We just launched our B.Y.O.B. today! To tell you the truth we did a half launch. The DVD is done and on the website. I hope to have downloads in a few weeks.

Ya see we have a slight problem with the downloads. Disc B that runs about 95 minutes long, when compressed for Windows it is about a Gigabyte in size. Just a huge file. The key in video is bit-rate. The higher the bit-rate the better quality you get hence the files are huge. So now the experiments begin changing the bit rates makes this file how big? The time it takes to compress a file like Disc B is about 4-6 hours. So I compress for 5 hours and then look at the video and how big the file is. Then compress it again at a different bit-rate and compare again.

So my part in B.Y.O.B. is far from over. It took us 3 months to shoot this and then the fun began in post production.

OH well back to work!

Ray

Just putting the finishing tweaks on our build your own bike video. The first disc is about 54 minutes long and is the mock-up stage of building a bike. The second disc is about 94 minutes long and is the final assembly of the bike. Did it (the bike) ever come out fuckin great! I mean it looks bitchin.

Last weekend we were at the L.A. Calender bike show in Long Beach. As I understand one of the largest in So. California. It was great and met a lot of great people. The bike was sitting out in front of our booth and drew a lot of lookers.

Need to get some DVDs cut next week and then get everything loaded on the server.

All of you VIP members will get a special offer right before launch. If you have not signed up do it now!

Ray

Tonight? Ah last night we finished shooting B.Y.O.B. . I can’t believe my eyes. This was the video we were going to start the company with 18 months ago.

It’s in the can now and I have a lot of work to do to get it out in the next two weeks. Keep your eyes peeled and to get a special deal sign up as a VIP.

Ray

Still in production on B.Y.O.B. and we have had a few interruptions. We had our first what I would call trade show this weekend up at Big Bear lake. Put on by Big Bear Chopper “Ride The Mountain”. It gave us a chance to set up a booth and check it out.

Thank you to our customers who stopped by to say hi and it was great to put a face to some of our customers. I was very impressed with how well organized the event was and what a great job the Big Bear Chopper staff had it together.

Tuesday night we go back to that little two car garage and start shooting again. As it happens, we are running behind schedule and it has gotten hot. So we shoot for a few minutes then shut off the 2,000 watts of lights and go inside to cool off and come back out and shoot again. We do this because we want this stuff to be the same as you would have it at your garage.

We hope to have this video on the market by the end of June. We are going to have a booth at the L.A. Calendar Custom Bike show in Long Beach the second weekend in July. So if you attend swing by and check us out.

Ray

Two nights of shooting on our Build Your Own Bike (BYOB) Disc 2 assembly DVD as of today. We have all the painted parts back and we are shooting the assembly video. Michael has many tips along the way for kit builders and parts builders. One of the tips is to tap all threads even on kit bikes. Another is grinding the paint off the motor mounts for good grounding contact.

I can hardly wait for electrical. Michael is going to dive into theory and troubleshooting. The extent of electrical coverage should be worth the price of the DVD alone!

 Ray

Cool, we are almost ready to start shooting the rest of B.Y.O.B. We will end up with a 2 Disc set. Disc A will be mock-up for someone that is building a bike from parts. I have been busy building that DVD while we wait to shoot Disc B which is assembly which is great for the kit builder too!

Michael tells me he will pull all the stops out on the disc B to explain that phantom subject……..electrical! I guess a lot of people freak out trying to figure out electrical.

We are doing our first show June 7th & 8th “Ride The Mountain” up at Big Bear Lake put on by Big Bear Chopper. So if your in the area stop on by and say ………….We will leave that up to you.

 Ray

My painter has been insanely booked up trying to get all his projects done for the Laughlin River run. I will be dropping our frame and sheet metal off to him tomorrow. With this extra down time it gave me time to walk by some of the parts I have made and caused me to re-style them, like our handle bars.
I find the more time you spend looking at your bike and thinking about it, the better it will come out. It also helps if you take your time. I have had bikes that I put together in a week and others I have but together in 2 years. It all depends on your personal time schedule and how unique you want to make it.
One thing you can expect to do is try new things and fail. This is part of the creative process. If no one did this we would all be riding the same lame ass bike. For example on this project I was dead set on making mid-controls. I spent about 10 hours making a set and then decided they felt like shit and threw them away. I was pissed but I wasn’t going to use something just because I put a lot of time into it.

MD

Yes, Yes what a day. We just launched 4 more of our Hog Bites (short videos) and the big surprise I have mentioned is now ALL of our Hog Bites are available on a custom-burn DVD complete with menu and chapter jumps inside the Hog Bites.

So you don’t have a Laptop or handheld device you can still take your Hog Bites to the garage. Slap them in your old DVD player or that portable you toss at the kids on a long car trip. Don’t have a DVD player in the garage? Rather than buying a Laptop you can buy portable DVD players for as little as $90.00. 

You can have up to 3 Hog Bites per DVD. Time to save lots of money and start doing some of this stuff yourself. Hey riding season is here in most parts, and money is tight, perhaps you will start riding your bike to work and save on gas if you still have a job. Hey why give up your joy? Save mucho big on labor.

Now this project has been launched we are waiting for Michael’s project bike to get done at the painter so we can finish B.Y.O.B. I want that out at the beginning of June!

Da Big Boss Ray 

We are currently halfway through our B.Y.O.B. shoot. It is looking very good and Michael in giving some very good advice. Things that a lot of people would not even think about.

Looks like two to three DVDs but we shall see. The audience for this video is the kit in a box builder or the person that wants to pick and choose their parts from several vendors.

We are done with the mock up stage. This is for the person that wants to pick and choose their parts. Some very critical decisions have to be made and if you don’t do a mock up, I can guarantee you will have to weld, grind, or mess up your paint job.

We are now going to wait and see how long the painter takes to turn this baby around so we can start final assembly. 

One thing I have been bugging Michael about (and I do bug him big-time) is electrical. I have heard that is a stumbling block for many people. That is a very good reason everyone that works on their own bike must have this DVD.

For myself I am taking this week (as the bike gets painted) and locking my office door to complete my “surprise” that I mentioned on this blog. The surprise will be launched before the end of April. Our VIP members will get a sneak peak first.

So if you visit our site and have not signed up as a VIP please do so.

Ray 

That’s what we have been up to the last few days. Our B.Y.O.B. (build your own bike) video is coming along very well. For myself, after waiting for so long, I am thrilled at the job Michael is doing in his presentation.

There are a few of us on the production crew that are not wrench twisters. Our policy on the set is “speak up” if you don’t understand what is going on then lets change it so you do.

The weather out here in the desert is changing. We are heading into summer. Inside the garage, it is a little on the hot side with all the lights blazing. It is funny because from our traffic on the website we can tell most people are itching for spring and breaking out their ride.

We have just the products to show you what you need to do for service or customize for the up coming riding season.

Ray