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By Susan Buck

Topeka, Kansas, September 27-29, 2001?Patriotism was exemplified by 318 state motorcyclist rights organization members and activists at the 17th Annual Meeting of the Minds barely two weeks after the devastating attacks in New York City and Washington, DC.

Erwin Renette, president of Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations, offered ?In light of the tragic events on September 11, all I would like to do is express our deepest sympathy and condolences in name of FEMA and all the European riders rights organizations We understand in these difficult times, we stand in solidarity with you and we share your anger.? to rousing applause.

?We?re going to be covering the threats we face as motorcyclists, all the while understanding what we do is democracy in action?and what we do is business-as-totally-unusual, totally incredible?the exercise of freedom.? explained Tom Wyld, MRF?s VP for Government Relations at the opening session. In bikers rights, the focus has shifted from the legislative process to regulators?like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Wyld, a gifted speaker, was in excellent form:

?Americans and freedom-loving people around the world have a fight on our hands. I think it?s time we say let?s roll.

?Lady Liberty is bleeding, but she might be stronger for it. In this and every free nation, Lady Liberty doesn?t not fall from a single body blow to a building. Lady Liberty has emerged from the ashes of the Pentagon, Lady Liberty has emerged from the rubble in New York. But it?s the tiny cuts that drain Lady Liberty of life.

?As motorcyclists we know, because we bear the cuts. Environmental regulations would make Lady Liberty a criminal for staring at a motorcycle with a wrench in her hand, cutting her freedom. Safetycrats put a bucket on her head and bid her safe crashing, ignoring dangerous drivers who will cut her off and cut her down. And greedy insurance companies who will beat her to the ER and cut her benefits

?A pinprick here, and a cut there, and pretty soon Lady Liberty is bleeding on the side of the road. The MRF and all of you, state motorcycle rights organizations, have plans for Lady Liberty. It?s time to stop the bleeding, it?s time to stop the cuts. It?s time to stop the pricks.?

Riding Through Regulations

In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act passed Congress by staggering majority, preventing millions of Americans who ride motorcycles, horses, ATVs, snowmobiles, or ski, from being excluded from enrollment in employer-sponsored health care plans. HIPAA?s Interim Final Rules for Non-Discrimination in Health Care, released for public comment in early 2001, permit that such plans are not required to provide specific benefits.

The MRF, AMA and dozens of SMRO members made considerable lobbying efforts to address the rule?s obvious contradiction to the spirit of the law. ABATE of IL and WI each visited the Capitol twice and coalesced 70 members of Congress in protest. Yet the Depts. of Treasury, Labor, and H&HS affirmed these rules on May 9, 2001. Insurance companies can legally deny paying benefits for injuries?to enrolled employees?that occur during those legal activities, like a motorcycle accident. The justification is that mandated benefits will raise costs, resulting in fewer insured Americans.

Wayne Curtin, Manager of Government Affairs for Harley-Davidson, was on the team that worked to write and pass HIPPA, then as the MRF?s former VP for Government Relations. He compared this source of injury exclusion to qualifying coverage for pregnancy by position of conception.

Exclusions based on genetic predisposition are prohibited, but since habits are often predisposed, ways to exploit this are being considered. Evel Knievel like to ride, and jump, and often crashed. Like father, so does his son, Robbie. What happens if Robbie needs a new liver someday, too? The pending federal Patient?s Bill of Rights addresses disclosure of exclusions.

When a federal law or regulation denies a benefit guaranteed by the states, state law usually prevails?and can mandate insurers to provide benefits. The MRF and AMA are building a coalition of ?evidence of insurability groups? like skiers, snowmobilers and horse riders. That strategy that helped ABATE of Colorado successfully amend state law in 1997, making denial of medical benefits?based on participation in those activities?illegal. HIPPA can be overridden state by state, theoretically. However, even in what Wyld perceives as a favorable political climate, this is a David-and-Goliath battle against the multi-million dollar insurance lobby.

Riding With EPA

In December, 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new Federal emissions limits for highway and off-road motorcycles. They follow California?s Air Resource Board limits?about a third the hydrocarbons (HC) permitted in 49 other states. Highway bikes were excluded in a 9/01 revision, but a new EPA proposal for them is expected just after press time, in 10/01.

Limit values for one percent of the nation’s vehicles, responsible for six one thousandths of one percent of our air pollution could be cut output by two-thirds, even though the dirtiest highway motorcycles produced in 2001 emit less than half of current Federal limits.

During the required 60- or 90-day public comment period, ?We want every motorcyclist to comment,? Wyld said. ?That?s 12 million Americans who ride more than six million motorcycles.? He urged SMROs to prepare for a grassroots campaign and visits to Washington, DC. SMROs can also develop and circulate letters to be signed by their state Congressional delegations.

The MRF will involve small-volume makers, custom shops and the after market, and if necessary, seek the intervention of the federal Office of Management and Budget to quash the rule during the review process.

To meet CARB?s 2008 promulgation, technical modifications either impractical for bikes or not yet developed would be required. Currently, there are no Federal emissions limits for off-road vehicles. The industry faces a new battle or serious a re-inventing of the wheels, these CARB-like limits set in ?97, required dealers to negotiate an exemption for 2-stroke bikes. CA?s Red Sticker Program would require a Federal exemption to continue.

An Alternate Form Of Transportation

Most states don?t license horses, snowmobiles, or OHV like street bikes, which also reduce traffic and parking congestion. The passengers/mile ratio is 1.1 for cars and bikes, and bikes get more than twice the gas mileage. Longtime MRF member Vince Piacenti of Bosche, Inc. reminded, ?A motorcycle is not a recreational type vehicle any more than a car.? Throughout the discussion, other panelists like John Paliwoda, director of the California Motorcycle Dealers Association repeated, ?The justification isn?t there,? for these regulations.

Safety

NHTSA?s motorcycle safety improvement plan, issued 6/01 will only work by accident. Motorist awareness programs don?t become effective till fall 2004. Training programs don?t go into effect till 2005, the target date for a 5% reduction in fatalities. Traffic safety has been a more successful issue, via lots of small sentences put in large, omnibus transportation bills. Wyld credits Jan and Priest, lobbyists from AZ for reaching out to FHA to help establish a motorcycle advisory board to address hazardous crash barriers, guard rails, tar snakes. The new director of FHA, Mary Peters is a motorcyclist, about which the AMA and MRF are pleased. The state of Washington became the first to pass a vehicular assault bill, making it a felony to injure or kill a motorcyclist, bicyclist or pedestrian.

Smoke Across The Pond

Bob Tomlins, Assistant General Secretary of Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations, brought disturbing developments from Geneva. The EU has promulgated stricter-than-CARB limits for bikes in similar stages. ?What we?ve realized in the current round of proposals coming from the European Commission is the test cycle is even more important than the reduction in limit values.? said Tomlins.

The current test cycle, known as EU40, remains effective through EuroII in 2003, (less than EPA Tier 1-2004 limits). The EU has proposed changing to the Modified European Car Test Cycle for Euro III in 2006, but the Association des Constructeurs European de Motorcycles favored the new World Motorcycle Test Cycle, which FEMA supported. At a September 20th meeting with the European Union, ACEM pressed for the MECTC, citing unforeseen technical difficulties with the WMCTC.

Euro III limits are also nearly half of Euro II limits. Changing the test changes the results, so ?We, the riders, developed a strategy which sought to have the World Motorcycle Test Cycle introduced for Euro III and have its inherent reduction calculated within the proposed Euro III reductions over Euro II, which could be quantified and correlated.? said Tomlins. The emissions rule will largely determine future motorcycle designs, and the progress of other World Motorcycle standards, still being developed by a United Nations committee on which Tomlins serves.

As of this conference, FEMA, MRF and AMA have formally coalesced to represent all riders on global harmonization issues in Geneva. Tomlins will serve as representative.

A Civics Course For Bikers

Workshops at MOTM review the lawmaking process from a clean sheet of paper to the governor?s signature. Who remembers the structure of government and every level at which you have access? The internal workings an SMRO, dealing government and media, and one just for arguing against helmet laws round out things. The MRF White papers, a collection of well-researched articles, will be archived?and hereafter, published?on-line only. Regular updates are available by e-mail.

Rod Taylor, an attorney with ABATE Legal Services of IL, IN, KY and OH, shared president Lyndon Johnson?s philosophy about teamwork. Johnson, a democrat, appointed a Republican to his cabinet explaining, ?It?s better to have them inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.?

The weekend?s other running jokes included counting the hours Teri Stobs, of ABATE of IL had been the MRF?s newest director of communications. Also, ?If you can?t hear me, make barnyard sounds,? started by MRF President Tom Pauley testing a microphone. Stobs thoughtfully provided a quacking stuffed duck on cue. Pauley, otherwise a subtle presence, wisely handed out the organizational awards at the beginning of the first general session, making recipients stand a little taller and adding a jolt of energy to the room.

Overall, however, there was less humor and more serious exchange of information and strategy than at any previous conference, despite the cameraderie and availability of refreshments, supplied by ABATE of Kansas. Great idea: a ?Strut Your Stuff? table, in the center of the hotel?s atrium for free exchange of newsletters, stickers, etc. among many of the 37 state groups present.

A generation of motorcyclists is graying, and will eventually retire from riding. The generation behind the baby boomers, today?s 35-45 year-olds, is a smaller population. And if manufacturers continue draping bikini-clad eye candy over their wares, the full market potential of female riders will not be realized. The motorcycle industry, indeed the entire vehicle industry, will at best plateau, and at worst, fall into recession, in the US, at least.

The coming lean years will give manufacturers a chance to reinvent bikes to meet the coming global government regulations and next generation?s as-yet-undefined expectations. Certainly, it won?t be Marlon Brando, or Mad Max. The rest of us who ride will either become a whole new breed of rebel, or go the way of the dinosaurs.

Mark Buckner, former president of MRF, now with ABATE of CO, and its PAC.

Sound files of most of MOTM 2001 are archived at http://www.inbradio.com/mrf/motm2001/

Motorcycle Riders Foundation www.mrf.org,American Motorcyclist Association www.ama-cycle.com

NHTSA Motorcycle Safety Improvement Plan http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/motorcycle/motorcycleimprovement.html

2001 Motorcycle [Emissions] Summary Report http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/veh-cert/cert-tst/01m.txt

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking-Control of Emissions from.Motorcycleshttp://www.epa.gov/otaq/roadbike.htm

Hey,

On Halloween the Glasgow Climate Conference will kick off with Mother Nature disguised as an SUV. And there will be large rooms full of folks claiming Doomsday. Here are the simple facts from the co2Coalition. Check it out.

If this wasn’t ridiculous, it would actually be funny. How many doomsdays have we experienced in history. Just 100 percent of them were wrong.

I wonder if we sit down with a one-eyed, witchy woman who reads tea leaves for wide-eyed predictions. Would she say as the candle mysteriously blows out on her floating table, “This is Hitler’s birthday and all the evil, control freak ghosts have reemerged to take over the world again.” Hang on, 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.

FUEL CLEVELAND ACTION, BE THERE BE THERE, BE THERE–It’s nearly time. Fuel Cleveland is happening next weekend.

Fuel Cleveland takes place Saturday, November 6th, 2021.
There are hangouts, shindigs, parties and goings-on happening all weekend.
Stay in the know as to the schedule, address and such here. See you soon!
FUEL CLE INFO
Looking for more fun to be had while in Cleveland? We’ve got you covered…

The Crawford Auto and Aviation Museum in Cleveland has a killer display going, “Year Of The Motorcycle”, on loan from the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama.
In addition to the motorcycle exhibit they have a really cool collection of cars, trucks and planes! We highly recommend a visit. For more info check out the Crawford Museum website.

–Lowbrow Crew

FEMA NEWS FROM THE EUROPEAN FRONT– UK: ‘Tampering With A Motorcycle’s Environmental Performance Will Be Illegal’– British bikers were alarmed by the suggestion that the government wanted to introduce measures that would stop motorcycle customization.

These anti-tampering proposals have generated huge concern among motorcyclists that motorcycle modification would be rendered illegal.

To find out the truth about these alleged measures, representatives of motorcyclists’ organizations met with officials from the Department for Transport.

Controversial plans for vehicle anti-tampering regulations were the subject of a high-level meeting between a delegation from the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) and officials from the Department for Transport (DfT). The anti-tampering proposals have been put forward in the British Government’s Future of Transport Regulatory Review Consultation: Modernizing Vehicle Standards. Proposed ‘anti-tampering’ regulations are aimed at environmental performance and speed ‘defeat devices’ on new electric vehicles, but regulations are still set to impact emissions modifications of petrol motorcycles.

