CHEAP THRILLS SWAP SPACE

Merry Christmas

From all of us at TWT Motorcycle Parts

You Gotta Keep Your Beer Cold

All the can koozies are gone so we got some new ones.

Celebrating the life of a great man

Motorsports legend and North Carolina icon Ray Price was laid to rest today.

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We Lost a Really Great Gentleman - Ray Price 1937-2015 -

Raleigh icon and Hall of Fame racing legend Ray Price passed away in his sleep last evening. He was 78 years of age. Ray was a native of Johnston County and is survived by his wife Jean, his daughter Robin, and grandchildren Rebecca and Jordan Richardson.

“Today we mourn the passing of a tremendous man, a dedicated husband and parent, and a legend in motorsports,” said General Manager Mark Hendrix, Ray Price, Inc. “Ray Price was a North Carolina icon with a huge heart, an unwavering passion for sharing his love of motorcycling, and a dedication to philanthropy and community service.”

Information on funeral arrangements will be provided as details become available.

Ray Price was actively involved in the Ray Price Motorsports Racing Team, based in Raleigh. The team is the defending two-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Harley-Davidson Top Fuel Drag Racing Champions for 2014 and 2015.

Ray Price is best known for his many successes in motorcycle drag racing with the International Hot Rod Association, and National Hot Rod Association, among others. He is an inducted member of the American Motorcycle Association Hall of Fame, the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the N.C. Drag Racing Hall of Fame, and the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame.
About Ray Price, Inc.

For more than 30 years, Ray Price Harley-Davidson and Ray Price Triumph in Raleigh, N.C. has served as one of the Southeast’s top motorcycle dealerships and home to Hall-of-Fame racing legend Ray Price. Earlier this year, Ray Price Harley-Davidson was honored by The North Carolina Retail Merchants Association (NCRMA) with its “Retailer of the Year” award. Ray Price is also known for Capital City Bikefest, the annual motorcycle festival that draws 100,000 visitors into downtown Raleigh each September for the past 11 years.

This photo was taken by Christer Berg for his Portraits with a Purpose project which celebrates champions of community service.

The Ray Price Motorsports team sends sincere thanks to all their sponsors for their support. They include our Primary Sponsors: Akea, Ray Price Harley-Davidson, with special thanks to our Associate Sponsor Raleigh H.O.G. and our Support Sponsors: Vanson Leathers, PJ1 Products, RC Components, CP Pistons, Barnett Clutches & Cables, Autolite Sparkplugs, Mickey Thompson Tires, Gates Belts, Nationwide Insurance, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, JIMS USA, Industrial Machine Solutions, Wiley X, LAT Racing Oils and Nitrolube. Additional thanks: Bill Hayes, Hargis Consulting, Ultra Pro Machining and Freddie Robbins.

Ray and I at the 2014 Ray Price Motorsports Expo in Raleigh

UPDATE

From LOWSIDE:

We are teaming up to do a swap meet and mag release party in Asbury Park NJ called Cheap Thrills! Sorry no Timonium show swap this year for us. We decided to take the show on the road and promise a much better time! Details to come! Stay tuned! Hit up rich@lowsidemag.com for more info.

Cheap Thrills Motorcycle Show & Swap meet

If you're looking for cool things to do this winter put this one on your calendar. Cheap Thrills Motorcycle Show & Swap Meet. Asbury Park New Jersey February 6th  2016.Follow @cheapthrillsnj on Instagram for info.

Possibly one of the rarest American motorcycles ever assembled

"Possibly one of the rarest American motorcycles ever assembled, the Cyclone powered, OHC 8-valve Reading Standard factory works racer is photographed here with legend Ray Creviston on the company dock in 1921. Beginning in 1903, Reading Standard began manufacturing high quality American motorcycles known for their durability, and from the start the Pennsylvania based company garnered accolades for their performance on the track.



By the teens many of the numerous American motorcycle manufacturers had begun to fade away leaving those with stakes in the racing game like Reading Standard, Indian, Excelsior, Flying Merkel, and a rising Harley-Davidson to grow even stronger. Commonly known as the "big three," Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Excelsior turned their dominance on the track into expansive distribution networks and iconic marketing campaigns. As a result Reading Standard, without the ever deepening pockets of their rivals gradually lost their competitive edge despite seeing their best sales years in the late teens. Riding a wave of enthusiasm as a result of the highest production numbers in the companies history, RS attempted to revitalize their company by developing a pure racer in 1921. The American motorcycle scene had become intensely competitive after WWI, and RS had to raise the stakes if they were going to compete with the race-proven thoroughbreds of Harley-Davidson and Indian. Unlike any other machine being produced by the company at the time, this unique cam driven overhead valve engine was actually salvaged from the parts bins of the once mighty Cyclone company, who closed their doors in 1916.

Creviston shipped out to Los Angeles in January of 1921 with the hopes of riding the new motorcycle to victory, a move the company hoped to reestablish the brand as a major player in the United States. A great deal of interest and speculation surrounded the new RS, everyone was curious as to the speed and performance given the combination of the esteemed reputation of RS with the high end performance of the Cyclone power plant. However, Creviston, who along with Dave Kinnie were instrumental in the development of the machine kept information about the its capabilities rather quiet, wanting to let the anticipation build until people, and journalists could witness it for themselves. His first stop on the west coast tour was set for the mile long Fresno Speedway board track, where early reports clocked him at over 100 mph. The machine’s debut at Fresno unfortunately began the sequence of heartbreak for Creviston and Reading Standard as the new hopeful heavyweight fell short due to technical issues with the motor. And as if to add insult to injury, Otto Walker, Captain of the legendary Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew decimated the competition that day becoming the first man to officially claim a race victory at an average speed of over 100 mph on board a “banjo” 2-cam, 8-valve HD.

Unfortunately the machine could not shake the bad luck it experienced at its debut at the Fresno Speedway, and the subsequent races that Creviston entered most often resulted in mechanical failure. The wave of hype that preceded Creviston and his wonderful Reading Standard “Eight” crested and broke as the machine consistently limped into the pits with the same mechanical issues that plagued Cyclone engineers in the teens. Despite a grand effort and by Creviston and the RS crew, the 1921 season came to a close without a single win. Sadly, the effort that was meant to bolster a struggling company in-turn drained the limited coffers of the Pennsylvania based Reading Standard and by 1922 the company was preparing to close its doors. Creviston went on to pen a contract with Indian, and in February of 1923 it was announced that the Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company had acquired Reading Standard, putting an end to the fourth longest running American motorcycle manufacturer, the prestigious Reading Standard."