t wasn’t long ago that we were wishing everyone “Happy New Year” and now 2004 is half over. It’s been a whirlwind season, but the good news is that motorcycles, scooters and ATV sales continue to increase, as do the accessories that people want for the look and performance that is just right for them.
     We know that many riders figure out for themselves what they want to do to their bike. But others look to you for ideas on how to personalize it. To keep your “idea bank” full, we are always on the lookout for somebody’s latest project to show you. Hopefully you can use these to stimulate your customers to start a project of their own.
     One of our writers, Dain Gingerelli, had a fun project recently and we thought it was very timely, since Father’s Day is in June. Dain and his son, Chris, both got new Kawasaki trail bikes and instantly had the makings of our first-ever Parts Magazine Father-Son project bike story. Be sure to check that one starting on page 74.
     A cool project bike we came across at February’s Dealernews Powersports Expo in Indianapolis was Wilbur Redman’s Honda VTX1800. Instead of ending up in a junkyard, this machine came back from a traffic accident and was converted into a pretty spectacular-looking Metric Chopper. This was a good example of a couple of guys spending some time going through the Drag Specialties FatBook, making a few phone calls to get some questions answered and then rolling up their sleeves and putting it all back together. Have a look at it on page 104 and we think you’ll agree that they ended up with a great-looking custom bike.
     And speaking of great-looking bikes, how do you like that dramatic shot on the front cover of Eric Bostrom in action at Daytona? Check out photographer Kinney Jones’ four-page Gallery of Eric’s Parts Unlimited/Ducati Austin 999 starting on page 64.
     There are plenty of races and other events going on this time of year, so be sure to read our reports on the last half of the Supercross season, the first-ever MiniMoto National and Daytona Bike Week. Just more proof of how Parts Unlimited backs up the slogan “We Support The Sport.”
     It’s fun to be at these events that Parts Unlimited sponsors, and even more fun when one of “our” guys wins. For instance, this year we’ve seen Chad Reed and Ivan Tedesco win titles in Supercross; Andrew Hines and Larry “Spiderman” McBride have each made some history in drag racing; JR Schnabel kicked off the AMA Dirt Track season at Daytona with a win; “senior citizen” Rodney Smith has showed the kids a few things in GNCC and Jake Zemke finally made it to the top step of the podium in Formula Xtreme.
     We’re only half way through the year, so much more is sure to happen. We know there are many races to be run and events to attend. And those of you in the retail stores, there are many more motorcycles to sell…and projects to build!