Hey,
This is incredible. Think about it. A hundred years ago the human race was just slipping into the industrial revolution and we were heading into WWII against fascism.
Now, we are being threatened on similar levels with being run off the road and out of business by our own government. They are, in a supposed life and death competition, with other countries. Who can regulate their people more under the guise of saving the planet. The control freaks’ dream.
So, when you wake up in the morning what are you supposed to think? Should you just lay back and forget your job at the bike shop or the dealership, since our loud pipes and engines are destroying the planet. Or could it be another plight by elements of the government to paint us as bad guys, when we are not.
As bikers, we have dealt with this stuff before. The government didn’t like wild bikers so they passed helmet laws. We protested and they were repealed. Then a woman came up with another way to prove Freedom isn’t good. She came up with the public burden theory. It was bullshit, but it worked for a while and more helmet laws were passed, until our folks proved it was bullshit again, and if they didn’t like it, they could require insurance, but give us our Freedom back.
I have a feeling this is another process and it needs to be addressed quickly. Let’s hit the news. You’ll witness some of the bad shit as we roll through it.
ARE WE GOING TO BE SCARIFICED TO AUTOMATED CARS? Sometime this summer and autumn FEMA’s General Secretary Dolf Willigers had the feeling that we were more involved with cars than with motorcycles. In almost all the events he visited, the subject was automated cars.
Like almost everybody else I used to call them autonomously driving cars, but since Dr. Abayomi Otubushin of BMW explained that a programmed vehicle can’t be called autonomous and should be called automated, I stand corrected.
You’re never too old to learn something new. So now it is automated cars. I am really fascinated by it. Not by the cars themselves, and the first driverless cars actually have been spotted in the USA, but by the whole process that is going on now. Suddenly all manufacturers and the big IT companies come with predictions and forecasts. Some realistic, some far from that. But almost all are afraid to lose the competition.
And because really automated cars are still far away, they try to come as close to it as possible and provide their new models with ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems); automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assistance, blind spot monitor, driver drowsiness detection, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning systems are just some of them.
One manufacturer went even further; he combined some of these systems, called it Autopilot and claimed that the driver could let them do the work. Only they can’t and he was forced to withdraw his claim after some real accidents and many near-accidents.
Not only the car manufacturers are engaged in this competition. Governments and even the European Union are tripping over their own feet to be in front. With thanks to the automobile lobby.
The High Level Group on Automotive Industry ‘GEAR 2030‘ “will in particular consider a roadmap for the smooth rollout of autonomous vehicles”. This group consists mainly of delegates from the car- and motorcycle industry. Permissions are issued to have tests on the public roads with automatic driven cars and with (truck) platooning. Cars with ADAC systems get type approval. Even Tesla got European type approvals for his models and for its Autopilot.
In their haste the governments and authorizing bodies forget to investigate if the cars and systems are well tested or do some proper testing themselves. And with well tested I mean not only tested with other cars, but also with pedestrians, bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles.
The Dutch RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority) still owes me an answer to the question if the trucks and cars used in the platooning tests in the Netherlands in May 2016 were tested with motorcycles. In Norway a young female motorcyclist was hit from behind by a Tesla in Autopilot mode.
Letters were sent to Elon Musk of Tesla, the Norwegian government and to RDW with questions about the testing and about changing the characteristics of the Tesla after the type approval. We’re waiting for an answer when I write this, they are only recently sent.
Testing new hardware and software on cars and trucks with motorcycles is an issue, but this is probably not the worst thing we are confronted with. There is also an ethical side on automation. In emergency situations choices have to be made. A car suddenly appears in front of your automated car, or a truck loses a heavy object right in front of you. Almost a classic example is digging machines that fall of a trailer.
Imagine the situation when this happens: a digging machine just in front of you, a motorcycle on the left side, trees on the right side of your car. You have three choices: try to brake, which will not be enough, so you have a serious risk of getting killed or at least severely injured. Or take your chances and swerve to the right, trying to avoid the trees.
And the last option: swerve to the left, which will save you but the motorcycle rider will be killed. I can’t fill in for you what you will do, but I can fill in what your automated car will do. It will kill the motorcyclist. Why am I so sure about this? Because this is what the manufacturer of the Mercedes cars has told us.
