Hey gang, this weekend we will celebrate our 16^th Anniversary.  It seems like yesterday that I had this crazy idea of opening a motorcycle shop with a bar & grill on the same property.  When I first hatched the idea, I immediately dismissed it as just a dream….& then I thought, “I wish somebody would open a custom motorcycle shop in Dallas & then I got goose bumps & I thought, why can’t that somebody be me?!  Why can’t Rick Fairless be the cat that opens a custom motorcycle shop/beer joint in Dallas, Texas?  Sure, I had worked for Glidden Paint Company for 20 years, but I was eligible for retirement.  So, I threw my entire being into trying to make my dream a reality.  During this long process, I just knew that something would happen to derail my dream from becoming reality, but it didn’t.  Every time I came to a road block, I went around it or over it or right through the dang roadblock.  Fast forward 16 years later & here we are.  What a ride it’s been & I’m just getting started!  Please come join us this weekend as we celebrate with 3 days of BIKES BABES & BEER.

C-Ya, RF 

I have been a Royal Enfield dealer for several years now.  They build a great bike at a great price – about $6,300 or less.  The Royal Enfield’s have retro styling reminiscent of the 1950’s.  They are 500 cc’s & have a top speed of about 85 mph but can cruise at 65 mph.  I sold one earlier this year to a gentleman who flew in from Houston, rode the Royal Enfield back to Houston, then rode it to Vermont & back!  He averaged 80 mpg & had a blast on the bike.  Well, Royal Enfield gave me a bike to customize & customizing it we are!  I’m making a very cool bobber out of it & I am very excited with our progress.  This is really gonna be a swell 500 cc thumper & I look forward to showing it to y’all.  I will unveil it at the International Motorcycle Show here in Dallas on December 2-4, 2011.  We will also develop some parts for the Royal Enfield that will help you customize the bike.  Anyway, next time you’re here, please check out the Royal Enfield’s.  They are swell bikes for just banging around town & they are very fun to ride.  It makes a great starter bike or a great second bike.  Come on in, I’ll show ya what I’m talking about!

RF

Guess what I did for ya’ll?!  I bought a concession trailer, remodeled it & turned it into a mobile tattoo studio.  It cost me a pretty good chunk of dough to remodel this trailer, but it’s worth it & it’s really cool.  The Strokers Ink mobile tattoo studio will be set up in my courtyard every weekend.  This will be cool, because you can now get inked in the courtyard while you are listening to the band & you’ll still be right there in the middle of all the action.  How easy is that?!  Also, people will be able to watch my fine tattoo artists at work.  I’ll still have my regular Strokers Ink tattoo parlor set up in the building where it’s always been, this is just a cool addition to Strokers Ink.  The trailer resides just to the right of the band stage.  So, please come check out my latest “big idea” & let me know what you think.  I have some great tattoo artists & we are ready & able to serve you.

Thanks,

RF

In case you don’t know it, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE VICTORY MOTORCYCLES! I love them so much that I purchased a Victory Cross Country for one of my personal motorcycles.

This Victory will be the bike that I ride when I want to get out & really ride. I am in the process of customizing my Victory Cross Country that I have affectionately named “NATASHA”.

The latest update is, Natasha is in a million pieces, Gary Queen has the paint & it will be a WILD paint job – just like what you’d expect from Rick Fairless.

I had my engraver do some engraving & the chrome shop has a pile of parts. When the bike is completed in a couple of months, I will reveal the paint scheme & the reason I call my Victory Natasha.

