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THE UPBEAT BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for July 7th, 2022



Hey,

We are flying through this year
. Every Monday, I tell the redhead, “Hang on. This week will be exciting, and it is.”

 
Be upbeat or die trying. Or find a new girl, an open road and a bottle of whiskey. It’s all going to work out, I swear. 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.

 




NEWS FROM THE ALARMIST WORLD— Is Lake Mead shrinking because of climate?
 
Wall Street Journal reporter Jim Carlton says Lake Mead is shrinking because of climate change. Is it? We report. You decide.

First, the history of Lake Mead’s elevation is actually quite volatile.



And the elevation is relatively low now — about 1,070 feet.

But today’s elevation is not all that different from the low points of 1956 and 1965 (about 1,090 feet, shown in first graph), especially when you consider the increases in water use and human management of reservoir levels over time.

No doubt that drought is affecting Lake Mead. But Western drought is natural (the region is a desert, after all), and Lake Mead was comparably low more than 100 ppm CO2 ago.

Junk Science.com





STRIDER 2022 BIKE BUILDS ARE COMING
 
Tomorrow we will feature a finished bike by the Edge crew. Watch for it. It will blow your historic minds.

This one will be a tribute to Arlen Ness style by a fellow Hamster, Cabana Dan. It’s about to go to paint and check that seat.





“No gel,” Dan said of his custom seat. “I work exclusively with Adam at Pierce Street Seats in Wisconsin.”

–Bandit

 





BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!

IT’S A WONDERFUL PLACE BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for June 30, 2022

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/ITS_A_WONDERFUL_PLACE_BIKERNET_WEEKLY_NEWS_for_June_30_2022.aspx

Too bad about Sonny, my wife had a picture of Sonny taken with her in Laconia. It was in her classroom when she was still teaching.

–Alex Jemery
Deland, FL





HELLS ANGELS FOUNDER DIES
 
Ralph “Sonny” Barger, one of the founding members who helped grow and popularize the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, passed away last week at the age of 83. A representative for Barger, who revealed the news, indicated the cause as liver cancer.

Barger and riding partners created the Oakland, California-based club in 1957—unaware of other groups throughout the states with the same or similar names. Though accounts differ, Barger is generally credited with leading the effort to consolidate and nationalize the brand.
 
Notorious for forays into criminal activity, federal officials classify the group as one of the “Big Four” groups involved in organized crime, along with the Outlaws, Bandidos, and Pagan’s.

Barger himself was investigated or arrested on charges ranging from drug trafficking to murder, though he later helped repopularize the subculture as an actor on the show “Sons of Anarchy.”





LOWBROW CONFESSION— We have more than 7,000 parts and gear on our site and all are Made in the USA

We are proud to make and stock thousands of motorcycle parts, accessories and riding gear that are Made in the USA.

When you take a break from riding, fireworks, camping, or whatever it is you are up to this month, come give us a visit…

We have you what you need for the road ahead!







CARDO SYSTEMS OPENS “CARDO SOUND LABS”
RESEARCH CENTER IN GERMANY

PLANO, TX July 6th, 2022 – Cardo Systems, world leader in communication and connectivity devices for the Powersports industry, has opened the ‘Cardo Sound Labs’, a full-scale research and development facility in Straubing, Germany.

The new facility will focus on developing Cardo’s future generation of acoustics, speech processing, and sound solutions for its wide array of powersports, outdoor and professional communication devices. The Straubing facility positions Cardo as the only player in the industry with a dedicated, fully owned audio development capabilities.

With the opening, Cardo is bringing onboard a veteran team of scientists with 150 years of cumulative experience in automotive and consumer audio. The team has specialists in sound, physics, electronics, speech processing, and mechanical engineers and PHDs, and is responsible for more than 1550 patents gained through their previous work experience at Harman, Samsung, Nokia, NXP, and DSPG.

The 6458 sqft facility will lead Cardo’s future sound developments to maintain and increase the company’s edge and bring new generations of sound solutions to its riders, worldwide. To achieve this and support the team’s developments going forward, the new Straubing facility contains fully-furbished sound labs complete with anechoic chamber, ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) room, rapid prototyping lab, Automotive lab, NVH (noise vibration harshness) automotive lab, and office space.





LATEST FROM THE PRISM GANG
 
The ’98-’03 Sportster Coil Relocation Bracket is made from stainless steel and allows you to relocate the coil and key on your Sportster underneath the Battery. The key hole diameter measures 3/4″ and accepts OEM keys and our Universal 3-Position Key Switch.







THE ICE DEATH WARRANT
 
Mark it on your calendar. The 29th of June 2022 marks the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine. Environment ministers from the 27 countries of the EU have agreed to sign the ICE’s death warrant. The ban refers to sales of new cars and vans powered by gasoline and diesel engines, although you can bet that they will add motorcycles when they remember that such things exist.

It took more than 16 hours of negotiation to reach an agreement at the meeting in Luxembourg, but the result is crystal clear.

“The Council… agreed to introduce a 100% CO2 emissions reduction target by 2035 for new cars and vans.” The European Parliament also wants to outlaw sales of used ICE-powered vehicles, but that has not been decided on. Not that the idea is dead; further negotiations will take place, but the new vehicle sales ban is now written in stone.

Given the size of the European vehicle market, the ban on ICEs there means their eventual disappearance in all developed countries. The ramifications will go way beyond the borders of the European Union since it won’t be feasible for the likes of Volkswagen or BMW to develop ICE cars they won’t be able to sell in the EU. Internal combustion engined vehicles may, and probably will, continue to be manufactured and sold in developing countries after 2035 but even so, the end is inevitable.

Technically speaking, the 2035 ban calls for a complete reduction of emissions, without mentioning the combustion engine. This leaves the door open for ICEs running on alternative fuels such as the synthetic fuel being developed by Porsche, but it is interesting to note that most of the research and proposed manufacturing for that will take place away from the First World. And good luck affording a tank full of the synthetic stuff.

Looks like we’ll have to get used to electric adventures.
Photo: The Bear

This decision will have huge consequences across the vehicle industry as manufacturers accelerate the switch to EVs even further. Serious as this is for automakers, motorcycle manufacturers will be affected even more because major companies’ shift to electric power is not as advanced.

There are also staged targets in 2025 and 2030 that will be difficult for motorcycle manufacturers to reach; once again there is no mention of bikes in the legislation, but automakers will have to slash CO2 emissions by 55 percent for new cars and 50 percent for vans by the end of the ‘20s.

Negotiations between the Parliament and EU member states later this year will determine the final shape of the law, but let’s not beat about the bush: with no more than a couple of exceptions, all motorcycles currently built by major manufacturers will gradually disappear from the market until they’re all gone by 2035.

German industry groups and other car lobby organizations have said the European Parliament’s decision is a blow to climate protection and consumer choice. Germany wavered on banning the combustion engine in 2035, threatening to derail the talks until it was placated with a vague promise from the Commission to look into future options for e-fuels.

Italy would also like to see changes, particularly concerning small-scale production vehicles from manufacturers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Ducati, MV Agusta and Aprilia all contribute not only to the financial economy of Italy, but also its cultural presence.

Despite that, Italy has also signed the death warrant.

Advrider.com

–from Geno
Undercover investigator



Maybe they didn’t mention motorcycles for fear of the strength of motorcycle rights organizations. Maybe, someday the motorcycle rights community will demand Scientific Transparency and the planet will smile again. We will go back to living in the best of times and not doomsday. Maybe! –Bandit





Custom Indian Chief ‘GRIND Machine’ Revealed at Wheels and Waves Artride

Public debut of the custom Indian Chief by Tank Machine x Rise Designs
Awarded to the lucky winner of the prize draw on the main event stage

Indian Motorcycle, in collaboration with Wheels & Waves, commissioned four European builders in December 2021 to design their vision of an Indian Chief for the resurgent Wheels and Waves festival. More than 35 000 people voted for their favorite design and, in combination with a panel of Super-Voters, ‘GRIND Machine’ by Tank Machine x Rise Designs was announced as the top-ranked entry. Completed in just three months, ‘GRIND Machine’ made its public debut at the opening of the Artride exhibition during Wheels and Waves on Thursday, June 30 and was awarded to prize draw winner Fabien Orquin on the festival’s main stage on Saturday, July 2.

“I was honored to be chosen as one of four custom builders to submit designs for the Indian Chief,” said Molina. “As a specialist that loves working on bikes from Indian Motorcycle, I was really enthusiastic about the opportunity, only heightened by the partnership with Wheels and Waves, an event that I enjoy so much.”

Working from the brief to create a vision of an Indian Chief inspired by the past, anchored in the present, and looking towards the future, Molina teamed up with Antonin Bazin from Rise Designs to merge their “Board Culture” into the project and reflect the skate element of Wheels & Waves.

“We were really happy to win and have the opportunity to realize the design, even though it was a big challenge to complete the project in just three months for the Artride exhibition,” Molina continued. “But the process was so enjoyable, thinking about the bike, the details, working with different materials like skateboard decks, fabricating new parts and then fine-tuning everything. It’s a pleasure to reveal the completed bike at Wheels and Waves and to then hand it over to Fabien. It’s great to know he truly understands and appreciates the time and effort that has gone into the build. He is the perfect new owner for me – an engineer, an engine technician, and a really good guy.”

Randomly selected from the thousands of public voters, Fabien Orquin, an automotive engineer from the French city of Rouen, won a VIP trip to the 2022 Wheels & Waves festival to enjoy the event and be presented with his customized Indian Chief.

The Design and Engineering teams at Indian Motorcycle always had customizers in mind when bringing the Indian Chief to life. A key tagline being ‘Keep it simple so you can easily work on it and customize it’ and a feature of the Chief that Tank Machine took advantage of.

“There are so many nice pieces of the stock bike, especially the central and most beautiful piece, the engine,” said Molina. “The Indian Chief is really easy to strip back to a great base and the idea was to remove a lot of things, keep only the essentials and then build back up with a different balance, adding details that really change up the look of the final machine.”
 
GRIND Machine’s unique look begins with the big block Continental TKC enduro tires wrapped around black Excel spoked rims that work with new bars, new rear suspension, and a one-off seat unit to change the stance and overall lines of the bike.

Tank Machine created new wider handlebars and lower risers for a vintage style that is echoed by the gaiters applied to the forks and rolled up poncho attached to a custom bracket by webbing straps. At the rear, Öhlins piggyback shocks with longer top mounts lift the bike slightly and add a color accent as well as providing a high-quality ride.

The one-off seat unit, all designed in house, features the names of the project’s partners discretely machined into the base and the seat pad enhances the retro bobber look with a brown leather top with waxed material sides. A bottle opener hanging from the right of the seat is a nod to the after-ride party atmosphere of Wheels & Waves and a detail that really connected with the new owner. “My hobby is brewing my own beer, and when I saw the bottle opener, it really made me smile,” said Orquin.

Keeping the stripped-back bobber look clean are hand-fabricated minimalist fenders, mini-indicators on the forks and seat unit, mini taillight and a LED headlight with ring running light. A secondary guarded PIAA yellow light adds a cool retro touch.

The ‘Board Culture’ of Ride Designs is reflected in the use of skateboard deck wood and grip tape adorning the center of the fuel tank and either side of the seat unit, which are mounted with metal brackets inspired by skateboard trucks. The influences of Wheels and Waves are further heightened with Vans waffle handlebar grips and custom-made foot pegs that take inspiration from BMX grind pegs.

