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Read More THE EDITORIAL BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for January 12th, 2023
By Bandit |
Hey,
This week we published a piece about the state of the Chopper magazine market on Bikernet. As usual, when we delve into a topic, shit gets crazy. It’s the nature of every industry. Fifty years ago, life was simple, but exploding. It’s still exploding.
You know and face it daily. Go buy a refrigerator. Now there are a thousand options, sizes and brands. Hell, try to buy a new pair of jeans from Wrangler. Okay, so there are more riders than ever before, if we’re not banned tomorrow. Each guy or gal has their own style of riding and machines.
Then we come up against technology including the internet and social media. Every time something surfaces it divides the market and with each new technology we have opportunities and obstacles. The benefit of magazines is the visual. Web sites can’t do it like a magazine does. When websites were forced to be phone compatible, that messed with them even more.
The benefit of a website includes no word or photo count limitations, but folk don’t seem to want to read anymore. Why am I telling you this? You know it and face it daily.
Here’s the article: https://www.bikernet.com/pages/THE_WORLD_OF_CHOPPER_MAGAZINES_RELEASED.aspx
Let’s hit the news.
The Bikernet Weekly News is sponsored in part by companies who also dig Freedom including: Cycle Source Magazine, the MRF, Las Vegas Bikefest, Iron Trader News, ChopperTown, BorntoRide.com and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.
QUICK HISTORY LESSON–God and “The 3 Mistakes”
What God did at Pearl Harbor that day is interesting and I never knew this little bit of history.
GTour boats ferry people out to the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii every thirty minutes. We just missed a ferry and had to wait thirty minutes. I went into a small gift shop to kill time.
In the gift shop, I purchased a small book entitled, “Reflections on Pearl Harbor ” by Admiral Chester Nimitz . Sunday, December 7th, 1941–Admiral Chester Nimitz was attending a concert in Washington, DC. He was paged and told there was a phone call for him. When he answered the phone, it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the phone.
He told Admiral Nimitz that he (Nimitz) would now be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet.
He landed at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941.
There was such a spirit of despair, dejection and defeat–you would have thought the Japanese had already won the war. On Christmas Day, 1941, Adm. Nimitz was given a boat tour of the destruction wrought on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered the waters everywhere you looked. As the Admiral’s tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, “Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?”Admiral Nimitz’s reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice.
Admiral Nimitz said, “The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make, or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?”
Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, “What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?
Nimitz explained:
Mistake number two: When the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks opposite those ships. If they had destroyed our dry docks, we would have had to tow every one of those ships to America to be repaired. As it is now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time we could have towed them to America. And I already have crews ashore anxious to man those ships.
Mistake number three: Every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is in top of the ground storage tanks five miles away over that hill. One attack plan could have strafed those tanks and destroyed our fuel supply. That’s why I say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make or, God was taking care of America .
I’ve never forgotten what I read in that little book. It is still an inspiration as I reflect upon it. In jest, I might suggest that because Admiral Nimitz was a Texan, born and raised in Fredericksburg, Texas — he was a born optimist. But any way you look at it–Admiral Nimitz was able to see a silver lining in a situation and circumstance where everyone else saw only despair and defeatism.
President Roosevelt had chosen the right man for the right job. We desperately needed a leader that could see silver linings in the midst of the clouds of dejection, despair and defeat.There is a reason that our national motto is, “IN GOD WE TRUST”.
Why have we forgotten?
PRAY FOR OUR COUNTRY! “ In God We Trust”!
Please pass this important message to others. “True Americans” need to stand behind one another and next to each other!
If you believe that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards that would have gotten you labelled a radical 50 years ago, a liberal 25 years ago, and a racist today.
— Thomas Sowell
–from Sam Burns
MONGOLS MC CAN KEEP THEIR LOGO–
A Pasadena appeals court panel ruled Friday that the government cannot seize the logo of the Mongol Nation motorcycle club, but the court let a 2018 racketeering conviction stand.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision that cited the First and Eighth Amendments in a ruling rejecting the government’s forfeiture request of the club’s logo.
Stephen Stubbs, the Mongols’ general counsel, said in a statement that the ruling was “a victory not only for the Mongols Motorcycle Club, but for all motorcycle clubs, freedom, and America as a whole.”
The club, also called the Mongol Nation, is headquartered in Southern California and was originally formed in Montebello in 1969. Law enforcement officials estimate about 2,000 full-patched members are in the club.
Read the whole story at:
Pasadenastarnew.com
BIKE FEATURE OF THE WEEK—Paul Cox.
–Sam Burns
Feature Bike Editor
Bikernet.com™
BIKE SHOWS COMING–
MOTOR BIKE EXPO
January 27-29, 2023
Veronafiere
Verona, Italy
Every January, Verona, Italy becomes the capital of the motorcycle world as enthusiasts from across the globe descend on the city for the world’s largest custom motorcycle event. This massive expo attracts more than 170,000 visitors to explore over 700 exhibitors in over 1 million square feet of exhibition space.
MBE is the beating heart of the international motorcycle scene. It provides a complete representation of the global two-wheel industry from special to sport to off-road and touring. You’ll have the opportunity to admire unique custom motorcycles from around the globe, as well as the latest models from major motorcycle manufacturers. (Not to mention, all the beautiful MBE hostesses.)
Get a taste of the show by checking out the Buffalo Chip’s previous trips to MBE in Sturgis Rider News’ Highlights from Motor Bike Expo.
MAMA TRIED
February 18-19, 2023
Eagles Ballroom
Milwaukee, WI
To a custom builder, an invitation to display your bike at the Mama Tried Motorcycle Show is as good as getting a golden ticket. This indoor invitational features only the best, with over 100 motorcycles of all calibers––flat tracker, hill climber, chopper, bar hopper, you name it. And you’d be hard pressed to find a cooler venue to see them all in.
In frigid Milwaukee, this two-day event helps builders, riders and enthusiasts keep their fire stoked all winter long. Make sure to plan your trip for an extra day on the front end to check out the Flat Out Friday indoor flat track racing shenanigans.
To catch more of the vibe from this show and the races, check out Sturgis Rider News’ No Fun at Mama Tried & Flat Out Friday.
DONNIE SMITH BIKE SHOW
March 25-26, 2023
St. Paul RiverCentre
St. Paul, MN
You can count on the Donnie Smith Show for a memorable kickoff to your spring riding season. Known as the Midwest Extravaganza, it offers 35 classes of custom motorcycles, the largest swap meet on the planet, tons of vendors and live entertainment. Strolling around the show will also give you the chance to meet industry celebrities, premium sponsors, artists and gear heads.
The Buffalo Chip is the first display you’ll spot as you travel down the escalator into the show. Stop by to see a new signature series B4 custom built by Lloydz Garage and a custom Legends Ride® auction bike created by Arlen Ness Motorcycles. Both bikes will be unveiled at the show and available to drool over all weekend. Along with this eye candy, Chip staff will be on-site to answer questions and sign you up for free passes to the Best Party Anywhere.
Sturgissridernews.com
TEXAS WEATHER REPORT–Took the Dyna up to MC Creations, hopefully it’s okay I used the Bikernet corporate card to purchase these 2 items. Top one was kinda pricey!! Made a few runs on the Shovelhead, even had the law get behind me my first trip out the other day.
And some Houston history, Stelter’s I believe was the first Harley dealer in Downtown Houston, opened in the ‘20s. My dad bought his Panhead there. I got to check it out as well before dad’s passing. Fred, a mechanic worked at Stelters, worked on my dad’s bike too. I was going to have Fred put the S&S 84-inch flywheels in my Shovelhead, then I’d do the top end.
The 84-inch kit I brought from Greg, when he worked at Union Cycle Salvage before he started MC Creations. But 3 tickets one afternoon from HPD and I had to sell it to Johnny Mancuso, to pay the fines. Johnny had recently opened the American Speed original location at N Main. Speeding, loud exhaust & one more? Probably being too wild in public!
I’d imagine everyone knew mister Fred, as N-word Fred and while the term offends many, no one meant it that way, back then. I never met anyone who had nothing but respect for him! Me, I just called him Mr Fred. Sorta like Spade George, who’s picture you posted of him sitting on his bike at the bar.
Fred was an amazing Harley mechanic, white or black we’re losing a lot of History as these individuals pass on! I don’t believe the new guys live it the same way we did. Cross country with no cell phones or social media, roads that now are packed with traffic, then not so much and few to no bikes on them that’s for sure!
–RFR
Texas Weatherman
Bikernet.com
THE INFLATIONARY RULE— There’s only one thing that causes inflation, and that is the government.
Printing more dollars causes inflation.
Since the beginning of the pandemic panic, U.S. dollars in circulation rose from about $15.5 trillion to over $22 trillion:
That’s what causes inflation. Making more dollars reduces the value of every other dollar.
Since the federal government uses inflation, the creation of new money, to pay its bills, we can think of it as a tax. A tax everyone pays in higher prices. Some pay more than others.
Inflation results in a transfer of wealth from savers and workers to speculators, bureaucrats and government-favored special interests. People who worked hard and saved, the retired and anyone on a fixed income are robbed just as surely if they were mugged on the street.
The very people who should be rewarded for their efforts in planning for the future are hurt the most.
Inflation is no different from counterfeiting, printing up dollars in a basement, and buying things with them. Everyone knows this is stealing – fraudulently exchanging something worthless for something valuable. And this is exactly what the government does with inflation. (An undetected counterfeiter “stimulates the economy” as much as government money-printing does.)
Our government gives us what today seems normal – constantly rising prices. They aren’t a fact of life, they are an act of government. Inflation undermines growth and leaves the vast majority of Americans worse off than they would’ve been without all that extra money.
There’s only one safeguard against inflationary destruction.
The Founding Fathers, after their experience with inflation during the Revolution, said that real money was physical gold or silver. Our government is far too addicted to deficit spending to ever voluntarily return to a gold standard.
Eventually, this cycle of borrow-spend-inflate will fail – after destroying the purchasing power of the dollar for all time.
I strongly encourage you to protect your own and your family’s financial futures by diversifying some part of your savings out of dollars and into uninflatable, intrinsically-valuable gold and silver. Both have proven a safe-haven asset for thousands of years before our Founding Fathers used them as the basis of real money.
Unless you believe the government is willing to pull the plug on the printing presses voluntarily, and stop the inflationary destruction of our economy and our nation, I strongly recommend you learn more about diversifying your savings with physical gold and silver.
Both have been prized long before the invention of the dollar, and will likely be valuable long after.
Ron Paul is a medical doctor, a retired Captain of the U.S. Air Force, an author who’s published 21 books and former twelve-term U.S. Congressman representing the state of Texas. He’s emerged as one of the leading voices challenging government’s addiction to deficit spending and the Federal Reserve’s wealth-destructive monetary policies. He works with Birch Gold Group to educate Americans about the threats to their financial futures, and how to protect themselves and their families.
–By Ron Paul
Submitted by Graeme Lowen
New Zealand Correspondent
Bikernet.com
“Wait, or you could invest in motorcycles, custom motorcycles, vintage motorcycles, motorcycle memorabilia, you name it. Or maybe honey…”–Bandit
WHAT’S THE SAFEST COLOR FOR YOUR MOTORCYCLE?–
If you’re out cruising on the weekends or commuting during the workweek, you may be wondering how you can improve your safety on the road. While there are a number of motorcycle safety tips to follow while you’re riding, choosing your bike color can actually affect your visibility to other drivers on the road. There are a number of factors to consider to reduce the risk of collisions, so Cycle Trader is covering the safest colors for a motorcycle.
How Motorcycle Colors Affect Safety
While there are a number of things to consider when buying your first motorcycle, you may want to think twice about what color bike you choose when shopping on the market. Road incidents involving motorcycles and other vehicles are prevalent due to low visibility. Darker colors blend in with the environment while riding, which can make it more difficult for other motorists to see you, especially if you’re biking at night. At sunrise or sunset, the amount of light on the road can make any dark-colored motorcycle blend in with the road. Even if you’re riding a blue or red bike, it can blend in with your surroundings and appear darker while you ride early in the morning at sunrise, or in the evening at twilight.
Safer Motorcycle Colors
So how do you improve your bike’s visibility to other motorists on the road? Consider choosing a bike with bright colors so you stand out against the dark road while you distinguish yourself from other vehicles.
Your best bet might be to go with a white motorcycle, which is bright, reflects light, and stands out from other colors. While white might not be the first choice for riders, it can appear as a classy option. For instance, a white Harley-Davidson shows off your power and style when you’re cruising around town. And during the hot summer months, it will reflect light and absorb less heat than a darker motorcycle. However, you’ll have to be careful if you’re riding a bright white bike against snow. If you’re going to be frequently riding in this type of weather condition, ride a bike with a contrasting color.
PLUS, you look like a cop…
While black bikes are most popular when it comes to motorcycle colors, you can still add patterns, designs, or trims that will create contrasting colors on your motorcycle to make it stand out. Other colors to consider are orange and yellow, which can draw more attention towards your bike.
5 Tips for Safe Riding with Motorcycle Colors
While going with a light and bright-colored bike can help with safety, there are several other steps you can take to improve your visibility on the road with colors.
1. Plan Your Riding Route
Plan your route and when you’ll ride to improve your visibility on the road. Pay attention to the terrain you’re covering so you can stand out with your motorcycle. If possible, avoid nighttime riding and inclement weather that can make it more difficult for drivers to see your bike on the road.
WAIT, Isn’t White the lack of all color. Gimme a color…
2. Wear Colorful Reflective Gear
When you set out for your ride, throw on some colorful reflective or fluorescent gear so you’re easy to spot. This includes your helmet, jacket, vest, pants, gloves, and boots.
3. Ride with Lights
No matter the riding conditions, your motorcycle lights should be working, including your headlight and brake light. State laws require riders to keep their low beam or dipped lights on at all times during the day. Some riders have personalized their bikes with colorful, customized underglow LED lights. Before you install ground effect lighting on your bike, make sure you check your state’s specific laws for these lights.
4. Bring Colorful Emergency Lights
If you ever have to stop for on the road motorcycle repairs, bring colorful, bright cones and flares to improve your visibility. Pack a flashlight so you can see your bike’s parts up close as you make a quick repair, and to help you see at nighttime.
5. Ride Off-Road with Color
If you’re taking a dirt bike off road through the forest and mud, you may not want to ride with a white bike that’s just going to get dirt all over it anyway. While a camouflage color of brown or green might make your bike look less dirty, it can make it more difficult for other riders to see you on the tracks. Red is a common color for these bikes, so go with something that will contrast with your environment if you’re concerned about a collision.
To help stay safe on the road, consider your color options with your motorcycle. Improve your visibility for other motorists with a light or white bike, then take steps to make yourself more noticeable as you ride. If you’re looking for your next new or used motorcycle, see all the listings on the nationwide marketplace at CycleTrader.com.
BIKE BUILDER OF THE WEEK—
Sebastian Codreaunu, Transylvania, Romaniz. Motorcycle & car Designer & Restorer
–Sam Burns
Builder curator
Bikernet.com™
233: CARBON FOOTPRINT (JOURNALIST/BUREAUCRAT DEFINITION)…… “A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions. The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world.
Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons. To have the best chance of avoiding a 2? rise in global temperatures, the average global carbon footprint per year needs to drop to under 2 tons by 2050. Lowering individual carbon footprints from 16 tons to 2 tons doesn’t happen overnight!
By making small changes to our actions, like eating less meat, taking fewer connecting flights and line drying our clothes, we can start making a big difference.”_____The Nature Conservancy (ACTUAL DEFINITION)……
An intentionally deceptive vocabulary concoction of Marxist-agenda-driven psychological and emotional energy designed to bend and direct malleable and unfocused humans minds into thinking the release of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere when done by human activity leaves a permanent stain of black shoe-sole muck with tread marks and dirt across the atmospheric carpet, the celestial freshly-cleaned rugs, and the firmament linoleum floor (made with oil) that floats upward and then stops at some point up in the air where the birds and rainbows live thus preventing the earth from cooling its air into the cold of interstellar space thus resulting in the sun heating the earth to an extent that everything alive on it will die.
In truth the agenda of the carbon footprint cabal is what will kill everything on earth, at least the competent human inhabitants of it, not the carbon. The word footprint is calculatingly used because a “footprint” stays in place, it holds its shape, it has generally an unfriendly communicatory aura about it, for after all, footprints are analyzed at crime scenes, very often in the vicinity of blood-spatter, footprints leave the clean floor dirty, footprints have to be mopped and scrubbed-up, footprints can indicate a lurking unwelcome visitor waiting to pounce on you, rape your wife and disembowel your children….things which ascending methane and ascending or meandering floating human exhalations and fuel exhaust used by engines….. do not actually do or resemble.
They’re just stuff that we have. Like oranges.
–J.J. Solari
Research Specialists
bureaucrat/journalism dictionary
Bikernet.com™
LIFESTYLE CYCLES DEAL OF THE WEEK—2018 Harley-Davidson FXBRS – Softail Breakout 114 for $18,995.00
SEE IT HERE: https://www.lifestylecycles.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=9785344
2018 Black Cherry Harley-Davidson BREAKOUT SOFTAIL 114-INCH WIDE TIRE
ONLY 26997.00 Miles !
Some of the features/Add-on’s on this bike
* 114 C.I. motor
* 6 Speed trans
* 16 inch apes
* Wide back tire
* Black ball milled mirrors
* Chrome down swept exhaust
This bike has passed Lifestyle Cycles rigorous 101 point safety and mechanical inspection. Whether your looking to commute to work, ride the coast or take that dream vacation, this bike is ready to go!!!
EZ FINANCING-SHIPPING AVAILABLE!!!
Fill out an online application and ride today!!!
**Open 7 days a week**
Just $18,995.00
at Lifestyle Cycles (714) 490-0155
THE FIRST MAGNIFICENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK–
A chopper is a vehicle of change, after all. It puts the wheels beneath a midlife crisis, a coming-of-age saga, or even just the discovery of something new, something you didn’t realize was there. It provides the means to cross over, transition, or revitalize. Choppers are self-discovery’s favorite vehicle.
–Edited by Sam Burns
TEXAS MILE UPDATE—
Registration and Event Dates
The Texas Mile (Spring):
March 24-26, 2023
Chase Field- Beeville, Texas
Registration opens on Sunday, January 29, 2023 at 5 pm Central
Registration will take place on our website, www.usmileracing.com
What you can do now: Create or update your user profile and make sure all information is correct.
If you are having problems logging in, please contact us at: (281)303-1844 or email info@texasmile.net
INSPIRATIONAL PHILOSOPY AT ITS BEST–
Time to talk about something that I have experienced, and something that I believe many of us can relate to.
At times our lives can feel like we are going through a never-ending cycle of trials and tribulations. These moments can often be filled with stress, exhaustion and despair.
However, I want to remind you all that despite how difficult things can be, we can still get through it. We can still stand tall with our heads held high despite the darkness that we face.
We can still be brave and smile even when it seems hard. We can still be resilient and be hopeful for the future. We can still have strength when times are tough.
Whenever you feel as though things have become too much, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you will get through this, and you will be okay.
We don’t need to suffer in silence, nor should we forget to look after ourselves during difficult times. Reach out to family and friends for assistance.
So, no matter what happens, remember to stay strong and be the best version of yourself.
At the end of the day knowing that you have the power to choose how you want to respond to life’s obstacles is truly an empowering feeling. And I’m here to remind you that you are still standing.
–Ray Russell
NEW YEAR FROM THE MASTER OF LIGHT–Artist David Uhl – Year in Review
As we begin this new year, we welcome all of our new fans. The following recap of 2022 shows some of the new pieces from David, and gives you a glimpse of what you can expect for this year!
