Couple of new videos to check out!

Review:

Stingerz LED Lighting Kit:

Cruiser Level 3 Kit for Harley

Click on the below link to go to the Custom Dynamics Website:

http://www.customdynamics.com/

Below is the info sent by Custom Dynamics regarding my kit.

Quantity Name SKU Each Total 1 Stingerz Cruiser Level 3 STCRUISER3 $139.95 $139.95   Green

Subtotal $139.95 Shipping: UPS Ground (US Only) $8.50 Tax Total: No Tax (0.00%) $0.00 Total $148.45 First thing I would say about Custom Dynamics is that their shipping department is fast. I ordered my kit late in the day and received a UPS confirmation that it had shipped the next day. The kit comes in a small package and was delivered to my door a couple of days later.

Photo of my Stingerz Cruiser Level 3 kit from Custom Dynamics.

After opening the box I removed the contents and laid everything out on my work table. I saw the initials of two Custom Dynamics employees on my contents sheet so I was confident that the kit contained everything I would need. It did and I decided to wait until after sundown to begin test fitting the pieces to the bike. 

Installation Tip (1) 

Get yourself a 9-volt battery. With the small battery you can test placement by lighting the strips to get an idea of how the individual lights will look. I highly recommend this as you don't want any of the lights to be directly visible. Indirect light is more subtle and in this case you want the person viewing your bike to wonder where the light is coming from. 

Photo of the Custom Dynamics Cruiser Level 3 kit all laid out and ready to install. 

Seat off my bike directions in hand and ready to install. Note the matches ready to shrink the butt connector ends. 

Once you have test fit each piece you may have to trim a LED. Custom Dynamics says that you can trim the LEDS but you must do it three at a time. I did this and it worked fine. After having made my cut I wish I had tried cutting them off individually as I don't know what the importance of cutting off the LEDS in threes is. I used my Kline wire cutters to just snip the strip... then trimmed the double sided tape with a razor blade. 

I don't want to give the impression that I had a lot of trimming to do. It seems the company really has done their homework as I only had to trim one LED... the one that fits behind the air cleaner. My bike has the "Screaming Eagle" K&N filter installed. I can see that if I had the stock Harley air cleaner the 3 LED removal wo

uld not have been necessary. 

Once I test fit all of the pieces the cleaning began. I try and keep my bike spotless to it wasn't a real job but I did find some lingering grease just behind the air cleaner. I used paper towels and isopropal alcohol for this job. I cleaned under the lip of each rear fender, under the oil tank, under both sides of the gas tank, behind the horn and at the bottom backside of my air filter. 

Once that was complete I used a small sponge supplied with the kit to clean the areas that will receive the lights. This little pad was slightly sticky and it was easy to see that it would make the 3M double sided tape adhere well. 

After all of the cleaning was complete I took each individual light and test fit it just prior to removing the tape cover and sticking it. The 3M tape is amazing and very little to no movement is possible once it is stuck. 

Installation Tip (2) 

Get yourself one of those wooden painters sticks from Home Depot, Lowes etc... and get a new clean one for the project. This stick is great for moving the lights into place in small areas. I was also able to use the soft wood of the stick to put a little leverage on a couple of the lights to make sure the adhesive was properly stuck to the bike. The wood is relatively soft and if your relatively careful you should not have to much fear in scratching your bike. 

 The LEDs for my bike went as follows;

• 2 Stingerz 24 LED strips under each side of the bikes tank
  
• 1 Stingerz 9 LED strip inside the horn bell
• 1 Stingerz 9 LED behind the bikes air filter 
  
• 1 Stingerz 12 LED under the bikes oil tank
• 2 Stingerz 30 LED inside each side of the bikes rear fender

This is my only complaint with the entire kit. The above LED placement listing was not included in the kit. I was in the garage with seven strands of LED's in my hands. This listing would have prevented a lot of head scratching.

Installation Tip (3) 

Use a piece of aircraft safety wire or similar thin yet stiff wire to fish your wires through tight areas. I used this method to run a wire behind the bikes oil tank. 