Mercedes will choose to preserve the life of the car passengers at all costs, because that is what their customers expect them to do. This means that all manufacturers will have to make the same choice. They can’t program their cars otherwise, because then all potential customers who value their life will buy a Mercedes instead of their cars.
Now we have to engage, as a motorcyclist organization, not only with car development and testing, but also with ethical and moral discussions around automation. We not only have to fight to be included in the development and testing of driver assistance systems and automatic driven cars, but also for the right to be saved from mad software developers who will sacrifice us motorcyclists to spare their customers.
–Written by Dolf Willigers
FEMA
FOLLOW UP TO EDGE & SUPERCHIPS ANNOUNCEMENT– As you may be aware Edge Products and Superchips recently announced the discontinuation of Edge Racing and Superchips Racing products. In the days following this announcement we have received many questions and concerns regarding this matter. The Q&A list below is intended to further clarify concerns and answer some of those questions. If the information below does not answer your question, or clarify your concern, please feel free to contact us directly. If you’d like to view a copy of the announcement, made on July 11th, please click here.
Q: Why did you make this decision? Are you being fined by the EPA?
A: No, we are not being fined by the EPA. We are exiting this market voluntarily because we cannot make assurances that the intended use of the product (racing) is not being abused. This abuse creates too much liability for us and our customers.
Q: Are you only discontinuing these products in the Unites States? What about other international markets?
A: For the time being we are discontinuing the sale of these products worldwide. As we further review laws that govern other international markets, we will decide whether to sell these products in markets outside of the United States.
Q: Will you still provide service and support for existing customers?
A: Yes, we will continue to support existing customers.
Q: Is my business at risk if I continue to sell these, or other similar products?
A: As long as you are selling these products for their intended use (racing) you are not at risk. If you are selling these products for street use on registered vehicles then you are at risk.
Q: What will Edge and Superchips sell now? How badly does this hurt your business?
A: Edge Racing and Superchips Racing products are a small portion of our business. While it is not painless to walk away from this market, the great majority of our business comes from products that are either legal to use on the street or are in the process of being tested for legal street use. Please refer to the discontinuation letter to view the small list of products that were discontinued with this announcement.
Q: Will you continue to support diesel motorsports and diesel racing?
A: Absolutely. In fact we are very excited about our upcoming Weekend on the Edge diesel-competition event in Utah on August 19th and 20th. Go to http://www.weekendontheedge.com/ to learn more about this event. We hope you’ll join us.
Q: Who is Powerteq? Is this some kind of new company that took over and made you do this?
A: Powerteq is the name of the corporate entity that manages both the Edge and Superchips brand. The creation of Powerteq was announced in February of 2011. You can see the Powerteq announcement letter by clicking here. This is not a new company with new management. The Powerteq management team is comprised of executive managers from the prior Edge and Superchips teams.
Edge and Superchips have been owned by the same shareholders since 2006 and recently decided the timing was right to manage both brands under one company. Both brands (Edge and Superchips) will continue to offer innovative products to many markets. There is no new company or new shareholders that had any impact on this decision.
–Dave Martinez
President, Powerteq (Edge/Superchips)
801-337-2122
dmartinez@powerteq.com
–Tom Bennett
Executive Vice President, Powerteq (Edge/Superchips)
407-585-7073
tbennett@powerteq.com
–Diesel Tech magazine
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To my fellow MRF State Representatives, Brothers and Sisters all– In our world, the term “Brother” or “Sister” is sometimes given lightly. They’re terms we adopted from the hard-core, and in some cases the military. We leverage them with each other, hopefully because we respect and appreciate, from first-hand experience, the devotion and dedication it takes to commit to this life of service we all share.
In my case, I don’t share them lightly. I’ve become jaded over time as I watch many take the title, the patch, and do nothing with them. I’ve watched so many share in the glow, but hide from the fire.
With you, however, I share them willingly, and with endearment. I’ve been too close to too many of you for quite some time now. Perhaps not as long as some, but long enough to know the passion, with which you all dedicate yourselves to our shared mission – our shared commitment – to freedom.
On this Thanksgiving Day, as I watch the early moments of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, sipping my morning Decaf, I think back on how much work we have to do in the year ahead, but with thanks and appreciation for all you do, every day, to pave the way for the riders in your State, and across this great nation.
