If you have been thinking about adding some horsepower to your bike there are many different routes you can take. Here are four of your best options.

1. Exhaust/ Air Intake. After-market exhaust will reduce back pressure. This makes it easier for the engine to receive oxygen, which leads to more power at the wheels and even improves fuel economy.
2. Cams. Cams increase the cylinder pressure as the engine’s RPM’s rise. This is done by the scavenging effect from the valve timing and overlap in the cam, which raises the cylinder pressure and increases horsepower with RPM.
3. Increase Motors Cubic Inches. There are only two ways to increase an engine’s cubic inches. You can bore it (engine boring increases the cylinder diameters) or you can stroke it (engine stroking increases the crankshaft stroke).
4. Dyno Tune. A proper tune will help ensure maximum performance, durability and reliability. We can also tell from the graph if your motorcycle is running properly, wasting fuel, or is not up to its full potential. In addition, the graph will also show potential problems in the drivetrain which helps us better diagnose any issues you may be having or would be having in the future.

   We understand that every rider wants complete performance from their motorcycle.  We also know that it is a top priority to ensure that any changes you make suit your bike and won’t harm anything along the way. Keep Chariots of Fire Customs, LLC in mind when it comes time for these upgrades. Custom is in our name, quality is in our product and service is our reputation. Happy and safe riding!

Motorcycle & Powersport News Ride of the Week

MPN found themselves in the St. Louis area recently and stopped at our place to check out our “new” location. They were treated to nearly 100 motorcycles currently being worked on, and got the full details of one custom in particular – our Zombie-themed Harley-Davidson Road Glide!

Check out the video for details from our very-own Sparky!

The end of the busy season in the motorcycle industry means vendors and dealers can take time
to reconnect. The networking and bonds we establish during this time transfers into better
customer service for you, our customers. Jan and I are blessed to be a part of the Drag
Specialties family. We bought in as new shop owners in 2005 and have benefited from this
business relationship ever since.

The ”Drag Ride” takes place every fall. The first day is spent on vendor row learning about new
products coming out. Jan often connects with vendors to talk research and development. Jan can
also be very direct in asking why/what is happening to the supply chain! Jan goes to bat for our
customers taking concerns directly to the vendor/manufacturer. I net work with our vendors to
secure product for our many fundraisers and Lincoln County Bike Night.

The next couple of days are spent doing what we all love, RIDING! We enjoy net working with
other dealers throughout the weekend. It was a blast to have Sparky and Trent along for the ride
this year. They too were able to connect and learn from the vendors. This and other
vendor/dealer events during the year are important for us to attend. These events help us stay
current as the industry continues to become more and more technologically advanced.

Enjoy the GoPro footage from this event, compliments of Sparky.
Peace Out, Reine

There’s nothing quite like being on a bike, so it’s no wonder why people get into motorcycles. It’s exciting to find a great bike and make it your own through upgrades and custom work. But after years of fixing all kinds of bikes for riders of all experience levels, our technicians have some recommendations for what you should be focusing on based on your riding experience. 

New Riders – Build Your Foundation

When you’re new to anything, building a strong foundation of knowledge and skill is what takes you from novice towards expert. Especially with motorcycles. Practice builds experience. So, new riders should focus on these foundations before making big adjustments to their bike:

• Safety – There’s nothing more important than safety on a motorcycle. Having the right gear, road knowledge, and well-maintained bike is crucial to a safe ride.
• Regular Maintenance – How many miles until you need to change your oil? Your fork oil? When should you buy new tires or have a general tune up done? Knowing the basics about keeping your bike well-maintained will keep you riding longer and make it more enjoyable.
• Pre-Ride TCLOCK – Always, always, always before you ride, TCLOCK. It’s so important we wrote a whole blog about it. Get the full pre-ride checklist here. 
• Riders Courses – Think of riders courses like having a coach. Someone to show you best practices and offer suggestions to make you a better rider. The ability to practice, screw up, and try again, safely on a closed course. All that practice and coaching is what turns a novice into a more experienced rider. You can find classes at the Missouri Motorcycle Safety Program.  