The area behind the oil tank hides a myriad of wires, battery, fuses and frame rails. Using the safety wire I was able to fish the wire behind and under the tank. Once I had the safety wire through to the bottom of the tank I used a small piece of duct tape to fasten the wire from the LED strip and gently tugged the wire through. Don't hurry and don't jerk. 

This is an important step. Once you have the wires properly routed to the area under your seat, take the time to hide the wires. A little time spent here will pay big dividends in having a professional looking installation. 

Time to wire this baby up. Custom Dynamics supplies two "LeverLock" devices that allow you to slip the wires in the device and effectively clamp them in place. My brother who is a die hard solderer would never settle for this but heck... the entire system only draws like

 .7 of an amp... how much overkill to you need? I used the Leverlocks... they work fine. My only area of concern stemmed from my lack of experience with the device. The mechanism has several little orange levers. It seemed that the levers were difficult to raise and quite frankly I thought I would break them in the process of lifting them. Don't worry about this as the resistance is normal and you won't break the levers. 

On my kit there were more wires that holes on the Leverlocks. I simply combined a couple of the wires, twisted them together and slipped them into the device. One t

hing you will notice is that the wires running the actual LEDs are quite small. Care must be used to when trimming the wires as it is easy to cut the actual wire when trimming the LEDs.

Next comes the supplied switch. I carefully cut a small piece of double sided tape included with the kit and found a suitable place under the tank for the switch.  I wanted an inconspicuous area that would be easy to reach. I once again used the little 3m sponge and cleaned the area. Once stuck the switch is firmly in place and I feel confident that it will be in place for the life of the kit. 

Once I wired the LED's all that is left is to actually connect the included switch, fuse to the bikes electrical system. The kit contained everything needed. I always make the battery connection last and the ground connection first. I used one of the included connectors to attach to a supplied black wire and ran this from the frame rail to the black ground Leverlock connector. 

The red or hot wire is just slightly more complicated in that you have a switch, a fuse and a connection to the positive battery connection to deal with. The supplied directions from Custom Dynamics are great if your a little unsure as to the order i.e. the connections should be, switch, fuse, battery. 

To wrap up the job, its time to use the supplied black zip ties to clean up the installation. The company supplied more than enough ties to do the job. I used only four of the zip ties on my installation.

The installation is now complete. I turned off the lights and fired up my lights. Wow. The photos do not do the kit justice. At a recent rally a company was installing light kits for $269.00. With the kit from Custom Dynamics I saved about $120 bucks and got to spend some quality time with my bike. 

Pros:

• Relatively easy to install with average handyman skills.
• Significant price savings over having similar kits installed at bike rallys.
• Quality components.
• Quick shipping.

Cons:

• An LED placement listing in the supplied directions would be helpful. 

Overall I give this product a "Thumbs Up" 

Review: 

Joey Hutson Artistry

1239 Red Cut Loop Road

West Monroe LA, 71292

318.325.2866

www.joeyhutsonart.com

jhutsonart@aol.com

At the LA State Hog Rally last weekend I met an artist that was doing some pin striping on a couple of bikes. I have to say this guy was really doing great work. He painted a couples name on the hard bags of their touring bike and it looked fantastic... in fact I even asked if it was a sticker it looked so good. 

I've been toying with the idea of having some small and not to conspicuous item painted on my bike... something to really make it mine. After meeting and speaking with Joey Hutson and looking over his work I decided to ask him to paint a black widow spider on my tank. I had a run in with a rock several weeks ago and though it didn't dent the tank the small chip really hurt my feelings.... I didn't want to leave it at some body shop as I was afraid that the employees would either get over spray on my bike or put several hundred miles on it as soon as I left the parking lot. 

Joey explained that he could paint the spider over the chip and it would completely cover the small chip in the clear coat.... I admit I was nervous; You never know -- 35k for a bike is a lot of money to me and I didn't want it messed up. 