The proposals aim to create new offences for ‘tampering with a system, part or component of a vehicle intended or adapted for use on the road’. This would specifically outlaw advertising, supplying or installing a ‘tampering product’ and create an offence for removing or reducing the effectiveness of, or rendering inoperative a system, part or component of a vehicle.

These anti-tampering proposals would impact not only motorcycle riders, but also the thousands of accessory and component businesses which serve a thriving market in motorcycle adaptation and customization.

‘It is not the government’s intention to stop motorcycle customization, modification and adaptation where this does not relate to the environmental performance or design speed of a motorcycle.’

The meeting,with the DfT was attended by Craig Carey-Clinch (National Motorcyclists Council, NMC, Anna Zee (British Motorcyclists Federation, BMF) and Colin Brown (Motorcycle Action Group, MAG). Both BMF and MAG are members of FEMA.

The DfT immediately confirmed that it is not the government’s intention to stop motorcycle customization, modification and adaptation where this does not relate to the environmental performance or design speed of a motorcycle.

The proposals are instead aimed at ensuring the motorcycles can no longer be legally modified to generate more pollution and in the case of electric motorcycles, cannot have software changes made to increase speed. In this area, the proposals have been inspired by the practice of modifying electric bicycles and e-scooters to make them faster and more powerful.

The practice of using non-OEM parts (Original Equipment Manufacturer part) will not be stopped, as long as these do not degrade the specified environmental performance of a bike. Modifications that improve this performance are still planned to be possible. The DfT quickly acknowledged that the consultation was not worded precisely enough and that more could have been said with regard to the specific areas of concern when it comes to ‘tampering’. The Department confirmed that it had received a huge postbag on the subject.

Although the NMC has successfully gained clarification about the scope of the anti-tampering proposals, many concerns remain about unintended consequences of the proposed regulations as they apply to existing and older motorcycles, how the regulations will be applied and the scope of what will be covered. The DfT acknowledge these concerns and have agreed that the NMC will be able to input to the development of any new regulations after the consultation period has finished.

Engine modifications often improve how a bike runs and the freedom to be able to make these changes must remain. But it does seem clear that in the drive to reduce vehicle emissions and to decarbonize all vehicle types, at the very least, modifications that lead to increased emissions from petrol motorcycles and cars are likely to be outlawed.”

Written by Wim Taal

Source: NMC

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tanya Tucker’s Cosa Salvaje Tequila has customized an exclusive signature pink bottle to honor and support breast cancer survivors year-round as the tequila brand partners with the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition. Tucker has always been an advocate for women’s health issues and will be donating a portion of the proceeds from all of the signature pink bottles made.

“I’m so very proud to be partnering with the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition. All my life I’ve worked hard to perfect the gift I was given – it’s always a challenge. But nothing compared to the struggles these women have every day, fighting to live, stay with their families and care for their children. To be there as they grow and to help guide them through their lives. I want to help them DO that! I want to be a part of finding a cure. I hope that every sip brings us closer to that glorious day when the suffering halts and the living begins. Together we can win!” Tanya shared about the partnership.

Cosa Salvaje has customized their signature pink tequila bottles with a black leather strap bearing an embossed pink ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each bottle is embellished with a quote from Tucker that reads, “This bottle is dedicated to all the women fighting breast cancer. Together…we can win!”

“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we look forward to working with Tanya to bring awareness to the financial difficulties associated with a diagnosis of breast cancer. 65 percent of Americans list unexpected medical expenses as their top financial concern and healthcare-related costs cause bankruptcy every 30 seconds. The financial burden of breast cancer is real and not just in October,” shared Executive Director of the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition, Jami Wright Eller.

“Tanya and I both believe that if we all do our part, big or small, we will be able to help conquer breast cancer. Being involved with the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition makes us feel like we are one step closer,” CEO/Founder of Cosa Salvaje, Elle France said.

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE PARTNERS WITH VETERANS’ CHARITY RIDE ON
MILITARY-THEMED ‘HONORING HEROES’ CLOTHING COLLECTION–100% of Proceeds to Benefit Non-Profit Military Organization & Fund Veteran Rehab Efforts

Indian Motorcycle, America’s First Motorcycle Company, today announced the release of an all-new, military-themed clothing collection where 100% of its proceeds will benefit the Veterans Charity Ride (VCR) and its veteran rehab efforts. The Indian Motorcycle ‘Honoring Heroes’ collection was designed to recognize and support those who have served in the United States Military, while at the same time providing resources for post-war veterans rehabilitating within the VCR program.

With eight pieces, the Indian Motorcycle Honoring Heroes collection features military-inspired casualwear for both men and women. The men’s line includes a Khaki Contrast-Sleeve T-Shirt, a Khaki Icon Long-Sleeve T-Shirt, and a Khaki Camo Hoodie. For women, the Honoring Heroes collection includes a Khaki Contrast-Sleeve with three-quarter, baseball-style sleeves, a Khaki Icon Long-Sleeve T-Shirt and a Khaki Camo Hoodie. A Khaki Icon Beanie and Khaki Camo Snapback Cap complete the exclusive collection.

Created by veteran Army Paratrooper Dave Frey, VCR leverages the therapeutic effects of motorcycle riding to create an adventure of a lifetime for wounded and amputee combat veterans adjusting to post-war life. Each year VCR hosts 15-to-20 veterans on a therapeutic ride from the Southwest to the legendary Sturgis Bike Week®. The 10-to-14-day adventure allows participating veterans the opportunity to push towards conquering their post-war challenges while out on the open road. Throughout the trip, veterans conduct team-building exercises that allow riders to share their service experience during the emotional and mind-detoxing motorcycle ride.

The Indian Motorcycle Honoring Heroes collection is available now at select Indian Motorcycle dealers around the country. To learn more about the collection visit the Indian Motorcycle Outpost. To support the Veterans Charity Ride, donate, or to learn more visit VeteransCharityRide.org. Riders can also follow along on Indian Motorcycle’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

THE HARLEY 3RD QUARTER REPORT–Harley’s pivot to high-margin bikes delivers profit, revenue beat

NEWS FLASH FROM ECOSENSE–Shareholder divestment campaigns caused oil and gas shortages, a return to coal, and higher emissions

Over the last decade, climate activists have successfully pressured governments, banks, and corporations to divest from oil and natural gas companies. At first such efforts appeared to be strictly symbolic. But in recent years climate activists succeeded in driving public and private investment away from oil and gas exploration and toward renewables. The result is the worst energy crisis in 50 years.

Under-investment in oil and gas exploration is not the only cause of today’s energy crisis. The economic comeback from the covid pandemic has pushed up demand. Lack of wind in Europe meant higher demand for both natural gas and coal. And a drought in Brazil meant it had to import natural gas.

But the main cause of energy shortages is the half-decade-long under-investment in oil and gas driven by climate concerns.

“ESG [environmental, social, and governance] considerations account for much of the decline in capital expenditure by international oil companies in recent years,” notes The Financial Times today, “and the investor exodus out of oil and gas markets.” Bloomberg agrees, noting that “the market is now fixated on climate change and the dwindling appetite to invest in fossil fuels.”

China, India, the U.S., East Asia, and Europe are all mining and burning more coal to make up for the lack of natural gas. China’s government recently waived environmental safeguards on coal mining. China imposed rolling blackouts due to energy shortages while India narrowly avoided them.

Normally, the anticipation of higher oil and gas demand causes firms to increase investment in exploration. That hasn’t happened. The main reason, according to Goldman Sachs, is climate activist pressure on governments, firms, and banks to divest from oil and gas exploration.

Oil and gas exploration investments declined by half between 2011 and 2021, notes The Financial Times. New oilfield discoveries fell to historic lows between 2016 and 2020, not due to lack of oil, but lack of investment in exploration. Today firms are spending 25 percent less than they need to hold oil production steady.

The result of successful climate activism is, paradoxically, rising coal use and carbon emissions. That’s because electricity produced from natural gas produces about half of the emissions of coal.

Some of us warned that climate activist efforts against natural gas would backfire. Eight years ago, I defended fracking for making natural gas cheaper than coal. Reducing natural gas exploration would make gas more expensive, I argued, and delay the transition away from coal.

Some worry that cheap oil increases its use, but petroleum use is highly inelastic, since our cars and trucks rely on it. Little oil is burned for electricity production, and natural gas is required to balance at the intermittency of solar and wind.

The proof is in the data. Fossil fuels’ share of global energy production remain unchanged at 84 percent since 1980. To the extent emissions in Europe and the US declined, it was largely due to the transition from coal to natural gas.

As a result of successful activist pressure, governments and investors have punished oil and gas companies. When an oil and gas exploration firm, EOG Resources, announced in February that it intended to expand output, its share price dropped more than any other company on the S&P 500. Naturally, American oil and gas firms have since refused to expand production, even as prices have risen.

Social responsible investing is decades old, but ESG was embraced over the last decade by large university endowments, investment banks like Blackrock, governments, the International Energy Agency, the United Nations and eventually by oil and gas companies themselves, including Shell, Total, and many others. In May, a court in The Netherlands ordered Shell to reduce its emissions, a ruling that made firms reluctant to invest in new oil and gas exploration.

It’s not like oil and gas executives didn’t know that underinvestment would lead to today’s price shocks. It’s that they were ignored. When the former CEO of Exxon, Lee Raymond, was asked what kept him up at night he said, simply, “Reserve replacement.” Shareholders had demanded he stop investing. In 2020, under pressure from climate activists, JPMorgan Chase, America’s largest investment bank, removed Raymond from his role as the board’s lead independent director.

Part of the problem is that neither corporations nor governments are taking the right actions. Some are going in the wrong direction. The U.S. Congress appears close to approving a deal to pour $500 billion into renewables and its enabling infrastructure over the next decade. Those taxpayer subsidies could further reduce the incentive for private firms to invest in oil and gas. Even if they don’t, the Biden administration has moved to restrict oil and gas drilling on public lands.

Meanwhile, even in the middle of the global energy crisis, the United Nations and the International Energy Agency (IEA), funded by developed nations, are putting pressure on nations to reduce oil and gas investments even more than they already have.

But high oil and gas prices will create political problems for governments as they worsen inflation. And prices are likely to remain high for years not months.

“Today, investment in fossil fuel is vilified and financing has become sparse as big western banks withdraw,” notes The Financial Times. “Due to long lead times between investment and supplies, we are yet to see the full impact of this slowdown in spending on conventional oil and gas production. In other words, supplies will continue to lag behind demand for the next few years.”

As a result, even as the Biden administration prepares to promote its heavy investments in renewables in preparation for United Nations climate change talks in Scotland, it is also pressuring OPEC to increase oil production.

–Michael Shellenberger

LONE STAR RALLY NEWS–From the same people that have brought you the Search for Miss Lone Star Rally for the last 15 years, Outlaw Dave Productions is excited to be hosting the Annual Search for Miss Lone Star Rally. A premiere bikini spokesmodel contest along the Gulf Coast, Miss Lone Star Rally this year coincides with the 20th Anniversary of this motorcycle rally that sees over 400,000 attendees annually.

This annual search, sponsored by Nitrilis Health, is conducting preliminary events at motorcycle destinations and Harley-Davidson dealers throughout the month of October in Southeast Texas. Ladies from the Gulf Coast will vie for this coveted title and their share of the $10,000 cash we award.

Interested contestants should contact 1st Class Models (218) 451-6793

Schedule

QUALIFYING PRELIMS:

Sunday, October 24 at 6 pm
? Voodoo Hut in Kemah
Saturday October 30 at 12 pm
? Mancuso Crossroads
FINALS: Saturday Nov 6 Saengerfest Plaza

Party on VIP Balconies with 2021 VIP Packages!

BRAND NEW Bikernet Reader Comment–THE LAST CROCKER EVER BUILT

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

‘The motorcyclist’ 1936 magazine stated 12 bikes were pre ordered for the year. The 1938 advert stated “manufactured in limited production.” The 1939 Big tank advert stated “manufactured in limited production.”

All bikes were by advance order ONLY, and no dealerships. The Oct 1940 Motorcyclist mag debuted the ‘Scootabout’ after production of the V twin ended.

Paul Bigsby left the factory in 1941 and Gene Rhyne soon after. It has already been documented that Ernie Skelton made patterns for Crockers in 1968.

