Presenting Partner:

September 2018 - Issue #32

It's About the Ride

This time of year things slow down onthe show front a lot. In August I took myyearly ride to Sturgis, which I rode thisyear with my brother Paul who flew infrom Australia to ride his ‘39. It’s 2weeks on the road, which is anabsolute blast. There’s more on this inmy “Riding” article in this issue. Almost straight after that was theDavenport swap meet over Labor Dayweekend and each year I feel a bigrelief once it’s done. Other than a fewlocal shows like one on October 13th atEl Camino Real College in the LAarea, that’s about it on the big showfront. Stop on by if you are in the LAarea in October.I love doing the shows as I enjoymeeting and talking with people. I’vebeen totally blown away by the numberof people who stopped by atDavenport to say they read thisnewsletter, then pass along theirfavorable comments. I mean, therewere a lot of you who stopped by and Ireally appreciated it. Without yourfeedback we don’t know if we are onthe right track or not. The riding

That’s Kiwi Mike (right) and hisbrother, Paul, on his 1939 Kiwi

Chieftain.

experiences are of particular interestso that gives me even more of anexcuse to take off and ride even more.THANK YOU. Speaking of taking offand riding, I’m off to Nepal in earlyNovember to ride the Himalayas with asmall group of scoundrels that Iknow. Stay tuned to the Kiwi E-newsand we’ll tell you all about it.Thank you for reading and for yourfeedback. Enjoy your last bit of ridingseason. Sincerely Mike Tomas. PresidentKiwi Indian Motorcycles Inc

Special UpdateCannonball 2018:Halfway there in Sturgis

It was a weary arrival and a well-earnedday off for the Cannonball riders andteams when they arrived in SturgisSeptember 16th. Over 100 riders onpre-1929 machines marked thehalfway point of the 3600-mile run,begun in Portland, ME and slated toend in Portland, OR on September23rd. After a day off on Monday,September 17th for R&L (Repair andLaundry!) it was right back on the road.Sad to say, on Saturday, September15th, the longest day of the run, one ofthe most beloved teams crashed whentheir bike’s tire peeled off the rim.Rider Yoshimasa Nimi, aboard ShinyaKimura's 1915 “Indian Hedstrom,” wentto the hospital for evaluation whileShinya evaluated the Indian. They wereback together and ready to ride on the18th.Here’s a few pictures as the riders leftthat morning. Keep up with them here:www.motorcyclecannonball.com/ andwww.facebook.com/motorcyclecannonball/

Spirit of Munro Rides Again

As in 2017, Lee Munro, the great nephew of the legendary land-speed racer BurtMunro, teamed up again with Indian Motorcycle for Speed Week 2018 heldAugust 11-17 in Bonneville, Utah hoping to reach 200 mph. The team

campaigned a modified Indian Scout dubbed “Spirit of Munro” in honor of hisgreat uncle Burt, who famously set a land-speed record in 1976 aboard a 1920Indian Scout. The team had refined the Indian Scout Streamliner, which ran on theshort course in the MPS-G (Modified Partial Streamliner) 1350 cc class.In three runs on August 12, 13 and 14, the Munro Scout hit 189.575, 191.526 then192.769 - topping last year’s official best run of 191.286 mph – but not yetcracking the 200 mph goal. You know what this means? For Indian fanseverywhere, we hope it means they’ll be back to try again!

Chieftain Dark HorseCustom Debuts

Sturgis set the stage for Kuryakyn®and the Sturgis Buffalo Chip® tounleash the third and final installment oftheir “Rock, Rumble & Rebellion” bikebuild series.Each year the design conceptunderscored one of those three words.The “Rock” theme in 2016 matched acustomized Road Glide and Epiphoneguitar honoring the Buffalo Chip’s 35thanniversary. The “Rumble” in 2017 wasa raw but refined race-inspired StreetGlide that touted the Buffalo Chip’saction-packed Moto Stampede raceschedule. This year’s canvas, a 2018Indian® Chieftain® Dark Horse,represents the tens of thousands ofbikers that ditch the daily grind for ninedays of music and full-throttle“Rebellion” at The Chip.Kuryakyn designers gave theclassically styled platform an entirelynew look. Accessories came from their Phantom and Aztec collections,and Orbit L.E.D. line. Parts alsodebuted from the Vantage SignatureSeries by John Shope and HardlineSignature Series by Fred Kodlin formodern style and attitude.