Without YOU, the roads paved by our forebears would have decayed and crumbled by now. Without YOU, new obstacles would have been erected in our path ahead. And without YOU, the road for those who will follow would end without reaching the horizon.
Thank-you for everything you do, and for being a leader. I look forward to seeing all of you at MRF and other events in 2017!
Yours in FREEDOM,
–Doc D’Errico
Vice Chairman, Massachusetts Motorcycle Association
Massachusetts MRF State Representative
Director of the MRF State Reps Program
MSF & ESC Motorcycle, Trike, and Sidecar Instructor
ROSCOE’S CHILI CHALLENGE COMES TO THE CANTINA– I put this together early this morning. Chopper Dave was shooting at the Rocoe’s Chili Challenge in Florida.
Basically the event is what it is, an adult only, extremely weird looking people in every shot. I don’t know if you want to post this or not, but my old site used to receive a lot of hits on these types of galleries. I’ll never understand it personally…
Next Sunday, I am shooting my first girl in a long time. She’s a traveling model from Norway. I haven’t a studio set up, so I will… ya never know.
–Jack McIntyre
Supreme All-Knowing
Bandit’s Cantina
Co-Editor
MANDATORY GLOVES IN FRANCE–
Basically, protective gloves are now mandatory for riders of motorcycles, trikes, quads and mopeds.
FEMA is not invloved, because this is a national issue. Our member organization FFMC is/was involved: http://www.ffmc.asso.fr/
The law:
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=E27…
–Wim Taal,
FEMA
TERRY THE TRAMP S&S EVO ENGINE BUILD
Thank you, very helpful!
–Joe Kylen
Fall City, WA
[page break]
*Offer excludes V4859 Porsche – The Racing 914s, V4902 Vincent Motorcycles – The Untold Story since 1946 and V4906/V4907 The Ultimate Book of the Air-cooled Porsche 911 (not yet in print).
Offer excludes leather editions, Veloce gift vouchers, Veloce eBooks & apps, other coinciding special offers, and non-Veloce products. P+P extra.
Offer is strictly subject to availability, while stocks last, and does NOT apply to
forthcoming books.
We just received a copy of the Vincent book which we will study and review.—Bandit
LIFESTYLE HOLIDAY DEAL– 2014 Harley Davidson Dyna Street bob FXDB
2014 Harley Davidson Dyna Street bob FXDB Anaheim, California
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Mileage: 3,853 miles
Exterior: Black
This is the front and back, getting pretty worn out, got it in 2004.
When we divorced, she moved back back to Germany, I was just there in Sept, to visit my step-daughter and her (we have remained friends.)
–BC
THE KHAN OF BIKERNET TRIKES HEADS TO THE DESERT– I will stay connected if i do this desert adventure.
MetroAllies.com
Ride to Rajasthan.
7 Dec to 21 Dec
Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Mt Abu, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Ajmer, Pushkar, Jaipur, Mandawa, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Mt.Abu, Surat, Mumbai.
Learn to live free and ride free. Helmets optional, Expensive jacket optional, knee guard bodyguard optional.
No registrations. No advance fees.
Be a biker. Not a fuckin yuppie tourist.
Email u_dey@yahoo.com for details.
School Of Hard Knocks.
METAL TRADES MACHINE HAS A PROBLEM— A brother called the other day with a Shovelhead machining issue. He fixed the head but needed a pattern to machine and insert the new stud.
“I have access to a good head with stud hole to use as a guide to lay out the new hole….”
They have a full-on machine shop.
–Brian Rasco
www.metaltradesmachine.com
metaltradesmachine@yahoo.com
CHOPPERTOWN HOLIDAYS– OK folks, it’s that time of year and we got some special things to report!
We’re shipping every day until Xmas so get your orders in now for DVDs, T-shirts, Stickers, and our new Hoodies
Use code HOLIDAY16 to take 20% off every order until Dec 5th
Check out the new movies we have and grab some for the long winter holiday
This hoodie will eat your other hoodies for lunch!
Our new ‘Stay Independent’ hoodie designed by artist Gaetano Sole
THE TWIST OFF!– Record Breaking Attendance at the Inaugural Twist Off!
