Saturday, April 17, 2010

Busted and Broken - Head On




ICON,


I just wanted to say thanks. I was recently in an accident where a woman turned into me. I was out enjoying a sunny winter day here in Virginia and the 1300 bucks I had just thrown into my bike. As I rolled through a school zone at about 25MPH, a car made a left turn in front of me. She hit me head on, throwing me over the hood, about 15 feet past her car.


Fortunately I was wearing your Domain Decay 2 helmet, and when my head hit the ground, it felt like I landed on pillows! I injured my right hip, right calf, left elbow, and had abrasions on my left shin, but no head or neck injuries. I had on ICON gloves and boots, and hell, maybe if I was wearing ICON pants I wouldn't have any abrasions on my shin! Thank you for putting major effort into your products, not only so they look good, but so they save lives. I definitely will be replacing my helmet with a 2009 "Death or Glory” model. To tell you the truth, I think your helmet saved me from a lot of pain and suffering, maybe death...


Sincerely,


Mike





Friday, April 16, 2010

XDL Round 2 Recap

The following is a recap of last weekends second round of the XDL Freestyle Championship from last years champion Nick 'Apex' Brocha


There are weeks where everything that can go wrong does, and there are weeks that make those weeks feel like a vacation. Last week was the latter.  For XDL Round 2 I hosted two Japanese riders at my home in Las Vegas, loaned them competition bikes, and overall just had a good time.  That good time however was cut short about two days into their eight day stay when the first bike problem appeared.  After a marathon bike setup my teammate, Shin Kinoshita - a Japanese ninja mechanic and one of my favorite riders - couldn't accept the way his bike was running.  So we went home - pulled off everything, replaced everything with new parts and got back to it the next day.  Now four days until competition and the second day on Shin's bike the problem worsens.  So with limited resources we decide to build another bike. I've been working on a new competition bike but it still needed some serious love. We'd finish that bike and I'd let Shin use my current competition bike. I wasn't a total fan of that idea as it's critical I'm comfortable with the bike I  ride in the XDL events - but that's what friends are for.  

Three days to go,and my bike still won't idle. Visually it looks better than any of my previous bikes and I'm determined to fix it.  Shin and I tear it apart - check everything, voltmeters, vacuum tests, new coilpacks/injectors/throttle bodies and so much more.... it was a long list.  One day to go and we discover the headgasket is blown.  There isn't the tale tell water/oil/bubbles in the radiator to give it away, but it now overheats in three minutes and won't run for crap unless I'm hard on the gas.  At this point Shin's transmission decides to start jumping out of 1st gear. Note to self - get some nicer bikes.
Last minute mechanical heroics are the sign of a true champion
So we pile into my truck with two very questionable bikes and make our way to Arizona for what felt like a suicide mission.  We meet up with Icon riders Tony Carbajal and Ernie Vigil along with my other teammate, Lin Eshalom. Somehow qualifying  went well. I discovered if I went out with a fairly cold bike it would idle for the first 30-90 seconds.  With XDL's new two minute format that might be enough. The entire team qualified well. My run was good enough to qualify in the top spot earning a bonus point for the overall title.  Shin rode through the transmission problems and scared everyone that's ever wheelied a bike.  In fact, I think it was one of his best runs ever, he's a madman!  That night we ripped apart another two bikes to build him a new one thanks to Vegas local and good friend Matt Soras.
Tony Carbajal getting "in the zone" before his run
Saturday (the finals) Ernie and Tony are riding well. This is Ernie's first time back after his horrific accident and even with limited use of his right foot he's cleaning up!  My first run was a catastrophe. It had been a long time since my last crash in competition so I guess I was due.  I wadded myself, twice.  With the XDL three run format we drop the lowest score so there was still hope. I went into the next two rounds with a lot of pressure - I'd have to ride mistake free.  Thankfully, all the bad luck must have vanished  as I ended up coming out on top at days end.  It was one year to the date since a major accident had destroyed my shoulder.  I had lots of personal doubts if I was able to win again. Thankfully I can now move on and focus on fighting for the 2010 points lead.  I'm happy the whole Icon team did well and both of my Japanese friends made it through the finals safe and placing well.
Thanks everyone for the support, I love this and can't wait for round 3!

-Nick


The tricks being executed were truly eye poping and  jaw dropping



Photo courtesy the-nags.com


Photo courtesy the-nags.com



Famous in Florida

Straight from the dirt ovals of inner Florida comes this spy shot. This proves that famous dudes love Icon. You'll notice Michael Gross of Family Ties fame reviewing a yellow Speedfreak. Jeff Foxworthy, chawing up a hero load of Redman, is also quite taken by this yellow masterpiece. Of course the helmet belongs to none other than Junior from Sin City. He's got this thing for yellow. The old dude is Brad Pitt's dad - Elmo - flattrack tuner to the stars.

