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LAS VEGAS BIKEFEST CONCERT SERIES: SANTANA TO PLAY AT MGM GRAND–Carlos Santana’s “Live Your Light” 2008 World Tour will make its way to Las Vegas for one night only and it’s happening during Las Vegas BikeFest at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with special guest the Salvador Santana Band.
As the “Live Your Light” tour heats up, so does Santana’s single “Into the Night”, featuring Chad Kroeger. The single is from his latest album, the Ultimate Santana (Arista) compilation. The single is currently No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot Adult Top 40 chart and No. 40 on the overall pop Billboard Hot 100 chart.The Santana concert will be Saturday night, October 4th at 8:00pm. Ticket prices are $105, $78.75 & $47.25 (not including applicable service charges & taxes). Click on the MGM Grand logo for more ticket information.
This Update is dedicated to what many bikers enjoy almost as much as riding – entertainment and parties! We have announcements about the Las Vegas BikeFest Concert Series and several parties that are scheduled during Las Vegas BikeFest. We will be announcing even more in the coming weeks.
Many of the concerts and parties included in this email will have discounted tickets/entry fees or free entry for Las Vegas BikeFest registrants, so be sure you get registered soon.
It’s going to be another rockin’ time at Las Vegas BikeFest! Where else can you go for this much fun and as inexpensively, with rooms starting as low as $35/night and registration as low as $25.
LOS ANGELES CHRISTIAN CLUB GONE WRONG–The leader and members of the Set Free Soldiers are accused of attempted murder in a Newport Beach brawl with the Hells Angels, three of whom are also in custody.
Long controversial for its aggressive evangelism aimed at those with a troubled past — ex-convicts and drug addicts among them — the Anaheim-based Christian motorcycle gang known as the Set Free Soldiers found itself in deeper trouble Wednesday when its leader and half a dozen members were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The arrests, which followed a double stabbing in a brawl with the Hells Angels at a Newport Beach bar July 27, was the latest brush with the law for the group of black-leather-clad bikers, which has straddled the line between Christian outreach group and outlaw motorcycle gang.
By late Wednesday, authorities had arrested 10 members of the Set Free Soldiers and the Hells Angels during raids in Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Rancho Santa Margarita that started at 5 a.m., said Sgt. Evan Sailor of the Newport Beach Police Department.
The operation involved more than 150 officers, including SWAT teams and federal drug enforcement agents.
Seven members of the Set Free Soldiers, including leader Phil Aguilar, 60, have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and are each being held on $1-million bail, police said.
Three members of the Hells Angels are also in custody, including John Phillip Lloyd, a 41-year-old Costa Mesa man charged with assault with a deadly weapon. The other two were arrested on drug charges.
Others are still being sought on arrest warrants.
The arrests stemmed from a 15-person brawl at the Newport Beach bar Blackie’s by the Sea, where Set Free members allegedly stabbed two Hells Angels members.
During the brawl, the Hells Angels also allegedly struck one of the Set Free members in the head with a pool ball.
On its website, which appeared to have been taken down Wednesday evening, Set Free Soldiers call themselves “a group of men who love Jesus and love to ride hard.”
“We are not your normal motorcycle club,” the statement reads. “Some say we are too good for the bad guys, and too bad for the good guys.”
Aguilar, a Harley-riding ex-convict and former drug addict who served time for child abuse in the 1970s, converted to Christianity in prison. He became the founding pastor of Set Free Worldwide Ministries in 1982. But he and his ministry have been highly controversial.
His MySpace.com page describes Aguilar as pastor or “the Chief” of the group. Next to his photo is the statement: “Sinner or Saint you be the judge!”
Police said that through its ministry, the gang recruited people discharged from parole, state prison and county jails and has an outreach program for convicted felons.
Although Set Free has been praised for its streetwise approach; its detractors say it is an autocratic organization that exerts too much control over its members by confiscating their belongings and forcing them to break off relationships with friends and families.
Law enforcement officials and former members say that the group has devolved into a motorcycle gang like any other, and that it has ties to the Mongols, an outlaw biker gang that has engaged in warfare with the Hells Angels.
Set Free chapters in the Midwest have provided security at Mongol funerals, said Steve Cook, an Independence, Mo., police officer and president of the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Assn.
