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Matt Anderson's 1982 Harley-Davidson® FXRS custom is long, low, and unconventional

When the custom FXRS named ‘Hot Rod FXR’ rolled onto the red carpet of the Minneapolis, Minnesota staging of the Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS), something was clearly different than the other congregated custom Harleys.

Here at K&N, we love different. That’s why we sponsor three of the coolest classes at each stop of the J&P Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show. Anderson's custom won the K&N-sponsored Modified Retro Class in the third stop of the IMS.

Anderson's unique engine configuration makes for a smooth exhaust design

The reversed V-twin puts the intake on the left side where a side draft Weber carburetor sits aggressive and prominently in its unconventional location. Of course, if the intake is reversed, the exhaust must be unconventional as well. The front header emanates from the rear of the jug for a clean, if a bit unsettling look.

More stops of the J&P Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show and IMS will commence in 2018

The frame is long and low and the aggressively raked forks emerge from a retro half fairing. The foot controls are mounted in an extreme forward position creating a classic chopper riding posture.

The Gilby’s Street Dept. custom makes unconventional ultra-cool. K&N congratulates Matt Anderson on a head-turning build. For his efforts, Anderson rolls away with a cash prize and a substantial K&N product award.

After a long break for the holidays, the Progressive International Motorcycle Show and the J&P Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show will resume in the new year with stops in Cleveland, Dallas, Chicago, and Washington D.C.

A K&N cabin air filter captures dust, pollen, spores, and other allergens before they reach you

But there are times when open air motoring isn’t entirely pleasant, and we don’t mean during a rain storm. Regardless of whether you own a 2005 – 2018 Corvette convertible or coupe, whether the top is down or just the windows, unseen invaders are grabbing a ride in your car and they can make your trip miserable. Dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, and other allergens are entering the cockpit.

You can roll-up the windows and receive protection inside the closed cockpit by virtue of the fact that your Corvette is equipped with a cabin air filter. A cabin air filter is the first line of defense for what you breathe. Since it’s a filter, it’s an item that requires maintenance. You will find the recommended replacement interval in your factory owner’s manual, but there are a number of conditions that could shorten those intervals.

For example, if you drive in an area with sand or dust in the air, you might find that these particulates have collected on your filter and have reduced air flow through your HVAC system so that even when you turn the A/C to high you get more noise than cold air. Another is persistent bad odors that come from bacteria or mold growing on the filter in cars in operated in damp climates.

There is an option to replacing your disposable cabin air filter that will just end up in a landfill. K&N cabin air filters are the first of their kind designed to replace your vehicle's stock cabin air filter with a washable and reusable upgrade that cleans and freshens incoming air.

K&N cabin air filters are electrostatically-charged to grab and hold bothersome contaminants

K&N cabin air filters are easy to replace your Corvette's cabin air filter. Replacing the cabin air filter is a quick operation - it is as simple as exchanging the old, dirty filter for a new one. The housing for the filter is located under the hood, and the filter is accessed by removing a few clips.

A detailed installation instruction sheet is provided on the VF3018 product web page for the installation of the VF3018 cabin air filter in 2005-2018 Corvette coupes and convertibles. K&N cabin air filters are designed to fit your Corvette perfectly and seal tightly, thanks to the precision-engineered frame. In addition, each filter comes pre-treated and is ready to install straight out of the box. Besides the Corvettes already listed, the VF3018 also fits 2005-2009 Cadillac XLR, which was based on the Corvette C5.

The only maintenance required for a K&N cabin air filter is a service you can do yourself in no time at all. At intervals of 50,000 miles, using a K&N 99-6000 cabin air filter cleaning kit, you can easily renew and re-oil your air filter, which brings it back to brand-new condition and ready to protect your car’s cabin for another 50,000 miles.