Also designed in conjunction with Rise Design is the aluminium engine protection plate behind the front wheel in a brushed metal finish that is also applied to the exhaust heat shield, CNC machined fuel cap and engine parts to give an old bike look on a modern machine. Textured and matte finishes have also been applied to various covers and particularly the frame where the matte finish reveals the beauty of the shape and welds of the classic-style steel frame. Adding to the retro race look, the standard headers were wrapped and mated to shorter SuperTrapp silencers.

With a paint scheme from Rise Designs that features a brushed metal base and weathered green stripes with red accents, the finishing touches to any custom are the interesting details that are only noticed on a second or third close look. For GRIND Machine, these include the decorated red throttle valve inside the custom bell housing, the cut back primary drive cover, and the creator’s logos machined into the black pulley cover and engine covers.

To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.eu





LATEST NEWS FROM THE DIME BAG LEATHER EMPIRE
 
This is a special project to be completed prior to the rally.

–Adam Croft
Supreme Leader
Dime Bag Leather Company







QUICK, OPEN THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BAD JOKE LIBRARY
 
HERE’S HOW BAD INFLATION IS:

My neighbor got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

CEOs are now playing miniature golf.

Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

I saw a Mormon with only one wife.

McDonald’s is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.

Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children’s names.

A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico.

A picture is now only worth 200 words.

When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room.

Called to get Blue Book Value on my car. They asked if the gas tank was full or empty.

And finally…
I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., that I called the Suicide Hotline.

I got a call center in Afghanistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

–Sam Burns
Certified Librarian
Bandit’s Cantina™ Bad Joke Library
 




 
[page break]



FUEL PRICING REPORT
 
Yes, You CAN Blame Biden For High Energy Prices. The experts were wrong once again

This July 4th, as you fill up your car or truck, you might be tempted to blame President Joe Biden for high gasoline prices.

You shouldn’t, say some experts. It’s Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fault, they say. The US had to cut off Russian oil imports to punish Putin for invading Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Biden himself has blamed the American energy industry.

“At a time of war,” Biden wrote in an open letter to the industry on June 15, “high refinery profit margins being passed directly onto American families are not acceptable… companies must take immediate actions to increase the supply of gasoline, diesel, and other refined product.”

But US refineries are already operating at 94 percent of their capacity, with US refineries in the Gulf of Mexico running at 98 percent, which is the highest rate in 30 years. Running refineries at a higher capacity than that risks damaging the equipment. As such, Biden isn’t just wrong, he insulted some of the hardest working people operating in one of the most dangerous industries in America.

But, on May 12, Biden’s Interior Department blocked a proposal to open up more than one million acres of land in Alaska for oil and gas drilling. Two days later, Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency blocked plans to expand an oil refinery in the US Virgin Islands.



Biden and his defenders said he had to block the expansion of the Virgin Islands refinery, given how polluting it was.

But had Biden’s EPA allowed the Virgin Island refinery to expand, the owners would have poured nearly $3 billion into retrofitting the plant so it produced gasoline and other products more cleanly, while significantly increasing production at the same time.

Furthermore, anybody who cares about air pollution and climate change should want more oil and gas drilling, not less. US emissions declined 22% between 2005 and 2020, mostly because cheap natural gas has replaced coal.

In truth, there are many things Biden could have done, and still should do, to lower energy prices. He could invoke the National Defense Act to accelerate the rate of oil and gas permits. He could set a floor of $80/barrel for re-filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which would be a powerful incentive for the industry, because it would prevent prices from falling to unprofitable levels. Biden could announce trade agreements with American allies to supply them with liquified natural gas, which would incentivize more natural gas production and lower prices.

If Biden got America on a wartime footing, as he should be given Russia’s aggression in Europe, we would see the lowering of oil, gas and petroleum prices in less than one year.

Why won’t Biden do it? Because he has declared war on fossil fuels. “I guarantee you, we’re going to end fossil fuel,” Biden promised a student climate activist in 2019. “I am not going to cooperate with them,” he said, referring to the oil and gas industry.

And indeed, he hasn’t. When oil and gas executives visited the White House in June, Biden snubbed them by refusing to attend the meeting. Instead, at the very same moment, he met with wind industry executives. A few days earlier, Biden administration officials signaled they may support a large new tax on the oil industry proposed by a Senator from Oregon.

All of this has soured the oil and gas industry on investing in production. “If you were an oil company,” a senior executive at a major US bank told me, why would you invest hundreds of millions of dollars into expanding refining capacity if you thought the federal government or investors would shut you down in the next few years? The narrative coming from the administration is absolutely insane.”

And it’s about to get more insane. At the G-7 meeting in Germany earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron was overheard telling Biden that he couldn’t count on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to produce much more oil. Implicit in Macron’s remarks was that the US needs to produce far more than Biden has been willing to allow.

The problem is that Biden is in the grip of a pro-scarcity ideology that demands humankind return to relying 100 percent on renewables, like we did before the industrial revolution. But that’s a delusion. Solar panels and electric cars, which rely on lithium battery power, have indeed become cheaper in recent years, but that’s mostly because China uses coerced Uyghur Muslim labor to produce those batteries. If those technologies were made in the US by workers paid a living wage, they would never be affordable.

On energy, as with so many other issues in recent years, you can’t believe the experts. They, too, are motivated by the pro-scarcity, romantic delusions that animate Biden’s energy agenda.

And so, when you fill up your car or truck, and you feel tempted to blame President Biden for high gasoline prices, go right ahead. Because it really is his fault.

–Michael Shellenberger





FREEDOM FIGHTER DOWN
 
There will be a celebration to honor the life of DEBORAH BUTITTA as follows;

DATE: August 6, 2022 – Saturday
TIME: 12:00PM – Noon
PLACE: Prescott Fair Grounds – 531 Fairgrounds Ave, Prescott, AZ 86305

Deborah was committed to serving and protecting motorcyclists’ rights at the state, federal and international levels during the last four decades. She was a sustaining & life member of ABATE of Arizona, 17-year ABATE Yavapai Chapter Board Rep., and simultaneously held many other chapter positions throughout the years. Deborah maintained memberships in numerous other state motorcycle rights organizations too, like the MMA of AZ.

In 2001, she was selected as the first designated lobbyist for the Arizona Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (AZCMC). She also served on the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) Board of Directors for many years and was instrumental in the formation of the MRF A&E (Awareness and Education), a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization created to assist the MRF in providing resources to promote motorcycle awareness and “share the road” programs, along with all aspects of motorcycle safety education, including rider training.

A highly successful businesswoman in her own right, Deb was extremely well connected, not only in the motorcycling community and industry, but legislatively and in some very influential social circles as well. These relationships were of incredible value to the bikers of AZ, and the entire country.

Deb’s accolades and awards are many, including being inducted into the MRF Hall of Fame in 2020 and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame as 2021 Freedom Fighter of the year. Deb is a past winner of the MRF Presidents’ Cup (2003), the MRF Founder’s Award (2017), and the MRF Lifetime Achievement Award (2020). Among her many other duties, Deb served 14 years as the MRF State Representative for Arizona. For several years now, the MRF has given the ‘Deborah Butitta Award’ to its’ highest performing State Representative in her honor.

A true leader, Deborah had a profound influence on many of her fellow activists. Few people have dedicated so much of their life or contributed as much to motorcycling as Deborah Butitta. Personally and professionally, her passing leaves a tremendous void in our “family”.

REST IN PEACE Freedom Fighter!

—Judi Miller,
ABATE of Arizona Communications Officer



 


5-BALL RACING LEATHER UPDATE
 
South county ripper. Our homie Luke Durkee from San Clemente CA, a small surf town on the southern tip of Orange County with a heavy influence on the bike/skate/surf scene, and everything you think of when it comes to beautiful sunny Southern California.



We got some shots of Luke in his 5-Ball Racing 5/8th jak shirt. And some info on his built up 01 t-sport, riding style, and his day 2 day lifestyle.(Continued on next post)..
 
#fiveballracing #fiveballfamily #fiveballfeature #tsport

–Frank Ball Jr.







REPORT FROM THE LUCKY DEVIL IN HOUSTON
 
We are about to bring you a couple of features around Kent’s chopped creation and some Houston girls with photos by Silvia and RFR.





–Bandit







SPEAKING OF THE DEVIL
 
Kent built this classic Evo custom for Sin Wu, who traded it 10 years later for a restaurant. The current owner, Zack, is adding some Long Beach swap meet devilish touches and a new leather seat.







–Bandit

 


EASYRIDERS EVENT ACTION
 
GET YOUR GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS NOW!
 
First 50 General Admission orders will get special pre-staging and a free 2022 Easyriders Rodeo patch!

FOWLERVILLE, MI
AUGUST 19-21
Purchase Fowlerville Tickets
 
BLOOMVILLE, OH
SEPTEMBER 1-5
Purchase Bloomville Tickets





NEW FROM THE BUCKLE GUY–Get Clickin’!
 
We received more of our 4-Ton Clicker Presses in this month. If you have been thinking of getting one, now you can!

BG Manual Clicker Press with Swing head, 4-Ton

Tonnage: 4 tons
Working area: 9″ x 12″ (inches) – The white plastic pad is replaceable.
Replacement Pad: Replacement pad sold here.
Opening height: Adjustable up to 3″ (inches)
 
Die heights:
Accepts 1/2″, 3/4″, 1″, 1 1/4″, 1 1/2″ (inches)
The most common die heights are 1″, 1 1/4″, and 1 1/2″ (inches)
Any die under 1″ may require additional plastic pad to raise die to meet clicker head (can be purchased here)
 
Cycle Time: 2-3 second average

Uses:
  • Cutting leather, vinyl, rubber, and other soft materials.Cutting small items such as wallet pockets, bracelets, watch straps, small gun holsters, keychains, purses, panels, coasters, and countless other small accessories.
  • Embossing logos, monogramming.
  • Portable, so you can bring to fairs and shows. Great for monogramming with letters at fairs for customers.
  • One of the biggest benefits to this press is its swing head. Fully rotational so you can place your cutting dies in optimal locations.
There are 4 holes in the base in order to bolt the clicker to a table.

Buckleguy.com





TRIKE OF THE WEEKFrom the National Motorcycle Museum



1913 Spacke Cycle Car

England, many European countries and in America, motorcycle engine-powered three and four wheeled vehicles had a period of promoted popularity. In some places three-wheeler road tax was less than for four wheeled vehicles and that economy drove sales.

But in a time when horse and buggy transportation was still strong, cycle cars with three and four wheels were also minimalist transportation, a first step into mechanized transportation. Even the four wheeled versions were lightweight, mostly narrow track machines with tandem rather than side by side seating.



Though starting around 1909, by 1914 cycle car popularity had peaked then soon declined, likely due to the advent of Henry Ford’s very affordable Model T. By this time about 75 American cycle car manufacturers advertised their product. Using sourced drive line components and fabricating other pieces as needed, they were not always very sophisticated or mechanically sound.

Looking at this machine, the tall lever to the left of the driver’s seat changes the drive ratio of what we might call a “planetary transmission” system. A friction disk wheel runs at right angles to the external flywheel on the engine. As the friction wheel is moved across the flywheel, the drive ratio changes, even moves to reverse; an early version of the CVT used by today’s auto makers. This system was also employed by makers of machine tools like drill presses.

Operation of this Spacke cycle car called for both hands and both feet. The ignition is battery and coil through a distributor with the switch on the dashboard. One lever on the steering wheel sets the throttle, the other the spark advance. Battery and oil tank are on the dash, fuel tank behind the engine, gravity feeding the carburetor.