“It is an outlaw club,” Cook said. “Their supposed Christian affiliation doesn’t change my opinion.”
A former Set Free member said Aguilar has performed Mongol weddings and officiated at their funerals. The man, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said he left the group about five years ago when Aguilar began taking the church in a new direction and started recruiting tattooed bikers. Some members carry guns, he said.
“Phil always wanted to be somebody in the outlaw biker world, and he’s been hiding behind the cross for a long time,” the former member said. “When he began recruiting members, he figured the badder they were the better.”
YARD CAMPING IN STURGIS– For 20 bucks a night, homespun hospitality draws world crowd.
STURGIS — Even though Dee Fowlkes of Sturgis can see from his front door onto Junction Avenue that overall rally traffic is down, he said that the number of people camping in his yard is up 30 percent to 40 percent from last year.
“I thought it was going to be very slow, but campground wise, this year is up for me,” he said. “This year has been very good; the campground has surprised me on how many people have actually stopped in this year.”
But not everybody who rents tent space or bedroom space during rally week is having the same luck as Fowlkes.
Mike Petrocco said his numbers are down this year by 50 percent. He has been renting tent space in his yard at 1320 Junction for the past 10 years and said the low numbers are due to high gas prices and the fact that some of his annual campers are getting older and not returning this year.
“I thought it was going to be down. I talked to people at the campgrounds, and they said they were 30 to 40 percent down from last year; there are hotel rooms open, too,” Petrocco said.
Fowlkes said his ex-wife started renting out bedrooms and tent space 20 years ago, and he took over by himself 10 or 12 years ago.
He has never had to advertise, and he also said he has never had to turn anybody away. Fowlkes said people hear about him through world of mouth, referrals, or see his “Beds N Tents” sign out in his front lawn.
“All hours, day and night, they straggle in. They will see the sign; they will ask these people sitting in the front yard, ask them a few questions, and then come on in and find me,” he said.
This summer is the second rally that Angi Bergman has lived on Junction; she took over for the previous owner’s camping rentals. She said she didn’t know where all of the bikers would stay if it weren’t for the people who rented out their houses and yards.
Bergman said she has about 17 people camping and an additional five people staying in bedrooms in their house. For $20 per person per night, Bergman said the campers have tent space, a porta-potty and a shower in the garage.
“I enjoy it. It’s fun, and we have bikes, so we get involved,” Bergman said. “I just like to meet the people.”
Fowlkes said he has met people from all over the world through renting tent space and bedroom space. He has three bedrooms, a bunkhouse and sometimes uses the basement for barracks-style housing, plus the tents set out outside.
“I like the people, people from all over the world. Every year, we get people from a different country,” Fowlkes said. “Bikers have such camaraderie; they meet people here from last year. They just cannot wait to get back to see those people, and of course, the landlord has a little tiny bit to play with that part.”
By Sarah Reinecke, Journal staff Saturday, August 09, 2008
–from Rogue
BIKERNET MEDICAL UNIVERSITY TEST–The doctor tells his patient: “Linda, I have some good news and some bad news.”
Linda asks for the good news first.
“Well, the test results are in, and the good news isthat you aren’t suffering from Pre-menstrual Syndrome, as you’d feared.”
“And the bad news?” Linda asks.
To which the Doc replies:”I’m afraid there’s no cure for being a natural bitch.”
–from Rogue
KILL A BIKER, GO TO JAIL– In May, ABATE got a letter from a Kathy Paddack who lost her son Timothy Bennett, in a left turn motorcycle crash and was looking for someone to help her persuade the judge in the case to pass a meaningful sentence in the case. The crash happened at 5 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2005. Tim was traveling west on Hwy 82 and the defendant, traveling east on 82 turned her pick-up truck left into a tavern parking lot directly into his path. She went into the tavern to call for help and then returned outside, where another person was already rendering aid to Tim, so she helped direct traffic until emergency personal arrived on the scene.
When the Marquette County officer interviewed her, both she and her husband claimed that he was the driver at the time of the crash, not her. That being the case there were no tests performed on her to see if she had been drinking. (She has since had an OWI conviction for another incident.) When the Sheriff?s office finally determined that she was in fact the driver they forwarded that information to the District Attorney who then filed ?hit and run resulting in a death? charges, against both her and her husband.
