Cycle Connections

Scott Wilson is the owner of our October 2011 cover bike. His 2005 Wild West Dragoon was selected as the winning bike at our Cover Bike Search at The Jobsite Bar in Olathe, Kansas. Scott is from Grandview, Missouri, and we had the opportunity to gather more information about him and his 2005 Wild West Dragoon. We photographed cover model search winner Amy, on his bike for this month’s cover. CC: Scott, what is your occupation?Scott: I’m a plumber with The Plumbing Pros. Give us a call!CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Scott: Yes, I belong to the Duck…

Our September 2011 cover bike is owned by Brian Arroyo. His 2007 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy was selected as the winning bike at our Cover Bike Search at Open Road Bar & Grill in Grandview, Missouri. Brian is from Kansas City, Missouri, and we had the opportunity to gather more information about him and his 2007 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy for this month's issue. We shot cover model search winner Jennifer on Brian's bike for this month cover.CC: Brian, what is your occupation?Brian: I’m a realtor.CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Brian: Yes, I also like guns, and enjoy hunting, fishing…

Our August 2011 cover bike is owned by Steve Courtwright. His 2001 Panzer Premier was selected as the winning bike at our cover bike search, which took place at Russo’s Pizza in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Steve is from Independence, Missouri, and we had the opportunity to gather more information about him and his 2001 Panzer Premier for this month's issue. We shot cover model search winner Ashley, on Steve's bike for this month cover. CC: Steve, what is your occupation?Steve: I’m a driver for UPS.CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Steve: Yes, I also enjoy spending time with my…

Our July 2011 cover bike is owned by John Kevin Neal Sr. from Kansas City, Missouri. A few weeks ago, fellow Cycle Connections team member Wally LaFond attended the Ducati Diavel Launch Party at Reno’s Powersports in Kansas City, Missouri and told me about this hot new Ducati he thought would make a good cover bike. After looking at his photos and doing a bit of research, I totally agreed.As it turned out, this bike was purchased by John Kevin Neal Sr. who Wally knows personally, so I contacted John, and he was more than happy to ride his bike…

Our June 2011 cover bike is owned by Steven Smith from Kansas City, Missouri, which he has affectionately nicknamed the Impaler…for obvious reasons. Steven's 2006 American Ironhorse Texas Chopper earned this month's cover by taking first place at our Cycle Connections Cover Bike Search on Thursday, May 12, 2011 at Harleys & Horses Grill, Stage & Saloon in Kansas City, Missouri. I also had the opportunity to interview Steven for this month's issue, to find out more about the man behind the machine. CC: Steven, what is your occupation?Steven: I work in the automotive industry.CC: Do you have hobbies other…

Our May 2011 cover bike is owned by Jason Williamson from Lee’s Summit, Missouri. A few weeks ago, Chris Cofield with CC Custom Graphics called to tell me he had just finished painting a beautiful Street Glide that I may be interested in shooting for our cover. As it turned out, the bike was owned by Jason Williamson with Worth Harley-Davidson. I contacted Jason, and he was more than happy to ride his bike out to our photo shoot. During our shoot I took the opportunity to ask Jason a few questions for his bio in this month’s issue. CC:…

Our April 2011 cover bike is owned by Don Toomay from Shawnee, Kansas. Don’s bike took 1st place in the Big Twin Radical Rigid class at this year’s 2011 All American Motorcycle Show at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. From the moment Stripe and I saw this beautiful bike, we knew we had to shoot it for an upcoming cover. During our photo shoot I took the opportunity to ask Don a few questions for his bio in this month’s issue. CC: Don, what is your occupation?Don: I’m an iron worker.CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Don: Nope,…

Our March 2011 cover bike is owned by Dr. Lonnie Blum from Holden, Missouri. Lonnie is not only one of our preeminent photojournalists; he also owns one of the nicest Sportsters in the Kansas City area, which was proven on February 13 during the awards presentation at the 2011 All American Motorcycle Show in which his bike took 1st place in the Sportster Street class. During our photo shoot I took the opportunity to ask Lonnie a few questions for his bio in this month’s issue. CC: Lonnie, what is your occupation?Lonnie: I’m a veterinarian.CC: Do you have hobbies other…

Our February 2011 cover bike is owned by Dave Kirkland from Blue Springs, Missouri. I’ve wanted to shoot this bike since the first time I saw it at the 2010 World of Wheels in Kansas City, Missouri. I love custom bikes that have all the right components and aren’t cluttered with unnecessary parts and accessories that have no place on a show bike of this caliber. The pure elegance and clean styling of this bike makes it an eye-catching piece of artwork. During our photo shoot I asked Dave if I could interview him for this month's issue, to which…

Our December 2010 cover bike is owned by Jack Hartman from Kansas City, Missouri. Jack’s 2005 Custom Harley-Davidson Road King earned a spot on this month's cover by taking first place at our Cycle Connections Cover Bike Search on Thursday, July 22 at the Brass Rail in Kansas City, Missouri. During our photo shoot I asked Jack if I could interview him for this month's issue, to which he agreed. CC: Jack, what is your occupation?Jack: I’m a computer programmer.CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Jack: Yes, I also enjoy poker, bowling, golf, and anything with tires on it.…