Installtion is simple: open the hood, remove a few clips, and swap out cabin air filters

The K&N VF3018 is designed to fit the following vehicles:

2018 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2017 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2015 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2014 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2013 CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2013 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 7.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2013 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2012 CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2012 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 7.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2012 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2011 CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2011 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 7.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2011 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2010 CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2010 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 7.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2010 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2009 CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2009 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 7.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2009 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2009 CADILLAC XLR 4.6L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2009 CADILLAC XLR 4.4L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2008 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 7.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2008 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.2L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2008 CADILLAC XLR 4.6L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2008 CADILLAC XLR 4.4L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2007 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 7.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2007 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2007 CADILLAC XLR 4.6L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2007 CADILLAC XLR 4.4L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2006 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 7.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2006 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2006 CADILLAC XLR 4.6L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2005 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 6.0L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models
2005 CADILLAC XLR 4.6L V8 Fuel Injection - All Models

Buddy Stubbs with his Harley from the movie Electra Glide in Blue

Stubbs also worked as a Hollywood stuntman for over a decade. He performed some of the most notable riding stunts in the cult classic 1973 movie Electra Glide in Blue, which starred Robert Blake.

Now, Stubbs is one of the most successful Harley-Davidson dealers in the nation. Stubbs gives back to the motorcycling community with his admission-free motorcycle museum in Cave Creek, Arizona. K&N recently visited the beautiful facility and we found a treasure-trove of rare and vintage motorcycles.

Rows of vintage treasures inhabit the Buddy Stubbs Motorcycle Museum

The minute you enter the 3000 square foot, bi-level museum, the walk through two-wheeled history begins. The clean, industrial ambiance will appeal to gear-heads and motorcycle lovers.

The facility is packed with over 130 rare motorcycles from 37 different manufacturers. Around a dozen countries are represented in the various marquees. Many of the brands and even some of the countries (like East Germany and Czechoslovakia) are no longer with us.

Every corner of the museum is packed with rare motorcycles from around the world

The motorcycles are perfectly detailed and the display is flanked with incredible memorabilia on every wall. It is truly a first-class motorcycle museum in every way. Buddy Stubbs’ love of the mode of transportation and the sport that has defined his life is evident in every detail.

It should not surprise anyone that K&N filters are well represented on many of the historic motorcycles – especially the very cool vintage race machines. Here is a look at some of the moto-treasures found in the Buddy Stubbs Motorcycle Museum.

Stubbs rode this K&N-filtered vintage Harley in the opening ceremony of the 2017 Arizona Mile

Evel Knievel built this exact replica after his infamous Caesar's Palace Fountain Jump

The oldest bike in the Stubbs collection is this 1913 Indian

Both of these 1970s-era Jawa speedway race bikes wear K&N filters

British classics are well represented in the Buddy Stubbs collection

This Harley 'Pea Shooter' is in pristine condition

Stubbs became friends with Evel Knievel when both raced together in the '50s and '60s

The Stubbs collection includes combat-dressed Indians and Harleys

Bob Glidden won 10 NHRA Pro Stock championships in his 25-year career in the drag racing series

Glidden, who was also known as “Mad Dog” in NHRA garages for his unrelenting work ethic, started his drag racing career in Stock and Super Stocks. He raced 427 Ford Fairlanes and 428 Ford Cobra Jet Mustangs in 1968. He turned pro in 1972 and won his first Pro Stock championship in 1974. He won back-to-back titles in 1974-75, three in a row from 1978-80 and five in a row from 1985-89.

Glidden was once asked what contributed to his success, he said in a release from NHRA, “Common sense and the will to survive. I know that I have to hustle to win and that I have to go all out to afford to race.”

Glidden left his mark in NHRA Drag Racing and with Ford. The NHRA Drag Racing community mourns the passing of one of the most successful drivers in the history of the series.

“Everyone in the NHRA community is saddened to learn the news of Bob’s passing,” said NHRA President Peter Clifford. “He was a true competitor who left a lasting legacy of excellence both on and off the track. Our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences are with the Glidden family at this difficult time.”