As you can see the open, fan cooled engine is started by a hand crank down low in front. The left pedal is the rear wheel brake, the right pedal engages the transmission. The other tall lever, a bit forward of the transmission speed selector, is a hand brake/parking brake. (A version of this engine powers the Sears DeLuxe Dreadnaught Twin displayed in the Early American Transportation INNOVATION exhibition.)

While many cycle cars including the Steco and Merz here at the Museum used belt final drive, this machine employs a massive, for about 9 horsepower, sprockets and drive chain. Rear suspension is by swingarm controlled by dual leaf springs. The front axle is a handsome casting again hung on a pair of leaf springs. Steering is pretty typical with a tie rod and drag link. Frame rails are channels with cast lugs on each end to accept suspension components.

The cycle car, being of light construction and low to the road worked well in urban settings. But in this era most rural roads were rough and rutted. Cars and horse drawn conveyances had about a 56 inch track, but cycle cars at about 36 inches had a tough time of it.

This Spacke Cycle Car from the Jill & John Parham Collection is displayed in the Hagerty Motorcycle Insurance Best of the Best Gallery. When you visit the National Motorcycle Museum you can look at it in detail, but also view the four-wheeled Merz and STECO cycle cars displayed in the Early American Transportation INNOVATION exhibit area.



Specifications:
  • Engine: Air-Cooled V-Twin
  • Type: Inlet Over Exhaust
  • Displacement: 70.62 Cubic Inches
  • Horsepower: 9HP, Rated
  • Bore & Stroke: 3.50” x 3.67”
  • Carburetor: Schebler
  • Ignition: Battery, Distributor
  • Transmission: Planetary
  • Final Drive: Chain
  • Starting: Hand Crank
  • Brake: Band and Internal Expanding, Rear
  • Wheels: 3.00 x 28 Inches
  • Suspension: Leaf Springs
  • Frame: Steel Channel, Cast Lugs
  • Wheelbase: 68 Inches
  • Track: 42




A MAN CALLED SONNY
A MAN OF PRIDE,
WITH A WILL AS STRONG
AS THE STEEL HE RIDES.
WHO GAVE HIS FREEDOM
FOR WHAT IS RIGHT,
WHO’D GIVE HIS ALL
FOR THE RED AND WHITE.

WHO LAUGHS WITH BROTHERS
AT A PARTY OR RUN,
OR TAKES CARE OF BUSINESS
WHEN IT NEEDS TO BE DONE,
AND EVEN THOSE
WHO CURSE HIS NAME,
ADMIRE HIS COURAGE
JUST THE SAME.

THERE ARE BUT FEW
WHO HAVE THE SOUL
TO WEAR THE SKULL
WITH WINGS OF GOLD,
SEEN BY THE MAN
WITH HATE AND FEAR,
FOR THE FREEDOM AND BROTHERHOOD
THEY HOLD DEAR.

THROUGH IT ALL HE’S STOOD
WITH HEAD HELD HIGH,
AND THE LEGEND OF SONNY
WILL NEVER DIE.



HE’LL ALWAYS LIVE ON,
FOREVER A PART
OF HIS BROTHERS’ LIVES,
OF HIS BROTHERS’ HEARTS.

Ride long and free, Sonny,
— BUCKSHOT
 




QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“What historians will definitely wonder about in future centuries is how deeply flawed logic, obscured by shrewd and unrelenting propaganda, actually enabled a coalition of powerful special interests to convince nearly everyone in the world that carbon dioxide from human industry was a dangerous, planet-destroying toxin.

“It will be remembered as the greatest mass delusion in the history of the world – that carbon dioxide, the life of plants, was considered for a time to be a deadly poison.”

–Lindzen
(Lindzen has studied climate even longer than Happer, its his comment)





QUICK, New Bikernet Reader Comment!

IT’S A WONDERFUL PLACE BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for June 30, 2022

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/ITS_A_WONDERFUL_PLACE_BIKERNET_WEEKLY_NEWS_for_June_30_2022.aspx

Gov. Kristi Noem signed a bill that says South Dakota will pay for your concealed carry permit including paying for federal background check, starts 1 July 2022.

Let freedom ring loud in Sodak. Fight for our constitutional rights. Have a happy 4th and file for your cc permit asap. Show her our appreciation.

–Mike Kelly
Sturgis, SD





MOTORCYCLE DOCUMENTARY NEWS
 
The Edge Ltd., Producer of “Walter: The Missing Link: Discovery of a Centennial Motorcycle” and “Hogslayer: The Unapproachable Legend” documentaries, has won yet another international Telly Award.

This Telly is for the “Walter” documentary itself and will complement the Telly that the “Walter” trailer won in 2021. Executive Producer, James Cutting, wishes to thank all the sponsors and supporters of the “Walter” documentary that helped in its success and accomplishments.

“Walter” is the story of the last-known Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Truck in existence, affectionately known as Walter. The documentary chronicles the life and times of Walter the 1913 forecar from its early days of service on the streets of Old Milwaukee, through many decades of desolation stored in a horse barn hayloft, and then decades of restoration to eventually become the most valuable service motorcycle in the world.

Along the way, the producer explores the history of three-wheeled motorcycles, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company’s development of commercial service and delivery motorcycles, and most importantly, documents one man’s adventure in restoring a motorcycle that had been in his family for nearly a century.

Independent producer James Cutting considers the discovery of Walter to be the most extraordinary ‘barn find’ of our times.
 
This accomplishment now matches the two Tellys that the “Walter” documentary’s predecessor, the “Hogslayer” documentary won for its trailer in 2011 and the documentary itself in 2012. “Hogslayer,” the story of the multi-world champion Norton dual-engine motorcycle dragster, has just been re-released in a 10th-anniversary edition with additional archival footage and a fresh update to the celebrated motorcycle documentary.

For more information on the award-winning “Walter” and “Hogslayer” documentaries celebrating the legacy of these two iconic motorcycles, please visit www.edgeltdproducts.com.



 
[page break]
 


LIFESTYLE CYCLES DEAL OF THE WEEK— 2017 Harley-Davidson FLHRXS – Road King Special

FOR $20,995.00

SEE IT HERE: https://www.lifestylecycles.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=6079665

2017 Harley-Davidson FLHR – Road King Special

The Road King has long been an alternative for Harley-Davidson riders who want a tour-capable bike sans barn-door fairing.

It keeps getting better in the 2017 model year with the new Milwaukee-Eight engine and a special trim package called — wait for it — the Road King Special.

Updated looks and performance are the main selling points here.

Blackout treatment replaces the chrome on the custom-looking Special, and the front end leaves the extra lighting on the shelf while moving the turn signals to the handlebars for a cleaner look. Additionally, the Special does without the classic chrome trim and fender skirt that dresses up the base model for more of that homejob-custom appeal.



ABOUT THIS BIKE….

Milwaukee-eight 107 V-Twin engine, more responsive suspension with hand adjustable rear shocks. 18-inch black Curley apes, black tomahawk mirrors, performance machined grips, spiked axel caps, HD floating rotor, and engine guard in black with freeway pegs. The Special has the complete “Black Out” package a 107-air cover, passenger pegs, rims, 6 speed, cam covers, horn, trans case, derby cover, shifter linkage and brake, shocks, complete fork, headlamp case, blinkers with smoked lens rears…JUST TO NAME A FEW! TBR 2 into 1 exhaust. Come get this one before it’s GONE!



*It’s only got 22,219 miles on it* and comes with Lifestyles 90 day / 1,000 mile limited warranty!

**Open 7 days a week**

EZ FINANCING-SHIPPING AVAILABLE!!! Fill out an online application and ride today!!!

Only $20,995 at Lifestyle Cycles (714) 490-0155
Looking forward!

Dan Leadbetter
Director of Marketing
Lifestyle Cycles
(714) 490-0155







THE EVIL CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD MANDATORY RULE MAKING PROCESS
 
Training Session for the Implementation of the Mobile Source Certification and Compliance Fees (MS Fees)

Invoicing and Payment Process
Invitation to Participate

The California Air Resources Board (the Board or CARB) adopted new mobile source certification and compliance fees at the April 22, 2021 public Board hearing. The regulations were finalized by the Office of Administrative Law on January 18, 2022 with an effective date of April 1, 2022.

On April 1st, CARB staff launched the implementation of the invoicing and payment process for manufacturers to correctly determine and submit certification fees at the time of application for mobile source certifications.

Since April, CARB staff created a new software program to generate and store invoices. This process will be implemented starting August 1, 2022 and will replace the current draft email invoice process.

CARB invites you to participate in a training session on July 28, 2022, to discuss and demonstrate the new invoicing process for submitting certification fees for on-road vehicles, on-road engines, trailers, aerodynamic components, aftermarket parts, retrofits, at-berth technologies, off-road vehicles/engines and equipment, and evaporative components.

All manufacturers subject to MS Fees should attend the July 28th training; however a recording of the training will be available on our website for those unable to attend. The session will provide manufacturers with lessons learned from the current implementation process and new information on how to create new MS Fees Invoice accounts, and to create, track and submit invoices within the new software process.

The training will be conducted through Microsoft Teams with a call-in option. Please attend the training and review the training materials and previous workshops before submitting invoices and paying fees to avoid delays in payment processing and application review.

Training Session
MS Fees Invoicing and Payment Process

Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM, Pacific Daylight Time
Location: Microsoft Teams Meeting
Or call in (audio only) +1 916-538-5111
Phone Conference ID: 472 707 992#





GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
 
PFAS Laws Looming in the Northeast
 
Dozens of manufacturers and business organizations across many industries, including the MIC, are requesting that the State of Maine extend its deadline for reporting products that contain PFAS substances.

The reporting deadline begins the first day of 2023, giving companies little time for compliance, especially because Maine has offered few details about what information is needed and the process for submitting it. Staff from the MIC Government Relations Office participated in a briefing on June 30 regarding implementation of the new law.

“Powersports companies should check with their legal counsel to determine how the Maine law may impact their lines of business,” said Scott Schloegel, senior vice president at the MIC GRO. “Our team is tracking and responding to PFAS bills in several other states including California, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, and North Carolina.”

A July 1 request letter to Maine Governor Janet Mills and Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Melanie Loyzim states: “Companies that are aware of the deadline and are preparing to provide information are having difficulty obtaining information from their suppliers for a number of reasons – (1) A disrupted global supply chain continues to create complexities at every level in the marketplace; (2) Suppliers will not provide protected intellectual property information to the public domain for competitors to potentially access unless they have legal assurance that their intellectual property is protected.”

The MIC Responds to PFAS Laws – Visit Website to Read More

 

DID YOU KNOW— According to the book “Triumph Motorcycles In America”, Triumph’s then-importers, Johnson Motors, objected to the prominent use of Triumph motorcycles in the Marlon Brando film, “The Wild One.”
 
However, later, Gil Stratton Jr, who played “Mouse” in the film, advertised Triumph motorcycles in the 1960s when he was a famous TV sports announcer. As of 2014, the manufacturers were publicly identifying Brando as a celebrity who had helped to “cement the Triumph legend”.





BIKERNET REPORTER HEADED TO BILLY LANE’S NEW SHOP
 
I have discovered Billy Lane’s new shop in Columbia Tn. I was down there the other day in my ‘34. He wasn’t there but I am planning to go back soon.

Thought I would do an interview and get some pics of this overhead valve conversion for flatheads he is building. If I tell him I’m working for Bikernet.com, he might open up a bit or he might run me off.

