Free Stickers!

Hey - if you haven't done so yet, come on over to our new blog called LIMITER. Sign up in the community section and we'll send you a limited edition Apocalypse sticker.

Take it to the Limit

We are no longer updating this blog - we've moved to a nicer neighborhood. Click the following link to check out the all new Icon site;

LIMITER

[Click here for the redirect]

Take it to the Limit(er)

Bye bye blog. Hello LIMITER! We are pleased to announce our newest foray into the digital sprawl. We call it Limiter. Based on the Icon Moto blog, Limiter will encompass the same daily info feed as well as integrating some exciting new features. Foremost among these features is the new community section.  Think of it as the old 'follower' section on HGH. Not only can you upload your photos to the community section, but you can add a write up to those photos. It's like having your own virtual bike lift within the Icon garage. Share your build story. Share pics of your favorite bikes. Share photos of your smoking hot girlfriend. Whatever you like. The member with the most recent post goes to the top of the community list. As a further incentive to post (as if you needed more incentive than fleeting internet fame) we will be selecting a community member each month for a shoutout and a box full of free Icon swag.

Other features of the new Limiter site include an integrated Facebook and Twitter feed to keep you up to date on all the latest Icon chatter. A new gear section highlights the latest offerings from the Icon product team. And a refined post tagging system simplifies the historical search process.


The final upgrade, which is already known to you if you are viewing this diatribe on a smart phone, is the Limiter mobile specific format. We've spent an inordinate amount of time to keep the mobile site format minimal yet still maintain functionality. All in all Limiter was a ton of work, but we feel it was worth the effort.


**As for those of you who are followers of this blog - we thank you for 'Riding Among Us' (digitally speaking). When you move over to the LIMITER site you will have to re-register in the community section. Yes - it's a bit of a PITA, but we weren't able to port your account over to the new site. The two site formats were not compatible, sorry. But we will say that the community section on LIMITER is way better plus you'll get a free sticker for your effort. Yay!


Take some time to check it out. We hope you enjoy Limiter and become a community member. Please update links to www.RideIcon.com/Limiter. Also, if you have any suggestions to improve Limiter by all means drop us a line at Limiter@rideicon.com


Thanks,
Team Icon


FYI - Keep an eye out in March 2011 for the next edition of Limiter magazine. The Icon crew has been hard at work designing, building, shooting, & riding - we've got gigs of new product and content. Stay tuned - it'll be saucy.

Sexy Time

The following are a few roughs from our women's collection. To be more specific, they are a few roughs that never made it any further than concept drawings. That actually happens quite a bit. Putting in a full days work worth of conceptualizing only to be left with remnants of what could have been.

A cropped 3/4 sleeve riding shirt concept with full David Lee Roth denim pants

The MotoPirate look executed in stonewashed denim - it was gonna be the new thing

Concept riding gear for Angelina Jolie's upcoming Tomb Raider 4 - White PVC is the new black  

Doing Dirt

The Icon camera team has no fear. Whether dodging high velocity gravel shot from rear tires or extinguishing gas spewed onto red hot pipes or the pacifying the hostility of temperamental riders in need of graham cracker and a nap, the Icon camera team has conquered them all. Want proof? Check out the following out takes from the Container Yard Classic.

Ernie Vigil begins the day with a lesson in drifting old Harleys

Britton takes his turn at punishing the antiquated Icon Ironhead - Hamiester shield his eyes with $10K worth of Canon

Hoenshell supermoto'ing his pristine ZX6

Nick Apex goes full pigpen aboard the Snakecharmer

And finally Hamiester going in for a gas tank detail shot...honest

Busted & Broken - Crash Tested

To Icon:

I had the misfortune of laying down my '01 Yamaha FZ1 the other day, but was wearing my gear.  This includes the Alliance SS helmet, Motorhead Jacket, and Super Duty  Gloves.  All three items worked flawlessly.  The helmet absolutely saved my life, while the jacket and gloves saved me from some serious road rash.  I just wanted to take the opportunity to contact your company and thank you for putting such dependable products on the market.  I will continue to promote Icon at every opportunity, and with a little luck, be back on the road soon.

Thank you again for your dedication to protecting riders.

Sincerely,
 Dan
Newton, NJ

Sadie x ChopperDavePhotography x Icon

Icon: So Sadie, how long have you been wearing full-face helmets?

Sadie: Most of my adult life really - I mean if you're gonna wear a helmet at all why would you take the chance of grinding off your chin or nose? Not me - I ride too fast. And besides, I'm far too pretty to take a chance with this magic [Sadie's hands vogue around open eyeport]

Icon: So you're truly a believer in the "Live Fast, Die Pretty" moniker? We got in a lot of trouble for that graphic you know...

Sadie: Oh yeah - I'm not sure about the Live Fast part, but Die Pretty was gonna be the name of my second band. Weird co-inky- dink. Why would you get in trouble for that graphic? It's a joke, right? Unless you really meant it in which case you guys are sick. 