On November 19th 2016, Team Revival took over Little River Dragway in Holland Texas to host the most inclusive motorcycle sprinting event ever!
https://revivalcycles.com/pages/the-twist-off? …
Mopeds, dirt bikes, scooters, street bikes, race bikes, vintage bikes, choppers, cruisers, supermotos; no matter what EVERYONE DID THE TWIST!
Here’s a recap of all the fun we had out there ripping around the dirt track and squashing grudges on the drag strip.
We couldn’t be more pleased with the amazing turnout of racers and spectators for this inaugural event! Besides the dirt and street drags, everyone enjoyed live music by Jomo and the Possum Posse as well as Tia Carrera while sipping on refreshments provided by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Rebel Yell, Red Bull, Austin Eastciders, and NXNW Brewery.
Mark your calendars for November 3 + 4, 2017 when we’ll be seeing you for an even bigger and better Twist Off!
Covering All Bases – Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday
So we have Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
That’s a lot of bases to cover, but we’ve got your back fellow #motonerd. In our South Congress Store we’ll have 10% off on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday while online you can snag FREE shipping on Cyber Monday.
You read that right, we’ve got all 3 days covered so you can get your holiday shopping done. Join us in store and online and don’t forget to check out all our new badass Twist Off merch. For FREE shipping on Monday, November 28th use the code TwistOff2016 at checkout.
WATCH IT— One brother pointed out that loud pipes are bringing on the heat. Here’s an example from the truck side.
One Person Smokes Out A Senator, New State Law Banning Modifications. Before diesel performance became main stream and electronic tuning made making power easy, a truck that could “roll coal” was cool. It was like a badge of honor. Only a few could do it and it indicated that you can put a lot of time and money into your rig.
Political statements like this, have gone too far and have resulted in new laws.
Today, “rolling coal” has gotten out of control. Too many people are doing it because they think smoking people out is funny or it is a way of rebelling. Well, do you remember what happened when you were a little kid and you rebelled against your parents?
That’s right, you were punished. Someone decided to smoke out an Assemblyman in New Jersey while he was driving his Nissan Leaf. A few days later, that Assemblyman, Tim Eustace proposed a bill that could change everything across the country. Our entire industry could be affected if other states join.
New Jersey has officially, approved a bill to ban “coal rolling.” Isn’t that just great. The Bill S2418 was sponsored by Sen. Linda Greenstein and passed by a vote of 36-0.
The Senate bill states that it would ban, “retrofitting any diesel-powered vehicle with any devise, smoke stack or other equipment which enhances the vehicle’s capacity to emit soot, smoke or other particulate emissions, as well as purposely releasing significant quantities of soot, smoke or other particulate emissions into the air and onto the roadways and other vehicles while operating the vehicle.”
Linda Greenstein just changed everything. With her backing, we may no longer be able to legally modify our trucks.
Violations would result in a fine set by the State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). DEP regulations say vehicles “shall not emit visible smoke, whether from crankcase emissions or from tailpipe exhaust, for a period in excess of three consecutive seconds.” NJ officials claim that the “coal rolling” practice violates federal law. They are looking to make the ban explicit.
Generally, California leads the way in emissions regulations and other states follow. So, it will be interesting to see if California adopts this new regulation.
We recently purchased a 2006 Dodge Mega Cab for a project vehicle. In stock form, this truck will violate this new law. It is actually written that any modifications to the vehicle could be illegal.
The words “equipment which enhances the vehicle’s capacity to emit soot,” could pertain to programmers, turbochargers, injectors, fuel system upgrades, exhaust upgrades (these are explicit called out), and basically anything that changes how the engine operates (even intakes for that matter).
WRENCH AGAINST THE MACHINE–
Wrench Against the Machine on @esquirenetwork is an epic bike-building battle. Two teams. Three days. Three grand. Make it beautiful, and make it go. Watch our founder @revivalan judge these builds along with @rolandsands and@wooliesworkshop !
HARD ROCK QUILTS– A collision of quilting and rock music.
Faith Salie introduces us to the work of a music-loving artist on what you might call the FRINGE:
“I like this machine,” said quilter Ben Venom, “because once it gets going, I liken it to shooting a machine gun. When it’s at full throttle, like R-R-R-R-R!”
Sit down with Venom in his studio in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury, and it doesn’t take long to realize he isn’t quite like other quilters.
“There’s a right way, there’s a wrong way, and there’s the way I just decided to do it — which is my way,” he said.