NEW PIECES IN 2022
RARE PAIR
ETERNAL RADIANCE–above
–Greg Rhodes
International Sales Director
David Uhl Fine Art
Uhl Studios
303-913-4840
“There are way more new paintings available at the Master’s website.”–Bandit
ENGINE DEAL OF THE WEEK—80-Inch Shovelhead Engine, $2750.
This is a ready to go drop in and ride motor 0-miles on top-end rebuild. Heads rebuilt w/ new guides and decked by heritage Cycle Works in Brockville, Ontario, Canada -heads vapor blasted by precision vapor blasting in Watertown, NY.
New parts include: new piston rings -new base gaskets -new head gaskets -new pushrod tube o-rings & covers -honed cylinders by Hillside Motorcycle and Machine in Munns Ville, NY -S&S 450 cam -brass oil lines -new cam chest gasket -new rocker box hardware -new rocker box gaskets & O-rings -new oil pump. Motor ran great until head gasket blew, and then I took it apart and re-did everything.
Gorgeous looking engine and fantastic runner for your chopper or daily rider build. For sale $2750 obo or trade for any Shovelhead projects with motor and transmission doesn’t have to run as long as the engine spins free.
Message or call with any questions. It was listed in La Fargeville, NY on facebook marketplace.
[page break]
TRAFFIC NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL MOTORISTS ASSOCIATION–Low-Level Traffic Fines: A Slippery Slope to Civil Court:
On January 1st, Nevada became the latest state to remove the threat of a criminal charge for motorists who can’t pay fines for minor traffic violations.
The new law has downgraded these minor infractions from criminal misdemeanors to civil violations with civil penalties. This change only applies to low-level traffic tickets, not to tickets like reckless driving and DUI. According to the Federal Sentencing Reporter, Nevada was only one of 13 states to still prosecute minor traffic violations as criminal misdemeanors rather than civil infractions up until the beginning of this year.
We acknowledge that our position seems counterintuitive, but the NMA actually objects to local and state governments lowering the traffic court bar, downgrading routine moving violations from criminal to civil offenses while issuing lesser fines and eliminating points against defendant driving records. Why? It diminishes your rights under due process.
The Catch-22 is that challenging this loss of due process takes us right back to the same court system bent on protecting its cash flow, along with reducing the court’s administrative responsibilities. Civil court is easier for cities and states to operate—expectations are lower. If ticket holders don’t make restitution, the court will likely send the debt to an outside collector.
The expectation is that drivers will pay for their tickets to make it all go away. Fighting the ticket successfully becomes nearly impossible.
How it will now work in Nevada
A driver who receives a minor violation for such things as speeding or failing to signal will have 90 days to respond.
If the ticket holder chooses not to contest the violation and pay the civil penalty, the court will report the payment to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
If the person does nothing for 90 days, the court will automatically find the ticket holder to have committed the offense and be required to pay certain court expenses.
A person is already presumed guilty. If a driver contests the violation, the case will go through a civil hearing with a judge who evaluates the facts and then issues a ruling. The same rules will no longer apply in civil court—no possibility of discovery or a jury trial.
A traffic fine is one thing, but states and cities also impose court-imposed fees to cover administrative costs, fund special initiatives, and other criminal justice-related charges and penalties. For example, in California, a red-light camera ticket costs nearly $500 after all the fees allowed by the legislature are tacked on top of the initial fine.
Many drivers who cannot afford to pay even a minor infraction ticket will likely not pay these tickets. Not only could they lose their license, but a judge could also issue a bench warrant to the ticket holder for not paying the debt, such as in Nevada’s case before the law changed.
According to the Fines and Fees Justice Center, warrants are a counterproductive and expensive way of coercing citizens to pay a traffic ticket. For example, in Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas), if police arrested a motorist on a bench warrant, he or she would spend almost three days in jail at the cost of over $400 paid by taxpayers.
Due to the new law, Nevada city courts are clearing bench warrants from their systems. Las Vegas is erasing nearly 35,000 warrants, North Las Vegas 16,000, and Reno 1,900. Bill sponsor Assemblywoman Rochelle Nguyen said in an interview, “This law is significant because it ends a cycle of debt that stems from a simple traffic violation that many people find themselves in because they are unable to pay.”
Some would say they did the crime, so they should have the punishment, but the harm to that person and their family might even be worse. Three days behind bars might cost a person a job, housing, and even their children if they can no longer earn money to care for them.
Driver’s License Suspensions due to Non-Payment of Fines
In 2020, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed House Bill 4210, which, when it came into law, prohibited the state from suspending a resident’s driver’s license for not paying a traffic fine for a minor infraction. She also ordered that all outstanding court fines be cleared up to the time of HB4210 implementation in October 2020 from court records. If you received a suspension for a misdemeanor or felony infraction, such as DUI, the law did not apply.
Before she left office recently, Governor Brown wiped out about $1.8 million in unpaid fines affecting nearly 7,000 drivers pending in state circuit courts. Much of the debt was uncollectable since it was more than three years old and would likely not be recovered.
The roughly 7,000 drivers with suspended licenses in the circuit system can soon apply to have their driving privileges reinstated.
Losing a driver’s license is another surefire way of going down a spiral that a family cannot get out of any time soon.
–NMA
DAYTONA MORNING RIDE–Celebrate women in motorcycling, connect with those who are shaping the industry and help raise funds for worthy charities! After last year’s rain out, 2023 is excited to bring you an even bigger and better event.
On Thursday, March 8, from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., you’re invited to journey through the beautiful Daytona Backroads on a guided ride led by inspiring motorcycle industry women including Ride Captain Maggie Hicks.
The Morning Ride begins and ends at Daytona International Speedway, where friends and leading industry women will gather to share experiences and have the opportunity to register for or attend a women’s ride-in bike show presented by Renegade Babes.
Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. at Harley-Davidson’s headquarters at Daytona International Speedway, and kickstands go up at 9:00 a.m.
HANG ON FOR THIS— How Green Investors Pay the Media to Promote ‘Climate Change’
The Associated Press revealed last year that it had scored $8 million to promote claims of global warming. The AP impartially described this massive conflict of interest as an illustration of “how philanthropy has swiftly become an important new funding source for journalism.”
“This far-reaching initiative will transform how we cover the climate story,” its executive editor claimed. That is no doubt true. And an incredibly damaging admission.
The philanthropic quid-pro-quo saw five organizations fund the AP’s dedicated team of “more than two dozen journalists” to cover “climate issues” that the wire service would then plant in papers around the country to terrify Americans into supporting ‘green’ taxes and subsidies.
The Associated Press did not bother to explain to its readers or the newspapers that run its stories why these organizations were impelled to throw millions at it except sheer benevolence.
Nor did it explain why they might be particularly interested in convincing Americans that the climate sky is falling and that our economy must be dismantled and ‘greened’: raising energy prices and putting millions out of work. The paragon service of journalism did not even bother explaining to its readers what one of the five, Quadrivium, was beyond a Latin word.
Quadrivium is the pet project of James Murdoch and his wife, the ‘black sheep’ of Clan Murdoch, who left the family business in a huff “due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets“. Quadrivium seeks to reach “a majority of the public” to generate “urgent action” on the bipartisan passage of a US climate strategy.”…
–BY DANIEL GREENFIELD
Jihadwatch.org.
PAINTER OF THE WEEK– Sabit Chopsyle is in Bangkok, Thailand. The theme reminds me of Goldie Hawn and Laugh In, though the quality of the work speaks for itself.
–Sam Burns
OPEN LETTER TO KEVIN MCCARTHY–
I have an old friend who is very involved in the Republican Party in California. I’m sure he knows Kevin McCarthy. I sent him this note today:
Hey,
If you have any kind of relationship with McCarthy and your input matters, I have one magnificent suggestion.
I know he’s starting committees. The most significant move he and the Republican Party could make would be to investigate Climate Doom and force Scientific Transparency to the forefront. Demand Integrity. We are either doomed or we’re not. If we’re not, the world needs to know that it’s okay to drive your car, cook on your gas stove, make medicine and chemicals, poor roads, save stuff in plastic containers and supply energy all over the world.
Bottom line, that one move could revive Trump’s state of the union comment: We’re living in the best of times.
Make it happen or die trying,
–Bandit
BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!–ROCKIN’ the NEW YEAR BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for January 5, 2023
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/ROCKIN_the_NEW_YEAR_BIKERNET_WEEKLY_NEWS_for_January_5_2023.aspx
In response to your snow comment, your right, it’s not that bad. I have lived in ND all my 68 years. We have friends that winter in AZ and think I’m nuts for not doing that too. I find the snow and cold refreshes my soul and clears my mind. Ride on!
–Rik Savenko
Bismarck , ND
“You’re absolutely right, unless you slip…”–Bandit
ONE OF THE QUOTES OF THE WEEK—
“Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool.” –Plato
Epoch Bright
NEW FROM THE LOW BROW CREW—
What did Jon, a French tattoo artist and owner of this 500 Triumph, have?
“The willingness to learn and the creative juices flowing inside him…Plus, thanks to COVID, he had a whole lot of extra time on his hands.
He wanted to customize his Triumph into an iconic chopper that screamed 1960’s style. And well, he did it!”
PS – To share this article with your friends and other moto enthusiasts simply post up the link www.lowbrowcustoms.com/T100
BIKERS INSIDE THE BELTWAY FINDING COMMON GROUND–
Bikers inside the Beltway – with the encouragement and direction of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, since the first Bikers inside the Beltway in 2009, thousands of bikers have met with their elected representatives and educated them about issues of importance to all street riding. motorcyclists.
Last week, President Biden signed into law what the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives agreed upon — a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package that funds the federal government through September 2023 and avoids a government shutdown. Included in that 4,155-page bill is a request by Congress to learn more about the profiling of motorcyclists.
Specifically, within the funding section for the Department of Transportation, language states that: The Committee is concerned that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may be conducting activities that encourage states to adopt legislation, regulation, or other policies that unjustly profile motorcycle riders. The Committee directs NHTSA to report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on the extent to which the agency works with states on motorcycle passenger policies within 120 days of enactment of this Act.
The words of retiring U.S. Representative David Price from North Carolina may just as well apply to the recent efforts of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation “… Understand that not every battle can be won on the first try and that politics is a matter of striking a balance between … compromising and finding common ground where you can, and fighting where you must.”
The MRF’s victories, realized in the waning hours of Congress in December, should drive home Congressman Price’s words. Those victories came from the year-after-year vigilance of MRF members writing, calling, and meeting with members of Congress during the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s annual Bikers inside the Beltway.
The pandemic, and the events of January 6, 2021, did not deter the MRF. More than one hundred motorcyclists attended the first in-person meetings in 2021 with members of Congress. Even more attended Bikers inside the Beltway in 2022.
Now is the time for you to make plans to attend Bikers inside the Beltway – May 15 & 16, 2023.
As in years past, Bikers inside the Beltway will be dual-faceted to accommodate in-person visits to Congress plus visits to local district offices.
To ensure that the mission of getting our message to Congress continues to be successful, please consider the following:
- Make your appointments locally or in Washington
- Familiarize yourself with the briefing points
- Confirm your appointment locally or in Washington
- Virtual or in person, make notes on your meeting
- Share your meeting notes with the MRF
- In conjunction with Bikers inside the Beltway, a meeting of the MRF Board of Directors takes place on May 15 at the Embassy Suites, 1900 Diagonal Road, Alexandria, Virginia. Rooms are available through the hotel direct line 703-684-5900 and use reference code MRF.
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s Bikers inside the Beltway — May 15 & 16, 2023.
Thank you for your commitment.
Yours in Freedom,
–Fredric Harrell
MRF Director of Conferences & Events
P.S. Registration for Bikers inside the Beltway is free. However, we request that you register early to help us plan the event. Use the link or the QR code below for Bikers inside the Beltway registration. Thank you.
https://motorcycleridersfoundation.wildapricot.org/widget/event-5008758/Registration
NASH HANDLEBAR SALE NOW!–LIMITED TIME 40% OFF ALL HANDLEBARS
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BIKERNET INTERNATIONAL NEWS BUREAU—
FedEx has deployed EVs in Asia.
Meanwhile, BMW recalls over 124K electric cars over crash risk
The software issue relates to the high voltage battery electronic control unit.
Imagine dying despite having a driving license for over 10 years and obeying all the traffic laws. This does not even include someone/foreign group hacking into your vehicle’s interface to take control of it — just like someone stealing your email login or Facebook account, credit card data, etc.
Refer: https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/bmw-recalls-over-124k-electric-cars-over-crash-risk/96874346
–Wayfarer
Chief Investigator
Bikernet Motorcycle News Desk
TUCKER POWERSPORTS Hires Sharma as VP of Sales
Tucker Powersports today named Prnuv Sharma to the role of VP of Sales. Sharma joins Tucker after twelve years at Abbott Laboratories, following his previous roles with Valvoline Inc. and Classic Automotive Group in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
Sharma was most recently the Marketing Director for Abbott Laboratories’ Pedialyte business, the fastest growing brand in the company’s nutrition business unit. In his time at Abbott, he held senior roles in Sales Management, Global Strategy, and Brand Management for Abbott’s consumer brands, delivering growth in sales and market share in each case. Earlier in his career, Sharma was the General Manager of a Nissan dealership that was part of the Classic Automotive Group, which owns several dealerships in the Cleveland area.
Sharma is an avid automotive and racing enthusiast. He holds an SCCA recreational racing license and enjoys spending time on the weekends driving at Autocross events.
“Moving into powersports connects me to my passion for power, performance and the beauty of a well-designed vehicle,” said Sharma.
“I’ve had a retailer’s mentality since early in my career and that’s helped me succeed with the global brands that I’ve been part of,” he continued. “I’m anxious to get to know my team at Tucker and spend time with the dealers that drive our success.”
“Prnuv’s background in sales leadership and employee development in dealerships and in large organizations makes him ideal for Tucker’s VP of Sales role,” said Tucker President and CEO Marc McAllister. “He understands the importance of brands, has a passion for fast vehicles and will be able to lead our team of dedicated sales reps in their support of our brands and the products we distribute.”
Sharma joined Tucker on January 1, 2023 and is preparing his sales team for AIMExpo in February. He will be relocating to the Fort Worth area with his family.
–Steve Phiel
ANOTHER New Bikernet Reader Comment!–ROCKIN’ the NEW YEAR BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for January 5, 2023
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/ROCKIN_the_NEW_YEAR_BIKERNET_WEEKLY_NEWS_for_January_5_2023.aspx
All the articles were well worth reading. Some more than others but ALL worthy of mine and yours time.
I especially appreciated the info on the Antique and Vintage build projects. I’ve been wondering if anyone was still manufacturing ‘sprotors’ ??? and lo & behold BAM there was one with the Manufactures info.
Thanks again Bandit for all the good work
–Jim ‘el Waggs’
Oceanside, CA
Thanks brother.
–Bandit
THE SCIENTISTS’ REPORT—
This picture, produced for Clintel by the Dutch artist Vincent Geijsen, tells a thousand words. Clintel is David fighting not one but two Goliaths. Indeed, Clintel has applied for leave to intervene in a high profile Dutch court case between oil and gas company Shell and the environmental NGO Friends of the Earth (in The Netherlands called Milieudefensie). Friends of the Earth (FoE) calls this case ‘the Climate Case of the Century’.
Urgenda
In The Netherlands we have now had two prominent climate cases. In 2015 Dutch NGO Urgenda won its case against the Dutch state, demanding more ambitious reduction of greenhouse gases. Now FoE prevailed against a private company in a climate case. Shell was ordered to adopt corporate policies to reduce the CO2 emissions from the group’s activities by net 45% by the end of 2030 compared to 2019. This reduction obligation applies to the Shell Group’s entire global energy portfolio. Shell must not only reduce its own emissions but also ensure that the emissions of its suppliers and customers (Scope 3 emissions) fall drastically.
Sweetheart
The verdict and court documents, reveal that this is some sort of ‘sweetheart’ case in which the parties agreed on the facts. Shell could hardly defend itself against the alarmist statements put forward by FoE because the company had previously made similar statements. Nowadays, a large, publicly traded company cannot publicly deny the “climate crisis.” If a company were to do so, it would have the media, activists, and a large number of politicians all condemning it. No public company can afford such reputational damage. Climate activists exploit the inability of corporations to defend themselves.
FoE in power
With the big win against Shell in its pocket FoE has demanded ambitious ‘climate plans’ from 30 major Dutch companies, including food companies and even banks and insurance companies. These climate plans have been verified by the “New Climate Institute,” a consultancy known for the “Climate Action Tracker” that has turned climate into a huge revenue model. The result was a red “climate crisis index” rating for the vast majority.
These companies face the same dilemma as Shell. If they fight back they will likely suffer huge reputational damage. Shell moved its headquarter from The Hague to London last year, and will receive huge subsidies for CCS-projects (Carbon Capture and Storage) and green hydrogen. Ultimately, the bill for all these ‘climate plans’ will have to be paid by citizens and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Small companies are already suffering due to high energy prices, which are only partly related to the war in Ukraine and for the rest the result of environmental and climate policies.
Intervention by Clintel
Clintel says enough is enough. In October Clintel sent a request to the court of appeal to join the case as a third independent party. Clintel’s aim is to make clear that the judge based its verdict on a distorted picture of climate science, the role of the IPCC and the state of the climate. It will also defend the rights of citizens and democracy.
Not surprisingly, but disappointing nonetheless, both Shell and FoE oppose Clintel‘s proposed intervention. The court ordered a hearing on March 15th 2023 in which Clintel can plead its case.
We launched our own special website for this court case: climatecaseofthecentury.org.
Everyone in the world can (free of charge) join our case (as a citizen/lawyer or as a scientist) by filling in a form on the website. The more people participate, the better for making your voices heard. You can also help us by sending this newsletter to other people that might want to join our case.
Of course, we also need a lot of financial support for this big court case. All the details about how you can contribute are available on climatecaseofthecentury.org.
Many thanks in advance for your help and support!
Guus Berkhout & Marcel Crok (founders of Clintel)
ADVENTURES STILL APLENTY AT VINTAGE RIDES–Welcome to Tanzania!
Your plane lands at the foot of Kilimanjaro, and the next day, you ride your bike ten days through the African savannah.
More than a motorcycle trip, it is an exploration to meet the different ethnic groups of the country and diverse wildlife.
Deserts, lakes, forests, Massai plains, volcanoes, gorges and waterfalls: the days are rich and no two are alike.
Landscapes from around the planet can be experienced in Peru! From the Amazon to Machu Picchu, from Cuzco to Lake Titicaca, we take you on an intense, vibrant, mythical road trip.
You’ll feel like you are soaring. But as always when travelling, you have to know how to embrace uncertainties and expand your horizons in order to come out bigger and stronger. Different even!
Argentina offers a collection of cultural and natural wealth, rousing curiosity and wonder in all bikers.
From Salta, we take you on a great adventure by Royal Enfield on the mythical Route 40 along the Andes mountain range to the most remote tracks to the north of the country.
So, are you ready for a raid in an Andean land ?
The raw and powerful beauty of the Indian Himalayas surprises and captivates all bikers! Faced with the high peaks of Ladakh and the way of life of the Himalayan peoples, a strong dose of humility is essential.
You have to know how to observe and adapt. Push yourself to cross the highest passes in the world by motorbike. And once the trip is over, be proud of what you have just accomplished!
“In adventure, nothing should be left to the unexpected, but everything is unpredictable”
–Paul-Emile Victor
Going with us on one of our most alluring motorcycle adventures means growing, enriching yourself, living adventures that are intimately linked to a state of mind, quite simply one of freedom.
Vintage Rides
teamvr@vintagerides.com
04 87 91 31 96
ANOTHER QUOTE OF THE WEEK–
If someone can prove me wrong and show me my mistake in any thought or action, I shall gladly change.
