RaceDweeb's Bloggeville

2009-01-05T23:53:00.000-05:00

I guess once an asshole, always an asshole. This douche bag “Bud” Morton is up to his old tricks again. But instead of just publicly flaming me over a backordered set of gaiters, he’s turned his hatred towards censorship.

A few weeks ago I get this mysterious email from a ‘Jim Shorts’ inviting me to “check out” a new forum web site dedicated to Triumph Bonneville’s. Lovely, just what the world needed… another Bonneville forum. But what the hey, I go and check it out. Turns out to be a rehash of the same old stuff you see on reputable sites like Triumphrat.net and the Delphi NTB forum. I notice all these threads created by Bud, aka: “Bonifide” as in a bonafide tool and one or two of his minions. So I email this ‘Jim Shorts’ guy back the following:

“Thank you Jim. I need you to be very candid with me. Do you have any objections to me posting on your forum? I ask because I see a lot of members from the other NTB forums who know me well including a couple dickheads who always take pleasure in giving me a hard time.I don't want to cause any disharmony or leave any impression I'm using your forum as some sort of infomercial. At the end of the day, I'm just another Bonneville enthusiast who loves to see what others have done to/with their bikes.Please give it some thought before replying and whatever you decide, I'm comfortable with it.”

I revisited the site and decided that I would only post on off-topic subjects, like the thread on guns. A couple days ago I get an email direct from Bud asking me if I wanted to sponsor the web site for $200. Being a lot of things, but not one of them being a down-right fool, I replied” “no.” First-off, how can I trust someone who blatantly flames me publicly over a situation mostly his own damn fault for not properly identifying himself in his emails. And secondly, I do not sponsor any forum, as there is simply no return on my investment. I’ve been down the road before with click-through banner ads and such and they just not worth the cost. My support of forums is my participation in discussions and the technical knowledge I share… for free. And if I can make someone smile by cracking-wise now & then, consider that added value.

So Ol’ Bud replies back and politely says OK and offers me to reconsider in the future. But here’s the kicker… I can’t use my common screen name of BellaCorse and he’s changing it to “Mike.” Petty and juvenile at the least, but I understand how he doesn’t want any reference to my company in his little playground. Sort of like saying you can’t wear your Windows T-shirt inside the Apple store. So I ask him if I can use my Delphi nom de plume: Racedweeb? Nah, it’s going to be MikeS (as Mike was already in-use) and nothing more said.

I fired off an email to “Jim Shorts” outlining the situation and asking for some intervention. I also speculated in my email that “Jim Shorts” and “Bud” are indeed one in the same, but just on the odd chance they’re not, maybe he can help me. No reply back. [EDIT: I did erroneously accuse Bud of ripping me off for $132. This is not true. I had mistakenly confused Bud with that other dickhead Bruce Horne – see earlier blog entry. I do apologize for my mistake and said so in an email to Bud]. So I jump onto the Whoisit registry and plug in the URL and sure enough, Wallace (Bud) Morton is the owner. No doubt “Jim Shorts” is an alias for Bud, who apparently has the creativity of an 8 year old.

So back to the web site I go to take a quick sniff around and I see several posters who have hyperlinks in their signatures to commercial entities including motorcycle parts vendors who are not sponsoring the web site and at least one fellow who’s screen name is the name of his MC parts web site (I won’t say who as he’s a customer of mine and seems like a nice guy). I guess Bud has one standard for me and another one for everyone else. What this boils down to ladies & gentlemen is pure censorship. Bud does not want anyone to somehow put A & B together and ultimately end up on my web site.

This form of censor is nothing new for me. Long time Delphi NTB forum members will remember the late “Capt. Ron” and his Ace Café Forum, or as I preferred to call it; “The Hate Café Forum.” This Jew-hating motherfucker has such a hard-on for trashing me after flaming me on the NTBF and being ‘dressed-down’ by about 80 other forum members for being such a jerk, that he started his own forum and FORBID anyone from making ANY reference to BellaCorse. He went as far as filtering posts blocking the brand name as if it was some four little word. And the lies and insults he and his henchman Lee Alexander hurled at me were as sad & sickening as any rhetoric coming out of Tehran. Capt. Ron dropped dead of a heart attack and the forum ultimately disbanded. Alexander, the sniveling coward, vandalized my helmet at Mid-Ohio VMD last Summer. What a turd. I always thought there were gay overtones with his puppy dog loyalty to his parts vendor of choice.

OK, Bud wants his sandbox for himself and that’s just fine with me. But who is really getting shafted here? I say it’s all the other members on Bud’s forum. I don’t claim to be the Oracle of Truth for new-gen Triumph Bonneville’s, but after seven years of running -arguably- one of the larger & better known vendor sites and having personally owned a dozen Hinckley twins, I think I’ve gained a certain level of expertise and insight about this bikes. How many times have I read incorrect and flat-out bad advice one these various forums? Like the guy who recommended using rubber o-rings as an alternative to the aluminum oil drain plug crush washer, or just today, the newbie who claimed that a Thruxton front wheel & rotor are interchangeable with those from a T100. People read this stuff and take as gospel, only to find out the hard (and often expensive) way that it’s wrong.

I’m not here to police these sites and everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I strongly feel that I have some valuable input to offer, and I cheerfully do so. If I sell a few parts along the way, great, but no one is holding a gun to anyone’s head to buy from me or anyone else. And most of what I sell is available from multiple sources. But I guess that will not the case with Bud’s forum. So if you are looking for uncensored information about your Bonneville without the politics and Jihad attitudes, I can personally recommend Triumphrat.net, Bonnevilleamerica.com and the various Triumph-related Delphi forums.

2008-10-13T17:54:00.003-04:00

I forgot today was a bank holiday. So with both the banks and Post Office closed and my ISP’s servers conveniently crashing on what may be the last Summer-like day of the year, I decided to drop everything and go for a ride.

Being blessed with a fleet of bikes to chose from, I opted for my personal favorite: my Project TTSR. It’s a 2002 T100 I bought with a salvage title. The originally green & gold bike came out of the Atlanta area, where some poor soul crashed the bike and bent-up a few parts. The basic bones of the bike were sound; frame, engine, wheels & hubs all perfectly fine. I had a spare set of forks and everything else was going to be replaced anyways. The list of major modifications is a fairly small one: Air Box removed, Norman Hyde Scrambler exhaust system, alloy fenders, 1966 tail light & grab rail, flat track bars and Hagon shocks. That’s basically it. No hot carbs. No piggyback shocks. No big bore kit. No 6-pot calipers. Just a fundamentally stock T100 with pipes and the airbox eliminated. The rest is just paint & trim.

What I like most about this particular bike is how easy it is to ride. Easy as in both the bike handles very well, and it is as very comfortable which greatly adds to one’s riding confidence. The stock carbs have a lighter throttle spring than my CR-II and FCR-equipped bikes, which is easy on the wrist. The stock brakes are easy to modulate and the Norman Hyde exhaust is not very loud, both aspects helping to reduce rider’s fatigue. And you all know what a big fan of Hagon shocks I am.

So off I went with no particular route in mind, only a mission: to get lost. I didn’t want to take any highways because I was wearing an open face helmet and the SE MI roads are horrible. After gassing up for $2.79 a gallon (Hazah!) I headed North on the only non-straight roads near me. Note I did not say “winding” roads, as I’m a good 30 miles from any of those. Traffic was light on this warm fall day. A dry summer has left fewer leaves on the ground than normal, so some spirited riding was achieved.

Along the way I had time to reflect on business, friends and life in general. The warm air… the fall colors… and the open roads. If I could bottle this shit, I’d be a Billionaire. I just can’t express strongly enough how much I needed this ride. A ride with no destination, direction and/or path. Just an objective: getting lost. So exploring I went.

