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A nameless Mexican, etching away at her skin. Flakes of silvery blood floating down onto concrete, waiting for the wispy sweep of a tattered shop broom. Her name, Bloody Mary. A drink? A beautiful girl? A masterpiece balanced on two disks of rubber and metal? At first glance, she’ll smile. A second take pulls you in, and before you know it, you want to throw your leg over, slide on top of her, and feel what’s she’s got to give. Don’t jump to conclusions. This ain’t no free ride. Whether you want to drink her in or take her for a spin, it’ll be a stroke of creativity you won’t soon forget.

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Sometimes we get a letter from readers demanding to know what the heck music reviews are doing in a magazine about motorcycles. They cite the fact that Rolling Stone doesn’t do road tests of bikes (despite a preponderance of motorcycle ads) and that music reviews are best left to, uh, so-called experts.

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No one’s ever going to accuse Roger Vaughn of subtlety. He’s way too dynamic for that. Even when I interviewed him over the phone about this ’02 Road King, his voice practically crackled with energy as he described the hows and whys of taking a bike some riders would consider ready for retirement age and evolving it into a show-conquering custom beauty.

Unless we’re talking about the designers of one of those over-the-top all-chrome-everywhere bikes, even the most chrome-wacky designer will offer a bit of contrast to make the shiny parts pop. When I first laid eyes on this Bruce Glasper creation and its name (Bling Bling) I had to crack a smile.

Gassed up, toolkit packed, cell phone charged, and crew in formation. Destination—Sturgis, South Dakota, home of the of the biggest, baddest bike rally in the world. Starting point: West Allis, Wisconsin, and if you’re a local, it’s just ‘Stallis; left side of Milwaukee with a population of 61K. And another home of the biggest—the biggest goddamn state fair in the country where nothing can’t be skewered, battered, and deep fried. A scant 13 miles from a little motorsickle company called Harley-Davidson and where one Dennis Bublitz resides. Wisconsin native and lover of anything with two wheels, this homosapien has evolved from crotch rocket to road sofa with pride.

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Detroit Rock City? Kiss isn’t even from D-town, yet they named a song after the cesspool. Why? Because Detroit is hardcore. Anyone who lives in Detroit proper has skin as thick as John Holmes.

Let’s all celebrate that the winter doldrums are (nearly) over and we can once again peel off those layers of extra padding and expose ourselves to the two best things about riding motorcycles: the sun and a warm breeze. With the smell of 20w-50 wafting up from our engines, all we need now is an open highway and some warm weather tuneage—a little background music to make the miles even more fun. Where else but on a bike can we unleash ourselves from our cages and experience the personal relaxation that comes from…loud noise? Our brethren in cars may look at us funny when we come roaring by, stymied by the fact one can derive so much pleasure from so much cacophony. If they don’t ride motorcycles, they just don’t get it. What’s noise to some is pure enjoyment to others. To which we say, in borrowing a phrase from the band Slade, c’mon feel the noise…

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Darin and Dawn Hildreth bought this used 05 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe from a local Harley dealership in Denver back in ’07. Darin really liked the way the H-D Softails ride and feel but even more it was the way the frame looks like a ridged. It was set in stone the day Darin saw the black and white stock color combo on this ’05 that he was really taken in by the distinctive look. Here was a guy who just found what he was looking for, to him the perfect bike, a one-of-a- kind. Sadly the uniqueness of this bike only lasted about two days when Darin rode out to the local watering hole and very proud of his new ride. As he pulled into a parking spot and dropped the kickstand to the concrete he looked across the parking lot only to see what he called a mirror image of the bike he was sitting on. It was the same bike, same year, and same colors. Then if that was not bad enough as he was walking into the place he seen two more just like his. As Darin was sitting there all he could think about was how was he going to make his bike truly unique something to set his bike apart from everyone else’s bike. He did find some comfort in knowing that at lease he had a popular model of H-D but to find three in one day was deeply disappointing.

In late 2004, Diane and Terry Conroy were living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and ordered an ’05 H-D Ultra Classic dressed in Black Cherry Pearl/Black Pearl. No sooner did the bike arrive and before Terry could even break it in, that his job moved the couple to Wichita, Kansas. Once in Wichita, Terry’s friend Herb had a WWII pin-up girl airbrushed on the tank of his Road King and it got Terry interested in some custom work for his new Ultra. Terry was introduced to Jason Jewett the artist and owner of Redhouse Custom Paint in Derby.

So I got a phone call one day asking me if Gold Toof (Baggers March ’10) was for sale. Actually the bike wasn’t for sale, but as we all know everything is for sale if the price is right. After several phone calls and emails, a deal was struck. The new owner would get Gold Toof and I would take his limited edition ’09 CVO Road Glide on trade plus some grip. Unfortunately by the time I actually got my hands on the new RG, I only had about 2 weeks until I was off to Sturgis. So after the deal was finalized, I went to work on getting parts ordered for the new build. I decided that because I already had the Screamin’ Eagle/CVO platform, which is Harley’s top-of-the-line model, I wanted to customize something that would stand out in a crowd at the top of the food chainwith big horsepower, a big wheel, and of course sick-ass bodywork to complement the rest of the package. So on a short deadline, I went to work on the parts, I called up my buddy John Shope at Sinister Industries, and told him what I was doing and put the order in for some tight body parts. I also got on the phone with Walt Sipp at ProCharger to talk about bolt-on horsepower for the stock 110ci powerplant.

You’ve probably met or know someone like Chris Wootton. He’s the guy that has a need for speed along with, if some is good, more is better, and too much is never enough. Chris can’t leave any of his vehicles alone, such as his ’67 RS/SS 454 Camaro, complete with nitrous and tire-ripping power and a Kirk Taylor custom flame paintjob. Or the 124ci pro-street FXR that Kirk is turning into a drag bike. Chris even had his PT Cruiser painted with a custom flamejob.

By the time this month’s issue hits newsstands and mailboxes, spring will be under way. This usually signals a time to change fluids, plugs, etc., and get things ready for the coming months of warm weather riding. One area not to be overlooked is your bike’s sound system. A simple speaker or amp upgrade goes a long way towards dialing up a few more degrees of pleasure from one’s bike. Now’s the time to blow the dust out of the speakers, banish those rattles and fix that unwanted hum. The added demands of satellite radio and iPod/MP3 adaptors also require a check of the wiring to eliminate electronic bugaboos that usually seem to manifest themselves a few hundreds miles from home. No, a blown speaker or fuse won’t leave you stranded by the side of the road, but it can be a major irritant during longer trips. One minute you’re cruising along listening to (fill in the blank) and the next you’ve lost a whole channel.

AnaLisa Cole taking a break on "Bullet," Alan Gregory's supercharged Road Glide during a hot Texas photoshoot.