Street Vibrations in Reno (09/03)
We cut this one close. We were prepping for Street Vibrations in Reno. How can anyone go wrong with this venue? Casinos, great weather, rocking music, tasty buffets, and hanging with your buddies. I like that.

I committed to bring 6 bikes to Reno. 4 completes and 2 rollers. We already had our 2 prototypes running and running good. I stood on the throttle on the gold bike at a poker run and it lit up just fine. Ask Dave.

The truck and trailer needed some work. Fresh tires, new seals and a high-tech brake controller called the "Prodigy" were popped in. I was impressed with the installation of the controller. You buy a harness adapter that plugs the controller to the already wired for trailer Duramax. That's what I mean by plug and play. Oh yeah...

I could see it was going to be a long day. We finished up the rollers and started in on the red FLH and chopper. The paint and pipes showed up yesterday so that was good. It was the first time I saw the paint since me and Mike worked out the color scheme. Both bikes hit the mark. I rolled home to feed my baby and pack my bags. After the last bottle was washed I headed back to the shop. Cisco, Dave, and Al would be there around 8:30. We cranked up the tunes and went to work. Al later took off and Andy popped in to help until midnight. We pushed past 1:30 and Dave refused to go home. Cisco was getting hungry but kept on the drill press. The FLH was done at 3:30. I looked over at the chopper with just wheels and a frontend with a deep breath. I told the guys that's it. We were planning to leave for Reno at 4:30. I was thinking to bring everything and leave the chopper. Dave said no way. Cisco said let's go for it. Fine. We took a short break to grind some food. Cisco went to Jack in the Box and returned with a pizza. That's another story.

We dove into the chopper like 3 ducks chasing after the same piece of bread. Al showed up at 4 so I began to load the trailer. 6:30 came and the chopper was loaded. I looked back into the shop and it was destroyed. I shut the lights, high fived Dave and Cisco and pointed the Chevy north. Al and I made good time. We rolled into Reno at 10:30. Our booth would be across from the Silver Legacy. When we got there the 10x20 spot seemed too small. I went back to the check-in and made friends with a gal named Lou. She was cool. We made a deal to take the whole 20x20 tent.

When we dropped the trailer door it was all over. The look on everyone's face was reassuring. We finally moved everything to the booth, ditched the truck and trailer and went back. It was a great location. We had live music, beverages and food within the 10-yard line.

Rom Simms of Bay Area Custom Cycles had set up shop behind us. 3pm came and Street Vibrations was officially open. We had a great day. On the get go we were mobbed and applauded. Wow what a feeling. Maybe it was a combination of pushing a 40-hour workday and eating junk the last 4 feedings.

Thursday came and Andy, Steve and Scott rode in from the city. Scott lives in Hong Kong. He was passing through and made plans to do this trip. You dog you. I loaned him my FXR and asked Andy to be his ace. I call these guys "MJ's." It means Mainjet. And in order to use this fuel circuit on a carburetor it requires holding the throttle wide open. I could tell the ride was short when they showed up laughing at each other as Scott was flashing his ticket for blowing by that cop. So whose record will that go on? Hhmm... Scott?

The rest of the guys trickled in Friday. Vince, Jeremy, Mark, Eric, Howard, Eddie, Dave, Elvis and Jeff. It was great having so many close friends together to share this moment in KC history. Roby who's missing was instrumental in getting the company to this point. I have only two words for him. Phuket baby...

Dave brought up an issue of the Nov Hot Bike. The gold and black bike was featured. Awesome timing. Greg the writer did some awesome writing. My sincere thanks. We just have to work out this issue of Fords and Chevys!

The weekend was great. I met a ton of cool people. The booth became a place to hangout and talk story about old bikes. A 59 pan, or a 71 shovel, or a knuck, or a tankshift. I got the feeling we did something special. I noticed in my baby that she never blinks. She's just taken by all her senses fighting to take their turn in her world. These bikes do the same to all who want to discovery a whole new class of bike.

Since that weekend the shop has never been the same. The phone calls and emails have been off the hook. We're doing our very, very best to ramp our products. All I can say is that yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And yes, we're tucked in tight as we head into the next tunnel. See you at the CCI Dealer show.

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