Cyclerides.com Weekly Update

11/23/11

Greetings Riders,

First of all I would like to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. It looks like we are going to be having Chamber of Commerce weather throughout the weekend. This is the kind of weather that hooked me on Arizona during a Thanksgiving day visit 33 years ago. Enjoy it, this is why we live here.

I’m glad to have a holiday like this come along right now as I could use some down time for a bit. For the last couple of weeks I feel like I have been living in one of those motorcycle reality shows while trying to get the new bike ready for the unveil last Wednesday night. The last 2 weeks have just been a blur and I need a couple of days to catch up on what happened. What I said in the newsletter last week can certainly be repeated as it rings more true even after it was all over.

“Have you ever done, said or promised something and then about half way through it you wonder what the heck you were thinking?? That’s where I’m at right now. Weeks ago I started talking about unveiling the new bike that I have dubbed the “Mako Glide” on the last Cyclerides.com Westgate Bike Night of the season on Wednesday, November 16th. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I mean, we were 6 whole weeks out. How hard could it be to put a little paint on it and throw the parts back on? Sounds pretty easy to me. WRONG!!! Being a rookie at this bike building thing, I completely underestimated the painstaking time and effort it was going to take to make this deadline. Seems like everything we touch needs some tweaking and takes 3 times as long to install than what you think it would. “

When I left you last week I had dropped the bike off to Paul Yaffe’s Bagger Nation shop at 7:30 am Tuesday the 15th for final assembly reminding Paul that I needed it for the unveil by 2 pm the next day to take to Westgate. After driving around 220 miles per day for the last few days chasing parts, seats, etc., we were down to the last few hours before the unveil. Paul and his guys had wrapped up their work that would get me to the unveil by around 1:30 pm. I was now pacing around in his shop like an expectant Father, looking at my watch, then the cell phone, waiting for the call from the seat guy so that I could go to East Mesa to pick it up. Finally at around 2:00 pm he called. I raced out, grabbed the seat and then back to Bagger Nation to get the bike.

I rolled into Westgate at around 4 pm with a little more than 3 hours to spare. We put the Mako Glide up on the motorcycle turnstile provided by Arrowhead Harley-Davidson, covered it up with some blankets and waited till 7:30 pm for the time to reveal it to those who attended the last bike night of the season. The program started with me introducing Paul Yaffe of Bagger Nation, Jim Michaud who did the fiberglass work, Chad Riccio of C.R. Designs and Dan McKinnon who helped me with a lot with odds and ends along the way.

By the time we were done with that, there was a large crowd of people waiting to get a first glimpse of the “Mako Glide” in person. Since this bike is themed after a 1965 Corvette Mako Shark Corvette, I thought it would be appropriate to play the theme song to “Jaws” as Mrs. C. and I pulled the covers off of the bike to hundreds of onlookers as it spun around for all to see. (See Video of Unveil)

Thanks to everyone who had a hand in getting this done, we met our time frame for the unveil and the weight of a motorcycle seemed to be lifted off of my shoulders. Now I could turn my attention to arranging the finishing details without a timeline and enjoy the rest of the build. There was a little issue of getting it running as somewhere along the way the cable to the ECM had become partially unplugged. We also still have some clearance issues with the front fairing, but are working through that now. I have carefully put about 5 miles on it avoided all bumps in the road and it rides absolutely fantastic. I can hardly tell that there is a 23 inch wheel on the front. Every bit as good, if not better than with the 21 on the yellow bike. It is as solid and easy to handle as I could have imagined.

I’m sure all of the kinks will be ironed out and I will be able to ride it to the Cyclerides.com Toys to Kids event on Saturday, December 3rd. So if you missed the unveil, this would be a good chance to see it in person.

The irony of this whole story is that I never planned or imagined that I was going to end up with this type of bike. I was just going to put on a 23 inch wheel, bolt on some bags and put a little piece of chrome in the fairing and make a pointed nose. The next thing I know, Jim has me high on the magic of fiberglass fabrication, then I got hooked on creating the theme aspect of the build and ended up with the “Mako Glide”. I’ve never done drugs, but I was high on fiberglass. It seems as though once you get started adding cool custom touches to a bike, there is no place to stop till you are completely done, which is what happened here.