Renowned Austrian painter and artistMarcus Pfeil brought to life theunmistakable energy of the LargestMusic Festival inMotorcycling®. “Music is universal; it’san escape. It all came together exactlyhow we envisioned, and I’m honored tobe part of this project and experience anew level of American motorcycleculture.”For more photos and a full parts list,visit www.kuryakyn.com/blog.

Win an FTR 1200

Following the limited release of theFTR1200 Custom, the productionversion of Indian’s FTR750 race bike iscoming… sometime in 2019.According to a news release, “The newFTR 1200 will take inspiration, designand performance cues from these twopredecessors, but will maintain a lookand style all its own. The full FTR 1200specification is yet to be announced,but it will embody a flat tracker style,housed in a trellis frame and poweredby a new V-twin engine.”See a teaser video here:https://www.indianmotorcycle.com/en-us/ftr1200/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=selligent&utm_campaign=ind_1809_ftr_teaser_1st#ftr-1200-copy-media Better yet: win one before you evensee one! Enter here:https://www.indianmotorcycle.com/en-us/ftr1200/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=selligent&utm_campaign=ind_1809_ftr_teaser_1st

Take a Seat

An outstanding Classic style Solo seatfor the nostalgically styled Indian ScoutBobber must have the complimentarypillion – and Corbin has introducedboth for 2017-2018 models. Solo seatscome with heat function or without andfor the passenger there are standard ortouring pillion options and a backrest.Everything matches and mounts upeasily for a totally integrated look.More at wwwcorbin.com 800-538-7035.

Sturgis Ride 2018

Some time ago I built my brother Paula Kiwi 1939 Chief, which was going tobe shipped to him in Aussie. Along theway I convinced him to plan a trip to theUS and ride it with me to Sturgis, SDthis year to make some lifetimememories. Paul came to the States a couple ofweeks early to get used to riding on theother side of the road. Unfortunately mymain guy Adolfo had a bad motorcycleaccident on his way home from workthe night before we’d planned to leaveand we were at the hospital tillmidnight. He took a nasty tumble andwill be down for a few months. So on a Tuesday morning at 5:00 a.m.we set out for Sturgis, to try and beatthe brutal southwest desert heat - Paulon his 1939 and me upon my 1948.Paul’s 1939 has my Kiwi 84” in it whilemy 1948 has been tweaked to 80”.Both have the 4-speed overdrivetransmission in them and haul asspretty good.We were in Baker, CA (95 miles southof Vegas) at 10:00 a.m. and it wasalready 104 degrees. Oh boy, theworst was yet to come! And it didcome with intensity at about 120degrees. One has to imagine directsunlight beating down on you, engine

While in Hanksville, UT we filled up atthe gas station right at the importantintersection we were to turn on. Afterleaving the station I brain farted andheaded down the wrong and long roadto Know-Where-Ville. The thoughtcrossed my mind that this didn't lookquite right but then I started doubtingmyself. But after 35 miles myconscience got the better of me and Istopped to find out exactly where wewere. See most of the time I do not rideusing modern technology like GPSmaps, just old time paper maps and(bad) memory. Only when I'm lost or asan absolute last resort will I pull out myphone to check where the heck I am.Well, we most certainly were on thewrong road, which was taking us 144miles to a dead-end at a lake. Evenworse, if we even would have made itto the end (which we wouldn't of) therewas no gas station there anyway. Talkabout being double screwed of notbeing able to get back. Luckily, beingonly 35 miles into the ride we still hadenough gas to get back and make thecorrection. It was a beautiful rideanyway so who cares about another 70miles of riding!Every time we stop for gas we takesome down time to hydrate and talk so

