Motorcycle Views Newsletter for 03/29/2015

In my book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, the last story is a creative piece I wrote in 2005. In keeping with the tone of that story, I'm bringing to your attention another such story I wrote in 2002. I hope you enjoy it:

Indian's Secret Plan to Beat Harley-Davidson

By Walter F. Kern

The Indian Motorcycle Company has apparently got big plans for the folks in Milwaukee on the occasion of the Motor Company's 100th anniversary in 2003. A recent leak on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, has caused widespread investigations to begin. It seems Leno was shown in a clip a month ago riding one of his motorcycles to work but no one could recognize what he was riding. Jay, usually one with the most unique motorcycles, was caught off guard when questioned after the show and was very reluctant to give any details on the bike.

That got this reporter more than a little curious so I began digging around on the Internet. Jay's bike did have an Indian head on the front fender so I thought it was likely an Indian but the registration for the bike obtained through DMV channels was for a 1975 Indian Chief.

Since the Indian Motorcycle Company went out of business in 1954, how could this be? ... read more

Mystery Motorcycle from a Reader -- Responses:

I received an email from a reader wondering if I could help identify a motorcycle that belonged to his Grandpa. He provided the following picture:

He said, "I received the following from an old friend in Sweden. The picture is Grandpa on his first motorbike sometime in the '20s in Sweden! Can anybody identify this machine? I suspect it might be British since not many American bikes were imported to Sweden back then. Could it be a remnant from WW1?"

I emailed him back and said, "The emblem on the tank, when made larger, looks like the emblem used by the American Excelsior. You could try a Google search for American Excelsior motorcycle to see images that show that distinctive X-like emblem." I asked him if I could show the picture to my newsletter subscribers to see if any of them had any ideas. He agreed.

So, I'm asking you for your help. If you can provide any additional information, email me at walter@motorcycleviews.com and I'll forward responses to him. Thanks.

Responses:

I did get a few reader responses on this, as follows:

"Hello Walter :) I have known about this bike and it was a 1929 OR 1930 Super 8 Excelsior......and that is where my dad used to drive that bike when he was young just before the second world war in a few times from Dundas to Hamilton Ontario Canada.....:))))))) James Pollard 007. ;))"

AND

"Hi Walt, I looked at that mystery motorcycle and to me it looks to be a 1920 era Excelsior. The symbol on the tank looks the same. As well as the shifter. Good luck Phil Pfirrmann."

Motorcycle Picture of the Month:

Motorcycle Picture of the Month - April, 2015 - Laurie:
See the April, 2015 Picture of the Month and previous pictures. If you'd like to be considered for Picture of the Month, send me a picture and description of your bike. Submit Picture.

My Book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, is in Final Production to be an Audible Selection:

Soon, I will have another ordering option on my 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales book: Audio.

Audible is another Amazon company that is producing books you can listen to while you're driving or riding your motorcycle or anywhere else you don't have the option to read. I'm happy to be supplying books to this new listening audience.

The audio version will meet requirements for Whispersync for Voice at Amazon. That means you can synchronize the audio with the Kindle version so you can listen on your bike or car and when you get to your destination, continue on with your Kindle version. In fact, you can even put the Kindle version on your tablet, listen to the Audible version on your smartphone, and see the text highlighted on the tablet. That's called immersion reading.

Update: Production is still in final editing and creation of the Audible book. Doing an Audible book takes a lot of time. We have three narrators (including me). There is one female narrator. It will be available on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Check out the new Audible book cover, shown here. It is also now appearing on both the Kindle and paperback editions of the book.

Here are the Most Popular articles on the Motorcycle Views Site. Take a look:

Motorcycle Salvage Yards: Where you can find motorcycle parts.

Motorcycle Seat Heights: Lists seat heights by motorcycle make.

Famous Motorcycle Movies: The great motorcycle movies are discussed.

Motorcycle Recalls: Gives all motorcycle recalls for the last ten years by make and year.

Women on Motorcycles: These women ride their own bikes.

10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle: This article could save your life.

10 Motorcycle Myths: There are many myths about riding.

Latest Motorcycle Pictures: See the latest received pictures by category.

