With the mercury dipping below zero here in the Northeast, I’m sure the donations of winter clothing that Fire and Iron MC brought to the VA Medical Center in Syracuse, New York, were much appreciated. When the club heard that veterans sometimes come to the VA in midwinter clothed only in pajamas, they organized a winter clothing drive. Fire and Iron partnered with Clear Channel Communications and De Julio’s Army and Navy Store to collect more than a dozen boxes of warm clothing that were delivered to the VA on December 7… On Sunday, December 8, the Washington County chapter of ABATE of Maryland brought three truckloads of clothing and food to the ACTS 9 clothing and food bank in Hagerstown. ABATE held raffles throughout the year to raise the cash, and this year they were able to donate about $1,700 worth of food… Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson in Groton, Connecticut, is planning to move across the street from where his dealership is now. The new facility is about three times the size of Mike’s current location, and owner Mike Schwartz is giving his customers the opportunity to help design the new building through the dealership’s website. He calls the program “Your Dealership,” and through a series of survey questions, he will try to design it according to his customers’ feedback. And, while supplies last, you’ll get a free Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson Destination Dealership T-shirt when the new location opens! Check out www.mikesfamous.com to find out more, and to offer your opinions on what kind of “personality” the new dealership should have… Chuck Zito, former president of Hell’s Angels Nomads NY, will host a new show called American Roadhouse that is scheduled to premiere on the Travel Channel in April. Zito has had several roles in movies including the recently-released Homefront, and in TV shows such as HBO’s Oz, Entourage and last year competed on the Food Network’s Chopped, as well as playing Frankie Diamonds on Sons of Anarchy. And speaking of Sons of Anarchy, the “Beast from the East” chopper ridden by Frankie Diamond is on eBay. The 1950 Panhead was designed and built by Zito along with Mondo Porras of Denver’s Choppers in Reno, Nevada. Frankie met Mr. Mayhem in the 5th season so he won’t be needing it anymore. I’m not sure whether the bike will still be listed by the time you read this, but just in case, the buy-it-now price is $200,000. OK; that sounds like a lot, but some of the items you’ll receive with the bike are the original SOA vest, solid sterling wristbands and matching necklace worn by Zito on the show, and a personally autographed copy of the script that features the Beast from the East… THUNDER PRESS contributor Dom Mazza sent this news item in: On Tuesday night, December 17, a gasoline tanker truck struck an auto stopped at a traffic light at an intersection in Bellmore, Long Island, New York. The tanker flipped over on its side and slid into the front parking field of Nassau Harley-Davidson, taking down the sign in front, and crashing into the overhead doors of the warehouse next to the dealership. The fuel inside the tanker spilled out and ignited, causing extensive damage to the warehouse and totally destroying the H-D sign. Two box trucks belonging to the dealership were also destroyed, and it took the fire department an hour to get the fire under control. There were no serious injuries reported and neither the dealership building nor the motorcycles in the warehouse were damaged. However, the fire melted siding on some homes in the area and several cars were engulfed in flames… Jim Moroney, founder of Moroney’s Harley-Davidson in New Windsor, New York, pass away on December 25 at the age of 86. Jim and Carmella Moroney purchased and renamed the dealership in 1956 after Jim’s U.S. Army service in the Korean War. The couple retired about 20 years ago, leaving the dealership’s management to their son Patrick. The memorial service for Jim was held December 30 at the Meadowbrook Lodge in New Windsor, with his ’53 Panhead greeting those who gathered there. Each visitor was handed an orange-and-black poker chip imprinted with the dealership’s name, which was good for one drink at the bar. Leave it to a class guy to buy everyone a drink as a final farewell… Last year, electric motorcycle manufacturer Mission Motorcycles made the list of Time magazine’s top 25 inventions for 2013. The California company is in the news again, this time for suing one if its co-founders, Vincent Ip, from Fort Lee, New Jersey. Ip was fired in November for unprofessional behavior, including inappropriate remarks to business partners and threats of violence against company executives. Mission says it has the right to buy back most of Ip’s shares of company stock, and filed the lawsuit because Ip refuses to sell. A countersuit is in the making, according to Ip’s lawyer… You may have read the product reviews of the ThunderMax and Zipper’s products in past issue of THUNDER PRESS. A huge part of my satisfaction with the products is the outstanding results from the installation, tuning and diagnostic work that Sussex Hills Ltd. has performed on my Switchback over the past year and a half. Owner Norman Gross tells me that he and lead tech Matt Liptak just attended advanced ThunderMax training at the Thunder Heart facility in White House, Tennessee. Sussex Hills has been selling and installing ThunderMax products for some years, and now the shop is a premier authorized dealer, installer and troubleshooter. Stop by the shop at 946 SR 23 in Sussex, New Jersey, check out their website at www.sussexhills.com or their Facebook page, or just call at 973.875.2048.