I seek the truth, which never harmed anyone: the harm is to persist in one’s own self-deception and ignorance.
–MARCUS AURELIUS
[page break]
MOVIE PICK OF THE YEAR—Movie Pick of the Last Year
Age is just a number and 59-year young Brad Pitt proves just that with two entertaining movies in the last year. Both of them have references to a book. The Lost City (2022) stars Sandra Bullock as an author who is kidnapped by grown-up Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe. There is a small role for Brad as an expert independent tracker / rescuer.
The movie I am recommending is a lot more closer to heart with Brad Pitt in a starring role. Bullet Train (2022) is based on a novel written by acclaimed Japanese crime-mystery author Kotaro Isaka. Brad plays an assassin plagued by incredible levels of bad luck. That’s the entirety of the similarity between the fictional assassin and me — extreme levels of bad luck that I can’t seem to shake off !
Anyways, this movie is written, edited and directed in a spectacular form. Its as-if Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill (2003) and Ryan Reynolds’ Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017) were put inside a blender and churned out to become a new unique creation painted in blood. Dark humor and violent graphic death.
Official description says:
In Bullet Train, Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs gone off the rails. Fate, however, may have other plans, as Ladybug’s latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe – all with connected, yet conflicting, objectives – on the world’s fastest train…and he’s got to figure out how to get off. From the director of Deadpool 2, David Leitch, the end of the line is only the beginning in a wild, non-stop thrill ride through modern-day Japan.
Apart from the lead actor, the performance worth noting was that of Aaron Taylor-Johnson. This actor seems like a fictional character from Guy Ritchie’s British crime movies has come alive in the real world. He is a worthy heir to take over the platform or stage created in Hollywood by Jason Statham for Brit action heroes.
Read the translated Kotaro Isaka novel or not, but this movie stands out by itself as a larger than life adaptation— like a manga comic made into a movie with a convincing star cast.
Watch the Trailer at: https://youtu.be/-YFlAQfbz-Q
Spectacular two hours well-spent. Also, check out Daniel Radcliffe in The Lost City, because until you see a good British actor playing a magnanimous yet grandiose villain, you haven’t truly enjoyed cinema. Maybe he can compete with the likes of Andrew Scott (Sherlock TV series and Bond movie ‘Spectre’) to become a classy movie villain.
–Wayfarer
Editor
Bikernet Blog & Facebook Page
MONSTER ENERGY PRO CIRCUIT KAWASAKI RACER SIDELINED—
Austin Forkner will be sidelined for the remainder of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship following a collision at Anaheim 1 on January 7th.
Forkner was on track to battle for the 250SX Western Regional Championship when a collision during the start of the Main Event at Anaheim 1, resulted in an injury to his right knee. After consultation with medical professionals, it was determined that the injury will force an early conclusion to Forkner’s 2023 Monster Energy Supercross efforts.
Forkner was off to an impressive start in the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship with the fastest 250SX qualification time and a come-from-behind podium performance in his heat race. After a full off-season of preparation with his team, Forkner was equipped to contend for the 250SX Western Regional Championship in 2023.
“I felt great going into this year and was ready to challenge for the championship,” said Forkner. “I think my qualifying and heat race speed proved that the preparation from the whole team was on par to win races. Unfortunately, I was involved in a racing incident during the start of the Main Event and injured my knee. This is definitely a frustrating situation, but I’m extremely motivated to focus on my recovery and I will get back to work with the team.”
Further updates on Forkner’s expected return to racing will be announced when available.
WISDOM QUOTES FOR THE YEAR AHEAD
“Dreams don’t work unless you do.” ~ John C. Maxwell
“Go the extra mile. It’s never crowded there.” ~ Dr. Wayne D. Dyer
“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” ~ Jim Rohn
“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” ~ Brian Herbert
“Why do we grieve failures longer than we celebrate wins?”
“Picture the New Year as a garden you are responsible for planting. Sow the seeds of good habits in this soil and weed out worries and wrong actions of the past.” ~ Sri Paramhansa Yogananda
“The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one.”
–Wayfarer
Monk in Training
Bikernet Thought Temple
Pillar Peak, SD
RALLY REGISTRATION NOW OPEN—
Sturgis.com Official Sturgis Rally Registration – New! Now with Limited Edition Poster
Check In & Get Your FREE Ride Pin, Souvenirs and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Welcome Packet
Making your way around the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally can be an overwhelming experience. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Begin your Sturgis Motorcycle Rally adventure by registering online and picking up your FREE Sturgis.com Rally Ride Pin, Patch and Welcome Packet at the Sturgis Rally Information Center™.
Or pick up this new Limited-Edition Poster by moto artist Donny Conrad with a Premium Registration.
Your Sturgis.com Official Sturgis Rally registration packet is chock full of helpful maps, money-saving coupons and insider information that’ll help you get the most out of your trip. Not to mention, it’ll set you up with Sturgis patches, pins and t-shirts that’ll help you remember your vacation for years to come.
You’re only just a few simple clicks away from reserving these priceless resources and gifts. Select the option that’s right for you below.
www.sturgissridernews.com
QUICK, New Bikernet Reader Comment!—
THE WORLD OF CHOPPER MAGAZINES RELEASED
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/THE_WORLD_OF_CHOPPER_MAGAZINES_RELEASED.aspx
It’s a daunting future for print but content is king, keep on writing and riding. Great story Bandit, thanks.
–Gary Koz Mraz
Publisher
The Spirit of Sedona Magazine
Sedona, AZ
FUEL FOR THOUGHT: ARE EMERGING SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGIES THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE?
By Mike Imlay
Judging from the headlines, you’d think the internal-combustion engine (ICE) is not long for this world. Europe and U.S. governmental bodies are passing ever more stringent climate measures and incentivizing zero-emissions powertrains. Meanwhile, OEMs are ramping up battery-electric vehicle (BEV) production and shifting resources away from traditional engine development. But dig beyond the headlines and you’ll find that the reports of the ICE’s death are greatly exaggerated.
“Gasoline-powered vehicles will continue to rule the roads in the U.S. for a long time to come,” said Gavin Knapp, director of SEMA Market Research. “There are over 280 million ICE cars and trucks on the road now, and more are selling each year. While sales of alternative-power platforms, particularly electric cars, are ramping up, they are still a small fraction of new-vehicle sales at this point.
Our current forecast shows that it will take more than a decade for electric vehicles to reach even 50% of new-vehicle sales, so ICE engines will definitely be a main component of the vehicle mix for the long haul.”
That fact has many industry companies taking a fresh look at synthetic fuels as solutions whose moment has come. Last year, Bosch announced the development of Blue Gasoline in partnership with Shell and Volkswagen. Following on the rollout of R33 Blue Diesel, the new fuel represented one of the latest salvos in the low-carbon fuel market. In its press announcement, Bosch stated that Blue Gasoline “contains up to 33% renewables, ensuring a well-to-wheel reduction in carbon emissions of at least 20% per kilometer driven.”
“This means a fleet of 1,000 VW Golf VIII 1.5 TSIs alone could save more than 230 metric tons of CO2 per year, assuming an annual mileage of 10,000 kilometers each,” the company explained, adding that Shell would offset the remaining carbon emissions from Blue Gasoline usage through certified offset arrangements.
“On the road to climate-friendly mobility, we must ensure that we don’t leave any technical opportunities untapped, starting with electrobility and ending with renewable fuels,” asserted Dr. Uwe Gackstatter, president of the Bosch Powertrain Solutions division.
Bosch, Shell and VW are not alone in bringing new fuels to market. In December 2021, VP Racing Fuels also announced that it was making advanced bio-renewable components available for adaptation with the company’s race fuel portfolio. In its announcement, the company noted that it continues to develop and test race fuels to meet the upcoming renewable fuel requirements of multiple race series, including Formula 1 and IMSA.
“With enhanced concern over the global environment and an ever-increasing demand on the transportation of people and goods, government regulatory authorities continue to push for more stringent regulations on pollutants and CO2 emissions,” explained Mark Walls, VP’s director of R&D and fuel technology. “Auto manufacturers continue to pursue advanced powertrains such as electric and hybrid-electric vehicles to address this problem, but we felt that onboard fuel could play a part.”
But what exactly are synthetic fuels? Known alternatively as synfuels, renewables, biofuels or carbon-neutral fuels, they are usually liquid fuels produced through the hydrocarbonization of coal, natural gas or biomass feedstocks. Although not derived from fossil sources like crude oil, some liquid synthetics can serve as direct “drop-in” fuels—easily substituting for gasoline or diesel in an ICE vehicle with little or no modification.
Closely related, eFuels are produced through a wind or solar electrification process that creates hydrogen, which is then combined with carbon dioxide extracted from the atmosphere or from industrial processes such as iron smelting. The resulting synthetic fuel can then be refined into eFuel gasoline or diesel.
“I’m very passionate about this particular topic, not only being from the oil and gas side of things but also because there’s so much opportunity to move the needle,” said Ian Lehn, founder of Boostane, a company and product line that he developed based on his college thesis. Recently Boostane formed a partnership with Driven Racing Oils to expand into new products and markets, including fuels, oils and lubrication technologies. Lehn is also a past chair of SEMA’s Emerging Technologies and Trends Network and a voice for alternative fuels and other new technologies that are making IC engines greener and more efficient.
“I think we [in the aftermarket] have had a lot of negativity pointed toward us when in reality we have done more for the advancement of the ICE engine than any other industry,” he asserted. “Performance and competition have birthed innovation and efficiencies more than economics have. We’re pushing the limits of getting the most out of fuels.”
Synthetic fuels, he pointed out, are nothing new. However, economic factors associated with mass production have greatly hindered their adoption. Historically, producers and consumers alike have found renewable fuels simply too cost prohibitive.
“On the other end of the spectrum you have the racing industry, which may not be as concerned about their overall [environmental] impact but would like to be,” Lehn said. “There are going to be a lot of governing bodies pushing motorsports to lower their overall carbon footprint.”
OHV and powersports enthusiasts sit right in the middle. As Lehn sees it, “They have to be conscientious of their impact off highways and on the trails, but they will still need a reliable fuel that’s very high performance.”
From a supply perspective, synfuels are becoming increasingly feasible to produce and market, said Robert Freerks, vice president of products for Strategic Biofuels, based in Colombia, Louisiana. Freerks, who earned his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, is a passionate advocate of renewable synthetics.
“I’ve been working in the fuels and lubricants area since 1981,” he explained. “I had 18 years at Chevron, and then I went into the synthetic area. I’ve made all kinds of hydrocarbons from natural gas, coal, woody biomass, waste materials and anything that’s got carbon in it.”
Now he plays a key role in Strategic Biofuels’ development of a process and plant that can efficiently convert forest waste into hydrocarbon fuels. The goal is to make renewables more economical and available for transportation use. Currently his focus is on renewable diesel, which he said holds distinct advantages over other biodiesel fuels.
“Renewable diesel is the same thing as what’s made from hydro-processing fats and oils,” he said. “The good thing about that process is that the renewable diesel fuel—as opposed to biodiesel—is a drop-in fuel. It’s a 100% replacement for conventional diesel. It burns clean and it’s perfect.”
He added that the jet fuel version of this fuel is certified for drop-in use in all military and commercial aircraft as well as all diesel engines. No blending is necessary.
“From a transportation standpoint, buses, trucks and airplanes run on diesel and jet fuel, which I can make readily,” he said. “Gasoline is harder to replace, but it can be done. It’s just that right now it’s a yield loss.”
Strategic Biofuels is building its processing plant in California, taking advantage of the state’s renewable energy credits to lower costs. The raw biomass stock will be sourced from Louisiana, but the plant could also easily make use of municipal and other solid wastes.
“Woody biomass feedstocks can be had for $20 to $30 a ton because they’re the leftover remains from harvesting timber,” he noted. “When you harvest a tree for wood, you can only keep the long strands—the 30- to 60-foot sections that are cuttable into 2x4s and other dimensional wood. The rest of it—the bark, the limbs, the stems, the top of the tree, the top 20 to 30 feet—is too thin to use. It just gets chopped up and left in the forest and either rots or burns. The same thing happens with unmanaged forests where all the debris falls to the floor and just becomes fuel for wildfires.”
In addition, the Strategic Biofuels facility will further decrease its carbon footprint by returning the greenhouse gases it generates into the earth.
“If you believe that sequestration of CO2 is what we need to do—and there’s a lot of government support for that—my process actually removes CO2,” Freerks said. “It’s part and parcel of the process, not an add on.”
Whether renewable diesel or any biofuel is more eco-friendly than BEVs and other alternative fuels depends on one’s vantage point. Like all hydrocarbon fuels, biofuels produce tailpipe emissions. However, Freerks argues that if one looks at their overall sourcing, production and carbon footprint, hydrocarbon fuels are much more energy-dense, efficient, economical and net carbon neutral than EV batteries.
“Wind and solar cannot power our transportation industry,” he asserted, and while BEVs may tout zero tailpipe emissions, they carry their own environmental baggage. Mining the raw materials needed for EV batteries and motors merely outsources pollution to third-world countries, he said. Plus, the infrastructure required for a nation of personal BEVs and commercial trucks would be an enormous drain on resources.
Freerks likewise believes that growing and harvesting massive amounts of corn for ethanol presents its own set of sustainability dilemmas.
“To take food like corn and convert it into fuel to me is a sin,” he said. “You could feed half of Africa based off the corn that we grow for fuel.”
“Transportation fuels are just going to be there,” he said. “The U.S. Department of Energy shows us actually increasing our crude oil consumption through 2050, so net zero by 2050 physically is not going to happen.”
But beyond scientific concerns, Freerks also has a personal stake in the ICE engine’s future.
“I’ve got a ’68 Barracuda with a turn plate tank,” he said. “You have to really watch what fuel you put in and how you recycle it.”
PRESERVING FLEXIBILITY
“If you look at the media, you would think everything’s going to be electric in a few years,” he said. “But when you go out there and drive the streets, you see that there aren’t that many electrics. The average vehicle in the U.S. is over 10 years old. Easily all the cars being sold today will still be in traffic in, say, 2040. I think there’s a huge [ICE vehicle] potential for decades to come.”
–SEMA
THIS JUST IN FROM THE PRISM GANG–
“Super Prism” Throttle Assembly contains the following:
- Polished aluminum throttle housing
- 1/4 turn action with built in internal stops
- 1″ aluminum throttle sleeve
- Includes all necessary mounting hardware
- Designed to be used with all stock HD throttle cables with snap ring
- Includes a barrel end to cut cable to desired length
- Throttle Lock Screw included
For a designed fit we recommend purchasing our throttle cable with this throttle assembly.
MAYBE A NEW CHOPPER CHRONICLES STORY—THE STOLEN TITAN SEARCH—
Bandit, last year you posted a picture of my Titan that was stolen during shipping last summer.
Well, last night on Facebook page for Titan I see this picture of my bike. Someone has it and is wanting to know what model it is and its value..
I messaged the guy and let him know it was stolen. He immediately deleted the post. And started messaging me about how long he’s had it and how he repaired it. I got very pissed off at this stupid fucker.
I forwarded all of this information and his lies of messages to the purchaser. He is going to turn it over to the insurance company that paid him off. Someone that is knowingly is in possession of a stolen bike and tries to cover it up is just a big of piece of shit as the thief. I’m hoping the insurance company investigates.
–Thomas Richmond
Nmblueadobe@gmail.com
“We will follow this and report back. It may turn into a Chopper Chronicles story.” –Bandit
WITH SBS Better Brakes–you get the improved brake performance characteristics you seek–
The key characteristics are:
- REFINED COMPOUND – Sinter brake compounds are 100% copper and nickel-free and ceramic compounds are antimony-free.
- IMPROVED BRAKE PERFORMANCE – A better and more stable brake performance and stopping power.
- NUCAP NRS TECHNOLOGY – Always equipped with the powerful bonding technology that binds the friction material to the backing plate and improves heat resistance.
- HF, HS, MS & SP first in line
With everything good happening, something also has to end. Because performance characteristics of the popular SP-series in the new formula are similar to that of the HS-series, we have decided to merge the SP product range into the HS-range. However, this gives you an easier product selection overall. We expect the merger of SP into HS will be complete by Q3 2023.
- Watch out for the SBS Better Brakes marker
Read more about the new SBS Better Brakes on our website and spread the word to your fellow rider community: sbsbrakes.com/better-brakes
THE INVESTIGATIONS START–Under pressure from the White House, Facebook censored “often-true content” that a company executive said in the spring of 2021 “does not contain actionable misinformation” but was “discouraging vaccines.”
The State Attorney General of Missouri, who is suing the Biden Administration for violating the First Amendment, released the email over the weekend.
“As you know,” wrote the Facebook executive whose name was redacted, “in addition to removing vaccine misinformation, we have been focused on reducing the virality of content discouraging vaccines that does not contain actionable misinformation.
The email shows Facebook responding defensively to the White House’s then-covid advisor, Andy Slavitt. “This often-true content,” wrote Facebook, “which we allow at the post level because experts have advised us that it is important for people to be able to discuss both their personal experiences and concerns about the vaccine, but it can be framed as sensation[al], alarmist, or shocking.”
“We’ll remove these Groups, Pages, and Accounts when they are disproportionately promoting this sensationalized content,” said the Facebook executive in an email responding to White House demands for censorship. ”More on this front as we proceed to implement.”
Another White House official wrote in an angry, scolding email to Facebook, “We are gravely concerned that your service is one of the top drivers of vaccine hesitancy – period.” The official said it believed Facebook was at risk of “doing the same” thing it did before the Jan 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol when “an insurrection …was plotted, in large part, by your platform.”
All of these censorship demands were occurring against a backdrop of the White House and Congress regularly threatening to revoke Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which indemnifies social media platforms from liability for content posted by users. The social media platforms consider Section 230 repeal an existential threat. Without the Act, they would not be able to exist in their current form.
–Michael Shellenberger
“You can find Michael’s full report on Substack” –Bandit
WIMMER MACHINE IMPROVED COMPRESSION RELEASES—
We modify plugs with extended reach but same heat range. The air passes up through the center of the plug then though a tiny hole in the unit to the release. Most times one cylinder is all it takes. It had won an award years back at the V twin Expo. Sure, beats the cost of removing the heads and machining for a release. Obviously when plugs need replacement they must be purchased from us.
–WIMMER MACHINE
INSPECTING AND REPLACING SPORTSTER BRAKE PADS–Dial in those brake pads in 5 easy steps… all by your lonesome!
Your brake pads are very important to inspect and replace when needed. (no duh)
Worn out brake pads are a safety hazard should you need to stop fast when out riding. (like, always)
Conveniently, changing your own Harley brake pads is an inexpensive and easy task you can take on yourself. (woo-hoo!)
We did up a video with Steve from Knoble Moto to get you dialed in. (Yep, this is the first in a new series we are calling Knoble Tech Tips’)
GAIN THE KNOWLEDGE
PS – This how-to video is on a 2012 Sportster, but applies to inspecting and changing most Harley brake pads, as well as other makes of motorcycles!
PPS – Share this how-to video and article by posting up www.lowbrowcustoms.com/sportsterbrakes and be a hero to the uninformed and shiftless masses!
–Lowbrow team
QUOTE FROM THE MASTER–
“I’m totally waiting for the vaccine and boosters that will give me immunity to the harmful effects of climate change.” –J.J. Solari
RIDE WITH THE VENICE VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE CLUB—
Third Sunday – New destination!
Weather permitting….we’re heading north and trying out a new place.
Tavern 101 & Tap House
28434 Roadside Dr, Agoura Hills, CA 91301
9AM – Meet
10AM – Kick stands up!
All years, makes, and models are welcome!
Please remember…..
– We leave at 10am sharp!
– Be gassed up and ready to go.
– Please do not pass our Road Captains. They are there to lead and keep everyone together as a group.