Icon: No, we meant it as a bit of dark humor, unfortunately a number of people failed to find it funny. They threatened us with a nationwide boycott - not unlike the naval blockade of Cuba I suppose.

Sadie: Hmmm, I don't think you guys are nearly as famous as Cuba. You shouldn't flatter yourself like that. Anyways, the graphic is funny and cute and I get the humor so that's all that really matters. Can I keep this helmet? I already licked the inside of the mouthpiece so that pretty much makes it mine.

Icon: Ummm, yeah ok, but it's not actually our helmet. But sure, you can have it. 

Sadie: Awesome! Hey, do you follow tweets? You should follow me @sadiecrazybabe – It’s totally a good time. 

Overlord v Tron

We're getting pretty tired of all this Tron talk. Tron can throw a laser frisbee. Tron can battle grid spiders. Tron can ride a light cycle. Yeah, but can Tron do a triple digit stand-up whilst simultaneously posting a twitter update about said stand-up? I didn't think so. Icon may not have a 300 million dollar budget, light cycles, or ultra-hot cyber chicks, but we do have access to the color light blue. And computers. And hella technical motorcycle jackets. Combine all these things and you've got a worthy digital adversary to the almighty Tron. We call our program Overlord. In fact we're pretty sure Overlord would beat Tron's ass in a game of light cycle or laser tag. Peww-Peww. 

The Overlord rules the light cycle arena aboard his '03 R1 

Can someone ask Tron to do something about the Icon office internet speed - it is sloooowwwww

The Dance Commander

Icon's pristine 1990 Suzuki GSXR750, in all her Hypersport beauty. Sex executed in plastic and aluminum. Her multi-tone blue and white paint as clean and purposeful as a razor. Twenty years on, and now dressed in 750RR plastics, she is still every bit as stunning. 

The actual GSX-R750RR was fitted with a dry clutch, braced swingarm, and long stroke motor - only 500 were produced

The RR plastics have a slightly slanted nose with more recessed headlights - side panel venting is also different

We are suckers for solo race tail sections - the RR tail fits the stock GSXR subframe quite well with only a little modification needed to reinforce the seat pan

Purchased for $2000

Fitting the new plastics

Ernie Vigil performed the christening burnout in a North Vegas parking lot - period correct headlights & vintage Suzuki jacket

Past Glory

Little to nothing has been made of the great flight of the Snakecharmer. It was an unkind ride aboard a vicious stink-wheeled ankle biter. The premix only beast was angry that day and someone had to pay the price. Luckily we have sacrificial stunt riders, such as Nick Brocha, who are willing ride any foul build we can summon. Leaking prodigious amounts of fuel directly onto it's twin plugged head, we sent Nick out to engage the gravel yard on it's own terms. The gravel yard won. To add insult to injury we were recently contacted by the EPA in regards to our 'careless use of petrochemical solutions'. Apparently they saw our video. But 'Careless Use'? We would much prefer the term 'Flamboyant'. Somehow it just seems more appropriate. Anyways, we acknowledged the EPA's disapproval of our two-stroke lifestyle by switching all future Icon custom bikes to the electric variety. Seriously.

Starting the Charmer is a three person operation - one to apply flailing kicks, one to work the fire extinguisher, one to shake head in disapproval

Britton, moments before upchucking his diet Mug rootbeer and Snickers lunch - riding in the gravel yard can bring even the strongest to their knees

Nick Apex giving the Snakecharmer the ol' dirty bird...

...and the dusty trombone

Builders Note : Channeling your Airtech universal Bimota tail will make your ass appear really, really big

Content is the face of a man who's been Snakecharmed

Pure hipster horseshit

It's All In the Pronunciation

Wet pavement be damned - Britton going counter clockwise beneath the Broadway bridge. The plywood on the bottom side of the bridge is due to trolley construction. The water on the ground is because it's Portland.

Can Can

Nac Nac

Alienation

Any takers? Anybody looking for some ghoulish outerspace musculature for their head? This is another concept that was left on the cutting room floor. Were we premature in extinguishing this concept? Did the world actually need a creepy horror alien helmet? If we can collect 50 likey's we will produce this helmet. Or even better - the competitor companies that scour our blog for ideas can copy this graphic and save us the trouble. Consider it a Christmas present from Icon.

Busted & Broken - Guardrail

Dear Icon,

I want to thank you guys for making great looking gear that has just as much functionality as it does design. On Memorial Day weekend 2010, a small group of friends and I were going for a beautiful cruise through the Crest Highway which runs through the Los Angeles National Forest. We started heading through until a "Road Closed" sign about 30 minutes in. With no other option we had to turn around and head back through a detour. On the way back, my bike hit some loose gravel on a wide sweeping left turn. I went down and rolled a couple times then slid about 20 feet. My bike slammed into the guardrail and was totaled, however I was fortunate to get back up with only cuts and scrapes on both legs. The ONLY place on my body I didn't have on any Icon gear! My Alliance SSR helmet, ARC jacket, Sub Operator gloves, and Tarmac boots left those parts of my body unscathed and they all held up great to the road rash. You guys sure saved me a lot of potential pain. Thanks Icon! You guys got a fan for life.