Harry Sucher wrote in ‘The Antique motorcycle’ vol 10 #3 1971. The Crocker Register was fabricated by Skelton and Chuck V. There are no previous owners for most of the bikes listed and most of them use HD XA-705, 706 rods and flat head pistons, do the math 3-5/16″ or 3-7/16″ by 3-5/8″, 4-1/8″ or 4-5/8″ stroke.

https://www.google.co.nz/books/edition/WALNECK_S_CLASSIC_CYCLE_TRADER_JULY_1991/ZX1HwpLo5AgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=scootabout&pg=PA35&printsec=frontcover

–Strickland
New Zealand

INFAMOUS SMOKE OUT RALLY Is Headed Back to Salisbury For ’22

After reaching a deal between Flat Black Productions and The Source Media Group, the two-decade-long Smoke Out Rally will not only come back for 2022 but will return to the original Salisbury location at the Rowan County Fairgrounds.

Slated for September 9 & 10, 2022, the long-standing traditions of Smoke Out will not change. Everything that attendees have come to expect over the years, from the mini bike racing to the chopper show, is still intact. Some additions will be the Legacy Invitational that features original SmokeOut Builders in a 100-foot air-conditioned exhibition hall alongside one legacy builder that is a newcomer to the Smoke Out traditions. Already confirmed are Billy Lane, Paul Cox, Jeff Cochran, Bill Dodge, Donny Loos, Pat Patterson, and Steve Broyles, to name just a few.

Also new for 2022 is their charitable component titled “Tankful.” Which will raise money through an auction of custom-painted motorcycle tank wall art. In conjunction with Ed Kerr and the Hamsters USA®, some of the top industry paint slingers will throw down their best on a half shell provided by Paughco. All tanks will be on display throughout the Smoke Out Rally in the Legends Gallery. After the rally is over, the tanks will be auctioned off. All the proceeds will go towards the “Meals On Wheels” program in Rowan County and Spearfish, South Dakota.

While other details like the band lineup and some additional bike show info are yet to come, the big news is that Smoke Out is back. It’s in a better time of year and is headed back to the place of its former glory. Stay tuned to the @smokeoutrally on Instagram, Facebook, and of course, smokeoutrally.com for more info.

BIKERNET UNIVERSITY MARKETING CLASS—
My personal view on Logo for any Company or Brand. –

1. Think of any of the big companies or brands that come to your mind when you think of a particular product for a particular need and which you like –
– Example: For a Motorcycle, For a Car, For a TV Channel, For an Online Selling Website, For a Bank, etc

2. Now, do people instantly remember that Logo – a symbol – after having seen it just once?
– Why ?
– Because it is simple, clean, very limited in color and artwork, etc.

3. If there was a very complicated looking but also very beautiful intricate artwork being used by a Brand or Company as their Logo – would the customers out there be able to remember it to associate it with the Name of the Product ?

– if they find it difficult to describe a particular logo to others (example, lady asking a salesman at Walmart for a particular grocery item)

– or difficult to Recall a particular Brand Name because of association with its logo when they want to buy a particular product

– most likely they won’t remember the name of the company / brand / website, etc.

4. Memory works better with Symbols – hence people remember a brand name when they remember a Logo

– which is why Logo are Registered as Trademarks by Companies.

5. Look at iconic products recognised globally – simply recognised by their Logo – a symbol for a product they admire –

– “Bar and Shield ?” – Harley-Davidson
– BMW
– iconic half-bitten Apple logo of Mac and iPhone company
– Nike
– even CNN or BBC
– Amazon.com with the smiley underneath the word going from A to Z of that word, saying people can buy anything with best service through Amazon

6. Simplicity is more difficult and more artistic than intricate artwork.

– The “Two Fingers Not Touching” is the Most Remembered Part of the detailed intricate beautiful painting by Michelangelo in Sistine Chapel called The Creation of Adam, portraying the creation of mankind by God.

– but of course bikers pay lot of money for painting intricate artwork on their motorcycles.

– That’s a different concept of “Customization” (personalized) compared to Company Logo.

–Professor Wayfarer Phd.

[page break]

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

Try to continue to travel the roads that have been paved by our fore fathers. I have traveled many miles across the 7 western states alone and with Brothers. This piece of American history your speaking of rears its head once in a blue moon, although more-so when traveling alone or it may just be the side effects of the peyote.

Needless to say, losing oneself on the road is where you find oneself. Reminder, you’re Never really lost. Ya, just have been there before.

–Larry D Petrie
chopngrind66@gmail.com
The Zoo, CA

ARTICLE TITLE OF THE WEEK–there are now breakfast experts. journalists can find an expert for anything. except the truth.

–J.J. Solari
Media Specialists
Bikernet.com™

UBER MYTH EXPOSED–Piece by piece, the mythology around ride-sharing is falling apart. Uber and Lyft promised ubiquitous self-driving cars as soon as this year. They promised an end to private car ownership. They promised to reduce congestion in the largest cities. They promised consistently affordable rides. They promised to boost public transit use. They promised profitable business models. They promised a surfeit of well-paying jobs. Heck, they even promised flying cars.

Well, none of that has gone as promised (but more about that later). Now a new study is punching a hole in another of Uber and Lyft’s promised benefits: curtailing pollution. The companies have long insisted their services are a boon to the environment in part because they reduce the need for short trips, can pool riders heading in roughly the same direction and cut unnecessary miles by, for instance, eliminating the need to look for street parking.

It turns out Uber rides do spare the air from the high amount of pollutants emitted from starting up a cold vehicle, when it is operating less efficiently, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University found. But that gain is wiped out by the need for drivers to circle around waiting for or fetching their next passenger, known as deadheading. Deadheading, Lyft and Uber estimated in 2019, is equal to about 40% of ride-share miles driven in six American cities. The researchers at Carnegie Mellon estimated that driving without a passenger leads to a roughly 20% overall increase in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions compared to trips made by personal vehicles.

The researchers also found switching from a private car to on-demand rides, like an Uber or Lyft, increased the external costs of a typical trip by 30%-35%, or roughly 35 cents on average, because of the added congestion, collisions and noise from ride-sharing services. “This burden is not carried by the individual user, but rather impacts the surrounding community,” reads a summary of the research conducted by Jacob Ward, Jeremy Michalek and Constantine Samaras. “Society as a whole currently shoulders these external costs in the form of increased mortality risks, damage to vehicles and infrastructure, climate impacts and increased traffic congestion.”

But as Lyft would have it, “By using Lyft to share rides, passengers are helping to reduce the carbon footprint left by our country’s dominant mode of transportation — driving alone.” That’s what the friendly Uber alternative claimed way back in 2016.

So what about all those other pledges? They’ve proved to be just as illusory.

Take urban congestion. Uber and Lyft envisioned a future in which software algorithms would push each car to host three or more passengers, easing traffic and providing a complement to public transit options. Instead, passengers have largely eschewed pooled rides and public transit in favor of private trips, leading to downtown bottlenecks in cities like San Francisco. The duration of traffic jams increased by nearly 5% in urban areas since Uber and Lyft moved in.

Lyft’s president, John Zimmer, once claimed the majority of rides would be in autonomous vehicles by 2021, but the company has largely backed away from its self-driving efforts, including selling its developmental unit to a Toyota subsidiary this year. Uber, which once characterized robot cars as “existential” to its future, sold off its autonomous vehicle division last year after mounting safety and cost concerns.

The efficiencies of ride hailing were supposed to all but end car ownership; instead vehicle sales are on the rise again this year, after a down year in 2020. There is also evidence that Uber and Lyft may actually spur an increase in car sales in cities where they begin operating.

Public-transit use in some areas, despite the companies’ claims, has been waning, according to several studies, as more consumers opt to jump in Ubers and Lyfts that drive them door to door. That was before the COVID pandemic spooked users into staying away from crowded subway cars and buses.

Underwritten by venture capital, Uber and Lyft hooked users by offering artificially cheap rides that often undercut traditional yellow cabs. But labor shortages and a desperate need to find some path to a profitable future have caused ride-share prices to skyrocket, perhaps to a more rational level.

After burning through billions of venture capital dollars, Uber said it was on a path to profitability last year, using an accounting metric that ignores many of the costs that actually make it unprofitable. By the same measure, chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi is projecting this quarter could be profitable. That remains to be seen. Sure, the pandemic had an outsize impact on ride-sharing, but even though food delivery helped prop up Uber’s results, the company still lost a staggering $6.8 billion last year, following $8.5 billion in 2019 losses, in supposedly better times. Lyft hasn’t fared much better, racking up $4.4 billion in combined losses over the same period.

Despite the hype for the companies’ stock market debuts, some Lyft investors are still underwater more than two years later, while Uber stockholders have eked out meager gains. Hardly winning business models.

It is tempting to chalk much of this up to marketing and typical corporate chest thumping. But the companies skirted laws for years to help drive growth and along the way have made drivers pawns in their race to the bottom. Displeased by a California law that would grant drivers employment status and guaranteed benefits, Uber and Lyft teamed up with DoorDash and other gig companies. They forked over more than $200 million to back a ballot measure that all but ensured thousands of workers would never gain the dignity of a consistent living wage — ostensibly to help safeguard the company’s not-quite-thriving business models. (A state judge has called the law unconstitutional.)

Now, despite the cynicism of the California fight, Lyft and Uber are trying to foist a similar law upon Massachusetts with the promise of “historic new benefits” for “app-based ride-share and delivery drivers.” Voters shouldn’t fall for it.

The companies are correct that they offer a useful service, including food delivery to the homebound, an alternative to drunken driving and access to transportation in underserved areas. But after years of bluster, it’s hard to believe them about much else.

–By Greg Bensinger, New York Times

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

–from the NMA

When will they publish a lead article on the myths behind Climate Doom? It’s coming.

–Bandit

DVLA set to make changes to car and motorcycle tests to help people pass first time
By Gemma Jones and Christopher Harper

The changes will affect automatic drivers and motorcycle users

The DVLA has composed new plans for motorcycles and automatic car drivers.

The proposed changes plan to allow drivers of automatic cars to also drive a manual vehicle and for motorcyclists to take their tests on a bike with a lower sized engine.

Amendments have been recommended to Parliament to simplify passing tests, as reported by Birmingham Live.

Automatic drivers will soon be able to also drive a manual vehicle as long as they can already drive a manual vehicle in another category.

The changes will effect the car and trailer (B+E) category, medium-sized lorry (C1) and its trailer towing equivalent (C1+E) and the minibus (D1) and its trailer towing equivalent (D1+E).

The Licensing Agency stated that the statutory instrument is to: “Permit drivers who passed certain driving tests using a vehicle with automatic transmission to acquire the manual entitlement for that sub-category, provided that they already hold a manual licence for another category, such as a car.”

They added: “This brings licence upgrades for sub-categories, including the car and trailer combination, medium-sized lorries and minibuses, together with their trailer towing entitlements, into line with the full lorry and bus or coach categories.”

Motorcyclists will be able to do their tests on bikes with a smaller engine, allowing engine sizes that are as low as 245cc.

The purpose of this is to allow motorcyclists to use a bike in their test that they are “more comfortable and confident riding.”

The changes are believed to allow riders to have a better chance of passing their test first time.

A spokesperson for the DVLA said the changes are needed because: “The government is modernising the regulations in light of developments in engine technology.

“Especially the trend towards electric vehicles, which almost always have automatic or semi-automatic transmission, and the increasing power produced by relatively small motorcycle engines.

“These are sensible and pragmatic changes and received widespread support when a public consultation was held.”

SOURCE: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/dvla-set-make-changes-car-21940463

LIFESTYLE CYCLES DEAL OF THE WEEK— 2014 Harley-Davidson® FLHXS – Street Glide® Specialfor $18,995.00

see it here: https://www.lifestylecycles.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=10634942

This bike is a sharp looking bike check out the Rims

ONLY 25119.00 Miles !!!!!

2014 Pearl white Harley-Davidson STREET GLIDE SPECIAL FLHXS

Some of the features/Add-on’s on this bike

* 103c.i. Motor
* 6-Speed trans
* CV exhaust
* Matching custom Front and rear wheels
* Custom kickstand
* Detachable touring pack

This bike has passed Lifestyle Cycles rigorous 92 point safety and mechanical/structural inspection. Whether your looking to commute to work, ride the coast or take that dream vacation, this bike is ready to go!!!

EZ FINANCING-SHIPPING AVAILABLE!!!

Fill out an online application and ride today!!!

**Open 7 days a week**

Just $18,995.00 at Lifestyle Cycles (714) 490-0155

NEW FROM RMJ—The Range 37 Kestrels are in stock!
The Range 37 Kestrel Spike and Hammer Poll models are forged in the RMJ custom shop by Reid Carmack. Forging allows a custom look at feel, each one has it’s own marks and character that set them aside from production tomahawks.

The head features a 2.5″ hand ground main cutting edge on both the spike and hammer poll. The spike model features a 2.75″ distal tapered, sharpened spike, and the hammer poll model has a very useful hammer end. The handles are wrapped with hemp cord and lacquered for durability. Each tomahawk is hand stamped with custom maker marks, and feature our Fire Scale finish.

