Lately I’ve felt obligated to pass along some common sense to those younger riders looming in my rearview mirror. It isn’t that they don’t have any common sense of their own; some just don’t have much of it about things that were common a generation ago. Not things like how to build a canoe from a hollowed-out log, but other ...

I have been kind of preachin’ in my last few columns about you all sharing your motorcycle experiences with your family. Now, please understand when referring to family it goes beyond wives, husbands, children, brothers and sisters. I am talking about our family on the road. While I don’t know every one of you I am sure I have met ...

Nobody likes a thief. Especially a motorcycle thief, but even less so an antique motorcycle thief. There are only so many of the old bikes left on this earth and, just like land, they ain’t making any more. The old bikes are undeniable works of classic art and those who own them are tenders of the history and legacy that ...

Six blocks in either direction from where Main Street and Center Avenue crossed, there were thriving businesses that catered to the needs of the citizenry of this small, 100-year-old town of about 10 or 12 thousand people. There was a small college, beauty shops, barbers shops, drug stores, clothing stores, a couple of bars, a pool hall, two nice steak ...

Over the years the address for Vagabond Choppers has changed, but one thing has remained constant, and that is the crazy trio of dogs that keep the place safe and upbeat. Athena Ransom started Vagabond Choppers in 2003 and has strived to make a place for women in the motorcycle world. She is known for her incredible live on-stage motorcycle ...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on the road? To just leave everything behind and ride off… no responsibilities, no bills, no ties? This type of lifestyle began to appeal to me when I was in my 20s and two of my friends offered me the opportunity to live on a boat in the Florida ...

A great deal more thought, effort and expense has been put into the understanding, care and feeding of Harley engines than chassis. Too bad. A basic knowledge of the motorcycle chassis is damn helpful and potentially able to make a rider look good, be good… be better… than a motor. Harley-Davidson hasn’t always been noted for expertise in the areas ...

By the end of the 2017 race season I was starting to make a name for myself and stand out at my local AMA District 6 races. I was racing in the vintage class, and most of the bikes I was racing against were purpose-built flat-track bikes from the ’70s and ’80s. I didn’t mind because I was beating most ...

Howdy! Grab a chair an’ a beer! Ya know, sometimes I almost forget why God allowed the Japanese to design motorcycles, then one incident reminds me that it was to keep assholes off of Harley-Davidsons. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work. (FYI: I’ve owned a bunch of Japanese bikes too, but I don’t deny being an asshole…) Amy Irene White, a ...

A new feature, Depth of Tread, is an opportunity to recognize, to reader-nominate someone you know. Yes, you! Readers email Susan with contact information for the nominee and from those nominations we’ll feature a subject in a future issue of THUNDER PRESS. Imagine a person who lives with intention, admirable for some reason. It can be anyone, we ask only ...