a reason to ride

to be made for my purposes. After contacting them about their stock, I was able to get the information for the actual owner/operator in the Dallas, Tx area. With an upcoming previously scheduled trip to Dallas for pleasure, I chose to turn it into a working trip.

Rickey Graffeo of Graffeo Original Exhaust Systems welcomed me to tour his small shop where he creates, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pieces of art you could hang off the side of your motorcycle. They are hand-shaped, tig-welded, stainless masterpieces with dyno-proven numbers we all want on our performance baggers. Rickey and his son Rick Graffeo are the real deal, small, independent style shops I love to do business with. Spending about an hour with the boys, I heard a bit about him and how he ended up coming out of retirement to produce these functioning pieces of art about four years ago.

At age 11, Rickey started working for his uncle in New Orleans, LA, in the HVAC industry. As Rickey was talking about those days, I could tell they had a special bond. After 13 years of doing HVAC, Rickey decided he didn’t want to be in that field but had always had a passion for welding. For Rickey’s birthday that year, his uncle gave him a welding machine, helmet, and gloves and said, “get to learning.” For the next 45 years, Rickey had a great career as a cryogenic tig-welder and earned the nickname “Golden Hands Graffeo” after his uncle said, “Rickey, I’ve never seen someone who works like you. You’ve got golden hands. Don’t ever mess them hands up”.

Also, while visiting with Graffeo’s, as you’d expect in the motorcycle game, we found we had quite a bit in common, including being gun-toting rednecks. Rickey showed a few cool pieces in his collection, one being a CZ Shadow 2. He said, and I quote, side covers, and cases, Graffeo and I discussed design and measurements to solve the problem of not having an exhaust to work with my setup. As I explained to Rickey, I didn’t have the time to order and keep trying exhaust systems until I found “the one.” With Rickey’s long-time knowledge and expertise, he created the Graffeo Original Exhaust – NSC Pipe (Nothing Stock Cam). For you performance bagger guys and gals running mid controls, this pipe was designed and created to fit perfectly, looks amazing, and puts down the dyno numbers. No more questioning fitment. You can call Graffeo directly and get your “NSC” Pipe ordered today. Before I close this one out, I want to give a special shout-out to a few guys. James Melton, Jason Kenny, and Jon Luft. These 3 have been called upon for help on numerous occasions. They will show at a moment’s notice and always help me get whatever done with my bikes that needs to get done. Good friends are hard to find. Thanks, boys. If you have a small business (motorcyclerelated) or know someone that does, feel free to reach out to me. (NothingStockCam@ gmail.com) I’d love to get to know you and your products and maybe write about you also. Small business owners are a key element to the American Dream, and somewhere along the way, people have forgotten that. “Oh, I can get that cheaper from China.” The old saying is, “you get what you pay for.” Save a little more to spend on parts made here in America. In the long run, you’ll be glad you did. Stock Sucks...

the V-Twin Visionary Smoky Mountain Tour has become one of the fastestgrowing motorcycle events in the past three years. If you have not yet attended or just looking for a reason to make your way over to Eastern Tennessee, then you need to put this four-day event on your list. The VTV Smoky Mountain Tour is not a show that focuses primarily on standing around at a bike show. In fact, one of the reasons the location at the Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson in Maryville, TN was chosen, is due to the beautiful range of roads and riding right in their backyard. The name says it all, this is, in fact, a “Tour,” which is heavily focused on riding, all while seeing some of the top performance motorcycles and newly innovated parts and builds being put to the ultimate test.

Tennessee boasts some of the most beautiful riding in the country. Each year, the VTV Tour provides organized group rides if you are not familiar with the area. You can meet a ton of new people who share the same passion for motorcycles and experience breathtaking scenery on roads such as The Tail of the Dragon and Foothills Parkway, to name a few. The choice is yours,

if you want to ride in an organized tour or go off exploring with your friends, there’s a wide array of road types to be chosen from; whether you want to rip hard in the curves or go for a leisurely sweeping ride, the tour offers something for everyone.

Once you’re done with a great ride, head back to the event for some real deal BBQ straight out of the smoker and cold beers from The Shed Juke Joint, all held right on sight at the dealership! Check out all the vendors with great apparel, top performance parts, and all the latest and greatest gear. Don’t forget to check out the bike shows that take place each day, talk to the builders and meet new folks from far and wide!

There are a variety of motorcycle shows held. Each day brings a new type of show with an array of bikes. The shows include “Ride In” shows, where anyone can enter their bike. This year, people rode from across the country and entered the exact bikes they rode in on! Other shows, such as the Invited Builders Show, present some of the industry’s topnotch builds, boasting some of the newest performance parts and designs! Some of this year’s builders were, Boosted Brad’s Death Metal Racing, Lefever’s Cycles, Blue Ribbon Cycles, Danny “Motorwitch” Wilson, and Denton Designs to name just a few.

If that’s not enough, watch or participate in head-to-head drag races and put your bike to the ultimate test! Watch the builders race the bikes they built down the track and compete on the dyno machine to see who takes

home the cash prizes! Each night wraps up with some amazing live Southern rock bands, and the bar keeps you far from thirsty!

If you love riding, top-notch performance motorcycles, and killer music, this is a must to put on your calendar for next year, October 6-10th , 2022. There are also VIP packages available!

To learn more, check out @ vtwinvisionary on Instagram and view the website at www.vtwinvisionary. com