In Glidden’s first NHRA Pro Stock event, the season finale Springnationals in 1972, he was the runner-up to Bill Jenkins. Glidden drove a Pinto Pro Stocker from Wayne Gapp and Jack Roush in the Springnationals.

Glidden won his first NHRA Pro Stock race the following year in 1973 at the U.S. Nationals. He beat Gapp and set a national record with a 9.03-second pass at 152.54 mph.

Glidden’s first NHRA Pro Stock championship came in 1974 when he won three events, including the U.S. Nationals again. He won seven events in 1975 en route to his second NHRA Pro Stock championship.

Bob Glidden started his NHRA pro career in 1972 in a Pinto Pro Stocker

He won seven national events in a row to close out the 1978 season and a Pro Stock championship. He opened the 1979 season with two more national event wins. He lost only three times in 1979 and didn’t lose a round until June at the Mile-High Nationals.

Glidden’s third Pro Stock championship in a row in 1980 came with some drama. He trailed Lee Shepherd when they entered the season finale in Ontario, California. Shepherd’s transmission broke in the second round and Glidden went on to win the event and the Pro Stock championship, the fifth of his career.

Shepherd snapped Glidden’s championship streak in 1981. Buddy Morrison, one of the partners who owned Shepherd’s Reher-Morrison team, said Glidden was the motivation to his team’s championship run in 1981.

“We finally got tired of losing and of Glidden winning so easily,” Morrison said in a release. “We decided that we either had to make the same kind of commitment to racing that he did or get out. We didn't want to get out.”

Glidden started his third championship streak in 1985. Driving a Ford Thunderbird he received in 1984, Glidden won five national events and his sixth championship in 1985.

Glidden won his sixth Pro Stock championship after crashing his Thunderbird early in the season. He didn’t win his first event until the Mile-High Nationals in July, the start of three in a row. He capped his championship season by winning six of the final seven races of the season.

Bob Glidden won the 1985 NHRA Pro Stock championship, his seventh, in a Ford Thunderbird

Glidden won five of the last seven events to win the Pro Stock championship in 1988. He saved his best championship season for last. He won nine events in 1989 and captured his 10th and final Pro Stock championship. He won five of the first seven events of the 1989 season. He won the season-ending Winston Finals, giving him 76 career wins at the time, 49 during the 1980s.

He won his 85th and final event at the Mopar Parts Nationals in 1995. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a flaw on David Bird's Triumph

This year’s winner of the Modified Retro Class at the Long Beach, California staging of the IMS was a gleaming 1976 Triumph T140 built for Tom Day by David Bird. You would be hard-pressed to find a more creative and sanitary Triumph build anywhere.

Frame and Wheels:

The hand-built hardtail frame sits low, long, and minimalist. Up front, the clean springer front forks bolt to a tall, sparsely-laced spoked rim.

The classic Triumph twin engine is featured in a clean frame and retro-cool paint job

Bodywork and Controls:

The bodywork follows the lines of the frame perfectly. The Cole Foster tank and the custom-bent rear fender are both coated in a scintillating Joel Meyer paint job that features a one-of-a-kind lace, leaf, and flower motif.

The custom crafted leather seat sits above in a cool, chrome framework. The flat drag handlebars make for a stretched out, bobber seating position.

Engine and Drivetrain:

The classic lines of the 750cc Triumph twin engine are on full display in the minimalist frame. The perfectly polished power plant breathes through twin, screened velocity stacks and exhaust duties are handled by symmetrically bent twin straight pipes.

'Less is more' in the skeletal frame and simple bodywork of the Mod Retro winner

Take a minute to study the photos that accompany this article and you will grow to appreciate how well the theme and lines of this Triumph work. Every detail was carefully thought out and crafted.

K&N is proud to sponsor a competition that highlights builds like this fantastic custom.