I discovered some interesting new roads and points of interest as I meandered in a somewhat Northwestern direction. I navigated old school: by the location of the Sun. This technique came in very useful zipping around the many finger lakes we have in the region. Ultimately I found myself not so far from a familiar eatery, so I stopped for lunch. With my bike parked in front of the restaurant and me seated by the window, I was able to watch the reaction of patrons and road traffic passing by my bike. I’m still somewhat surprised at the wide range of people who are attracted to Triumphs. From the silver haired ladies with their canes and walkers, to the chain-smoking pregnant teenager with less than a full set of teeth (thanks dad!) and virtually every middle-aged man who passed by. Even the local cop gave it a walk-around before coming in to dine.

Bloated and ready to ride, I headed out of the restaurant and took a quick spin around this quaint little town dotted with antique stores and little mom-and-pop boutiques. The Bonneville just seemed to fit in somehow. I just don’t think I would have enjoyed the experience as much on my Harley or hot-rodded Ducati. Certainly the noise alone from either of those bikes would have somehow ‘spoiled the moment.’ I wasn’t looking for fancy, high-tech or loud on this particular day. No, today called for a simpler machine for a simpler ride. Stripped-down and back to basics. Man-machine-road.

On my way home I really got lost. And I guess that is what I was really searching for all-along. Something to take my mind off of the routine of everyday life and allow me to focus on the road, not knowing what’s coming next. No expectations, just new experiences around every corner. Returning home, I find myself refreshed and anxious to hit the road again. And I will… in about 5 months.

2008-09-18T16:15:00.000-04:00

Geez... and I thought getting banned from an internet forum was pathetic, but it ain't got nothing on this.
I frequent a local Coney island restaurant twice a week for breakfast. I've got to know the head waitress there and we get along very well, always kidding and teasing each other.
Those who know me know that I'm a smartass... a kidder... but rarely a schmuck. I walked in to the restaurant today and saw my fav. waitress standing just inside the kitchen doorway. I walked over and poked my head into the kitchen joking about how "You should never look inside the kitchen of the restaurant you're eating at." All tongue-in-cheek. Of course she says how clean the place is and jokingly I ask "No rats or cockroaches the size of armadillos?" An older couple seated nearby overheard me and laughed at my wisecrack as did my friend and the cook.
Oh, but the owner was not so amused. An immigrant and not very good with English, he didn't understand I was joking. He darts out to confront me in from of all the customers yelling at me "If I'm not happy eating here, then just leave. You're always complaining about something"... blah-blah-blah. Not true BTW. Towering over him and out weighing him by about 150 lbs., I got really pissed and jumped right down his throat. "MOCKERY... do you understand the word?" No replies. "EXACTLY, you do not understand that I was just joking with my friend (waitress), so shut the fuck up AND DON'T EVER CONFRONT ME IN PUBLIC LIKE THAT AGAIN."
He went on blabbing about how he doesn't like my attitude which sounded to me like white noise with an accent. Not wanting to make a further scene and more importantly not to get my friend in any trouble, I sat down to order my breakfast. My waitress friend was obviously concerned about the situation from the look on her face.
I quitely sat and eat my breakfast (which BTW seemed to have extra large proportions on this particular day - thanks cook) and every time I looked up, the owner was standing behind the counter giving me the evil eye. Just as I was finishing-up, I see the owner's wife saying something to my friend who was casting glances my way as they spoke. My friend had a very upset look on her face. A moment later she went into the ladies restroom and didn't come out. As I got up to pay the bill the owner yells over to me not to come back.
My gut reaction was to say nothing and simply never return. I can just see this tool punishing my waitress friend over all of this. What a total asshole. Oh well, I guess I'm finally going on the diet.

/Mike - 'Making friends & influencing others for more than 50 years.'

2008-06-28T12:40:00.003-04:00

It is with great regret, that after more than a year since my last Blog entry, I'm -forced- to post this bit of unpleasantness. Please believe me folks when I tell you that my decision to post this was not an easy one. I take no pleasure in any of this.

I've always have been sensitive to the needs of customers especially when their bikes are in service. They want their bikes back on the road and that's understandable. So when a previous customer of mine named Bruce Horne of Knoxville, TN who I also know from the various Bonneville Forums and always had a good working relationship with, contacted me and explained that he needed on of my rear fenders overnighted to his dealer and he would send me a money order for the part plus enough to cover shipping, I immediately dropped everything and accomondated his request. Pushing his order ahead of others who had already ordered on-line, I made a special trip to the PO and overnight shipped the fender to his dealer; Kingsport Cycles.

True to his word, Mr. Horne sent me a money order, however he a) shorted me $12 and b) made the check payable to BellaCorse. The problem with the latter is that my company name is SEL-MOTION Motorsports, not BellaCorse. This is all very clearly spelled out on my web site. I took the check to my bank and showed them my business card with the BellaCorse & SEL-MOTION logos and tried to explain to them that the check is indeed intended for me, but they refused to cash it. I can certainly understand their position. They don't know me by personally and I could have stolen a check made out to any company and for $10 had a bunch of fake business cards made-up to try and cash it.

So I mailed the check back to Mr. Horne and VM'ed & emailed him that the check needs to be made out to SEL-MOTION. Here's were it gets ugly. Mr. Horne emails me back stating that my bank should have cashed my check regardless of the name on it and that he's not going to pay twice. He also went on to say that he had lost the receipt for the check, so he will not be able to cash it. His rational throughout this whole ordeal is that he doesn't think it's fair for him to have to pay twice. Explaining to him that -I- did nothing wrong here and that -I- should not have to take the loss because -he- wrote the wrong name and lost the receipt, is falling on deaf ears & blind eyes.

After several emails trying to politely impress on the man that I did nothing wrong and simply want to be paid for the product he received, he then offers to "settle-up" for 50%. Funny, he won't pay twice, but 1-1/2 times is OK... hmmmm. This clearly implied to me that he got the check and had cashed it and now is weaseling for a 1/2 off deal. I refused his offer and insisted that he pays me in-full promply. He counters by saying he'll send me the check back for me to endorse and once he cashes it, he'll pay me. Nope I told him, you got to first pay me what you owe me and after I'm paid in full, if you want to mail me the check back to me to endorse it, I will. I knew this was BS, because anyone can sign the name BellaCorse on the back of check, so no bank would ever accept it. And now he's claiming he never got the check back from me. More BS.

I know I'll never see any money out to this guy. As I wrote in my final email to him, "Your rudeness, veiled accusations that somehow I'm cheating you out of more money and his constant contradictions to his story speaks volumes for the kind of man he is."

I post this story not out of spite, but rather to serve as a notice to would-be rip-off artists that I will not tolorate this type of behavior and that I will never again ship anything without being fully paid in advance. Let's hope the next Blog isn't such as downer.

2007-02-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

This was a week I hope never to repeat. So bad, it brought me out of a 6+ month hiatus from blogging. It actually started a couple weeks ago when a new customer placed an on-line order. He used my default PayPal Shopping Cart to make his payment. That's where everything started to fall apart. You see, PayPal uses email addresses to identify buyers and sellers. It can work fairly transparent for most new users, accepting your credit card info or personal check. It does however require a valid email address from the buyer to work correctly.

I get an email from PayPal every time someone places an order. My -usual- practice is to email the customer (the "Buyer" in PayPal parlance) to confirm receipt of the order and to let the customer know that a further email will be sent when the order ships or if there is a backorder or additional shipping charges due. My records show I sent that email to the customer's email address used with his PayPal account. The customer emailed me days later wanting to know where his order is. He signed his email with his nickname, not the name used on his PayPal account. Furthermore, he emailed me from an email account different from the one used with PayPal. So I email him back saying that I cannot find a customer with his nickname in my database and asked him if it could be under a different name. He emailed me back with the correct name (and a third email address which wasn't the PayPal address) but sure enough, there's his order in the backorder file.

I thought I emailed him back to tell him about the backorder status of a part he ordered and that it should be in shortly, but he claims I didn't. One week after placing his order, he places a dispute with PayPal, which freezes the funds in my account. Since his part hadn't arrived yet, I gave him a refund immediately. So what does he do? Jumps onto a popular Triumph Bonneville user board and trashes he claiming I was ignoring him... unprofessional business practices... kidnapping the Lindberg baby... you name it.

