Author Archives: Dem' Country Boyz

The perfect answer to electrification:

The designer of the Confederate Hellcat has penned a new motorcycle, although it looks like something straight from the 1920s. Famed motorcycle designer JT Nesbitt is at it again, and his latest bike is taking aim at the modern age of electric-everything.The machine, simply called Magnolia 4, harks back to a forgotten era of American motorcycle design, when inline four cylinder engines were mounted inline with the frame and wheels of the bike – and not across the frame as is more common today. It’s a method of building a bike which Nesbitt wants to reinvestigate, and while its outward appearance seems retro, what lies within is far from it. That starts with that beautiful looking inline four-cylinder. It’s authentic in that it has a low-stressed over-square 3.125 inch x 3.50 inch (79.375mm x 88.900mm) bore and stroke, giving a total capacity of 107 cubic inches or 1753cc. The long stroke design has been selected not only to give the bike strong low- and mid-range torque (something the bikes of the era were known for) but also to engineer some longevity into the unit thanks to improved piston stability in the bore. Read the rest of this entry »

Country Music Star Nikki Lane Takes Delivery of Custom Indian Scout
The bike is the second in its Forged series of custom Scouts and follows the Roland Sands Design-built machine released earlier this year. Vintage motorcycle racer and builder, Brittney Olsen, has just presented her take on the Forged formula, as her Indian Scout build for country music star Nikki Lane is revealed.

Olsen is a champion of female motorcyclists from the pioneer era of powered two-wheelers, and regularly builds, rides, and races machines inspired by the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Her trademark style of custom is the hard-tail board trackers that roamed the USA like a traveling Read the rest of this entry »

Great Wall’s new Souo motorcycle brand is one of the most ambitious launches we’ve seen in years, leaping straight in at the deep end with an eight-cylinder tourer aimed squarely at the Honda Gold Wing. Now we’ve finally got some figures for the performance and weight to see how it stacks up against that lofty benchmark.

If you missed the launch of the Souo S2000ST and S2000GL tourers (which rival the Gold Wing and Gold Wing Tour, respectively), you can catch up on our previous coverage here. The short version is that they use the world’s first purpose-made flat-eight motorcycle engine in a package that aims to outdo the Gold Wing on every front. More cylinders, more capacity, an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission instead of the Honda’s seven-speed. Wherever Souo has been able to take it up a notch, it’s attempted to do so. Read the rest of this entry »

Healey rose to stardom during his mini-cycle years, turning heads at the Ponca City NMA Amateur Motocross Championships and other major amateur races around the country. The Californian signed with R&D Suzuki and won the first official 125cc AMA Supercross race, which was held at Anaheim in 1985. He won the first three 125cc West Supercross races that year and was destined to be the first 125cc West Champion until breaking his femur and having to sit out the final round.

After his racing days, Healey’s personal life spiraled out of control. Healey struggled with addiction after getting hooked on pain medications as he battled chronic pain. Healey stepped out of the racing spotlight and spent several years battling mostly drug-related life adversities, which included a stint in prison.

Luckily, Healey eventually decided to turn his life around, went to cosmetology school, and got a job as a barber in Costa Mesa, California. He was reportedly enjoying life before his passing.