So how many times have a group of buddies talked about doing a weekend bike trip together, and never got around to making it happen? That was the case of the Country Mile for years until the topic could not be hidden any longer. Basically the trip would consist of a group of gentleman on two wheels tearing around Lake Michigan stopping whenever and wherever they thought it would be a good place to have a few a drinks or smokes and to rest their heads, with a bunch of mayhem in between of course.

Remember when all the real bikers went down to Daytona and their old lady's would show you their juggs anytime you asked? What about back when three times out of five you could get a transplanted Tennessee stripper back to your motel room only to pass out in your own vomit? It was a time well before the droves of film crews followed every swinging dick down there that could weld doo-dads to his bike and every bar had a "no-colors" policy.

One rainy February night in Santa Monica, California, the staff of Street Chopper converged onto the Bergamot Station Art Gallery and were greeted with endless PBR tall boys. Why you ask?

If the green bike strewn around in the pictures of this story look familiar, it should. It was first featured on the pages of Street Chopper a couple years back. In the interim, it had a little mishap. The owner, Sean Kinney (of Alice in Chains fame), loved the execution of the project, but never really took a liking to the right-side-shifter setup common to early '70s Ironheads, so he left it in the care of builder Steve Huff. Steve's not one to let a bike sit, so he put it in his rotation of bikes he rides around the streets of Seattle.

During the first full weekend of every August, hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists descend upon the small town of Sturgis, South Dakota; a working-class town with barely 6,000 full-time residents. Some might wonder why so many people flock here every year. In a nutshell, it's the riding-actually amazing riding. This is THE rally to attend if you like to ride more than sitting in traffic or being corralled into some designated vendor zone.

There are few weeks that we look forward to as much as the week that we get to cover the El Diablo Run. Don't tell the boss, but it is almost like a vacation. Throw some clean socks and skivvies in a backpack with a toothbrush and an assortment of handtools, some zip ties, duct tape, and a tire patch kit, and you are ready for the road. Get out there with your buddies and ride south into Mexico. The first leg is on the Gulf of California side all the way down to San Felipe-and that's where it happens. You have one day and two nights to relax, drink beer on the beach, and forget about civilization. No crowds, no traffic, no lines waiting to get into restaurants, no vendors selling cheap Chinese leather vests, none of the stuff you can expect to find at typical bike weeks. In fact there isn't anything typical about the El Diablo Run.

Summertime in the L.B.C.
Performance Machine presents the 17th annual L.A. Calendar Motorcycle Show, which is going down July 12-13th, 2008, at the Queen Mary Event Park in Long Beach, California. Spectators will have the opportunity to meet celebrity bike builders such as Roland Sands, Russell Mitchell, Ron Simms, Paul Yaffe, and many more custom innovators in the biz. Learn from the most influential builders in the industry at the Calendar Bike Builder Seminars being held all weekend long. Watch as the world's top pro and amateur builders go head to head as they battle for the Performance Machine Best of Show trophy. Also, be sure to check out the swap meet being held both days of the event.

Celebrating the past, present and future of motorcycling, this luxury charitable event will feature 200 of the world's best historic bikes, a representation from the kings of cool, Elvis and McQueen, participation from legends like Giacomo Agostini, Jesse James, and Willie G. Davidson, a cigar & spirits lounge, displays of racing and custom bikes, and more. Featured marques are MV Agusta and Norton. The landmark world event takes place May 3rd at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay just south of San Francisco. To buy tickets, or for more information, go to: http://www.LegendoftheMotorcycle.com

Las Vegas is the West Coast version of the city that never sleeps. Bars and casinos cater to your every need, and what they don't provide is usually just sitting a barstool away. Aside from the sins and vices,Nevada offers excellent riding and scenery.These are probably just some of the reasons that one of the best bike shows in the West happens to take place every Fall right in the middle of the city.

I can't speak for everyone who lives life in the fast lane, but when some guys get dressed for a long day in the saddle, they look more like the buffo basso biker in The Village People than Lee Marvin in The Wild One. Are these guys motorcycle riders or bathroom attendants at a gay pride hayride? I'd love to say how much I enjoy feeling the breeze in my knees, but I'm a pussy. Getting decked out to go on a long ride is low on my list of favorite pastimes. Truth be told, I'd rather drive the chase truck. Doing so lets me slip into some basketball shorts, find NPR on the radio, and shift into overdrive as the miles melt effortlessly behind me. I love the open highway as much as the next guy, but I hate the painstaking preparation and frustration that usually come along for the ride. So when my friends Chris Collins and Bill Bryant asked if I'd drive chase while they dodged mechanical heartache on last summer's Gypsy Run, all I could say was, "Hand me the keys."

South Central Choppers presents the 2007 All American Motorcycle Show at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX on Thanksgiving Weekend (November 22-25)! The Best Radical Custom Overall winner will receive a $1500.00 prize. The Best Radical Custom Overall class will also pay out $500.00 for second place and $250.00 for third place. Bikes will be competing in over 20 different categories for cash, trophies and the title of Best of Show bike! The entry fees are $50.00/bike for a regular class and $100.00/bike for the Radical Custom classes.

The Harley-Davidson Museum is inviting motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide to give a unique holiday gift this year by participating in Living the Legend, an exciting opportunity to showcase personal connections to the Motor Company and the highly anticipated Harley-Davidson Museum, opening in the summer of 2008.