I was going to leave for the street rod SW Nationals in OKC this weekend. Going to drive my ‘34 700 miles but I had a scratchy throat so I did one of those home Covid tests, and damn, I got it. So got to quarantine for a week. I had shots so it doesn’t seem very bad.

Guess I’ll go a little later. May turn north from there a drive it to Deadwood. It is a great road car now that I have overdrive.

–Bill May





BIKERNET INTERNATIONAL NEWS DESK REPORT
 
New Petrol Motorcycles still getting launched in India.

A motorcycle major launched a new model to compete with Enfield and Honda 350 bikes.

How & why global net zero emissions and electrified vehicles cannot be achieved as simply as signing international agreements? Apart from few options to generate electricity, its not really developing nations’ vehicles that consume most fuel.



There is more to consider and ‘roads’ ahead may not be as smooth; at least for all (considering the other demand of equality).

Read the whole story at:
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/New_Petrol_Motorcycles_still_getting_launched_in_India.aspx

–Fella
Undercover Reporter
Bikernet International News Desk

 


FEATURE BIKE OF THE WEEK—This tight little chop was built by TE Customs.





TE Customs. 6112 Brownsville Rd Ext, Finleyville (PA), 15332, United States. (724) 348-6703 · www.tecustoms.com …





–from Sam Burns
Feature Bike Editor
Bikernet.com™





NHTSA Report–Connects Hundreds of Crashes with Driver-Assistance Tech

Conducted over 10 months, NHTSA’s initial report shows 392 crashes in vehicles equipped with Level 2 driver-assistance technology.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a report listing hundreds of vehicle crashes in cars equipped with SAE Level 2 driver-assistance tech, the agency announced today.
 
NHTSA started requiring automakers to submit the information in June of last year, and its initial findings are based on about 10 months of data.

Its first report says there have been 392 vehicle crashes in the U.S. involving a Level 2 driver-assist system, six of which had fatalities. However, it’s not possible to draw many conclusions from this data, even whether the driver-assist systems are making things worse or better.
 
Over the past 10 months, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has collected data reported by automakers on crashes involving vehicles equipped with driver-assist features. The U.S. agency today published the initial results of that data collection, which reveals hundreds of crashes with vehicles using SAE Level 2 driver-assistance technology.

Based on a new requirement called a “Standing General Order on Crash Reporting for Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems,” NHTSA has required automakers to report an accident if “Level 2 ADAS was in use at any time within 30 seconds of the crash and the crash involved a vulnerable road user or resulted in a fatality, a vehicle tow-away, an airbag deployment, or any individual being transported to a hospital for medical treatment.” Of course, these reports are likely imperfect because there may be issues such as access to the crash data or incomplete data from the incident report, among other issues.



Of crashes reported by manufacturers, Tesla had the most with 272 reports. Honda (90 incidents) and Subaru (10 incidents) reported the second and third most crashes involving a Level 2 system. NHTSA also revealed that among the 98 crashes where an injury was reported, five were serious and six involved fatalities.

NHTSA said that prior to issuing its order in June 2021, it had relied on vehicle owner questionnaires, media reports, and direct outreach from automakers to get this kind of data and called that process “generally inconsistent.” Now that the agency has better standards in place to collect the data, it can better respond and raise awareness regarding accidents that involve driver-assistance technology.

Still, as NHTSA administrator Steven Cliff told the New York Times before today’s announcement, it’s too early to draw conclusions from these initial findings. Cliff said that NHTSA will continue collecting data on driver-assistance-related crashes to help guide requirements around how the technology is designed and functions, according to the article in the New York Times.

–BY ERIC STAFFORD
Car and Driver





MORE FROM SONNY BARGER— Famous Sonny Barger quotes–

“Treat me good, I’ll treat you better; treat me bad, I’ll treat you worse.”

“The greatest thing that I have learned is probably the simplest thing any of us can learn: I am who I am.”

“My most basic credo is: I never said freedom was cheap. And it ain’t. Never will be. It’s been the highest priced and most precious commodity in my life.”

(Referring to Keith Richards during the Altamont Concert in December 1969.) “I stood next to him and stuck my Pistol into his side and told him to start playing his guitar or he was dead.”

“If I ever get too old to ride my motorcycle, and have pretty girls, I’d rather just rob a bank and go back to prison.”

–Sonny Barger





RIP, Ride Free Dave Condon–To all our members, supporters, riders, and friends.

With permission from the family, it is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that your Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA) announces the passing of our Ex-officio and Past-Chairman Dave Condon. Many of Dave’s friends knew that Dave had been fighting a courageous medical battle mixed with cancer and scleroderma over the past several years. Dave passed away in his sleep on the morning of July 5, 2022.

Dave was a MRF board member serving as the State Reps Program director, and in more recent years assistant to the Reps program. Please keep Dave, Kelly, and their blended families in your thoughts during this difficult time and afford them the privacy needed.

Arrangements will follow and be published on the MMA’s Facebook page as the family announces them.

Please send your condolences and support to: Kelly Ferguson, c/o MMA – Laurie Horn, 1-b Governors Way, Milford, MA 01757

Ride Free Dave – You will be missed by many.

About Motorcycle Riders Foundation
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) provides leadership at the federal level for states’ motorcyclists’ rights organizations as well as motorcycle clubs and individual riders. The MRF is chiefly concerned with issues at the national and international levels that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. The MRF is committed to being a national advocate for the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle and works in conjunction with its partners to help educate elected officials and policymakers in Washington and beyond.







MORE FROM THE ELECTRIC FILES
 
Battery Makers Warn EU That Lithium Proposal May Hurt EV Sector

EU is proposing to list certain lithium chemicals as toxic. Plan could crimp investment in battery industry, groups say Lithium ore.

Lithium and battery producers warned the European Union that a proposal to classify the metal as a reproductive toxin could severely hurt Europe’s burgeoning electric-vehicle industry.

The material is a key part of EV batteries and widely used in pharmaceuticals, industrial lubricants and specialty glasses. A proposal being considered by the European Commission this month would put some lithium chemicals in the highest category of reproductive and developmental toxins, based partly on human studies carried out in the 1980s and 1990s.

That may stigmatize use of the materials and cut investment in the EV sector, lobby groups including Eurobat, the International Lithium Association and Eurometaux said in an open letter to politicians. EVs play a crucial role in green efforts and automakers such as Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. have warned that soaring materials prices and supply-chain bottlenecks threaten their rollout.

In the letter, the lobby groups raised concerns about the scientific rationale for the classification, which could lead to the chemicals being established as a “substance of very high concern” alongside severely carcinogenic and mutagenic toxins that the EU wants to gradually phase out by restricting usage.

–By Mark Burton
Climate Depot







BIKERNET GUN NUT REPORT— Profiling and Red Flag Laws

The recent uprise in mass shootings in America has a lot of people calling for ‘Red Flag Laws’… now, I don’t want to see anyone getting shot up, none of us do. But are Red Flag Laws really the answer? As they appear on the surface, Red Flag Laws SEEM like a good idea. See something, say something, right? The problem is, these laws not only turn a blind eye to some rather obvious red flags, due to it being politically incorrect to mention them, but they also are ripe for abuse in stereotyping and profiling bikers and people of a different race or political belief than you.

Nobody is saying much about the Highland shooter being a crossdresser. Even the cops in the press conference said he dressed up in female clothes as a disguise; but the photos he shared on social media showed he wore female hairstyles and clothing pretty often.

God forbid anyone suggest he was perhaps mentally struggling with his gender, though. They are too busy discussing him attending a Trump rally. Likewise, they are pretty hushed about the classmates of the Uvalde shooter saying he was bullied for wearing makeup.

Politically correct Red Flag laws set a dangerous precedence for everyone. It’s close to mirroring the Third Reich and their propaganda campaigns that turned neighbors into snitches but especially for bikers, as well as people who lean toward the 2nd Amendment loving side of the aisle. It’s terrifying how they could be used to control us.

One has to look no farther than the Waco Biker Tragedy in 2015, or the Jan 6th political prisoners, to see just how easily these types of nanny laws can be used to persecute people through stereotyping and profiling.

At least twice in America, mass arrests have been made without any individual consideration or probable cause, and no accountability as of yet in either situation for the people who are violating the Constitutional rights of American citizens.

Both situations set a precedence of mass arrest at a political event due to the actions of a few in attendance, followed by a one sided roast from the media about the terrible people who are now deservedly in jail. Both situations also involve blood spilled and loss of life. In this day and age of lives mattering when a cop pulls a trigger, both Jan 6th and the Waco bikers have been filed away as handled without a single officer being put on trial. Any time a cop pulls a trigger on an American citizen, there needs to be investigation and perhaps accountability, be it George Floyd or Ashli Babbitt or a restaurant full of bikers.

Whether you are Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian, you should balk at the violation of the basic rights and civil liberties of American citizens.

Right now, in America, people who wear red hats, are already Red Flagged as terrorists, supremacists, racists, bigots and zealots. Bikers who wear patches or support gear are already a target for law enforcement and media to point a finger at them and claim they are guilty until proven innocent.

Red Flag laws make it legal for them to take your guns, or even your freedom, just because someone declared you to be dangerous. Well, we all know some cops will pull over a biker and detain him and needle him and search him.. until they can find something to claim he is a danger to society. Do we really want to hand them free reign over our Second Amendment, too?

The fight against profiling bikers needs to pay close attention to Red Flag Laws because they are the embodiment of the stereotypical mindset that has plagued and harassed us for decades. Your hat, your cut, your motorcycle may already be, somebody’s red flag.

–AIW, The Wicked Bitch





ONE MORE FROM SONNY
 
He told the Times in the 1994 article he never regretted his life choices. One of the things that has always amazed me about reporters” is that 99% of them will say, ‘Gee, after talking to you I find that you’re halfway intelligent. You could have been anything you wanted to be!’ They don’t realize, I am what I want to be.”

–from Sam Burns

 


RALLY IS COMING FAST—The redhead is working on one Deadwood deck and I’m working on the other one.



“Paint isn’t dry in photos,” said the esteemed Redhead. “Color is close it seems a bit more gray than gray brown. Hope to complete one full coat before the weekend and then a second coat Saturday.”

Holy shit, my son, Frank is coming to the Black hills on Monday with his lovely wife Erika. We better be ready.



I’m working with a book designer in Rapid City to convert the Terry the Tramp book onto Amazon books files. It’s been a chore ever since buying the rights from Motorbooks, but we seem to be getting there.



Here is a shot of the shop before and some from today. We busted our butts to load in all the equipment. My guys dropped one tool box and jammed a couple of drawers. I need to spend a couple of hours just organizing and cleaning a few drawers.







Already started making shit. This is an effort to organize and find spots for all my shit. It is going to be a test in patience and organization.



Gantry is due to arrive today. Then we need to lift and remove the Salt Torpedo rear wheel and take it to Deadwood Custom Cycles for a new tire, and preparations for Bonneville begin.



We are grappling with positioning and bolting down our new Smithy Lathe. We put it in on the counter with skidster forks, but it needs positioning.





We’ve had some threats of hail and needed to cover the bikes while outside. You never know. Buck Lovell is headed over tomorrow to finish shooting our Pan clutch tech.

I repaired and got one of the lifts operational.



I’m working with Atomic Bob and Andy, of Crank and Stroker apparel for our Bonneville T-shirts.



