When he was 11 Mil Blair saw this cover of the Saturday Evening Post.  Like the boys in the picture, Mil fell in love with the bike, which was an actual motorcycle built by Tex Keeler, a Connecticut bike builder.  In 1988 Mil decided to build a replica of the bike that had been in his mind all those years, with the idea that he would make it exactly like the bike in the painting.  It took him six months (and a plea to the California DMV to give him plate 8898–normally they don’t give 4 digit plates) but he had finally built the bike that matched Tex Keeler’s down to the last detail.

Over the years, Mil has occasionally brought “Tex” out , usually just long enough to win competitions in the Los Angeles area, but for a long while it has been in his garage where only his friends and visitors have seen it.

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art was putting together their exhibit on American motorcycles and was told of this legendary bike.  They asked  if he would be willing to send Tex to them and he agreed.

You can see Tex and twenty other unique custom builds that represent the art of American motorcycle building if you visit the museum in Indianapolis before August 5th or go to their web site:

http://www.eiteljorg.org/ejm_WhatsHappening/Exhibitions/details.asp?id=3574

For a complete set of pictures try:

http://www.fox59.com/video/photos/wxin-steel-ponies-motorcycle-exhibit-20120314,0,4436996.photogallery

There you’ll see shots of Tex (Pictures 27-29) and a couple of other iconic bikes Mil had a hand in: the Easyriders Captain America bike (17-21) and the “Dragon Bike” (22-23) Peter Fonda road in Wild Angels.

First U.S. motorcycle company to offer custom motorcycles with Whole Vehicle Type Approval from all 27 European Communities

GREENVILLE, Pa., March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Knievel Custom Cycles LLC today announced that it has received the European Communities Whole Vehicle Type Approval on two new motorcycle models, the Patriot Pro-Street and the Patriot Chopper. This increases the Knievel Cycles European Approved line to 5 base models. To secure these certifications, Knievel Cycles had to meet or exceed European Union 03 emission standards, as well as meet 26 separate vehicle quality, safety, and emissions directives.

In late 2010 Knievel Cycles introduced its first three bikes with European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval certification, the Evel One Springer Bobber, the Evel Commemorative Softail Bobber, and Evel Commemorative Rigid Bobber. The latest additions to the Knievel line-up are known as “Fat Tire” customs utilizing a 300mm wide rear tire that gives these motorcycles the totally American Custom look and style. The Vehicle Type Approval for these “Fat Tire” customs places Knievel Cycles in the position as the only US manufacturer approved to offer Fat Tire Motorcycles for sale in all 27 member communities of the European Union.

Greg Zappala, President of Knievel Cycles, stated, “With the addition of our newly approved models, and soon to be released Cafe Racer, we believe we can offer European dealers the full spectrum of bikes needed to satisfy the demand of the American Motorcycle Enthusiast in Europe. Currently, we provide product to Absolut Cycles in Paris, France (www.absolutcycles.fr) and we are actively seeking new partners throughout all of Europe to expand our product network. I would like to invite any European dealers that are serious about handling the highest quality American motorcycles to contact us at 1-724-588-7040 or via info@knievelcycles.com.”

Not mentioned in the press release (but we will) is that the bikes passed the Euro 3 emissions regs with our Pegasus fuel management system.  Anyone building production customs and thinking of selling them in Europe or Asia will need fuel injection and ours is proven and a solution to meeting the Euro 3 numbers.

For additional information on Knievel Cycles visit, our web page at www.knievelcycles.com or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/knievelcycles

Hot rodders in southern California have been drag racing motorcycles since the 50’s, testing their technical skills and driving abilities against each other in a search for speed.  John Stein has now written a book chronicling this saga of gearheads pushing two wheels down a quarter mile as fast as they can.   From street challenges to track racing with top fuel, John has captured the stories and people that have made motorcycle drag racing the colorful attraction it has become.

How did John come to write the history of motorcycle drag racing?  Here is his story:

Joe Teresi and Mil Blair Working on "Italiano"in 1964

With a weight of nearly four pounds, the book has 250 pages and more than 200 photographs. It is available for $40 (with free shipping) from gearheadpublishing.com. or by calling (310) 459-7542.

Knievel Cycles has developed a new line of motorcycles that lets you customize your build with your school’s logo and colors.  They’re made the way Evel himself told them to: “Build Legends”.