13th Annual March of Dimes Bikers for Babies RIDE
presented by Farmers InsuranceJoin thousands of motorcycle riders at Kansas Speedway to support the March of Dimes mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. At this AMA-sanctioned event, you will receive a commemorative pin and patch; applause from spectators along the 88-mile all-Kansas route; complimentary lunch by Hooters; admission to a Dealers' Expo and bike show; and live music. Avoid the event-day crowd and pre-register at one of seven area locations.

It all started over 27 years ago, when some crazy bikers wanted to try their luck at the card tables, and just like back in the Wild West, the draw of easy cash is what got the riders in town. The only difference today is that now they ride motorcycles, not horses. The Laughlin, NV River Run is billed as the "West Coast's Largest Motorcycle Event," and it seems to be getting bigger each year. This year, the rally was held from April 25-29, and by the weekend over 30,000 bikers had rolled into town to dance with Lady Luck. Some came up and some left broke, but that is the gamble. The good thing is, if gambling is not your deal, there are plenty of things to do, like taking a swim in the Colorado River or riding out to one of the oldest ghost towns in the county, Oatman, AZ, featuring re-enacted gun fights, on historic Route 66. The ride is about 70 miles round trip from downtown Laughlin. Just try to head out early; it is a small ghost town and fills up with bikes and bikers fast.

Like most of the runs we go on, it all started with a phone call that went something like this: "What are you doing on-fill in the blank-I heard about a ride to-fill in the blank-are you up for it?" Well, this one was no different. I got a call from my little brother Matt, who happens to live in Colorado; he heard about some run to Mexico where you hit the beach of San Felipe on the east coast of Baja, then ride over into the west coast into the party town of Ensanada. The thing was, a few of the guys here on staff and myself were just talking about it a few days earlier. We had a meeting with the guys from Biltwell who started this El Diablo Run. After the meeting we (the STREET CHOPPER staff) were in, as it sounded too good to pass on. A trip that for myself was just over 900 miles and runs through Mexico, what more did I need to be convinced?

We've run all kinds of things in Full Service, most of which ranges from shop information to various events. Rarely do we devote an entire FS to one event, but we decided this one was definitely worthy of some extended attention.

Two Hot, Power Promotions Shows

Motorcycle Madness at the Santa Maria Fairpark has become Southern California's #1 motorcycle destination show. Over the past few years the 36 acres of the Fairpark has filled with free camping, stunt shows, indoor and outdoor motorcycle market place, live music, and of course hundreds of custom motorcycles.

Like to see your shop featured in "Full Service?" Or maybe you've got some news about the industry that you think we should know about. Whatever you've got going on, spread the word by e-mailing us at suzanne.baldwin@primedia.com.

I'm not opposed to partying. In fact, I quite enjoy it. Since starting this gig at STREET CHOPPER last year, I've been to a couple of motorcycle events and had a great time: This industry is full of good people, most of whom don't seem to mind the fact that I'm still learning and full of questions. So when Shannon McKnight of San Diego's Dublin Mob Choppers invited me to their annual Paddy Ride and the following party, I was game. Who cared if his crew looked like they'd "walked off the set of a Martin Scorsese film?" (His words, I swear.) I'm an adventurous sort, and besides, this shop has Flogging Molly playing on their website. Ernie said I'd have a good time with them. So I went.

As the warm, dry desert air raced through my hair on the way to Arizona Bike Week (from April 30 to May 1), the landscape that surrounded us on the 10 Freeway provided scenery that was incredibly profound. "Hey look, there's a cactus! Oh wow, another dead tree! Whoa, more dirt!"

In the last three to four years, Mooneyes' Hot Rod & Custom Show in Yokohama, Japan has become much less four-wheeled-oriented than it started out as back in 1992. Nowadays, within the walls of the city's ginormous Pacifico (where the show now requires three times the square footage it used to), you'll find yourself immersed in so much motorcycle mayhem, you'd wonder why it wasn't called the Mooneyes Custom Motorcycle Show. That is, if you're so inclined to find yourself in that region of Asia the first week of December.

Each year we find ourselves lured out into the Nevada desert like a card cheater in the old days. Fortunately, we have a much happier ending: no broken legs, no shallow grave, just a couple of days spent ogling bikes, drinking free booze at the casinos, and (hopefully) winning money to pay for lapdances (or whatever). The occasion: Bikefest. The place: Las Vegas. It's a 3-day excursion with poker runs, free concerts, contests, and more that takes place in mid-September.

To the average person, the idea of shutting down two entire municipal blocks in New York City for a party that thousands of people would attend is unthinkable. To the average Brooklyn resident, it may even seem a little ambitious. For someone like Bobby Seeger, it takes a couple of phone calls, and it's a done deal in about five minutes. All he has to do is say six enchanting words ("the Annual Indian Larry Block Party") to the right people, and the rest is history...year after year.

Dedicated to Service

Cenzi Motorcycle Company, formerly CC Cycles, located in Spencerport, New York, with dealerships in the state of Florida, is a family-owned and -operated business. Founder and president, Tony Cenzi, has been building custom motorcycles since 1996 with an emphasis on fluidity in design and meticulous attention to hiding every wire in sight. With a staff of seven dedicated employees, not only does Cenzi Motorcycle Company offer custom-made bikes, but they also offer repair services country-wide, and prides itself on outstanding customer service. For more information about Cenzi Motorcycle Company, go to http://www.cenzicustomcycles.com or call (585) 349-0120.