Hey,
I talk about Freedom all the time. I bitch about what the government is doing against Freedom and not embracing Freedom. I gripe about politicians never mentioning Freedom. Don’t get me wrong. I believe this country was founded on Freedom and if supported it would add balance to numerous issues and keep the control freaks in check. But maybe my approach could be altered. Watch The Secret. It’s a trippy ditty about positive thinking. It basically says that anything we want can be attained if we thought about it correctly.
According to The Secret I need to ASK for whatever I desire, then BELIEVE it can happen, and finally RECEIVE IT. So, get ready. I’m sure there’s a better way. Let’s hit the news and ponder how Freedom will become a priority once more. There must be a way. Lots of folks gave their lives for Freedom. We can’t let them down.
THE BOLT PROSPECTIVE– You may use my name “Mac Bolt” on any of this. If you want more info, I will have to see if the other BOLT members want to get involved. Many are club members and we are working on new projects and we don’t want what happened to us regarding our efforts for a CA anti-profiling bill to happen again. FYI it was BOLT members who led the efforts in Washington State for the nations first anti-profiling bill and it was a BOLT member who led the efforts for the same bill in Maryland. And he is pushing for a national bill.
This is a 4-minute YOUTUBE of Lombardo explaining why ABATE went Neutral on SB435. At the very end of the video is BOLT member Eric Partika. He was the only one who found the truth. Others were trying to keep him from testifying. During SB435 testimony was given that motorcycles pollute 195 times more than a car when the exhaust is altered. I have copies of everything.
–Mac Henderson
BOLT California
This issue has surfaced once more. See below. –Bandit
You might want to send that pic on page 1 of the two high boys cobbled together to Mike Wolfe of Pickers fame. He might be interested in seeing it if he hasn’t accessed the site as yet.
–Rhys
Daytona Beach, FL
CHANCE II, WORLD RUN GOES TO PRINT— 153,000 words. Friday morning I crawled out of bed at 5:45 to review the last four chapters of Chance II, World Run. I finished it, and later in the morning shipped it to my layout guy, a buddy who publishes crime drama books.
This has been a daunting effort and at 68, it may be my last book. But, what the hell, it’s been a fun ride. I suppose at heart I’m a writer and a biker. I love to write, ride, and build bikes. So what the hell, we’ll see what happens next. I should have copies in the next couple of months.
Hang on,
–K. Ball
–Paul Aiken
Aeromach Manufacturing
AUSTRALIAN CLUB REPORT– New anti-biker strike team for South Australia.
The formation of an Adelaide strike team for the National Anti-Gangs Squad will intensify the war against outlaw bikies in South Australia.
The eight-member team will work with SA police to target the state’s most notorious bikie gang members and their illegal activities.
It will comprise two senior SA detectives, five Australian Federal Police officers and an analyst from the Taxation Department, who will target the tax and income of individual targets.
Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan will on Friday announce details of the initiative, which is expected to cost the Federal Government $3.25 million over 15 months.
South Australia has had a NAGS liaison officer embedded in the Crime Gangs Task Force since January, 2014. That has directly resulted in 16 SAPOL and nine AFP-led gang-related operations.
Mr Keenan said on Thursday night that organized crime gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs represented an “ongoing criminal threat to our country’’.
“They are violent predators who profit from the misery of drug trafficking, drug manufacturing, extortion, prostitution and firearms trafficking,’’ he said.
“We know for a fact that OMCGs are underworld market drivers in crimes such as drug manufacturing and trafficking, extortion, prostitution and firearms trafficking.
“But modern technologies are also enabling these criminals to expand their reach globally and inject themselves beyond traditional business models into new markets — increasing the misery being peddled and generating greater proceeds from crime.’’
The Advertiser newspaper revealed two weeks ago that local bikie gang members had resorted to using encrypted communications devices to thwart new laws banning them from communicating with one another.
The devices, which cost several thousand dollars each and cannot be intercepted by police, enable them to send messages encrypted with military grade technology to facilitate their illegal activities.
The latest police figures indicate bikie numbers have dropped in SA since strict anti-association laws were introduced last August. There are now 276 patched members, compared with 306 on August 6.
While up to 10 clubhouses have been abandoned or closed completely, police are aware gang members are meeting covertly in private homes as well as using the encrypted devices.
Mr Keenan said Australia had become a target for organized criminals from around the world because Australians “are paying top dollar’’ for drugs such as methamphetamines and ice being trafficked by gang members.
