Riders of the Lost Empire

01/11/2026

Once again I’m sad to announce the death of a well loved Rider. Dave Overcash was an early member of ROTLE and contributed much to our growth and knowledge. Example; he kept a T150 running and rode it well.

03/17/2025

Riders,
It seems that I have fallen into the dreadful habit of only sending you an email when someone passes away. I guess it just speaks volumes to the cycle of Life many of us find ourselves in. I suspect most of you have already heard this news. I was waiting for a few more details to surface, but so far they have not, Here we go...

Herb Jebb -
Much better known of course as "Metalflake" passed away on March 4th. Here's a link to his obituary:
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/stuart-fl/herbert-jebb-12273358

There are no words to describe the impact that Metalflake had on our Riding community. I'm sure all of us have personal memories of interactions with him. There are no words sufficient enough to describe really how absolutely amazing this man was. Anyhow, I find myself at a loss for words at this moment. Just wanted you to be aware that "Herb One" is resting in MC Heaven.

RIP Buddy.
Wizard,

Celebrate the life of Herbert Jebb, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Aycock Funeral Home - Young & Prill Chapel.

05/27/2024

To whom it may concern…

I keep getting likes about my photos but I’m not posting on this site. Could an admin help me get taken off this site?

05/26/2024

ATTENTION!!!
ATTENTION!!!
A trailer for a new movie was just shown during the delay caused by the loss of 4 entrants on the 2nd turn of the first lap of the Indy 500.
The title is The BikerRiders, to be released on 21/06/24 in a theatre near you. You do remember theaters, don’t you?
Based on the trailer, we need a VOLUNTEER to go to a theatre near you and review this apparent remake of every bad biker flick from 1949 to infinity.
Please post, if you intend to review, using the following criteria:
A- not really about motorcycles, just guys w/mommie complexes and girls w/fuel-injected mammeries and low self-esteem.
B- exciting scenes involving duels with cages that result in totaled PD cruisers and unscathed bikes.
C- s*x scenes on bikes, intimated if not shown. Now I know this is physically possible, but I’d rather date that porcupine (carefully) than try.
D- fatuous display of fi****ms, demonstrating that no one dies unless it’s in a movie made by well known Hollywood anti-gun activists.
E- low budget, poorly written and directed by people never rode and acting by people who, in real life, prefer chauffeured limo’s to mc’s.
The first person to review this boffo Bollywood epic will receive full refund of ticket price and parking fee, if any. Popcorn excluded but Dramamine and barf bags are covered.
If you bring your Main Squeeze, go Dutch. But if you’re thinking of a long term relationship, leave her home to watch The Great Escape on YouTube.

03/15/2024

I can’t express the emotions all these birthday wishes caused. Thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts and friendship. I hope you all are there for another 20 years!

03/01/2024

02/29/2024

In my 79 years on this earth, to be 80 in 12 days, I have learned that when the Lord calls us home, we will go. No one can stop it. We have one life to live. The material things we invest in are left behind. Memories therefore, are important to me.
So, I'm going to start a "reunion of friends". The idea is to see who reads a post without a picture. If no one reads my post, this will be a very short experiment. But if you are reading this message, make a comment using a single word about how we met. After that COPY this message on your wall and I will also leave you a word. Please, don't leave a word and then not bother doing the second thing. Let’s go! My friends are important to me.

11/10/2023

I’m ya girl!!! 😉😃

11/10/2023

The Transporter star Jason Statham posing on a 1966 Triumph T120 Bonneville motorcycle!!

The Bonneville T120 was first introduced in 1959 but it can trace its roots back to the Thunderbird of ten years prior, which was made famous by Marlon Brando inThe Wild One. Triumph was reportedly against the use of their bike in the 1953 epic due to fears they would become associated with the reckless biker gangs the film portrayed, but truth be told it only added to their allure. Triumph went on to enjoy a prolific cinematic and celebrity association in the decades that followed, with famous owners including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman and of course Steve McQueen, whose film The Great Escape featured the most famous of all Triumph appearances. Whilst it was in fact a TR6 Trophy that McQueen rode in the film, it is the visually similar Bonneville that has endured and nearly 60 years after it was first introduced it continues to be one of the most instantly recognisable, popular and desirable motorcycles in the world.