Due to covid we didn’t go to Bonneville last year, and now we need to re-certify our harness system and extinguishers. Fortunately, Irish Rich’s neighbors are racers and fire extinguisher specialists. We should be covered shortly.

Hang on for more reports, but in the meantime ride fast and free, goddammit.

–Bandit

Read More

New Petrol Motorcycles still getting launched in India

Despite India having to import 86% of its crude oil, a new petrol engine motorcycle has been launched by TVS Motor.

It may not be as simple as it may appear. Most fuel serves transport, such as commercial vehicles and the popular commuter buses in cities (municipal & State transport).

Also, just as Royal Enfield has exports to Western nations for its mid-segment motorcycles – this new TVS Ronin may not solely be aimed at eating into the sales of Enfield in India’s market (world’s largest two-wheeler market).
 

TVS Ronin Features:
https://www.rushlane.com/tvs-ronin-225cc-launched-3-variants-20-ps-20-nm-120-kmph-top-speed-12441985.html

TVS owns the legendary British brand Norton motorcycles. They set up a Research (R&D) and Manufacturing unit in England itself with HQ of Norton set up in England. Norton is best associated with the legendary Isle of Man races.

The boss of Jaguar-LandRover, Sir Ralf Speth, left that role and as chosen by TVS, was appointed Chairman of the new Norton motorcycle company.

TVS is the same company that manufactures the BMW 310 motorcycles in India exclusively for BMW under the German brand. TVS facility is gradually emerging as one of the largest production bases for the BMW bikes and accounts for around 20% of bikes produced by BMW globally. 100,000th unit of BMW Motorrad’s 310cc series rolled out from TVS in under 5 years.
 
TVS Motor Website: https://www.tvsmotor.com/

Other References:
BMW G310 production milestone (click here)

Major automotive brands may not entirely believe all-electric will be a reality in a couple of years as demanded as an “Emergency” of Climate mandates.

This week, CTO of India’s Tata Motors (of MNC Tata Group) stated: “Net zero emission for CVs is at a nascent stage, says Rajendra Petkar.”

Refer at Economic Times link (click here)

 
Pressure is still there from the EU. All automotive companies in India meet the Emission rules in India which match with the European Emission norms. (‘Bharat Stage’  emission versions are the respective norms)

They are a few norm numbers behind so that all companies here, including foreign ones, don’t get stuck. It would set back the industry and employment dependent on manufacturing, selling and commuting on two & four wheelers. Not to mention large commercial vehicles for essential goods & passenger transport, including within the city.

Recent e.g. Polaris Indian Motorcycle was stranded for almost 2 years after 2020 as their models did not meet the emission norms set in India while Harley-Davidson was ready for each after comeback was announced with Hero MotoCorp in 2020.
 
(Emission regulations are announced a few years in advance for all scale / use of any vehicle… such as engine capacity, fuel-type, commuter, etc.)
 
Levels of Pollution from Vehicles – ICE and Electric ?

It is not really developing nations’ vehicles that consume most fuel on a monthly or annual basis. Sales figures also dependent on enforcing new Emission Norms matching the EU norms. Each State has autonomy (similar to USA) to decide their administration and efficiency apart from local infrastructure. These cannot be enforced pan-nation (unless you want the authoritative governments globally, about whom you may or may not be aware of).

Another good rule to measure is: How many miles / Kms is an average citizen going to travel / commute in a developing nation in a year ?

It is used to push EVs into cities (Tier-I, Tier-II & even Tier-III cities and some towns).

 
Apart from few options to generate electricity for charging any EVs, almost all cities in developing nations have residential apartments, not homes with drive-in, backyard, etc as in West. Maybe a celebrity has a large single home on their own plot or a luxury apartment that come with multiple vehicle exclusive parking for each owner.

You cannot electrify even in just 5 years, the major manufacturing units requiring ridiculous CAPEX to buy a single machine (Capital Expenditure).
 
For e.g. even if just buy one giant robotic machine that will churn out hundreds of EVs for an automotive company, can the brand depend on just one such huge machine to assure supply?
 
Will they only wait for online bookings before starting up the machine resting idle for a month? As done maybe for a customized luxury car such as, Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Lamborghini or Maybach?

That’s just the 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler makers.

Reliable electric commercial vehicles for long-distance for shipping anything would still need better national infrastructure. Maybe still required to run on old railroads. Not all parts can be reached without some coal or its suitable affordable replacement fuel.
 
Entire train engines and its systems, their refueling stops, etc. cannot be overhauled as fast as 2050 is just an estimate based on above expenses expected.
 
Other changes?
 
Huge demand for experienced tech in not just IT but mechanics and civil engineering. The last two are last choices for incredible competent students entering National / International Admission Tests and then interviewing at their choice of Institutes / Universities.
 

Would you really want competent students to quit their ambition to pursue more challenging medical exams & Medical Degrees, and aim for high-paying any-all Engineering jobs after all of us enduring this pandemic? (not to mention any possible w-r)

Then there is financing such education as new Engineering Colleges cannot grow overnight with qualified Professors, etc. Hike in fees is inveitable with such a surge in demand. Only losers are entire families & future generations.

Gainers? Yup, Big Banks and spiraling quicksand of loans. Worse? Bad Loans and Bankruptcy of a Bank or NBFC (non-banking financial company).
 

Just a Global Village (don’t step out of it?)
 
We will just discount all domestic air-traffic, increasing global air-travel, global increased tourism industry and lifestyle changes due to new wealth-created for many for now.
 
Commercial shipping by sea is needed since not every nation can manufacture everything a citizen needs daily or at least monthly.

Emerging markets, despite risks of fires, are still more likely to adopt EVs. For e.g. the draining foreign exchange reserves of dollars while importing 86% of crude oil, is the big reason for huge subsidies & free vehicle registrations (the license plate) offered by many States in India.
 
Citizens who commute on two-wheelers & cars in cities for offices are more than willing to pay higher purchase price for buying the electric counterparts. They are not holidaying every weekend nor every month on their two-wheeler or car. Even while choosing to go on holidays or vacations, they use affordable (and safer) modes such as trains, private tourist buses.

As per investigations, most fires in electric scooters are due to customers not following manufacturer’s / seller’s guidelines on charging and plugging sockets. These may include: bad quality electricity connections or poor wiring at owner’s end or unsuitable voltage boards the consumer has used.

Yet, there were fires of parked electric scooters on roadsides. It seems, just like your tiny mobile phone, an electric vehicle parked on the road can heat up even while not plugged for charging.
 
Sealed cells will sometimes explode violently if safety vents are overwhelmed or nonfunctional. Look up ‘Thermal Runaway’.

Reason may be dual. Majority of rechargeable lithium batteries being made in only one particular large nation (surely you can guess?).
 
If they are poor quality ones or poorly designed – or if the Electric Vehicle itself is poorly designed / engineered – then they can explode in the heat common in most regions of India.
 
Another cause can be the quality / functionality of the software & chip-board systems and the regular servicing maintenance of all of the above to ensure optimal running.
 
These therefore, are required at a pace when basic needs for many need to be met instead of chasing rats, as demanded by global pollution pacts!
 
For a nation such as India already having suffered terrorist attacks regularly from you-know-who, this new nuisance is going to panic not just local residents but so many employers including international companies.
 
This entire nation’s economy would fiddle faster than a concert maestro. It will keep all of us wondering – “Is this new one a terrorist bombing or regular EV thing?”

How long will any citizen or State or Nation tolerate this until – wait for it – “Bans all EVs from all EV manufacturers” ?
 
What happened with Covid-mania in January-2022 ?
Novak Djokovic was granted a medical exemption to get around a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for the Australian Open. Yet, his Visa was revoked by the host nation.
 
So, there is a higher cost to pay for claims of saving on fuel expenses. Unless you prefer a singular ruler for more and more independent nations.
 
Action is already on against most Tech “Start-ups”:
“Centre sends show cause notices to Ola Electric, Okinawa, others on EV fires”
 

Reliable sources said that the EV makers have been given time till July end to respond in detail to the notices.”

Refer Economic Times News Source by clicking here.

So citizens in Western nations, such as the USA, where an ICE vehicle at every home seems common, are more likely to switch to electric in the deadlines announced by various nation/s or automotive companies.
 

Personal Views:
I believe, the more balanced progress in clearly improving Democracy in defined Constitutional Democratic nations is good for developed Western nations as well. The boom in entrepreneurship in India through new companies providing services & products for the local market is what is creating wealth. Not some outsourced work.

E.g.Many years ago, two employees of Amazon in USA quit their jobs there to start Flipkart.com in India. Amazon India only arrived in 2014 and when they became popular, Walmart USA bought out Flipkart.com to compete in India.

Uber was popular in India until Covid, when people decided to switch to buying affordable 2 or 4 wheelers for avoiding public transport. This created unexpected surge in demand from the industry who never saw that coming. It also more than doubled the prices of used vehicles.

Online purchase of groceries was never popular due to the popular local “Bazaar” system of buying them. Amazon India struggled to launch & supply their “Amazon Fresh” during Covid restrictions. Existing grocery websites and many food-delivery startups became huge – offering door-to-door delivery employment to adults who are less-qualified for office jobs.

This benefited many other American companies such as cloud hosting business, several known companies specializing in logistics software, databases, for secure payment gateway systems, CDN, software for email servers, server network SaaS, office employees to communicate remotely in strictly secure & confidential manner, holding video-conferencing for meetings, anti-virus & ransomware live software, and so much more.
 
IMPORTANT NOTE: Respective brands and companies mentioned are Trademarks, Brands and Owned by the respective companies and their owners. These are used here as case-study examples only. They are used primarily to refer cases and to news. No defamation or ill-intent is meant for any mentioned herein.
Read More

New Petrol Motorcycles still getting launched in India?

A motorcycle major has launched a new model to compete in mid-segment motorcycles below 750cc.

Even as Electric two-wheeler and four-wheeler demands keep increasing, why would people still want some ICE engines?

How & why global net zero emissions and electrified vehicles cannot be achieved as simply as signing international agreements? Apart from few options to generate electricity, its not really developing nations’ vehicles that consume most fuel.

READ the full Article with examples at Bikernet.com – Click Here

Editor’s Note: Views expressed or reported in the Article are those of the author alone.

* * * *

Read More

Celebrate America’s Birthday : greetings from MRF

Happy Birthday America – Celebrate Independence Day

This fourth of July we celebrate the birth of American independence. We at the Motorcycle Riders Foundation would like to recognize that freedom is not free and thank those in our armed forces for defending all of our freedoms. Perhaps Patrick Henry said it best back in 1775 when he declared “Give me liberty or give me death!”

Why we celebrate: In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence.

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

Read More

Jo Shimoda Makes History with First Pro Motocross Overall Win at RedBud

Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda Makes History with First Pro Motocross Overall Win at RedBud

July 2, 2022 | RedBud MX | Buchanan, Mich.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. (July 3, 2022) – The AMA Pro Motocross Championship headed north to Buchanan, Michigan for Round 5, ‘America’s National’ at the iconic RedBud MX. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Jo Shimoda proved himself to be a fan favorite by animating the notoriously lively crowd with 1-3 moto scores en route to carving his name in the history books as the first Japanese rider to earn an AMA Pro Motocross overall win. Fellow Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Seth Hammaker overcame second moto adversity for 11th overall (5-15), while Ryder DiFrancesco scored 14-12 for 13th overall in his Pro Motocross debut. In the 450 Class, Jason Anderson secured fourth overall (7-4) and Joey Savatgy finished sixth overall after a personal best third place in Moto 1 (3-9).

