ur first issue of Drag Specialties Magazine came out in the Spring of 1995. Four years later, the cover of our Spring 1999 issue featured a hot-looking custom Harley built by the folks at Supertrapp/Kerker to showcase their 2-into-1 exhaust system.      Their theme that year was “The Right Exhaust Every Time.”
It was about Daytona time when this issue was mailed and the industry was watching to see what newsworthy events were in store for Bike Week. These were the years that Harley-Davidson had its short-lived VR1000 roadracers on the track and there was a lot of pre-race hype built around the signing of “Mr. Daytona” Scott Russell to their team. Unfortunately a fan got a little too emotional over the Harley vs. Japanese-made roadracer issue in a bar one night and Russell was injured to the point that he could not race.
There were lots of great products being shown in our Spring issue. Products just introduced in the 1999 Drag Specialties FatBook that featured a great Don Hotop custom on its cover. It had a Chopper Guys rigid frame, Storz forks, S&S 96-inch motor, BDL primary drive, Samson Shorty pipes, Drag Specialties seat, Flanders handlebars, Pro One controls, Excel rims, PM brakes, SBS brake pads and Avon tires. Sweet ride!
     Dunlop Tires made big news by signing a five-year contract with Harley-Davidson, Inc. to be its exclusive tire supplier. Key models in the V-Twin line were its D401, D402 and D402 Wide White models. Drag Specialties was just getting its now highly-successful House Brands series off and running. Key products being introduced that month were the Single-Disc Front Fork Assemblies. Available as complete fork assemblies, or in separate components, the parts were also interchangeable with stock OEM parts,
     T-Bags was introducing its Expandable line of motorcycle luggage, virtually three bags in one due to its zip-out expandability and Performance Machine brought out a four-piston brake system for Harleys. Samson brought out its new “Street Sweepers,” just one of six new 2 1/4-inch Big Gun models, while BUB Enterprises was offering the “Straight Scoop” on exhaust systems. Cycle Shack was already raising the performance of the ’99 Twin Cam 88.
     Memphis Shades was all over the Harley-Davidson line with its line of Memphis Fats and Memphis Slims fork-mounted windshields and K&N’s Billet air cleaners were a popular item that year, as was its line of Super Fat handlebars for Harleys. In the tire world, Michelin Commander tires were now available for Harley-Davidsons, James Gaskets was well established with the full line of gaskets, seals and o-rings. Drag Specialties carried every James gasket for any Big Twin or XL application.

     These were our newsmakers as we began the year 1999, just one year in the 14 we have covered so far. Watch for a look at other issues in the upcoming months.