This Memorial Day Weekend, mark your calendar for Saturday, May 25, 2013 to come to Cashiers, North Carolina and enjoy two wonderful events.

The "Poker Run" will begin at 10:30am. Riders will begin and end their 130 mile loop at The Village Green (the first and last pit stop) located at the intersections of Hwy 107 & Hwy 64W in Cashiers. This scenic route will take riders along our spectacular mountain roads making 3 other pit stops in Maggie Valley, Cherokee and Highlands before returning to the Village Green. Entry fee for the Poker Run is $20/rider which includes a box lunch. A portion of the Poker Run will benefit Wounded Warriors Project.

Blues, Brews & BBQ begins at 5pm and will feature live entertainment from the Lauren Mitchell Band and Mac Arnold & A Plate Full O'Blues. Admission to this event is free.

No coolers permitted. Rain or Shine. No refunds. To register for the Poker Run visit bbbpokerrun.eventbrite.com

For more info or how to be a sponsor, please contact Nancy Albers at 704-458-7686 or e-mail.

Today we feature our Carolina Beauty, Kimberly! Powered by TheCarolinaRider.com

By: Shaggy of TheCarolinaRider.com

This one's for all my brothers and sisters out there on their rice rockets.  I mean the TRUE LOVERS of moto-sickles from the land of the rising sun, not the festering puss nuggets babbling stupid sh$t like, "I'm just learning on this," or "I'm saving up for a Harley."  That's about the biggest ass load I've ever heard in my brief miserable existence. I've never been considered a sensible individual, but the question still nags me, "why tear up a perfectly good bike so you can run out and buy one that's going to f$ck up on its own?  Fair warning: the rest of this rant WILL p$ss off a Harley rider, it's  NOT MEANT TO but here we go ....


Japanese companies such as Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha started shipping motorcycles to the US and other parts abroad in the early 60's. The bulk of the early bikes were under-powered, awkwardly-shaped, and didn't hold a lot of "star power."  Then in the mid-60's, the Rising Sun shined down upon a brand new mystical fire breathing dragon, the CB750 inline four engine. This beautiful offering from Honda took the market by storm, cornering all other cruisers, touring, (and most importantly,) race bikes of the day.  The CB750 changed many things in the motorcycle world in many ways but none so infamous as this.  You could ride it without dragging a bag of wrenches with you!!!  Just kick, twist, and go!


With the power and reliability these machines produced, it's no wonder they were the preferred power plant of so many choppers, bobbers, and cafe racers of the day.  I've had several older gents tell me, "back in the day, you couldn't beat a 750 Honda."


The years faded, but as any proud JapRider will tell you: the power and reliability did not. When I graduated high school, I walked into Palmetto Cycle Center in Spartanburg, SC, and I rode home on a brand new 2007 Honda Shadow Spirit 750. Since then I have put over 60K miles on the clock and good ol' Kingsh$t (the bike's name,) hasn't failed me yet.  That bike has been layed down, wrecked and set on fire twice but I will be my bottom dollar that it will still be going when next year's Harleys are being hammered out into license plates and beer cans.


Let me pause here befreo some of you sh$t a brick ... to say that I am not prejudiced against any brand, I've rode Harley's, Triumphs, and many other brands and stil haven't found one I hated besides a Can-Am but that's another rant completely. I'm harping on this subject for one reason and one reason only: Harley riders are proud to be Harley riders and they SHOULD BE; but, dammit to hell, LAY OFF US JAP RIDERS!  Nothing p$sses me off more than hearing people say shit like "Real bikers only ride Harleys."


Let me state this for the record: To anyone who f$cks with my bike, I came into this world kicking and screaming, and covered in someone else's blood and I've got no problem going out that way.  I hold NO HARD FEELINGS for American and British bikes.  I just want equal treatment for us Jap riders. That's why I present this idea.  It won't be long now until the rest of the country hits "riding season" and rallies and runs will soon kick off in full force.  If I can generate enough interest through The Carolina Rider.com, I will host a Jap-bike-only" motorcycle show in the Upstate of SC this Summer.  Please, if this interests you, contact me (shaggy@thecarolinarider.com,) and/or write a comment to this article.  I may not reply to all of them, but I assure you I DO READ ALL of them!


To my rice riding bretheran, keep it verticle.  To everyone else, I promise to stop and help when your bike leaves you stranded!  Now, beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life here.

FOLLOW-UP ARTICLE

Put up or Shut up!

By: Shaggy of TheCarolinaRider.com

As predicted, my last rant caused a few blood pressure spikes in the Harley community … Holy sh$t man, last month when I threw out a "what if" idea of a Jap-bike-only bike gathering, I didn't expect to get more than a few p$ss and moans from Harley riders (which were plentiful.) But what I got was a sh$t-ton of people practically beating their chest and singing the praises of their sleds. I asked for interest and suppot for this show and what I got looked more like a call to arms. You guys put up your end so come hell or high water, I will give you this show!

The kind folks at Palmetto Cycle Center in Spartanburg, SC are providing us with a location, Jon and FancyFree have agreed to employ The BIG RIDE Bus to provide the tunes, and I'm tracking down everything else as we speak. Thank you guys for this!

Now that the humble bullsh$t is over, I'd like to address a few things:

As predicted, my last rant caused a few blood pressure spikes in the Harley community. More than a few people brought up the point of patriotism. They seem to believe riding Harley's somehow makes you more of an American than others... Motherf$cker, please! You can't walk into a dealership and buy patriotism. These are the same guys who buy HD Road Barges and cover them with all those useless little chrome pieces stamped "made in Taiwan!" Porn is the only thing still made in America and even it's losing groud to the sh$t coming from overseas.

Another one is that I'm saying all this because I want a Harley and can't afford one. Let me set the record straight: I currently own three Honda motorcycles. Two 750 Shadows - one Spirit, one A.C.E. - and one 1985 Honda Vt500 which was my first bike. On top of that I'm in the process of restoring a 1967 Sears Allstate. If I honestly wanted a Harley, I could've had one by now.

What I wrote last month was not a slander attack against Harley! It was about bringing people together who (like me) wouldn't take anything in the world for their "Jay-pan" - made sled! Harley guys have HOG. I'm just evening out the odds. I'm aiming this show for June. You guys should have all the exacts and a flyer by next month. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The 2013 Kamikaze Bike Show. Hope to see you all there!