This brings us to the end of the 3 month chapter of building an accidental custom bike. The good news is that after all of this time and effort, the bike came out as good and beautiful as I could have ever imagined that it would. The red was the perfect color. The paint work by C.R. Designs was extremely well prepared and has an impeccable finish, the fiberglass work including features such as the shark looking fairing with blinkers in the gills, the built in GPS and I-Pod/Cell Phone holder, the custom inner fairing, the custom gas tank and dash with an authentic 1965 Corvette gas door installed, the customized Yaffe bags and side covers molded as one piece with corvette like lights installed, the customized Yaffe rear fender with the corvette emblem imbedded, custom chin spoiler, Yaffe front DEI fender and the custom air cleaner with the Corvette emblem. To top it off, the precision neck cut and rake by Paul Yaffe has made the bike handle perfectly and the stylish custom 23 inch wheel by SMT Machining tops off the long, lean look. Thanks also to Trask Performance for the last minute custom “Mako Glide” inscribed bag latches. You can see all of the contributions on the Mako Glide Build Sheet.

Thanks again to EVERYONE that had a part in making this build possible. Also thanks to Mrs. C. for having to hear about it every day for 3 months. But she loves it too. I look forward to having you all see it in person soon. Thanks for your support and following the build along the way. Click Here for the link to the build from the very start.

Click Here for an excellent 360 degree look at the Mako Glide shot by Rusty Childress of Main Event Imaging.

Click Here for the short video of the Unveiling also shot by Rusty Childress.

See the Photo Gallery of the completed Mako Glide.

Click Here for the Mako Glide Build Sheet

Tidbits and Updates:

**I want to say thanks to all who participated in the Fall Cyclerides.com Bike Nights at Westgate and Mesa Riverview for the Fall Season. They both ended with large crowds. We will always be tweaking them to keep them fresh. Look for a mid to late March start for Westgate and an April start to the Spring season for Mesa Riverview. Look forward to seeing you for the Spring season.

Saturday, December 3rd

Cyclerides.com Toys To Kids Event. SAVE THE DATE! See Details Below.

This Week

Friday and Saturday

November 25th and 26th

Hacienda Harley-Davidson Basement Sale FINAL Closeout. This is your last chance on this very popular event. The Hacienda Basement is legendary for deals, full of merchandise and will be closed FOREVER! Everything must go! Blowout on all end of season merchandise. Great opportunity to pick up some bargains for Christmas. FREE Food for All. BBQ on the patio from 11 am – 2 pm both days. Best prices for you Christmas gifts ever! Hacienda Harley-Davidson is located at 15600 N. Hayden Rd. in Scottsdale, AZ. 480-905-1903.

Friday, November 25th

Black Friday at Arrowhead Harley-Davidson. We're open from 7am to 7pm! FREE coffee and donuts while they last. Stop in, fill out a "Want List" and you could be the winner of a 1200 Custom plus a VIP trip to the Harley-Davidson® Museum. Lots of Great Gifts for under $25. Free Gift with qualifying $300 purchase. (A $75 Value) Stop by to see what is going on all day. Arrowhead HD is located at 16130 N Arrowhead Fountain Center Drive in Peoria, AZ 85382. 623-247-5542.

Friday, November 25th

Black Friday at Chandler Harley-Davidson. We're open from 8:30 am to 7 pm! FREE coffee and donuts while they last and Gift Wrapping with holiday gift purchase till 3 pm. Buy 3 Harley-Davidson shirts and get 1 FREE. Select licensed HD products will be 50% OFF. 15% Off Go Pro cameras, Scala Riders Communication Systems, Genuine Harley detail supplies. Stop in, fill out a "Want List" and you could be the winner of a 1200 Custom plus a VIP trip to the Harley-Davidson® Museum. Free Gift with qualifying $300 purchase. (A $75 Value) Stop by to see what is going on all day. Chandler HD is located at 6895 W. Chandler Blvd. in Chandler, AZ. 480-496-6800.

Saturday, November 26th

5th Annual Marines Toys for Tots Ride. Recognized as one of the TOP TEN Toy Events in Maricopa County!!! Sponsored by ALR Post 35, Chandler AZ & Chester’s HD, Mesa AZ. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011. Starting Location: Chester's Harley Davidson, 922 S. Country Club Dr. Mesa, Az. Register 8 – 10 Am. Donations: $20 W/O A Toy - $15 With A Toy. Passengers: $15 W/O A Toy -$10 With A Toy. ** Ride Pin For The First 100 Participants ** Paid Ride Includes: Ride, Lunch, Door Prizes & End Party. ***Music by The 74th St Band from 1 - 4*** Last Bike in by 2 - Door Prize drawings start at 3. For More Info please contact: Jesse “Smog” Hendrix hendrixjesse@cox.net or 602-717-7545. or Visit: http://alr35.org/ToysForTots2011.htm Coffee and Donuts provided at Registration by Chester’s HD.