heat and road heat. Safety is still at thetop of my list so wearing proper safetyattire does retain heat, too. Oh, it getsbrutally hot. Our first night’s stop was in Hurricane,UT, which is somewhat higher inelevation and a little cooler than therest of the trip had been, but that wasonly the last hour of our ride. It’s nothingto get excited over as it’s just a BITcooler but it was welcome all thesame. I needed another pair of gloves as theJoe Rocket ones I’d bought after myaccident last December were bleedingdye real bad leaving my handsextremely black. Needless to say I wasmost disappointed and the onlymotorcycle shop along our way wasZion Harley. As much as I don’t care forHarley, they do make very good roadgear. So upon that note I bought a pairof Harley summer gloves that workedout very well.The five ladies at the dealershipnoticed our old bikes and soondisappeared from inside the store. Welater found them gathered around ourbikes; they were most intrigued. Weengaged in more conversation and oneof the ladies highly recommended acooling vest, which she successfullysold me on. Back in the dealership I goto plonk down another 50 bucks. I’llgive anything a go to try and keepcool. To work best, is has to fit snugglyagainst your shirt so it’s usually a sizesmaller than your typical size. You soakit in water for a few minutes, ring it outand put it on. Then put your jacket onover top. Oh boy, what a hugedifference it made. It actually made theremainder of my ride very comfortable.I’m extremely impressed with it and it’llbe part of my summer riding gear now. Our ride took us through a lot ofamazing places: Zion National Park,Bryce National Park, Red Canyon,Golden Staircase, Canyonlands,Capital Reef, Arches National Park,Moab, Colorado River, Douglas Pass,CO, Dinosaur, CO, Battle MountainPass, Wyoming and eventually to theBlack Hills of South Dakota. It took us 6 fun days and 1755 miles toget there and by the time we left

even though this was only 70 miles, itseemed like hours as it's another gasstop, time to chat and hydrate — butwho’s counting? We were 2 guys outon our old motorcycles just having ablast. Along the way people tell usabout some interesting roads. Oneexample: after leaving Arches NationalPark near Moab, UT we followed theColorado River eastwards intoColorado.I have to say every part of our trip wasamazing as you can’t help but be inamongst some of the most beautifulscenery in the country. Putting it simply,it’s beautiful and breathtaking, everymile you do. The days had been pretty warm but itseems every time I go over DouglasPass in Colorado and betweenDinosaur and Craig I hit rain. Well, thesame thing happened this year(surprise, surprise not) but this time therain turned to hail. At first it was about3/8” in diameter but then it became1/2”. I shot a picture before it got realbad but holy cow, it hurt like hell eventhrough all our safety and rain gear. Abig oil tanker truck and trailer comingtowards us dumped a whole bunchmore into us as well. We might as wellof been at the beach with a big wavedumping on top of us. Fortunately,good rain gear kept us dry. Some locals in Dinosaur advised usnot to stay overnight in Craig due to itstweeker/thievery problems so weturned northwards a little ways to spendthe night in Baggs, WY, which is barelyover the state line. The Cowboy Motelowner greeted us warmly and said, “I’mthe owner, server and bartender here. Imake all the rules around here andwhen I say the bar is closed, it's closedand it’s never early. You are inWyoming now” Sweet, we were lovingthis cool, simple place already. And forthe record if you don’t like it, there’s noother place to eat, drink or sleep formiles around.When I asked if we could put our bikesunder cover, he said, “Sure, but it ain’trained here for 5 months and it ain’tgonna rain here tonight.” That was agood enough weather report for me. He told us of a more scenic road totake that was a deviation from my usual

Sturgis a week later we had put on2700 miles.The roads we took were secondaryroads, other than the first day, whichwere amazing. Once we got past BryceCanyon (day 3) there was hardly anytraffic. It’s fun to stop in the touristareas and just chat with people. Forthem to see 2 Indians on the road and2 guys having a lot of fun on them, wellit’s just a magnet for others to engagein conversation. Many are fromoverseas so it’s even more interestingto chat. While filling up at the only gas station inBryce a mechanic came running outand said, “Wow, finally some realmotorcycles”. After we chatted a bit hesays, “Kiwi?” I replied, “Yes, mate, andyou are Kirby, right?”See, Kirby is a cool dude and he wasfeatured in one of our very firstnewsletters riding his Scout. So aftersome wows and chatting, he says helives just down the road from thecanyon half hour, so stop in for somedinner and any servicing we mightneed. Kirby had a shed full of repairequipment along with cars andmotorcycles in various stages of beingrestored. It was fun to just hang out.See, you do meet the nicest peoplewhile riding an Indian!