“You know, I’ll listen to music or try to watch movies, but ultimately the noise of the machine kind of drowns a lot out. Because my head’s right in it. So pretty much my world is right around here.”
His world is filled with arresting images on quilts.
His quilts sell for thousands of dollars, have been exhibited around the world, and have names like Aces High and Iron Fist, which refers to a Motorhead song.
And then there are the quilts with drops of blood, ‘cause what’s a quilt without drops of blood?
“I bleed. I have run over my fingers a couple times. It hurts!” said Venom.
“So your blood is actually in a quilt or two?” asked Salie.
“On one or two them, yeah. You can see it. It’s kind of my signature there!”
Ben Venom’s other signature? Using everything from donated women’s jeans and leather jackets to old rock T-shirts in his quilts. Merged into his work are bandanas, canvas, goat skin, bleached denim, and waterproof camouflage.
Where did the acid-washed jeans come from? “Some of them are donated,” he said, “and sometimes I’ll buy a big piece of denim and I’ll do it myself. Just like, I live in the Haight-Ashbury, the years of the tie-dye, but for me it’s the years of the ‘80s acid wash.”
The self-taught artist (whose real last name is Baumgartner) grew up listening to punk rock and heavy metal. But his life was changed forever when he went to see an exhibition of quilts.
“I saw the Gee’s Bend Quilt Show at the De Young Museum in 2006 here in San Francisco, and I was really blown away by their work — these quilts by these women they’ve made for over centuries,” he said, “They used a lot of recycled fabrics.”
That show inspired Ben to take a pair of scissors into his closet to make his very first (and still, to this day, favorite) quilt. It includes a T-shirt for the band Testament. “I wore this Testament T-shirt for probably close to 15 years,” he said. “I mean, I wore it so much that it was so threadbare that you could see through it. And at that point I was like, ‘Ehhh, it’s not too metal to wear it out in public now.’ So I cut it up and put into that first quilt that I made in 2008.”
The quilt is named “Listen to Heavy Metal While You Sleep.”
Salie asked, “Are there mistakes in your work?”
“Oh gosh, yeah. All over the place,” he replied. “I’m not gonna point ‘em out to you, but oh, totally. Because sometimes I don’t really know how to sew this particular fabric, or how this should be folded, or whatever. So I just kind of, you know, do it, make my own way. But the fact that it’s handmade allows for those mistakes to kind of come through.”
As painter Bob Ross proclaimed, “We don’t make mistakes, we have happy accidents.”
Read the whole story at: benvenom.com
Don’t miss this. The Control Freaks attack local colleges.
–Dan
BIKERNET TRIKES EDITOR ON A TRIKE AT LAST– Photoshop image of me riding my Trike dressed as Santa Claus. LOL.
“After 2 years of dieting, stomach crunches, blood tests and worrying,” said Ujjwal Dey, the Khan of Bikernet Trikes. “I finally found the solution. I only need bigger pants.”
–Ujjwal Dey
Emperor of the Trike Galaxy
Bikernet Trikes
WOMEN RIDERS NOW MEET BMW– Assistant Editor Tricia Szulewski has been tooling around on this super fun BMW r nineT all summer long. She has the first long-term review of the bike from a female point of view.
Find out why this is the motorcycle to own if you want classic styling with modern technology. Read the review here.
–Genevieve
WRN Empress Supreme
NATIONAL MOTORISTS ASSOCIATION ALERT– A seismic shift appears to be underway with regards to how experts view transportation. The new vocabulary includes words like multimodal and person-level transportation. Transportation experts want to move “people” instead of cars because most cars on the road today are single occupant vehicles or SOVs—not an efficient enough form of transportation apparently.
Aren’t motorists though people too? We are not just our cars. We, the people must drive because there are no realistic alternatives and because of the inherent freedom of being able to go where we want, when we want, and how we want.
Congress of the New Urbanism (CNU) website recently issued an article called THE MORBID AND MORTAL TOLL OF SPRAWL which declared that for the past 50+ years U.S. transportation engineers have designed and built thoroughfares that allow drivers to feel comfortable driving carelessly. Wide streets and enormous intersections encouraged urban sprawl, suburbia, and complete automobile dependence.