The Range 37 Kestrel’s includes a Chattanooga Leatherworks Edge Scabbard and Wilderness Carry Baldric ring that will allow for belt carry or attachment to PALS webbing with the included MOLLE straps, as well as a cherry presentation box.

Please note: Each tomahawk is hand forged and finished, with unique hammering marks and finishes. Specifications will vary slightly due to the handmade nature of this item.

Specifications:
Head Length: Spike 6″, Hammer Poll 4 3/8″
Overall Height: 12.5″
Forward Cutting Edge Length: 2.5″
Blade Thickness: .375″
Weight: 1 pound 6 ounces (without sheath)
Blade Material: 80CRV2 Carbon Steel

Jack loves to photograph girls and he wasn’t about to turn the Country Girl down. Check her out in the Cantina.

–Bandit

QUICK, New Bikernet Reader Comment!–THE NUTS BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for October 21, 2021

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/THE_NUTS_BIKERNET_WEEKLY_NEWS_for_October_21_2021.aspx

As for VA, for years I have asked about my skin condition that VA says is agent orange. My VA dr. will not call it that. He calls it the stuff they sprayed that won’t hurt you.

A final observation, look at how Hitler took over a country and denied free speech. Seems the dems did, but they have not been able to disarm us. It’s time to go for a ride on the Pan and clear my head. ride safe!

— A.J.
Deland, FL

20th Anniversary of LONE STAR RALLY Rolls into Galveston Island Nov 4th – 7th

Four days of tailpipe thunder, motorcycle magic, live entertainment, and vendors.

Galveston Island (Oct. 26, 2021) – After a pandemic hiatus, the Lone Star Rally returns to Galveston Island from November 4 to 7, 2021. Known as the nation’s largest four-day motorcycle event, hundreds of thousands of people from around the country come to marvel at the glorious work of man and machine – primarily of the two-wheeled kind.

“Motorcycle enthusiasts are anxious to get back on their bikes and the Lone Star Rally is happy to have them with a plethora of open-air events covering a wide territory on the island,” said NAME.

The jam-packed weekend of mostly free, outdoor events begins Thursday, November 4 at noon with live music concerts day on two stages. Vendors selling everything from chopper trailers to saddlebags, leather jackets, clothing and jewelry, custom bike painting, parts and accessories of all kinds, line the streets of downtown Galveston and stationed along the Seawall from 21st to 25th St. and around the Beach Central Park events area at 21st and Seawall.

Good causes and good times return with The Miss Lone Star Rally contest, hosted by legendary Houston rock-radio personality, Outlaw Dave, where 2019’s winner will crown a new queen Saturday night at Sangerfest Park. Outlaw Dave’s Annual Ranch Ride benefiting the Stevens & Pruett Ranch for Children and Animals takes place on Saturday beginning at Stubb’s Harley Davidson in Houston at 8:30 a.m.

A family-friendly, patriotic atmosphere has always been a big part of Lone Star Rally and this year is no exception with a special appearance by Lee Greenwood singing God Bless The USA (Proud To Be An American) on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Sangerfest Park. Greenwood will also make a personal appearance on Saturday giving support to veterans through his Soldier Valley Spirits line of beverages that includes Whiskey, Vodka, and Bourbon. Greenwood will sign bottles and proceeds will go to veterans.

The weekend presents a full slate of rock, country and tribute bands on both the main stage at Sangerfest Park and the Beach Central Stage at 21st and Seawall. Bike events such as the Rodeo Games, Performance Bike Show, the Sound Off Competition and Custom Bike Show will also entertain throughout the weekend.

Visit www.lonestarrally.com for a full line-up of events, concerts, vendors, and specials on Galveston beach accommodations and VIP pass.

NEW FROM BIKER LID–
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–Biker lid

NEWS FROM CALIFORNIA HARLEY IN THE HEART OF THE LA HARBOR–What I have is some photos of the Breast Cancer awareness party on Friday night at California H-D. I saw Red and Green sitting with Black and White patch holders. The Coronas were ice cold and the brothers all got along .

The vendors were good to us all .The Taco truck made spicy eats like always. It was a mask free environment with the guys and gals.

I wore my 5/8s Jak shirt and impressed the bros.
A good time was had by all . Jodi recognized that the Bikernet web site makes a difference.

–Gearhead

BIKERNET UNIVERSITY YESTERDAY’S HISTORY CLASS–October 26
Shootout at the O.K. Corral
On October 26, 1881, the Earp brothers face off against the Clanton-McLaury gang in a legendary shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.

After silver was discovered nearby in 1877, Tombstone quickly grew into one of the richest mining towns in the Southwest.

Wyatt Earp, a former Kansas police officer working as a bank security guard, and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, the town marshal, represented “law and order” in Tombstone. Although, they also had reputations as being power-hungry and ruthless.

The Clantons and McLaurys were cowboys who lived on a ranch outside of town and sidelined as cattle rustlers, thieves and murderers. In October 1881, the struggle between these two groups for control of Tombstone and Cochise County ended in a blaze of gunfire at the OK Corral.

On the morning of October 25, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury came into Tombstone for supplies. Over the next 24 hours, the two men had several violent run-ins with the Earps and their friend Doc Holliday. Around 1:30 p.m. on October 26, Ike’s brother Billy rode into town to join them, along with Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne. The first person they met in the local saloon was Holliday, who was delighted to inform them that their brothers had both been pistol-whipped by the Earps. Frank and Billy immediately left the saloon, vowing revenge.

Around 3 p.m., the Earps and Holliday spotted the five members of the Clanton-McLaury gang in a vacant lot behind the OK Corral, at the end of Fremont Street. The famous gunfight that ensued lasted all of 30 seconds, and around 30 shots were fired.

Though it’s still debated who fired the first shot, most reports say that the shootout began when Virgil Earp pulled out his revolver and shot Billy Clanton point-blank in the chest, while Doc Holliday fired a shotgun blast at Tom McLaury’s chest. Though Wyatt Earp wounded Frank McLaury with a shot in the stomach, Frank managed to get off a few shots before collapsing, as did Billy Clanton. When the dust cleared, Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were dead, and Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were wounded. Ike Clanton and Claiborne had run for the hills.

Sheriff John Behan of Cochise County, who witnessed the shootout, charged the Earps and Holliday with murder. A month later, however, a Tombstone judge found the men not guilty, ruling that they were “fully justified in committing these homicides.”

The famous shootout has been immortalized in many movies, including Frontier Marshal (1939), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), Tombstone (1993) and Wyatt Earp (1994).

–from History.com

[page break]

A New Bikernet Reader Comment!–
THE NUTS BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for October 21, 2021

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/THE_NUTS_BIKERNET_WEEKLY_NEWS_for_October_21_2021.aspx

Let’s keep planting mini forests in big cities. That is the trend in LA anyway. It’s a matter of keeping the carbon where it’s needed and creates the correct balance needed for the planet.

Guess I sound like a bit like Melody from Bandit’s series in the Cantina. This is a trend that needs to continue, I think. That would help make a lot of people happy, so great bikes like Harleys can stay authentic with that wonderful rush of a sound that they have.

No other bike on this planet has it like the Harley-Davidson. That’s what I think anyway, Namasta. May the gods be kind and stay positive and free.

— Ann Robinson
Long Beach, CA

ALLAH THE KILLJOY—

–J.J. Solari

A LESSON FROM THE MASTER—Gratitude. Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. –Oprah Winfrey

I have said many times through my writings how important it is to Pause and take inventory of how much we are grateful for, not just one day a year but every day of the year. Each morning I begin with a minimum of 5 things I am grateful for. It helps me find the balance I need throughout my day. One thing I have learned over the last 67 years is it could always be much worse and there is always something better around the corner.

Having a gratitude journal has helped me through many tough times. I promise you that if you choose to be grateful daily that your Life will have more meaning and continue to improve. As I have said many times today is a Gift, be thankful for it and Live it to the most.

Today Know: As I begin the gift of today I Pause to just say Thank You. I find at least 5 things to be grateful for. I express my appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. I truly appreciate those around me, I appreciate my life, and the opportunity to Live more than ever before. I choose to focus on Good, and find my own personal sweet spot in Life.

May you find many reasons to be Grateful today and every day!

Namaste’

–Yale

BIKERNET WEATHER STATION ALERT— Lake Tahoe is back up to its normal liquid level. took one day. All I’ve been hearin’ all year from the eco news assholes is, “Lake Tahoe is going dry! We’re all going to die!”

Took one day. it’s called rain. rain happens by Mother Nature, unless you’re an eco fuck. Then only shit that never actually happens, happens.

–J.J. Solari

TEXAS WEATHER REPORT–Quick Product Note: I’ve been using the Kuryakyn LED taillight & LED run/turn/stop bullets as well on the Dyna.
I’m all about being seen coming & going. These are bright lights, problem is the wiring is hair thin, not even an automotive style wire pliers work, so smaller then 20gauge.

The R/T/Stop have broken the wires so many times since I put them on in 2019. That is why you see all the extra wire still. Which were originally hidden behind the bags. I was going to wire them up properly with the recent tire change, but the wiring just won’t hold up with daily use.

No matter what I tried it will break at the solders edge. 3rd pic is factory vs too tiny thin. I’m a diesel mechanic, 12 gauge is my choice in wiring!

I’m not knocking Kuryakyn products. I use them, but just don’t recommend these lights. They’d be great if they used 18 gauge wires! I haven’t reached out to Karyakyn, and don’t really expect anything. This product just doesn’t hold up to my riding, I guess.

Think it’s broken, broken this time, maybe in a tamer environment.

–RFR
Tech Specialists
Bikernet.com™

STEALTH CLASS– ‘Supermarine’ by Bandit9.

The Vietnamese-based Bandit9 have achieved a lot since they burst onto the custom scene ten years ago. Founder and head designer Daryl Villanueva has been pushing the envelope on motorcycle design since he started and has bikes in the Petersen Automotive Museum, the Haas Moto Museum and the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.

To celebrate a decade in business, he has turned it up to eleven, and released an incredible stealth-looking motorcycle that is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. We chatted to Daryl about this Mobula Ray-inspired project he has appropriately dubbed the ‘Supermarine’ – which we’re sure will get tongues wagging.

Firstly, congratulations on the ten year anniversary of Bandit9. What are your proudest moments over the last decade?

Thanks! My proudest moment is, well, now. To have lasted this long is a larger accomplishment than any singular motorcycle or milestone. Running a motorcycle business, any business, is tough – emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually! A lot had to go right to have survived this long so I’m incredibly proud of the team I’ve put in place.

Let’s talk about your latest build. The Supermarine is stunning. Where did the name and inspiration come from?

I’m glad you like it! The name “Supermarine,” means above-water. The inspiration came from these elegant marine creatures that leap above the surface of the ocean called Mobula Rays. It’s pretty clear how we adapted the body to look like a Mobula Ray flapping its wings.

The frame is also interesting. If you look at most bikes, it’s always tubular and looks like a support element (I know; it literally is) but never a feature. We designed it to fascinate you for hours. It has these organic curves and loops that play with your eyes.

–Pipeburn, Moto Goodness

–from El Waggs

QUOTE OF THE WEEK–
If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.

–Bruce Lee

BIKERNET EMAIL BLAST—Do us a big favor and sign up for our email blasts. No, we won’t ask you to donate. There are no charges, no upgrades, no monthly fees and just a few ads. Hell, we don’t have a YouTube ad in your face for count them, four seconds. Nothing, nada except news about what’s happening at Bikernet or Industry news.

Okay, we run jokes once in a while.

–Bandit

Like You Say, “Ride Forever”.

LATEST FROM THE SUPPORT GOOD TIMES CREW–
Made a small batch of SGT points covers for shovelheads and big twin evos. We’re gonna give a few away… tag a pic of your shovel or evo with the hashtag #WHASSUPSGT and we’ll pick some winners on Thursday. The rest are up for sale online under the Limited Run tab.

Starting from the 2023 season Ducati will be the sole official supplier of motorcycles for the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup, the electric class of the MotoGP™ World Championship.

https://blog.bikernet.com/ducati-to-make-electric-motorcycle-for-motoe-world-cup/

–Wayfarer
Emperor in charge

MORE ON BIKERS’ CHURCH RIGHTS–The following is from a local newspaper.
I will follow up with more about Bikers Church.
Bikers Church has been around for a long time and part of what they believed in is Freedom of Choice.

One of those is against Mandatory Helmets and other things.

If someone is a member of Bikers Church they should be able to say what their choice is and not be forced to go against their Religious beliefs.

To be a member you simply say you are, We even allow people who are not Bikers to join if they believe in the same things as we do.