After be goaded by other board members to hear from -ahem- "The Horses Mouth", I replied with my side of the story and an apology to the customer asking him to consider giving me a chance to make it up to him. The original thread got locked-out by the Form Moderator, so I created a new one. The wag replies back calling me a liar, even after several others have posted that none of the well known Vendors on the board are known for deception or bad business practices -and- that his response is a bit overboard considering the facts.

I simply cannot guarantee that I will have every part I offer in stock at all times. I do however spend a great deal of time and money doing my best to keep the top sellers in stock. I, like all retailers, are dependent on suppliers to provide us with products. Some times they run out too. I also cannot afford to implement state-of-the-art software with real-time inventory status like JC Whitney & Dennis Kirk, like my complaining customer suggests. I guess what really burns me about this guy is that he didn't even take the time to pick up the phone and call me to ask what was going on. The knee jerk reaction to trash me on a public forum for a snafu that is more than partially his fault is hard for me to understand.

So that was earlier last week. On Thursday my dear friend and fabricator "Hot Rod Mike" stops by to pick up a fender he was going to sandblast form me. He brought along his contractor friend to get me a quote on some renovation work I need. On Friday I drove down to Cincinnati to attend the Easyriders VTwin Expo over the weekend. If you are a fan of high-end Harleys, this show is Mecca. For trade only, all the top manufacturers, distributors and builders were in attendance. And talk about a boost to my ego... apparently my reputation precedes me. I was introduced to several top builders (I won't drop names, but you've seen these guys on the Discovery channel for years... no not the guys from NY) and they knew about me. And had some very nice things to say. Now I've been around high rollers and celebrities all my adult life, and I'm rarely intimidated, but lets just say if you asked those builders about me today, they'd all say how impressed they are with what I've done considering my severe mental retardation.

I was literally walking 6 inches off the ground, until I checked my phone messages back home. My friend Dave left a message saying that Hot Rod Mike had passed away Friday night. Mike suffered badly chronic Asthma, and has been in and out of hospital for years. Apparently he had called 911 for an ambulance and while being loaded in suffered a fatal heart attack. I went back home immediately. I will not eulogize him here other than to say he was master craftsman, a sweetheart of a man and a loving father.

Please excuse the blurry photo of Mike and the custom bicycle he & his 14 year old daughter built. Check out the hubless front wheel.

I'll leave you tonight with this thought: Think of those friends dear to you that you haven't spoken to for some time, and call them. In the final analysis, it's all about family and friends. Possessions can be replaced. Wives too, but that's a blog for another day.

2006-07-14T01:33:00.000-04:00

The band on Letterman tonight sucked, so I’m making time to –finally- update my blog. Honestly people, the notion of someone deriving entertainment from reading about my life is nothing short of amazing to me.

I won’t bore you with excuses, other than to say that the last several weeks has been the perfect storm of business problems, supplier shortages, out of town travel, funerals, quarterly taxes, customs delays… the list goes on and on. Bottom line, I’m so far behind with filling orders and dealing with paperwork, that updating my blog is at the bottom of my priority list. But I’m here and I’ll do my best to catch you up.

Crikey, where do I start? It’s easiest for me to start with today and go backwards. I’ve got a new bike in the garage. A 2007 Ducati GT1000. I knew I wanted one since I saw the early pictures on the web. As I joked to a friend tonight; “It’s fits into my retro motif.” This is my first Ducati and first EFI bike. To say the least, I’m damned impressed. I’ll get into the specifics in a future blog.

I mentioned the perfect storm of problems. This Customs delay is a pisser to be sure. I’ve been buying parts from Jenk’s Bolts in the UK for years now. He and I go back to the first days of the new generation Bonneville. Customs is holding a shipment from him wanting what I believe to be an absolutely insane level of detail information on the sales receipt. Like the cost and country of origin of EVERY nut, bolt washer, vacuum cap, etc. in the various Jenk’s kits. Jenks and I are doing what we can to provide them with the info they want, but the wheels of Government are turning slowly. Customers are really angry with me and I don’t blame them one bit.

Let’s see, what else is new? Ah, my new Harley. At least new to me. I snipped this one off of eBay with 9 seconds left. It was listed as “THEWORLDSDUSTIESHARLEYSOFTAIL. All one word. So if you did a key word search for, say “Harley”, this listing would not come up. I created a web page, so if you want to know more, link over there. www.bellacorse.com/cobwebs.htm

And then there is my kit car. I can’t recall if I blogged this already, but several months ago I bought a 1970 Volks Wagon Beetle kit car. I was watching the Barrett-Jackson auction on TV, thinking ‘I need a kit car.’ So I got onto eBay to see what’s out there. Not looking for anything in particular, I come across this VW in nearby Ann Arbor, MI. It’s a 70 Beetle with a 1925 Bugatti Boat Tail Roadster replica body on it. Well, I don’t see a Bugatti 35B in the photos, I see the platform for a 1930’s Indianapolis 500 race replica. Hack-off the fenders, add an exhaust pipe down the body, 19” Model A wire wheels with skinny tires, car number on the tail… oh it’s so clear to me. So I snipped it a few seconds left and bought it sight unseen (other than the eBay ad). Last time I do that. The car needed a bunch of work. Fortunately there is only about 12 parts to the entire car, so working on it is a breeze. But it’s not me who is working on it, but my good buddy Mike Sustarich. If you’re read The Horse Magazine, there is a nice write-up on Mike’s daughter Shannon. Well, Mike is doing his thing to help turn my Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang Bugatti into a seriously cool 30’s track replica. You know I’ll be blogging about this one.

OK, CD done. I typically type these blogs listening to music on my stereo in my office. Tonight’s artist was Beck, Bogart & Appice: Live in Japan (Disk 1). I’m glad I made time to update this nonsense. Until next time.

2006-05-05T23:06:00.000-04:00

It was the best of times. I was the worst of times. Let me start by apologizing for ignoring this blog for the last few months. At first, the idea of a daily log of experiences and amusing antidotes was intriguing to me. The novelty soon wore off as my increasing workload made it more and more difficult to find the time to sit down at the keyboard and bang out some ramblings. Steps are being taken to reduce my personal workload and increase my personal time.

This last week has been particularly difficult as I received some very sad news about members of the New Triumph Bonneville community. Last weekend, Brad Morris and his wife Drena suffered had an accident with a car while riding near their home in San Diego. Both are in the hospital with critical injuries, albeit not life threatening. Drena was thrown from the bike and suffered a broken pelvis and some internal bleeding. Brad has compound fractures and broken ribs. Both are expected to make a full recovery, but it will be a long recuperation with lots of therapy ahead of them. The situation is particularly sad as they have a young daughter at home. I’ve never met Brad, but I have conversed with him many times on both the New Triumph Bonneville Forum and the Brit Iron Rebels Forum. I’ve always liked his sense of humor and easygoing spirit. His screen name is SpeedTrophy.

And just as you think things couldn’t get much worse, another member experienced a very bad crash just yesterday. Chris Crain, best known as RetiredSF and co-moderator of the New Triumph Bonneville Forum wrecked his bike while riding in Deal’s Gap, NC, where a NTBF gathering is going on this weekend. Chris suffered many broken bones and well as a broken neck. The good news is that there is apparently no paralysis, but like the Morris’, he has a long and difficult recovery ahead of him. I’ve known Chris for a few years now, having first meeting face-to-fact two years ago at the first NTBF meet in Deal’s Gap. Talk about a great guy… they really broke the mold with this one. Ex Green Beret, Viet Nam vet and most recently, cancer survivor. He’s unanimously loved and admired by all who has met him and/or know him from the NTB & BIR forums. I was planning to go the Deal’s Gap meet this week, but I canceled because I’m so behind at work. Learning about Chris’ mishap makes me thankful I didn’t go as I’m so saddened by the news, I know I just couldn’t enjoy myself.

