New pics of my bike

richtazz · 06-16-2009, 07:10 AM

Well, I finally got around to taking a few pics of the bike. I included a couple of closeups on the "skull themed" details. I hope everyone enjoys....

racedad21 · 06-16-2009, 12:06 PM

Sweet ride. I own an '04 Heritage. Big and black. I call her Oprah.

MagicRat · 06-16-2009, 09:11 PM

I need sunglasses!! Looks good!!

speediva · 06-19-2009, 03:36 PM

That's freaking cool! Murfreesboro, TN (where I live) just had the annual HOG rally a few weekends ago. There were all kinds of crazy and badass bikes there.

About your bike - my boyfriend will probably be jealous if I show him the skulls... thus why he won't be allowed on AF. We just dropped cash on a new Harley-branded seat, turnsignals (someone stole the lenses out of his back signals) and mirrors. I'll have to post up pics of his with the Vietnam Vets themed Harley Dyna Wide Glide sometime.

aussieidiot · 06-19-2009, 04:03 PM

Wow!

thats is a beautiful bike, man.

I could make a comment about the lack of tassles but I know you'll rectify that soon.

richtazz · 06-20-2009, 05:44 AM

Thanks for all the compliments everyone, I'm pretty proud of it.

Blayne, I knew you'd say something about the "tassels" although it will be "tassel free" for the rest of it's life. I had it immunized against them,

Speed, I'd love to see his Vietnam Vet's bike. The travelling Vietnam Memorial came to Flint last year, and we were in the escort ride that followed it the final 50 miles or so to a county park beach where it was displayed. It was a pretty cool, and of all the bikes (probably 1,500 or more), my bike got on the news. I saw the camera man crouched next to the road, but it didn't look like he was ready to shoot yet. As we rolled by, a gave him a quick couple of throttle twists, and he gave me a thumbs up. They ran the story twice, on the 6 and 11 o'clock news and the anchorman commented on my throttle application as we went by, saying "Well, he obviously believes loud pipes save lives!"

My uncle was a highly decorated copter pilot in 'Nam. I still can't believe the lack of respect that 'Nam vets get in this country. Just like the current situation in Iraq, you can hate the war and/or the people that declared it, but never disrespect our soldiers.

MagicRat · 06-22-2009, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richtazz

My uncle was a highly decorated copter pilot in 'Nam. I still can't believe the lack of respect that 'Nam vets get in this country. Just like the current situation in Iraq, you can hate the war and/or the people that declared it, but never disrespect our soldiers.

At the risk of changing the subject entirely, this is a common phenomenon for the veterans of unpopular wars. The surviving German veterans of WWII had significant difficulties for decades after the war; difficulties in getting decent respect and treatment (ie: the proper military pensions that they earned) from the post-war government.

Understandably, the post-war German government, institutions and much of the population wanted to distance themselves from the Nazi period. However, most of these ex-military personnel served their nation, often with the best of intentions and often with little personal choice.

(FWIW I am referring to the regular drafted or enlisted personnel here, not the fanatical volunteers of the time. )

BTW, did you ever read Chickenhawk by Robert Mason?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenhawk_(book)

I found it to be a very enlightening and interesting account of helicopter pilots of that time.

richtazz · 06-22-2009, 04:11 PM

I've never read Chickenhawk, but now I just may. Dan is a rare breed of 'Nam vet in that he's willing to talk about what he saw (most won't). He used to have a quite sobering picture of a friend getting shot in the back by a sniper just as the cameraman snapped the frame. Dan still has this big goofy grin on his face (he's a bit of a ham) and you can see his buddies guts flying toward the camera. It was done during the Tet ceasefire and is one of the events that started the North's Tet offensive.

To any Vietnam or other vet that hasn't received a proper welcome home:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for risking your life to allow me to live mine. Without you, there would be no America!!

aussieidiot · 06-23-2009, 04:44 PM

Sorry for deviating back onto the thread topic....

I had to mention tassles. It was expecting and I wouldn't be doing my duties if i left it overlooked........but

What is hanging from your right hand fork leg? A gold bell?

richtazz · 06-24-2009, 07:16 AM

Blayne, if you wouldn't have mentioned the "tassels" (we call it fringe here in the states BTW), I would have been worried that there was something wrong with you...

The bell is a biker superstition/sentimental thing. Here in America, bikers started a tradition of putting a small bell on their bikes to drive away "break down" demons. That particular bell belonged to my late father. I was going through some boxes in the attic and found a box of stuff that belonged to my dad. In the box was that bell and he had it on his first Harley (a 1977 Sportster). I polished it up and decided to put it on my bike.

jeffcoslacker · 06-24-2009, 08:30 AM

We usually polish the bell and put the passenger pegs down to honor a fallen rider here too....

I don't know how it got started, but many here follow that custom...in my club most riders' bells were given to them by another rider...as a show of respect and kinship and a good luck offering...

jeffcoslacker · 06-24-2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aussieidiot

Wow!

thats is a beautiful bike, man.

I could make a comment about the lack of tassles but I know you'll rectify that soon.

One of our members who is a complete clown and loves to buck the "Harley Attitude" has a Suzuki LC1500 which he equipped the grips with the pink and yellow plastic tassels like a little girl would have on her tricycle, and installed one of those little ring-ring bells on the handlebars

He's not real popular with the hard core crowd

Chuckfw · 09-17-2009, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

I don't know how it got started, but many here follow that custom...in my club most riders' bells were given to them by another rider...as a show of respect and kinship and a good luck offering...

Having a bell on your bike that was given to you increases the "power" of the bell to suck up the road demons before they can do any damage to your bike. That's why the bell has to be pretty low to the ground, not mounted up high.

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