“Users are not only bankrolling the gangs that are infiltrating and destroying our communities with their dangerous drugs, but they are ensuring our nation remains a lucrative market for criminal exploitation,’’ he said.
“Our law enforcement agencies are going as hard as they can with all the tools we have provided, but these efforts will always be challenged by OMCGs and their criminal business models.’’
The SA strike team will be able to call on all the resources at the disposal of the Federal Government to tackle organised criminal gangs.
SA police on Thursday night welcomed the creation of the SA strike team. Acting Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Tom Osborn said it would “considerably enhance’’ SAPOL’s capability to conduct major and protracted investigations into organized criminal activity involving gang members.
“It enables us to strengthen the serious crime investigations we are doing in relation to the gangs,’’ he said.
“The new legislation has already had an impact in terms of limiting and reducing their overt behaviors that impact public safety, but they are still very much involved in organized criminal activity.
“By working very closely with the Commonwealth agencies and using their resources and intelligence holdings collaboratively, we can also have an impact on this type of activity and further enhance public safety.’’
The SA team is the fifth strike team established nationally and follows those launched in Queensland and New South Wales in October 2013, and Victoria in November 2014.
To date, the NAGS strike teams have resulted in more than 1000 offenders being arrested on more than 3000 charges and the seizure of 555 illegal guns, $5.4 million in cash, illegal drugs including more than 130kg of methamphetamine.
Significantly, more than $9.8 million has been raised following tax assessments on individual gang members targeted by the teams.
The NAGS has also supported international law enforcement partners in the arrest of 25 offenders overseas.
The NAGS now comprises 91 members nationwide from federal and state police forces. It also includes officers from the Australian Crime Commission, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Human Services.
WEEKEND GUN NUT REPORT–
Hillary Clinton Lies (Again), Says Washington Post– On Tuesday, the Washington Post’s fact checkers gave Hillary Clinton “Three Pinocchios” for blaming Vermont’s gun laws, which are like those of most states, for crimes that take place in New York.
Clinton’s on-going smear campaign is intended to tarnish the reputation of her competitor for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, Vermont’s junior U.S. senator, Bernie Sanders. Clinton is resorting to her dishonest attack because lying is her most highly refined political reflex, and, perhaps partially for that reason, Sanders has defeated her in seven of the last eight state caucuses and primaries.
As we noted in last week’s Alert, Clinton’s claim about Vermont is absurd, because ATF firearm tracing data show that less than one percent of guns recovered by police in New York were first sold at retail in Vermont, the average time between those sales and the recovery of those relatively few guns in New York is 15 years, the few guns in question may have entered New York lawfully for any number of reasons, and Sanders, as a national officeholder, does not vote on state laws.
After Clinton was widely rebuked for her accusation, she tried to wiggle out of it by claiming that she meant to say that Vermont accounted for the most guns ending up in New York, relative to Vermont’s population. But, as the Post explains, the relatively small population of Vermont is irrelevant; to the extent that anything could be gleaned from ATF’s firearm tracing data, the only thing that would count is the number of guns coming from a state. Therefore, the newspaper notes, “ATF (correctly) calculates gun trafficking data by raw figures, not per capita.”
However, ATF tracing data have limitations. As the agency notes in its tracing reports, “[n]ot all firearms used in crime are traced and not all firearms traced are used in crime. . . . The firearms selected [for tracing] do not constitute a random sample and should not be considered representative of the larger universe of all firearms used by criminals, or any subset of that universe.”
The Post may have failed to recognize another deception Clinton attempted on the same subject. “It’s easy to cross borders,” Clinton told a tiny group of supporters in New York. “Domestic abusers, traffickers, people who are dangerously mentally ill, they cross borders too. And sometimes they do it, to get the guns they use.”
There are two problems with Clinton’s contention. First, in asserting that people from New York (population 20 million) are going to Vermont (population 630,000) to acquire guns, Clinton contradicts her claim that the Vermont-origin guns should be calculated against that state’s relatively small population.
Second, federal law prohibits the sale of any firearm by a non-dealer resident of one state (in Clinton’s hypothesis, New York) to a person who resides in another state (in Clinton’s hypothesis, Vermont), it prohibits a dealer in one state from selling a handgun to a resident of another state, and it prohibits a dealer in one state from selling a rifle or shotgun to a resident of another state unless the sale complies with the laws of the dealer’s and the buyer’s states.
