Iron Glass Design Blog

It cant get better than motorcycles and bunnies in the California sun.
(except coming home to your loving wife of course)

Jenny McCarthy hosts the 2nd annual Leather meets Lace rally for charity at the Playboy Mansion

This two day event is sponsored by Motorcycle Charity Associates, a group dedicated to health and safety for children and seniors

 Here is the link to the event

thanks to Carol the webmistress for this information

Need a nice old school bike to ride to the mansion? The Iron Glass Road King is for sale.  

 

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I have to admire people who accomplish their dreams. This 67 Stang trike features a 289/302 bored .060 over, T-4 transmission, 9 inch rear end and some custom paint work.
Why do I think girls may complain about the wind in the rear seat?








Photos courtesy of my buddy Bob Petersen

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Ever wonder how our ancestors fashoned spear heads to that razor sharp edge?  Many of the cutting and hunting tools were made from Obsidian, a glass that formed during volcanic eruptions. Yep we have been using glass since the stone age. Volcanic eruptions also contain a large amount of metals like iron. This makes for a spectacular event when a lightining storm is close by.
Click here for more pics of the Chaiten Volcano that erupted in Chile on May 6th 2008.

 
photo courtesy of the Boston Globe

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NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Harley-Davidson Inc. said Friday it will buy Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta Group for about $109 million to boost its presence in Europe, giving it entry into the popular performance bike market there.

Some History:

Like AMF bought Harley in 1967, Proton bought MV Agusta in 2004 and the same sad marriage occurred.  Proton paid $70 million for MV Agusta and sold it for 1 euro in 2006. With declining sales, Proton would have been subject to 3 times their debt if MV Agusta had fallen into bankruptcy.

Proton is a huge Malaysia company. Check out the cars they make. No wonder the big 3 are in trouble:

http://www.proton.com/showroom/showroom_high.php

Some info on MV Agusta from CNN Money 7-11-2008:

“MV Agusta is considerably smaller than Harley-Davidson, which has nearly half the U.S. market. The company has about 500 dealers worldwide, the majority of them in Europe, and in 2007 it shipped 5,819 bikes.
Harley-Davidson shipped 330,619 bikes last year and has a network of about 1,300 dealers.
In the U.S., MV Agusta has about 45 dealers that sold 330 bikes last year.
Harley-Davidson noted MV Agusta significantly slowed production this year due to financial difficulties.
MV Augusta’s bikes are considered premium, high-end bikes and typically sell in a range of about $14,495 to $24,995 in the U.S. Some sell for even more, with special editions fetching $120,000. In the upcoming Batman movie “The Dark Knight”, Bruce Wayne _ Batman’s alter ego _ will ride a new MV Agusta F4 superbike.
Harley-Davidson’s bikes range from $6,695 to $34,995, with the average about $15,000.”

I’ll bet the MV Agusta dealers are squirming….

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From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Over in Oakland they like it loud - so loud that all 45 of the Police Department’s Harley-Davidson motorcycles have been equipped with shiny new tailpipes, at a cost of $500 apiece, to rev up their roar.

It seems the cops just didn’t feel safe on toned-down bikes.

“There’s an old motorcycle adage that you are heard before you are seen,” said Deputy Chief Dave Kozicki, explaining the department’s decision to toss the bikes’ muted factory-issued mufflers in favor of the more high-volume pipes.

Kozicki cited an accident three months ago in which an Oakland officer riding a toned-down cycle was struck by a motorist who said he hadn’t heard the officer approaching.

But some City Hall insiders, as well as motorcycle cops elsewhere, said the safety argument is a stretch.

Even the folks at the national Motorcycle Industry Council, which represents all the big bike manufacturers, were unaware of any safety benefits from louder mufflers.

“We encourage all motorcycle riders to keep the original low sound levels that meet the … federal sound limit of 80 decibels,” said industry spokesman Mike Mount. “It would seem counterintuitive that a law enforcement agency would go against federal standards.”

Ironically, it was just a short time back that Oakland police were called upon to crack down on noisy motorists who had modified their auto mufflers to make a whistling screech. The “whistle tip” pipes were eventually outlawed under state law.

Oakland’s cops had a long tradition of riding their Harley-Davidsons with the modified, louder tail pipes, earning them the nickname “Rolling Thunder.” But after an officer complained about a loss of hearing and others around town questioned whether the police force was violating the very noise standards it was supposed to enforce, the department brass ordered a switch to the quieter stock mufflers.

According to Kozicki, the decibel drop sparked a chorus of complaints from other officers, who said they felt less safe.

So last year the department launched a $1,200 study in conjunction with the city’s risk management division to determine whether A) the louder motorcycles contributed to officers’ safety, B) were detrimental to their hearing, and C) complied with noise standards.

Kozicki acknowledged that whatever safety-related findings the study produced were largely anecdotal. Still, after everything was taken into consideration, the department concluded “it was in the best interest of the officers to put more-audible pipes back on,” Kozicki said.

Hence, all 30 of the department’s Harleys were sent down to the central maintenance yard for a muffler makeover, at a cost of about $15,000, according to City Hall insiders. Another 15 newly purchased motorcycles were ordered with the louder pipes, though at no extra charge.

Oakland officials acknowledge that the noisy pipes, when tested, averaged 93 decibels - well above the federal legal noise limit, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.