11/10/2023

Blaine Paulis reports on his 4th deer strike. Wish him well.

On 10/29/23 going out for an after midnight ride . Around 03:35
I hit a buck going 15 N near the Steinweir exit. I was coming up on car. So I turned off my flood and high beams. Doing about 60 mph. This big buck coming from the right side of the road , I hit on the right side. I went down on the left side. Slide to a stop.face up. Right leg stuck between the saddle bag and the wheel. I pulled my leg out. Rolled over.was concerned where I stopped. Noticed I was near the berm of the road. Noticed my right pinky was not pointing in a good Way. Saw my right wrist was not looking good and could feel the blood following. ( later to be determined an open fracture) .
3 cars went by. Called 911 PSP . An off duty policeman stop. A few minutes later Emmitsburg EMS and PSP arrived.
EMS did a Great job off cutting off all my gear. Leaving my helmet at the site and losing my right boot.
I wanted to go to Wellspan , bc I am in that system. They took me to Meritus hospital in Hagerstown.
Meritus trauma unit did an excellent job.all kinds of X-rays MRIs..
But they did not have a hand surgeon. Trying to find a hand surgeon. Guess what, wellspan in york has a hand surgeon.
Now the problem is finding transportation. To york 12 hours later heading to york. 1 1/2 hours later arrived at york. With in 30 minutes I m under the knife.. I was discharged by 16:00. 36 hours after.
One thing, if hurt and having pain . Request A pain ball. About the size of a softball. What ever is in it. They use it to deaden the nerves. No pain at all.

10/28/2023

Riders,
This grand saga which sadly, has just recently come to an end, began 25 or so years ago. I was sitting at a sales desk, across from a salesman at Schumacher GMC in West Palm Beach. We were haggling over the price of a pickup truck I was interested in. Now... on this day I was wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt, with a "Triumph" logo emblazoned across my chest.

Another salesman went walking briskly by and then abruptly stopped. He rushed up to me and asked, "Do you have a Triumph motorcycle to go along with that Triumph t-shirt?" To which I replied...
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Don't move. I'll be right back," was all he said and rushed off.

Moments later he returned with several photo albums which he plopped down on the desk I was sitting at. He pulled up a chair and began to spread out the photos all across the desk. Needless to say, the salesman I was dealing with on the pickup truck was MORE than a little frustrated. His attempts to close the sale with me were completely and utterly derailed.

The photos were all of vintage British motorcycles. Now unknown to me, at that very moment, a most precious lifelong friendship was being born. You see, that's the very moment I met Bobby K. And the rest is history. And what a rich history it is.

As I'm certain you have ascertained, Bobby K has passed away. At age 80, he put his boat in the water for one last run before the Wisconsin boating season ended. And he never came back. Sadly Bobby had a boating mishap and lost his life.

As to the "Polish Magic" reference - anyone who knew Bobby over the years was eventually exposed to his Polish Magic talents. In fact, any of you who were in Cedar Key a few years back got the full treatment at dinner.

Seldom are we blessed with friends of this magnitude. Bobby's endless smile - his relentless positive outlook - his laugh - I KNOW you can hear it still. To say the least, Bobby left a lasting impression everywhere he went. I could go on and on endlessly with Bobby K's tales. And at some point in the future, we'll have a gathering and reminisce about the great man he was. If ever there was anyone who deserved the title, "Larger than life" it was Bobby.

Here are some words from my daughter Faren, whom many of you know from the two-wheel world. Little Wizard said on FB;

"The world is a little less bright. We have lost one of the most positive, cheerful, and amazingly unique souls that has ever existed. I was blessed to have had this amazing human as a close family friend, and I am a better person for it. There is no one that went through life as fearlessly as he did and I only hope that he knew how much I loved him even though we didn’t talk as regularly as we should.
*This is your sign to call your friends. Call your family. Make the effort to say I LOVE YOU. There will come a time when you won’t be able to, and it will be the only thing you want to do. 💔

Here is a link to the obituary.
https://www.eernissefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Robert-H-Kulbacki?obId=29667013 #/obituaryInfo

There will be no service at this time, but I'll keep you posted as details unfold.

I've attached a few picks that I hope you can open and enjoy.

RIP Bobby. You were one of the GREAT ONES!
Love you and will miss you forever buddy.
Wizard.

View Robert H Kulbacki's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.