– Keep this a safe and fun ride by staying aware of your fellow riders.
Make sure to follow us on Facebook & Instagram, or go to venicevintage.com for the latest updates on our events calendar.
See you there!
-VVMC
DATE:
Sunday, January 15, 2023
TIME:
9:00am – Meet
10:00am – Kickstands up!
WHERE:
1625 Abbot Kinney Blvd,
Venice, CA, 90291
Progressive AFT 2023 Schedule Announced!—
After record-breaking viewership for the 2022 season, the 2023 Progressive AFT schedule is now out, featuring a mix of Miles, Half-Miles, TTs, and Short Track races. Many of the races this year will take place at rallies or over holiday weekends, making it easier than ever for fans to catch the action.
“Get the season calendar on American Rider’s web site.” –Bandit
JUST A FINAL THOUGHT—Here’s a letter I wrote to the boss of Clintel:
The Nazis bullied Europe and now the UN is doing the same. No wonder we got the hell out of there. I wish you the best of luck, truth and integrity. I follow the Climate Doom front on my web site, Bikernet.com. I’ve been involved in the fight for motorcycle freedom and the freedom to build custom motorcycles for over 50 years. I will do anything I can.
I have prompted every motorcycle organization and two automotive organizations in the states to fight climate alarmism. They are all afraid or bullied. Amazing.
I will consistently cover your efforts. I have promoted suing Al Gore as a way to confront the issue publicly in the US, an effort the media can’t ignore. I believe your case and a case against Al Gore in the states could break this movement wide open.
The truth will ultimately win. Let’s make it happen in 2023.
–Bandit
Okay, so maybe I’m nuts, but the truth always makes it to the surface. In the meantime. I’m working on three book projects for this year, two motorcycle builds and a trip to the Texas Mile and Bonneville.
This week I worked with Cabana Dan on my issue with the roller I’m buying from him. I have a ’24 JE and it almost fit but the Lonnie Isam Jr. tanks didn’t work and I don’t want to modify them. It’s back to the ’14 single with upgraded oil pump.
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I am also working with Steve Massicote and the Paughco team on the VL, XA, S&S FL Knucklehead build. I also ordered a handful of Colony pieces for the front brake. Hopefully they will arrive today.
Coming next week, we will deliver on Cabana Dan’s teen builds tech. We will be kicking off a series.
I’ll bring you a report on the VL, XA, S&S FL build soon. Feels like it’s moving slow, but once the parts arrive shit will fly.
Someone said something about being old. I said, “Bullshit, bring more whiskey.”
Keep riding free forever, goddammit!
–Bandit
NHRA and White Alligator Racing
By Wayfarer |
Telling the Trick-Tools Story with NHRA and White Alligator Racing
Iowa-based metal fabrication tool specialists Trick-Tools is looking to NHRA, Pro Stock Motorcycle, White Alligator Racing (WAR), and rookie rider Chase Van Sant to spread the word about their business.
“We are super-excited to race the 2023 season with Trick-Tools wrapped around a WAR Suzuki body,” said Trick-Tools owner Bruce Van Sant—Chase’s father and a former racer himself. Bruce used to race a nitrous-huffing Pro Mod Bike and can still be found racing 4.60 index and a no-bar Hayabusa.
“Chase is my son, but in reality, racing has always been at the heart of Trick-Tools. We founded this company 25 years ago to help fund our own racing efforts, as well as provide solutions for fabricators and builders to make a better product, more efficiently.
“NHRA racers, crew, and fans are a perfect sampling of our core customers. And although we have steadily built a good name in the industry, we can’t wait to see what the extra exposure will do to get the word out about the equipment we offer.”
With team owner Jerry Savoie stepping away from racing full-time, WAR is embarking on a whole new era. Having Chase as a rider and Trick-Tools as a primary sponsor will help define the new face of WAR.
“Our team has really started to take shape for the 2023 season,” said WAR tuner and team manager Tim Kulungian. “A year ago, Bruce and I had a conversation at PRI that started this, and we are all thankful for this relationship and excited to take the next step.
“The seed of the Trick-Tools company was a need in industry. They listen to the folks in the shop making parts, and provide solutions. We know from our experience at the track and the shop that long-lasting tools are the best value in the long run.
“Chase has done a remarkable job in testing. His involvement last year on and off the track has helped build a foundation moving into 2023. Crewman Keith Nichols and Chase worked well in ’22, and Keith will be the lead tech on the Trick-Tools bike.”
“Racing Pro-Stock Motorcycle has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, so to have the opportunity with a team that is as high of caliber as WAR is more than I could have ever hope for,” said Chase.
“I’m also thankful to get to do the whole thing with my dad, and Trick-Tools as my sponsor for the season. It’s one thing to get to race in the NHRA, but I think it’s a lot more special that my dad and I get to do it together.
“I can’t thank Tim Kulungian and Jerry Savoie enough for the opportunity to ride one of their bikes. The whole WAR team is such a great group of guys and I think it’s a really good fit for us. I had a great time working with them this past season and I think that time is going to be really valuable for next year. I definitely don’t feel like I’m jumping in blind as much.
“It’s still pretty surreal to me that I have this opportunity, but I’m looking forward to making the best of it and trying my hand against the best in the business!”
“It’s kind of been a been a long journey to enter the Pro Stock ranks for me personally, but Chase has had his sights set on it for quite some time,” added Bruce. “Over the last year, we’ve made a lot of progress, Chase got his license, and couldn’t really ask for a better situation. I feel like we’re in a relationship with a great team and some good guys that are going to put us in the best possible position for success.”
Trick-Tools.com is home of the world’s largest selection of hardcore metal fabrication tools. They offer long-lasting equipment that is hand selected from over 100 of the top manufacturers around the world, with over 50% made in the USA. Whether you are a professional or hobbyist, Trick-Tools exists to help you to choose the best option for your shop and will back it all up with their No Junk Guarantee.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gear up to ride to your favorite Motorcycling Events in style – Click Here to view the all-new 5-Ball Racing Shop
THE DELIGHTFUL BILL OF RIGHTS
By J. J. Solari |
And now for an uninteresting preface to this astoundingly interesting article:
When I recently finished my groudbreaking unbelievably wondrous “bureaucrat/journalist translation dictionary from lying seditious bullcrap into what they actually mean or some title close to that, when I was done it was 49,000 astoundingly well-selected words long.
I said, frowning, “There’s gotta be a way to get another thousand words into this. Make it 50 grand. Bitchin’! ”
I had referenced the Bill of Rights in the translation-dictionary but not in any kind of detail. I said “Fuck, I’ll do that in one of the bonus sections then.” I love bonus sections to things. Don’t you? A bonus section can turn something even I wrote into a suddenly-exciting bargain. It’s like, I don’t know, getting shopping points at Nordstrom’s!! Well, turns out I got my one thousand more words and two thousand more on top of that. Since the dictionary will never get printed because it’s…..well, now it’s 52,000 words long! That’s too many words to print! Since that won’t happen, here then is one of the dictionary’s bonus sections! Enjoy!
PresentingThe Most Dangerous Critique Of The Bill Of Rights In American History. Amendment By Amendment
by
who else: J.J. Solari
(fun fact: This reads a lot more vibrantly and thrillingly if you imagine that Alan Shore of Boston Legal played by James Spader is parading grandly, slowly around, here and there, in a courtroom, presenting a case, and reciting all this to a jury that has been assembled for the purpose of deciding if the writers of the Bill of Rights are crazed sociopaths and deserving of banishment back to England. Or not. Mr. Shore is arguing, Yes. They are. After a tarring and feathering. With another tarring and feathering once they, 3,000 miles later, wade ashore from the shoddily constructed rafts provided them. Assuming they make it.)
The Bill of Rights should actually be called the bill of nothings or the bill of goods or the duck bill or the electricity bill or the bill of beep bo or as I like to call it the bill of bilgewater, because 1: you can’t legislate rights into existence. Or declare them into existence. Or construct them into existence at a meeting of overweight men in breeches and powdered British wigs in a fart-filled room and put them into a list of new and amazing rights and proclaim them as bulwarks of liberty and progress.
You can only proclaim permissions into existence and 2: if you do insist on doing these things at least come up with a list of rights that have some actual useful and fun aspects. Which these ten do not. And 3: if you are going to subject them to two hundred-plus years of added intense scrutiny by the Supreme Court, also invented by the same overweight men, make the language a bit less vague and a bit less subject to retranslation and reinterpretation and reconstruction and redefinitioning and recase-lawed-nesses and make it a bit less of a “living” – meaning apparently writhing and flailing and subject to infinite variations of meaning – make it a bit less of a “living document,” so to speak and as Nancy Pelosi would say, and make it more of an easy to “interpret” proclamation.
Because that’s what the Bill of Rights actually is. It’s a proclamation. Like “Black Lives Matter.” Or “Hasn’t Scratched Yet.” Or “You’ll Wonder Where The Yellow Went When You Brush Your Teeth With Pepsodent.” Or “Bet You Can’t Eat Just One.” Or “It’s The Water.” Or “When It Rains It Pours.” Or “I love my Mounds.”
However, unlike these latter proclamations which do not have the power of law-enforcement behind them but just persuasional impetus behind them, the Bill Of Rights is just, bam, the way things are, motherfucker, bow down and praise the valor of the brave men who determinedly jumped up and down hysterically to insist these be included into our glorious Constitution or else they would hold their breath unless these rights that aren’t rights be proclaimed as wondrous insurance policies againsteth tyrannies! There is no “Shall I buy this product?” decision-making required regarding the Bill of Rights. The decision has already been made: They’re here. They’re queer. They’re not going to go away.
My apologies to the gay community of delightful rectal wranglers and stentorian strident tribadists for borrowing your war cry of crotch-focused righteousness and groinal non-reproductive protocols without permission.
So let’s get to it, shall we? And just as a taste?….because I am sure you haven’t ever noticed?….which is the case with most things with most Americans regarding the Constitution?…..5 of the 10 – that would be one-half of the Bill of Rights’ “rights”…..cannot even be used or invoked or made manifest or stuck up your ass, or however you want to put it…..until you have either already been arrested or are about to be.
Which tells me, and I don’t know what the fuck it tells you, but it tells me that whoever contrived and concocted this list of ten arbitraries must have had a good premonition that this Constitution thing was gonna result in a lotta free and newly-liberated citizens getting scooped up by total strangers and put into a pen.
It’s like they were saying “This whole thing is a whopping crock and a little too reeking of sneaky British duplicity which we are trying to pretend has been vanquished from our shores and is not actually still fully engrained in this pompous Royal Pronouncement: we gotta do something to make sure that whoever buys into this nutsack of Enlightened Nothingness gets reassured that what is happening to them is not actually happening to them, that it’s not arrest and confiscation of their liberty and property under the Mandatory Constitution but rather a golden opportunity to experience first hand the righteousness and beauty and wisdom of us Founding Fathers in giving them an entire 50% of the glorious and righteous Bill of Rights to run-towards and grasp ahold of and cling to in glorious thanksgiving to our wisdom and foresight that they have these pre-arrest, during-arrest, and post-arrest rights to hug mightily to their bosoms and joyously shout aloud the praises of us here today now farting in this room of unbathed skin, whiskey breath, and cigar smoke, that we had the presence of mind to wrap-around their shivering-cold arrested bodies….. this warm and comforting downey blanket of Five Mighty Rights for them to invoke as they are hastened to their concrete cells in the land of the free.
So let’s start with Right Number One!
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
So, to begin, talk about fucking-up right out the gate, creating a “constitutional government” is in itself the establishment of a religion. Not to shock anyone. It’s called “a secular religion.” The deity is you. Secular religions have replaced pagan religions as being more specifically demonic. Pagan religions ignore Jesus of Nazareth king of the Jews. Demonic religions are specifically at war with Jesus of Nazareth king of the Jews.
In a secular religion You have “the power.” “All power to the people” as the Communists like to say. You are the god. You are the deity. There is not a political speech made in American history that does not remind you how powerful you are and how the might of the inherent greatness of your empowermenthood is infused into your very groinage, buttocks, and anal ducts just by you standing upon a portion of the conquered terrain that those who “interpret” the Constitution for you have allowed you to stand on.
Prior of course, to eventual arrest at some point down the road. As guaranteed by the Constitution. At which time the terrain you are standing on will be replaced by new terrain for you to stand on after arrest. Since, at this writing, 2023 AD, these are probably the last days of the USA as a so called “sovereign nation” you should be advised that your “godhead” – meaning you as a deity – is being slowly transferred off of you and onto Planet Earth itself.
You are about to officially lose your godlike status. Earth is becoming the new deity. We’re moving toward a more pagan, less demonic state of affairs, so that’s good. Thank you Jesus! Crimes against the planet as opposed to crimes against other people are eventually going to be enforced via a “planetary-rights constitution” written by basically the same swaggering cigar-smoking bureaucrats who wrote the American Constitution only it will be a global constitution enforced, most likely, by Mother Nature. We’ll be living like Neanderthals once again, basically. To keep the earth safe. Until then your secular-religious supernatural god-powers at least still do extend to affecting world climate and inhibiting the spread of routinely-occurring unstoppable, annual, instantly-global cold-and-flu seasonal virus mutations. I love your powers and abilities, comrade!
Regarding the “free exercise of religion,” the free exercise of religion for Muslims includes killing or enslaving all non-Muslims, copulating with prepubescent girls, committing suicide in order to kill infidels, which is every non muslim, murdering family members with impunity, beating women relentlessly, eradicating “man’s best friend,” the terrestrial house dog, and specifically declaring Jews and Christians the worst of humanity and in fact not actually humans at all but rather monkeys and pigs, which I believe Allah refers to Jews and Christians as, and which free exercise of religion for them, them being Islamists, includes flying modern, large, filled with paying passengers unfamiliar with Islam, jet aircraft into magnificent skyscrapers, toppling the skyscrapers and killing thousands of people sitting quietly in spacious offices trying to make a living.
Unlike the predatory brain-shredded diabolical culturally inbred hellspawn with the box cutters. So expect to be dealing with jihad personally since your government is not going to interfere with this Constitutionally-guaranteed free exercise of religion. And expect to be punished for it should you win the fracas.
Not “abridging” the “freedom of speech” means you can say things. Unless of course you say a forbidden word or a to-be-announced word or any word to be defined down the road and depending on the day or the color of the moon as having been prompted by the emotion called “hate” while hitting anyone at all in the face with your fist. Or with a bludgeon. Or with a hand grenade. Or just saying the word.
Other bits of vocabulary are routinely added to the list of things you are not actually free to say without governmental consequences. Even though these words are not specifically iterated in any law. It’s kind of an unwritten law of the Constitution randomly brought into existence by The Authorities if they fear for example their town or the town of a friend is going to be burned to the ground by illegal inhabitants should The Authorities – or you – call them, for example, illegal inhabitants rather than, say, the now-mandatory indigenous immigrants or migratory refugees or righteous roving adventurers or self-transplanting explorers or any other quaint reference to travel-related movement of vast hordes of third world Pleistocene-minded barbarians so long as they are not called colonialists. Which illegal inhabitants now number in the millions. Most of them males of military age.
Though you don’t need to be a specific age to blow yourself and half the town up with Allah-approved explosives attached to your balls since Islamic children routinely travel the road that leads to celestial virgins assumed in the Koran but not actually specified in the Koran to be human females.
“Freedom of the press” has come to be interpreted as freedom for anyone in “journalism,” whether or not he’s a pamphleteer with an 18th century printing press… to commit slander and libel with impunity as long as “persons who spoke under conditions of anonymity” or “sources close to so-and-so…” are the ones being claimed as the actual speakers and purveyors of the data. On the rare occasion when a journalist is ordered by government to reveal his “sources” the journalists says “Go fuck yourself” to the government and the government backs off and goes and fucks itself since journalists have a “blue wall” even more secure and impenetrable than the one cops have.
It gets better for journalists: as things are now, the holders of the only non-government job-description that is mentioned in the Constitution – namely journalists – are not only allotted special sanctuary from governmental attack, in fact, in common parlance, journalists have been elevated to a mystical social-holiness status called “the fourth estate,” right up there with – get this – the Church, the State, and the People. Plumbers do not have this distinction. Uber drivers do not have this distinction. Even members of the Screen Actors Guild do not have this distinction but that is probably only temporary.
The right of people to peaceably assemble and “petition the government” means you are permitted to complain and gather into clumps and grouse so long as that’s all you do. This was magnificently demonstrated during one of the Bundy-Family Performances, this time in Nevada when the Bundy ranchers were grazing cattle on “government land” which is basically all the land, including your house, within the map’s description of the boundaries of the USA.
A large bunch of the citizenry showed up to confront whichever police force was ordered to handle things, and the police force thoughtfully placed a large wire enclosure on the desert terrain and placed a hand-written cardboard sign on it that read “First Amendment Section.” The approaching citizenry, some on horses, all of them armed, were being directed to peacefully assemble inside the corral. Which was their First Amendment Right. For the first and probably last time in recent American history the normal industrious American populace not only neglected to obey the suggestion… they were very excited about being this far from opening fire on the badly out gunned government-paid imbeciles when suddenly the government-paid imbeciles said to each other, “Fuck this” and got in their SUV’s and hightailed it the hell out of there.
As far as you’re concerned, redressing grievances to the government means you can complain by barking at the moon or by sending them a letter by mail and you won’t get arrested for complaining. You have, in other words, the right to complain. You do not have the right to disobey, however. Apparently, there was some anticipation by the concocters of the Constitution that there might be grievances somewhere down the line.
Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The commas after Militia and Arms, is part of the original. These masters of Social Perfection First time Out couldn’t even proofread. Or more likely, if I know bureaucrats, couldn’t be bothered proofreading. There’s lots of errant commas in this list, probably from laziness, and which commas are now regarded as aids to “interpretation” of the text and is probably why the Supreme Court (invented out of thin air by the same people who didn’t proofread) has so wild and wooly a time “interpreting” the Constitution: it’s just too ambiguous to read as written which means it must be “alive” and subject to spontaneous change, like, say, your underwear, only more often.
You would think these 27 mispunctuated words in this solitary sentence would be easy to understand. This is not so! For 200 + years this sentence has been investigated, parsed, scrutinized, examined, diagramed and pondered about more than the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is no Rosetta Stone for these 27 words. They are arranged in such a way that the philosophical powers and might of America’s Top Lawyers have not managed to unravel the labyrinths and complexities and fractal-like meanderings into infinities of infinities that this sentence, to them, apparently manifests within itself.
Now, a person with the reading comprehension of a bilingual 6-year-old Chinese girl fluent in Chinese, English, and perhaps very likely French and German, would interpret this 27-word sentence as meaning the operators of A-10 Warthogs would be free to, if they wished, purchase a fully loaded one for themselves from the manufacture and weapons-maker and fly it home, and be free to use it for random strafes of the US/Mexican border while releasing several multi-second BRRRRRRRT-noised ordnance barrages to rain down fire and unholy death to raiding and invading armies of outsiders seeking to overrun the legitimate populace and claim the previously conquered territories to now be newly-conquered territories for themselves.
This is not the case. This is illegal. The 2nd Amendment does not consider up-to-date militia weaponry to be appropriate for the present day militia-citizenry. If you were to obtain one of the military jets and it’s armaments and counter-attack and kill the present-day invading armies that the government is not counter-attacking….the government that is not counter-attacking the invaders would attack you. Unanimously! There would be no debating or filibustering the matter or putting it up for a vote 20 times a day. You would be fucked-with immediately and permanently, especially for conquering the enemy, which has not been allowed to US Militia Personnel since Korea.
Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
This magnificent right that you think probably means something innocuous and out of date actually states that not only can you be forced to house a soldier in your home in peace and in war….. because the side the soldier is on has not been specified – it can be an enemy soldier.
