Introducing...Dirtbird!

Occasionally in my wanderings, I will meet not just tattooed people, but tattoo practitioners, and often those visiting from outside of New York City.

So it was no surprise, when I approached a gentleman across the street from where I work, at 31st and 7th, to learn that I was talking to an artist.

Working out of Punkteur Tattoos & Piercing in Joplin, Missouri, Derek "Dirtbird" Wieberg estimates he has 130-150 hours of work inked on his personal canvas.

With so much to choose from, he offered up this piece, on the right side of his neck:

It seemed fitting, considering his name.

Dirtbird praised the artist, Rick Pierceall at Karma Tattoo in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has done all of his throat work.

Considering it is Two-for-Tattoosday, I'll share this photo as well:

That's not Dirtbird, but it's his handiwork! The owner of this tattoo is Shawn, who had the good fortune to be inked by Dirtbird. They collaborated on the design together.

Thanks to Dirt Bird and Shawn for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Tune in tomorrow to see a tattoo from Katie, aka Mrs. Dirtbird!

WSBK Imola: Max Biaggi is the 2010 World Superbike Champion

Thanks to the fifth place earned in race 2, Biaggi brought the point gap to 63 points between him and Leon Haslam (Suzuki), who was the last rider in contention for the title (413 to 350). A gap impossible to fill with only the French round at Magny Cours to go until the end of the season. Max Biaggi – with his fifth title after four consecutive world championships, from 1994 to 1997 in the 250 class – is the first Italian World Superbike champion.

In the manufacturer standings Aprilia (433 points) is 41 points ahead of Ducati (392). Nine points will be enough for the Veneto-based team to take the manufacturer championship.

But Imola was not the site of a simple race day: delayed at the start of race 1, Biaggi had to settle for a placement (11th). Race 2 was an entirely different story. Abandoning any use of tactics, Max forced his Aprilia RSV4 into the front positions, battling for the podium right from the first turn. The fifth place he ended up with handed Max the championship title a round early and evoked an explosion of rejoicing from the thousands of fans who had come out to the circuit to cheer on the most famous Corsair in world motorcycle racing.

“This is a grand day – commented an exhausted but happy Biaggi in the end – a day which I have greatly desired. I’ve often felt in past years like I hadn’t been placed in the proper conditions to be able to express my worth and to achieve the results that I know I deserve. This is one of the reasons that, at a certain point in my career, I chose this world, the SBK championship, and this is why I wanted to surround myself with the right people for this adventure – because racing isn’t just about speed, tyres and an engine. It is also about joy and having fun and with these guys, with this team, I feel at home. I want to thank everyone: my team, Aprilia, Piaggio Group, the chairman.

It has not been an easy season. Many riders have won races and if they had been just a bit more consistent, they would have been able to be more troublesome for us. The greatest moments were the double victories at Monza and Misano. It is something very special to win in front of my fans. But it isn’t over yet – there is still one goal left – to ride my RSV4 to the manufacturer title. We’ll talk again in a week and it would be truly fantastic to close out this wonderful season with another championship”.

Roberto Colaninno, chairman and CEO of the Piaggio Group (which Aprilia is part of) was in the pit to experience the triumph of his team and rider and had this to say: “Today we achieved an extraordinary result which takes place in the second year of Aprilia’s participation in World Superbike and, once again, confirms the technical excellence of the Noale Racing Division as well as the Piaggio Group in the two-wheel worldwide scene. It would be impossible to imagine anything better on a day like today. We won the World Superbike Championship on an Italian track, with an Italian bike, an Italian rider and a sponsor – Alitalia – which takes Italy all over the world. This has never before happened in Superbike history and this makes all of us that much more proud”.

aprilia RS 125

Production ran until 2005 and was subsequently dropped Tuono 1999 to 2005 The RS125 Tuono was introduced in 1999 as a semi naked version of the RS125. The most notable features are the angular fairings, two headlight units, digital gauge and multispoke rims. RS125 2006 onwards The RS125 was given completely new fairing styling similar to the RSVR. The lip on the headlight unit is increased in size.

RS125 1999 to 2005 The RS125 is revised again in 1999 with more rounder and bulbous fairings, five spoke rims and a single air duct on the right hand side. A digital gauge is added in place of the temperature gauge. The headlight unit is rounded and the lip is introduced to the top centre. The front air intakes are integrated into the front upper portion of the middle fairing. The RS retains a lot of the appearances of the previous RS but there are some notable differences.

RS125 1996 to 1998 The RS125 is revised and the R suffix is dropped. It has the distinctive features of having an angular tail section and swept front fairing, square cut headlight unit, three spoke rims, air scoops on the upper front middle fairing, Electric starter or kick start on the left hand side and analogue gauges. Aprilia introduced the first RS125 in 1992.

aprilia RS 250

Firstly because they look more stylish secondly they consume Now why replace stock headlights with Xenon Bulbs? According to facts these bulbs give off 30% more light, and consumes 55w and do not emit any more heat than a stock halogen bulb, and amazingly draw less current, saving you energy for the other systems on a bike. Aprilla Xenon headlights would probably be the best motorcycle upgrade you could have as these Xenon bulbs are specifically designed for use with motorcycle plastic lenses, which makes it a safe. Fixing the Aprilla Xenon bulbs require less time, they come with a one year warranty.

The Aprilia bulbs are easy to install and draws less power equivalent to 12v /55w which is much less then 135W by a Halogen headlights and produces 7500K of heat, the color of light it produces is ultra bright white and blue tint. But anyone who would want an effective lighting system for his motorcycle would recommend getting himself an Aprilla Xenon Headlights kit for his bike. These Xenon Headlight bulbs are available in a variety of designs and can produce different amount of lumens, making it easier for the buyer to choose any type of Aprilla Xenon Headlights. .

The Aprilia Xenon headlights are the brightest bulbs because of the usage of xenon gas instead of the old traditional halogen headlights which produces the conventional yellow light used by many bikers in the past years. The Aprilia Xenon headlights are designed for those motorcyclist who love to ride in the pitch dark and wants their headlights to be very bright and stylish and can make their ride easy and fun in any kind of darkness .the motorcycle are the best ever due to their capabilities when it comes to their beaming lights. It was establishment in 1960 and by 1975 they were producing a wide range of motorcycles. Aprilia as a motorcycle factory does not have a very old history, but in a very short time span they have made their mark on the motorcycle industry.

tatto horor

Ride the Cyclone!

In college we had a game room at the Student Union.

I claimed to be a master at Arkanoid, but would occasionally play pinball. Earthshaker was fun, but there was another, carnival-themed game that would often beckon, "Ride the Cyclone!" It was, naturally, called The Cyclone.

Fast forward ten years and I would be residing in Brooklyn, home to Coney Island and the original Cyclone.

Despite having been in close proximity a number of times, I've never gone for a ride.

I was reminded of this back in September when I met Matt at the top of the escalator at the Penn Plaza Borders store.

He shared this amazing tattoo:

This is, of course, the Cyclone.

Matt is working on a Coney Island/"Carnie" theme, having lived in Brooklyn most of his adult life. Thus, the Astroland tower behind the Cyclone in the tattoo. Next up: the Wonder Wheel and the Parachute Jump, other Coney Island attractions.

He sent along a photo of the tattoo when it was initially finished:

Matt credits this tattoo to Ping at Village Rock Tattoo in Manhattan.

Thanks to Matt for sharing this great tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Sexy Wallpaper

Keira Knightley