Anyway I think this kind of thing should work if they allow any other religious exemption.

Religious exemptions pose challenges
Vaccine mandates met by no proof required on forms
Jean Hopfensperger Minneapolis Star Tribune TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE MINNEAPOLIS – A recent post on Kate Lincoln’s neighborhood website caught her by surprise. A neighbor had written ‘Need a vaccine exemption? … Holy Trinity Church in South St. Paul is helpful.’

Lincoln called the church and left a message inquiring about the exemption. Her call was returned by a woman who confirmed that the church had a letter for requesting the exemption from employers. The church staffer even read her the letter, said Lincoln, who was outraged.

‘I have no issue with people getting a religious exemption if it’s legitimate, but it seems like they were just giving it out to anyone,’ said Lincoln, of St. Paul.

As a growing number of public and private employers issue vaccine mandates for workers or guests, many Americans are exploring religious exemptions to the rules. Such exemptions can be given if the vaccine violates sincerely held religious beliefs.

But there are no specific requirements or proof, or even standardized application forms, putting employers in an often difficult position of determining if the request is legitimate.

‘There are certainly sincere objections to the COVID vaccines … but we know that some people are being encouraged to characterize their objections as religious, whatever the actual basis is,’ said Thomas Berg, a professor of law and public policy at the University of St. Thomas. ‘We know there are boilerplate exemption forms circulating online.’

It’s unclear whether Holy Trinity Church was actively promoting the exemptions, or simply facilitating exemption requests for those who asked. Its senior pastor, the Rev. John Paul Echert, declined to comment on the issue. His associate pastor is the Rev. Robert Altier, a well-known priest who last year was reprimanded by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for telling parishioners that they’ve been ‘lied to’ about the seriousness of COVID-19 and that he wouldn’t take a vaccine unless ‘they force it upon me.’

St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda has discouraged clergy from writing the appeals, noting that vaccine exemptions don’t require clergy certification.

‘It’s an individual and personal decision whether to receive a COVID vaccine,’ Hebda wrote in a statement to area Catholics, noting that Catholic Church teachings say the vaccines are morally acceptable.

Pope Francis, for example, called getting a vaccine ‘a simple and profound way of promoting the common good.’ Leaders in most of the major religious traditions, including Muslims and Jews, also have encouraged members to be vaccinated. That complicates the exemption argument that the vaccine violates a specific religion.
Religious exemptions are based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on religious beliefs or moral convictions. It requires employers to accommodate someone’s ‘sincerely held’ religious beliefs and practices unless doing so would create undue hardship on the employer.

Individuals seeking exemptions typically provide written explanation to their employer about why the vaccine violates their religious convictions, and provide any other documentation required. Human services staff, at workplaces ranging from airlines to health care facilities to restaurants, review the requests and determine validity.

But their decisions are increasingly challenged. For example, nearly 200 Minnesota health care workers last month filed a federal lawsuit to stop enforcement of their employers’ vaccine mandates. A federal judge denied the request for an injunction last week, in part because nearly all had received exemption, and most for religious exemptions.

In another decision this month, a federal judge ruled that New York state must allow employers to grant religious exemptions to its vaccine mandate for health care workers while a lawsuit challenging them makes it way through court. Conversely, a federal judge ruled that Maine could prohibit religious exemptions for its health care workers.

Determining the scope and use of religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines in Minnesota and the nation is difficult, as there is no central authority that oversees them or monitors the requests. Neither the Minnesota Department of Health nor the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce tracks such data.

There is a state health department process and form for contesting school and child care immunization laws, but it doesn’t apply to COVID-19 vaccines because they weren’t included when the law was written, said health department spokesman Scott Smith.

The archdiocese – representing the largest single faith tradition in Minnesota – doesn’t track exemptions, but acknowledges it has been receiving inquires from clergy about how to handle requests for them. The archdiocese reminds them of the Catholic Church’s position on the vaccine.

Austrian Motorcyclists: Road Bans For ‘Loud’ Bikes Must End— In some Austrian regions motorcycles with a registered standing sound emission of more than 95 dB (A) are banned from using the road. But how realistic is this limit? Motorcyclists’ organisation Bikers’ Voice did a soundcheck.

During a demonstration at the Red Bull Ring with guests from politics and the media, Bikers’ Voice demonstrated the technical ineffectiveness of the Tyrolean ordinance.

Regina Stiller, chairwoman of Austrian motorcyclists’ organisation (and a probationary member of FEMA) Bikers’ Voice, explains: “The chosen method of excluding EU-approved motorcycles with a stationary noise entry of more than 95 dB (A) in the vehicle registration certificate, means a serious curtailment of the basic rights of owners of legal motorcycles.

Regina Stiller: “The expert and measurement technician Christian Wagner, who we called in, carried out standard-compliant follow-up measurements on various motorcycles in front of invited guests and running cameras. The measurements were taken at a standstill and in typical riding situations in town and under acceleration at the end of town. It was clear to see that motorcycles with a high level of stationary noise produced far less than 95 dB.”

Motorcycles such as Ducati’s or Suzuki’s famous 300km/h Hayabusa, which were denounced particularly loud or aggressive by motorcycle opponents, fell well below the 95 dB static noise limit in the measurement and proved to be barely louder when riding and sometimes even quieter than simple touring machines permitted in Tyrol with lower levels engine power.

‘Residents and motorcyclists can work together to find more meaningful solutions’

Triumph’s displacement giant Rocket III with no less than 2,500 cc, was the star of the Bikers’ Voice measurement demonstration. Regina Stiller: “The Triumph’s nameplate has a standing noise note of 99dB, the registration certificate says 98 dB. So, the operation of the mostly low-revving Triumph is forbidden in the Tyrolean exclusion zones. However, we could not measure more than 93.5 dB. Well below the prohibition limit of 95dB in Tyrol. But that is of no use to the owner. He is not allowed to ride.”

Stiller concluded: “The Tyrolean model must be seen as a wrong decision to the detriment of residents and road users. It should be ended as soon as possible. The political decision-makers apparently lack the political will to make sustainable decisions to enable residents and motorcyclists to interact. We believe that residents and motorcyclists can work together to find more meaningful solutions more quickly.”

Source: Bikers’ Voice

–FEMA

NEW FROM THE LOWBROW CREW, KNIVES— We are proud to officially release Whiteknuckler x Lowbrow Customs Limited Edition knives. Carry this classy, American-made blade and be prepared, in style.

The fish scale pattern and Lowbrow ‘lightning’ logo on the handle pair perfectly with the brass liners and black oxide American D2 steel. These are a hand-crafted, small batch item and in limited supply.

Each knife comes tucked in the Convertible sheath which is a unique 3-in-1 design by Whiteknuckler Brand that’s perfect for long-haul truck drivers, hot rodders, and motorcyclists. It’s a new take on the classic horizontal sheath that allows you to swap between traditional vertical, front horizontal, or cross pull options all with one product for a true 3-in-1 design. Perfect for people that spend long hours in the seated position in or on a vehicle! Designed for both function and style, it makes a great everyday piece. Put a classic on your hip or that of someone you love today.

Special Features:

Brass liners, lanyard hole & scale pins.
Black Oxide finish.
Thumb grip jimping on the spine.
Improved heat treat for better hardness and edge.

The Leather:
Constructed with 10 oz. domestic premium leather.
Environmentally conscious natural vegetable leather tanning.
Steel Details:

Small batch American D2 high carbon steel custom manufactured specifically for Whiteknuckler Brand.
Military-grade, meeting or exceeding: UNS T30402, ASTM A-681, QQ-T-570, JAE J437, SAE J438.
Overall length is 7 inches with 3.5 inches of sharp surface or a bit less than the width of most men’s hands (please see photos for scale).
Finger hole lockdown grip.
All WK products are produced with environmentally conscious practices and made in the USA.

THEY NEVER STOP New Bikernet Reader Comments!–Lou Kimzey: America’s 20th Century Founding Father

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Lou_Kimzey_Americas_20th_Century_Founding_Father_.aspx

I am honored to have known Lou, and thankful for all he taught me and what he did for so many people. The world of motorcycling would not be what it is today if not for him and those he mentored.
RIP Brother.

–Rogue
rogue@bikernet.com
Palm Bay, Florida

MEDIA WATCH DOG AT WORK–the only thing that got actually shattered in this headline are the tall-tale records established by Paul Bunyun. There was a gentle rain for two hours. How come everyone gets to lie with impunity via the 1st Amendment but if you tell the truth you get fired or go to jail or beheaded?

Has anyone but me noticed that the Constitution apparently has no actual meaning. Oh: and just because Pelosi calls it “a living document”……she never explains the nature of the life form. I mean Greta Thunberg is alive. So being a living anything isn’t necessarily a wondrous thing. Using Greta as an example, for instance.

–J.J. Solari

LIFE IS NUTS—I wish just one major newspaper would write the article, “Maybe We’re Not Doomed” or “Co2 is Critical for Life.” It will happen, in fact it’s happening on scientific web sites all over the world.

Did you see the piece about Battery Tenders? We just posted it. It contains several terrific shop recommendations.

My grandson is in Austin Texas messing with his dad and tattooing like crazy. I sent my son this knife. My dad gave it to me. Someone tried to engrave his name, Frank C. Ball into the engraved aluminum bolsters.

I took it to a local digital engraver and he straightened it out. Then I sent it to my son.

We are working with the starving George the Wild Brush, a guy who worked with lots of the greats on the drag strips, race cars, boat racers and chopper builders. He’s not the easiest guy to work with, but as he get older his customers are fading and he’s on the verge of being homeless.

We are working with Atomic Bob on some illustrations for the Chopper Chronicles first episode. I can’t wait to post it. Bob got this kit car built over a ’65 Bug for his lovely wife Sara the mystic. I gotta stay away from her. She might find out. He’s going to pinstripe her car soon.

George pointed out that our new logo looks something like this evil cartoon character from the ‘40s.

Mike Egan passed the other day. He worked with Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins. He was one of the first guys who traveled around the country buying up old dealer inventories of parts. It paid off like big candy.

Frankie and the famous Tattoo Artist Em attended a show across the street from our old building in Wilmington next to the homeless encampment and container-war torn Port of Los Angeles. They survived and still looked cool.

Remember to Ride Fast and Free Forever,

–Bandit

ROYAL ENFIELD INTRODUCES 2022 HIMALAYAN

Tripper navigation, ergonomic upgrades and three new colorways highlight the refreshed 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan

Milwaukee, WI (Wednesday, October 27, 2021) – Royal Enfield, the global leader in midsize motorcycles (250-750cc), is proud to announce the new 2022 Himalayan. The versatile adventure-touring motorcycle will now be available in three new distinctive, terrain-inspired colorways, and features a range of upgrades, most notably the Royal Enfield Tripper Navigation, a simple and intuitive turn-by-turn navigation pod that pairs with your smartphone via the Royal Enfield App.

Inspired by its global community of adventure touring enthusiasts, the Himalayan has evolved to offer the Royal Enfield Tripper, a functional upgrade dedicated to enhancing the overall ride experience both on and off the road. Designed with the Google Maps Platform, the built-in navigation display device offers turn-by-turn directions, and pairs with the rider’s smartphone by way of the Royal Enfield App.

The 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan receives several ergonomic upgrades, focused on increasing comfort and capability for an improved adventure-touring experience. Revised seat cushioning allows riders to enjoy extended saddle time while a new windscreen keeps more wind off the rider for improved all-day comfort, amounting to even more enjoyable miles. The new slimmer and ergonomically adjusted front rack offers a more spacious cockpit with minimal interference in the leg area, further improving the overall comfort and experience.

The rear carrier on the 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan is also revised, now with an additional plate to ensure secure fastening and placement of luggage. Additionally, the rear carrier is now reduced in height, making it easier for riders to swing a leg over the motorcycle.

The 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan will now be available in new Granite Black (mix of matte and gloss), Mirage Silver and Pine Green, in addition to the existing colorways: Rock Red, Lake Blue and Gravel Grey. The 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan will be available in North America as early as November, and will retail for $5,299 USD.

The Himalayan debuted in North America in 2018, and over the last three years, has definitively carved out a strong category of accessible adventure touring. Launched with the purpose of creating a distinct subcategory under the ever-popular adventure-touring segment, the Himalayan has been hugely successful in the U.S. market, and has a growing community of dedicated adventure riders around the globe.

A simple, capable, and go-anywhere motorcycle, the Himalayan was inspired by Royal Enfield’s experience of over 50 years of riding across the Himalayas of Northern India. Owing to its versatility, simplicity and competence, the Himalayan has received an incredible response from riders across the world. The Himalayan today is recognized as a capable and dependable adventure tourer by global motorcycle enthusiasts, and is among the leading Royal Enfield motorcycles sold across several geographies, including Europe, America, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

For more information on Royal Enfield North America, visit www.RoyalEnfield.com/us/en/

About Royal Enfield
The oldest motorcycle company in continuous production in the world, Royal Enfield made its first motorcycle in 1901.