This is its true meaning thanks to the “but in a manner to be prescribed by law” remark. Because “in a manner to be prescribed by law” is bureaucrat lawyer con artist language for saying “unless we say different down the road.” Because laws change whimsically and often. But saying “in a manner to be prescribed by law” instead of “until we change it” sounds so much more regal and noble and very properly British, don’t you see, quite so, oh I dare say, good-O old chap, right you are my good man, jolly good….. that you are lulled by the grandeur of “but in a manner prescribed by law” into not actually paying attention to what is and what isn’t actually being said by these Rights Creators.
In other words “but in a manner prescribed by law” means “You can do this unless we say you can’t.” Also those random all-over-the-place commas are like golden passkeys to total tyranny to the lawyers on the Supreme Court.
To those mother fuckers a comma is like ten new paragraphs of invisible ink that only they can see and read. Talk about rigging the gaming table. I will give the Founders this: they were honest enough to say right up front “We’re fucking with you” in plain language.
Apparently they gambled on your love and respect for government and the State to successfully override your two fucking eyes. The “soldiers” that you will likely be forced to house in your home sometime, probably very soon, in the future will be the sad-expressioned cunning feral wayfarers now crowding the border and likely being armed by the CIA, the FBI, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Merrick Garland, probably still Eric Cockholder and Barack Obama, and Homeland “Security.”
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
And now we come to the Bold As Brass section of the Bill of Rights, if you are paying attention, which is not likely, where you are being warned that an apparatus is being installed into place being called The United States Government that will at some point subject you to instantaneous forcible relocation called “arrest” even though you are Free, at least between arrests, and subject to conditions within such “free”nesses between arrests that might get you arrested again, and you are to be informed that these arrests actually are your rights.
This is all being made possible by the deceptively benign and reassuring “don’t worry” words “probable cause.” Probable cause means “Ok, arrest this guy.” It is draped in sanctimonious reassurances of “swearing of oaths” – which Jesus says is Luciferian but what the fuck does he know about the legal system or bureaucrats, or Lucifer, he only personally talked to the fucker and ordered him around – and draped with blather about proper channels and complicated hallways full of safeguards and reassurances.
Like when Obama assured you you can use your own doctor. In other words, you have the right to be arrested, you have the right to be seized, you have the right to be searched, you have the right to have your alleged castle searched and you have the right to have your property, not to mention your children, seized, and by implication, as evidenced by precedent and factual experience, have your seized children transported, relocated and reassigned guardians, almost always strangers, many of whom are either overly fond of children or who detest them and consider them abortion escapees.
These tyrannies are being called rights because you are a hope-springs-eternal presumptive Christian idiot counting on the God of Israel to do all your thinking and fighting for you, while you put your actual faith and trust in government to keep you from harm and so that you can “stay safe.” You’ve been hearing that a lot lately, haven’t you. It’s not new. It’s just lately more obvious. Because that Constitution is now at full throttle. How’s grandma? What’s that? You’re not allowed to see her? That’s because you’re both under “house arrest” but at separate facilities in order to keep you both safe.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence (sic) to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
You might want to fasten your fuckin’ seat belt for this one, pilgrim. This is a bucketload of ambiguous words in a small space, quite an achievement for lawyers, they usually need a lotta paper to fuck you hard in the ass.
Not the case here! This solitary sentence of 108, count ‘em, 108 words, including one “except,” one “unless,” and two “withouts,” is the most blatant assumption that you are an idiot in human history with the clear exceptions of the claims that you affect the climate and that you losing your job to a non-existent unprecedented worldwide disease that miraculously now has a cure if you get your mandatory shots is keeping you safe. Governments, at least the US ones, are not strangers to gauging you as an idiot since for 200 + years you and your deceased antecedents have been declaring American bureaucrats wise overseers and purveyors of justice.
This Adam Schiff pile of ass-splat declares you shall be arrested and jailed for a capital – #ff0000 – or infamous – undefined – crime whether you are a citizen or in the military whenever anything is declared worthy of you being thus arrested etc: that you can actually be tried twice for the same crime (This is now routine. It’s not even a thing. In fact count on it), you can be compelled to witness against yourself, you can be deprived of life liberty and property if “due process” (meaning whatever legal hoops have to be dealt with in order to accomplish whatever it is this earlier-says can’t happen) and your real estate can be confiscated if “justly compensated.”
“Just compensation” is “Ha ha, sucker” totally undefined. It’s that “except” and that “unless” and those two “withouts” that nullify immediately everything that goes before them. You’re just not supposed to actually notice this. And you probably haven’t. I would bet on it. Good thing I showed up, huh? I know what you’re saying: “None of this is true.”
Shall we move on?
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence (sic).
By the way, the misspellings of defense and offense in this thing? They’re in the original. Remember that proof-reading thing? Yeah. There wasn’t any. Too tiring. Way too much trouble. Not important. It’s the words that count. Turns out that’s true, but no one is paying any attention to those. No one not in office at any rate.
Moving along, Right Number 6, after you are arrested of course, gives you the “right” to a “trial” in which you are presumed guilty, not innocent, or you wouldn’t have been fucking arrested, until declared, not actually proven, not guilty.You’ll notice that the word “enjoy” is thrown into the mix; you will enjoy this right that is not actually anything close to a right but is in fact a punishment, you will enjoy this, this is something you will enjoy.
You will get enjoyment out of this. This will be enjoyable. You will enjoy an enjoying enjoyment as this enjoyousness happens to you Plus you get to actually be informed why you are there in handcuffs, and you get to have a lawyer to talk legal language to the legal-language authorities incarcerating you so that you can experience this Right that kicks-in after being arrested under a previous right. As an added enjoyment, all the people doing these enjoyment things to you, including the lawyers, are living off your dime. You are paying them to do this to you.
Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
I have no idea what this means. Why this is a “right” and not just an explanation of a declared-out-of-the-blue procedure I do not know. I did not graduate from Harvard Law School.
Some minor research told me that “British common law” is involved. This is the first sign of honesty I have come across so far, namely that this entire Constitution Crap has as its parents all the kings and queens of England in history: renowned liars and ruthless administers of tyranny and conquest at will and at whimsy and who we thought were driven off American shores and back to England.
Apparently a whopping fucking lot of them stuck around to bring back the old days after a 13-year hiatus of no government and no chaos and everyone got along with the Indians.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Welcome to more jail rights. This mighty and magnificent Right of 16 words actually says nothing. Excessive is not defined, cruel is not defined and unusual is not defined.
What is made clear is the word inflicted. It’s like Jeffrey Dahmer wrote the Bill of Rights. The assumption is made – it can be argued – that the committee who created this – whatever this is – had a hunch that the amount and degree and quantity of arrests under the new, mandatorily-imposed Constitution, was going to be so fucking rampant that some limits on the levels of heinousness had to be put in place in order to at least give the appearance of rationality and empathy and some showcase level of Christian mercy, forgiveness and understanding, no matter how minute.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
I have no idea what this means. “Shall not be construed” by whom. “Deny or disparage” other what. Other rights?….the ones retained by the people? What people. U.S. citizens? What “other” rights? What rights are those.
What are you talking about? There are rights already in place? There are “certain rights?” That these new rights….whatever they are….don’t override? Or replace? Or discourage? Or remove? Are you serious? This is all arbitrary random Biden-level huffington puffery.
There are rights in the Constitution? Are you kidding? – you have to have all your God given or actual rights trampled out of existence before you can even use 50 fucking percent of these new-and-improved “certain” rights. Thank you for reassuring me that these majestic certain rights you have granted me will in no way interfere with the many millions of other certain rights I and the rest of “the people” are “retaining.” You’re a saint, Founding Randon-Access-Vocabulary Bureaucrat, or in other words, Gavin Newsom The First.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
This says that any power and authority and any other assault upon liberty that has somehow through some fantastic oversight not been granted to the Federal Government – and there is nothing that has not been granted to the Federal government – can be imposed upon the residents of all the States via the State Authorities of that State.
Any powers that are left after that onslaught of laws, restrictions, regulations and nationalizations “belong to the people.” Meaning city and county government. Not actually “the people.”
This means that while the Federal Government now rules the States and everyone in them, specific instances of accidental elements of personal liberty found to be remaining can be eradicated by county and local government, local government being the actual “the people,” or the inhabitants of cities and counties, as long as they’re in office in the cities and counties.
Not “the actual people.” Not you, in other words. Also in other words, anything the Feds have not locked down as being illegal, the States and counties and cities can lock them down until further notice.
And there ya have it! Now remember: I didn’t write the Bill of Rights or the Constitution. In fact no writers did. People like The Squad did. People in the original Swamp. America’s first “public-office holders,” in other words. Not professional “nation designers.” They had no prior experience at creating paradise here on earth or starting “rights-filled nations.” And it shows. And it got approved. All I did was read what they wrote. I didn’t write it. I just read it. So don’t blame me for any of this shit. I’m just the messenger. Gob bless! Thank you.
“Know your rights. These are your rights.”_____The Clash
end
Understanding the World of Chopper Magazines
By Wayfarer |
The Ups and Downs of Print Media
by Bandit and a handful of Editors
I thought I might check in on the Motorcycle Magazine industry, specifically the chopper guys. F***, I didn’t know what I was diving into. A couple of years ago only one magazine survived the cost issues, the internet competition and the distribution expenses, Cycle Source.
Some magazines went sorta underground, changed their formats and dropped out of the retail market. Then Chopper Magazine returned with a large glossy format, quality printing but subscription only.
Click Here to Read this study of the Chopper Print Media Business, only on Bikernet.com
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What is the Cantina? Its Freedom to Ride your Motorcycle! Check out Membership Benefits by clicking here.
Garage Door Opener
By Wayfarer |
by Rogue
I have gotten use to having a garage door opener on my motorcycle. As I prepare to install one on my new 2022 Harley Ultra Limited, I wanted to let you know that some of the procedures are different depending on the model motorcycle.
It is very important that you follow the instruction that come with the opener and also check if any other parts are necessary. Having a Harley Davidson Service Manual for your specific motorcycle is highly recommended.
Click Here to Read this Tech and Tip only on Bikernet.com
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Visit the Free Tech Section only on Bikernet.com: click here
THE WORLD OF CHOPPER MAGAZINES RELEASED
By Bandit |
I thought I might check in on the Motorcycle Magazine industry, specifically the chopper guys. Fuck, I didn’t know what I was diving into. A couple of years ago only one magazine survived the cost issues, the internet competition and the distribution expenses, Cycle Source. Some magazines went sorta underground, changed their formats and dropped out of the retail market. Then Chopper Magazine returned with a large glossy format, quality printing but subscription only.
I got caught up in a recent editorial: Here we are with another issue of everyone’s favorite chopper rag. Issue 10 is jam-packed with some of the best bikes we’ve featured to date, including one from the legendary chopper builder Micah McCloskey.
As a longtime fan of Micah’s builds featuring his Panhead is an honor, hence the cover. When Keith Ball offered to do the write-up, I was equally honored. It’s not every day you get legends in the chopper game to be in your magazine. If you don’ know who Keith Ball is, you might know him from his longtime pen name, Bandit. 
Bandit is responsible for the Easyriders of yesteryear we all loved and cherished. He has also written a few books, including Outlaw Justice and Sam “Chopper” Orwell.
Let’s not forget he’s the founder of Bikernet.com, one of the first biker lifestyle websites ever created. Without Keith, there would not be this version of Choppers Magazine. He has been a friend, a mentor, and a constant source of biker knowledge for me to turn to. Look for a full feature on Bandit’s ’48 UL in an upcoming issue.
–Cary Brobeck
Publisher
Choppers Magazine
I couldn’t ask for a better tribute and Choppers Magazine is a standout publication with high quality sheet-fed printing, and layout by the master art director, Beatnik. It’s a magazine devoted to old school choppers and West Coast events.
“I Think Choppers Magazine is doing the right thing, heavy paper, so it looks good for years,” said Guy Bolton the publisher of Greasy Kulture in England. “In Japan, they use stamp size photos to put as many folks as possible in the magazines?! Making them buy…”
Here’s a major challenge to our magazine industry. When Easyriders started in 1971, it was the one and only lifestyle magazine for us chopper freaks. If you wanted wild action, we were the only game on the planet. Think about that for a minute, while you ponder the perfect example of the changing times challenge. When I sent Michael Lichter to cover the Sturgis rally in 1979 there were just 12,000 brothers peeling into the area to burn the toilets down in City Park, by the 50th anniversary in 1990, 500,000 brothers and sisters scrambled into the Black Hills for the shoot-out anniversary.
Imagine the variety of bikes at that rally in 1990. No magazine could cover everything featured at that one explosion of chopper/custom/bagger action. Harley-Davidson played a major roll with the introduction of the Evo drivetrain and then the FXR. Guys could ride all over the world with an Evo under them and they did. So, think about the 50th anniversary crew of family guys, women riders, outlaws, custom builders, touring riders, long distance riders, off-road guys, tech heads, chopper guys, performance guys, road racers, you name it.
Then something else happened, the internet. The internet exploded with websites and a challenge to every print publication. But then social media took the wind out of the web site sales and killed reading or maybe not. That’s a major question now? Does the average guy read anymore, or does he go to Facebook to see his pal’s new dog, make a comment like, “cool,” and he’s done? The problem is a growing population and no generalization fits. There are still builders who want all the tech they can get their hands on. Ah, but what tech, bagger tech, performance tech, old school tech, restoration tech, or? Okay, you get the picture.
CYCLE SOURCE
One team has stood out over the last ten years. Chris Callen, Heather and the Cycle Source Magazine crew have studied the action, the technology, the internet, social media, podcasts and YouTube for 20 years and if anyone can or attest to the daunting challenges of an ever- changing motorcycle communications industry, Chris can. Plus, he’s the non-stop manager with the creative energy to try everything successfully. Plus, he’s a no-bullshit enthusiast. He does it all. He builds bikes, in fact the last time we spoke he was building a stretched rigid frame from the ground up. He’ll cover it on YouTube, podcasts, his website and in the magazine.
I had a strange experience at Hot Bike when they hired me to be the editorial director of their three titles. Prime media was a massive organization trying to grapple with all the costly changes technology threw at them and 44 magazine titles. My vision was similar to Chris’s but turning a multi-million-dollar cruise liner into the wind to handle the tsunami of internet waves headed directly at the bow was tough. I packed my seabag and returned to the Bikernet.com hideaway in San Pedro, where a biker could be a biker and fuck the corporate world.
Whether they like it or not publishers are directionally challenged with each issue. Where are they going and what code of the west do they abide by?
CLASSIC EASYRIDERS
More recently Classic Easyriders started to publish monthly and reached into the troubled magazine newsstand distribution chains. The new publisher Ray Pelosi was involved in the return of another national magazine and wanted to bring Easyriders back. He had a deal with Joe Teresi, the owner to repropose all the issues on CD libraries but decided to step up to print. Ray hired Dave Nichols, Mike Lichter, and the magnificent New York art director Regina Marsh. Mike Lichter, master of motorcycle photography, scrambled around the country covering bikes, old builders and events with his son Sean. They produced 60-70 pages of content each issue only to part ways during the production of the recent January issue. Other business issues have surfaced but I will let Dave, who edits ER as a parttime endeavor, while maintaining a fulltime job, explain the direction for 2023.
After an exciting year back as the world’s “biker’s bible,” Easyriders magazine kickstarts 2023 with some exciting changes including more of what our readers tell us they want. Namely, more of what made the original biker rag great. We are adding biker fiction stories, gut-bustin’ humor with our Passin’ Gas page, more lifestyle-inspired art and cartoons, tantalizing tech tips, and even articles from our V-Twin Vault of past runs, rallies, parties, events and classic custom bike features.
Our editors have also started up a new quarterly publication for those of you who miss the nudity in Easyriders. We call it the Best Bikes & Babes and each 100-page issue will showcase 10 tempting naked girls astride some of the county’s coolest custom motorcycles. Now you can have it all – we’ll keep you up to date with the biker culture in our monthly Easyriders magazine, and for those who can’t get enough boobies in their life, there’s Best Bikes & Babes available four times a year.
Most magazines slipped away from nudity as their customers aged and started families. Some sorta slipped underground like Dice and GreasyKulture. They changed their sizes and became subscription only.
DICE MAGAZINE
If you have gear-head tendencies and want to see motorcycles being put together in the basements, garages, and woodsheds around the world … the kind of machines that are fondled by the wild-eyed and sleepless … then here you are.
History
The year is 2004, the bike scene at the time is all about fat tires, chopper TV shows, billet aluminum and theme builds. Two young punk rockers in London weren’t seeing the things they liked, so they did what they had to do. Matt Davis and Dean Micetich got friends with bikes together, shot some photos and started DicE Magazine.
Over the last 18 years they’ve exposed people the world over to motorbikes with their inclusive, fun, DIY approach that is a breath of fresh air in the often-uptight biker world.
DicE is constantly evolving and growing with one idea in mind: life is too short to be serious.
GREASY KULTURE
Is another sorta Readers Digest sized magazine made up most of bobber bike features, sans billet, but honoring an occasional chromed out chopped Panhead. Guy Bolton, the publisher/editor pours his life into every issue with a strict code. It’s mostly garage built bikes with no bikes shot in studios.
Greasy Kulture is a name that’s been established on the custom motorcycle scene for 20 years.
Here are thoughts from the master, Guy Bolton: Starting as a blog (remember them?) then becoming a print magazine in 2007, Greasy Kulture then went on to start selling choice heritage brands alongside its own publications and merchandise in 2015.
The chopper magazine market has changed a lot since I started Greasy Kulture magazine 15 years ago; back in 2007 my only real competition (at least for the traditionally styled bikes we favor) was DicE magazine – also started by a couple of Englishmen. And it still is.
In that 15 years, numerous chopper titles have come and gone: some independent self-published titles (like mine) and some ‘revived’ classic newsstand titles from the sixties and seventies. I think the big publishers continue to struggle to find a business model that works for chopper magazines: all the classic titles have been revived with great fanfare, only to fall again by the wayside.
Why has Greasy Kulture survived when nearly every other title has failed? Because I do everything myself (layouts, writing, distribution and sometimes photography) so overheads are low. I concentrate on the bikes and the owners and their stories. Readers know by now that if they want event or lifestyle coverage, they need to go elsewhere. I also understand that it’s not a huge money-maker; I accept the financial limitations of what I’m doing. I keep it small, focused, grassroots and good quality.
As for the chopper magazine market, I think the immediate future belongs still to independent publications. Newsstand titles will continue to appear – then disappear – as publishers realize there’s no money in them. Online content will increase its dominance (and advertisers will continue to move out of print) and as paper, print and shipping costs continue to soar, even independent magazines may find the squeeze too much and give up. I am holding on doggedly, but even I can see that print publishing is in terminal decline.
The Japanese chopper magazines, however – Roller and Ripper, etc. – continue to offer constant inspiration. These titles’ quality – paper stock, design, photography and the bikes featured – is the best in the world. I don’t know how they do it.
Plans for Greasy Kulture? Just to keep going. It gets harder every issue; production and shipping costs increase almost monthly, but I can’t keep putting the cover price up. I’ve had a long-held ambition to turn the magazine into a Rodders Journal for choppers: a quarterly, book-quality publication. With the right investment, perhaps it will happen one day.
When the magazine started, I sold half the print run wholesale to stores; but they have mostly gone bust. I now sell to a few select stores around the world, but the magazine survives mostly on online sales and subscriptions and with the support of some loyal advertisers: Biltwell and Lowbrow Customs have advertised with me since day one and the mag would not exist without them – truly solid, good guys.
Future looks tough for print, merch helps to bring in cash.
–Guy Bolton
There’s another formula used by a few publishers in different industries, which works. It’s membership publishing like the Antique Motorcycle Club of America. Their publication is steller, inspiring, historic and informative. Join the club and receive the tons of inspiring antique motocycle info in their top-notch magazine for free.