But city Finance Director Bill Nolan, who oversees the risk management division, isn’t alarmed.

“If they were riding eight straight hours, it would be a problem,” he said. “But they aren’t.”

Credit: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/09/BAJB114OUT.DTL&tsp=1

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I met Jack Tomkinson, the director of Urban Sparks, who is sponsoring the statues of JP Patches and Gertrude that will be unveiled in Fremont, WA on Aug 17^th 2008. The project is selling inscribed pavers and plaques around the statues. The proceeds will go to Children’s Hospital.
So what the heck am I doing in this? Jack rides a motorcycle and had the idea that maybe some biker clubs, shops or dealers may want to purchase a plaque. So JP Patches was kind enough to throw his leg over my hog for some photos.

Kids growing up in the Northwest counted on J.P. Patches to put them in the mood for fun each morning before school from 1958 to 1981. Gertrude and all of her/his alter egos filled the show with guest characters. Today, J.P.’s carpenter Carl Lovgren and author Bryan Johnston are leading a team to honor these characters with a bronze statue which will include a coin bank collecting donations for Children’s Hospital, J.P.’s favorite charity.

In addition to custom inscribed Patches Pavers, there are now Major Donor Plaques available. The statue will be surrounded by major donor plaques that will be approximately 6″ x 11″. 1/4″ Text and logos may be used to commemorate large gifts of $5,000 or more. This is an excellent opportunity to show J.P. and Gertrude how successful their fans have become and how much they still appreciate their gift of humor.
Please visit  http://www.urbansparks.org/projects/ours/index.php#patches
For more information, please contact Jack Tomkinson at 206-992-2779 or jackt@urbansparks.org

To learn more about the project, go to www.JPPatches.com.
There you may immortalize your love with a Patches Paver or honor these great entertainers with a large donation. We need $70,000 more to complete the statue, but give as generously as you like - any extra money raised will go to Children’s Hospital, Chris Wedes’s favorite charity.

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Big Bear Choppers is recalling 351 MY 2004-2005 Venom and Devil’s Advocates Choppers and MY 2005 Sled Choppers motorcycles.
Some motorcycles may have inadequate weld penetration between the neck, backbone, and down tubes of the frame. High loads created when riding on rough road surfaces, structural modification made to the frame by owners, and/or failure to maintain the specified torque setting of the top motor mount may cause the affected welds to crack. The welded area could break without warning resulting in neck separation and front-end collapse. This could result in a crash. Dealers will inspect and maintain the proper torque of the top motor mount or modify the frame as necessary.
The recall began on March 26, 2008. Owners may contact Big Bear Choppers at 1-909-878-4340.

My View
The remedy for poor weld penetration in this recall is stated as inspecting the weld and maintaining the proper torque of the top motor mount or to modify the frame as necessary

This remedy sounds fine to most consumers but I don’t think it is realistic or safe.

 Proper weld inspection is done by die penetrant, magnetic particle inspection or x ray.

Big Dog dealers do not have this type of equipment and they are not certified to perform the weld inspections.

 If the weld is found to be defective they would modify the frame?

Again Big Dog dealers do not have a frame weld jig and are not certified to perform the weld repairs.

 That leaves the owner and dealer with the “maintain proper torque of the top motor mount”.

I can’t imagine how the NTSB bought off on this as a fix for the problem. Sure proper motor mount torque is important to maintaining rigidity between the backbone and down tube but it is not a fix for inadequate weld penetration.

 The owner manual for Big Bear Choppers states:

2. Frame and Swing arm is warranted against cracks or breaks for the duration of ownership by the original pur­chaser.

(ref:  http://www.bigbearchoppers.com/bikes/BBC_2006manual_LR.pdf

 Why don’t they have responsibility for replacing or repairing the frame?

 This warranty also means that the unsuspecting 2nd owner of the bike has no rights to claim against Big Bear Choppers when the neck snaps off the frame.

 There needs to be an outcry from all riders to hold Big Bear Choppers responsible for poor workmanship that could lead to injury or death. And to make the NTSB aware that the remedy is not going to prevent the likely defect from occurring.

 The forums are buzzing about this issue. Here is a link to an owner’s photo of his Big Bear Chopper. This is not a pretty picture:

 http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2192249970076244200pMEjnw

 It sure seems to me like the problem is being white washed with a load of bull and someone is going to get hurt.Ted

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We enjoy working with our customers. Often we will spend a week chatting about glass and their bike; what their vision is and how we can help them achieve it. We take pride in our work and a big part of that is service.

If you have purchased any of our products please leave us some feedback for others to read.

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New designs in glass our art start in our head or perhaps by accident. Some of the colors we try turn out to be more of a train wreck! Here is a link to our new designs page and you can subscribe to this category for automatic updates.

Your opinion is important to us. What would you like to see in colors, designs, parts?

Suggest ideas!

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The products from Iron Glass Design are different, one customer said they are non intutive. In my opinion, that is a good thing. In this sea of chrome skulls and flames the world needs something new.
We love working with glass because of the depth of color and the ability to customize your motorcycle with something unique. We have spent 5 years developing beautiful glass designs and testing them so that the products you purchase from us last a lifetime.
Please join the discussion and ask the question that is lingering about our products or service.

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