So relatively speaking, things could have gone much worse for Brad, Drena and Chris, but by the grace of God or just plain good luck, they didn’t and all will recover… I’m sure to ride again. The Brit Iron Rebels club has set-up a recovery fund for Crain and the Morris families. Donations can be made via PayPal to: treasurer@britironrebels.com. Please include a note that the donation is for Brad & Drena Morris and/or Chris Crain. I plead with you to look deep into your hearts and reach deep into your pockets to help these fine people. We are a community, and as a community, what affects one, affects us all.

Thank you for your patience, generosity and consideration.

2006-01-10T07:14:00.000-05:00

“Because Nostalgia Never Grows Old.” That’s the tag line I use in my print advertising. If you think about it, retro is and always has been a hot styling concept. From vehicle design, to fashion, to home appliances, throwback styling is everywhere and riding an all-time high in consumer popularity.

The Cycle World International Motorcycle Show made it’s way through Detroit last weekend and I had the pleasure of attending the show with my BIR & NTBF buddies. I was struck by the re-occurring ‘retro’ theme offered by most of the major manufacturers. My first stop was at the Harley-Davidson display, primarily to say Hi to my local dealer buddies. My favorite two models from Milwaukee are the Heritage Softtail Springer, which echoes styling clues of the 1948 FL Knucklehead and their new 35th Anniversary Dynaglide. I could be very happy owning that Dynaglide, although the first thing I’d do is pitch the contemporary rear fender and fit the old fiberglass Boat Tail fender/seat unit.

My next stop was at the Ducati booth, which was my highest priority to visit. I’ve seen the new Sport Classic Paul Smart already at a local dealership and I was hoping to get my first in-person look at the GT1000. Unfortunately, Ducati did not have a GT on display. Apparently Ducati didn’t feel that Detroit was a significant enough of a market to have the one display bike in the US shipped in for the show. Too bad, as I wanted to throw a leg over one in the worst way. I did straddle the Sport 1000 and I liked the proportions, although Ducati made (in my humble opinion) a critical mistake of installing a set of custom mini bar-end mirrors in lieu of the standard bar-ends. Totally out-of-place and mine wasn’t the only critical opinion overheard.

Yamaha’s new Star line of mega cruisers where absolutely eye-popping. Kudos to the design staff for their Art Deco styling. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I fully appreciate the execution. And the Kenny Roberts paint scheme on the R1 sportbike is spot-on. Other notables include Kawasaki’s cruiser with the Indianesque skirted fenders and the Moto-Guzzi with the chromed tank side panels.

So if the retro themes exhibited at the MC show wasn’t enough to get you longing for the simpler bygone days of cheap gas and big horsepower… please step this way to the North America International Auto Show. The Dodge brand rocked the media with the introduction of their Challenger concept car. Baby, it’s 1970 all over again right down to the pistol shifter handle. And not to be outdone by Mopar & FoMoCo, Chevrolet rolled out their new Carmaro concept car as well. I applaud all three makers and I hope and pray that the powers that be at the Sports Car Club of America are taking a hard look at these retro-racers. You know where I’m going with this… Trans-Am racing! Paint ‘em up like Mark Donohue’s Penske/Sunoco Camaro, Parnelli Jones’ Mustang and Sam Posey/Swede Savage Challenger’s and you would have to beat the crowds off with a stick. But I digress.

2005-12-28T14:21:00.000-05:00

I’ve been a busy little bee these last couple of weeks. Sales are through the roof…, which is just fine by me. As I like to joke with my customers; “I’d rather be complaining about too much business than not enough.” In fact, today I hit a major sales milestone. Since I ‘officially’ opened my business in March of 2002, I’ve sold over $1,000,000.00 in parts and accessories for the new Triumph Bonneville. To say the least, I’m totally blow-away with how fast this little venture of mine has grown.

Now, for those of you who have the impression that the whole $1M goes into my pocket, think again. That is my total gross sales… a far-far cry from my net earnings. But still, let’s just say that I’m not starving. But then again, I’m not rolling in cash. The true wealth in what I’m doing is being able to do something I enjoy doing. I feel blessed every day I roll out of bed.

Kudos to Classic Cycle in Roseville, Michigan. Suzanne & Lauren (pictured) threw a very nice Holiday party. I got there a little late, but still there were a few customers milling around and tons of good food. The shop had a new 06 Speed Triple in white that was pretty damn cool IMHO. The white bodywork really complemented the black chassis and engine. The shop tricked it out with some factory accessories and I’m sure it will not last long on the floor before some wise shopper snaps it up. Hell, it just might be me!

While I was in the back workshop, Classic Cycle’s ace mechanic Todd was showing me a wrecked Rocket III he was rebuilding. The bike was stripped of it’s bodywork and Todd started telling me how he thought the Rocket III would make a pretty cool sportbike with a little restyling. Talk about great minds thinking alike… I too think the R3 has great sportbike potential. Todd had some excellent ideas about relocating the fuel tank to the airbox location and replacing the airbox with some long velocity stacks. Cut-up the forward control mounts and move them to the mid-control position. And for God sake, ditch all the cheesy plastic bodywork. I of course suggested a 3-1 header with snaking head pipes in ceramic black. As Todd was throwing out ideas, I kept muttering, “I see the vision. I see the vision.”

So as we enter into the New Year, I wish all of you good health, happiness and excellent riding weather in 2006. And thank you so very much for your support these last few years.

2005-12-16T12:45:00.000-05:00

This isn’t as easy as one might expect. Trying to come up with something informative, witty and grammatically correct on a timely basis is a tall order. The truth is that my daily life has become somewhat routine… ahhh, down-right boring at times. He’s a run-down of a typical weekday:

I haven’t got a good night’s sleep since the Carter administration, so I typically get up around 6:00am. First order of business is to log onto PayPal and download the overnight orders. Next I visit the various NTB forums to see what type of nonsense has popped-up overnight. And then there is answering email. That can be a real chore at times. I try to be as thorough and informative as I can, but there are times where there is so much email to answer, I have to be somewhat brief with my responses. Then comes the highlight of my day; taking a good dump and a hot shower… exactly in that order! Next up is breakfast around 7:00am. I almost always eat my meals out. I’m too lazy to cook and I’m not very good at it either. I need my morning coffee. Can’t go without it. I have 3 or 4 really good restaurants nearby, and I’m on a very friendly basis with the waitresses. I always joke with them that they are the closest things I have to family.

So, by 8:00am I’m usually back in the office and ready to tackle the tasks of the day. If I have anything I need to order anything from the UK or elsewhere in Europe, this is the time I do so as it’s early afternoon there. Then I process any backorders pending. As you’ll read in a moment, my deliveries arrive later in the day, so I go through all the backorders and fill them as I can from whatever arrived the previous day. Sometimes not all of the backordered items arrive in the same shipment, so I maintain an area in my storeroom with bins for each backorder. If I get in everything that is needed, then it’s a simple matter of boxing everything up, labeling the box and setting it aside for shipping later in the day.

Once all the backorders are processed, I turn to the new orders. This involves entering the orders into my computer and generating two copies of the invoice. One hardcopy goes into a file of invoices and the other either is affixed to the shipping carton, or in the case of any backorders, filed in the backorder folder. This system works really well for me as the volume of my business has grown so much over the years; it’s impossible for me to remember every shipment. So if anyone contacts me to inquire about the status of his or her order, I can check my backorder file. If there is no invoice there, which tells me it’s been shipped, so I turn to my shipping receipts for tracking information.

Now one might think that boxing-up an order is a simple matter of placing something or things into a carton, sealing it and slapping on a label. Sometimes it is just that simple, but many times it gets more complex. Some items I sell were never intended to fit the NTB. Mirrors are an excellent example of this. My Bar-End Mirrors are intended for 7/8” bars. NTB’s require 1” bars, so I need to add a spacer to each one. Not a difficult task, but a necessary one. And the Chrome Oval Mirrors are made for Harleys, so I have to add the proper hardware and instructions to each set before shipping. Larger items such as mufflers, crash bars and seats require me to individually box each one. That can get a bit time consuming and needs to be done right to avoid shipping damage.