"I'ma clap you on your ears ya little turd" Elmo said without a moments hesitation



We prefer the 'Tremors' era survivalist Gross


If you like Flattrack you might be a redneck - just sayin'


Ummm....


Thursday, April 15, 2010

Concept & Execution - The Game


Icon is a subculture within a subculture - a group of of like-minded riders operating outside the realm of respectable motorcycling. To capture this essence in a photo we imagined a reverent mash-up of 'Mad Max' and 'Fight Club'-esque imagery. This concept inspired the Spring 2010 catalog narrative, which in turn inspired the image of 'The Game'. As diligent students of the great post apocalyptic movie classics, we already knew the recipe for the ultimate dystopian setting. Multiple fires, a pair of brapping two-strokes (spinning clockwise of course), blatant cannibalism, firearms, and the ruler of the underworld lording over his minions. We managed to pull off all these elements save for two;

We substituted sixty cheeseburgers for the rampant acts of cannibalism. And while this feast wasn't portrayed in image or video, the remnants went on to feed the small colony of rabid raccoons who occupied 'The Game' photoshoot location. We also acquiesced on the firearms as - 1) We rather enjoy gainful employment  2) We felt that we had firearms pretty much covered in the then upcoming animation Slabtown Chronicles: The Delivery



The back corner of our wood framed tinderbox served as party central 


The photo crew adjusts the lights and prepares the rigging...


while Nick Apex practices his two-stroking


An early sketch depicting the Metalgod's rave party - the name has been changed to protect the innocent


Holding your arms in this position while wearing the Metal God jacket is not easy - that jacket weighs more than our Uzi


The GameThe sickly blue haze of spent fuel hung over the assembled like a premonition. The amber glow betrayed the impending mechanical violence. No waivers would be signed, no entrance fees collected. Preparations, hastily made, would be tested tonight. Alloyed metals, intended only for high speed endurance, would be subjected to obscene shear and loading. For this was the urban arena. A viscous asphalt playground where any mistakes would be painful lessons. Any victorys - fleeting glory. This new generation understood the rules perfectly. Gear up, dump clutch, and ride among us.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Bull Dock

If you're into old school Kawasaki muscle this bike will shock your eyelids. The modification of the Z1000's has taken on it's own life in Japan. There are a couple of major players in this art form, most notable is Bull Dock Motorcycles. Incredible passion and craftsmanship executed in aircooled splendor. 


 The flagship of the Bull Dock fleet 


Massive billet yokes



Conventional Ohlins with radial Brembos - well played


Seriously Clean

The Metal God samples Bull Docks finest...and very much approves


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Parlez-Vous Manu?

Manu Turbatte is an Icon known associate hailing from the French Rivera. Along the glorious coast of the Mediterranean sea - amidst topless leathery skinned euromoms - atop old world cobblestone cart paths - Manu plies his unique trade of Gixxer based performance art. He's best known for his 'face-skitching' which, unlike normal skitching, requires the bike to actually push the rider down the road. Hard to describe - even harder to believe. Look for him in Nice's Old Town district spreading the good word of Icon. 
A run of the mill highway speed skitch - child's play

Which leads to the more refined and dramatically less comfortable face-skitch


Moments before impending doom - a face skitch going awry 

Monday, April 12, 2010

No Limit in the PDX

Jason Britton and Eric Hoenshell stopped by the Icon office on their way home from Seattle

Jason and Eric's bikes looking fresh in their new paint



Watching a rough cut of Jason's new TV show - Stealth Rider



 Eric was in complete ecstasy over his Portland visit

Drawing Skulls the Icon Way

The man behind Icon's skull phenomena - Tanner - shows you how to lay down some inked cranium in the comfort of your own home. After you've mastered the art of skull rendering check out more of Tanner's work at his blog.


Time lapsed skulduggery

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Dog Daze

So the Icon Garage Team walks into Slabtown and there's this dog sitting at the bar. The dog looks at them and says "are any of you a doctor?". The Garage Team answers with a unanimous  "No". To which the dog responds "I didn't think so". 

Any day or night is good times at the Slab - except Mondays - those are kinda fruity

Satchel bellies up - don't judge him until you know all the facts



Enjoying Slabtown's "Cocktail Hour" - if you lay your head on the bar long enough someone will eventually bring you a bowl of cool tap water
 
/* Google Tacker */