XL Evolution engine
* Medium Gray powder-coated engine with polished and black treatments
* Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI)
* High-compression, high-flow cylinder heads
* High-performance cams
* Smooth, quiet transmission
* Light clutch lever effort
* 25.3-inch solo seat height
* Low front and rear suspension
* Black front forks with gaiters
* Bullet hole rear belt guard and front fender clamps
* Black, low rise handlebar with brake and clutch levers, turn signals and air cleaner insert
* Side-mounted license plate holder (dealer-installed rear mount option)
* Brake and tail lights integrated with rear turn signals
* Black mid-mount foot controls
* Black-rimmed, Laced Steel wheels
* Chrome staggered shorty slash cut dual exhaust
* Silver Satin finish fuel cap, headlamp trim ring and oil dipstick cover
* Optional Smart Security System

Read more at:http://www.motorcycledaily.com/30january07_nightster.htm

Harley Davidson’s site