So here I am, like a 300 lb. version of a Santa’s elf, packaging goodies with a twinkle in my eye and a tune on my lips. And then the phone rings! Lord-o-Mighty, does that phone ever ring. I average about 4 or 5 calls per hour from customers placing orders or asking for technical help. And for those of you who have ever spoken to me on the phone, you know how much I love to gab. If I could only turn that energy into writing of this blog. Now some people just don’t like placing their orders on-line. Fear of identity theft is the most common comment I get from those who phone-in. Others have questions before they order, so calling-in works best in those cases. Let me digress a bit about phone-in customers.

I answer the phone “Good [morning], SEL-MOTION.” From the customer; “Hi, is this Mike?” I cannot express to you enough how happy that makes me. You see, it’s not motorcycle parts I sell… its Mike Selman. Sales trainers refer to this as Relationship Selling. It’s about creating a level of trust between the customer and seller. This is particularly pleasing to me when it’s a new customer calling in. It tells me that someone has referred this customer to me and made a point of mentioning asking for Mike. By far and away, the bulk of my new customers are referred to me by previous customers or Triumph dealers. Occasionally I get the “Is this RaceDweeb?” somewhere in the conversation, which tells me this is someone who knows of me from the NTB chat rooms. That’s great too. I realize that there is some items I sell that can be bought elsewhere, sometime for less money. There will always be someone out there who will undercut my price… so I try very hard to bring extra value to what I sell. That might be the extra hardware to simplify installation, or detailed instructions, or maybe just a friendly voice on the other end of the phone.

OK… I’ve got my backorders filled, new orders processed and filled, and a dozen or so phone calls under my belt. It’s now mid-day and time for the deliveries to start. As the shipments come in, I have to unbox everything, check for damage or defects and place everything into inventory. There is paperwork to be processed to which takes a few minutes. And of course, there is a mountain of shipping cartons and packing materials that need to be cleaned up. All of this interrupted every few minutes by phone calls.

Now to the low point of the day. Shipping. I currently am dropping off my packages at the Post office and/or UPS. Ultimately I will switch over to pick-up service, but after several hours in the office, I just need to get out for a little while. The ladies at the Lathrup Village PO are the best employees I’ve ever had. They’re great and always bring a huge smile to my face. Hey, it’s just dawning on me that they are a perfect example of the relationship selling I spoke of earlier. I drive past a FedEx office to get to the PO because of the great service I get from them. But the low point is waiting in line, especially now during the holiday season. I hate waiting in lines. I also try to get there before the afternoon pick-up from the main Post Office in Southfield, MI. This way the packages are shipped out the same day. Next stop; UPS. Here again, the staff is wonderful and extremely helpful, but I have to enter all the shipping info into their computers and wait in line some more. Once all the shipping is taken care of, it’s time for lunch. Boy, do I ever cherish my lunchtime. No cell phones thank you. It’s my time to decompress.

I’m usually back in the office by mid-afternoon and next I turn my attention to paperwork and purchasing. A quick check of the unfilled backorders and inventory on-hand and I’m ready to start calling in my orders to my US-based suppliers. Now for those of you out there who have ordered something on-line only to get an email from me informing you I’m backordered on said item and it will be a little while before I can ship, ponder this. I call in an order for, say, 40 sets of mirrors. My credit card gets charged a couple of grand. And I wait, and wait, with no product in sight. No word from the manufacturer that they are backordered. No conclusive delivery date given when I call back to ask. Nothing until one day a box shows up at my door. Frustrating as hell. So if you ever do get an email from me informing you of a backorder situation, please bare in mind that I do no manufacture the goods I sell and I’m totally at the mercy of my suppliers to deliver in a timely fashion.

By 6:00pm, I’m spent. I need a nap to save my life. I’m not a big dinner eater, but I do like to get out with friends every now and then. Evenings is also the only time of the weekday that I can get out on a motorcycle and ride (7 months out of the year). During riding season and on those bad weather days I’m not riding, I’m in the garage working on bikes to the wee hours. As with lunchtime, this is a quite time for me. I rarely answer the phone after 8:00. During non-riding season such as now, I park myself in front of the TV during primetime and channel surf. Like in the song; 100+ channels and nothing on. If I need to order anything from the Pacific Rim, around midnight is the perfect time to do so.

Just taking the 15 minutes or so to type this out (including two phone-in orders) has got me behind schedule. But there is something therapeutic about writing this Blog, and think of the time and money I saved not having to spend an hour on the Psychologist’s couch. Now if I could only find a spare hour to hit the gym! So thank you one and all for your time and attention, and let me leave you with this holiday message:

I wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah, a Joyous Ramadan, a Prosperous Kwanza, and to all you atheists out there… have a nice day.

2005-11-30T14:37:00.000-05:00

Holly Crap! People are actually reading this. And that scares the shit out of me. Talk about pressure, now I have to figure-out what to say and try to me entertaining at the same time. I’m screwed.

Thank you to all who either wrote or called me with positive comments. I’m happy to bring you a brief moment of entertainment in your otherwise boring and mundane existence. You know... it’s not easy being Dweeb.

Take for instance the simple process of shopping. I purchase a vast portion of my inventory on my credit cards. My card of choice is a Sears MasterCard that pays back reward points. The points add up real quick and this year I decided to redeem my points for Gift Certificates. I had enough points to buy several of their largest $750 certificates. The Sears reward program web site was buggy, so I called in to redeem my points.

I get this nice woman on the phone and explain that I wanted some $750 certificates. She swoons and comments that she’s never sold a $750 certificate before. She puts me on hold to speak with her supervisor and after a brief wait comes back to tell me that ‘Sears’ has never sold a $750 certificate before. In fact, they technically don’t exist. What is done is three (3) $250 certificates are rewarded in lieu of each $750 certificate. “Fine by me” I told her, as “it spends like cash.” Oh where that only true.

Terms & conditions. An American tradition. It seems that a) I cannot combine the value of more than three (3) coupons per any single purchase, and b) I have to spend –at least- the face value of all the certificates I’m redeeming per purchase. In other words, I have to buy at least $250 worth of good per certificate used, and I can’t redeem more than $750 in a single purchase. I cannot apply anything towards a Gift Card or cash refund.

Just trying to spend $250 at Sears was a chore for me. Forget the tool department. I’ve got everything I need already and no more room to store new tools. Nothing jumped out at me in the clothing department. Got plenty of clean underwear at home, thank you. Jewelry Dept… what a joke. Don’t need any appliances. I’m not cashing in reward points for a new vacuum clearer no matter what. There’s got to be something cool to buy in a Sears store. One would think you could find something in the Electronics dept. But no… everything was old and outdated. I wanted this cool new combination Sirius satellite Radio/MP3 player that just came out. No luck. How about a new digital camera? None of the high-end models in stock. X-Box 360… keep dreaming.

I had better luck in the bedding dept. And once I had $250 worth of products pulled together and ready to buy, I end up with a cashier, who had to be about 12, that had no idea how to ring-up a gift certificate sale. Enter the floor manager, not originally from this country, with an accent so thick, I could not understand 2 out of 3 words she spoke. I think the fact that it was a denomination bigger than what she’s ever seen before, combined with the shock of seeing a stack of these coupons in my jacket pocket, which freaked her out. I just gave up and left. I’m trying another location tonight.

Moral of story: specify smaller denominations of gift certificates. Back to your pitiful existence.

2005-11-20T10:54:00.000-05:00

I’m back and I’m feeling rather chatty. It’s been quite some time since my last post, and in that time I’ve been riding a rollercoaster of emotional highs & lows. Staggering highs, and devastating lows. I’ll start with the lowest of lows.