Riveter Chapter of the AMCA Presents Chix on 66

Newest AMCA Chapter Announces First Event

September 30, 2021—Today, the Riveter Chapter became the first woman-focused, nationwide chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America.

The purpose of this chapter is to bring female AMCA members together in a single chapter to concentrate their talents, give women motorcyclists an increased awareness of their own history, and raise visibility of women in the sport. By doing so, we will increase women’s awareness of each other, and improve connections between women in the sport through visibility and networking. A chapter containing powerful, talented, dynamic women will give all women riders inspiring role models.

The Riveter Chapter’s first AMCA-sponsored event will be the “Chix on 66” ride scheduled to take place June 11-June 26, 2022. Up to 40 women motorcyclists will meet in Chicago, Illinois, to ride Route 66, the “Mother Road,” to Santa Monica, California. This is the classic American journey on classic machines, with some women riding vintage motorcycles, and others making the trip on modern mounts.

Each day the group will begin and end together, but each woman will make the journey what she wants it to be. Instead of riding in a single pack, a turn-by-turn app will allow each rider to follow the route at her own pace. There will be a list of suggested hotel accommodations for each stop. If some opt for a camping experience, they can arrange that for themselves.

This ride will span the entirety of Route 66, covering anywhere from 100 to 300 miles per day. Most days will be around 200 miles, allowing for an easy pace, and ample time to stop for photos and exploration of the iconic points of interest along the Mother Road.

Anyone who is interested in participating in the ride can email chix@chixon66.com. You can also find information at www.chixon66.com, and on facebook.com/chixon66 or Instagram @chixon66.

We are also still accepting charter members of the Riveter Chapter through December 31, 2021. While this chapter is women-focused, meaning our activities, events and newsletters will feature and promote women riders, both contemporary and historic, we welcome anyone with an AMCA membership who would like to become a member. If you would like to join, please send your name, AMCA member number and email address to joann@riveterchapter.com.

If you are not an AMCA member, it’s easy to join online at www.antiquemotorcycle.org. You do not have to own an antique motorcycle to join the AMCA, or the Riveter Chapter. For more information, go to www.riveterchapter.com or Instagram @riveterchapteramca.

BIKERNET BATTERY TENDER INVESTIGATION—How to use battery tenders? We are on the hunt. A friend kept his bike on a tender 24/7. But when he rode to his girl’s house and spent the night, the bike was dead in the morning.

So, what’s the proper way to use a tender. Many folks recommend keeping their bikes on tenders all the time. I don’t like leaving a bike on a tender overnight or for long periods. If something goes wrong with the battery, the tender or garage circuits, your garage could burn down and perhaps your house, not to mention your Prize Possession.

Jason Mook, the owner of Deadwood Custom Cycles recommends putting your bike on a charger or tender once a week, charge it and then unplug it. You may need to charge more often depending on how new your bikes is and the constantly operating electronics, like the clock or security system.

We are also looking into how to check your battery. Our ’69 Panhead just had an issue with a recently replaced battery. At fully charged, it worked to electrically start the bike, but with the slightest draw and it didn’t have the power to turn over the engine. Jason replaced the battery, but the damn things are expensive to replace once a year. The guys at Battery Tender said most batteries only last three years or maybe four.

Let us know your thoughts and experiences. I will also reach out to some of the manufactures. According to the Battery Maintenance guys a smart trickle charger will start charging your battery when is reaches about 12.5 volts. It will charge it to 14.7 volts and then back off. So, if you measure your battery and it indicates only 12 volts or less, you’re probably in trouble and need a charge.

Another tip is to keep your battery off the shop floor, concrete or steel. Don’t let it set around, unless you slip a chunk of plywood under it. The same applies in your bike. Don’t just mount it against bare metal for two reasons, maybe three. The steel will pull power out of the battery, the steel is not protected from battery acid or corrosion from the battery terminals, and I try to cushion a battery as much as possible in its container. That has several positive effects on battery performance. It slows or prevents damaging battery motion messing with battery acid or even the plates. That will kill a battery fast. Padding will prevent dangerous cracking and acid leaking, which will damage everything including your paint and frame. It will also prevent damage to your battery connections and leads. A broken wire on the road can be a serious problem, especially if it was the lead from the voltage regulator.

So yeah, it’s best to keep tabs on your battery and keep it charged. The most common battery chargers you’ll come across are trickle chargers and smart chargers. A trickle charger is constantly working and slowly trickling a small charge into the battery, even when it’s fully charged.

If the battery charging/maintenance unit you have doesn’t have an in-line fuse on the connection cables plug your unit into a surge protector to help protect your electrical system from a sudden power surge.

In addition, if you aren’t using a smart charger, it’s best practice to remove the battery from the motorcycle. That way if the charger does cause an issue with the battery (overcharging, boiling, etc.) the damage will be confined to the battery and won’t harm your motorcycle or electrical system.

If the battery side of your cable came with ring terminal ends, see if you can source a SAE 2-pin lug with open ended fork terminals. Or clip the end of your ring terminals to make your own forked ends. The benefit of the fork terminals is that they are easier to mount to the battery posts than completely removing the screws to install the ring terminals.

And if you have multiple bikes, you can swap the leads from one battery to another much faster and easier.

If you have your motorcycle dialed in with smart charger and a quick disconnect cable, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look at your battery occasionally.

For optimum battery life and performance peek under the seat (or wherever your battery is located) occasionally, and make sure it looks normal. Make sure there is no swelling, leaking or heavily corroded cables.

This isn’t completely wise. Batteries are dangerous. The acid can blind you. Don’t peak, stand back, wear eye protection, take off your seat and check the battery area. If you notice any problem, cracking, leaking, etc. remove the ground strap first. Use a towel and or rubber gloves and get your battery away from your chopper and preferably out of your home or shop. 

Secure the battery in the battery compartment. A battery that moves around can lead to some major issues. If your battery compartment doesn’t have a brace or sturdy rubber strap you can use foam blocks as padding to secure the battery. Foam blocks are also great if your new battery is shorter or isn’t the same dimensions as your old battery. 

Jeff G. Holt brand director and editor of V-Visionary says the following about battery tenders, “I am forever in need of battery tending. From my personal bikes to the Harley-Davidson and Indian test bikes, I frequently have battery drainage issues.

I would say that personally, battery failure is the main mechanical factor in me not getting rubber on the road. I combat this by using a good quality battery tenders that both charge and condition the battery internally.”

J E F F G. H O L T
V-Twin Visionary
626.391.3143
@jeffgholt
@vtwinvisionary
VTWINVISIONARY.COM

I asked Bandit, the guy running this operation you’re now reading, if he thought you, the guy reading this operation you’re now reading, might be interested in what Lou Kimzey accomplished. He was the original editor of Easyriders magazine, and while I am not sure, maybe he was the guy with the original idea for what Easyriders staff were proud to refer to as “the rag.”

Bandit replied, and I quote, “Sure. You might make him a mystic. Only a few knew, yet he controlled the free world for several decades and didn’t care…. Go for it.”
This response actually jolted me backwards for an instant. For one thing all the words were spelled correctly. And for another, he had just written my whole article in one sentence. With more insight. But then he worked with the guy every day. In fact, he was hired by the guy. Basically sight unseen, just from an inquiry Bandit made on the phone about a motorcycle he built that the new rag might want to take pictures of. Kimzey said “You want a job here?”

This is kinda like Jesus gathering his army of 12, bam bam bam, without preliminary interviews and resumes.

This same thing happened with me. I broke Absolute Rule Number One when sending material to a magazine for consideration for publication. Which rule is, “Study the magazine first. Learn their audience. Editors cater to their audience. Their audience is more important to them than you are.”

My writing journey….isn’t that the word in use now? Journey? Everyone being on a fucking journey while sitting on their ass or fucking a goat? They’re on their ass- sitting journey? Or their goat-fucking journey?

“So, Conswallatta, tell me about your journey from failed male prostitute to Drag Queen Extrava GAN za!!”

Everyone’s on a fucking journey. Even though no scenery is actually going by. Life isn’t a journey. Life’s a fucking death sentence. It’s a journey to Hell.

Fucking “journey.”

So, I broke Rule Number One sending Kimzey a fiction tale. I had never even heard of Easyriders, forget about “studying” it. I never went to writing school. I never worked at a publication. My writing teachers were Writers Digest and the Writer, two magazines I don’t even know if they still exist or not. In fact, I decided to BECOME a writer from an ad in Writer’s Digest showing some daydreaming fool sitting on a large boulder in the middle of nowhere and pensively squeezing his chin with his thumb and index finger, wearing clown pants even David Lee Roth wouldn’t have anything to do with, and staring out into the distance like he was trying to understand why he had no life skills. The ad asked in large letters, “Is this you?”

I looked at it for a long time and said “Yeah, that’s me.”

So, I learned about magazine writing from a magazine about magazine writing. Seemed logical to ME.

I know what you’re saying: “Isn’t this about Lou Kimzey?” Yeah. But he was an editor. And I am a contributor. That’s writer jargon for someone who sends stuff to an editor. For a writer to have ANYTHING good to say about an editor…..it’s like a bureaucrat saying anything good about free enterprise. Mt. Shasta explodes more frequently than that.

Contributors have a legendary dislike of and opprobrium towards – opprobrium means, as far as contributors are concerned, relentless, usually unvocalized, disgust – they hate editors. And I have nothing but (to this day) astonished amazement of Kimzey as an editor. And he was MY editor. Who I was writing for. So, I have a unique perspective regarding his editorship. Which-editorship is what I am writing about.

I have NO idea what kind of a PERSON he was. This is about his – as Bandit very interestingly put it – his apparently “mystical” abilities to successfully defy the publishing industry AND to be immune to published criticism by them. But they all knew he was there. In fact, I am prepared to say that Lou Kimzey is in a club with only two people in it: “The Club of Editors Who Advanced America.” The other is John W. Campbell.

I know what you’re saying: “You’re just saying nice things about his editorship just because he published your stuff.”

Let me tell you something: no editor on earth would have published my stuff. It was that unprecedented for a national newsstand magazine. WHILE he was publishing it, I couldn’t believe he was publishing it. Little did I know that Easyriders was unprecedented.

The first thing of mine they ever published was something I sent in just to piss them off! I had sent in some stories – at the insistence of a buddy who said I needed to send them some shit ‘cause he was a former Galloping Goose and he read the rag.

I said, “No way this is a so-called biker rag that would even be close to representing what bikers actually are: “which is America’s Bad Examples.” So, I sent them what I ASSUMED they would like. Shit all came back.

I said to Dennis, “Fuck you, fuck Easyriders, I’ll send them something that’s actually ‘biker’ the way EYE see bikers just to AGGRAVATE their fairy asses.” I wrote a tale overnight and read it aloud to Dennis on the phone the next day.

When he stopped laughing he said “Send it. They’ll fuckin’ love it.” I said “You’re even stupider than I thought.” He said “Fuck you: send it.”
I sent it and four months later I get an envelope with two issues of May ’75 #29, a check, and a hand-written note that said “We cannot fucking believe this. You need to come in here.” I called Ousley and said what just happened. He said “I told you, asshole. Pay attention when I talk.”
I said, “ok.”

I was living in utter squalor at the time near MacArthur Park, of the song fame. I was at the bottom rung of my existence and I wrote something completely and totally WRONG for publication in a “normal” universe….but without being technically criminal or illegal, just Very Black Humor, which is a variety of comedy and has nothing to do with race and makes an effort to make death, mishap, calamities, injury, everything bad….
You have to make the reader actually laugh at all that bleakness, preferably aloud but inside their head is good enough, and which I had a natural flair for and actually WORKED at, but I knew there was no actual audience for it in the global professional publishing world. It was SO wrong, and so relentlessly so. I wrote it just to piss off whatever the fuck “Easyriders” even was. Just because fuck them that’s why.

TURNS OUT…..Easyriders was every bit as fucked up as I was.

Here’s the Unbelievable-Editor part: not only did he say to his underlings “Yeah, ok, this is fine,” not a word was altered. I said to myself, reading the story in the issue on the floor of my rats nest….”These people are crazy. You can’t put out a magazine, expect to be successful……and publish this story to the English-speaking world.” TURNS OUT….. the English speaking world in ENGLAND, where English kinda has its headquarters, and thanks to my first submission which I wrote just to offend everyone who SPEAKS English….apparently offended the QUEEN.