The CNU also had another short and fascinating historical article on how streets turned out this way. Experts continue to complain about congestion and sprawl but no one twisted anyone’s arm to move out to suburbia. Americans made choices and luckily we can still make those choices today.
Currently over 80% of all American adults drive a car wherever they might happen to live. Even though more people are driving more miles now than ever before, roads are safer than at any time in history based on the number of miles driven.
Americans drive around 2.18 trillion miles in the current rolling 12-month period. That is 9,800 miles for every person in the country. This correlates to about 26.8 miles per day per person, about 15% more miles driven than a quarter of century ago. If Americans had multimodal transportation choices would they actually use them?
Historically, departments of transportation (local, state and federal) have made decisions based on population. More people driving meant building more roads to move people in cars more quickly. Public transportation was generally factored in as well.
Ironically, even though DOTs have always promoted the car as the primary mode of transportation, the transportation agencies have continuously implemented measures that disrupt and discourage the efficient movement of traffic.
Our gas tax money continues to be used to promulgate multimodal transportation agendas which should mean less road and street congestion since less people are supposedly using the roads. This should not mean though the impediment of driving due to lack of road maintenance or the application of traffic calming measures that ultimately worsen the driving experience.
In August, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), a trade group representing 13,000 professionals in 90 different countries, announced that departments of transportation (local, state and federal) should not focus so heavily on cars. The ITE comments were in response to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) proposed rulemaking on “National Performance Management Measures; Assessing the Performance of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the Interstate System, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program”. See this Streetsblog USA article about the topic. Find halfway down a PDF link that gives the ITE full letter and comments.
The ITE has particular concerns about the measure for congestion management. ITE’s International President Paula Flores Benway wrote in her letter to the Federal Highway Administration that the implementation of the delay-based measure for congestion management should be postponed until such time that a measure be based on a multimodal and person-level delay can be developed. If the FHWA would take these suggestions from the ITE to develop these additional measures what kind of impact will that really have on most of us? Very little. What a waste of time and dollars, money that could be used for improving roads now.
The Truth about Cars website recently ran a blog post on THIS IS HOW THEY’LL TAKE YOUR CAR FROM YOU. The author states that we’ll be shamed into giving up our cars. In 10 to 15 years, it might even be difficult to buy a new car that we can drive ourselves. The big automakers no longer call themselves automakers. They are now mobility companies and have invested heavily in carsharing and ridesharing startups.
The media and transportation experts keep harping on the coming carsharing/ridesharing future but doesn’t that put more cars on our streets? Los Angeles currently has a proposal to take 100,000 cars (two percent of all cars in LA) off the street in five years with the idea that they would need to increase the number of cars that are used for carsharing and ridesharing. This is of course a multimodal plan but the question remains: Will that many Angeleno motorists want to give up their cars for good?
Driverless cars have also spurred the idea that more cars will be on the streets than ever before. In some cities, driverless cars will be the de facto public transportation since buses, trams, trolleys, subways and trains are so 20th century. But how would connected and driverless cars work if we cannot even maintain the basic infrastructure that we have right now? This leap of faith that we can improve our infrastructure for the Car of the Future may be misguided.
[page break]
THE ELVIS TRIKE STORY– TCB by Trikes.bikernet.com Editor Ujjwal Dey
Taking Care of Business, our Trikes Editor has painstakingly compiled a comprehensive track on Elvis owned Trikes. Play the record, visit the Trikes site, feel the energy.
Simply “The King” : The Trikes of Elvis Presley
During the 1970s craze for Trikes, legend Elvis Presley rode these with joy
“I wasn’t popular in school … I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show … when I came onstage I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, ’cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became after that.” – Elvis reminiscing about his 1953 song and dance routine.
In 1954, Elvis finally got himself a job as a truck driver. A job many of us who dream and chase dreams know as the job that pays the bills for the expensive hobby of dreaming.
In the summer of 1975, Elvis bought several Trikes (three wheeled motorcycles), the first of which was a 1975 Rupp Centaur with a 340cc two stroke engine. Within weeks two other types would follow. They were the 65 bhp, 1600cc Volkswagen engine trikes based on Ed Roth designs. The two VW Trikes were seen many times on the road with Elvis Presley riding it in and out of his Graceland home.
– Ujjwal ‘Wayfarer’ Dey
www.iqmind.org
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LOWBROW CYBER WEEKEND SALES– Our Black Friday Deals are cookin’ along Saturday and Sunday so take advantage while it lasts.