Clinton’s claim about Vermont (and Sanders) is just another in an ever-lengthening list of lies she has been telling for the sake of achieving political power. Clinton didn’t land in Bosnia under sniper fire. She wasn’t named for Sir Edmund Hillary. The U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi wasn’t attacked because of a low-budget video. The number of American deaths from that attack was four, not zero. Sen. Sanders has never voted to give the firearm industry “blanket immunity” from lawsuits; indeed, no such “blanket immunity” exists. And Vermont and Bernie Sanders aren’t responsible for what New York’s criminals do.
Sen. Sanders, taking great pains to put things mildly, now accuses Clinton of a “credibility gap” on the gun issue. To the extent that Democrat voters share his accurate assessment, Clinton will have the troubles she deserves in the days ahead.
QUICK, New Bikernet Reader Comment!–
What type of full chin fairing is on Bob T’s Chop and Grind Dyna? Is it a retro fit? I have a 2015 Dyna StreetBob and want the same thing.. Beautiful Work Dudes!!!
— Willis Corley
williscorley@gmail.com
Atlanta
I’ll ask Bob. Yesterday Jeremiah told me about cheap junk fairings from Lebanon and he also mentioned quality fairings from Big Bear Choppers.–Wrench
LESS THAN 2 WEEKS UNTIL the 34th LAUGHLIN RIVER RUN, APRIL 27th – 30th–
Hang on for CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVISTED and BRET MICHAELS; all on the banks of the majestic Colorado River – For more info http://www.laughlinriverrun.com
This place is closed. The thug drug addict murderer Lou Derosa hopefully never returns. Not only did he spend many years behind bars for murder, he also assaulted one of his employees with a knife stabbing him in the face.
Long time gang member, Bad Boys is gone for good. Derosa behind bars for good. Life or better.
— Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, FL
WE WON THIS BATTLE: According to the EPA “The final Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles will not contain clarifying language regarding modification for racing purposes.”
For more information read “Removing Clarifying Language from the Proposed Phase 2 Medium- and Heavy-Duty Greenhouse Gas Standards”
More information on RPM Act and proposed EPA regulation:
Members of both chambers of Congress have introduced versions of a bill that would prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating the conversion of street motorcycles and other motor vehicles into competition-only racers. The EPA failed to provide proper notice of this regulation, including it in an unrelated heavy-duty-truck regulation. The proposed rule would hurt thousands of amateur and professional motorcycle racing enthusiasts and the millions of fans who enjoy motorcycle competition.
The bi-partisan Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016 (H.R. 4715 and S. 2659, RPM Act) would ensure that converting motor vehicles into competition-only vehicles remains legal. Street motorcycles are considered motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act.
The act states that it was the clear intent of Congress when passing and amending the Clean Air Act that motor vehicles, including motorcycles, used solely for competition would be exempt from the Clean Air Act’s prohibitions against modifying emission control devices.
The American Motorcyclist Association supports the bills and their protections for amateur and professional racing enthusiasts.
The AMA is coordinating efforts with the Specialty Equipment Market Association and other racing sanctioning bodies in support of the RPM Act. SEMA represents vehicle aftermarket manufacturers, marketers and distributers.
Now more than ever, it is crucial that you and your riding friends become members of the AMA to help protect our riding freedoms. More members mean more clout against the opponents of motorcycling. That support will help fight for your rights – on the road, trail and racetrack and in the halls of government.
If you are a motorcycle rider, join the AMA at americanmotorcyclist.com/membership/join.
SUNDAY SPECIAL VIDEO FROM THE SHERIFF— Robison’s H-D Daytona Beach legendary dealership, started in ’62 but the factory shut them down in ’93.
–SHERIFF MEDIA GROUP
S-36030 LAMMHULT
SWEDEN
BIKERNET BUSINESS REPORT— CITIgroup profits are down 27 percent. BP oil is facing their worst year ever, and Peabody Coal filed for Bankruptcy protection. See below:
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Peabody Energy, the nation’s largest coal miner, filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday as a crosscurrent of environmental, technological and economic changes wreak havoc across the industry.
Peabody’s planned sale of its New Mexico and Colorado assets were terminated after the buyer was unable to complete the deal.