Shortly after my last post, I received word of the death of my dear friend Matt. The news floored me like a 2x4 to the nose. Matt was killed when his Harley went off the road and Matt struck a tree. If there is any upside to this tragedy, he was killed instantaneously and did not suffer. I’m not going eulogize him here, but I will say that his death had a profound effect on me. It happened on his birthday of all days, which just compounds the sadness. He was a young man with movie star good looks, a very talented engineer, active in his church and left behind an equally beautiful, brilliant and spiritual wife who I care for very much. Matt was active with an organization called Ride4Kids.org, part of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, and I will involve myself with this worthy charity to honor the memory of my fallen friend. I’m comforted by the fact he is in Heaven now debating with God which camshaft makes the most power in a Twincam B motor.

Matt was always extremely complementary of my work and bikes, which brings me to one of the highs of the past several weeks. When asked which Triumph was my all-time favorite, the answer is always: the 1966 TT Special Bonneville. The shorty pipes, the Alaskan White tank with Grenadier Red (or Orange for the less sophisticated of us) racing strips, polished alloy fenders and my all-time favorite alloy tail light. Just too damn cool.

I’ve wanted to build a replica based on a Hinckley Bonneville for some time, but there were several hurdles I had to overcome first. The tail light was particularly difficult to source. I had one given to me a couple of years ago, which I installed on my first Silverstone bike. That bike has been sold and finding another one was like searching for the Holly Grail. They command top dollar on eBay and swap meets. I snagged one recently off of eBay at what I thought was a fair price, only to receive it and discover someone had drilled the rear mounting hole straight through rendering it useless to me. I picked up just the aluminum housing at a swap meet, but it is deeply scratched. Ultimately I found a shop that offered reproductions of the entire tail light assembly complete with backing plate and license plate bracket. From this one part, the Project TT SR bike was born.

That’s how it works with me. I find or see one part, but in my mind’s eye, I see the entire bike. Indulge a little boasting here, but I believe that is one of the hallmarks of my success. My Project eBobber was the same way… I spotted the red metalflake solo seat at a huge industry tradeshow, and even before I owned a Speedmaster, I envisioned the complete bike as you see it today. I was the same way during my car days. SEMA was an idea-fest.

Anyways, the TT SR turned out better than I ever expected. So much so that several publications have contacted me about articles and test reviews of the bike. “Hmmm, let me think about that for a moment… Hell Yeah!” I’d like to publicly acknowledge some kind folks who contributed to this project: Hagon, Jenks Bolts, Specialty Spares, Prism Painting and MotoTwin. Dave, Peter, Dale, John, Oliver & Tim… many thanks lads.

Back to the lows. The Internet is a wonderful thing. But there are times that I don’t know whether I want pat Al Gore on the back or pop him in the nose. I’ve said on many occasions; “There are a lot of mean & hateful people in the world, and sadly some of them ride motorcycles.” As a parts vendor who promotes his parts & services on public internet forums & chat rooms, I must be held to a much higher standard that the rest of the members. I’m completely cool with that and very much am in agreement with it. I try to be careful not to hijack other vendor threads or express critical opinions about other’s work (with the notable exception of the Paul Smith bikes. Crikey!). I also belong to a few on-line motorcycle clubs in which I have a policy of not bringing my business into play. I recently broke my policy by posting a nebulous comment about combination tail light/turn signals complete with a photo of a combo unit I’ve built before. The original thread poster was quite upset about the whole thing and had some nasty things to say about me. I tried to diffuse the situation by explaining to the offended poster that it was not my intent to take “a shot” at him, and he misunderstood the intent of my comment. He didn’t seem to want to take my word I wasn’t trying to hijack his thread or derail his emerging business of selling tail lights. I compounded my mistake by –jokingly- mentioning on one of my club’s forums. Huge fuckin’ mistake. That brought into play another personality who clearly has an anti-BellaCorse agenda.

For those of you who have been following this nonsense, let me make it clear to you that all of this has absolutely nothing to do with tail lights. This is all about spite, ignorance, alcoholism, paranoia, neuroses, and the burning need to see one’s name up in lights. These rabble-rousers crave attention to the extent that they’re compelled to goad innocent people into a war of words by twisting facts, betraying the confidence of –private- correspondence and insinuating the age-old notion that ‘I’m good because the other guy is bad.’ I wash my hands of all of this and choose to simply ignore the offenders.

I’ll do my best to keep the Blog more active in the coming days. Thanks for hanging in there.

2005-10-02T22:27:00.000-04:00

Detroit has a strong vintage motorcycle presence. There are local clubs celebrating virtually any classic marque one could imagine. And twice a year, these enthusiasts with their rolling pieces of art converge on the small, sleepy, bedroom community of Holly, MI. This is actually a relatively new event, which was spawned from a private party held at the farmhouse of a woman named Suzie.

Suzie is an officer of the Michigan Norton Owner’s Club. I don’t recall her exact title… maybe a past President, regardless, she threw one hell of a bash at her home, known simply as "Suzie's Party", at which hundreds of SE Michigan motorcyclists would attend. As I understand it, it got so big that Suzie finally had to put an end to it at her home, and the gathering moved to downtown Holly. I’m being generous using the term Downtown, as the commercial district is about a city block long made-up of mostly antique stores, a couple of restaurants and a cool little hobby shop with slot car racing.

So twice a year, on the first Sunday in May and October, the sound of classic motorcycles and the smell of burnt Castrol 50wt permeate the air. The machinery that shows up for this event is the biggest attraction to me. Odd stuff; old Brit bikes with names like Ariel, BSA, Matchless, Norton and Velocette. Classic Japanese bikes such as Honda GB500s and Suzuki Water Buffalos. Airhead boxer Beemers and even an old Vespa or two. The contemporary V-Twins show-up too… I guess there is no avoiding that.

I don’t have anything against the V-Twin crowd, being part of the horde myself on occasion. They seemed well behaved and for the most part are quite appreciative of the classic machinery. One fellow on an orange Softtail did irk me a bit. I got to Holly early just so I could stakeout my favorite corner to park. The city had their Halloween street decorations out, including corn stalks around lamp posts and bales of hay on the sidewalk. So I grabbed a couple bales of hay and placed them in the street by my bike so as to reserve some space for my Ton-Up Club friends to park next to me. This idea started out OK until the Harley rider decided that a hay bale in the street was no reason for him no to park there. Oh well, no harm, no foul.

Tannis, Todd, Fred and Brad of the (hopefully) soon to be official Michigan Ton-Up Club chapter did make it to the event which was great. Most of my buddies from the Metro Triumph Riders and the Detroit RAT Pack were in attendance as well which is always a pleasure for me. On the ride home, I was able to reflect on the day’s events and once again the realization that my enjoyment of motorcycling is much more than just the riding experience came to mind. Sharing my passion with friends and even the strangers I met today so much enhances the total experience. Next May can not come too soon for me.

2005-09-25T23:43:00.000-04:00

My boots are squishy. My leather jacket is soaked. The liner in my helmet has been reduced to smelling like a damp wash rag. Yes I was riding in the rain today. It’s not something I normally do, as I would classify myself as a fair weather rider. But there was an event today at a dealership that I wanted to attend and despite trusting my better judgment, weather forecasts and ignoring my aching knees, I went anyways.

They say real motorcyclists ride in the rain. I’d like to know who ”they” are so I can hunt them down beat them senseless with a blunt instrument. Motorcycles are no matches for rain… nor are their riders. OK, OK, before the hate mail comes flooding in, I do recognize that there is a certain breed of rider (a much heartier breed than I) who takes riding in the rain and even snow in stride and hardly slows them one bit. But for me, the sheer misery is contradictory to the enjoyment I look forward to when I want to ride.

Now had I a proper rain suit, a windshield so big, one would think it came off a Greyhound bus, heated gloves and boots, and a proper full-face helmet, then certainly the ride would not have been so bad. But I don’t want to wear a day glow rainsuit. I don’t want a windshield on my bike. I don’t want to plug-in my gloves and boots. I want the simplicity of throwing on my jacket, strapping on my helmet, slipping on my gloves and hitting the road. If I have to dress-up like I’m going commercial fishing in the North Atlantic… then I might was well go fishing.