She’s gonna be swell.
RF

Well, this week has been a very sad/happy week for me personally & my Strokers Dallas empire as a company. My Marketing/PR gal, Meghan Defreeuw, has left my employ.  I hired Meg 5 years ago straight out of college.  Meg has been a stellar employee for 5 years & I am very sad to lose her.  But, Meg has always wanted to be an event coordinator & more specifically a wedding planner.  So, when Meg was offered a position as the wedding planner for the Fort Worth Club, she took the job.  So, I am sad for us, but extremely excited for Meg.  She is like a daughter to me & I know she will do a great job & make her “Texas Dad” proud!  So, that means I needed a new Marketing/PR gal & I didn’t have to look far.  I transferred my daughter Lena (Bigun) to officially become my Marketing/PR Manager.  Well, Meg trained Lena for 2 weeks & Lena has been on her own for the past week.  I can tell you that Lena is doing a great job & I am very proud of her.  Lena has a lot of personality & works well with people & that is a must in my Strokers Dallas Empire.  She has been here at Strokers Dallas since she was 8 years old & pretty much can work in any department that I need her in.  Lena is also my insurance agent & we sell Dairyland Insurance.  So, if you are in need of the Strokers Dallas marketing department, or you need insurance for your motorcycle, please call or email my daughter Lena.  Her email is lena@strokersdallas.com & our telephone # is 214.357.0707.  So, to Meg & Lena my advice is always the same, “Get up early, work hard all day & good things will happen”!  I love you girls & I am proud of both of you. Now, “Get back to work”!

RF

Hey ya’ll, I am proud to announce to you that on Tuesday, August 9^th 2011, I was inducted into the International Master Bike Builders Association (IMBBA).  This is a very big honor for anyone in my profession. 

The IMBBA is an international community of bike builders & industry professionals.  All of our members have vowed to leave the motorcycle industry better than the way we found it – through education, training & leadership by example.

I am very proud to have been inducted into this fine organization & I will continue to live my life & conduct my business in a way that justifies such an honor.  Please check out their website www.masterbikebuilders.com  I want to thank Jeff Starke for allowing me to be a member of such a fine organization.  I am very proud & humbled!

RF

Hey ya’ll, one of my custom bikes – Bettie, is part of the Art of the Chopper exhibit at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo.  Below is an email I received from a pal who saw the exhibit.  Please, if you love custom motorcycles like I do, go check out the exhibit.  My friend Tom Zimberoff put together a fine display of motorcycles & you will absolutely love it as much as my pal Steve does.  Please read on about Steve’s experience.  Click Here to Visit the Art of the Chopper website

Thanks,

RF

Rick,

I’m a little behind on Dumbass Club videos, but just watched #85 and you asked if any of your listeners had been there……I was there in late July and what a jaw dropping, incredible, emotional, and whatever else exhibit.  My family was board waiting for me to get through, so they took off and did something else.  I met up with them later and told my wife I needed to go back and see it one more time.  The lady working at the entrance remembered me and let me in at no charge.  She was a sweetheart, and you could tell that the people working in and around the exhibit were enjoying themselves. 

It was interesting to see so many bikes that I have read about and/or seen pictures of and, of course, they are so much better in person.  Your bike was definitely one of the best, and I’m not just saying that!  Absolutely stunning!

Steve

I recently returned from Sturgis 2011.  This was my 25^th year in a row to attend the Sturgis Rally.  I absolutely love it up there in them Black Hills. It’s beautiful, peaceful & coming from the always hot in August, Dallas,Texas – it’s much cooler up there! I wouldn’t want to live there year round, but I would love to own some property up there.  As always, Sturgis was packed with every kind of bike you could imagine.  I always enjoy meeting up with old friends like Arlen, Cory & Zach Ness, Eddie Trotta, Dave Perewitz, Don Hotop, Keith Ball & lots of other buddies that I don’t get to see more than a couple of times a year.  Also, most of ya’ll know that I am a proud member of the HAMSTERS USA.  Well this year we raised over $282,000 for the Children’s Care Hospital!  How’s that for a fund raiser?!  Joe T & I played a little golf in the Black Hills & did a lot of riding.  Mainly, I rode Pam & the Tattoo bike.  As always, they draw a crowd wherever they go.  Anyway, Sturgis was awesome & I look forward to attending for many years to come.  Sturgis is the motorcycle Mecca & if you’ve never been…well, ya just gotta go!