The judge dismissed the case because the defendants did not flee the scene, they had ?only obstructed justice? by not identifying her as the driver and he did not believe hit and run was the right charge. The DA followed up by taking the case to the Appeals Court. The Appeals Court decided the charges were appropriate because in their opinion it is the duty of the driver to identify himself or herself as the driver. The Appeals Court ordered the judge to hear the case. The defendant?s lawyer then appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear it, so the Appeals Court decision stood.
The case did not have to go to trial because the defendant (her husband had died of cancer) came to a plea agreement with the DA. This was about the time that Kathy found out about ABATE from a Share the Road placemat and sent in her letter requesting help. I spoke with Kathy and we decided that we would do what we could to help influence the judge. Having never worked with the courts before, Greg Rodd, Chubby and I put together a plan of attack. Wanting a professional opinion, I sent our plan to Attorney Mike Hupy for his opinion and suggestions on how to proceed.
Mike reviewed our plan with me in several phone calls and then sent it to the Public Relations firm he works with and requested they start looking at this. Several days later they replied with a plan very close to what we had drafted and included a price of $1,000 to $1200 for the work. I replied to Mike that I would need to get BOD (board of directors) approval for that expenditure. In a return email, Mike said that ?Hupy and Abraham S. C. would pay for the PR involvement.? This was completely unexpected, but much appreciated. This started a flurry of emails between the PR firm, Chubby, Mike and I reviewing opinion pieces and possible releases and alerts to the local media.
Kathy provided the contact information for me to talk with the Victim?s Advocate in the DA?s office to get her take on what was happening. She suggested that it would be helpful if several ABATE Officers would be able to speak at the sentencing. With the sentencing being July 9th there was time for a discussion with some of the members of 2J, Adams and Marquette Counties at the Hummer. Bruce Hall, Region Rep for 2J, agreed to speak along with Chubby and myself. Arrangements were made with the DA for the three of us to make statements and we were set to go.
The day before the sentencing we received word that the Portage paper was sending a reporter and wanted to talk to someone from ABATE and that the Marquette County paper had published the opinion piece with Mike Hupy?s name on it. This was a result of the work of the PR firm. The morning of the hearing there were 13 ABATE members in the hall outside the courtroom along with Tim?s parents and the Victim?s Advocate from the DA?s office. The local Sheriff and two of his deputies joined us. He introduced himself and thanked us for showing up to help make a difference. He went over the rules of the court, no weapons or outbursts of emotion. He offered to hold any weapons we may have and told to contact one if his deputies if we needed anything.
At the appointed time, we filed into the small Marquette County courtroom. Between those of us from ABATE and Tim?s family we took up most of the seats. We got to see the judge in action as he sentenced defendants in several other cases before ours was called. When our case was called he started by berating the DA for not bringing the right charges. When it came time for me to speak on behalf of the victim, the judge erupted again because ?there was no victim here?. The DA argued that the victim was not in court because he had been killed. When the judge finally settled down, I was allowed to proceed. That is until one of our members (?thanks? Mary) took a picture and set him off about that. At least he seemed to take an interest in my statement when I got to the part about personal responsibility and how it applied to his case. He even had several comments and questions when I was done.
Chubby was next and he focused on the toll Right-of-Way violations took statewide last year and the need to do something about them. Bruce got to play clean-up and fill in where we had missed. When the judge asked him what ABATE stood for and Bruce told him A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments he kicked back in his chair an gave us a ?thumbs up?.
We were followed by Tim?s mother; she gave a very powerful statement that made many eyes in the court wet. Then it was time for the DA to give his final speech, along with his recommendation for a sentence, 12 years in prison, with the last 5 to 7 being parole. The defense attorney got the last chance to speak.
To the judge?s credit when he tried to bring up the fact that Tim may have had intoxicants in his system at the time of the crash, the judge cut him off, as that had no bearing on the defendant turning in front of him. He asked that the sentence be no more than one year in the Adams County jail with work release. He wanted Adams County instead of Marquette County because that would make it easier for the defendant to find a ride to work.
When the judge was ready to pass sentence he again admonished the DA because all he felt he could sentence the defendant on was the obstruction part of the charge. He did quote some of the responsibility statements I had made so I know he was paying attention. The final outcome was one year in the Marquette County jail with work release privileges, including credit for time already served.
