Darryl and co. went to the local Knotts car show to check out the Mustang car show. There’s several other car events going on besides the Stang show for local clubs and enthusiasts. One lot had a variety of makes and models from different decades on display. As you can see from the pics everything from Mopar’s finest too Hot Rod’s Hayday too Street Rod’s stardom was present. The weather on this day was scorching hot even for So-Cal so we didn’t make it to the Stang arena but there was enough eye candy at this event to keep us busy.

The Trail Blazers is a group of fun-loving motorcycling enthusiasts and racers whose mission is to keep the spirit of motorcycling alive in Southern California by gathering annually for a get-together banquet and, occassionally, other functions.

On April 4th Darryl Bassani was inducted into the “Trailblazers”Hall of Fame. The awards were held at the Carson Center in Carson, California where a special presentation that included an introduction and video of Darryl’s lifetime of achievements and commitment to the motorcycle industry was shown. Congratulations Darryl!

Nick Trumbo came up with the great idea of testing our pipes for temperature to address concerns with coil and spark plug wire temperatures using Bassani True Dual Head Pipes. The purpose of the video is to give you confidence to sell the system without wondering how it will work on a 09 Bagger. The temperature readings are the “hottest” temps we read. Results are as follows:

STOCK SYSTEM – REAR CYLINDER
Temp at coil 113˚
Heat Shield 120˚

BASSANI TRUE DUAL – REAR CYLINDER
Temp at coil 122˚
Heat Shield 149˚

REAR CYLINDER SPARK PLUG BOOT
Both Systems 250˚

BLOW TORCH TEST
Base of plug wire boot 500˚+

We returned the Salt Shaker which is the World’s Fastest Panhead to Keith Ball of biker.net and were invited to lunch and given the Nickel tour of his hideout.

I’d read about Keith’s shop recently in Cycle Source so I was excited to see for myself the kind of place the legend called “Bandit” lived at. His pad is located in Wilmington, CA right next to the waterfront and in the heart of the Long Beach shipyards. Wow, this has gotta be Kool!

We pulled in through the gate and were greeted by Keith as the gate automatically shut behind us. We were in for good! Up goes the rolling overhead door to reveal his workshop, office, home, studio, gym, and possibly future cafe. There’s alot to take in as you look around in his shop. The walls in his shop speak of history and stories told and untold. It’s like a museum. On his lift is his latest bike project. Of course it’s something cool and different. Keith goes into explaining his vintage bike project to Nick Trumbo, Bassani’s Marketing Mgr and El Capitano. They talk as I try to take everything in snapping photos everywhere dropping in on the conversation but still scanning in all the eye candy, on the walls, in cabinets, in display cases,…. Cool stuff everywhere! Further inside is living quarters and more of the good stuff. Art everywhere in all kinds of forms. A virtual art gallery on the walls of original art pieces given to Keith by artists and friends alike. Every room seems to have it’s own characte and add to the euphoria of it all. There’s collectible bikes and other projects everywhere it seems. His office over sees the shop and is full of yet more nostalgia.

Keith wanted to treat us to his local favorite called Shamrock Seafoods not far from his place. This place had amazing food! Please try it. Nick and Keith discussed the next big bike project for Bassani and Bikernet to work together on. With their combined talents and experience great ideas and marketing campaigns were conceived, and conjured as we indulged ourselves in this delicious seafood meal.

As we left Keith’s shop he gave me one of his books on “How to Build a Bonneville Salt Flats Motorcycle”, some stickers, and one of his signature Bikernet bandana’s.

Thanks Keith for the great grub, your book, and hospitality!

We have the capability to make long tube headers for the Cobra R and if there are any owners interested we would like to hear from them. We realize only 300 were made so if you got one we’d know like to know about it. Email admin@bassanicom

Athena Barber came by today to visit us. She is former 5.0 Babe of the Month and does professional modeling for several magazines. We also had her pose for some of our car posters awhile ago.

Athena

We got a Crossbones in for prototyping and Bruce went to work on it right away. A prostreet style pipe was chosen first with a slash cut turned a bit for some attitude. Looks pretty good. Can’t wait to hear what it will sound like as well as the performance increase it provides.

It took 3-4 months of photography with the help of Kurt & Bruce fitting / prototyping pipes on several bikes and the guidance of Nick Trumbo and Pam Wajdowicz providing marketing and tech support on what was to be Bassani’s finest catalog ever produced. I wanted to create a catalog that was functional as well as appealing for our customers and dealers. Large clear photos with large print for easy reading and straight to the point descriptions and applications, prices, and part#’s. All this was done in anticipation for the V-Twin show in Cincinnati and the Motorcycle Exp in Indy. It is finally available and was well received at both shows.You can get a copy mailed to you from using our order form online.

We received this thank you letter from John Urist of Hellion Racing.

This post comes very late from our last entry as my focus was to produce a brand new motorcycle show for the Cincy Show this past weekend. We hired model Carly Ann Rose to pose with Bandit of Bikernet.com World’s Fastest Panhead bike named the Salt Shaker. The purpose of this shoot was to make a poster for the Cincy show and have Carly sign them in our booth. The poster I designed would have a retro bonneville theme with Carly dressed appropriately to fit the mood. The shoot went well with over 276 shots taken. The poster is now available for sale in the Bassani Store. For $6 it’s a bargain.