When I started out, the skies were overcast and it was rather muggy. I had on my favorite brown leather jacket, my work boots, gloves and my open face helmet. I also carry a bandana with me because you never know then you’ll need to wipe something off the bike or yourself. I made my first stop without any foul weather. And as I was nearing the dealership, I felt the first drops of rain. I also witnessed a mass exodus of riders coming from the direction of the dealership, so I knew bad weather was on the way.

I made my stop at the dealer’s open house, said my hellos and took a leisurely walk around the property to check out what few bikes were still around. Not many. The slight drizzle is now a little stronger and it was obvious that the event was winding down, so I decided to leave. Knowing that I was going to be riding about an hour in the rain, I decided to wrap the bandana around my face before strapping on the helmet. A rider next to me watching me tie-on the bandana commented to me that “I’ve done this before” inferring that I ride in the rain a lot. I took off and not more than a mile down the road the skies opened up with a torrential downpour.

I was soaked so bad that when I stopped at a traffic light and lowered my arms to my side, streams of water came pouring out of both sleeves. That wasn’t so bad, but the bandana made it very hard for me to breathe. When I wear it over my face in fair weather to keep bugs & dust out, it works great and I have no problems breathing. But soaked in water, the cloth would not breathe, so I had to pull it away from my face just to draw a breath. At one point I pulled the bandana down to expose my mouth and nose. At 45 mph, the raindrops felt like little needles poking my skin. We’ve all experienced that. I kept thinking of the news reporters down on the gulf coast reporting on the hurricanes and what that must of felt like.

I made it home in one piece. The bike is in the garage drip-drying. My leather jacket, gloves and boots doing the same in the laundry room. A hot shower and a warm meal drove the chill out of my body. I’m not saying that I’ll never ride again with a forecast of rain, but don’t look for me shopping for rainsuits and windshields any time soon.

2005-09-18T23:00:00.000-04:00

The last days of summer are winding down. I love this time of year here in the Mid-west. The temps are mild in the 70s and the fall color change has begun. It’s a great time of year to ride and that is exactly what I did today. I’ve been chomping on the bit for the last week to take a long ride.

Last Wednesday I picked up my freshly painted seat pan for my Silverstone SC bike. I had left the seat with John from Prism painting at last weekend’s Battle of the Brits show with instructions to paint it black. I ran into John last Wednesday night at a local restaurant and he told me the seat was done. Knowing I would pick it up Thursday afternoon, I earlier in the day swapped-out the stock CVK carbs for a set of Keihin CR-II’s. So I have the last part on the bike painted and a new set of carbs to experiment with. Point me to the open road!

Saturday was a rainout, so I used the time to catch-up on paperwork. Amazing how it can stack up on you when all that is on your mind is riding motorcycles. I’ll be snowed-in soon enough, so you’ll understand if I prioritize time for personal enjoyment over professional growth every now & then.

Sunday finally rolls around and the weather turned out to be perfect. Low 70s with slightly cloudy skies. The roads were dry and the bike was clean and polished. Now where I live near metro Detroit, one must ride well outside the city to ride anything close to what can be called a winding road. Thing straight N-S/E-W running surface roads with 90-degree intersections and massive potholes. Boring. There is however, one destination known to SE Michigan riders for it’s biker-friendly roads and pup, Hell, Michigan.

Hell is a quaint little town, with a novelty store (yep, you guessed it – “I’ve been to Hell” T-shirts and such), an ice cream parlor (with more T-shirts) and the Damn Site Inn. It’s the latter that serves as the hub of excitement. Typical biker bar with a ‘devilish’ flavor. Any decent weekend afternoon, you’ll find the place packed with Harleys and other V-twins. I love stopping there, especially if I’m on a Triumph. All those V-twin macho guys trying to look so cool… straining to sneak a peek of my bike without telegraphing to others that they’re giving a non-Harley the time of day. Pathetic, in an ego boosting way.

I lucked out and got a window seat today. I could see out into the lot were my bike was parked and riders milling about. They sure were a lot of riders checking out my bike. I watched several of them stroll laps around it checking out all the goodies. After lunch, I walked outside and glanced down the lot to where I was parked. The same group was still around the bike, and as I approached my bike to leave, they moved away. As I was putting on my gloves and helmet, they just watched be from a park bench like I was some circus act about to perform a trick. No one said a word. Creepy.
For you tech-o junkies out there; I installed CR-II carbs on my Silverstone SC (2004 T100), but I left the stock airbox in place. It’s got a UNI filter and both the internal plate and snorkel are still in-place. I’m using #58 slow jets and #105 mains. The bike started and idled immediately. In fact, the jetting seems to be spot-on. An interesting phenomenon occurred; the exhaust note dropped about an octave. The bike is running strong, yet the exhaust note is much deeper and hence, not as loud as before. As time allows this week, I’ll experiment with bigger main jets to see what happens.

2005-09-12T22:22:00.000-04:00

It’s been over 24 hours and the adrenaline is still coursing through my veins. Yesterday was the Annual Battle of the Brit Car & Motorcycle show in Sterling Heights, MI. My local Triumph club, the Metro Triumph Riders organize the bike-end of the event. This is my favorite show for so many reasons. The facility, Freedom Hill, is a lovely multi-functional park, only 30 minutes from my home. The caliber of classic bikes is top-flight. From daily runners to world-class restorations & originals. And of course, an opportunity to hangout with friends.

This year’s show was particularly good because the weather cooperated, the turnout of bikes was excellent and I received a major dose of ego-boost. Any one who knows me, knows I’m all about external affirmation. I live for the 'pat on the back.' And I got more than my share yesterday.

The day started with noted classic bike & Triumph historian and author, Lindsey Brooks stopping by early as I was setting up. I brought with me my two latest project bikes; my Project eBobber and my Silverstone SC. The Silverstone is a T100 with a mix of Norman Hyde, MotoTwin and other parts to replica a 60s café/club racer. Lindsey has seen this bike before and was even more generous with praise this time around. He took some photos of the bike as I suggested once again that he should write a book about the NTB. I’ll leave it to him to pitch the idea to his publishers. Fingers crossed.

Next along was Peter from the Metro Triumph Riders. Pete’s a British chap and always complementary of my work. He introduces me to a producer from Speed Channel. They’re there to film the goings on for TV. “Would it be OK if we came by later and film a bit about you and your bikes?” [OK Mike… process the words… calm down and don’t freak-out… steady man…I’m just standing here not saying anything… answer the guy…] “Ahhh, sure” was my brilliant retort. Fingers crossed.

So now I freaking-out that I have to give a TV interview. Oh, I’ve done them before, but I was talking about someone else, or something not of my own creation. Now I have to talk about my bikes and my business. I was so keyed-up, I though my head was going to explode. I was on super overdrive all day. By the time the film crew came by hours later, I was totally wired. The interview went great, or so I am told. I can't recall a word I said. I’m not going to jinx the deal by getting into specifics of the show, but hopefully you’ll all be calling me the King of All Media early next year. Fingers crossed.

A special shout-out to what hopefully will be the future Michigan chapter of the Ton-Up Club, Tannis, Fred, Eric, Larry, and Brad showed up for our first official group photo and meeting. Fun was had by all… and it involved British motorbikes. Can’t beat that.

2005-09-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

It's 7:00am EST. I've been up for about an hour or so. This is my most productive time of the day. No incoming calls or UPS deliveries to distract me. Just peace & quiet. It's also the perfect time of the day to call my suppliers in Europe.

I just got off the phone with Tim Cole of MotoTwin. He and his brother Oliver are wonderful chaps. It's always a pleasure to speak to them as both of them have a great sense of humor. A trait I hold in very high esteem. For those of you new to the New Triumph Bonneville community, MotoTwin is a UK based parts & accessories specialist for the NTB. Both Tim & Oliver have engineering backgrounds and share my passion for the Hinckley twins. I'm very proud to be their US stockist. Tim tells me that he and Oliver are off this weekend for the Rocker's Reunion at the Ace Cafe in Brighton. Lucky dogs!