I would like to thank everyone who helped with this effort, Mike Hupy for being a sounding board and for hiring the PR firm, Chubby for shutting his business down for the day and coming up from the Milwaukee area, Bruce, and the folks for 2J for taking a day off from work, and Bill Roberge and Rick Mellon for traveling from the west side of the state to just be there. This was a learning experience for all of us and we intend to pull this knowledge together and spread the knowledge to the Regions for all of ABATE to use. As long as drivers keep violating our right-of-way, we need more headlines that read, ?Woman to serve jail time in Motorcycle fatality?.
By Dave Dwyer –from Tony Sanfelipo FIRST MARRIAGE BY HARLEY IN JAMAICA–Hey,Thought I’d send your awesome site some pics I took at the new Harley and 1st Harley Jamaica in Montego Bay.For all Youheadig south this winter 100 Harleys for rental soon to come.The pics are of my husband and I. We eloped this last Friday 13th (June). No regrets! Best ever! Ride Free BIKERNET FREE CONTEST ALIVE AGAIN–Click on the banner above to enter our FREE contest. Prizes will be given away bi-monthly. Here is our pick for today: TRACY COURSEY – OK, Tracy isn’t gonna get a Panhead, but a Bikernet T-shirt and other goodies instead. TICKETS AT THE ASMI BOOTH ? WINDHORSE SALOON– Between the Harley Davidson Museum and Miller Stadium. Raffle for two Tickets (valued at $1700.00), Two nights Hotel stay at the Renaissance Hotel & Spa in Hollywood (valued at $700) and Two day bike rental (valued at $300.00) with $1000.00 cash for travel provided by Hupy & Abraham, S.C.. Tickets only $5.00 each or 5/$20.00 All proceeds go to ASMI ? a non-profit org. dedicated to reducing injuries and fatalities to motorcyclists Drawing will be held at Windhorse Saloon on Monday, September 1st 10:00 AM A NEW Way to Start OLD Iron– Good old necessity. A few years back I found myself in the shop one winter night pondering my latest technical challenge?a stroked pan chopper and a close Brother unable to kick start it. A machinist/mechanic by trade always asks, ?what if?? Many sessions at the lathe and mill later produced the first RIGHT SIDE ELECTRIC STARTER. The refined product replaces the kicker cover on ratchet top FOUR SPEEDS in RIGID or SWINGARM frames. Utilizing a late style xl starter motor and via gear and chain reduction, torque is applied to a stem gear meshed with the oem 16 tooth kick starter gear. The starter motor 9 tooth gear is always engaged for quiet operation and longevity. The RSES drive train is disengaged at the oem starter clutch via proprietary parts. A PATENT IS PENDING. An electric start oil tank and battery is required. A foot or hand clutch master cylinder is required to operate an enclosed slave cylinder against the included heavy wafer style throwout bearing kit. The introductory price of $895 also includes the starter motor. –By Russ Peterson E-mail Russ at cnc56pan@hotmail.com Wire Plus Introduces their New Line of Power Ports– Winfield, KS- Wire Plus Powersports Electronics is proud to introduce their new line of Power Ports. They?re stylish solutions for the connection of phones, GPS devices, laptops, heated vests and gloves, cigarette lighters, portable music systems and the list goes on. Best of all you can maintain and charge your battery through this port when not riding. Any device that connects to a 12V power supply through a standard cigarette lighter can be charged with one of these Power Ports. Available in dual port or single port, they can be installed in minutes by connecting 2 wires to your battery and attaching the unit directly on either the horn bolt or to any other location with one bolt mounting. Simple, effective and immediate power right at your fingertips every time you ride! These high quality billet Power Ports are available in luxurious chrome or black powder coated and start at $69.00 MSRP for the Bullet Single Port and $94.50 MSRP for either Dual Port style. (Double Barrel or V-Twin) Reliability?Ease of Installation?and Quality all in One?Wire Plus! For those interested in obtaining more information on Wire Plus? new Power Ports or to order direct, you can reach them at (620) 221-2417. Check them out online at www.wire-plus.com or email them at sales@wire-plus.com. THANKFUL FOR STURGIS– Numbers down? That?s what we heard, not what we saw! Thanks to all of you who came by the booth, showed off our sheetmetal on your bikes, demo