The bankruptcy filing comes less than three months after another from Arch Coal, the country’s second-largest miner, which followed bankruptcy filings from Alpha Natural Resources, Patriot Coal and Walter Energy.
New energy technology and tightening environmental regulations have throttled the industry and led to a wave of mine closures and job cuts. Peabody makes most of its money by selling its coal to major utilities that power the nation’s electric grid.
Coal still powers about a third of the U.S. electrical grid, despite the rapid succession of bankruptcies.
I don’t understand the oil industry. They got rich off 25 cents a gallon gas. Their productivity must be through the roof by now and the efficiency should be golden. Are taxes too high? Are government regs eating them alive? Or did they not plan for a drop in prices?—Bandit
MOVIE REVIEW— 21 DAYS UNDER THE SKY by Dice Magazine. A helluva job. It’s a cool one-hour flick that takes four classic chopper riders across the nation to a Brooklyn Bike Show. They stop to see the master, Tom Fugle, an old El Forastero, who was a brother of David Mann back in the day.
Great music, well written, and hopefully they will do well with it.
–Bandit
[page break]
NMA REPORT, How Technology Facilitates Roadside Justice–
The California Senate recently took up a bill that would let police officers use oral fluid drug screening tests to check motorists for the presence of drugs in their systems. The proposed test is administered with a handheld device that uses an oral swab to check for the presence of a variety of controlled substances including marijuana (THC), cocaine, methamphetamine and painkillers.
Police won’t need a search warrant to administer the test and will be able to use it under the flimsiest of pretenses. That’s what the Standard Field Sobriety Test is for, after all. Few drivers, even the soberest, ever pass the physical tests, and that failure gives the officer justification to move on to more intrusive chemical testing.
In all states, implied consent laws require drivers suspected of driving impaired to submit to a variety of tests that can include physical tests, breath tests and chemical tests. Implied consent refers to a legal concept that motorists automatically give consent to such tests when they apply for a driver’s license.
The types of tests subject to implied consent as well as the penalties for refusal vary by state. In California, for example, you must submit to breath and chemical testing (blood or urine) once arrested, or face license suspension, fines and jail time if convicted of DUI. A refusal will be used against you in a court of law, and you do not have the right to have an attorney present prior to or during testing.
In California, you have the right to refuse a preliminary (prior to arrest) breath test, and the officer needs to tell you that. Based on the proposed bill language, the oral swab test will serve the same function as a preliminary breath test and be used to establish “reasonable cause” to believe you’re driving under the influence of drugs. You can refuse to take it, but the officer will simply look for another way to establish probable cause to arrest you.
And like a breath test, concerns arise over the reliability of the results. We know that breathalyzer results have error rates of up to 50 percent, which means that a breathalyzer reading of .08 BAC may only actually be .04 BAC, well under the legal limit. Observers point out that oral swab testing is unproven technology, and its accuracy has not been demonstrated in published scientific studies. And who’s going to make sure patrol officers are certified CSI technicians?
Questions also arise over whether oral swab test results have any correlation to impaired driving. Even if the test reveals some level of drugs in the system, does this mean the driver is actually impaired?
So far, a handful of states have set legal limits for levels of THC—the psychoactive substance in marijuana—in the blood. Two states where recreational marijuana use is legal (Colorado and Washington) have set the intoxication level at five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. Note that research into the effects of marijuana on drivers is mixed, and there is little consensus that this level equates to impairment in all drivers. Clouding matters even more, remnants of marijuana use can remain in the blood for weeks and show up in test results.
All of this makes for a complicated and perilous landscape for drivers. (Learn more here about how to protect yourself during a DUI stop.) Nobody wants impaired drivers on the road. But the technologies and methods used to identify those drivers are imperfect at best, even though they have a cache of infallibility. They can also be highly intrusive (forced blood draws and the like), which raises serious constitutional issues.
The potential good news is that the U.S. Supreme Court is set to take up a trio of cases which will ultimately clarify the rules for prosecuting drivers under so-called no refusal laws, which compel drivers to submit to chemical testing.
The bad news is that these issues will never go away, as new technology allows police to quickly conduct probing investigations of all kinds along the side of the road.
For example, a new device nicknamed a “textalyzer” can determine whether a driver was using a phone prior to a crash. A bill in New York would require drivers involved in accidents to submit their phones to a roadside scan to determine if cell-phone use could have been a factor in the crash.