Anyway you be the judge. Trust me his painting is better than my photography. Joey is a super nice guy. Him and his wife earn their living painting and you will not meet nicer people. Of course that's irrelevant if he paints like a homeless meth addict;) That's not the case here. This guy loves his craft and its easy to see. Though he's not cheap ($100.00 for the spider) ... but on a $35,000.00 motorcycle I don't mind paying a little extra. Joey's the painter... his wife handles the money... and I received a "thank you for your business" note in the mail about a week later. 

I give Hutson Artistry a "thumbs up" for a great job. 

Louisiana State Hog Rally in Shreveport LA

This was the weekend that included the Louisiana State Hog Rally in Shreveport LA. The rally started on Thursday but my rally started on Friday after lunch as I had to work.  After work I hurried home to change my personna from my job as a mild mannered entreprenuer to weekend Harley rider. For my wife 

she changed her personna also... She arrived home and promply changed into her good girl clothes as she was accompaning a friend to the Junior League Champagne and Shopping Charity event (or something like that). 

Anyway we were quite the contrast as I got on my Hog and she got into her Lexus for us to do our own thing. Sorry for the dark photo... my oldest is in from college and she took the photo. 

My riding partner is my brother Jason... his wife was also doing the Junior league thing so he didn't get to go Friday night as he had to babysit... So of course I promply called him and told him that I was at Festival Plaza and all of the fine girls were walking around topless. Of course it was a lie but he would'nt know the difference. 

Festival Plaza is located in downtown 

Shreveport LA. I don't know how it is where you live but around here everyone likes to complain that there's nothing nice... nothing to do... I believe that those folks should put down the remote.... There is always something great happening here.

I thought I would post a few photos of just a few of the awesome bikes that were in town for the rally. I would guess that there were over 1000 bikes in town for this event. Harley, Harleys everywhere. 

These folks are participating in what was called "biker games" This guy rides by.... slowly. His girl is trying to pick up stuffed animals with a fishing net. Catch is you can't put your foot down.... fun to watch. 

This is a Springer CVO like mine except for the color. I had seen these folks around town a couple of times but didn't run into them. Finally on Saturday I met t

hem. Great couple from the Dallas area. First bike like mine I have ever seen out and about. According to the owners of this bike the touring seat, and wind screen make it possible for two to ride this bike... Mine is stock and its truly a one person bike. 

This bike was being ridden by a 50 something woman. I would give anything for my girl to take up the hobby. 

These bikers are watching the wet t-shirt contest.... just kidding this area overlooks the biker games mentioned earlier. 

Staging area for the area rides. 

This guy was a blast. Everyone was having a great time... including the vendors. 

These folks are also from Dallas (I think).  I couldn't help but go up to them and check out their dogs. Both of the pups seemed to love the carriers. Cool dogs. Great people.

My brother and I rode in the "Parade of Harleys". There were about a mile of bikes. Great fun. The sound was amazing. 

My bike in line at the Parade of Harleys.

My brother and his 2009 Rocker. 

Other Parade of Harleys riders in the staging area at Boomtown Casino. 

Other Parade of Harleys riders in the staging area at Boomtown Casino. 

You know what I like about Harley Riders. They are the nicest, most unpretentious group of people you will ever meet. Where else in the world can you just go up to a group of complete strangers and it's like you've known them for years. True Americans everyone. I'm glad to know them. Every one an individual. Everyone a hard working person ... not asking for anything -- much less a handout. We need more Americans like this... not less!

Vendor booth at the Hog Rally. 

Vendor Booth at the Hog Rally.

Nowhere can you park more bikes than at a rally. Everyone had a great safe time. Thanks for reading. 

Haven’t written in a while so I thought I’d just add a couple of photos. The below photos are from a trip that my brother and I took to a place called “Big Pines Lodge”. Its an icon in a little town called Uncertain Texas. It’s located just off Caddo Lake in Northeast Texas.

It's an easy ride one hour ride from Bossier City LA. Our wives aren't much on riding on the back of the bikes... but we reap the benefits as they agreed to take a couple of photos.

As you can see my brother rides a Rocker C. He loves the bike... it rides completely different than my springer. 

 

Five Hours Later

Just to keep up... The post before this one, talks about getting caught in a rainstorm 40 miles from home.... check out the post for photos of my bike before this post.