Our November 2010 cover bike is owned by Tim Atkinson from Pleasant Hill, Missouri. Tim's 1989 Custom Harley-Davidson FXR Chopper earned a spot on this month's cover by taking first place at our Cycle Connections Cover Bike Search on Saturday, September 25 at the Grand River Autumn Rally in Urich, Missouri. During our photo shoot I asked Tim if I could interview him for this month's issue, to which he agreed. CC: Tim, what is your occupation?Tim: I do remodeling work.CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Tim: I also enjoy attending rallies. CC: Why do you ride?Tim: I ride…

Our October 2010 cover bike is owned by Bill Miller from Kansas City, Missouri. I was introduced to Bill and his eye-catching 2005 American Ironhorse Texas Chopper by Michael Blomberg, one of our studio photographers. I've always loved the long and sleek lines of the Texas Choppers, and I thought the Atomic Green color really popped. Therefore, we decided to feature Bill's bike on this month's cover. During our photo shoot I asked Bill if I could interview him for this month's issue, to which he happily agreed. CC: Bill, what is your occupation?Bill: I'm the Sales & Operations Vice…

Our September 2010 cover bike is owned by Jimmy Fletcher from Grandview, Missouri. Jimmy's 2005 Custom Harley-Davidson Sportster earned this month's cover by taking first place at our Cycle Connections Cover Bike Search on Saturday, June 19, at the Grand River Summer Rally in Urich, Missouri. During our photo shoot I asked Jimmy if I could interview him for this month's issue, to which he agreed. CC: Jimmy, what is your occupation?Jimmy: I own my own HVAC company.CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Jimmy: Yes, I also enjoy fishing. CC: Why do you ride?Jimmy: Because of the people I…

Our August 2010 cover bike is owned by Steve Bogue from Independence, Missouri. Steve's 2007 Harley-Davidson Softail Custom earned this month's cover by taking first place at our Cycle Connections Cover Bike Search on Thursday, June 3, at Harley's & Horses Bar & Grill in Kansas City, Missouri. During our photo shoot I asked Steve if I could also interview him for this month's issue and he was more than happy to agree. CC: Steve, what is your occupation?Steve: I’m in construction.CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Steve: Yes, I like guns, target practice, grilling, hanging with family and…

Our July 2010 cover bike is owned by Cindy Kelly from Kansas City, Missouri. Cindy's 2007 Big Bear Sled ProStreet Chopper earned this month's cover by taking first place at our Cycle Connections Cover Bike Search on Thursday, May 13, at FUEL American Made Bar & Grill in Overland Park, Kansas. During our photo shoot I asked Cindy if I could also interview her for this month's issue and she was more than happy to agree to my request. CC: Cindy, what is your occupation?Cindy: I’m in sales.CC: Do you have hobbies other than motorcycling?Cindy: Yes. In the winter I…

Our June 2010 cover bike is owned by Rod Mansaw from Kansas City, Missouri. Rod is a professional drag racer and the owner of Mansaw Racing. Rod was the 2009 PMRA Funny Bike Champion and recently made some engine and body upgrades and had his bike repainted by the talented custom bike painter and airbrush artist Chris Cofield of CC Custom Graphics. Chris contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if we could get Rod's bike into our studio for a photo shoot with the new paint job before his first race. We were excited to put together a…

The Cycle Connections April cover bike, Rain Maker, is an example of the amazing talent of builder Larry Moore of Moore Customs. I had a chance to interview Larry at Kansas City’s All American Motorcycle Show at World of Wheels.CC: How long have you been in the bike building business?Larry: We’ve been building for a few years now. I started out just restoring and refurbishing bikes of my own and then built our first ground-up in 2003. We’ve had a great response to our “Bad Influence” bike that won Best in Show here at the All American Show last year.…

Dale Minton of Kansas City, Missouri is the builder of the Aces and Eights bike on this month's cover. As you can see, Dale is a very talented builder and painter, and we asked him for an interview so we could share some of his personal information with our readers. CC: Dale, do you have an occupation aside from being a custom bike builder?Dale: Yes, I'm also a fire fighter captain.CC: Do you have any hobbies other than motorcycling?Dale: Yes, I also enjoy drag racing, horses and leather working. CC: Why do you ride?Dale: You never see a motorcycle outside…

Jim and Joan Vander Vandergriff own the Circle V Garage in Linwood, Kansas and are one of the largest collectors of vintage motorcycles in the Kansas City area. They own more than 40 motorcycles ranging from 1917-2005 and were kind enough to let us photograph their 1939 AJS Model 39/26 for our July 2009 issue. Joan also agreed to the following interview. CC: What are your occupations?Joan: We own a retail catalog sales business. Jim is also a former potter and three-dimensional art teacher and I was a writer/editor and taught at UMKC.CC: Do you guys have any hobbies other…

Our May 2009 cover features professional stunt rider Bill Dixon (Bill D), his fiancée and tandem stunt riding partner Destiny, and the new 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 Stunt Bike that Bill recently received from his new sponsor Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A. Bill and Destiny, from Orlando, Florida, are the reigning undefeated Tandem Stunt Team Champions for three years running and will be staring in the upcoming sportbike stunt series Stunts 101. Stunts 101 - The Series will take you deep into the lives of Bill and Destiny...the ups, the downs, the trials and tribulations of bringing the stunt world to the…