Saturday, November 26th

Buddy Stubbs Hogs and Dogs. What event has amazing deals, shiny parts, and sounds great all around? Buddy Stubbs Arizona Harley-Davidson’s GARAGE SALE! On November 26th, from 11AM to 3 PM, Buddy Stubbs H-D will host a garage sale during their monthly Hogs & Dogs event. Stop by the dealership and enjoy FREE food and drinks while shopping the best deals on take-off parts in town. There will be live music in addition to museum tours of Buddy’s legendary motorcycle museum. For more information about the take-off parts sale or the Hogs & Dogs event please contact marketing@buddystubbs.com or (602) 971-3400. Buddy Stubbs Arizona Harley-Davidson is located at 13850 N. Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, Arizona. They can also be found online at www.buddystubbshd.com

Saturday and Sunday

Arrowhead Harley-Davidson Fall Used Bike Extravaganza. OVER 65 USED BIKES TO CHOOSE FROM! Financing available on ALL bikes! Buy a used bike, go into the MONEY MACHINE for a chance to grab all the CASH you can. Music, Food & More! The Harley Girls will be here Saturday with Raffle Prizes! Don’t miss this opportunity to get the best deal on a used bike. Arrowhead HD is located at 16130 N Arrowhead Fountain Center Drive in Peoria, AZ 85382. 623-247-5542.

Next Week

Saturday, December 3rd

Cyclerides.com Toys To Kids Event.

SAVE THE DATE! The Cyclerides.com Toys to Kids event will be on Saturday, December 3rd at Westgate City Center beginning at 10:45 AM. For our 9th year of this event. We will again be busing in 100 homeless children from the Children First Academy from downtown Phoenix. They will be there to cheer you on as you lay down your gifts, then we will entertain them and then they will each get to pick 3 gifts from the stack of toys that you bring to take home with them. One of the toys that they pick is to give away to another child that could not come. The kids will then be fed by Saddle Ranch. There is no cost for this event. All we ask is that you bring at least one toy or game per person.

This year is going to be especially good as we have Craig Davis for entertainment. Craig is a world class magician that combines the art of illusion, comedy and the spectacle of the circus that is amazingly entertaining. He is sure to entertain the kids as well as the adults. He specializes in Original and Unbelievable Grand Magic Illusions, Side-Splitting Comedy, Audience Participation, Trained Tropical Birds, Amazing Juggling and features Original, Exciting Music. This is always a special event and should be especially entertaining this year. Bring the whole family. See Photos from last year.

The morning will begin at 9 am at Westgate City Center with Christmas music spun by Big D’s DJ. Saddle Ranch will have available an all inclusive $9.99 per person breakfast buffet beginning at 9 am. The kids will be arriving at 10:15 am and all will enjoy some street entertainment. At 10:45 am the Toys to Kids will begin with some amazing comedy, magic and juggling from Craig Davis. Bring the whole family to enjoy this great event. This is usually the best day of the year for these kids and they love to see the riders and bikes. Hope to see you there. Westgate City Center is located at Loop 101 and West Glendale Ave. in Glendale.

If you ever wondered what this event was all about, see this inspiring video from 2006. Click Here.

Extras

Mid Week Updates will be made on the Cyclerides.com Facebook. New Easy to remember Facebook address. Go to Cyclerides.com Facebook. Over 3500 FANS! Take a look at all the new photos posted on the wall. If you are not on Facebook, you can still view the page, but you will not be able to post. There will be a link there for you to sign up for Facebook if you are inclined. Click the LIKE button!

Have you ever wanted to learn to shoot a gun? Better make sure you are holding on. Click Here to View.

Trask Performance Too Hot To Ride Specials!
Does your bike pop, spit, sputter, bad gas mileage or runs hot? If so come get your bike tuned by the performance leaders at Trask Performance. Here we have our own state of the art chassis dyno headed up by our skilled technicians. We also set your bike up properly for emissions testing. Trask Performance Arizona's Premier performance and service center. Make an appointment with James at 623-879-8488 ext 3. Trask Performance is located at 21601 N. 3rd Ave. Suite D in Phoenix, AZ. Arizona's premier performance and service center, Trask Performance!

This is one of those funny candid camera moments with a couple of young kids. Click Here to View.

Video of the Week: Here is an intense video of a bow hunter that encounters a Moose. Click Here to View. Click on the Video of the Week graphic on the page.

If you would like to sign up for the Cyclerides.com Weekly Update Click Here.

Until Next Week,
Blessings and Safe Riding To All,

Barry Caraway
"The Road Is Yours - Take The Ride"
www.cyclerides.com