So create a collegiate licensed motorcycle of your own and show your team loyalty every time you ride.  Of course, they’re fuel injected for performance.

Go to the link below to see more bikes like the Florida-themed bike in the picture and to talk with them about building one for yourself.

http://www.knievelcycles.com/collegiate/index.html

University of Florida Themed Bike

Steve V, who converted his shovelhead to our Pegasus EFI system a couple of years ago recently sent us this email:

We knew that our kit delivers great gas mileage but it’s always nice to hear it from an actual  Harley rider.  For comparison, check out some of the numbers in this recent compilation of motorcycle mileage numbers.  We beat any Harley, any year both carbed or fuel injected.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/MotorcycleFuelEconomyGuide/index.htm

For more info about our fuel injection system go to http://www.performancefi.com

By now most of you know that  Big Dog has shut its doors.  Not much we can say beyond what the various blogs and forums have said already.  One thing we’d like to point out is that they are not honoring their warranties.  In their press release they clearly state that there are no warranties.

What that means is you can boost your Big Dog’s performance without fear of voiding your warranty, because you don’t have one.  If you want to get a big bump in HP and torque while improving your mileage you can now install our Pegasus Fuel Injection system.  Please go to our web site at http://www.performancefi.com for more information.

And if you don’t believe us, here are some comments we’ve taken from the Big Dog online forum with the permission of their author Jerry Leonard.

Just wanted to say how pleased I am with my PFI system. The Pegasus Fuel Injection works great, two years now and its just awesome. You get a new high performance ignition and fuel injection all in one that you can totally adjust with a laptop or palm. No more jetting and can be set at any RPM or throttle position. Smooth and much more power than a carb not to mention starting better and gas millage. If you are looking for a good alternative check it out.

I am running the PFI unit on my K9 2007, it works great and the support is the best I have ever had on any product. These guys really want you to be satisfied and go to extra lengths to make it happen. It gave my bike about 12 horsepower over my XXX carb. That is dyno proven not guess work. I have modified my bike a lot though, but the FI unit in the end was the icing on the cake. I would do it again with out a question, and I have no regrets at all. Much better acceleration and throttle response you have 256 jets vs 3 in the carb. Not a bad deal you get a new air cleaner, new high performance ignition, and the FI unit. I have not had the first spit back or cough or cut out.

This is a picture of our unit mounted on Jerry’s bike.

Here is our unit mounted on a 2005 Big Dog.

Mil has had a great response to his appearance on American Pickers last Monday, hearing from lots of old friends.  As you can see from the ratings table below, this episode was the fourth most watched cable show of the week.  Thanks to everyone who tuned in.

Mike and Frank from the History Channel’s American Pickers came to Mil’s house last November to look through his motorcycle memorabilia and hear his stories of the early days at Easyriders.  They came away with a rare Vincent motor and a jacket given to Mil by Evel Knievel.

It was the most watched American Pickers episode ever with over a million people tuning  in to see Mil and some of his hand built motorcycles.

Click below to go to the full episode on the History Channel’s web site.

http://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers/videos#american-pickers-california-dreamin

Here’s a question we get occasionally:

“I can get a really good carb for 600 hundred dollars, why should I pay three times that for your fuel injection kit?”

We know that our Pegasus EFI Kit is better than a carburetor in every way: more power, better mileage, easier starts.  But riders still ask about the price.

Our answer is that our system is a lot more than a replacement for your carburetor.  It includes an ignition system, so there’s no need to buy a separate ignition kit.  It also comes with a complete performance air cleaner assembly, including filter, high pressure fuel pump, and performance coil.  We have done the research and testing to make sure that these components work together to deliver the best ride possible.

Here is a table of a typical collection of parts that you would need to buy to create the fuel management and ignition system to run your bike.   All these and more are part of the Pegasus kit.   We don’t pretend that our system is not more expensive, but what you get are the clear advantages of fuel injection for less than $600 more.

We just heard that Operations Management News has put our blog on their list of Top 100 Motorcycle blogs. It’s a great list with a lot of different blogs that cover every aspect of the motorcycle industry. Our blog is number 70.

Check them out here:

http://www.operationsmanagement.net/the-top-100-motorcycle-bloggers