FROM THE AMCA MAGAZINE BOSS
With the majority of the motorcycle industry going digital only with their magazines, the Antique Motorcycle Club of America is committed to providing its more than 12,000 members with a printed magazine. Hey, we are the AMCA, we are old school. For most of our members, sitting in our easy-chair reading the club’s bi-monthly magazine is one of the pure joys in life.
The paper shortages are currently forcing us to hold to an 84-page format for now and we are absorbing the price increases. The Antique Motorcycle is proud to be one of, if not, the best motorcycle magazines in the world dedicated to the classic, vintage and antique motorcycle market. It’s not just a club magazine, we take pride in our professional photography and editorial content as a coffee table magazine.
– Keith Kizer
AMCA Executive Director
HOT BIKE MAGAZINE
Just recently Jordon is endeavoring to revive Hot Bike Magazine:
HOT BIKE 2023 Print Magazine Relaunch!
Help bring HOT BIKE Magazine back in 2023! Now independently owned and operated, we need your help in printing this iconic mag for YOU!
Look, it’s real simple. We’re bored with social media. We like magazines. We think you do too.
That said, we’re asking for your help in bringing HOT BIKE Magazine back to print in 2023! HOT BIKE magazine has been an iconic part of American history and is the archetype of American V-twin performance and custom culture since 1971.
Due to the corporate bean counters who saw HOT BIKE magazine as a “line item” the magazine temporarily ceased publishing in 2019… Until now!
After acquiring the rights to this iconic brand, the new independently owned and operated HOT BIKE owners felt you fine folks were worth reading an actual magazine once again.
We’re working hard to bring this iconic, 50-year-old print magazine back in 2023 but we cannot do it without your support.
We’ve secured the right printers using quality materials. We’ve hired the best photographers and writers who know their shit. We’ve curated the best overall humans (no algorithms to speak of) to help bring this magazine back to your doorsteps in 2023.
How Your Funds Are Spent
First thing’s first. We realize $210,000 seems like a lot of dough to cough up for some magazines and swag. But we’re not bringing back an iconic piece of American history to skimp on quality. You deserve the best, which is what we’re aiming to deliver.
FEES: We’ll immediately take 10% off the top ($21,000) to go toward Kickstarter fees (5% campaign fees, 5% processing fees).
PRINTING: Of course, printing a magazine these days is pretty costly too as paper is at an all-time premium. To print one issue, we’re looking at approximately $25,000-$30,000 ($100,000-$120,000 for all 4 issues) just for the paper, ink, printing processes and postage. But every issue will feature a high-quality product with thick paper stock that we know you’ll appreciate.
CONTENT: Then there are the funds needed to pay for the inside editorial content (high-quality photos and articles ain’t cheap either). And of course, the art direction and design will be put together by the best and brightest who know this culture. We’re budgeting about $15,000 for each issue for this (approx. $60,000).
SWAG: The last piece to the campaign puzzle are the costs to produce the cool, limited-edition gifts which ends up being about $5,000.
Please support the re-launch of HOT BIKE in 2023! Please support independent publishing! We do this for the love of our industry and the love of great storytelling. Help us bring these two passions back directly to you. We greatly appreciate your time and effort and look forward on taking you on this ride with us!
–Jordon
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supporthotbike/hot-bike-2023-print-magazine-relaunch
They have currently raised only $78,000 and the first deadline is lingering in the near future.
THE PAPER TURMOIL LOOMS
There has been a profusion of paper industry news and printers and publishers alike are dealing with the impact. Mill closures continue, as do mergers, acquisitions, and mills shifting focus to produce packaging materials. Production capacity is diminishing. Raw materials (pulp, chemicals), fuel and energy, and transportation costs are experiencing double- and in some cases triple-digit increases. The effects of the pandemic and inflation are contributing factors as well.
Supply is low, demand is high. Paper mill order books are full, with limits now being imposed on paper purchasers to prevent stockpiling. Resultingly, lead times are being extended, some now at 10 to 12 weeks out. Quick-turn paper orders are rare.
With mill closures and reduced production comes scarcity or elimination of certain brands. Thankfully, the Grade Paper Program allows for substitutions within a grade of paper at the same quality and specifications as a brand that may no longer be available.
Price increase announcements have been coming with increasing frequency. Coated freesheet, uncoated, newsprint, groundwood… paper type isn’t the issue. Increases are occurring across the board, and indications point to more increases on the way for the summer. The afore mentioned contributors – pulp prices, rising energy costs, and pervasive freight issues – are significantly eroding mill margins, which in turn spurs the mills to raise prices to try to recoup their losses. The price of pulp alone, already high due to Asian pulp speculation activity, has skyrocketed over 35% just this year as a result of increased lumber demand during the pandemic, among other factors.
Here’s a quick look at specific products and resources that are experiencing extraordinary circumstances:
Lumber: Lumber prices are up over 400% vs. year ago! Why? It’s not about a shortage of trees. Canadian lumber tariffs and an unexpected intense spike in home remodeling and home building brought upon by the pandemic are the primary factors, as well as transportation delays.
Crude Oil: Crude oil is up about 40% since the beginning of the year, with prices expected to hit $80 per barrel. As the economy surges back, Americans are driving and flying again and will feel the effects. Oil production hasn’t kept pace with demand and the U.S. in particular may be slower to rebuild supply due to new initiatives to reduce hydrocarbon assets and goals toward net zero emissions.
Workforce: The national workforce shortage – deemed a “national economic emergency” by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – is a direct result of the pandemic. The main drivers of the labor shortage are fears of returning to work and getting the virus, child care due to at-home schooling, elder care as nursing homes became unattractive due to COVID outbreaks, and the $300 per week in emergency federal unemployment, which has kept many who otherwise would be in entry level jobs at home. Although the extra unemployment benefits are set to expire in September 2021, at least half of the states have announced plans to cancel them ahead of schedule, to hopefully motivate more people to seek jobs. The rollout of vaccinations and the resultant drop in COVID infections have set the stage to reverse the drivers of the labor shortage, but over what period of time we do not know.
Transportation: Trucking and shipping woes continue, with reduced freight load-to-truck ratios – particularly in the North American south and west – driving transportation costs up significantly. Availability of drivers, ports disrupted by COVID outbreaks, and the resulting disarray of container locations/availability all contribute to a less predictable delivery process. Oh – and then there was that ship that got stuck sideways in the Suez Canal!
Hang on!
–CJKGroup.com
Now for a Note from Scandinavia
Printed magazines are getting rare. However, some survive like Scanbike now 30 years and counting.
It was started by HAMC members in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. First bimonthly but now four copies a year and digital alternative.
What is special with this cover? It is recycled ha-ha. Our Old contributor SHERIFFMEDIAGROUP had first cover in 1993 and the editor made the same choice 2023!!
Swedish biker Nessie and stripper from Denmark. His no nonsense chop typical early ‘90s. I remember he had holder for cigarettes and toothbrush ha-ha on his chop.
–Sheriff
BIG TWIN
Started by Björn Glansk Some 15 years ago. Ex-cop murder investigator, turned to magazines for the high-end CEO CFO guys.
He then decided to start Big Twin as a Harley-Davidson only mag. In the beginning it had the HOG group feeling but now contains a mix of long Fork Swedish STYLE and bagger modifications, performance updates.
His crew work for Free or some dimes.
Price will go up in 2023 due to printing cost and shipping also headache!
Enthusiast for sure, you gotta live this lifestyle
Money That’s another World…
–Sheriff
Sheriff media empire
Sweden
Wow, so what do you glean from all this info? First, a print magazine is always king. I don’t care if it’s Vogue or an old Street Choppers. There’s nothing like being featured in a real magazine. There’s nothing like a full-spread photo of your motorcycle or your favorite builder’s latest creation. There’s nothing like seeing an historic event, like the Smoke Out covered by Michael Lichter.
Some 40 years ago I worked with a woman, Mrs. Fisher. She was a copy editor and mentor. She said one day, “Many publishers get addicted to ink.” She was right. There’s nothing like creating a magazine and receiving the first copies from the printer. Way beyond bean counters’ concerns, that new issue is ink and paper magic. And as editors, we love to make that magic happen and share it with the world and our subscribers.
My philosophies with Bikernet included building one magazine and adding pages to it almost every day for 27 years now. But it’s still not a magazine you can mail to a friend and he can open it to a two-page spread of your bike flying along the Bonneville Salt Flats at 200 mph carefully captured with a high-speed digital camera by Scooter Shoots. There’s just nothing like it.
Bottom line, there are magazine challenges and obstacles aplenty, but if you can do what you love, you’re proud of every page and you pay the bills, Ride On!
New Comp Master Clutch’s for M8 Models
By Wayfarer |
American Prime Manufacturing is excited to announce..
Two new Comp Master™ Clutch’s for 2017- Present Milwaukee 8 Models
https://americanprimemfginc.com
Even with a pandemic, labor shortages, material shortages, SUPPLY CHAIN WOES….We did it anyhow!!!
Introducing the NEW Comp Master™ M8 models…
1056-0030 Comp Master™ Severe Duty Clutch
- Fits L2017-2021 M8 Models with OE Hydraulically actuated clutch.
- Bolt-in
- Just remove the stock OE clutch
- Built to hold large amounts of torque & HP
- Made in America
Available Soon!!
1056-0032 Comp Master™ Severe Duty Clutch
- Fits L2021-Present M8 Models with Cable actuated clutch.
- Bolt-in
- Just remove the stock OE clutch
- Built to hold large amounts of torque & HP
- Made in America
Available Soon!
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Stay updated on latest Motorcycle news, events, products, tech, tips, reviews, deals, fun & more. Click Here to view Membership options for Bandit’s Cantina
Answer Racing Partnership with BarX Suzuki 250
By Wayfarer |
Answer Announces Partnership with BarX Suzuki 250 Team for 2023 Season
Fort Worth TX – January 5, 2023 – Answer Racing today announced its sponsorship of the BarX Suzuki racing team for the 250cc class in the 2023 Supercross and motocross seasons.
The BarX Suzuki team, which features riders Derek Drake, Carson Mumford, Robbie Wageman and Ty Masterpool, will sport Answer Racing jerseys, pants and gloves for their races in 2023. Team jerseys and pants will be from the company’s Elite product line and each race will feature a different color scheme, including an All-American design for Military Appreciation Day at the race in San Diego.
“Everyone at Answer Racing is thrilled to return to Supercross and motocross racing in 2023, this partnership with BarX Suzuki makes it really special. We are confident this will be a breakout year for these motivated young riders,” says Brent Ash, Brand Manager for Answer Racing.
“BarX is a great addition to Answer Racing’s support of elite amateurs and grass roots marketing efforts. Their young team will be exciting to watch,” says Nick Wey, Brand Ambassador for Answer Racing.
“We are thankful to have the support of Answer, with the style and quality they bring, our riders’ confidence is over the top,” said Myron Short, managing partner of Team BarX. “BarX Suzuki has very big goals for this year, and we strive to achieve them. Our riders and crew are working very hard leading into the 2023 season.”
“Wearing our top-of-the-line Elite gear, with a dynamic set of BarX and Answer Racing colors and graphics, will give the athletes a look that will stand out from the rest of the class,” Ash continued.
Answer Racing apparel products have long been the standard for high performance racing and off-road riding gear. The 2023 Supercross season will kick off at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California on January 7, 2023.
About Answer Racing: Answer Racing was started in 1976 with a goal of providing hardcore motocross enthusiasts with products they could trust. Decades of champions were forged in the hearts and minds of Answer Racing’s creative engine. Fast forward to today and Answer Racing has not lost sight of the original vision, putting its nearly five decades of experience behind bars into every product. More information can be found at answerracing.com.
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Bikernet’s Free Weekly Newsletter, Click to get your Kickstart today.
Gibtown Bike Fest
By Wayfarer |
Ride In Bike Show Saturday January 7th
James Irwin – of “Bikers Helping Bikers” & www.healthinsurance65.com presents a spectacular Ride In Bike Show at Gibtown Bike Fest! Come meet James! When it comes to financial services, you want someone like James that helps bikers find money that they are loosing unnecessarily.
Special Appearance – Billy Lane, Krista Grotte.
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Gear up to ride to your favorite Motorcycling Events – Click Here to view the all-new 5-Ball Racing Shop
ROCKIN’ the NEW YEAR BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for January 5, 2023
By Bandit |
Hey,
Another magnificent day in Paradise. If you’re into politics I know you’re on the edge of your seat. If you’re into football, you’re on the edge of your seat. If you’re into chopper building, you’re on the edge of your bench trying to make shit happen.
I’m sorta on the edge of my seat over several elements of this year. There are new book projects, movie and TV efforts. It’s going to be damn exciting with new builds, going to the Texas mile to test the Salt Torpedo, then to Bonneville hopefully.
I’m reading Denis Manning’s book about Streamliners and LSR attempts. It’s amazing the shit that can and will go wrong. Let’s hit the news and then I’ll bring you up to speed on shop projects.
The Bikernet Weekly News is sponsored in part by companies who also dig Freedom including: Cycle Source Magazine, the MRF, Las Vegas Bikefest, Iron Trader News, ChopperTown, BorntoRide.com and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.
ACTION FROM BILTWELL– L O U I S V I L L E K E N T U C K Y
The BroDown 2023
We’re bringing it back! The “Brodown” parties we threw at the old Cincinnati V-Twin Expos were legendary good times. Now in 2023, we’re going to the Drag Specialties NVP trade show which is for Drag dealers and vendors. Since trade shows are not open to the public and generally not super exciting times, we thought bringing back the BroDown with the band Dandelion Death might liven things up. This IS open to the public and there is NO cover charge.
Friday Night Jan 20, 2023
Doors Open At 7:00 PM
The Portal @ Fifteen Twelve
1512 Portland Ave, Louisville, KY
PRODUCT RESOURCE OF THE WEEK—Omaha Derby Covers
Irish Rich, the mad bike builder from Sturgis is a Sinner and worked with the bronze master in Omaha to make these derby covers but also air cleaner covers. This one will have a stud on the back and screw into stock air cleaner elements.
–Bandit
YEAR-END REVIEW FROM FEMA FIGHTING FOR US IN EUROPE—
Even though after the summer break most restrictions of the Covid19-measures were lifted, it soon became clear that there would be no return to the pre-pandemic normality. This did not stop us continuing our work. The number of visits to Brussels may be less than we were used to before 2020, we are still able to advocate the rights and interests of the European motorcyclists in Brussels and to a lesser extend in Geneva.
In this review we will first give a summary and then you will find the more detailed actions, ordered in the way of our strategic plan 2016-2026 by the four main topics.
To follow us, just click on your favourite social media channel.
Summary of actions
On the topic of environment and energy transition, part of the Fit for 55 package of the European Commission, we soon realized that in the European Union there is no political support at all for motorcycles, or other vehicles, on fossil fuels.
We therefore choose to lobby for internal combustion engines for longer distance motorcycles in general. In practice, this means motorcycles running on e-fuels and biofuels.
This is still an ongoing discussion, but with cars and vans, the door to these fuels is still a little open, so why not for motorcycles. Electric motorcycles can be a very good option for many users, but they need to be well facilitated with suitable charging opportunities. We lobbied to have small (L-category) vehicles included in the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR).
After the hype of automated vehicles, it now seems that manufacturers are focusing more on advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) and partially automated and connected driving. We contacted Euro NCAP about the relation between these systems and motorcyclists, because many ADAS still do not react properly to motorcycles and other powered two-wheelers.
From 2023 ADAS will be tested by Euro NCAP with motorcycles and FEMA will be involved in the development of the tests of Advanced Rider Assist Systems (ARAS). Other road safety aspects like safe infrastructure and driving licences have also taken much of our time this year as you can see later.
Our privacy and the protection of our vehicle data (and therefore also our personal data) is still a growing issue of concern. We keep following the developments and act when and where appropriate.
To be able to better look after the interests of our UK stakeholders and limit unwanted consequences of Brexit for both the UK and continental riders, we intensified our cooperation with the UK National Motorcyclists Council (NMC).
Finally, many motorcyclists own a historic motorcycle, often without realizing that. We looked after their interests too in 2022 and will keep doing that.
Environment and energy
As mentioned, the energy transition played an important role in 2022. Because in the EU plans motorcycles are still not mentioned, we could not do much in political lobbying, but we keep asking attention for the alternatives like e-fuels to be able to keep buying and riding new motorcycles with an internal combustion engine after 2035.
For motorcyclists who prefer electric motorcycles, we lobbied to include powered two-wheelers in the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). We succeeded in that. Unfortunately there is no attention for the specific safety and security aspects of motorcycles in the AFIR, but here we kept lobbying to include these aspects in the charging infrastructure.
Sound did not play a big role in 2022, but on several occasions, we kept reminding the co-legislators that lowering the sound limit for new motorcycles is not the solution for the serious problem of noise annoyance. This solution must be found in a change in the culture of a part of the motorcycle community and enforcement.
The End-of-Life for Vehicles Directive kept us busy again too. On 24 and 25 March 2022 we attended a stakeholder meeting that was organized in order of the European Commission, and we lobbied again to keep motorcycles out of the scope of the End-of-Life for Vehicles Directive as this limits motorcycle owners to keep their motorcycles on the road in an affordable, sustainable and a responsible way. It would also limit owners of historic motorcycles to keep them running.
We took part in the UNECE Informal Working Group on Safer and Cleaner Used and New Vehicles for Developing Countries. (IWG on SCUNV), part of UNECE WP.29. The purpose of this working group is to regulate the export of used vehicles (including motorcycles) from Europe to other continents in a way that only clean and safe vehicles will be exported. We participate in this because we consider it as our duty to avoid the export of dirty and unsafe motorcycles to other continents.
Urban mobility /Future mobility
We had a meeting with the European Commission (EC) about SUMP (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans) formats. Together with ACEM and FIM we had written the European Commission to share our concerns about the way a survey of the European Commission ignored motorcycling as an option in SUMPs.
We contributed to several surveys on this topic. We also keep alerting policymakers and the public on the beneficial aspects of using a motorcycle also in urban areas.
Road safety
As in previous years, in 2022 we had several contacts with the European Commission about the driving license regulation. In March, FEMA’s General Secretary Dolf Willigers was a speaker in a workshop about driving licenses, organized by the European Commission. We keep telling all policymakers that the current staged access system has no benefits and only heightens the threshold to obtain a full A driving license. We also asked for further harmonization of the driving license regulation on aspects as riding a small motorcycle with an A license and riding with a trailer. Together with ACEM we are also looking in ways to better include electric motorcycles as test motorcycles in the directive. Finally, we kept telling all policymakers that the focus of the tests needs to be changed from low-speed technical skills to higher level cognitive skills.
The European Commission is preparing a change of the current PTI directive 2014/45/EU to include all powered two-and three-wheelers in all member states. We provided the Commission during and after a meeting with the head and an expert of the cabinet of transport commissioner Valean with information that proves that periodic technical inspections have only a negligible effect on road safety, contrary to other measures like better education, safe infrastructure, etcetera.
During several meetings, we were active again in the road safety project SAFE-UP to make cars safer for vulnerable road users as PTW-riders.
By participating in a survey and several meetings we contributed again at efforts to develop an e-Call system that is good and safe for motorcyclists. We are convinced that well developed e-Call system has a positive effect on diminishing the effects of incidents like crashes on motorcyclists, because emergency services can be quicker and better alerted and crashed motorcyclists can be better found after the incident.
Early 2022 and again on 14 September, we had meetings about the technical and legal requirements and type approval of Personal Light Electric Vehicles (PLEVs). Important for us as this can become within our scope in future, but also to avoid confusing incident figures of this kind of vehicles with those of motorcycles.
