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Art Of Our Culture

Killin’ Time: On The Road With X

Article By: Xavier Muriel

Originally Published In The April 2018 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

Hola Amigos!!!!! Hoping this finds all of ya’ll well and looking forward to another riding season. I’m not sure which is worse being on the East Coast and knowing that it’s going to be awhile or living in central Texas and being teased with one day of 65° weather and then rain and cold for the next few weeks. I guess, either way; it just allows more time to tinker on things… Speaking of tinkering on things, I was in Dallas this past weekend at my first IMS (Progressive International Motorcycle Show). Man, what an experience. An entire pavilion set up with everything motorcycle related that you could think of. All the major manufacturers were present from import to American. Hell, they even had a Freestyle stunt team that performed inside, yeah it was a big place. One of the features they offered this year, and the main reason for my attendance was Grease & Gears Garage on the main stage. I was honored once again to be invited to do a live demonstration. I had done this once before in Sturgis last year when I installed a Baker tranny into Patience, and Article By: Xavier Muriel that was an absolute blast. I hadn’t realized how much I enjoyed passing on knowledge. The set up for this tour of Grease & Gears Garage was even better than the last; it boasted a huge stage, they had expanding their tool/equipment inventory and the best part, was the bunch of characters I shared the stage with.

I did a demo along with South Dakota Joe Mielke (IG sodakbigjoe) on the many uses of Certi Flat weld tables (WeldTable.com) and was thrilled Big Joe was on hand, if there’s one other person than Dave Lago the owner of Certi Flat who knows the ins and outs of this table it’s Joe. Together, along with Chris, Mark, and emcee Pat Jensen we talked about the uses and various options that the Certi Flat offers as well as the price ranges and levels they’re designed for. Now, having just assembled mine a week earlier I was excited to see what this thing could do. Man, I wasn’t disappointed in the least, as a matter of fact, I couldn’t wait to get home to start tinkering with mine. There’s some magic that happens when you mic up a bunch of grease monkeys, and you put them on a stage with tools and a live audience, not to mention the tens of thousands that watch the feed live on Facebook. Anything can happen and usually does. It’s always a humbling experience to be working side by side with some of the best in this industry. I can honestly say that every time I get the opportunity to do something like that I always walk away with more knowledge than I started with.

Hopefully, it’s the same with the audience but this I know to be true, the laughter that I heard when we were doing our thing tells me that not only were I and my colleagues having a blast but so was the people watching. I mean, where else can you go to see live demonstration that maybe otherwise we would never be exposed to unless we paid to attend a school or specialty class. Professionals who have labored for years on perfecting their abilities who show you how it’s done for free, I’d say that’s a hell of Bargain!!! Once again, I was amazed at the comradery that everyone showed the entire weekend, no egos or attitudes, just a bunch of different people who love motorcycles and the culture that surrounds them. I’d like to think that were all part of a community that helps instead of hinders this culture that is so important to us. If you didn’t get a chance to attend the show when it was near you this time, don’t fret it will be back and I highly suggest you check it out. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Myself and the guys that share the stage with me would like to give a huge thank you to Dave at Certi Flat Weld Tables for taking such great care of the Grease & Gears Garage stage. Get ready for a little shameless promo on one of my buddies…thank you to Josh Mc Elhannon at Greezmunky (IG greezmunky) for hooking me up with a pair of custom riding gloves for this season, they’re bitchin’, so be sure to check him out to get yours! Until next time my Amigos, be kind to one another and ride safe. God Bless. X.

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