While I'm on the subject of praising my Brit suppliers, I'd be remised if I didn't mention Norman Hyde and Peter Jenks. 'Ol Normy, as I fondly refer to him (but not to his face) is a sweetheart of a guy, as is Alan & Dave in his shop. Norman's son recently married an American gal and I believe they live in PA somewhere. Norman's experience with the older Triumphs is quite legendary and his bits & pieces for the NTB are equally impressive. I drive him mad with my anal-retentive demands on how things should be boxed and packed, and he takes it all in stride.

And Peter Jenks... now here's a character. And I mean that with the highest respect. Peter's foray into the NTB aftermarket mirrors my own history in many regards. He too is a veteran of the Delphi NTB Forum. Peter's a tinkerer. Not by trade, but as a hobby. I'm sure most of you know him for his seat bolts, but there are many other wonderful products he's developed. He makes his own prototypes in his personal workshop and then farms-out production to machine shops that product Formula 1 racecar parts. No wonder the quality is unmatched. Peter and I have been doing business for a year or two before we finally met in person last year while Peter & I were visiting Chicago. Peter was on business and I was visiting an ill friend. As an American, and having worked with Brits, Aussies and Kiwis in the racing business for so many year, I had a very clear mental picture of what Peter would look like just having only spoken to him on the phone prior to meeting him. He didn't disappoint. A quintessential British gentleman. Think of a shorter Tony Blair with silver hair and glasses.
Our first meeting was a painful one for me... quite literally. While walking to Peter's hotel, I tripped on some irregular pavement, fell and broke two ribs! Peter had no idea at the time and thank heaven I had three of my friends with me at dinner to carry the conversation as I just sat there moaning & groaning. BTW... we ate at Webber's Grill in downtown Chicago. I highly recommend it.

2005-09-08T13:06:00.000-04:00

Blogs are all the rage these days, so it's understandable that I would want to start one of my own. My intentions are to merely promote the goods and services I offer to the New Triumph Bonneville community, but rather to offer some behind the scenes insights and observations that my customers can enjoy... or not.

I am a total neophyte when it comes to blogs. I'm not sure exactly what to do, so I ask your indulgence while I muddle my way though all of this. You comments are always welcome... HOWEVER... I retain the option to delete anything that I feel is hateful, racist or in any way posted for the express intent to hurt anyone, especially me. Those of you knowledgeable with the history of the Delphi NTB Forum will understand exactly what I mean.

The notion of providing a little history about myself just popped into my head, so here's a not-so brief resume:

My name for those of you who don't know is Michael Selman. I go by Mike. I was born in Detroit in 1956, the youngest of three children of Isadore and Belle Selman. My father, who passed in 1960 was an Air Force vet and served as a meteorologist. It was his final say-so before the air groups flew their missions. He also ran a successful automotive & residential paint manufacturing plant here in Detroit before his death. My mother Belle (Bella) was a Romanian immigrant and holocaust survivor. She sadly passed in 1997, but not before running my father's company, selling it and starting her own engineering company and raising three successful children. My brother and I worked for her in her final years at the engineering company she founded. It was her who inspired me to start my own company which bares her name; Bella. As a child, she and her brother rode motorcycles. She told me once she fell off an NSU which left her with a small scar on her chin. She never liked the idea of me riding motorcycles, but she never forbid to ride either.

My mother bought my brother and I mini bikes when we were maybe 10-12 years old. We terrorized the neighborhood on those things. The love for all things on wheels and self-propelled began early for me. My first real motorcycle was a 60s Montgomery Wards Binelli 175 street bike. I wrecked the thing riding off-road on the land where the Pontiac Silverdome is now located. In highschool, I had a 71 Norton Commando which I built-up as a little street hotrod. Bobbed the rear fender and installed the same aluminum tail light I sell today for the NTB. Added Mikuni carbs, K&N filters, Boyer ignition, S&W shocks, Tommaselli controls, Dunstall mufflers. Now you understand why I do the things I do to the NTB. I sold the Norton in the mid-80s to buy my first Harley. I've regreted that day ever since, even though I loved the Harley and still own one today.

After college I worked several years in the consumer electronics industry. One position I held and enjoyed immensely was National Sales Trainer for Harman/Kardon-JBL of Woodbury, NY. You audiophiles out there will recognize the name as a leader in the industry. To this day, I'm rather an audiophile myself and even build a rather sophisticated recording studio and home theater in my home.

While working for h/k-JBL, I was also racing sportscars in the SCCA (then) Division 5. h/k-JBL sponsored my car, a 1986 Mustang GT in the Showroom Stock GT class. I also worked as a tech scrutineer at the Formula 1 races held in Detroit from 1981 to 1987. It was at these races I met several influential people in the professional motorsports community that ultimately led me to leave the consumer electronics industry and focus on a career in auto racing.

My first full-time gig in racing was as the marketing manager for a Detroit-based engine component manufacturer. I won't name their name, as the owner was a total prick and racist. The job only lasted a year before the pressure to leave became too great. It was my first taste of racist hate, and unfortunately not my last. It really put my mother's holocaust experiences into perspective for me. But from this bad experience, came a good outcome. I drove down the street to their competitor; Roush Racing and went to work for them. I also used my ties with h/k-JBL to work a sponsorship deal, which set the tone for my future racing endeavors.

Open-wheel racing is my true passion. In the late 80s I met a local CART Champcar owner, and went to work for him as Team Manager. I didn't know squat! But (at that time) CART was very much like a family with teams helping-out other teams... loaning parts... sharing set-ups... and some very knowledgeable and generous people took me under their wing and gave me the education I so dearly needed. The team I ran was a back-runner, run on a shoestring budget. The owner was as passionate about open-wheel racing as me (possibly more-so), and we had a hoot fielding a Cosworth-Lola against the Chevy-powered teams. I could fill a dozen blogs with war stories... but not now. After the funding ran out and the team folded, I bounced around from team-to-team. The last team I worked for fielded an Indy Lites car. I served as an engineer for a young Mexican driver who had backing from Corona beer. I recall coming home from a race with about 40 cases of beer in the back of my car. Best damn job perk I've ever had. I also worked for Lola Cars as a software developer, Knight-Ridder as a media consultant and finally for a race transporter/trailer manufacturer as their sales rep. It was all a ton of fun while it lasted. But racing is a young man's game. As I got older, my knees got weaker, my back got sorer and it was obvious that I wasn't going to be able to drag my fat ass around the tracks like I once did. 9/11 pretty much killed-off my racing activities, as the trailer company I worked for was bought-out and they no longer build race transporters. And traveling became a nightmare for me.

So here I am in early 2002 wondering what I'm going to do with myself. I had bought my first new Triumph Bonneville in April of 2001 and had already started customizing it. I was active on the Delphi New Bonneville Forum and some members had asked me to help them purchase some of the parts I had installed on my bike. So starting my own on-line mail order shop was no great stretch of the imagination. Officially on March 4th, 2002, BellaCorse was launched. Bella; my mother's name, and also meaning beautiful... and Corse (pronounced Cor-sa), which means racing. Oh yeah, and the RaceDweeb moniker; while working in CART, I was honored by my peers for my contributions to the sport as a "DAG" (data acquisition guy or geek). I joked, that this acknowledgement has elevated me from Data Geek to Race Dweeb status. The name stuck.

Fast forward to the late summer, 2005 and I'm extremely proud to say that BellaCorse has grown exponentially over the last few years. I've expanded my product range from a set of fork gaiters (BCC-001) and an 18-tooth sprocket (BCE-001) to now offering almost 200 parts & accessories for the Hinckley twins. The popularity of the Bonneville range has not diminished, so the future looks quite bright for BellaCorse.

I thank you for indulging me as I rambled-on in this opening blog. I hope to bring you interesting insights and stories that you may or may not find interesting and/or relevant. Your comments are welcomed. Thank you for visiting.