I thought I'd post a couple of photos of my bike after five hours of detailing. I don't use the fancy cleaners like S-100... I'd probably give it a try but I just use car wash. I use double the amount recommended but its still cheaper than expensive motorcycle products. Not much to say other than lots of water, lots of soap... I dry it with my gas leaf blower. Then I move it inside and go over every inch with a couple of cloth baby diapers and Windex. After the windex, I rub it down again with a micro-fiber cloth. It works for me.

Thats not dirt but rather a reflection off the ceiling!

Wet Ride Home

I keep my bike clean. After every ride I spend a little time cleaning, polishing, and generally wiping down the entire machine in an effort to make a bike I ride most every day look like it's never ridden. I recently purchased an aluminum motorcycle jack (review coming soon) and it enabled me to really get everthing spotless... right down to the wheels which always seem to be the hardest thing to get to. 

It was Friday afternoon, I had the day off and thought I'd head to the Kisatchie National Forest in NW Louisiana. I checked the weather and with only a 20% chance of rain I was good to go. I headed west on hwy 80. Nice ride with little traffic. I took out my trusty Sony camera and made a little video to try and bring folks to my blog.

 

After about a 30 minute ride I found my self in the small town of Minden. Through town, left on Pine street, past the Coca Cola plant and I find myself in front of what looks like an old abandoned gas station.

After a quick stop for photos I was headed to Caney Lake... Never made it. As you can tell from the sky in the background I was blindly believing in the 20% chance of rain the ole' weather man promised. As I was headed to the lake it began to lightly rain and I had the age old biker thought... "is this just a sprinkle?" It was... at first. As I pointed my bike to the west I kept looking at the oncoming traffic. No wiper blades in use, thats a good sign. Needless to say within a couple of miles the ominous sky took no mercy on me or my ride. It started pouring. Rained on me all the way home. Of course I tried to take cover under a bridge... but people in cars and trucks don't give a damn about people on motorcycles. Everyone passing me with about 8" to spare. Heck I was getting wetter under the bridge! I just headed west. 

First thing that went was my Ipod. Though I had moved it to my jacket pocket it was soaked. Shoes filled up next. Finally my rear.... oh how comfortable that was. Luckily for me the  temps were in the mid to upper 60's here in Louisiana. 

Few tips for wet riding. Give yourself extra room behind cars/ trucks. Slow down before you get to curves and railroad tracks. I give the old raised arm to let the idiots in cars behind see me and my brake light. Never speed to outrun the rain... you can't. The only thing worse than riding in the rain is having a wreck -- which the odd's just went up with wet roads. 

After a 30 minute ride home I was soaked... couldn't of been wetter if I rode my bike into a swimming pool. Here are a couple of after photos. 

In hindsight I should have looked at the radar. The twenty percent chance changed to 100% as soon as I was 40 miles from home. All in all an afternoon with Samantha (by bike) is better than just about anything else... despite the weather. Once home, I of course removed all of my wet clothes and took a long hot shower. It's amazing how cold your body will get when wet. I began to wonder what the wind chill was if you take 60 degrees and a 45 mph wind.... 

After the hot shower and dry clothes I went to my garage to remove my factory installed Screamin Eagle K&N Filter. It was wet and of course I hadn't installed the rain sock. The filter removes easily and after removing it I squirted it down with the manufacturers filter cleaner and let it soak for 10 minutes. K&N makes good stuff. Squirt your filter down with their cleaner, let it sit 10 minutes and rinse under low pressure water. The old oil in the filter just washes right out.... my filter was clean and I left it in the sink to dry. Tomorrow after my bike is cleaned the filter should be completely dry... then I'll oil it with a light spraying of K&N oil and reinstall the filter. 

As I am writing this is looks like the Ipod is going to resurrect itself also, so the trip won't have been a loss after all. My jacket needed washing anyway (review coming), my helmet is wet but that's not a huge problem. Looks like tomorrow will bring about a 4 hour wash and cleaning my equipment... then today's ride will be complete.