Hey Northwest!

ST. VALENTINES DAY MASSOCCURRENCE
We throws a pretty good dig, roll by, check it out.

this one has been goin since the 70's

Omaha

the water is rising

it stopped raining a few days ago, but the water is rising pretty fast as i try and get my shovel done by thursday before, let's say noon, so i can setup by 4pm at the roadster show....weird things like life, work, responsibility, sleep, etc, can really slow things down. the frame is back from powdercoat, most of the chrome is done, the tins have color on them, i just need to blast the jugs and heads, wait for the polishing to come back, and then put the whole bike together....if anyone is bored, come over and i'll put you to work!
We are also trying to get our booth ready for the show, which should be right across from my bike if all goes well.



I think all the orders have been packed (FINALLY! SORRY!) and will be headed out asap, thanks for being patient.


Also, i have a 35mm Ceriani front end with a 1" stem that is in decent shape that i NEED TO SELL ASAP!!!!! I had it sold and the deal fell through, the money is spent, $360 plus shipping. i think there are pics down the blog somewhere. email grant.peterson@sorc.com

A Word From Gabe Griffin

Gabe sent me an email last night with the first poster for his documentary on the Heathens MC which he is taking to Sundance and a picture of some of the Runaways. Thanks Gabe.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3

looking to HAUL

So my litle shitbox is on its last leg and I needs me a truck, or el camino. looking for something nice and clean, no junk. any help would be appreciated. thanks, poon. harpoonkustompaint@hotmail.com

Born-Free Sponsor Deadline

Attention potential Born-Free sponsors, we have set a Feb 15th. deadline for being a part of the show. We have to have all hi-res JPG or PSD logos and commitment levels secured by that date in order to get your logo on the posters, flyers, magazine ads, and T shirts going. We have had overwhelming response so far & it's growing daily. Contact Mike Davis of Born Loser at jimmy.dickens@hotmail.com or myself at grant.peterson@sorc.com

ALSO! We will be selling raffle tickets for the Born-Free 1950 Panhead well in advance of the show. We are working on the tickets and they will be available online. We'll let you know when, check back often.

NOS shirts for sale

I gotta raise some money so i can finish my shovel for the GNRS at the end of the month. These are shirts are some of the coolest ones i got and i wanted to keep for myself, but i gotta get this bike done!

Free shipping in the USA, $15 worldwide, email grant.peterson@sorc.com for more info.

New Old Stock Barger HD Don't Mess With the US shirt, circa 1983? by For Bikers Only XL but fits like a large, $75




New Old Stock Chosas HD Tempe, AZ shirt. Dealer logo on back, awesome "it's hard to soar with eagles when you ride with turkeys" logo on the front. by For Bikers Only, circa 1984-85? XL but fits like a large, $75




I really hate to sell this one, NOS Genuine Hogs Blood pocket T. Flagstaff, AZ HD dealer logo on the back. Circa 1983? XL but fits like a large, $75



New Old Stock Bikers Are So Horney the Crack Of Dawn Isn't Safe shirt. By For Bikers Only, back logo is The Wheel SHop Phoenix, AZ. Circa 1983? XL, but fits like a large, $65




I'll be posting more soon, check back.

downed rider!

We just heard that our friend Gilby Clarke (yes, him) got majorly T-Boned on his freshly redone Pan on sunday leaving the Easyrider's show in Pomona. Keep your fingers crossed for good recover, he's in the hospital at the moment. He recently started a blog HERE, but he probably won't be posting much in the next little while.

still busy

gotta keep grinding and filing the welds on the rear pipe and make a bracket in the rear then off to chrome...

Party Hardy!

Lots of stuff to do coming up:

Born-Free 2 Sponsor info

We are getting the sponsors together now for Born-Free 2. If you want to be involved with the show & be on the posters,flyers,T shirts,banners & magazine ad's please contact me at grant.peterson@sorc.com or Mike Davis of Born Loser @ jimmy.dickens@hotmail.com.....If we have talked to you already about securing one of the limited tent/booth spots @ the show then we got you covered....Otherwise the deal is you pay $75 and you'll get your logo on the poster, flyer, and shirt, and can send us a banner that we'll hang up at the show. We'll also have a sponsor info table where we can put flyers, pamflets, stickers etc, for people to help them selves too. If you just want to send your stuff to us for all the giveaways you can do that too and is much appreciated. We are doing it like this to help pay for the show since we did it all out of pocket last year (which was worth it, but not cheap). There'll still be free food and drinks like last year, so don't worry! Just contact us for more info. And don't forget about the panhead raffle, we'll be selling advance tickets soon.

Little Shop in N. Seattle...... Dig it!

Finally...(update)

Thanks everyone! I guess i should post more of my fab stuff but i'm usually not thinking about taking pics while i'm working, i do that for work!
Yep, 19 in the rear. This whole thing started with this star hub, stainless spoke, 19i got at the swapmeet way too cheap about the same time i got the pan frame i used for the hardtail and thought the two should go together! What a pain in the ass! and i'm even building a totally different wheel in the back after all is said and done...I'm using a knuckle 19 rim and a mid star hub with a juice drum since i didn't use the brake cross over during the hardtail. 5 months later here i am. The fender is an early Sportster like the one i had on the bike before, but i narrowed it 1 1/2" (which is why i narrowed the tank that much)to fit the tire, took the skirts off, and re-enforced the crap out of the inside. I'm paranoid of craking fenders after the last in carnation of the bike, but i think it should be good with the shorter sissy bar and twice as many fender mounts than was on the last version as a swingarm. it's funny too, because i didn't set out to build a "skinny" bike, but things happen. I should be building pipes this week as well as doig body work and sending more out for chrome...stay tuned.

Finally...

I've finally been making progress on my shovelhead. Been going out to the garage every night for the last couple of weeks and getting things done. The tank has been the never ending story, but it's almost ready to get welded back together for good. I narrowed it 1 1/2 inches, recrowned the filler area, installed a British filler, lowered most of the tunnel. I'll still be mounting my power and light switches in the front part of the tunnel like did before. The bottom of the tank has been a real bugger because i'm a weirdo when it comes to metalwork. I wanted to put the bottom back together like it was still stock with the body lines on both sides and the rolled flange. This would up being way more work than i anticipated, and even though most people wont ever even look at the bottom of the tank, i'll know it's there! I should have the front mount done today and then i'll weld the bottom and top shell back together.
The rear fender is almost done as well. I need to make the very bottom mount by the trans and finish off the taillight mounting. THEN i can bodywork and paint the tins finally!
Build pipes, do lots of other little stuff, send stuff to chrome, time is ticking...probably going to change the bars, swapping the 4-over tubes for 6-over, building new wheels...