The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team quickly set the tone for the day as all three riders charged through the opening qualification sessions. Shimoda was clearly in tune with both track and machine as he logged the fastest lap (2:03.742) of the 250 Class to claim his first pole qualification. Meanwhile, Hammaker ranked ninth with a 2:06.226 and DiFrancesco showed his readiness to compete with the Pro Motocross elite by qualifying 11th (2:06.297).

At the start of 250 Moto 1, the rising Team Green star DiFrancesco was narrowly edged out for the holeshot with both of his teammates close in flank. A push of the front end in Turn 2, however, placed DiFrancesco on the ground and shuffled him to the bottom of the running order; the young rider had his work cut out for him in the race ahead. Meanwhile, Shimoda and Hammaker established themselves inside the top five with decisive moves on the opening lap. Shimoda raised the intensity to a fever pitch as he swiftly became the driving force in a three-way battle for the lead position. The No.30 KX™250 rider kept his main championship rivals under heavy pressure for the lion’s share of the race until he finally took command of the top spot with six laps remaining. Shimoda held true to form by maintaining his pace through the finish to claim his first moto win with more than a 20-second margin over second place. Hammaker logged consistent laps to hold onto a fifth-place finish while DiFrancesco turned heads with an impressive race from 32nd on the opening lap to 14th at the checkered flag.

The second 250 Class moto hosted green at the front again when DiFrancesco grabbed his first Pro Motocross holeshot in just his second start. A quick pass by Hammaker in the opening section of Lap 1 allowed the No.47 rider to take control of the lead from DiFrancesco before he lost traction accelerating out of Turn 4 and crashed. Further back, Shimoda found himself in 25th at the end of the first lap after a non-optimal start was worsened by a collision with another rider. DiFrancesco persisted with his sights on the leaders as the rookie held his own in the top five for more than half the race. While DiFrancesco gained vital experience at the front of the field, the crowd’s attention turned to Shimoda who was racing his way back into overall contention. The roars of the crowd followed Shimoda around the track while he passed multiple riders per lap, using creative line selection and relentlessly carrying his momentum through the pack. Despite his early race adversity, Shimoda clawed his way up to a heroic third place position to secure his first career overall win and made his mark in the history books as the first Japanese rider to grace the top step of the AMA Pro Motocross podium. After visiting the mechanic’s area to regroup from his crash, Hammaker made his way to 15th to salvage 11th overall (5-15) on the day and DiFrancesco finished the race with a respectable 12th place finish for 13th overall (14-12).

“In the first moto, I started up front and had a fast pace going as I pressured the Lawrence brothers for the top-two positions. I was able to make a good pass into the lead and finished strong for the moto win. In Moto 2, my start wasn’t great and then I got caught up with some riders on the first lap which put me outside the top 20. I pushed hard the whole race to fight my way to third and earned my first overall victory. I had to race really hard in both motos, and it paid off for a great day.”
– Jo Shimoda

“I made it a little tougher on myself than I needed to today but, my starts are improving and I just need to clean up a few things. In Moto 1, I had a pretty steady race all the way through to come away with a fifth but, I was looking to better that and get into the podium battle in Moto 2. Unfortunately, I lost traction at the bottom of the hill and fell just after passing into the lead so, I had to race forward from the back of the pack. It’s frustrating of course but, I will keep putting myself up there in the mix and keep improving to iron out those small mistakes.”
– Seth Hammaker

“I had a great start in the first moto but, a crash in the second corner put me way down the running order. I raced forward and made a bunch of passes to finish 14th. In Moto 2, I grabbed the holeshot which felt awesome, and I did my best to keep pace with the leaders for as long as I could. My goal for the day was to do exactly what I did for the first half of that second moto, I matched the speed of the guys at the front for as long as I could before getting tight and settling back a bit. I’m looking forward to Millville where I’ll try my best to stay up there even longer.”
– Ryder DiFrancesco



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The RedBud National featured the second reverse moto schedule of the season which meant a smoother track and higher speeds for the 450 Class qualifying sessions as they took to the course first. Never shying away from a high speeds, the Monster Energy Kawasaki duo of Anderson and Savatgy put the power of their KX™450SR machines on display by qualifying at the front in both timed sessions. When qualification concluded, Anderson had the second-fastest lap of the morning (2:03.505) and Savatgy was hot on his tail with the third-best lap time (2:03.698).

In 450 Class Moto 1, Savatgy was narrowly beaten out for the holeshot as he jockeyed for position with several of the top championship contenders. At the completion of Lap 1, Savatgy had taken a firm hold on second place with his pace in lockstep with the race leader. Unfortunately, Anderson was collected in a first turn crash and the No.21 KX™450SR rider crossed the green flag in 31st position. As the race progressed, Savatgy fortified his spot at the front by extending a gap over the riders behind and keeping in close tow of the rider out front. Unphased by the pressure of battling among several premier class champions while maintaining a smooth intensity to his speed, Savatgy held onto second place until Lap 14 when he was overtaken. A brief battle ensued when Savatgy launched himself back into second by skying out Larocco’s Leap but, he soon settled into third for the final laps of the moto. Savatgy crossed the checkered in third to secure his first 450 Class podium result and proved his recent progress with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team is affirming his place among the best in the world. Not to be overshadowed, Anderson thrilled fans as he charged through the field for the full 30-minute plus two lap race, passing over 25 riders, to secure eighth place at the finish.

The second 450 Class moto saw both Monster Energy Kawasaki KX™450SR riders emerge from Turn 1 inside the top-10. Anderson looked to fight toward a podium position as he moved forward from fifth on the opening lap to take control of fourth on Lap 4. A brief crash in the turn prior to the mechanic’s area, however, set the New Mexican back to eighth place and forced him to race his way up the running order again. A benefactor of Anderson’s crash, Savatgy moved into contention for the overall podium as he pressed forward to sixth by Lap 5. Savatgy continued to push himself forward until a swap through the sand turn after Larocco’s Leap caused him to crash and drop to ninth place on Lap 6. Anderson quickly found his form again as he maneuvered through the competition to reach fifth place by the checkered flag; his 7-5 moto scores earned him fourth overall. Savatgy finished out Moto 2 in ninth to earn sixth overall (3-9) and, more importantly, proved himself as a legitimate podium contender.

“Minor crashes in each moto cost me valuable time and positions early so, I felt like I was playing catch up all day. My speed was solid, and the bike felt great but, a couple of miscues are all it takes to put the podium out of reach. Overall, I made a lot of passes out there and managed to salvage a fourth overall so, we’ll just keep moving forward with the goal of getting another win here soon.”
– Jason Anderson

“It’s been almost four years since the last time I was on the podium and there have been plenty of highs and lows along the way. Finally getting myself back up on the box in the first moto felt amazing. Thank you to the Monster Energy Kawasaki team for this opportunity to be racing and improving each weekend. I was set back a bit overall by the crash in Moto 2 but, we took major steps in the right direction today and look forward to more progress ahead.”
– Joey Savatgy

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Critical comments by Happer and Lindzen on SEC Rule

By Andy May from https://clintel.org/

The U.S. Constitution was finally approved in 1787, after much debate. It reserved a specific list of powers for the federal government and the first ten amendments, or the “Bill of Rights,” reserved many powers for the citizens and states. The Bill of Rights imposed clear limitations on the federal government and explicitly stated that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government were reserved for the states or the people.

In its original form the federal government could not do very much beyond regulating interstate commerce, foreign affairs, and “provide for the common defense.” To restrict the federal government even more, the Constitution made sure each branch of government, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial, each had powers that restricted the other branches.

Thus, for the country’s first 120-140 years, the federal government was a sideshow, the heart of the United States was the center of business and commerce, the cities of New York and Chicago. The businesses did well, so well that the government began to issue itself powers to control businesses and their transactions. One of these controlling bodies is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its mission is to:

“… protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. The SEC strives to promote a market environment that is worthy of the public’s trust.”

Recently, the Biden administration has tried to use the powers of the SEC to force companies to disclose information on their supposed climate-related business risks through a proposed SEC rule. Two esteemed members of the CO2 Coalition, Princeton Professor, emeritus, William Happer and MIT Professor, emeritus, Richard Lindzen have reviewed the proposed rule and filed a critical comment on the rule with the SEC. In addition, they have filed an amicus curiae court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stating that they do not believe there is a climate-related risk related to burning fossil fuels, and the resulting CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This post discusses both filings made by Happer and Lindzen.

“It is utter nonsense”
The proposed SEC rule does not establish that there is a climate risk, they simply assume there is, based upon President Biden’s Executive Order 13990 and the various IPCC Reports. The amicus curiae brief deals with the executive order and its underlying technical support document’s (TDS) social cost of carbon (SCC) calculations.

Happer, who has studied possible CO2 related climate change for over 40 years, succinctly states his opinion:

“There isn’t a climate crisis. There will not be a climate crisis. It is utter nonsense.”

Lindzen has studied climate even longer than Happer, his comment:

“What historians will definitely wonder about in future centuries is how deeply flawed logic, obscured by shrewd and unrelenting propaganda, actually enabled a coalition of powerful special interests to convince nearly everyone in the world that carbon dioxide from human industry was a dangerous, planet-destroying toxin.

“It will be remembered as the greatest mass delusion in the history of the world – that carbon dioxide, the life of plants, was considered for a time to be a deadly poison.”

Happer and Lindzen point out that these proposed reporting requirements will cost U.S. businesses more than $6.4 billion and might interfere with their ability to raise the capital they need to expand production of oil, gas, and coal. This latter problem is expressly opposite of the SEC mandate from Congress. The rules will increase the cost of fossil fuels, provide no benefits, and expressly harm the poor, who pay a larger percentage of their income for fuel. Happer and Lindzen believe there are no climate risks related to burning fossil fuels; thus, estimating and reporting these imaginary costs will unnecessarily and unfairly restrict the companies’ ability to borrow money because the additional risk reduces their value.

The SEC assumption is made because many prominent climate scientists share an opinion (the so-called “consensus”) that humans are affecting the world’s climate by burning fossil fuels and emitting large amounts of CO2. They also share an opinion that this is a bad thing. However, in the scientific world, the opinions of scientists and politicians are not relevant. This is not to say that anthropogenic climate change or the possibility of an anthropogenic climate change disaster are disproven, it is just to say that no valid evidence exists to support these hypotheses. This concept is examined in more detail here.

The SEC rule requires disclosure of each company’s GHG emissions to the SEC and in their annual reports. The purpose of these disclosures is to provide “decision-useful information to investors.” Obviously, the usefulness of this information hinges on the assumption that GHG emissions are a significant influence on climate and somehow harmful to the company’s future viability. These assumptions are disputed by Happer and Lindzen.

Richard Feynman
Neither Happer nor Lindzen believe the SEC and TDS arguments are scientifically valid. They state that reliable scientific theories make predictions that are later validated by observations. They are not from a scientific consensus, government opinion, peer review, or manipulated data. In the words of Professor Richard Feynman, as quoted by Happer and Lindzen:

“[W]e compare the result of [a theory’s] computation to nature, … compare it directly with observations, to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment, it is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science.” Richard Feynman, The Character of Physical Law (1965), p. 150.”

Models have been created to show the hypothetical human-caused changes to climate and the supposed damage these changes might cause. Unfortunately, or fortunately, perhaps, the models do not compare well to observations. Using Feynman’s rule, this invalidates the catastrophic climate change hypothesis. See here for more on the model/observations mismatch.