Moderate Experienced Rider – Refine Your Preferences

You have the basics down, you know your riding style and what you enjoy best about your bike and it’s time to build on those preferences. Riders with moderate experience should be thinking about these things:

• Check Tire Pressure* – One of the basic pre-ride checks is tire pressure. Even though you’re not a novice anymore, don’t forget about those foundations that got you here.
• Comfort – Once you have the basics of riding down, you can turn your attention to making your motorcycle match your preferences. Swapping out the seat, handlebars, and forward controls are relatively minor adjustments that can make a difference for your comfort while riding. 
• Aesthetics – Ready to customize the look of your bike? When you’ve been riding for a while and are ready to invest in making your bike your own, adding chrome or getting new paint job can make your bike look brand new.  
• Sounds – Who doesn’t love the roar of an engine revving? Changing out your pipes for a little more rumble or upgrading your stereo system to jam out on a ride are ways to enhance the sound experience on your motorcycle.

Experienced Rider – Create Your Ultimate Ride

By now, you know the nuances of riding and have your favorite routes. You know if you prefer taking the highway versus touring or winding back roads. You know if you get a thrill with going fast to beat your buddy or just enjoy the relaxation of a leisurely ride. You’ve done it all so you know what you like…and what you don’t. For the seasoned rider, fine tune your bike for the ultimate riding experience:

• Check Tire Pressure* – Hate to start with this basic pre-ride task, but it’s an important one. Even an experienced tech can’t look at a tire and know it’s low. You have to put a gauge to it and physically check to save problems down the road. 
• High Performance Upgrades – Since you know your preferred riding style, you can have fun with upgrading different aspects of your motor to enhance your ride. Different styles of riding have different modifications that can boost your ride. That’s when we get into the Stage I to  Stage V performance kits. As you tweak your riding style, you will get the most enjoyment by also tweaking your motorcycle to match.

* Why do our technicians keep repeating “check your tire pressure?” It turns out that 90% of problems with suspension, wobbles, cupping tires, tires not lasting as long as manufacturer suggests, etc. can all be traced to…you guessed it, incorrect tire pressure. Here at our shop, we have had motorcycles come in with only 18-20 psi when most should have 42 psi or higher, recommended by tire manufacturers. You can find the tire pressure recommendations on the side walls, don’t forget to check and save yourself more hassle down the road!

Personal Protective Equipment

Whether you’re an experienced motorcyclist, learning, or thinking about returning to motorcycling, it’s imperative that you stay safe. That means you must wear the correct personal protective equipment (PPE), including proper weather gear in bad weather. This will ensure that you have many enjoyable and safe years of riding ahead of you!

These PPE items are essential for your safety as a motorcyclist:

• Helmet – be a snug fit and properly fastened
• Leather Jacket & Chaps – give you proper protection from impact, abrasion, cold or adverse weather conditions 
• Gloves – offer protection against extreme weather to avoid your hands becoming cold and affecting your bike handling and concentration
• Boots/Footwear – fit above the ankle to protect feet, calves and ankles

If you have any questions about PPE gear or you’re wanting to get your own, we have plenty of options at the shop that are not only safe but stylish! Come in and let us help you pick out your gear!

Have more questions for our motorcycle technicians? Give us a call or come on by to talk bikes and schedule maintenance or modifications.

Here’s a little story about my first visit to a motorcycle road course in the home of Harley Davidson at the Milwaukee Mile Race track.  This, among many others, was a first for me.  First I’d like to say thanks to Jan and Reine and our Drag rep for taking care of us on this venture in our life.  

This is going to be a long article, so grab a beer, whiskey or twist a green one and get comfy.  I like to start from the beginning, and that’s checking the weather, oil level, tire pressure, overall condition of your machine, and don’t be scared to check your bros bike too.  Never hurts to triple check, packing appropriately for the weather and day’s you’re going to be gone.  Once everything is good to go with us, we roll out from the shop about 7:30 am.  Everyone loaded up and excited about what the next few day’s hold in store for all ten people on this trip.  A chilly and slightly damp 480…ish mile trip to the hotel that included some beautiful scenery and the chance to get lost in those thoughts and enjoy the ride.  There was a brunch stop in Monticello for lunch at a nice restaurant and a stop for gas, we all had the opportunity to rag on and get to know each other a little better. 

