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California Unification Rally Draws 3,000 to State Capitol

By General Posts

On May 21,2023, over 3,000 motorcyclists gathered at the California State Capitol in Sacramento to talk biker’s rights, and to send a message to the state legislature that a change in how California deals with issues important to riders is needed. Speakers from the Modified Motorcycle Association (MMA) of California, ABATE of California, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), the National Council of Clubs (NCOC) and other groups took to the podium to stress the importance of all riders – as well as other consumer advocates including those in the automotive industry – coming together to present a unified front. Rally organizer and MRF State Representative ‘Chappy’ Patrick Carver and his team of volunteers did yeoman’s work in organizing the event. Chappy is also the President and lobbyist for the MMA of California and works closely with the MRF on legislative issues being addressed in Congress. Numerous long-time California activists, including ABATE lobbyists Jim Lombardo and Bobby T, ABATE officers David ‘D-Man’ Seiler, Chuck Pedersen, and MMA/ABATE Liaison Dave Battles were on hand as well.

For California riders, a major concern continues to be the issue of being unfairly profiled by law enforcement. Following a concerted, years-long effort by motorcycle clubs from around the country, the NCOC, the MRF, state motorcyclists’ rights organizations and thousands of independent riders, anti-profiling resolutions have now been passed in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives with bi-partisan support. On a local level, five states have passed standalone anti-profiling laws. California and other states are working to have similar legislation enacted.

Other topics of discussion at the rally included protecting the rights of consumers to repair their machines, the unrealistic rush to outlaw internal combustion engines in favor of electric vehicles, ongoing issues associated with unregulated self-driving autonomous vehicles, and the appropriate labeling and availability of E10 or lower petroleum fuels.

MRF Executive Director Mark Buckner addressed the rally, emphasizing the importance of the challenges and opportunities facing riders today. Buckner discussed MRF’s recent Bikers Inside the Beltway lobbying campaign in Washington, D.C., highlighting the issues discussed with members of Congress and their staff. Those issues included ongoing efforts to end unfair profiling; H.R. 906, the Repair Act, seeking to stop manufacturers from limiting the ability of consumers and independent shops to repair products; H.R, 1435, the Preserving Choices in Vehicle Purchases Act, seeking to amend the Clean Air Act to prevent a ban on internal combustion engines; ensuring that Congress and executive branch agencies including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provide appropriate oversight regarding self-driving vehicles; ensuring that consumers will continue to be able to purchase E10 and lower ethanol fuels at a reasonable price; and building strong, bi-partisan motorcycle caucuses made up of motorcycle-friendly legislators in Washington, D.C.

Overall, the California Unification Rally was a resounding success, with unity and opportunity the messages of the day.

About Motorcycle Riders Foundation: The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) provides leadership at the federal level for states’ motorcyclists’ rights organizations as well as motorcycle clubs and individual riders. Visit http://mrf.org/

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Part 4: Cabana Dan’s Early Projects

By General Posts

by Bandit with photos from Weed and Cabana Dan

1914 H-D Twin Engine Rebuild and the 1912 Single Venture

It’s Memorial Day 2023. There’s a jammin’ bike show happening in Deadwood. Dan’s hands are full with Sturgis Museum projects. I’m trying like hell to understand Outlaw Justice, my second book and proof reading each page for reprinting. I’m also building a Knucklehead chop and searching for a 1913 twin engine.

Click here to read this photo feature article only on Bikernet.com

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100 WFC: Rocking & Rolling

By General Posts

100 word fiction contest continues…. #100WFC

Rocking & Rolling
by Steven Sanner

The roar of the crash echoed in my ear as I rolled onto the shoulder of the road, along with the unshakable feeling that I had done this before, I knew I had to keep the momentum of the roll going to get clear. As I put my weight into the roll, the dual rear wheels of the semi passed by my nose.

But the feeling (or was it the knowing) that I had done all this before had me jump to my feet with one motion and I unthinkingly ran TOWARD the commotion. I knew there was something I had to do.

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Then email us your 100 word limit fiction to the editor wayfarer@bikernet.com

100 WFC: The Break-In

By General Posts

100 word fiction contest continues…. #100WFC

The Break-In
by Bandit

A thug broke into the shop. Rebuilding an old Linkert in the back, I heard a noise and then a scream.

I scrambled towards the retail area, but how was I going to defend myself? I reached for my buck knife, a chrome-moly fork tube, the .38 in the drawer, a yard-long Crescent wrench, the cutoff wheel and or…

The young addict wasn’t interested in the mechanic wielding heavy instruments, just enough cash to buy another high. He turned toward his escape, leaving the young female clerk in a pool of blood. Was I to kill, maim, punish, enable or wait, harm reduction?

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Yup, its a weekly contest open to all. Just sign up for the free weekly newsletter by clicking here.

Then email us your 100 word limit fiction to the editor wayfarer@bikernet.com

Gentleman’s Ride Recap

By General Posts

This Time Last Week Gentlefolk Across the Globe Put Their Best Wheels Forward At the DGR 2023

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride is where dapper look and noble cause go hand in hand. This annual event is a true gift from the motorcycling community to the world at large. We loved to see many Ural riders participate across the globe.