While the SEC can make rules mandating disclosure of valid risks to a business, it should not mandate disclosure of imagined risks that are not scientifically established.

The underpinnings of the SEC proposed rule are from President Biden’s Executive Order 13990, and the so-called TDS. These documents compute the total cost of burning fossil fuels, including the imagined cost of GHG-caused climate change or SCC. The dollar value assigned to the GHG emissions is computed by bureaucrats in the executive branch, essentially giving them the authority to tax any business that produces or uses fossil fuels (essentially every business), without authorization from Congress.

Happer and Lindzen also show that President Biden’s executive order, which mandates agencies determine the social benefits of reducing GHG emissions, is seriously flawed. The executive order ignores the benefits of additional CO2 and other GHGs, aka the negative costs.

Biden ignores evidence
Biden’s executive order relies very heavily on the famous IPCC climate change reports of the past thirty years, but as Happer and Lindzen make clear the IPCC rules state that all governments approve the IPCC summaries for policymakers (SPMs) at the head of each IPCC report. The SPMs are government opinions, not scientific documents. Everything in the IPCC report must conform to the SPM, thus the scientific content must be adjusted to match the government opinions, a clear violation of the scientific principle that only a comparison to real-world observations can validate a theory. Even after a theory successfully predicts specific observations, the theory can still be challenged with additional observations, a theory is never proven, it only survives challenges. Government dictates are not validation.

Both the IPCC and Biden’s executive order ignore the abundant evidence that additional CO2 is beneficial. Happer and Lindzen remind us that nearly all the food we eat and all the oxygen we breathe comes from the photosynthesis of CO2 and water. Plants evolved when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were several thousand parts per million (PPM), compared to the paltry 400 PPM in the atmosphere today. All plants grow faster with more CO2, and they use less water per pound of growth, which is why modern greenhouses add CO2 to their air.

Happer and Lindzen emphasize that agricultural crop yields have benefited from the addition of fossil fuel generated CO2 in the atmosphere. Global agricultural output has increased almost 300% since 1961 due to additional CO2, better seeds, more and better fertilizer (from fossil fuels), and better water management, more details can be seen here.

In summary, Happer and Lindzen write that the SEC and Executive Order 13990 section 5 are based on multiple violations of the scientific method and will be disastrous for poor people worldwide, future generations, and the United States. They note that both the executive order and the SCC rule violate the 1993 Supreme Court definition of “scientific knowledge,” the Daubert decision reads:

“[I]n order to qualify as ‘scientific knowledge,’ an inference or assertion must be derived by the scientific method, any and all scientific testimony or evidence admitted [must be] …reliable,” “tested,” and “supported by appropriate validation.” Daubert v. Merrell Pharmaceutical, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) (emphasis added)”

Federal law requires all government agencies to weigh costs and benefits of a project or rule. However, Executive Order 13990 directs agencies only to weigh the purported costs, this clearly violates the Congressional mandate. The brief concludes that the President has improperly exercised executive power by using the device of a so-called interagency work group to create a law, which is beyond his Presidential authority under the U.S. Constitution. In the words of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brandeis (1926):

“The doctrine of the separation of powers was adopted by the convention of 1787 not to promote efficiency but to preclude the exercise of arbitrary power. The purpose was not to avoid friction, but by means of the inevitable friction incident to the distribution of governmental powers among three departments, to save the people from autocracy.”

The arbitrary SEC rule and President Biden’s Executive Order 13990 are exactly what the U.S. Constitution was designed to prevent.

Special thanks to Gregory Wrightstone and Dr. Richard Lindzen of the CO2 Coalition for their helpful suggestions and encouragement.

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Movie Review by Amy Irene White

A review by Amy Irene White

Here is Amy’s views on a documentary on the subject of “Ride Free or Die”

Click Here to have a look.

This documentary covers biker and specifically motorcycle club profiling, which is a major issue followed by the Confederation of Clubs and Motorcycle Riders Foundation. Check it out and her compelling report on the Waco shooting.

Click to View other movie and documentary reviews in the ‘Books, Movies & Music Reviews’ Section on Bikernet.com

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RIDE FREE or DIE Documentary Review

Director Randall Wilson recently won a Director’s Choice Award for his movie, Ride Free Or Die. The movie is available on Amazon, and is described there as ‘an insider’s look into the political world of motorcycle clubs. The clubs are fighting for their constitutional rights against what they perceive as law enforcement profiling and harassment. The documentary features Mongols MC, Outsiders MC, Devils Diciples MC, Sin City Deciples, Ironworkers MC, ATF agents, and motorcycle clubs from all over America.’

 Now, a lot of people have made a lot of documentaries about biker profiling, 1%ers, and the ATF. But, there is something different about this one… along with the interviews with several people and patches we all recognize.. it also has coverage of the Waco Biker Tragedy, including interviews with Waco Bikers Paul Landers and Sandra Lynch. 

One of the biggest instances of biker profiling occurred on May 17, 2015 at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas. Nine lives were lost and 170 people were incarcerated with million dollar bonds. Not a single person was charged. 

Link to where to buy Ride Free or Die:
https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Free-Die-Hessian-Spike/dp/B07WW8S4PF/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=327T2YSSFOD7V&keywords=ride+free+or+die&qid=1655702922&sprefix=ride+free+or+die%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1

The movie has good reviews out so far, and so all I am going to say is, watch the dadgum movie. Its worth it. Every biker in America needs to know what happened that day in Waco.

 Reviews for Ride Free or Die:
https://coloradoridernews.com/ride-free-or-die-movie-review/

I would like to also give a shoutout right here to the Motorcycle Profiling Project and Double D for all of their continued hard work in biker profiling:

A link to the Motorcycle Profiling Project:
https://www.motorcycleprofilingproject.com/

What I am about to write, is gonna be a little more personal than a review. I am going to discuss, the Waco biker tragedy. You see, I have been trying to write an article revisiting my experience covering the Waco bikers for Bandit and bikernet for at least six months.. This movie by Randall Wilson, has inspired me to try once again… to force myself to remember some things I usually try to forget.

When most people hear ‘Waco’.. they think of David Koresh and Branch Davidians. When I hear Waco, I think of a bright Sunday afternoon in Texas.. a Twin Peaks restaurant with a parking lot full of shiny Harleys.. a day that the clink of dishes and hum of Harleys and muted laughter became a hail of gunfire. A beautiful day, that quickly became a nightmare, and American blood was spilled, right on that heart of Texas.  I think of a day that changed so many lives irrevocably, a day that the majority of American citizens never even knew the truth about what really happened.. a day when one of the worse mass violations of constitutional liberties ever occurred in American history… when 9 people died and 170 people went to jail.. a day when American citizens were found guilty until proven innocent.. when they truly learned what it means, to Ride Free or Die. 

There are many theories about why, what happened that day.. happened. The general public believes the lie told by the media; that it was just a fight between Cossacks and Bandidos. Well, if you know anything about bikers, you know that isn’t true. Out of the 170 something arrested, less than thirty were Bandidos. Nothing about what happened in that parking lot that day made sense to just be blamed on a spat over a Texas bottom rocker.
 
Many believe it was a setup by the FBI and their gang units and fusion centers; some think it was to make use of the privatized jail in McClennan County.. some believe it was part of a sting operation involving a later drug bust. Perhaps it was a perfect storm of all of the above. Regardless of the basis they used, its irrefutable that the police and ATF and all those other alphabets gathered where they suspected some drama to play out, did nothing to alleviate the problem and then played Call of Duty in a restaurant full of people. THEN signed cookie cutter arrest warrants for 170 people, with million dollar bonds. 

A fusion center is an information sharing center, many of which were jointly created between 2003 and 2007 under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice.

No one will ever be able to define how many lives were destroyed that day. All of those 170 people had families who suffered from financial, emotional, and mental anguish. Those of us who were not there that day, but who came in later and tried to help them.. journalists, lawyers, other bikers.. well it changed us too. We witnessed first hand a crack in the foundation of America’s justice system, and our Constitutional rights and civil liberties. People lost their homes, their jobs, their wives, their pride, their rides, and their lives that day.  There were women, veterans, preachers, people from all races and walks of life arrested en masse just for being at a CoC meeting. The First Amendment, Second Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment.. all flew out the window like a fart in the wind.

 I am a peon, just a crippled old writer, literally nothing to what occurred that day.. but the things I witnessed in the aftermath, well they fucked me up. Six years later, I am an agoraphobe.. I haven’t been on a motorcycle since 2016. I leave my house maybe twice a year… because I no longer feel like I live in the America I was born in. If something like that can happen to innocent people gathering to discuss biker safety and rights, then this is a world I rarely care to visit. Everything that happens in current events, I find myself comparing it to May 17, 2015. The January 6th rioters rotting in jail and being blasted by the media.. I fume at how much it seems like a deja vu.  I watch people talk on the news about the police response time in Uvalde.. and I can’t help thinking of how Texas Law Enforcement was sitting on ready when it was bikers and not little children.
 
 

According to records released to the AP following a public information request for 911 calls, Officer Brandon Blasingame reported “shots fired,” to a dispatcher at 12:26 p.m.
“Two shot behind Twin Peaks,” Blasingame reported two minutes later.

“They have an AR-15,” he said in the next dispatch. It was unclear who he meant had the rifle, and if it was something he saw or was told.

The chronology ends at 12:31 p.m. and police have refused to release the rest of the report, saying it could compromise the investigation. Blasingame did not respond to requests for comment.

Speaking of Uvalde.. did you hear about the Bandidos passing a hat at a drag race on Memorial Day and raising $20,000 for the victim’s families? 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EPj09dA-Pk0&feature=youtu.be

Of course you didn’t, but the media sure gushed over Meghan Markle paying a visit. The police are certainly not the only ones who stereotype and profile bikers with biased abandon. Their charity work and good deeds so often go unmentioned, but let one get in trouble and it’s blasted all over the AP like a slap from Will Smith. Rarely, if ever, will the media even revisit the situation to find out what truly happened or get a statement from the accused. 
 
Here’s a Witness Report: 

I was in the Don Carlos restaurant next door to Twin Peak the entire time, from the first bullet shot until the police said it was safe to leave. As me and a friend started to exit the building two swat style cops snuck up from behind shouting get down throwing us to the ground. I had turned my hoodie inside out during the event due to watching what happened to others outside by police, I didn’t want to get caught up or shot in the situation as you could imagine.

Don Carlos employees and customers apparently pointed the finger at us due me turning my red and gold hoodie inside out/ my friend was also wearing SYLB related gear. I told the officer I was inside the restaurant the entire time and had done nothing wrong at which point he added my friend and I to the line of bikers being detained.
 
We sat outside for an estimated hour when a van pulled up and I was asked to get in, when asked why I was told I’m going to jail. We went to the convention center to be questioned and was honest to the Lady whom questioned me. I told her I saw the officer react in what seemed less than 10 seconds and started shooting everyone followed by if they knew it was going to happen then why didn’t they stop the COC instead of the seek and destroy tactics I witnessed, isn’t it supposed to be protect and serve not seek and destroy?
 
Well that little interview got me a RICO related case, one month in jail and a million dollar bond. I have to say this entire bullshit unconstitutional chain of events is still stressing me to no end. I have an ankle monitor that cost $350 to install and another $250 a month.
 
I can’t work due to the County limit restrictions, most of my work is done outside my county line preventing me from working. I’ve added up the entire cost of being inside Don Carlos restaurant that day watching what unfolded, keep in mind I wasn’t outside during the shooting and hadn’t done anything but tell the interviewing person I watched the cops shooting like crazy killing people.
 