After arriving at our hotel we got some food maybe a whiskey and coke or two a short time in the hot tub and a good night’s sleep…kinda…  I was super excited about this.  Not sure what or how to compare it for others to relate to, but I fell asleep late and woke up early, had a double breakfast early one by myself and one with my beautiful better half and Jan and Reine.  We headed for the race track which was about 20 minutes away and I got to lead everyone to the track, and let me tell you it was hard not to go 80 mph, I behaved and kept it within about 10 mph of the speed limit.

Doing my best to contain the inner child, we wind thru the small town that is built up around this race track to the center of the race track thru the pits to the motorcycle parking area.  As I was parking Kayla was telling me something about you have to pay to park here, we’ll F that I don’t pay for parking, normally, so I get ready to move.  I’m approached by a friendly gentleman asking me about paying the fee and he said the magic word’s “pay 10 dollars to ride your motorcycle around the race track”.  I couldn’t get my money out or get signed up fast enough, so saying I was excited would be an under statement. Money paid, waivers signed, time line’s provided, we set out to see what the BRL pits have to offer. I saw some people that I met from the Drag specialties NVP event in Madison Wisconsin in August. We decided to get some souvenirs from the BRL swag trailer.

It’s finally getting to be that time to go ride the Milwaukee Mile on my Harley.  Just a quick fun fact, before the BRL came here to race, motorcycles hadn’t been on this track since 1993…ish, while waiting for the track ride to start I had the opportunity to talk with some of the other riders and BRL fans.  It’s finally time to go ride the track.  I was kindly reminded by my better half that they said 40 mph is the speed limit.  We had a fun lap, I’m thinking to myself that motorcycles haven’t raced here since 93 and I just got to ride my bike on the same track the pro’s get to!  

Once the ride over was over it was time for some lunch and to find some good seats.  We found them above the start/finish line just below the press box.  Even with us being that high in the stands I could still feel that rumble when the bike’s went by.  Once all 7 classes ran, we start our return trip to the bike’s, with one last look around the pits, I  see a bike laying on its crash guards helmet placed like a crown, pit crew’s and riders having a laugh some having a cry, some working on a better strategy, the guy that drove 5 hour’s by himself with his self built race bike strapped in the bed of his small pickup just because he enjoys racing Harleys.  I could feel and see the passion and love that everyone in the pits has for this sport.  I hope that I have helped inspire some of you to get a bunch of your riding buddies together to take a trip to watch the race’s but also to have the experience of all of it.  

I ride hard so I’ll see ya at the next stop.

Last month I walked into the living room and Jan was watching “The Best and
Worst CVO Line-up” on YouTube. The narrator was Matt Laidlaw out of Laidlaw
Harley Davidson in CA. I was curious if Jan agreed with Matt as this is purely one
person’s opinion. Well, of course, Jan had his own opinion, not quite agreeing
with all of Matt’s picks.

CVO stands for Customer Vehicle Operations for those of you that didn’t know.
They are basically Harley’s “custom” motorcycles/limited editions, special paint
and many extra features above other models. Some of these are older and were
called Screamin’ Eagle models, not CVO. I learned that the change in name for
Harley’s limited bikes started in 2009.

In this little piece I will list Matt’s picks and if Jan agreed or not, but to get a better
feel for why Matt made his choices, I recommend checking out his video on
YouTube.

Here we go:

10. 2010 Ultra Classic CVO

Ahead of it’s time; nicknamed “the dark side” because of all the blacked-out pieces that were typically chrome. Jan totally agrees that this should be in the top ten. Jan really likes the black over chrome. Just
check out his personal bikes!

9. 2000 Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide

Jan agrees, top ten.