There is something for everyone!
We are at the shop all weekend packing and shipping orders so order now and get your goods placed gingerly in a box and shipped out Monday morning with loving care straight out of Brunswick, Ohio.
TAKE A BREAK FROM IRON AND RESIN– Between the food comma, obnoxious relatives lingering through the house and the bombardment of Black Friday emails – we all know the day after Thanksgiving can be a little cloudy.
But it’s OK, we have good news…we restocked our sale section and want to give you first dibs.
Sale
noun
1. Slang. a person who deals in or sells inferior or worthless goods; junk dealer.
You’re a Harvard historian … not a pop schlockmeister looking for a quick buck.
— Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, 2003
Origin of schlockmeister
Schlockmeister is an Americanism whose first element schlock stems from Yiddish shlak “apoplectic stroke, evil, nuisance, wretch.” The second element comes from Yiddish mayster or German Meister meaning “master craftsman.” It entered English in the mid-1950s.
GOVERNOR BROWN THE HIPPIE WHO BECAME WHAT HE LOATHED– Gov. Brown: ‘Is Very Dubious’ that Global Warming Legislation Causes Job Loss
California Gov. Jerry Brown (AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) – California Governor Jerry Brown (D) says that evidence that global warming solution legislation hurts jobs “is very dubious, if it exists at all.”
While speaking at a press conference Wednesday night Brown praised the passage of SB32 in the California Senate, which sets a target of cutting the state’s output of heat-trapping emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
Brown responded to a question about critics who say the “Global Warming Solutions Act” will result in the loss of jobs.
“First of all the evidence on job loss is very dubious, if it exists at all,” Brown said.
“Manufacturing has been declining as part of the American work force for decades, declining in America generally – is very similar to California. “
“The economy is an impersonal mechanism of profit-seeking enterprises who will take the world as they find it. Whether it’s a mountain or a river or a regulation or a need for bright people.”
“People who want to invest will move through the obstacles that are there and if you say ‘electric cars’ we’ll get more electric cars, if you say ‘dirty cars’ we’ll get dirty cars. It’s up to government not to just rubber stamp the oil companies, but to set some rules of the road that will make our society a better place,” Brown said.
The California Chamber of Commerce website says the measure is a “job killer” that will slow economic growth, “increases costs for California businesses, makes them less competitive and discourages economic growth by adopting further greenhouse gas emission reductions for 2030 without regard to the impact on individuals, jobs and the economy.”
–By Eric Scheiner
CNS NEWS.COM
THE CARB CASES AND CONCLUSIONS–
Reading both the fines and agreement will give you some grounding to how severe this situation is.
In addition to VW recent settlement with ARB for $67 million and pending action against Bosch as I understand ARB is in negotiation of some additional aftermarket automotive players, this list gives you an idea of how active they have been at ARB
Below are settled cases of companies you would recognize
Auto flash Tuners
https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/hypertech.htm
Light Diesel Truck
https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/derive_systems.htm
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/sinister.htm
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/ats.htm
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/competition_specl.htm
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/custom_chrome.htm
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/bmotorsports.htm
Parts Unlimited- Drag Specialties $627,000.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/lemans_corp.htm
CCI
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/custom_chrome.htm
K&N $521,000
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/kandn.htm
Freedom
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/free_performance.htm
RC
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/rccomp.htm
Bassani
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/bassani.htm
V&H (this was a million dollar fine that was negotiated down to $500,000 with huge fees by their law firm)
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/vh_performance.htm
Tucker-Rocky- In addition to this fine their legal fees were over $650,000
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/tucker_rocky.htm
Akrapoivic
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/akrapovic.htm
Rush
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/rushracing.htm
Samson
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/samson.htm
Dirt Bike Exhaust Mfg
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/fmf.htm
Husqvarna (1) million + legal fees
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/husq.htm
Piaggio
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/piaggio.htm
Ricardo (5) Million Dollars + Legal Fees
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/ricardo_moto.htm
Diesel Truck Market supplier $1 million
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/hands.htm
Lawnmower Mfg almost 1/2 million $ plus legal fees
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/mtd_southwest.htm
International Test lab
Then if you can’t pay they get a judgement against your corporation
http://business-bankruptcies.com/cases/motorscience-inc
This one is like the VW case, Big $ for EPA and ARB
Volvo $14 million
This cases dates back to 1998, Fed Govt also fined Volvo for 50+ million
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/casesett/volvo_powertrain.htm
MOVIE OF THE WEEK– “Climate Hustle” Movie Takes A Skeptical Look At Global Warming Just In Time For Earth Day and UN Paris Agreement Signing
Marc Morano is available for interviews providing the other side of the climate debate
“Climate Hustle’s” Marc Morano will discuss the skeptical view of global warming timed with Earth Day and the expected signing of the UN Paris Agreement by the U.S. and other nations.
