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Now with locations in IA, IL, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, WI
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In our May issue we featured a great photo of a Maico 490. We left out the fact that this bike is owned and was restored by Bret Bonham, who actively races it. Thanks Bret!
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March 2009 online edition:
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DRT Bros. still setting
the standard
Dream Ride Trikes, “like no other ride”
By R. Kabel
In little ol’ Colo, IA, Dan, Rick, and Tim Mortenson are recognized nationally as skilled trike builders and authorities in the trike industry, and have won several awards at various bike builder venues such as MCB on the east coast, and the prestigious annual Rat’s Hole in Daytona.
Their decision to convert motorcycles into trikes seemed a little unorthodox in the beginning, considering that at the time they started DRT Bros., custom motorcycles and choppers were going gangbusters across the country and trikes, for the most part, were built using modified VW frames and engines. These days, the Mortenson brothers are top-notch innovators that many trike builders take note of.
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Do you know?
Denny & Faith Johnson
By R. Kabel
Denny Johnson began riding in 1964 on a Honda 50, and started riding a Harley after the Johnson’s “baby” graduated from high school in 2004. Denny says the special thing about his Harley is that it is his favorite color, Black Cherry.
“What attracted me to the H-D Deluxe was the low stock seat height,” he says. “I have added some basic accessories to our bike, like headlight and passing light trim rings, smoked lens for turn signals, we have a quick detatch tour pack, and when we go on longer trips we replace it with a quick tach tour pak (trunk) for capacity, a larger passenger pillion, passenger foot boards, Vance and Hines long shots exhaust, and large Boss Saddle Bags.”
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Blessing of the bikes
A faithful tradition
By Scott “Kong” Chambers
For riders, spring time in the heartland is marked with a rebirth of excitement each year. As winter finally melts away and yields to the green grass, the sand-free roads and the resurrection of rumbling exhaust notes, there is also a traditional rite-of-passage that takes place: The Blessing of the Bikes.
Bike blessings are ceremonies wrapped in a long-standing tradition that involves faith-based groups and organizations all across the country. It takes place at churches, parks, motorcycle dealerships, fairgrounds, town squares or any number of other gathering places.
These events provide the perfect symbolism to kick-start the riding season in the best way possible. Since there is always the potential for danger on two wheels, an extra measure of blessing can never hurt. Every involved congregation, event or group has a story to tell about the inspiration that led to their annual bike blessing tradition.
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Carlson Customs
Puttin’ fatty’s on Sporty’s
By Sid Reece
Tim Carlson, owner of Carlson Customs & Repair, knows a thing or two about the art and refinement of custom-built motorcycles. Carlson has owned and operated the custom shop out of Atkins, IA, since the early 1990s.
What started out as a shop to support his love of drag racing Harley-Davidson motorcycles grew into a full-blown bike custom shop. The racer-turned-inventor has been busy over the years designing and manufacturing quality performance aftermarket parts and also ground-up builds of custom bikes.
“I love to do things that are outside the norm and challenge me,” Carlson says. “This seems to have become our policy which is: If you can dream it, I’ll try to make it.”
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Three degrees of sound
Ahh. That soothing rumble making the neighbor’s window shake
By Harley Rhoades
It seems there are three degrees of sound on bikes: 1. “That does not sound like a Hog,” 2. “That sounds great! You can hear the throaty tones on that one,” and 3. “Wow, that makes my ears bleed!”
Let’s first cover some basics: all motorcycles come out of the crate sounding the same. Every bike sold in this country has to meet the same EPA sound restrictions. There may be some different sounds and characteristics, but they meet the same criteria. Like everything else, there are varying degrees of satisfaction on the sound of pipes on any given bike. Some people are very happy with the stock pipes and would never think of changing a thing — and that’s great, because the bike will always run perfectly and they will never have to spend another dime on pipes.
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 Throtter magazine gone wild?
Looking forward to this year’s trip
By Jeff Glass
On July 5, 2008, the boys from Throttler magazine met at the Fuel Stop at the junction of Highways 141 and 169, just outside Perry, Iowa. The destination, “adventureland.” No, not Iowa’s favorite family amusement park — I’m talking about the 24th Annual ABATE of Iowa’s Freedom Rally in Algona, one of Iowa’s premier biker rallies.
Being on time at our meeting point, I patiently waited for the remainder of our crew to arrive. What I noticed while waiting was an endless parade of loaded-down bikes headed north, presumably to the rally. An hour later, our last member arrived, and we began the trek north to Algona. We rode north on 169, through Ogden, Boxholm, stopping briefly at Sparky’s in Harcourt, for a quick relief stop. A decision was made to stop in Fort Dodge, to visit the renowned Top Hat Lounge — which, much to our disappointment (but to the benefit of the ride) was closed.