And police in Texas are using automated license plate readers coupled with credit/debit card readers in their squad cars for roadside collection of unpaid court fines. If the driver can’t pay, it’s off to jail.
Where will it end?
THE ANTI-PROFILING ISSUE from the MRF–
I actually was one of the votes but we must be open for debate. Not trying to stir just want to be involved in what the MRF is doing. I am not one to sit in the corner but one to sit in the front and ask questions. I hope to be able to speak at the Rebel Fest on May 7th, which will have many patch holders. I have reached out to the Warlocks who sponsor our Helmet Law Support Rally for the police escort fees but no response yet.
I also talked with my old buddy Bones from Vegas. He is the President of the Skoners. I am going to send him the MRF press release.
Nicole and her husband that plan to come up with us have contact with various patch holders and Woody is the President of his Veterans Club. So we have a good cross section here and may have more once we have something that is more concrete.
Thanks,
Ralph
“MICHELLE HOLCOMB”
It will be interesting to speak to club members here in SC to see if they are being profiled. As independents it is hard for us to truthfully state there is no problem without speaking to them first. I agree that we must support what the MRF reps voted for. We can’t pick and choose how much energy we will put into something just because we don’t agree whole heartedly with it. We must give everything we do 100%. We have to be a united front and I don’t see that here.
–Shelly Holcomb
James Miller via Reps Wrote:
Thanks Todd!!
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
Jim Miller
ABATE of Wisconsin
District 7 Director
Region 7B Regional Representative
MRF State Assistant Representative
Ralph Bell (SC Ass’t Rep) via Reps
Good point and looking forward to see where this goes. I just am a little on the fence having watched how things have been for the last 10 years. I am also still trying to figure out what this really does?
–Ralph
“Rodney Farley” wrote:
This is true.
Arkansas Rep.
Todd riba via Reps wrote:
Just a quick reminder, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation received clear instructions from SSMRO leadership at the legislative planning session to pursue this issue so that is what we are doing. Is this language perfect? Probably not but it’s a start.
–Todd
Ralph Bell Jr. via Reps wrote:
Jim, I wanted to address the “No Colors” policy that some business have in South Carolina. We basically understand that a business doesn’t have to let us in if they don’t want to and we don’t want to spend our money there if they are anti-biker. We feel we have to respect that it is their right not to serve and respect that they can run their private business how they want even if it is stupid.
I think the anti profiling or the anti biker issue is tough if you want to stop what we have allowed to happen over the last 10 years. The federal government supports and finances through grants a large data base called Gang Net just for OMG’s. They have actually been having conferences longer than we have been having the Meeting of the Minds!
I remember Stillray covering this when he was fighting the Fusion Centers in Arizona. If the biker community gets an anti profiling bill unless it takes the money and data bases away I personally feel it is a smoke screen. They have managed to make all of us guilty by association.
Please take some time and go through some of the links below and if you want to truly be free this is the animal you will have to fight.
Just my two cents,
–Ralph Bell
SC Ass Rep
Fusion Centers issues: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_center
International Outlaw Motorcycle Gang InvestIgators Association: https://iomgia.net/
Upcoming Bikers in the beltway items
From: jfsmith60@hotmail.com
In New Mexico we are just starting work on anti-profiling legislation. I am seeing from numerous states that they don’t have profiling issues, but if you have any businesses that have no colors signs or as we just had here in district court building security making Guardians of the Children take their vests off then you have profiling.
I was told to remove my vest checking into the excaliber casino/hotel in Las Vegas Nevada. I have a Patriot Guard Riders patch on my vest. Folks that is profiling. When you have law enforcement outside of SMRO meetings taking pictures that is profiling. So yes it needs to be challenged at the state & federal level.
Yes, the main target are the 1%clubs but any individual should be allowed to associate with who they chose. Seems like the US Constitution says something about this. When they get rid of the clubs who will they chose as the next target. These are the types of things we are talking with our legislators about.
On the event insurance question as coordinator of the Rt. 66 Freedom Ride, Flight & Cruise we carry insurance. The NM State Police ride with us but will not allow us to call it an escort even thought they do traffic control. Also in NM road guards are basically illegal & if a road guard is involved in an accident it is their personnel responsibility.
I know AZ. PGR actually has a course to get certified as a legal road guard, but not sure of the legal responsibility that goes with that certfication. We attempted road guarding legislation here in NM but law enforcement took a very strong stance against it from the start.
–Jim
NM MRF assistant state rep.
