Colts and Bears fans had a great time at Drag Specialties’ annual Super Bowl party at Cincinnati. Well…at least the Colts fans did! he V-Twin Expo by Easyriders came off great this year, even though it was a bit colder this year than I am used to. All of you from the East and Midwest probably hardly even noticed, but for a guy that grew up out here in Southern California, those “below-zero” days were pretty shocking to me. I took two jackets with me and used them both together one night when I had to walk to a restaurant for dinner. I never felt like such a wimp. But it was nice and warm inside the convention center and there was a lot happening, so check out our report in this issue on page 20.      I know a lot of people have been concerned about some of the new and tighter emissions regulations that have been talked about this past year. The best news from the show was that we are now starting to see the first of what will surely be many products coming out that have received EPA approvals, California ARB exemptions, etc. S&S, Dynojet and Vance & Hines all had products at the show that are now in line with how we’ll be doing business in the future and I’d expect many to follow soon.      As usual, this issue has the latest Drag Specialties FatBook project bike, this one by veteran builder Don Hotop. Talk about a high-pressure project. This is one Don built for his wife Terena. In business we always try to serve our customers well, but gee, if something goes wrong, at least you can go hide somewhere. If Don’s “customer” on this project wasn’t happy, Don would be sleeping out in the garage! In addition to the details about the bike, we also have an overview on the custom building business Don has in his home state of Iowa.      We love showing you the behind-the-scenes stories of Drag Specialties vendors. In this issue, you can read about seat maker Danny Gray, the Martin Bros, Mustang Seats and more. And no one goes very far without good tires on your bike, so be sure to read about the latest from Avon in this issue.      Many top builders, including Don Hotop and Arlen Ness use them on their bikes. Okay, so the V-Twin Expo is over. Now it’s time to take those shiny new bikes that were on display in Cincinnati (or in your garage) and put some miles on them. It’s been a rough winter around much of the country and I can’t think of a better way to shake off the winter blues than getting out on the road. Ride Safe.

Parts Magazine
Volume 14 #3

Parts Magazine Index