-Kevin M.

California

Tight Quarters

Nick and Vigil practicing at their new indoor spot - AllPowerSports. If your parents are going to be gone all weekend give the guys a shout - they'll be happy to circle wheelie in your living room for a small donation.

Looking for a Variant? AllPowerSports has at least two in stock

This is the closest Nick has ever been to an actual job

Shin Sequenced

Shin Kinoshita operates in the fourth dimension. This makes photographing him extremely difficult. We've found the best way to capture Shin in action is with time lapse photography. 

Endo to wall stall - most of us couldn't do this on a Mongoose - Shin does it on a Ninja

Shin fabricating an entire subframe with just a coat hanger and a Twix wrapper

Women find this stunt irresistible

Even Brando is envious of Shin's steeze

Justify My Love

The Magnificent Bastard went under the knife last weekend. New F4i rear suspension, increased ride height, rebuilt forks, and new Avon rubber got her back into sporting form. Then it was on to the much anticipated cosmetic work. It's always fun mounting up new fiberglass on older sportbikes - so immediately gratifying. We've been using Airtech for all our old school plastic needs for well over a decade. They make quality glass with more fitment options than you could use in a lifetime. If that's not enough, their website features tons of hot 80's chicks modeling the retro kit. It's always amazing how radically different a few hunderd dollars of plastics can make a motorcycle look. Of course the Magnificent Bastard is a long way from completion, but as they say, the first cut is the deepest.

The end goal - incredible 80's hotness - because chicks dig V-Fours...

...and endurance racers

Airetch GSXR Yosh Tornado tail section - $250 worth of awesome

Reglassing the tail to shape it to the VF subframe

Crude photochopping for concept validation - she's gonna be magnificent

Patrol

It's getting to be that time of year again. You can choose to drain the tank, pull the battery, and fog the cylinders - or - you can pick up a set weatherproof Icon Patrol gear and keep the dream alive. Granted it will be a wet dream, but a dream none the less.

Nick 'Apex' Brocha FAQs

Nick 'Apex' Brocha hails from the great Pacific Northwest. His background is a mixed bag of action sport action. When not on the road you can find him relaxing in various parking lots throughout the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area. He loves Vegas and often talks about the cities unique charm and wholesome family environment. We (virtually) sat down with Nick to discuss various topics related to his life. 

Q: What was your first BMX bike and how old were you when you first bunnyhopped another person?

A: 1982 Mongoose Supergoose. I never made it over anyone but I busted my lip on my neighbors mint Stingray Corvette. It looked better with that bar gouge.

Q: Riding styles are often compared to the moustache - are you a FuManChu, Pencil Thin, or Ridiculous Hipster?

A: Potentail Kung Fu Master, potential Douche bag, or Douche Bag. Is that a real question?

Q: Knife to a fist fight or Gun to a knife fight?

A: I don't own a gun but I've been known to impale my foot with a butterfly knife.

Q: Favorite Elvis song (other than 'In The Ghetto') and why?

A: I'm not a huge Elvis fan but I'm a huge Little Richard fan. Elvis did his own “Long Tall Sally”, it's far from Richards, but it's the lesser of all evils. In fact it's terrible, Elvis's version.

Q: You were previously known as 'Otter Pop' during your pro snowboard career, why?

A: I could only afford Saltines and Otter Pop's during those great years. Many years later, nothings changed except what I ride.

Q: You have amazing balance - do you partake in dance or martial arts to enhance your skills?

A: I partake in lap dances while heavily inebriated at Diablos. That takes an awful lot of balance of holding ones food down and a Kung Fu grip on ones cash. Thieving dumpster diving strippers!

Q: Icon builds a lot of custom bikes from every genre - does it make you interested in building your own non-stuntbike custom?

A: Yeah, you bastards are completely responsible for hours of lost time hunting Craigslist. I forgot to add that stipulation in my 2011 riders contract for an Icon Sportster. Too late to revise!?

Q: How long have you been riding with teammate Ernie Vigil?

A: He's been there from the beginning of my freestyle days so over 5 years. 5 years for the rise of the gypsies!

Q: Your bikes are generally beat to within inches of scrap - how much time do you spend wrenching on them each week?

A: I'm always hunting for that last inch! I still crash a lot but I've learned to save the bike. I only need to put in about 6 hours a week plugging holes these days.

Q: Rumor has it you have a few supporting actor roles in Porno's in your past - confirm or deny?

A: That's what happens when you let Matt Lippincott use a search engine.

Q: Kawasaki has taken over the street riding scene - why?

A: They were the first manufacturer to capitalize on the growing lifestyle market. That and what I consider the 600/1000 glory years, 2003-2005.