I do agree with Ralph and Jiggs. I have had no profile problem in VA and the states I frequent a lot. Just not sure how I would talk on the subject to my congressman without some very good points on the subject.
–Wes Hurst
VIRGINIA
I agree with Ralph. I have never had a problem being profiled, now i know people that have. So i really don’t know how to approach my congressional delegation on this. Some talking points would be great.
–Jiggs Cressey
I’m looking to buy a wheelchair trike (not battery operated). Is there anyone in South Africa who can help me.
I know there are wheelchair trikes manufactured in other parts of the world, but the cost to bring one over to SA is going to be threw the roof. Do you know of anyone who can help??
–Gail
gail@bouncepromotions.com
Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
NEWS FROM THE TOWN FOR CHOPPER– We’ve been working on this project for several months and we’re proud to announce we finally have the first Dice Digital back issue bundle ready for you. We digitized every issue from 50-61 (the Max Schaaf issue, Biltwell special issue, Japan special issue and all the rest) and put it up for a discounted price. We hope you enjoy all 1,584 pages of Dice issues 50-61, now we’ll get to work on the next batch!
Stay independent,
–Zack and Scott
Weekly Special
Download Dice Digital
12 issue bundle
“I love the functionality of the online version…It’s pretty rad!”
~Mark O., verified buyer
This bundle contains TWELVE (12) amazing Dice magazine back issues for the first time in digital form! Issues 50-61 are featured in their entirety with tons of additional builder links and videos. Support Dice. Support Choppertown. Grab this bundle.
TIP: Don’t forget our “Build Your Own Bundle” plan so you can save every time you order. Choose ANY three items from the site (even discounted ones and bundles!) and you save 10%, any four save 15%, and any five take 20% off.
The Choppertown ‘Stay Independent’ tee-shirt eats all other shirts for breakfast. Designed for the Choppertown community by artist Gaetano Sole. A great way to show your support!
1. ankle boots with ridged soles, used especially for hiking.
Quotes
Dressed in his usual uniform–a red-and-blue-checked flannel shirt, safari vest, high-topped waffle stompers, and faded jeans–Ted looked like he should be out in some wilderness area …
— Mary Mackey, The Kindness of Strangers, 1988
Origin
Wafflestompers is an Americanism from the 1970s.
ACTION REQUEST FROM THE AMA– Bill promotes wider availability of unsafe E15 fuel. Tell your representative to oppose!
On March 22, U.S. Rep. David Loebsack (D-Iowa) introduced H.R. 4673, the Renewable Fuel Utilization, Expansion, and Leadership Act” or the “REFUEL Act.” The bill would provide federal grants to purchase and install new or existing infrastructure (i.e., pumps, storage tanks, internal tank lining, piping, and electric vehicle chargers). The infrastructure must be used in the “process of dispensing fuel containing covered renewable or alternative energy.”
The bill contradicts the will of Congress, which prohibited funding for special ethanol blender pumps in the FARM bill.
Despite congressional intent to stop blender pumps from being subsidized, this bill follows U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s end-around efforts to use other programs to fund blender pumps.
These pumps would be a key component in helping to expand the availability of E15 fuel, a blend of gasoline that includes up to 15 percent ethanol by volume.
None of the estimated 22 million motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles in use in the United States is certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to operate on fuel containing more than 10 percent ethanol. Inadvertent use of E15 in vehicles not designed for its use can damage fuel system and engine components and void manufacturer’s warranties.
Tell your representative to oppose H.R. 4673. Send a prewritten message by clicking the “Take Action” link.
Take Action!
Now more than ever, it is crucial that you and your riding friends become members of the AMA to help protect our riding freedoms. More members mean more clout against the opponents of motorcycling. That support will help fight for your rights – on the road, trail and racetrack and in the halls of government. If you are a motorcycle rider, join the AMA at americanmotorcyclist.com/membership/join.
I am a double-amputee above knee. I have a trike with a 1600 vw motor. I need ideas how to modify it so I can ride again.
Can someone please help me with ideas for modify the clutch, brake and acceleration I would be so grateful so I can start living life again.
— Patrick glass
glasspatrick67@gmail.com
Dallas, TX
The amazing Triking Viking will reach out to help him immediately.–Bandit
INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW JAVELIN
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Like our #1 best selling Ultra shield, the new Javelin has a wide re-curve for awesome wind protection. And like our Stealth, the new Javelin has the great looks and aerodynamic design which cuts through the wind and offers the same “downward” force to the front end making a more stable ride even at higher speeds.