Kirby’s packed shed

route, which was over Battle MountainPass. It was another beautiful road toadd to our trip. Eventually we got into Sturgis Sundayevening some 6 days later. 1755 milesand not one single issue with ourbikes. I had a function to attend onSunday evening and made it to that, sothat’s what counted. Now, anotherchapter of fun and riding began. It usually takes me 4 days to knock outthe miles to get to Sturgis but this ridewith my brother was a memorial tributeto my late son Ross who alwaysenjoyed Sturgis. And to be honest,when I get there is when I get there.Being with my brother after being apartsince 1982 (when I left New Zealand)was simply amazing. It was interestingto notice that, though we grew intoadulthood in our own separate ways(and countries/cultures miles awayfrom each other), we still share and liveby the important values that our parentsinstilled in us as kids. When we did getback to Riverside and work oncustomers bikes together, it was clearPaul was multi-talented, thorough in hiswork and we were similar in so manyways. Man we cranked out someawesome work together.The moral of this ride: Enjoy the ride,enjoy family and enjoy your friends. Another awesome ride to Sturgis andback is in the books.

Kiwi 39 and 48 Chiefs, Zion NationalPark

Morning loading at Escalante, UT

Arches National ParkDiscovering relics along the way

The town of Cisco, UT

The view from the top of DouglasPass in Colorado.

I seem to hit rain in Bryce Canyonevery year.

Helpful Kirby at Bryce CanyonGarage

This is before the hail got really bad inColorado.

Getting close to Sturgis now. HistoricDeadwood.

MGM Grand Opening 2018By Dennis Bolduc One kick and my 1946 Indian Chief fired tolife. Foot clutch in and into first gear. I pulledinto my designated spot behind the PVTAtrolley bus. Next to me was Rob on a 2018Indian Chief Vintage with AA next to him onher 1930 101 Scout. Here we were, ridingin the parade to celebrate Springfield,Mass’s proud history and the GrandOpening of MGM Springfield, a remarkabletime for our city. I thought about othernotable parades of Indian motorcycles inSpringfield, such as the one that includedan Indian escort for Dwight Eisenhower onthis very same street!This special day started 2 years ago withan idea. When MGM was granted thelicense to operate a casino in Springfield Iknew Indian Motorcycle needed to beinvolved. I told the property developer myidea: a casino featuring Indian Motorcycle,as a tribute to Springfield’s proud past.After all, Springfield is a city of firsts: thefirst use of interchangeable parts and theassembly line; vulcanized rubber fromCharles Goodyear; the first Americangasoline powered car; the first Americandictionary by Merriam-Webster; and manymore including my favorite, the firstsuccessful American motorcycle, IndianMotorcycle.MGM quickly embraced the idea and after2 years of planning we were ready to open.

Our space consists of the first ever IndianMotorcycle apparel store, a 60-foot-tallIndian Scout motorcycle painted on thehistoric Armory building, and Indianmotorcycle memorabilia in the casino’sbars. We even restored a barber chair forthe salon.The VIP event the night before was BlackTie Chic. (I had to Google that to see what itmeant then went to order a tux!) AA wore abeautiful gown and was stunning. Thecasino was fantastic and the shows werefabulous, with acrobats in hoops anddancers swaying on top of white spheres. Itfelt more like Las Vegas than downtownSpringfield Mass. What a fantastic nightout!Now here we were in the parade. We wentdown State Street and onto Main.Thousands of people lined the streets. Isaw a sea of faces and heard peoplecalling my name. I was proud to be riding a1946 Chief manufactured in Springfield atthe factory in which my grandfather hadworked. Springfield Mass was back on themap! I had a part in the rebirth of our cityand I am very happy about that.Next up: we’re planning the firstBiketoberfest to be held at Casino PlazaOctober 6th and 7th. There will be a bikeshow, field games and of course the MGMCasino! You do not want to miss it. Formore info call Indian Motorcycle ofSpringfield. 413-642-3846.www.indianofspringfield.com