I’ve already spent $2500 in Bail, $10,000 to get my lawyer started and that’s just started, $350 to have the ankle monitor installed and $250 per month for services and I’m unable to work now. I was basically kidnapped by the Waco Police department for telling the truth about what I witnessed that day. If you ask my personal opinion the Waco Police Department just premeditated murder and jailed all that witnessed to keep them from talking, not to mention adding RICO related charges. 


-Eye Witness Testimony from a Waco Biker

The Bandidos always have maintained their innocence in the Twin Peaks tragedy.. and I for one, believe them. If they WERE wanting to pick a fight, they wouldn’t have done it at a COC meeting where there was dozens of Mom and Pop club members and innocent people having lunch. They released a statement shortly after the 2015 incident through biker attorney Stephen Stubbs, with their official statement on the whole ordeal.
The Bandido statement:

1) The Bandidos were at the Twin Peaks restaurant to attend an organized political meeting and nothing else. A regional meeting for the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents (a bona fide political organization centered on Constitutional rights) was scheduled, and a prominent member of the Bandidos was the key-note speaker at the meeting. This Bandido key-note speaker was to report on the National Coalition of Motorcyclist event that occurred weeks earlier. Because COCI members from across the state were expected to attend this special meeting, it was purposefully scheduled in Waco, TX, a central city between Austin and Dallas.

2) The Bandidos have no knowledge of any other meeting. The Bandidos are aware that members of other motorcycle clubs are claiming that there were plans to meet with the Bandidos in Waco, TX on May 17, 2015. This claim is not true.

3) All weapons in possession of members the Bandidos were legally owned and carried.

4) Members of the Bandidos were not aggressors, did not start the altercation, did not strike first, were not the first to pull weapons, and were not the first to use weapons. The majority of the Bandidos took cover, and all involvement in the altercation by members of the Bandidos was in self-defense. Texas law allows people to defend themselves with the same amount of force that is exerted against them, and a few members of the Bandidos acted in accordance with these laws. In fact, members of the Bandidos involved in the incident did not even have time or opportunity to get off of their motorcycles before police came in.

The Waco bikers were placed under a gag order after they were released from jail, but a few of them snuck me their statements.  After all that ruckus, nobody has really been convicted for anything that happened that day. I suppose it’s difficult to make anything stick when you arrest somebody for a hoodie, a sticker, a t-shirt, or a nail clipper. Unfortunately, nothing can change the damage they did to all those families, their lives, jobs, and reputations.
 
Anonymous Report 

We pulled up in the shopping center from the service road from I-35 and saw police vehicles. I know some have said that they did not notice many marked vehicles, and perhaps they entered from another area where they weren’t prevalent, but we saw at least 8-10 marked police SUV’s and the armored vehicle parked in the shopping center parking lot.

When we pulled into the Twin Peaks parking area, we looked for a spot to park and noticed a couple of Cossacks standing at the corner of the building towards where Don Carlos and the rest of the shopping center was.There was no parking available, so we ended up parking in the shopping center’s general parking area, between an area where many police cars were located.

When getting out of the car, I saw a line of about 8-10 bikes pulling into the parking lot from the same entrance that we had pulled into. We let them pass before crossing the driveway and made our way up the sidewalk between Don Carlos and Twin Peaks. When getting to where the sidewalk stopped and walking in the median between the two parking lots, I noticed the bikes had stopped in the middle of the drive, and there was a large group of Cossacks and others wearing their black and yellow patches, lined up at the edge of the parking area, blocking the parking spaces.

Not exactly sure what was happening, I continued to walk forward, and noted that the Cossacks were lined up and bunched up, and were about 3-4 people deep. There may have been 50 or more there.

The next thing I saw was shoving and punches started, with most Bandidos still on their bikes and the bikes still running. I noticed brass knuckles on at least one of the Cossacks up front. At least 6 immediately behind them started swinging some type of stick or expandable batons. And in the very back, I saw at least one Cossack, a bigger guy with short dark hair, holding a pistol of some type.

About that time, I heard two shots, and initially I thought they were the type you see on movies, where someone is trying to break up a fight by shooting into the air, but the report from the shot was short, like it was fired into someone.

I looked around to see who had shot, and then shooting started from inside the group and from behind me somewhere. I took cover behind one of the vehicles in the Don Carlos parking area, looking towards Twin Peaks to see if anyone was following to shoot. The bigger, dark haired Cossack with dark hair was running back and forth from the door to Twin Peaks and back towards the crowd.

I could not tell if he was firing his pistol due to all the shots ringing out at that point, but he had it pointed out towards the group. At that point, a group of police officers came up from the parking area with M4s or similar rifles with what looked like a suppressors on them, yelling at everyone to get on the ground. I complied, got prone on the ground, and they made their way forward.

Shots were coming from the front of Don Carlos also, so I tried to turn my body in a way I could see if anyone was coming from that area as well. Eventually the shooting stopped. The police came, frisked me, taking my knife and throwing it in a pile of other knives on the curb beside Don Carlos. I do not know how many knives and such were there, but they were all thrown in a pile, so cross contamination of evidence is extremely possible.

After being frisked, we were told to go sit in the parking area with our groups. We were then frisked again, placed in flex cuffs, loaded into vans, and transported to the Convention Center. One at a time, we were taken back to give a “witness statement.” We were then put back in the room and waited for information.

We were then all taken into another room in small groups, information was gathered on booking forms, and then we were taken to Mclennan County Jail and placed in holding cells. This happened around 4:00 a.m. They fingerprinted us, photographed us, and changed us into jumpsuits, without ever telling us what we were being arrested or detained for.

Then they moved us over to the Detention Center and put us into holding cells again. One at a time, they called us out and had us stand in front of this guy who they said was a magistrate, who told us we were under arrest for Conspiracy to Engage in Organized Criminal Activity, a First Degree Felony, and my bond was $1 million.

I asked why I was under arrest and why my bond was so high if I did nothing, no one could say I did do anything, and I had never been arrested, and he said that we could address that later. The time from when I was detained at the scene until I was told I was under arrest was around 18-20 hours.

At the scene, as well as at the convention center, I noticed officers wearing Mclennan County sheriff’s department identifiers, DPS uniforms, DEA jackets, ATF jackets, and of course Waco PD uniforms. There may have been others, but those I witnessed with my own eyes. Some were in plain clothes, with ballistic vests with the identifiers.

I had a pistol in my car. If I were going to cause a conflict, or if I were going somewhere knowing that it would be a dangerous situation, I would have carried my pistol with me. Why would I have left it in my car? It was a setup, but it surely was not one by Red and Gold. 

-Eye Witness Testimony from a Waco Biker

I commend the people who made “Ride Free or Die.” They are better journalists, better freedom fighters, than I am. I fell in love, I fell in hate, I fell, and I failed. After one year, I had to just walk away, but I will never forget them or what they endured. 
 
Thank God, there are people stronger than me who are still fighting. But I will always be awed by the resilience, the bravery, and the tenacity I witnessed in those Texans. I can still close my eyes and find myself in Austin or San Antonio or Longview. I saw one of the greatest men I have ever met raise the leg of his jeans and show me the ankle monitor, the skin on his ankle worn smooth like the skin under my wedding ring from wearing the monitor for months and months. 
 
I still feel the strength in a hug from Nawtee’s massive arms, and my heart still breaks at watching a man who is most assuredly not a criminal and hating the way his hands shook slightly as he put creamer in his coffee or noticing that he looked over his shoulder every time he stepped outside. 
 
I know that six years and hundreds of miles away I will never be the same. Names and faces and places from that time are fading fast, but sometimes I still visit them. I will order street tacos from town, and pour a glass of wine and turn on the playlist in my phone labeled ‘Texas.’ I close my eyes and light a cigarette and remember driving into a heavenly Austin sunrise to fight like hell for people who did nothing wrong, and every night, as I drift off to sleep, my hand curls around the cold .45 under my pillow, and my last thought before I dream, is always, God bless Texas. 
 
 
Another Anonymous Report:
 
Let’s see if I can give you a readers digest version of things. 1st off, I’m a veteran of the US Army, and damn proud. I was a volunteer EMT and Firefighter in Burnet county and Travis county. I left my job with the city of Austin to go to work as a contractor in Iraq. My army recruiter said I was too old and overweight to reenlist.

I made sure that our soldiers had hot showers, and flush toilets at FOB Falcon, Iraq. I also was in charge of septic type cleanups when necessary. I also checked each water entry point on post 2x daily to make sure we weren’t being poisoned. I was there to take care of our kids. I was injured a couple times. I’ve had 2 surgeries to try and repair my ankle, shrapnel pulled out of my back and 4 years of therapy for my PTSD, TBI, ADHA and whatever other letters they tried to tack on. 

My motorcycle kept me alive when I got home. I could ride, catch wind. It’s where I found peace. I joined BACA, that was awesome, then moved into the Big Kids world by joining an MC. I was part of the Texas Defenders before it became the US Defenders and damn proud of it. 

Our out of the area Club, was only approved this year. We didn’t get our patches sewn on until February. Our membership is made up of Soldiers, Marines, and a few who have the same soul as us. Five or our seven members went to the UCOA meeting in Waco.
Damn, we were excited to go to a restaurant that served mixed drinks, potato skins and wasn’t named after someone in our town. We saw cops in the area, thought it was weird, but we wanted to go eat at this restaurant. We knew there was some friction as we walked in. I’ve been in a war zone. I know the feel of hatred and anger, but we continued on past the not so friendly crowd. I didn’t know why they didn’t like us, but I damn sure knew they weren’t happy we were there, but this fat biker likes to eat, so we continued on towards the front door. 

Now of course you have to smoke a cigarrette before going in. I saw my friend Mohawk and went and showed respect and then hugged his neck. I found out that he had been killed after I got out of jail. Anyway, we are at the front door, fixing to go get me some damned potato skins when we heard a ruckus from around the corner. 

I saw no guns pulled, no knives, just folks walking towards the ruckus. Then we heard pop, pop, pop, small arms fire, maybe a 9mm. Then I heard the sound of bigger badder weapons, not handguns.

 
 The first pop, pop, pop, was my Clubs signal to get the hell away from trouble. As I said earlier, I have PTSD, and don’t care for gunfire that’s not at a gun range. We hauled ass around the back of the building and that’s when we saw LE coming in from every direction. 

They did not have their duty weapons out, they had what looked like weapons I trained with in the Army and saw soldiers carry in Iraq. Cops running towards us, with weapons pointed towards us yelling get down. I did an immediate belly flop. I looked up to see a friend of mine who was shot in the stomach, and it damn sure didn’t look like a 9mm injury. Y’all all know what happened next. We were herded like animals, ordered to hit the ground a couple more times.

I lost my job at the School district. I lost my belongings of course. I’m trying not to lose my mind because this triggered my PTSD. I lost my phone, lost my dignity, thankfully I didn’t lose my ol’ lady. She hung with me, so we are down to a one income home, can’t pay bills, don’t have internet. I borrow internet from various locations, and I can’t fall right back into a job.

I am not asking for a pity party, but I wanted my story to be out there, just in case something happens. Cops follow me all over the place constantly.

 -Eye Witness Testimony of a Waco Biker

Special thanks to the Bandido Nation for allowing me to write this. Love and Respect…. 
-Amy Irene White, the Wicked Bitch

The Wicked Bitch

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