Welcome to Skee-Town Hardknocks
The site for and about the people, events and riders in Muskegon and the West Michigan area


What's News:

Lids off in Michigan
On April 13th Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed a repeal of the mandatory helmets into law giving riders the choice to wear a helmet or not.  Under the new law a rider must be at least 21 years of age and have had their cycle endorsement for at least two years or have passed a riders safety class.  The rider must also have at least $20,000 dollars in medical on their insurance policy.
The major concern is will this increase fatal motorcycle injuries.  The standard DOT approved helmet has a crash rating of 35 mph.  with that kind of rating the chance of a fatal injury happening while riding within the city limits are reduced when compared to riding the open highway or city freeway.  I strongly believe that the majority of  motorcycle accidents happen between other motorist who failed to see the motorcycle and pulled out in front of or cut off the  rider of the motorcycle.  Now that the choice is yours, the age old debate of increased fatal injuries will be answered.

Harley Davidson's  adds a retro chopper / bobber look to the H-D family with the Seventy-Two and the Softail Slim.  The Seventy-Two is a sleek bob-tail sitting on a 21 inch front spoke wheel with white wall tires, a retro air cleaner and throw-back paint jobs.  The solo seat, drag bars or the mini-ape hangers give this bike the looks of an old school chopper or bobber depending on one's taste.  Not to be out done, the Softail Slim offers the same retro look and style as the Seventy-Two but in a larger softail package.  It has an aggressive wide front tire, bob-tail rear fender and old school motor-cross style handlebars.  It really reminds me of a striped down version of a Fat Boy.  Both of these rides offer some of the past mixed with the present and be a great bike to ride around the town or short to mid-range runs.



Muskegon events task force is developing a new music festival that would be held from June 29 through July 8 across multiple sites including Heritage Landing.  No details on who the performers will be at this time but hopefully they will get this right and bring in some entertainment that people want to see.

Looking for a new bike, check out the new Switchback from Harley-Davidson.  This first year model heads up the Dyna family and offers the rider the choice between a bagger for those long rides or street cruiser hoping around town.  I had the chance to check one out and to me, the bike looks like a cross between a Softail Deluxe and a Street Glide wrapped into an affordable Dyna package.  What makes this bike eye-candy is the price along with the detachable windshield and hard bags, although the bags are 25% smaller than the ones found on the Street Glide they still provide plenty of safe storage space.  The Switchback is a good affordable choice for someone wanting something between a cruiser and a touring model.

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