CruiserLife.com
Dedicated to Motorcycle Cruising and Customizing
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This site is dedicated to motorcycles, particularly cruisers.  If you like motorcycles, cruising, customizing things, performance, touring, or really anything about motorcycles in general, we probably have something you will enjoy.  Our riding group consists of people in central Iowa (Des Moines area), Omaha, and Kansas City.  Mostly, we do it for the fun of the open road, the fellowship of friends, customizing our bikes, traveling and relaxing, and enjoying life.

	Tired of winter?  Get a cheap flight somewhere warm and rent a bike for a day or two.  We just got back from a Florida trip.  Rented bikes in West Palm Beach Harley Davidson and rode to Key West.  We managed to catch Spring Break so there was plenty of commotion.  Weather was awesome and it was good to hang for a few days.  Stopped in Islamorada (Keys) and had a some pretty good burgers and crab dip at Hog Heaven. (great waterfront view out back)
	Just got back from Bikes Blues and BBQ in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  We had a small group this time, had a pretty good time, but we always miss those who couldn't come.  This year I took the new bike, a custom 1998 Harley Fatboy - check it out in the "Garage".  It worked flawlessly and turns out to be a pretty good ride.  The rally has really grown (seems to have doubled).  I had to give up the poker run trophy this time.  We heard some good music and messed around at the rally more this year.  Some of us took test rides of the new Harley models. (make sure you have plenty of time if you do this)
	We made a couple long runs this summer to Illinois.  550 miles in 12 hours is a long day - 10 hours of riding.  Boy that makes a 100 mile ride seem like a trip to the local market.  Good times were had riding, enjoying the road and friends.  We made a stop at Poopy's in Savannah, Illinois -that place is always a good time.

	Loess Hills, Iowa Ride (pronounced 'luss') - A few of us rode over to meet the Omaha gang for a daytrip in this unique area along the river.  There are many nice roads and scenic overlooks.  Pretty nice day of riding.  Check it out sometime.
	Tech Article - Read this article by "Motoman" about breaking in an engine.
	MC Industry - There is more stuff (bikes, products, etc) coming out all the time.  Most makers have new models, there are trikes, reverse trikes, scooters, and mc cars popping up left and right.  Keep your eyes open - it's an exciting time in motorcycle history.
	Great River Ride / Sturgis on the River - The group recently saddled up the iron horses and made our way to the House on the Rock in Wisconsin (pretty cool).  During the trip we stopped by J&P Cycles, Scooter's Bar & Grill, and the National Motorcycle Museum, all located in Anamosa, Iowa.  We spent a day in Savannah, IL (cool town) and stopped in to Poopy's.  You've got to check out Poopy's sometime your in the area.  You can get motorcycle stuff, hang at the bar, get a tattoo, shower, and even camp for free on Friday's after live music for their bike nights every Friday.  We ended the week with Sturgis on the River and some great river road riding around the Iowa / Illinois borders.
	Southern Florida Ride - I was recently in southern Florida and had a free day, so I rented the last Harley on earth (at least in the area) for a ride to the Keys.  American V-Twin Rentals of Ft Lauderdale (also a Bourgets Bike Works and Orange County Chopper dealer) hooked me up with a Harley Springer Softtail.  The ride from Ft Lauderdale to Islamorada (Keys) was just what I needed after two weeks of work.  Someday, I'd like to ride all the way to Key West and enjoy it for a night.  I had about 10 minutes to wolf down a burger at Hog Heaven Grill (I chose this for my Harley minded brothers).  Then I had to jump on the turnpike to get back before my 7 hour time was up.  Coming back was real fun, alternating between rain showers and sunshine.  Overall, it was a great day of riding and I even got a good sunburn to remember it.

Bikes, Blues & BBQ: (Fayetteville, Arkansas) - This rally produces a large amount of money for charity and it is growing quickly.  Awesome riding in hilly northern Arkansas countryside. Oct 3rd - 6th, 2007 - Site: www.bikesbluesandbbq.org

Previous (but still interesting and pertinent)…

Check out The Horse Backstreet Choppers magazine.  Great rag about custom building and modifying bikes.  Not the flashy TV-series, high-dollar bikes but average Joes doing it.

Take a look at metric-focused RoadBike magazine.  They are doing worlds for promoting the metric market, such as metric bike shows and rallies in addition to the great magazine.  Their Harley-focused sister publication is American Iron magazine.  Here is a link to a podcast of an inteview with RoadBike's editor Jessica Prokup. (recently the editor has changed - Jessica has moved on but still may keep in touch)

Check out the latest Podcast (it's like Internet radio) on MetricThunder.com.  The interview is with Bob Feathers, staff photographer for American Iron and Roadbike magazines about how to photograph bikes.  There many great interviews in the archive area.  Bob Feathers Interview

	The Star (Yamaha) Raider (chopper style)
	Harley unveils two new models, Fat Bob & Rocker (chopper style)
	Kawasaki 900 in custom model, Vulcan 900 Custom
	Yamaha (Star) new midsize cruiser, Yamaha (Star) V-Star 1300
	Kawasaki new midsize cruiser, Vulcan 900 Classic
	Suzuki new power cruiser, Boulevard M109R
	Yamaha (Star) new big cruiser, 2006 Roadliner
	Yamaha (Star) new big cruiser, 2006 Stratoliner
	Triumph vintage style, 2006 Triumph Scrambler

Concept bike - Suzuki Stratosphere Concept

	Concept bike - Victory Vision 800 Concept
	Concept bike - Honda DN-01 Concept
	The 2005 Victory Hammer - pretty cool muscle cruiser
	The Vulcan 2000 - monster v-twin from Kawasaki
	The Triumph Rocket III - 2300cc cruiser inline triple
	The Royal Star Tour Deluxe - versatile tourer/cruiser from Yamaha
	The 2005 Honda VTX1800F - updated VTX big cruiser
	Concept bike - Honda VTX Performance Cruiser