Together with our Swedish member organization SMC and several road safety experts we are participating in an IRAP-EuroRAP working group to develop recommendations for safer infrastructure and enhance the IRAP assessment system.
We initiated a revision of the Dutch lane splitting guideline, which is used as an example is several other countries, to include the emergency lane.
We contacted Euro NCAP to share our concerns regarding the way safety assist systems are tested, which in our view can give drivers a false sense of safety that can be dangerous for motorcyclists. Euro NCAP will have better tests form 2023 and also invited us to participate in the development of tests for Advanced Rider Assist Systems (ARAS) for motorcyclists.
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
Again in 2023 we were alert to developments that endanger the privacy of motorcyclists. For the time being this is a problem that mainly plays a role with cars, but in our view, it is just a matter of time before motorcycles are going to be “connected” and this can become an issue for us too. In April, we contributed to a public consultation on this topic.
We also kept an eye on ARAS for motorcycles and follow the lobby to make Intelligent speed assistance (ISA) mandatory for motorcycles, as it already is for new cars.
Other issues
Historic vehicles are keeping our attention. We did so by participating in the European Parliament Historic Vehicle Group, in our work on the End-of-Life for Vehicles Directive (ELV Directive), lobbying is several ways to keep riding a motorcycle with an internal combustion engine possible, in discussing historic vehicles with the European Commission and with, through a survey, developing a new definition of historic motorcycles that better meets the needs of motorcyclists.
The mobility between the UK and the EU still provides problems for those who do not ride their motorcycle themselves, but have it transported in a van or on a trailer. Together with the UK NMC we tried to get some clarification in this topic. In the end we think that we can give that now.
Early 2022, we published a revised set of the FIM-FEMA Joint Position Papers, that we presented together with FIM Europe during the IfZ 14th International Motorcycle Conference in Cologne early October. Next time the set of joint position papers will be from FEMA, FIM Europe, and NMC.
In December, FEMA was a guest in an American podcast. This was after we published an article about transport poverty and how motorcycles can keep people mobile with raising costs of cars and public transport. It turns out that our articles are read widely all over the world.
In the end of the year, we were confronted with a situation where a Dutch motorcyclist received a ticket from Uzbekistan for an alleged violation of ULEZ rules in London. We wondered how his personal information could be known by a private company in Uzbekistan and asked for Information about this from the Netherlands Vehicle Authority which is responsible for the Dutch vehicle registration databank. This is still pending.
FEMA’s Committee Meeting in Denmark
For the first time since the pandemic, FEMA was able to organize a real meeting for the member organizations, our first physical meeting since February 2020. The meeting was hosted by our member organization MCTC at the MC Touring Camp in Kolind, Denmark.
Written by Dolf Willigers
Photo’s courtesy of Wim Taal, Roelof Veldhuis, BMW, www.classicbikehub.uk
QUOTE OF THE WEEK—
Motorcycles are the air we breathe, not something to be sold.
–Zack
KNUCKLEHEAD FEATURE OF THE WEEK—
Paul Davis, a young guy I met at Daytona built it, “Booger Watson” from Clarksville(?) TN. His father had a had a shop there. It’s a 68 cu in (EL bottom end with 74-inch bore). He said the cam was stock that they modified, FX frame, KR oil tank, seat was a Yamaha trials bike as I recall, Supertrapp dirt bike mufflers (which I started using on my bikes after that).
Bike was in a magazine (Choppers?) with claims of a bunch of performance stuff but that’s not what Booger told me.
–Paul Davis
NEW FROM THE LINDBY FAMILY—This is our latest new product. It is an adjustable footrest for the FLH models. (Patent pending)
The bracket will mount on the frame by the voltage regulator and the customer will be able to adjust the 2 footrests to a comfortable angle.
We will offer the part in 3 finishes
- Part # 280000 chrome
- Part # 281000 black
- Part # 282000 chrome/black
The product will fit from 1994 to present so it will fit a lot of motorcycle on the market.
Retail price $449.95
We will have the part ready for shipping by the end of this month.
Have a great day.
–Per Lindby
BIKERNET MEDICAL CENTER ALERT—
Look-it this ad from Moderna. they’re just laughing at us now. they’re as much as saying the shot will kill you. This is the conman actually mocking the sucker because the sucker is SO fucking stupid he won’t even notice.
–J.J. Solari
Research Chief
Bikernet Medical Center
Westwood, Los Angeles
AND THIS FEATURE JUST IN FROM JAPAN—BOLD IDEA CUSTOM CYCLES
Osaka, Ikeda-shi Airport 1-1-15-1F
TEL&FAX 06-6850-0503
MAIL info@boldideacc.com
HP: http://www.boldideacc.com
–from Sam Burns
Feature Bike Editor
Bikernet.com™
NEWS FROM THE MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATION–2022 Ends With Multiple D.C. Victories for Bikers
In case you missed it, the last two weeks of 2022 saw multiple victories for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) and all motorcyclists in this country. With the clock ticking down before the 117th Congress adjourned, three major parts of the MRF legislative agenda were addressed by leaders in Washington, D.C.
December 16th – Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan and 26 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding three recent fatal crashes between self-driving vehicles and motorcycles. The letter seeks answers about how self-driving cars interact with motorcycles and whether recent crashes are statistical outliers.
December 22nd – Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada inserted committee report language into the year-end omnibus government funding bill released by the U.S. Senate and passed both chambers of Congress. The report language states “The Committee is concerned that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may be conducting activities that encourage states to adopt legislation, regulation, or other policies that unjustly profile motorcycle riders. The Committee directs NHTSA to report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on the extent to which the agency works with states on motorcycle passenger policies within 120 days of enactment of this Act.”
December 23rd – Six years after it was first introduced the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res 366, the motorcyclist profiling resolution. The resolution “Promotes increased public awareness on the issue of motorcyclist profiling; encourages collaboration and communication with the motorcyclist community and law enforcement to engage in efforts to end motorcyclist profiling; and urges State law enforcement officials to include statements condemning motorcyclist profiling in written policies and training materials.”
To read the full version of H. Res 366 visit website
These three victories in the span of just a few days reflects the hard work of MRF members and our allies over the course of 2022. The work done at events like Bikers Inside the Beltway and by state motorcyclist rights organizations throughout the year paved the way for these successes.
As we look towards 2023 more challenges remain. For example, the Motorcyclists Advisory Committee (MAC) has yet to be established despite legislation passed in 2021 that directs the Department of Transportation to seat the MAC. Follow up on issues like profiling and self-driving cars will be necessary as will action on other items in the robust 2023 MRF legislative agenda.
While we are excited by the end to a successful year in our nation’s capital, we know that staying engaged is the only way to protect the freedoms we cherish. Thank you for your continued support of the MRF. Without your time, energy, and passion the voice of the street rider would disappear from the halls of power in D.C.
Let’s keep the momentum going in 2023! Not yet a member of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation? Join in the 2023 Freedom Fight.
Ride Safe and Ride Free
SAWICKI NEWS–2023 is off to a fast start
with Harley-Davidson releasing new lineup, more new products from Sawicki, our first events of the year, and the passing of legend Ken Block. So, here we go!
Big news from the motor company
this month and no I’m not talking about the pretty new colors H-D has to offer, although that’s always an important announcement for the V-Twin obsessed folks we call Fam. (check out our post about the new models on our socials) I’m talking about the major 120 years of Harley-Davidson announcement everyone’s talking about that goes down January 18. You know as much as I do so save the date and let’s see what it’s all about. I’ll meet you on social media to discuss our feelings on the matter. Deal? Tight.
ABOUT THE TEXAS MILE—
The Texas Mile has grown rapidly since our inaugural event in October 2003. Participants come from all edges of the United States, Canada and Mexico to test themselves and their motorized equipment on the fastest and most challenging 1-mile track in the world.
They achieve their top speed in 1-Mile and shut down in a 1/2-Mile. This bi-annual Motorsports Festival is created for performance enthusiast – Welcoming Motorcycles, Performance Street Cars, Race Cars and Land Speed Racers.
Spectators enjoy seeing the cars and motorcycles on the track and visiting with the participants in the paddock. There are onsite concessions to enjoy while at the event. For more details, see the rules and regulations section for participants and spectators.
Get off the highway and come out to The Texas Mile. It is like running on a straight 1 1/2-mile section of open highway without the fear of tickets and jail time. A High-Speed Shoot-out and Land Speed Racing Venue that compares to the likes of the legendary Bonneville that beckons one to “Drive in Your World, Race in Ours”!
WHY RUN?
Show what YOU have on a ONE-MILE straight (run wide open on an airport runway in Texas – 130mph, 160mph, 190mph & 200+mph)
Compete for the best of the best in your class
Set a high-speed record in Texas
Get the chance to join the 200+mph club of Texas
Test your equipment, prove something to yourself
Heck, just come out for a good time
NEW SBS BETTER BRAKES: NEXT-LEVEL BRAKE PERFORMANCE & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
SVENDBORG, DENMARK. January 2, 2023 – SBS Friction A/S, the Danish manufacturer of brake pads for motorcycles, ATVs, SxS, and special applications, announced in 2021 a new strategy that would make the company the first brake pad production center in the industry, to fully embrace a sustainable proof-of-business both in production and in output. One year following, SBS is introducing the first Aftermarket brake pads that have both been refined and optimized for improved brake performance.
The new product series will be named SBS Better Brakes and will be available from January 1st, 2023.
The first products to be transitioned and introduced in the new SBS Better Brakes-series, are the popular SBS HF, SP, HS, and MS ranges. These ranges comprise more than 70% of the brake pads sold by SBS. Thus, the product launch will follow the company’s intention to transition products with high impact in focus. The transition of HF, SP, HS, and MS compounds is expected to be completed by Q3 2023 .
Because of significant similarities in performance characteristics of the new SP and HS-ranges and with an intention of enabling easier product selection for dealers and endusers, SP is being discontinued and merged into the HS product references. The series merger will happen gradually throughout Q3 2023.
Improved brake performance and stopping power
Riders will get a better and more stable brake performance and stopping power with the new SBS Better Brakes-series. The re-engineered compound formulas enable an improved Coefficient of Friction that provides a more efficient brake grip throughout the braking sequence. This results in a significantly reduced stopping distance, of up to 12%.
The new Better Brakes-series are designed to maintain a static fade level throughout after being heated and with improved heat resilience that enables a consistent braking experience with more sense of control and comfort throughout the ride.
– When developing new compounds, especially as complex as these new SBS Better Brakes compounds where we remove key friction materials, including copper, nickel, and antimony, thorough testing and engineering are required to be able to maintain and, in most cases, also improve brake performance. We have managed to make this possible and in compliance with OEM development procedures, says SBS Head of R&D, Esben Juul Sørensen.
The SBS Better Brakes-series is designed without Copper, Nickel (sintered compounds) and Antimony (ceramic compounds), which and replaced with an iron-based formula, which gives an improved Coefficient of Friction while also being a more environmentally friendly resource.
All products in the SBS Better Brakes-series are furthermore enforced with NUCAP NRS, the advanced mechanical friction material bonding technology.
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LIFESTYLE CYCLES DEAL OF THE WEEK–2012 Harley-Davidson XL1200X – Sportster Forty-Eight FOR $7,995.00
SEE IT HERE: https://www.lifestylecycles.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=12884751
2012 Orange Harley-Davidson SPORTSTER FORTY-EIGHT XL1200X with only 6730.00 miles!
This bike is a low mileage Forty-Eight Sportster and some of the features/Add-ons on this bike are
* 1200c.c. Motor 5-Speed trans.
* Black radius exhaust
* High-Flo air cleaner
* Tall sissy bar
* Ape hangers
* Two-up seat
* Black ball milled grips
* Wire wheels
This bike is only $7,995.00
Plus, license, $85.00 documentation fee, and local sales tax. NO HIDDEN FEES like some dealers. And we have no reconditioning or prep fees.
This bike has passed Lifestyle Cycles rigorous 92-point safety/mechanical/structural inspection.
Fill out an online application today. We have EZ FINANCING and EXTENDED WARRANTIES available!
Lifestyle Cycles is located at 1510 State College Blvd, Anaheim CA 92806. Open 7 days a week.
NOT LOCAL? WE HAVE SHIPPING AVAILABLE! Call today (714) 490-0155.
We carry Street Glides, Road Glides, Road Kings, Ultras, Sportsters, Softails, Dynas, and much more!
We are California’s pre-owned Harley Mega-Store with over 200 Pre-Owned Harley-Davidsons in stock! To view our current inventory,
ACTION FROM THE TWISTED ROAD— Destination: Austin
The Austin area is a blast, with a great music, food, and bar scene. For riders, there are a lot of amazing motorcycle rides, long and short. There are some epic highway routes, as well as unique areas to visit on a bike within the city limits. There are also several cool annual motorcycle events in Austin, and moto-culture as a whole is vibrant and strong.
See the details and rent a bike at Twisted Road web site.
NEW YEARS GREETINGS FROM AMERICAN PRIME–SU Rebuild Service
Now available from APM, a professional factory rebuild service to take your SU from comatose to like new!
Our mailing address is:
American Prime Manufacturing Inc.
8205 SECURA WAY
SANTA FE SPGS, CA 90670
ACTION FROM BABES RIDE OUT— We are so excited to finally bring back our annual track day at our home track, Fox Raceway in Pala, CA. This event is for the entire fam and there is no event sign up or extra cost to attend other than the track fee you pay upon arrival if riding.
Fox Raceway opens at 8AM and first ladies only moto starts at 9:00AM sharp on the vet track. At the top of the hour, ladies only (15+ up) will have 30 min motos on the vet track.
Free Husqvarna demos (can you smell the 2 stroke?!) for the ladies Free Husqvarna x Stacyc demos for kids (bring your own gear + helmet etc.)
Free USMCA coaching on site provided by Husqvarna Hospitality + snacks and coffee provided by Fox Racing crew.
Bring the entire fam, we want everyone to enjoy a day ripping!
More details on the ride schedule, track(s), facilities, track fees, and camping options, tap HERE.
NEW FROM BARNETT CABLE AND CLUTCHES–Barnett Clutch Line Adapters
One of the oldest names in the international motorcycle parts and accessory industry (founded in 1948 and still family owned and operated), these hydraulic clutch line adapters for 2002 and up Harley-Davidson Big Twins (and 2009-17 V-Rods) are the newest products in the extensive Barnett Clutches & Cables line up.
These adapters allow any brake line with #3AN fittings to be adapted for use as a clutch line. Chrome plated, they are made in-house at Barnett’s Ventura, California headquarters with steel tubing and fittings.
BARNETT CLUTCHES & CABLES
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE 78TH ANNUAL TRAILBLAZERS BANQUET & BIKE SHOW—
Any holder of a 2023 banquet ticket is welcome to bring an antique, classic or vintage motorcycle to display in the bike show on a first come-first served basis.
Space is limited and there are no pre-reservations for bikes to display. The more rare, interesting, historic, and/or related to this year’s honorees the better.
Bike Show Director Norm Bigelow or any of the other Trailblazers Directors in the Gold blazers have the final say on whether or not to accept any motorcycle in the display.
The Trailblazers Bike Show awards are for:
Best of Show: Voted by the judges as the most spectacular motorcycle entered in the show. History, condition, significance, and other details
are all considered.
Trailblazers Spirit Award: Voted by the judges as the motorcycle most typical of a first bike our Trailblazers members would have started on or raced early in their careers.
Tom White Competition Award: Voted by the judges as the best race bike. The award is named after the late-Tom White, a former professional racer and founder of the Early Years of Motocrossm Museum.
Trophy donated by Myra Thomason.
People’s Choice Award: Voted by the banquet attendees as their favorite motorcycle in the show. All attendees will receive a printed ballot at check-in that they can write down their favorite motorcycle and dropmthe ballot in ballot boxes that will be in the bike show area.
See more at the TrailBlazers website.
ANOTHER MEDIA MISTAKE–No, Humans Are NOT Causing A “Sixth Mass Extinction”
CBS “60 Minutes” sacrifices its credibility in selling apocalyptic pseudoscience
The way to save endangered mountain gorillas is to help people move away from wood fuel toward fossil fuels. Why are scientists like Stanford’s Paul Ehlich (center) promoting the opposite?
On CBS “60 Minutes” last night, scientists claimed that humans are causing a “sixth mass extinction” and that we would need the equivalent of five planet earths for all humans to live at current Western levels.
“No, humanity is not sustainable to maintain our lifestyle — yours and mine,” claimed Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich. “Basically, for the entire planet, you’d need five more Earths. It’s not clear where they’re gonna come from.”
Both claims are wrong and have been repeatedly debunked in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.
That claim that “five more earths” are needed to sustain humanity comes from something called the Ecological Footprint calculation. I debunked it 10 years ago with a group of other analysts and scientists, including the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, PLOS Biology.
We broke down the six measures that comprise the Ecological Footprint and found that five of the six, including food and forestry, were either in balance or surplus. The only thing out of balance was humankind’s carbon emissions.
But reducing carbon emissions requires neither that rich nations become poor nor that poor nations remain poor. Rather, it simply requires that we move toward energy sources that produce fewer carbon emissions, namely natural gas and nuclear.
–MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER
Environmental Progress.com
BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!–Bandit’s Cantina Episode 101
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Bandits_Cantina_Episode_101.aspx
Good thing for The Bikers headed by The Bandit. They saved the day on the 405. The anti fossil fuel group are a bunch of nuts and they suck!!!!!!
— Ann Robinson
Long Beach, CA
STILL PLAYIN’ POSSUM: MUSIC & MEMORIES OF GEORGE JONES SELLS OUT THE VON BRAUN CENTER IN HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA
Travis Tritt & Wynonna Added To Stellar Already Announced Lineup
Tickets Available for VIP Dinner with Nancy Jones & Friends on Monday, April 24th at The Von Braun Center
Huntsville, Ala. – As Nancy Jones announced ‘Still Playin’ Possum: Music & Memories of George Jones,’ which will include performances by Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Jamey Johnson, Justin Moore, Lorrie Morgan, Mark Chesnutt, Michael Ray, Sam Moore, Tanya Tucker, Trace Adkins, Tracy Byrd, and Tracy Lawrence taking place at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on Tuesday, April 25th, nobody could imagine the excitement that would surround this event. he event has officially sold out within two weeks of its original announcement and the lineup continues to get bigger!
Travis Tritt and Wynonna have been added to the all-star lineup to perform. A special collaboration between Jamey Johnson and Wynonna will honor one of George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s hit songs.
“I cannot believe the love that everyone has shown me since making this announcement,” says Nancy Jones. “I have been reading comments on Facebook and the fans truly loved George. People are coming from Scotland, Canada, and all over the United States to hear these great artists and friends singing George’s songs as we honor him 10 years after his passing. So THANK YOU to the fans for showing up and showing Nashville and the world that George’s music will continue to live on.”
In addition, Nancy Jones will be hosting a VIP dinner the night before the concert event at the Von Braun Center Ballroom. Tickets are $200 and will include a sit-down meal as well as a photo opportunity with Nancy.
“I want to see all the fans. I want to thank them. I want to shake their hand. Without them, George’s career would never have been the same. They were loyal and I want to show the loyalty back,” added Jones. “I have some surprises for everyone that night and I am excited to be working on that night’s program.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK—
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” –Mark Twain
TRIKE FILES OPENED–Will There Be a Market for Trikes in India ?
An engineer-entrepreneur looks to make trikes out of India’s two-wheelers
A Hyderabad- based small enterprise, also a participant at the upcoming Auto Expo, wants to tap the huge base of two-wheeler customers to build a new business of converting two-wheelers to trikes.
There’s no defined category of trikes in India yet, but according to an amended portion of IS 14272 which categorises different types of vehicles, ‘twinned wheels’ will be considered as one as long as both wheels are mounted on the same axle and ‘the distance between the centres of their areas of contact with the ground is equal to or less than 460 mm’.