These views are explored in the film “Climate Hustle” (in theaters nationwide on May 2nd for a one-night showing) that reveals prominent scientists dissenting on man-made global warming claims and highlights a comedy of failed “tipping points” and
claims regarding how just about any malady of society is now blamed on “global warming.”
You’ve heard the arguments in favor of global warming fears. Now “Climate Hustle” and Marc Morano present the other side of the argument to give you the full story, revealing how even some politically left scientists are reexamining the evidence and declaring themselves skeptical.
‘Climate Hustle’ will hit theatres right after the Earth Day – April 22 – Paris UN Climate
Agreement will be signed by the Obama administration. The United States and China agreed to become signatories to the agreement, just last month. Put forth at the UN Paris climate summit in December 2015, the U.S. will be signing onto the agreement without Senate ratification.
The agreement is part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and deals with emissions reduction and finance starting in the year 2020.
A high-level ceremony convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will take place in New York where
representatives from more than 120 countries are expected to sign the agreement.
On April 14, in advance of “Climate Hustle’s” release, the skeptics took Washington, with a Capitol Hill premiere of the film and high-profile panel discussion featuring Governor Sarah Palin, Brent Bozell, Marc Morano and Dr. David Legates.
The film has received enormous media buzz
in The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, Variety, ABCNews.com, NBCNews.com,
Yahoo! News, Entertainment Tonight’s “The Insider,” and more.?
visit www.climatehustle.com.
To view a link to the film’s trailer visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXBzjBE9l5Q
To view a clip from the movie visit: https://app.box.com/s/tbzjfq0r5a7dicl6nn6g18bqo453bb73
SO WHAT’S NEXT— Shit’s happening fast, and my mantra is to slow down in 2017, relax, and work on a couple of motorcycle projects.
Let’s look at what’s coming on Bikernet next week. We have two pieces of fiction in the works, including my new Cantina Episode.
I will post coverage of the Long Beach show, with shots from Markus Cuff. We have perhaps two girls coming to the Cantina.
And I’m sure you’ll see multiple reports regarding this EPA bullshit. Life is so nuts, and if we discover the whole Climate Change bullshit is just that, I’m going to be pissed. Maybe Al Gore did it to get rich or he was pissed off because he wasn’t elected president.
It’s crazy and I’m trying to make a shift in my own life for 2017. I’ll be 69 next year, and I’d like to slow down a couple of notches. One of the damn things I’ve noticed about life is our troubling human nature. You can change your thinking and actions with a lot of hard work, but it takes a conscience effort.
So first, you need to be capable enough to face your issues, then have the nuts to deal with them. Like the alcoholic, if your neighbor was an asshole, first he must know and recognize his condition or habits. Only then can he attempt to correct them. Most folks won’t. Maybe they’re too weak, stuck-up or unwilling.
Here’s a completely wild historic example. Queen Elizabeth became the Queen in her 20s in 1948. She grew up always the princess. She didn’t even have a Jr. High education. Suddenly, she was the queen of a 1000-year-old monarchy and one of the most powerful nations on earth. Quickly she took on a tutor and listened very carefully to everyone. She tried very hard to be the Queen and not herself.
Her sister didn’t get it. She wanted stature and recognition but continually jumped into her own way, until she had to be sidelined. It was all there for the taking, but she could not teach herself to adapt.
So, in my quest for personal Nirvana can I slow down? Can I find the right path to peace. It will force a change. Let’s see how well I do. Each year presents new opportunities. It’s up to all of us to step up, look in the mirror, come face to face with whatever will reach our goals or overcome obstacles. It’s up to us.
Ride Free Forever,
–Bandit