"This is my 2002 Honda Gold Wing as I returned from the Cabin Toy Run in the 2013 Polar Bear Grand Tour in New Jersey ... more" -- Liz String

My Motorcycle Books:

I have reduced the price of my three Kindle editions to $0.0 (FREE) IF you also first purchase the corresponding paperback edition. That way you can always have the book with you if you have a tablet or smartphone with you. None of the paperbacks has color pictures in them owing to the high price of producing a book with color. However, every Kindle edition has color pictures, so the Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle and Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Kindle books are in full color.

I hope you will take a look at my three motorcycle books, available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. These books make great, inexpensive gifts. In fact, you can purchase all three for less than $25 total. As I mentioned above, you will also be able to download each of the three color Kindle books FREE, IF you buy the corresponding paperback first.

My first book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle, was first published in 2011 but only as a Kindle edition. It was revised in 2014 and also made available in a paperback edition. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

My second book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, contains a collection of stories that originally were only available on my website. Fifty of these stories were selected, intensively edited, and compiled into the book. I wrote five of the stories. The book is available in both paperback and Kindle editions. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

My third book, Motorcycle Haiku Poetry, also available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions, contains haiku poems about motorcycles. A surprising number of visitors to my site quickly caught on and enjoyed haiku poetry that had been submitted to me over the years from motorcyclists. Haiku is a simple poem of three lines with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the second line. They are easy to write, and most riders like to read them. I coupled each haiku poem with a motorcycle picture and description that tied into the poem itself. I wrote seven of the haiku poems. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Pictures and Videos:

Since the last Newsletter, the Polar Bear Grand Tour has completed two more runs: Chatterbox and Brian's H-D. Click this link (or the picture) to see some of the pictures as they appear on Facebook.

All the pictures and videos for these runs can be found by clicking the following links: Chatterbox (See Leo, our oldest rider at 99 years old.) or Brian's H-D.

The Polar Bears consist of 550 riders from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware, who ride each Sunday to a different prescribed destination where they sign-in and receive points. There is, usually, a restaurant at or near the destination. It gets cold, windy, and snowy on these rides. I've been a Polar Bear member for more than 20 years, and I built and continue to maintain their website.

The picture to the right was taken at the Chatterbox (It's one of the many pictures we have of Leo, our oldest rider who is 99.

Help Grow Motorcycle Views:

The Motorcycle Views Website is here for you. We encourage you to submit a story, picture, poem, salvage yard recommendation, user review of your own bike, tattoo, YouTube video you made of your bike, motorcycle tip, etc. These will be evaluated for inclusion into one of our major features. Send us a submission today and share part of your motorcycling experience with our many readers. Read how to make a submission.

Send In Your Pictures:

We love pictures of your motorcycles. Even better is a picture of you with your bike. We also like descriptions of bikes so tell us all about your bike. What accessories do you have? What special paint job do you have? How long have you been riding? Tell us more. Women riders are especially requested to send their pictures in. Submit a Picture.

Social Media:

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

My Website:

My website, forum, and blog are all available on your PC or MAC and your smartphone or tablet (in a new format).

Be sure to check out the Home Page on Motorcycle Views. It keeps changing daily, now containing links to hundreds of my original articles and features including Makes and Models, Picture Galleries, Motorcycle FAQ, Motorcycle Tips, Motorcycle How-Tos, Rallies, Videos and Movies, and User Reviews.

Thanks again for coming along for the ride in this new edition of the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. -- Walter.

For New Subscribers:

Expect newsletters on Sunday afternoon every other week.

Please understand that the Motorcycle Views Newsletter is NOT the Motorcycle Views website. The newsletter provides a few links to content on the Motorcycle Views website. Once you click a link in the newsletter, you'll be getting access to content on the Motorcycle Views site.

If you'd like to view some recent newsletters, just go to the newsletter sign-up page and look below where my three motorcycle books are described for links.

Thanks for signing up for the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. Using this Newsletter, I'll keep you up-to-date with what's going on in the Motorcycle Views Blog, the Motorcycle Views Website, and the Motorcycle Views Forum. The forum has a new look as of February 13, 2015. Take a look. Not sure what a blog is? It's like a daily readout of what I'm thinking about, similar to a diary at times. Most often, I'm using mine right now to tell my visitors what has been added to the Motorcycle Views site.

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

My website, forum, and blog are all available on your PC or MAC and your smartphone or tablet (in a new format).

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