Source: click to read at EconomicTimes
–Wayfarer
Editor
Bikernet Blog & Facebook Page
SALT TORPEDO REPORT ON TEXAS MILE—
I spoke to Joey from the Texas Mile and he informed me that the event is always the last weekend in March.
Registration is not until February. He will let me know a week before registration, so we can prepare.
Joey told me some interesting facts about the track. He set several records and is working with Aprilia. It’s a stock sit-up bike and he’s been 286 mph. You might want to give him a call about the track and wind issues. He also owns a Vanderhall, so he understands trikes configured like ours.
We learned from Denis’s book that we will be facing frontal lift issues.
–Bandit
Janitor
5-Ball Racing Team
TATTOO ART COLLECTION FROM SULLEN—
The first Artist Series Tuesday of 2023 is here and it’s a good one.
This week’s artwork was designed by tattoo legend Jack Rudy (@j_rudy_gtc). We’re throwing in a FREE sticker with the first 100 orders to start off 2023!
So don’t wait, grab yours now.
My grandson Frank Jr. tattoos at Jack’s shop every week.
–Bandit
CUSTOM TIP OF THE WEEK—
I’m now surrounded by serious builders and in touch with more Hamsters who are pro-builders including Carl Pussar. Carl recently gave me his pipe chroming tip. He coaches his chromer not to copper plate his pipes but double nickel plate them. Then he coats the inside with heat paint to help insulate the outside of the pipes from heat and thus prevent bluing.
Don’t tell anyone, promise.
–Bandit
BIKERNET SONG PICK—Another Year Comin’ Song Pick of the Year
If anyone has partied too hard, feeling regret and tired of same old in the new year –here is a song that always cheers me right up. Why? Because it’s a solution and it does work.
Get Rhythm Dammniit as Bandit would sing it in the garage! Actually, here is another tip for those getting the blues already — sing in the shower, sing on your motorcycle when riding alone. You see these idiots chatting and texting on their phone walking in the middle of the street or driving a car.
Well, it ain’t madness to sing out loud all alone in whatever voice you were endowed with. Pretend you are a star and shoot it straight through in your best pitch! Got a badly tuned guitar or harmonica? What are you waiting for, rock n roll with it. Play it as is, in your living room when feeling lonely and start living again.
Anyways, here is the song to add to your “Motivation” and “Self-Help” playlists….Ladies & Gentleman, this is Johnny Cash.
Song: “Get Rhythm”
Artist: Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two
Album: Greatest!
Songwriters: Johnny Cash
Hey, get rhythm
When you get the blues
C’mon, get rhythm
When you get the blues
Get a rock and roll feeling in your bones
Put taps on your toes, and get goin’
Get rhythm
When you get the blues
A little shoe-shine boy, he never gets low-down
But he’s got the dirtiest job in town
Bending low at the peoples’ feet
On a windy corner of a dirty street
Well, I asked him while he shined my shoes
How’d he keep from getting the blues
He grinned as he raised his little head
He popped a shoe-shine rag, and then he said
Get rhythm
When you get the blues
C’mon, get rhythm
When you get the blues
A jumpy rhythm makes you feel so fine
It’ll shake all your trouble from your worried mind
Get rhythm
When you get the blues
Get rhythm
When you get the blues
C’mon, get rhythm
When you get the blues
Get a rock and roll feeling in your bones
Put taps on your toes, and get goin’
Get rhythm
When you get the blues
Well, I sat down to listen to the shoe-shine boy
And I thought I was gonna jump for joy
Slapped on the shoe polish left and right
He took a shoe-shine rag and he held it tight
He stopped once to wipe the sweat away
I said, “You’re a mighty little boy to be a-workin’ that way”
He said, “I like it” with a big wide grin
Kept on a-poppin’ and he said again
Get rhythm
When you get the blues
C’mon, get rhythm
When you get the blues
It only costs a dime, just a nickel a shoe
It does a million dollars worth of good for you
Get rhythm
When you get the blues
–Wayfarer
Editor
Bikernet Blog & Facebook Page
NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE ASSOCIATION–Auto Execs Are Becoming Less Optimistic About EV Adoption
Automotive executives are reportedly scaling back their expectations for EV adoption, according to an annual survey conducted by KPMG International. Last year, professionals working at the top of the industry reported that they believed (on average) that over half of all new vehicles sold in the United States by 2030 would be battery-electric. But their faith in electrification appears to be evaporating, with most respondents suggesting that particular goal is no longer achievable.
In its 2021 survey, KPGM stated that executives had grown more bullish on EV acceptance due to the Biden administration committing the United States toward having a 50/50 sales split for electric and gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030. It’s something the European Union had already proposed, with similar goals being adopted by countries like Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Though it needs to be said that estimates varied widely, with KPMG only offering an industry average that was still loaded up with outliers on both sides of the spectrum when viewed more carefully. Ultimately, the group believed that a 52 percent EV take rate was achievable by 2030. However, that figure was the result of over 1,000 top-ranking automotive officials giving their opinion – with many assuming the number could be much higher or lower.
The 2022 survey is less optimistic overall. According to CNBC, the median expectation for EV sales in the United States was 35 percent of the new vehicle market by 2030. That’s down 65 percent from a year earlier and represents one of the largest declines on the entire planet. While the U.S. was always assumed to be the big holdout, due to the fact that drivers tend to cover longer distances in varying climates and generally prefer liquid-fueled vehicles, it was assumed that a change in government would drive up EV adoption as government policy shifted to be more like what was taking place in Europe.
Of the 900-plus automotive executives surveyed for 2022, 76 percent expressed concerns that inflation and high-interest rates would adversely affect auto sales generally going into 2023. But EVs (which tend to cost substantially more than their combustion-driven counterparts) are presumed to have it the worst going forward.
“There’s still a sense of optimism long term, and yet, most importantly, there’s a sense of realism in the near term. You see this realism throughout the entire survey,” Gary Silberg, KPMG global head of automotive, told CNBC.
There are some curious angles to the matter that need to be explored, however.
With Congress passing the Inflation Reduction Act (which included billions in incentives for electric vehicles) over the summer, there’s theoretically more government money on the table for EV manufacturers than ever before. But, to take full advantage, automakers do need to swiftly rejigger their supply chains to incorporate more labor and materials stemming from North America. Unfortunately for the industry, it seems as though some automakers either don’t think they can do so quickly enough to enjoy those incentives within the next couple of years and that the price of shifting production and supply lines may not be worth it in the long run. But this is a secondary issue to the general apprehension created by today’s hectic economy.
There was also the now-standard anti-Tesla rhetoric taking place within the survey, with KPGM downplaying the manufacturer’s former position as the obvious choice in EV leadership. This may have been the result of Tesla receiving so much negative press following Elon Musk’s decision to purchase Twitter or perhaps the result of some of the company’s shortcomings ( FSD, quality assurance, etc.) finally reaching the public consciousness. Whatever the reason, it seriously tweaked the study, with respondents now assuming there will be a more level playing field.
While Tesla remained the top pick as the industry leader in electrification, it lost serious ground to its rivals. Though some of them seem a little nonsensical. For example, Apple was seen as a major player in the 2022 survey. The iPhone purveyor ended up in fourth place (after Tesla, BMW, and Audi) among those taking the survey, despite never having produced a single EV for public consumption. Apple may be a contender in the years ahead, but assuming it’s going to eclipse Tesla by 2024 seems ridiculous.
Which begs the question of how seriously we should even be taking the KPMG survey – especially considering how far off its 2022 results seem to be from 2021.
Considering that KPMG is one of the largest multinational professional services networks on the planet, it might be wise to at least consider what’s being offered here. The company is one of those massive global business networks that have to use an acronym due to how many separate entities have been incorporated into the name over the years. While it probably would have been subject to antitrust scrutiny back in the day – and has certainly been the subject of controversy over the past two decades – it’s so massive that any information it offers up has serious potential to move markets.
Its far-reaching business ties also mean it is in a unique position to take the pulse of other industries to get a sense of where they’re at. For this year’s survey, KPMG contacted 915 automotive executives in October. More than 200 respondents were said to be CEOs and 209 were other C-level executives. More than 300 respondents were from North America, including 252 people from the United States.
And the general sentiment was that the industry doesn’t see EV adoption happening as quickly as assumed in 2021. Though, curiously, almost everyone seems to feel that the industry will become more profitable than was assumed in 2021. A whopping 83 percent of automotive executives who took part in the survey globally said they were “confident” in higher profits over the next five years — a figure that’s up from the 52 percent reported in last year’s results.
Considering the number of automakers that claimed to be banking on making EVs their mainstay products over the past several years, this result is a little confusing. If the industry was as serious about electrification as claimed, one would assume that leadership losing confidence in adoption rates would negatively impact their bottom line. Auto sales forecasting from outlets like Cox Automotive has also been moving in the wrong direction, with 2022 volumes in the U.S. expected to be down 9 percent against the 15 million vehicles sold in 2021. Though a more relevant comparison would be against the 17.1 million vehicles sold in 2019 – before expansive lockdowns and supply chain restrictions came into play.
That scarcity has been the pillar that’s been propping up pricing for the last few years and the automotive industry has managed to spin the issue into something profitable. By stating that there’s an insufficient number of vehicles being produced due to a lack of component supply dealerships have engaged in some of the worst price gouging witnessed in modern history. But manufacturers have also been raising prices to help pad their own profitability, often using the scarcity excuse much in the same way we’ve seen energy companies doing since late 2020.
Your author is under the assumption that auto executives broadly believe that alternative revenue streams (e.g. data harvesting, micro-transactions, OTA updates, etc) are about to yield dividends and that they can ride the inflation wave a little longer without shooting themselves in the foot. But this seems to ignore any prior assertion that EVs will make up a meaningful portion of sales in the years to come. While that might have something to do with consumer-based studies likewise showing EV acceptance dwindling from past years, there may also be some influence from studies suggesting that there aren’t enough raw materials to sustain widespread EV use or increased reporting about some of the human rights abuses associated with battery manufacturing. Meanwhile, it sounds like nobody is expecting the production rates of electric or combustion vehicles to rebound next year due to alleged supply chain constraints nobody seems capable of (or perhaps even all that interested in) remedying.
Whether wholly organic or stacked for effect by corporate media, this is the narrative the industry looks to be running with now.
–by Matt Posky
–NMA
[page break]
APOLLO ASTRONAUT PASSES—
On January 3, 2023, America lost a hero and CFACT lost a friend. Colonel Walter Cunningham was 90. “Walt” is best known for flying in space as lunar module pilot on Apollo VII, the first manned space mission after a tragic fire on the ground killed the crew of Apollo I. Walt worked closely with CFACT and joined our delegations to COP 19, the UN climate conference in Warsaw, and COP 20 in Lima, Peru.
Flashback: Apollo Astronaut Cunningham Slams UN for perpetrating the ‘one of the biggest frauds in the field of science’
–Marc Morano
Climate Depot
TALENT OF THE WEEK—Paige Pederson
–Sam Burns
Talent Scout
Bikernet.com™
OPEN LETTER TO BANDIT-– Morning sir, you were like my hero, when I was a kid. I built a new bike with handmade parts. I wanted to see if I could get it in your magazine. Your stories kept me alive as a teenager.
Thanks,
–Buzz Turner
HOME APPLIANCE WARNING—Beware purchasing any appliances from Best Buy or Whirlpool. We bought a Whirlpool Refrigerator from Best Buy this summer. It has never worked properly. Best Buy will do nothing to straighten out the issue. Whirlpool is far, far away. We have had three technicians out, but they can’t fix it. Seems new appliances can’t use Freon anymore, probably a climate issue. They switched to another chemical which is tougher to deal with and the average Joe can’t correct or fix the levels.
Make sure to purchase your new stove or refrigerator from a local business. Also make sure they repair the items they have for sale.
–Bandit
TEXAS WEATHER REPORT–Happy New Year!
Rode the Shovelhead yesterday and went out this morning for my annual New Year’s Day Ride. Except Sea Fog, not as bad as 12/26/19 when I rode at 3:30 in the morning headed to work. Moisture was as bad on the inside of the helmet as the outside. No leather due to our summer time temps today, so soggy clothes fast! I waived the 50-mile minimum this year.
Last year was warm on the first, no fog. But the 2nd was “feels like 17”, why did I ride? Conditioning and lack of common sense!
Cousin shared this picture today, Can we all just stop and appreciate that hair and a gold chain too! Heineken, so mid ‘80s.
–RFR
ANOTHER New Bikernet Reader Comment!—
WHAT’S IT GOING TO BE BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for December 29th, 2022
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/WHATS_IT_GOING_TO_BE_BIKERNET_WEEKLY_NEWS_for_December_29th_2022.aspx
Hey bud, if you’re hunting an accurate GPS speedo, check out RB Racing’s offering.
–Vin
Huntersville, NC
COMMENT FROM DR. JUDITH CURRY’S WEBSITE—
People who criticize coal are beyond redemption. Coal is poetic; trees covered Gondwana during the Carboniferous period. Those trees died and after millions of years became coal. Humans dig up coal and use it to build every amenity which has taken humanity from the tyranny of nature: energy. steel, cement; and when humanity burns coal CO2 is released to feed the plants alive today.
Only a moron would find fault with that.
–Dr. Judith Curry
UL FEATURE OF THE WEEK—
https://www.ehingerkraftrad.com
EHINGER KRAFTRAD
Brook 5, Boden 2, Block E, Luke 5
20457 Hamburg
hello@ehingerkraftrad.com
F www.ehingerkraftrad.com
P +49-(0)40-688 758 78-12
TOTAL MINDFULLNESS AND HEALTH FROM THE VA—
Set Your Intentions for 2023!
An intention is about connecting with your mission, aspiration and purpose. Setting and revisiting your intentions can help you realize your goals. Evaluate where you are in your life, what matters most to you and set a goal for your own whole health! Take five minutes to set intentions for 2023.
Personal health planning supports the examination of a person’s mission, aspirations, and purpose. It can involve completing a Personal Health Inventory, setting goals, and using resources needed to take steps to work towards your personal health plan.
Personal health planning can also be connected with education, peer support, and practicing self-care to support your overall health and well-being.
There are four principles to Personal Health Planning
- Whole Health Assessment (a.k.a., Personal Health Inventory)
- Education
- Goal Setting (Shared & SMART Goals)
- Self-reflection & exploration of your personal MAP (mission, aspiration & purpose)
The Personal Health Inventory walks you through the eight self-care areas identified on the Circle of Health to help you determine how they affect your health. You will answer questions such as:
- Are you getting enough sleep at night to refresh your body and mind?
- Are you eating foods and beverages that will nourish and fuel you?
- Are you surrounding yourself with people you love and care about?
- Do you have as much energy and flexibility as you could have with more exercise?
- Are you finding opportunities to learn and grow?
After completing your inventory, consider sharing it with your health care provider, finding a Whole Health course, or starting your Personal Health Plan.
–VA
WE ORDERED A SET OF HIGHBARS FROM NASH—
Kick off the new year with some fresh handlebars!
Big handlebar sale 40% off for a limited time!
Handlebars have been the cornerstone of Nash Motorcycle for over 15 years! We’re kicking off the new year with a healthy sale on all handlebar models!
Use code: BARS40
SHOP NOW
UPDATED CHIP RELEASE— Motorcycles as Art Exhibit Changes Direction
Sturgis, S.D. (January 3, 2023): The Sturgis Buffalo Chip Motorcycles As Art Exhibition is changing format for its upcoming 15th anniversary as the exhibition’s curator, photographer Michael Lichter, moves into an advisory role.
Following an incredible run of 14 themed exhibitions at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, Lichter will showcase his own work at the 2023 Motorcycles As Art exhibition, leading a group of known and emerging artists and builders. Of course, Michael will be seen all around the Black Hills as he continues to document the rally, as he has done for over 40 years.
Sturgis Buffalo Chip to Remodel Event Center Gallery and Enhance Reach
Shifting from the themed exhibitions of past years, the platform will expand to become more open and accessible to a wider group of artists and custom builders. The exhibit will continue to highlight custom motorcycles, and there will be an expansion in the display and sales of motorcycle-themed artwork. Motorcycles As Art will continue in the Buffalo Chip’s Event Center, which will undergo a newly conceived remodel to include an adjoining building and gardens for 2023.
Many know Michael Lichter as a world-renowned photographer who has documented the rise in popularity of custom motorcycles and the culture that developed around them for over forty years. As an exhibition curator, he has produced a total of 22 motorcycle-themed exhibitions. Of the eight that preceded the Motorcycles As Art exhibitions at the Buffalo Chip, five were staged at the Journey Museum in Rapid City.
“Michael continues to be an important part of the Buffalo Chip family,” says Chip President Rod “Woody” Woodruff. “An unbelievable amount of work goes into the Motorcycles as Art production, and Michael deserves accolades for his past work, as well as a chance to sit back and enjoy the exhibition. It’s going to be a great year to appreciate the artistry of motorcycling at the Chip.”
The enhanced version of Motorcycles As Art will look deeper into the culture, presenting opportunities for a wider array of builders and artists to unveil and display their work in the updated facility. Lichter will work closely with a dedicated team at the Buffalo Chip as curatorial adviser and his archival photography will be part of the new format. An announcement with specific criteria for artists and builders will be forthcoming.
All attendees at the Buffalo Chip are invited to explore this eclectic collection of custom motorcycles and motorcycle art, both on display and for sale, in the Motorcycles As Art Gallery, open for 9 days only during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Motorcycles As Art will continue to be the home of the Buffalo Chip’s Industry Party, slated for Saturday, August 5th, 2023.
Past and prospective artists, builders and sponsors will be contacted by Buffalo Chip representatives. Inquiries may be made directly to info@BuffaloChip.com
LATEST FROM THE LOWBROW CREW—
We designed the FiltroMax remote oil filter mount specifically for custom motorcycles.
That being said, it can be used on any type of vehicle. Oozes style, sporting cooling fins and a sexy contoured shape.
Investment-cast stainless steel, available in polished or black finish.
Two threaded mounting holes for easy universal mounting. Weld-on mounting tab included (plus several ready-to-go mounting brackets for various applications sold separately)
CHECK ‘EM OUT
THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK—
We received our Black Bike Wheels for our VL,XA, S&S FL Winter project bike. I bought a front mechanical brake from Charlie or the Rust God, but there could be an issue with the front axle. The front Black Bike wheel is upgraded with Timken bearings and the stock axle might not work. Steve, from Paughco is working on it.
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I also bought a set of stock rockers from Charlie and I’m working with Randy Cramer from Dakota V-Twin and Colony on replacement brake parts and rocker bushings.
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Cabana Dan was kind enough to sell me this roller for the 1914 Single I’ve been hanging denims on for the last 20 years. I can now make it a little speed racer.
Make sure you check the story on the Snow Rider, a brother who rides his Crossbones to work every day in Deadwood.
Tomorrow I’m going to order a Hawg Halters Sprotor rear brake for the VL project. Depending on what I can get done this week, I may bring you the next report.
Cabana Dan is working on three V-twins builds. One is an Excelsior-Henderson a 1913 and then 1914 and 1913 Harley-Davidsons. They are all ground-up builds, and we will bring you the first intro report next week. I’m already learning a lot about early builds.
Grandson Frankie has an M-8 and is considering a major or minor upgrade. He’s either going with a cam, tuner and pipe or a major 114 to 129-inch engine. Hang on. He’s working with Danny Wilson, the Collective in Phoenix, FXR Division. Here’s a shot of what his engine could look like.
Peeps think we’re freezing to death, but I swear it ain’t bad at all. Sorta clean and fresh.
Let’s see how the world works through the following week. Think Freedom, it always works.
–Bandit