114th SOUTH CAROLINA Congress, First Session Policy Positions–
– Mandatory Roadside Motorcycle checkpoints. Support efforts to fully defund any attempt by the federal government to encourage the states to conduct these discriminatory checkpoints. Support by cosponsoring Senators Shaheen and Johnson’s bill S. 127 and Representative Sensenbrenner’s H.R. 1861, which will prohibit any future federal funding of motorcycle only roadside checkpoints.
– Ethanol blended fuel. Support efforts to provide a comprehensive assessment of the scientific and technical research on the implications of the use of mid-level ethanol blends, and for other purposes. We are concerned about the use of E-15 use in motorcycles since it has already been prohibited by the EPA and manufacturers are voiding warranties. Support H.R. 21 sponsored by Representative Sensenbrenner.
– Outside Agency Interference. Oppose any federal agencies that are not transportation related from issuing any motorcycle related recommendations, such as the GAO, NTSB and the CDC have recently done.
– Helmet law. Oppose any and all efforts by the federal government to implement national helmet law.
– Protect Privacy. Support the black box and driver privacy protection acts which give vehicle owners the right to ownership of data collected on vehicle event data recorders. Support S. 766 sponsored by Senator John Hoeven.
– Internal Revenue Service. Oppose all attempts of the IRS to limit how 501(c)(4) organizations currently conduct legislative, political and financial business.
– Obama’s Grow America Act. Oppose section 4004 of Obama’s transportation reauthorization proposal that undermines states’ rights when it comes to motorcycle safety and helmet use.
– Autocycle Vehicle Class. Support the legislation that begins a process to create a new, separate class of vehicles to remove non-motorcycles from the current motorcycle vehicle classification. S.685 introduced by Senator David Vitter addresses this issue, but it is not a permanent solution in its current form, because it does not address non-enclosed vehicles.
–Ralph Bell
SC ABATE Ass Rep
DUCATI SEATTLE MONTHLY RIDE–
Backfire #61 is April 20, 2016! Backfire is held the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Located in Ballard (Seattle), Washington. Focus on cafe racer, rat bikes, vintage Motorcycles, vintage Scooters, vintage mopeds. NOT cruiser focused.
Probably the largest and longest running Cafe Racer gathering of its kind… Backfire moto celebrates the D.I.Y. side of the thriving motorcycle community in the Northwest USA . Typically 300-500 motorcyclists attend . We blast Punk Rock into the crowd of greasy shop talking zombies as they hang out smoking cigars, drinking beer and exchanging important gas soaked information. We focus on the CAFE RACER, RATBIKE, VINTAGE, Dice Bobbers, Vintage Vespa/Lambretta and Vintage Mopeds…
www.backfiremoto.com
ANTI-PROFILING AGAINST REDHEADS–
It is my understanding that is it already against federal law to profile just about anyone for anything.
In SC we don’t seem to have a lot of anti-biker profiling. There will always be a malevolent Barney out there somewhere, but adding another layer of federal anti-profiling laws won’t stop him.
Profiling seems to be a state-by-state issue and should be dealt with at state level. MRF should concentrate it’s time and resources on issues that can’t be solved at state level, ethanol comes immediately to mind.
–Dennis
SC Asst Rep.
THE TRIKING VIKING TAKES ON LINDBY CUSTOMS— That’s right he quizzed the boss of Lindby regarding his tough and comfortable crash bars/riding pegs.
Check it out.
–Bandit
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING MOTORCYCLE— That’s our mantra for all our readers.
This is one of the most amazing chops on the planet. I’m just waiting for Ken to come back from Japan with some more info, and we will post the feature.
We are working hard on our leather line. We have a new super-clean vest coming. The local bros are lined up for this one. I’ll bring you photos as soon as they land.
Our Wilmington Mural project may have a benefactor. We have the talent, the resources and the wall. We just need the moola.
The parts are already here for the Biker’s Choice ignition tech. I cleaned off the lift and will position the bike today. I need to reach out to my Crazy Horse Engine expert back east. We may need to pull the cam and send it back to him. This time we need to get it right.
Have a terrific week ahead and remember, if you don’t like your thinking, change it. It’s possible.
Ride Free Forever,
–Bandit