Watch video recap from DGR Coimbra, Portugal here and more captures from around the world in the updated blog post.

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Harley dual sport motorcycle: The Carducci SC3 Adventure

By General Posts

Jim Carducci is an engineer with a passion for dual sport motorcycles and the Harley Sportster motor. So he’s put the two together and created the Carducci Dual Sport SC3 Adventure.

It’s not quite as improbable as it sounds, and the amount of engineering on the finished product is quite remarkable. But the question remains: why? “I had a vision of how I could somehow transform a Sportster into a viable dual sport motorcycle,” says Jim. “Others have built variations of the idea, but none suited my eye. And few were truly capable off-road dual sport bikes.”

Read the full story at: https://www.bikeexif.com/dual-sport-motorcycle

Memorial Day – Enjoy but Remember

By General Posts

This Memorial Day weekend take a moment and remember the sacrifices made by many while fighting for the freedoms each of us enjoy everyday. In streets across our nation traditional motorcycle events honoring those lost in military service will be held. We at the Motorcycle Riders Foundation are forever grateful to our brothers and sisters lost defending the freedoms we cherish.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

As we spend time with family and friends, let’s all take a moment to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country FREE. We at the MRF wish you and yours a safe Memorial Day.

About Motorcycle Riders Foundation: The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) provides leadership at the federal level for states’ motorcyclists’ rights organizations as well as motorcycle clubs and individual riders. Ride With The Leaders ™ by joining the MRF at http://mrf.org

WordPress CMS turns 20 years old on May 2023

By General Posts

by Ujjwal Dey on #WP20

WordPress CMS turns 20 years old on May 2023. #wp20

The local WordPress community of bloggers, web-developers and hobbyists hosted a meetup at Marriott hotel, sponsored by American web-hosting company BlueHost.com

I was fortunate to attend this event on Saturday May 27, 2023. From 3 pm to 6:00 pm the WordPress enthusiasm was shared and I got to proudly represent Bikernet Blog, running on WordPress since 2012.

https://wpmumbai.org/

I showcased the fact that Bikernet’s pure vanilla blog using old school simplicity is as effective in content delivery as some of the more glamorous ones running fancy themes. This is of course because, ultimately, a website it is not solely about design and graphics, but also about the “content” it publishes.

I mentioned the success of Bikernet Blog reaching Top 25 Motorcycle Blogs milestone last year. Refer that in March 2022 post by clicking here .

BlueHost.com is a partner endorsed by the official founders of WordPress and their team, powering over 2 million websites. Their features such as 1-click installation and superior customer service has made them popular with the netizens.

WordPress started in 2003 when Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg created a fork of b2/cafelog. The need for an elegant, well-architected personal publishing system was clear to them even back then.

Today, WordPress is built on PHP and MySQL, and licensed under the GPLv2. It is also the platform of choice for over 43% of all sites across the web.

While all users may not be entirely happy with the Gutenberg Block Editor, but you gotta realize that WordPress is now a full-fledged Content Management System. An open-source one at that while competing with the best in the CMS business.

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Baker’s Dozen Fight for Bikers

By General Posts

On Tuesday, 13 members of the House of Representatives sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary of Pete Buttigieg seeking the formation of the Motorcyclist Advisory Council (MAC). As you may remember, the MAC was first established by Congress in 2015 and renewed with passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.

Unfortunately, despite the requirement that the MAC be established within 90 days after the law is passed, DOT has failed to act. In the past, the MAC has provided a critical forum for policy makers, roadway engineers, and motorcyclists to discuss ways roadway and barrier design, construction and maintenance practices and intelligent transportation systems can better meet the safety needs of the nearly 9 million motorcyclists in this country.

One important part of the reestablished MAC, as outlined in the text of the law, is the expansion of membership seats. The inclusion of manufacturers, motorcyclist rights organizations and safety professionals will provide for a more expansive knowledge base and information sharing on the council. As prescribed in the law, the MAC will be required to submit biennial reports on their findings.

Establishment of the MAC was one of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s priorities during the recent Bikers Inside the Beltway event in D.C. Thank you to Rep. Gallagher for leading the letter and to the 12 other lawmakers listed below for supporting our efforts to seat the MAC.

Rep. Gallagher (WI)
Rep. Carsen (IN)
Rep. Finstad (MN)
Rep. Fitzgerald (WI)
Rep. Fitzpatrick (PA)
Rep. Grothman (WI)
Rep. Lee (NV)
Rep. Norman (SC)
Rep. Stauber (MN)
Rep. Steil (WI)
Rep. Tiffany (WI)
Rep. Van Orden (WI)
Rep. Wilson (SC)

About Motorcycle Riders Foundation: The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) provides leadership at the federal level for states’ motorcyclists’ rights organizations as well as motorcycle clubs and individual riders. Ride With The Leaders ™ by joining the MRF at http://mrf.org

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