Damn Yankees in Thailand Part 4Myanmar into the Mountains We couldn’t fit this section last issueso let’s get back to our intrepid riders,Kiwi Mike and Dennis Bolduc, as theylearn the ropes of riding in Thailand.Good thing they had local guides! With Myanmar in our mirrors weheaded deeper into the mountains.The plan was to ride from Mae Sot toMae Sariang, about 125 miles. Weheaded up route 105.The road was a nice wide two-lanerwith an overhanging tree canopy, lotsof corners and beautiful views. Wewere in riding heaven. Very littletraffic except for the occasional truckor scooter.Our guide Lee knows all the goodstops so we stopped at his friend’s

coffee shop - a term that does not dothis place justice. It was more like acoffee resort! We gazed out across10gorgeous landscaped acres where alazy Thai river curled around theproperty. A raised boardwalkmeandered around gardens andponds. Of course, being Thailandthere were no handrails, which addedto the Asian look and feel. The two-story coffee shop was placed on top ofthis hill in the middle of the gardenswith the top floor offering panoramicviews of the countryside on all fouropen sides. It was awesome!A very unique feature of this propertywas an old fruit-canning factory thathad been constructed out of concretewith a metal roof. All that was leftwere the walls and the floor. An artisthad been brought in and the wallswere transformed into a Thai versionof Stonehenge. Some walls wereknocked down while some were leftstanding to create a great mosaic ofdrawings. We were mesmerizedwalking around this incredibleabandoned building turned into awork of art where concerts andmotorcycle shows are now held.The owner had a BMW S1000 RR,which he had entered into theBangkok MotorbikeFestival. Mike being Mike had toclimb on and try it out. He just didn’tlook right on thatBike! Stick to Indian’s Mike!We said our goodbyes and headeddeeper into the mountains. The roadwas a corner lover’s paradise as weclimbed and descended mountainsinto lush valleys. Riding the tops ofthe mountains with a 4500 ftelevation gave us breathtaking viewsof the Thai countryside.We stopped for lunch at a roadsiderestaurant. I asked Lee about somewomen I saw poking into the treeswith long bamboo poles that had netson the ends. Lee explained they wereharvesting ant eggs, which they eat.Only in Thailand.We sat down and ordered lunch. Well,let me rephrase that: Lee and AA

ordered for us as was our custom,because Mike and I had no clue whatthe menu said. We ate what theyordered. Our orders came and we hadfish, some vegetables with pork, andan omelet. We had learned to askexactly what we were eating so Iasked about the omelet. Turns out itwas an ant egg omelet. And damn if itwasn’t good! Check that off the bucketlist!Climbing back on our bikes wonderinghow our digestive system wouldhandle lunch we headed out. Aftermore floorboard-dragging corners andawesome views we arrived at ourdestination, the Riverfront Hotel inMae Sariang. It’s an old woodenbuilding with beautiful wood floorsand stairs leading up to the secondfloor where a wide deck overlooks theriver and farmland. Talk about arelaxing place. We had drinks and anice dinner on the deck and watchedthe sunset over the beautiful Thaifarmland. What a day!

LED Lighting

I use my rides to test out new products andmy ride to Sturgis was no exception. Ibelieve these rides separate me fromeveryone else in the business as I rideIndians regularly for long distances and canmake real world and honestrecommendations of what works and whatdoesn’t to my clients. On the Sturgis ride, I was testing out LED

headlight and LED rear lighting. I like to seewhere I’m going and I like to be seen byothers. Simply put, both were amazing! In fact I’dsay they were the best lights I have everridden with, by far. I will provide a more indepth tech article in the next issue alongwith the costs to convert over to theseamazing new lights, which increase visibilityand thereby safety, as well.

Feedback & Testimonials

The Kiwi E-News provides Indian owners and riders with entertaining informationabout a topic we enjoy in common: Indian Motorcycles. Do you have a story toshare? A question we can answer?Come on, you’ve read this far: tell us what you think! We want to hear from you!

If we print your message you win!The prize? The pride and pleasure of knowing you’re an engaged member of athriving interest group with something to say and a story to tell – not simply amundane observer on the sidelines!Email: office@kiwiindian.com or BigChief@KiwiIndian.com.

WHERE TO FIND US:• October 13 El Camino Vintage Motorcycle Show & Swap

Meet Torrance, CASpaces 41-43 (a long wall)

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951.780.5400

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