rode and bought the Flare windshield, and just stopped to genuinely express your appreciation for what we do! We have heard the cry of less people at ever rally and we have done better than ever thanks to all of you coming by. Mass numbers are down, QUALITY people stopping in is up! What an honor to be on Main Street Sturgis for my daughter Karlee?s first visit at 14 and hear her say, ?He?s rockin the Flare!? That is slang for using the performance windshield on your bagger! After 33 years of attending the event since age 8, it was a very humbling experience to see many utilizing our technology to make your bikes handle better. Of course, for Karlee, Reuben Brown of the Chicago Bears is what really mattered. We also heard Rusty Wallace and fellow NASCAR pals were rockin? the Flare! As many of you heard, Laura?s dad, Dave, was involved in a motorcycle accident in which someone did a U-turn in front of him and their bikes collided. He is currently in the Rapid City hospital with a broken leg and crushed ankle. We ask that you keep him in your prayers as well as the other gentleman involved. Accidents are constant reminders of precious time and where our values lie ? let us be thankful! Speaking of thankful, Sturgis is such an opportunity for all of our staff to be involved and participate. It was an honor to meet Malcolm Smith during his induction into the Sturgis Hall of Fame along with the other inductees, including two amazing women riders. I was thankful Laura and her father got to participate in a Michael Lichter photo shoot and ride organized by Jay Allen of the Broken Spoke. Thankful that Joe and Michelle got to ride with Chris from Cycle Source. Thankful that we all got to see old friends and made new ones. Thankful for the events our Krew could participate in and thankful to hear from all of you there who stopped to say Hi! ?thankful for Sturgis? ? Brian Klock NEW BOOK JUST RELEASED, A Road Without End, The JUS BROTHERS,Motorcycle Club, 1990-2007– …..Michael Patrick McCusker, known tohis friends as Irish Mike, is a very interestingfellow. He married his high school sweet-heart, Debbie, and after all these years, he isstill very devoted to her. Mike worked tele-communications in California for 32 yearsbefore retiring while in his mid-50’s and movingto Carson City, Nevada. In 1990, Mike foundedthe JUS BROTHERS M/C. In the beginning,this was a small, tight group of guys who wantedto ride and who shared the same interests andvalues. But the club has been very succesful,and it has grown considerably. Mike said, “Wewere fortunate to pick up some very talented anddedicated Brothers over the years that have con-tributed a great deal to further the club to whereit is today.” And where it is today is four chaptersstrong. You may also recognize Mike’s name fromTHUNDER PRESS. He has a talent for writing, and you have sometimes seen his articles as aRepeat Offender. A few years ago, Debbie devel-oped fibromyalgia and became disabled. Mikesaid that his 400-mile round trip rides to take careof club business and the need to stay home to carefor his wife stretched him too thin. So, after 17 years, he retired from JUS BROTHERS. At the urging of another long-term club member, Mikebegan to write a book outlining the beginning, thehistory, the how, where, and why of the club. Ittook about a year to finish the first draft, and aftermany rewrites, changes and editing, he put hispen down and said, “That’s it.” The book is entitledA Road Without End, The JUS BROTHERS Motor-cycle Club, 1990 – 2007. Mike says the language isauthentic and on the rough side, but he doubts thetype of readers it will attract will be offended. Itis also loaded with photographs. The book is beingpublished by Publish America and should be avail-able soon. Their website is PublishAmerica.com,and Mike says he always welcomes e-mail atjusbrotherirish@yahoo.com. The website for theclub is jusbrothersmc.com. –Kay Cardwell
–Nanouk aka Debra
ROSEBUD, TEXAS
Suggestion: NEVER RUN OVER TURTLES, STOP AN HELP MY TURTLES MOVE ACROSS THE ROAD. TURTLES ARE THE GROOVIEST ANIMALS GOD PUT DOWN HERE TO ROAM HIS EARTH. SCREW THE WHALES! HELP THE TURTLES CROSS THE ROAD.
Wanted: 1962 PANHEAD ANY SHAPE!!!!!
www.kustomcycles.com
melissa@kustomcycles.com 
c/o THUNDER PRESS
4604 Scotts Valley Dr. Suite 20
Scotts Valley, CA. 95066
kaycardwell@aol.com
707-678-4261
See Ebay for autographed copies
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