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Sturgis: Calling all rally virgins
Sturgis for the first time
By Alec “Chop” Brennenson
Without a doubt, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is the largest and most recognizable of the motorcycle rallies in the world. It’s the most coveted and anticipated rally, and vendors, businesses, and bikers across the universe plan for those nine days in August every year. But believe it or not, there are just as many Sturgis virgins in the world as there are Sturgis veterans.
Make no mistake — it’s not for lack of wanting. If you’re one of the virgins, there are plenty of reasons you haven’t yet attended — whether it be that your job takes too much of your time, or you have family obligations, or you’re just not sure how to make the trip happen. We think there are more benefits to taking the leap and planning to take the trip rather than staying home another year and missing out.
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Mighty Maico
Back from the grave
By Sean Goulart, MXNewsfeed.com
Most motocross fanatics have heard tales of the mighty Maico, but few know what has transpired to the make since the days of the legendary 1981 Maico 490. This bike is still considered to be one of the best open class motocross bikes ever produced.
Maico was formed in Germany in the 30s by two brothers, Otto and Wilhelm Maisch. They made cool two strokes that gained a rep in the 50’s as dependable and fast but expensive. Fast forward to 1981 and Maico rocked the world with a totally new machine.
The new Maico 490 Mega 2 just blew the doors off everything it came up against, effectively sending the Japanese manufacturers back to the drawing board. The KTM 495 was the only other bike that could possibly match the incredible acceleration of the Mega 2. The bike featured incredible power matched with a new long travel suspension. Maico had shifted the balance of power in the dirt and things couldn’t have been better for the Maico factory pilots like Kees van der Ven and Keith Ree (pictured right).
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In our May issue we featured a great photo of a Maico 490. We left out the fact that this bike is owned and was restored by Bret Bonham, who actively races it. Thanks Bret!
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Happy birthday, Throttler!
Looking back and forward
This edition of Throttler Motorcycle Magazine marks an important milestone for us. It’s our 1st anniversary and we’re as giddy as an escaped zoo monkey. A year ago, when we first went to print, we knew we were on to something good, but the timing was all wrong — or so you’d think. The worlds’ economy was entering a tailspin. Layoffs and hard-times were rampant and there was a lot of use of words like “economic recession” and even “depression.”
Well, we realize America isn’t out of the woods yet, but from what we hear, there are signs of life in the economy. One remarkable thing we’ve noticed is that even during tough times like these; while people become much more frugal about the way they spend their money, they also hold on to their passions… their symbols of personal freedom… their motorcycles.
Recession or not; bike rallies, bike nights and motorcycle events are going to go on all over the Heartland just as planned. Motorcycle enthusiasts are still going to go forward with their passion. That means they are going to buy, consume and they are going to ride.
in spite of all the bad news around us, we riders will not forsake our zeal for spending time (and our money) doing what we love. We’re sure that you, our readers also see the unparalleled devotion to motorcycling in your own communities.
More than ever, we want to recognize and thank all those that help keep this magazine running even during these tough times… our advertising partners. These terrific businesses are steadfast in their belief that staying top-of-mind with the readers of Throttler magazine is an investment in their business and their future. So please, consider these advertisers as your partners as well. Do business with them. Not just because they’ve captured your attention in their ad, but because they share in your belief that it’s simply all about the ride.
A quick reflection on the past year: We launched in May, dramatically expanded our network of distribution partners and locations, held firm to keep the magazine about topics of interest to you — the rider, we received national recognition as one of the best start-up businesses in the country, held a charity bash for Iowa Military families, sponsored numerous other charity events, expanded into a total of eight Midwestern states and we grew our advertising base. Whew… Not bad for a first year.
So, we’re thrilled about the promise of our second year. We’ve got some terrific topics to cover with compelling articles coming and we’re extremely excited to be involved with some great motorcycle events this year.
Plus, we’re in the middle of finalizing the details for a massive event we’ll be hosting in late August… How does drag racing your motorcycle at the world famous Iowa Speedway sound? A “Run-What-Ya-Brung” event we’re going to call “Hole-Shot ’09” which will also include pit bike racing put on by Toby Kruse of the Marshalltown Speedway. Sponsorships and vendor space is already booking up. Give us a call to reserve your spot.
Thanks to everyone for a great 1st year! As always, Ride Hard
— R. Kabel & Scott Chambers
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