Because Easyriders was banned from its shores for 3 months. Because of Lou Kimzey’s decision-making. I’m guessing he PROBABLY had to publish it over the florid-faced outraged objections of his own boss, the publisher. He apparently – maybe – put his job on the line. TURNS OUT…. my little yarn wasn’t the only objectionable thing in there. Keep in mind I never even heard of this magazine. So I’m actually going through my first-ever issue and every page I’m going “….well this ain’t right…..this ain’t right…..this ain’t right……. you can’t print this…..”

The fucking thing was geared exclusively to such ilk as the Hells Angels….Satans Slaves…..Devils Disciples…..Galloping Gooses….Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington…..Gypsy Jokers…..Boozefighters….. and of course Bandit.

You don’t create magazines for these people! That’s wrong!! It gets worse: women were nonchalantly assumed, via the contents, to be created for men first, and for themselves second; having been in prison or currently in prison was just somewhere you eventually go in America, not anything actually unusual or to be ashamed of.

NOT having a firearm was a warning sign that something was fundamentally wrong with the person; being in full and total control of your wits was, if anything, AIDED by the ingesting of nonnutritive chemicals; not ever bathing was hardly anything to criticize; AND….being a patriotic American was something you were just born with if you were normal and thus it was not open for debate or discussion. In other words, fuck your inclusivity, you stay away from us we’ll stay away from you.

There was advice to the lovelorn, or basically wiseacres, by way of a vastly overweight happy go lucky libertine broad named Miraculous Mutha with occasional hygiene issues; cartoon representations of bikers who looked NOTHING like the ones I would describe in my yarns but were instead massively muscled trim handsome human versions of Jack Russell terriers or alert border collies who OFTEN could be found passed out in junk yards or filthy living quarters or calmly allowing themselves to be brutally yelled at by a girlfriend who would be at one or the other end of human female attractiveness.

Either variety was totally acceptable to these handsome rogues on Harley chopper, which they were exclusively on. Topless chicks were the norm. Living on choppers was the norm. Violating the ingested-chemical edicts was not only the norm….it was almost not worth even mentioning. It was, like, “Um…isn’t that what you DO?”

There was a section that printed letters from guys in jail. Totally unheard of in proper journalistic endeavors. The human skull was the fucking logo. There were skulls everywhere. You would think it was a black magic mag. But oh contraire, it was parties, drinking, riding motorcycles in the wilderness, jokes, aggressive cluelessness, shaking-off ineptitude and moving on to the next ineptitude….And the magazine was its own worst critic, “Hey, yeah, we fucked up, what do you want from us, you seen our ‘office’? You seen our STAFF?”

I actually DID see the office. And the staff. I eventually showed up as requested and it was at the other end of a very short strip mall on literally a dirt road in Agoura Hills with a 7-11 at one end and Easyriders at the other. A woman named Izzy Petty let me in. Very polite, Very businesslike. Very handsome. Handsome in a woman is a good thing. Just for the record. She totally didn’t notice that I looked like what Tiny Tim had used as a guide to proper hair management. I had a white dress shirt on that looked like I pulled it off a dead hobo, some pants – as I recall – and I think I showed up on a Honda 175 four- stroke.

Izzy took me down a hall, around an old, pristine antique Harley that was in the fucking hallway, I went into a room and the only other two Easyriders “employees” were in the room, Kimzey behind a desk that had a fucking dirty Harley engine on it. Keith “Bandit” Ball was sitting in a chair near the desk, who I pretended wasn’t there because he looked like a 7 foot long fucking enforcer in the Biker Hockey League. There were David Mann original oils ON THE FLOOR leaning against the wall, which, if anyone would have been interested in buying them at the time might have fetched a hundred dollars apiece and which would now easily sell for 20-30 grand apiece.

The place was a fucking mess, just like where I was living, and these three people were the fucking staff. Lou gestured me to sit, I did and he said, “You got us kicked out of England, you know.”
My heart lit up! In MY head this was SUCCESS. TURNS OUT….Kimzey had the same attitude! Which was crazy! I mean crazy as in not at all sensible. Not for a fucking editor, the fucking whiniest, self-pitying entities on earth outside of writers.
So, he tells me “No Class Chick” got them kicked out of England and after he saw my face light up he said, “It was probably Duffy’s illustration.”

I THINK he was probably trying to communicate that I wasn’t in any trouble and this meeting wasn’t going to end with the guy at the side of the desk taking me into the desert and coming back alone. But the way I saw it, it was kind of downplaying my accomplishment. I think Kimzey noticed that and I’m thinkin’ said to himself, “This weirdo is as fucked up as we are.”

He then said “You know how many letters we got about your story? 25.”

I said after a minute, “25 letters to a national, apparently global, magazine ain’t really a lot.”
He said, leaning abruptly forward, “IT IS FOR US!!!”

I stared at him for a long time, and he was still frozen in his new position, looking right at me. And I thought to myself “….This fucker is alright. He’s telling me that whatever the fuck it is I’m doing to keep on doing it.”

That was the meeting! I spent a total of about ten minutes in the Great Easyriders Building, a building which bums would have avoided, met the staff of three and went back to LA and wondered, “How the fuck do I top what I just did.” Which I did, in order to get REJECTED. For the first time in my writing “career” I was AIMING for a reject slip. And what do I get? Encouragement. Fuckin’ Haight-Ashbury- level brain-bending.

Turns out I was involved with some strange new force in publishing that was targeting an audience that was reviled by everyone except B-Movie- makers who were making the human version of monster movies but with biker renegades with titles like “Demonic Biker Angels Eating Your Dog’s Face On Wheels!!” and “Crazed Biker Filth Bathing Your Mom!” and “Satan’s Breed On Wheels of Lust For Your Daughter On Prom Night!” and “Biker Inbreds vs Catholic Girls In High School Uniforms!!”
There were scripted biker movies in existence, which enterprise was basically scripted-wrestling only outside the arena and the fighting even more choreographed. But there was no effort on the face of the earth to take lowlife biker ilk seriously and cater to their likes and get on board with their dislikes.

Then Lou Kimzey showed up. Apparently his editorial policy was, “We will target only one audience: people who put riding a Harley first…and everything else second.” There was only one kind of person like this at the time: male American lunatics. PROBABLY in California. Because there’s plenty of places to ride and plenty of places to hide. Plus, you’re not out of commission for 6 months of the year due to seasons that don’t know that climate ‘scientists’ have declared Spring Winter and Autumn to be extinct. I’m guessing this was his thinking.

Whatever his editorial policy was it didn’t include articles of interest to guys in suits. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that the target audience rode extended and stripped Harleys as priority-1 and getting drunk, stoned, ripped and laid as priority.
Everything After 1……you would not be able to tell the target audience from what crawls out of a sidewalk tent these days on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. Until you actually talked to them. Which “normal” folks refused to do.

However, unlike sidewalk vagrants, lifer “biker trash,” as they are sometimes referred to, can be extremely coherent and, unlike vagrants, possessed of very quick reaction responses. They are also capable of figuring out not only what kind of person is talking to them, but will make responses that actually have some connection to the initial topic that was put forth.

Harley biker trash and sidewalk vagrants, in fact, before Kimzey showed up, had only one thing in common: no one had ever published a magazine directed at them. To this day no one has published a magazine aimed at sidewalk vagrants. In fact, that sounds like a funny idea. I ought to do it myself. But first I gotta take a dump, hold on.

So, my meeting with Kimzey and Bandit is over in about ten minutes, Lou gives me the first 24 issues of Easyriders to take home and I guess “study.” Writers are supposed to “study” the outfits they write for, so they know what the editor is going to at least CONSIDER. That’s a rule. You can be Voltaire, you write an article for Car&Driver about the history of the Phoenicians…they’re pro’bly not gonna read it. No matter how “well” it’s written.
So, I’m going through these magazines, lookin’ at the pictures of Deeply Dedicated actual biker trash and I’m going “…..these are the people that were, like, the Invisible Scary People that people only heard about but never wanted to see that roared through the San Fernando Valley in the ‘50s when it was empty except for the Tuxford Pit, traveling carnivals, and the feral populations of Sunland and Tujunga.”

When I was a pre-teen in the ‘50s, the “motorcycle gangs” – who parents everywhere declared to be some new kind of mental-patient society, since, as all us kids ever heard from mom and dad was that, “riding a motorcycle is the craziest thing you can do.”

This naturally translated to us kids as “then it must be fun.”…..the “motorcycle gangs” were almost phantom enigmas that everyone talked about but usually only heard very late at night.
The Ozzie and Harriet type parents at the time were terrified of them. Even though they steered clear of everyone. Kids kinda regarded them as interesting.

Parents however came unglued at the very mention of them. What they saw in photos was enough: beards and whiskers…..in Ozzie & Harriet World that meant crazed escapee from an asylum….tattoos – that meant you stabbed strangers to death 24 hours a day every day….earrings?? on men?…..that meant something from some whole new dimension of horror…..swastikas and german helmets?…..actually no one had a problem with those. Germany and the Nazis had been pulverized and Ozzie & Harrietland saw it all as trophies of war, and CERTAINLY not a looming Nazi threat.

They had enough sense to know, unlike the libs of today, that without Hitler there’s no actual Nazi threat. What passes for Nazis in America today would not be able to defeat an army of ants. But the Communists will never get over the Nazis. Which was actually one reason bikers wore the paraphernalia. Just to piss off Communists. You do not have to be a Nazi to have a problem with Communists. But you’ll never convince a “progressive” of that.

But in a way TURNS OUT….they were kinda right, our parents. These traveling-in-packs high-decibel inebriates with startling motorcycle skills were not on the fast track to anything anyone would consider respectability. And this particular VARIETY of crazy people were riding motorcycles that they went out of their way to invent new ways to make them even more dangerous by removing functional gear and replacing it with lunacy apparatus. One example being something they called a “suicide shift.”

And fairings and windscreens? No. Goggles. If anything. Helmets? You fucking serious? Wear a goddamn helmet? “I’m on a fucking Harley going 80 miles an hour most of the time, fucker. You think safety is a fucking issue with me? YOU better have put on a helmet because I’m about to try and knock some clueness into you.”

These were mega-crazy people, in other words, bikers. You don’t publish a magazine targeting the insane. These were people who wanted everyone to understand that their Life Priorities were bikes; chicks; booze; and kicks, in
that order: “kicks” being defined as anything they, not necessarily you, thought was fun, rather than, ya know, annoying or infuriating, etc. Fun things, like, for instance, ya know, urinating on your sole items clothing and then immediately wearing your sole items of clothing, preferably unlaundered, for the rest of your life. Ya know: fun stuff.

You do not publish magazines for people like this.

So, I’m going through these magazines and there’s articles about being drunk. Articles about being stoned. Articles about naked girlfriends. Articles about cops being a pain in the ass. Not “the enemy.” Just dumbass fucks, with of course a smattering of to-the-bone sociopathic monstrosities in uniform. But not people to go to war with.

People to ignore and avoid. Never challenging them. For one thing they have access to infinite backup. For another thing….it’s almost not sporting duking it out with a cop: you’ve lived most of your life wrangling a fucking Harley around and could probably beat up a bull rider, not that anyone would want to ’cause they’re really nice guys….and you’re tangling with some bloated out of shape guy who sits in a car most of his life driving around to nowhere for no reason and taking donut breaks 50 times a day.

I mean: cops are pathetic. They’re an army at war with Americans. Talk about confused. Kamala Harris is more focused. Ok, no, you’re right. She’s not.

There were endless cartoons of impossibly-fit bikers dead drunk in fly-swarmed squalor, impossibly-fit bikers drooling bulge-eyed at walrus-sized women acting coquettish and holding a liquor bottle and a steaming order of fries as enticements to romance, impossibly-fit bikers doing something idiotic in front of cops that still made the cops look like the stupid ones, impossibly-fit bikers laying in living room debris ordering to be fetched a can of beer from a cartoon chick a thousand times better looking than that particular biker deserves yet still eagerly granting his every command….

And that’s another thing: Easyriders made no effort to suggest that the women who hung around these denizens of dirt and asphalt did not consider themselves property. And that the women had no problem with being considered such.
Now you might say “That’s because they live in fear.” You go up to one of these broads face to face and tell her that, that she lives in fear of the men. You will find yourself on the ground real quick. Probably with a broken jaw. You have to tread around these broads a whopping lot lighter than you have to with the men.

You had best be nice to them: 99% of the time they don’t need their boyfriends to back them up. And there’s two ways to learn that: the easy way, reading this. Or the hard way, unconscious and humiliated by a broad.

Political incorrectness reached a whole new level with this target audience. They were America Firsters. Everyone else?….do not fuck with us.

