MEET THE EDITOR

Jason Ferguson, owner of TBW, is the originator and editor of BIKERS BUZZ. He was born in and raised along the beaches of Southern California. Being closely associated with Harleys since childhood, Jason has compiled an incredible amount of experience in all aspects of the Harley biking world. After graduating from Motorcycle Mechanics School, he had the privilege to work at Bikers Dream, under the mentorship of the famed Johnny Pag. At a young age, he assisted Pag create many custom bikes, including those for various movie, sports and racing celebrities. Jason and his teacher-wife, Mellanie, moved to Granbury in 2002. He worked at the well-known Shark Performance Art shop in Fort Worth, building custom pro street bikes (one bike received an Easyrider show award). In 2006 Jason started TBW, where he offers a wide variety of standard and custom bike products and services. In the past two years he has gained local and national recognition for his custom bike design skills, both at shows and in well-known biker magazines and other publications. Included are five awards at Sturgis, the world’s biggest bike show/rally. Most recently, he won a customizing award for “Best Bobber” at the 2010 Rick Fairless Show in Dallas.

NEWS AND COMMENTS FROM SUBSCRIBERS

All subscribers are urged to submit motorcycle or mortorcyclist-related news items, photos, commentaries, critiques, etc. (by either e-mail or snail-mail) that they feel would be of interest to the general readership. These inputs are very important for the development of BIKERS BUZZ, so please send them in for publication.

UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS

The occasional and well-known downtown-Granbury bike events are well promoted, resulting in excellent local and regional biker attendance. In contrast, many of the small semi-casual local biker “get-togethers” go unnoticed by most area bikers. BIKERS BUZZ urges its subscribers to submit details about any known “open” small informal-type meetings or more formal small club meetings, so a notice can be published. More of us would like the opportunity to share in these!

SUBSCRIBER WANT-ADS (FREE)

TO-SELL Subscribers are invited to submit notices for items they wish to sell.
TO-BUY Subscribers are invited to submit notices for items they wish to buy.

So, please start submitting by e-mail!

“LOST AND FOUND” BIKERS BUZZ

will publish inquires from subscribers seeking the current whereabouts of a fellow biker or news regarding the current whereabouts of a fellow biker who had previously left the area. Also, the return of bikers to the local area will be announced here. Subscribers are requested to participate by e-mail.

WHAT’S NEW AT TBW

Texas Bike Works Is currently working on building a state of the art manufacturing jig for custom Harley frames. This will be our second frame jig and will be dedicated to building production frames. Our original jig table will be utilizes for neck rake and stretch modifications and hardtail weld ons.

CURRENT TBW SALES/DISCOUNTS

15% on OEM Harley Davidson Dunlop tires. 20% on ME880 Metzler tires.

FREE TBW TEE-SHIRTS

Each month, at its option, TBW will give away a pre-determined quantity of free tee-shirts or other items by means of a blind drawing from its BIKERS BUZZ subscriber list. The winners will be announced in the next month’s publication.

JULY 2010 ISSUE

Let’s all contribute to this forthcoming second issue so BIKERS BUZZ expands and evolves into the kind of monthly publication we all envision!

JASON’S TECH-TOPICS

This month my topic deals with All The Hoopla About Motorcycle Motor Oils. The best place to start is to define the necessary three basic functions of an oil: to lubricate, clean and cool the motor. For an oil to be acceptable, its performance must meet, or exceed, the criteria set forth by various applicable ASTM specifications. No doubt, the new synthetic oils currently on the market typically offer the best overall performance. There are many brands to choose from these days and the best year-around choice for this region is normally SAE 20-50 weight.

Now, here, is where the hoopla generally starts about which brand to use. Much of the debate focuses around the number of driving miles between recommended oil changes (that is, before unacceptable levels of lubrication-breakdown occurs at the molecular level). Some brands feature up to 10,000-miles between oil changes, while some advertise less. The dilemma is that the top-brand oil filter manufacturers recommend, for good reason, filter replacement around only 5,000 miles! And, there’s more to it, recalling that oil must also cool and clean the motor. Oils can typically continue to provide cooling for many miles beyond 10,000; however, the other culprit that can damage your motor (in addition to lubrication breakdown) is the subtle degradation of the chemicals in the oil that perform the crucial cleaning function. To further complicate matters, the actual overall oil performance is strongly affected by factors including driving conditions, driving habits, weather, terrain/surface conditions (like dusty roads or off-road biking) - to say nothing about the deleterious effects on the all –too- frequently-forgotten oil filter.

Also, do not forget or underestimate the vital importance of the motor’s air filter. A dirty or cheapo air filter cannot effectively prevent incoming particulate matter from entering your motor and oil. Furthermore, a dirty filter cuts down on both mileage and horsepower. Always use a top-notch, washable air filter and have it checked frequently by a profession motorcycle mechanic.

So, what’s a biker supposed to do? My advice for better performance and motor longevity is to choose a moderately-priced synthetic brand of oil that meets the ASTM specifications, a good brand of filter and change both religiously every 5,000 mile of driving, depending upon driving conditions. And, last, but not least, use a clean, top-notch air filter. This is cheap insurance against premature motor wear – and preventable costly repairs. Treat your m

HARLEY SCUTTLEBUTT

Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) shares lost about a quarter of their value in June, victim again of waning consumer confidence. The Milwaukee motorcycle company’s stock has slid 25% to $21.49 over the past month, hurt by poor demand for high-end leisure items and a shaky economic climate, making it one of the worst performers on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index during that period.