8. 2007 Screamin’ Eagle Softail Springer

Jan agrees, top ten. Jan believes that this bike runs great for the power to weight ratio.

7. 2013 CVO Road King

Yes, top ten. Jan likes the tank emblem and is especially fond of the blue/black paint scheme.

6. 2005 V-Rod Screamin’ Eagle

Jan is not a fan! Jan thinks this one should be on the worst list. No offence to the V-Rod fans. Remember this is one man’s opinion. Jan is just not a fan of water-cooled bikes. He also does not like the
overall look of the bike.

5. 2015 CVO Street Glide

Jan is especially fond of the paint schemes from this year. It definitely should be in the top ten.

4. 2013 CVO Breakout

Super cool bike according to Jan. The power to rate ratio is far superior to other bikes and the colors are spectacular in Jan’s opinion.

3. 2009 Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide

Definitely in top ten as it was a new direction for Harley Davidson. They followed the after-market world and added the stretch bags. This bike is still sought after today.

2. CVO FXR3

Matt believes it is more popular in 2022 than when it first came out. Jan is not a fan! “Total waist of time. Should be on the worst ten list.”

1. 2018 CVO Road glide

This bike “raised the bar” according to Matt. Jan loves the accents Harley is putting on the motors now. Jan is especially fond of the gun ship grey, very classy.

Worst four:

4. 2009 CVO Fat Bob

Jan agrees and is not a fan of the “two headlight thing. “Makes it look like a metric bike.” -Jan

3. 2016 CVO Road Glide Ultra

Nothing special about this bike. Agrees that is should be on the bottom of the list. Jan believes it is a nice bike, just nothing new to claim its fame.

2. 2010 CVO Softail Convertible

Definitely one of the worst. You could take the bags on and off as well as the windshield. Just didn’t work.

1. 2014 CVO Deluxe

Yes indeed! One of the worst “uglier than sin”; terrible design; leather bags looked out of place. Not sure who had more negative to say about this bike, Jan or Matt. Again, no offense if you like this bike or own one. These are opinions only. Pictured with this article is Jan’s most recent bike. A 2021 CVO. It is pictured
here stock. Not for long! Jan will be customizing it out this fall as time permits.

How do you feel about this list? Any that you think should be on the top ten that
were missed? Are they dead on or way off? What’s your opinion?

Peace Out, Reine

As the warm weather motorcycle riding season continues and you have been on a few long distance trips, it’s time to make sure your motorcycle remains in the best condition. Exterior maintenance is an important job to make sure the surface paint isn’t experiencing damage and bugs don’t become a permanent addition to your bike. But, there is something more important to check!

Your motorcycle’s oil.

Just like your exterior cleaning prevents future damage, regularly checking and changing your oil will make sure your motorcycle will perform well for years to come.

Most riders know how important oil changes are for the overall health of their bike, but many forget how often you need to perform this maintenance. Some also wonder, “Should I change my filter at the same time?” Let’s clarify more on these maintenance tips.

How Often Does Motorcycle Oil Need to Be Changed?

How often you need to change your oil will depend on the type of oil it uses, miles and the frequency it’s driven. Your user manual will provide the recommended services for your specific bike, but as a general rule:

• Synthetic oil should be replaces every 5,000 miles or at least once a year
• Conventional oil every 2,500 – 5,000 miles or at least once a year

Should I Change My Oil Filter Too?

Many people wonder if they need to change the filter every time they change their oil. As a basic rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to perform this maintenance service. While it may seem like a small and unimportant task, the oil filter is as important as the oil itself in the aspect of making sure the motorcycle runs properly.

These small components together make sure that your motorcycle oil remains clean by trapping debris, sludge and other impurities from entering the various mechanisms of your bike. If these items weren’t caught by the filter, multiple areas of your engine would become dirty more frequently and potentially harm your motorcycle’s performance.

Final Word

Make sure the oil you are using is designed for your engine i.e. air cooled vs water cooled bikes;

 a motor off the showroom floor vs high performance motors.