This was non-negotiable and in force 24 hours a day, all year long, every year. Period. Even the Constitution wasn’t this patriotic. No other magazine would have dared to have as policy “America right or wrong” as a given. This was not even a stated policy. It was assumed it was understood automatically in the natural order of things.

To continue, illegal ownership of things that were illegal by decree – rather than because you stole them – was not considered anything to even remark-on much less chastise.

But by far the most uniquely insistent aspect of the “magazine policy” was “not to make converts” and not even to make new readers……but to be left alone.

The magazine didn’t care if you liked bikers, didn’t like bikers, wanted to be a biker, wanted to criticize bikers (bikers are immune to criticism) all that mattered to the publication and its target audience was that they be left alone because they sure weren’t gonna fuck with YOU.

What could be fairer? If there had been only a hundred bikers in America Easyriders wouldn’t have cared. There at least would have been a hundred bikers in America with a magazine they could rely on for addressing their likes and dislikes. Turns out there were millions of bikers in America.

My little collection of magazines on my dirty 75 dollars a month floor revealed more and more eye-popping realities of the rag. 1: Prisons are places where you make an extra effort to stay in touch with the imprisoned, rather than abandon them as pariahs against society. 2: Fuck society. 3: Tattoos are not despicable; they are an advanced art form. 4: Choppers are an advanced art form. 5: Graffiti is an advanced art form. 6: Prisoner art is a MAJOR advanced art form because if all art comes from pain, prisoners are artists 24 hours a day. 7: Women actually are the best thing there is; we’re just not saying that to THEM. That would be giving them an inch. 8: We know something you critics of our feral rag don’t: there are actually millions of us. You think there’s just 2 or 3 hundred down in the Bayou picking their noses trying to figure out what alligators are.

Lou Kimzey had a secret weapon other editors didn’t have: he knew he was hitting not just a silent majority, he was hitting an in-hiding majority. They were in-hiding not because of fear. They were in-hiding because they didn’t want to get contaminated by “society.”

These were individuals. Rugged ones. The last of the “rugged individuals” that used to be the highly valued goal for all male American youth to reach: being an individual, and having some sand. That’s what an American male was: an individual with some sand. What the goals were for American women….let one of them step up and announce them. I’m not a woman. No offense. Women ain’t my department. When they have their clothes off then I sort of know why the hell they’re here. But, hey, that’s just me.

California gave birth to two major social revolutions: the movie industry. And the Hells Angels. At some point the movie industry and the Hells Angels found each other, which was PROBABLY inevitable. And at some point, like
Darwin staring at lizards and a light going on, a light went on in Lou Kimzey’s head and he thought, “There is no magazine targeting this biker ilk as customers.”

That realization, combined with an entrepreneurial spirit and ceaseless motivation, created Easyriders and changed America. It united the rugged individuals. The Last Actual Americans looked around and said, “I ain’t the only one that’s like this: apparently there’s a whole magazine publicizing my shitty appearance and my shiny, delightful-to-look-at, spirit!”

Easyriders wasn’t created for Hells Angels to read. It was created to make the announcement that what these guys want out of life, and what the other Harley fraternities like them want out of life….is what ALL actual Americans want out of life: to be left alone to have fun….and ride like hell a death machine across the empty desert in the middle of a summer’s moonlit midnight at 80 miles an hour.

Well, certainly all THESE actual Americans, these clubbed-up Biker Americans wanted to do that. Also the Hells Angels spirit of enthusiastic positivity was 100% the opposite of what remained of the American Spirit by the 1950s after Americans having died in two world wars, one of them by decree, and achieving no new terrain, just dying defending foreigners on foreign soil just for the sake of Virtue Signaling – which is now almost mandatory for everyone 24 hours a day, then Korea, another waste of time and lives to save other citizenries, then Vietnam, another waste of time on other terrain to save other citizenries and deplete our own, then 20 years wasting time in Afghanistan such that guys in Toyotas, wearing robes and sandals could conquer the country in two days, I mean at some point it has to begin to look like, even to accountants in the offices of Meek Meek and Meek that the biker life is the last hope for sanity and relaxation under what passes for the Land of the Free these days.

Let me tell you something about the “American” government as long as I brought it up: if the “American” government detests you – like it does bikers – …..you must be eluding their tribute demands. Government is a protection racket parading around as a benign selfless guardian of the lesser beings who depend upon it for love, safety and guidance and which lesser beings treat its office-holders and appointed high chancellors as though they were saints standing around the throne of God and giving God advice.

While there were many biker clubs forming after WW2 it was and still is the Hells Angels who were manifesting whatever it was that the cowboys and the “wild west” of America had done to apparently win the hearts and minds of the citizenry not just in America but all over the world.

The American West was where you went to ….and you might want to sit down for this…. the American West was where you went to to escape the Constitution, now grown from a piece of paper you had nothing to do with in the forming of or the signing of, grown now to a Mystical Level of Worship Rivaling The New Testament. Sergei Leone wasn’t making movies in Italy with Clint Eastwood portraying Presidents and Speakers of the House. No, he was making movies in Italy with Clint Eastwood portraying American Gunslingers of the American Frontier. The American Frontier of the 1840s.

But not the American Frontier of the 1950s. Which American Frontier by the 1950s consisted of the Hells Angels, the Satans Slaves, the Galloping Gooses et cetera. Through what I am about to declare as brilliant marketing, advertising, public relations and bizarre self- promotion, the Hells Angels, via what they apparently recognized via some kind of genius wizardry as the eventual guru of lowbrow culture via something called “gonzo journalism,” they took a gander at Hunter Thompson, and someone in the Hells Angels, or maybe all of them, with astounding shrewdness, recognized the unknown Thompson as a writer competent-enough with the language and stylistically suited to “tell their story.” Which he did.

What the Hells Angels shrewdly wanted to achieve via Hunter Thompson – who they eventually beat up by the way – Lou Kimzey recognized in the whole “outlaw biker” aggregate, an aggregate more or less subconsciously devoted to achieving a cultural-icon status, for better or for worse, as that of the Hells Angels.

The name “Hells Angels” appeared a LOT in the early issues of Easyriders, as I learned, slowly turning the pages one by one of my sudden stash of the first 24 issues and it was in there with their permission. The Hells Angels sponsored their own stuff and shindigs in the rag. It was like two geniuses finding each other: the Hells Angels….and Lou Kimzey.

Other ads consisted of people no one heard of making skull jewelry, places to buy new engine parts for Harleys, places to have new redesigned creations for “normal” Harley parts in order to create new customized Harleys, detailed particulars of a monthly featured road art you could ride and wreck so that others could build their own just like it, calendars for outdoor parties in cow fields where thousands of Harley riders and their girlfriends would show up at, with upper attire on the women being generally absent.

I mean, who knew this shit actually even existed and went on? Turns out Lou Kimzey did. Easyriders eventually started creating their own rodeo events for Harley riders and their own bike shows where sculptures in metal and wiring you didn’t know whether to ride or pray to filled vast hangars filled with thousands of strolling bikers. Easyriders Magazine was like an escapist video game for a hidden audience that you didn’t have to plug in. You just turned its pages.

No journalistic entities fucked with Easyriders even though in these entities’ astoundingly cunning and yet amazingly stupid heads they could smell that something was not right.

Every magazine in the USA was already completely on board with caring and sharing and love and the, “you are not important but your neighbor is” perversion of the Golden Rule. They were all on board that America was the problem in the world, that unconditional love for everything in existence was very, very, very important.

Sure, love is important. But putting your fist into a face once in a while is also very very very important. The bikers in the Easyriders pages were revealing themselves in their huge numbers and without taking a shower first and putting on some new clothes to make a good impression.

What was already in existence in the shrubs and forests and dirt piles was now being broadcast to the planet. Over and over and over, issue after issue, with no hint of apology or embarrassment or even concern.

There was an entire magazine devoted SOLELY to people who rode Harleys….and just like honeybadger…….what you thought about it….they just didn’t give a shit.

No articles from the Butthurt Press Cabal consisting of people who don’t know shit about shit emerged to chastise this new magazine that was displaying what all other publications agreed was, “all that is wrong with America – disobedient individuals,” while Easyriders was nonchalantly declaring bikers as the only thing RIGHT with America. None of this made any sense to the journalism world. Very little does. And PLUS….. the rag appeared to be run by bikers. That was just not possible: bikers can barely read, much less write. Much less…. MEET DEADLINES???

Easyriders could not be figured out. Better to just ignore them until it vanished from the newsstands.

But it didn’t vanish from the newsstands. Don’t go looking for it NOW! Lou Kimzey is DEAD! Ok? Just like Steve Jobs is dead. Just like Tesla is dead. Ok, you’re getting the picture.

It didn’t vanish from the newsstands. It grew. Everyone wanted to be a biker. Everyone wanted to have a Harley. Everyone wanted to be in a Harley fraternity. Even cops. Talk about being too successful.

I am going to stop here and leave Sons of Anarchy waaaaaaay over there and I am not going toward that direction any longer. I’m gonna just back up a little and get back onto some sort of normally-real ground that is not an Accidental Satire disguised as Biker Life.

Today Sturgis – which the normal human public never heard of before Easyriders made it a point to relentlessly insist that it was Priority One for everyone on earth to do in their to-do list before death – is now Annual National News for being irresponsibly selfish and uncaring and recklessly cruel to others by its visitors not staying home and not wearing masks and not getting whatever the vaccine is, and not doing all the ten other million rules that change from day to day and by refusing to be “charitable” by not- attending this Existential Threat to Humanity via the flu that is not a flu but is also a super flu but is also a galactic onslaught by the Arbitrarians that has no cure and no solution and no means of escape from no matter how many times inoculated, the only known road-to-safety being total obedience to orders for eternity that have no effect on viruses but only on humans.

Or…. basically declaring humans to be a disease. Basically. And since humans are a disease, they have to be isolated from all other humans. Even though all the other humans are already a disease every human already has. Yeah: it’s about that level of comprehensibility.

The Sturgis attendees say in response to this, “Fuck you.” And then the criticism stops. Until next time. Cause Harley bikers are like honey badger. They don’t give a shit. In fact, there should be a biker club named Honey Badgers. No one would fuck with them.

In closing it would not be a crazy statement to say that Lou Kimzey was in fact the starting point of a long series of events, with him as the ignition switch, that started an engine that had as its most recent achievement the transporting of Donald Trump into the Oval Office.

And if you think that was a bad thing………I have a picture of a honey badger right here. His name is Scruffy. Tell him.

 

 

 During every Biketoberfest I make sure to attend Willie’s Tropical Tattoo Old School Chopper Show, or die trying…

The show has 20 classes and is sponsored by Bikernet.com, Hot Leathers, Twisted Tea, Blings Cycle, S&S, Church Of Chop, Renegade Magazine and Rue & Ziffra.

 

Bill Dodge got an award for his build. He generally does. 

 

Tony Agoso and his motorcycle Pandemic were also featured.

 

 

Best Knuckle                                Garret Madalone

Best Old School                           Garret Madalone

Tropical Tattoo Choice              John (no last name given)

Willie’s Choice                             Antique

 Best Twin Cam                             Bobby Colella

 Cycle Source Choice                  Shadd Reed

  Best Sportster                              Lashonda Donckey

 Best British                                   Frank (no last name given)

  Best Panhead                               Brandy Dozer

  Best Japanese Import                Blake Ingram

 Best Shovelhead                         Drew Cemer

 SmokeOut Choice                       Billy Flash

 Best Classic                                   Ken Napier

 Best Evo                                         Mike DiPreta

 Roadside’s Choice                      Mad Pen Cycles

 

 Rev Al Award                                Dozer

Tarball’s Choice                           Tino

 Tino’s Choice                                Ron Zuk

BD Custom’s                                 Zackery Zdrodokski

Trailer Trash Choice                   Hatch

 

There was every kind of bike you can think of from Flatheads with patina and refurbished, to new, to gorgeous custom paint jobs on Knuckleheads, Panheads, Shovelheads, Evos and some imports.

The show runs from 11:00AM until the Awards at 4:00PM with many people showing up early.

 All the proceeds made from this event goes to support our veterans.

www.veteranssupportfund.org.

 

 Though the Bike Show was the main feature, out back Jackson Slim put out some good sounds. There was also plenty of food and beverages, including Twisted Tea.

 

 

There are numerous T-Shirts that are interesting for one reason or another. And of course, plenty of women.

 

Some great news was announced that The SMOKE OUT will be coming back in September 2022!

  

Chris Callen and the Cycle Source crew were in attendance and hard at work as were numerous other publications.

 

 While it is always good to see a lot of old friends, this year especially Bill Dodge and Willie, up and about, both still healing from serious injuries from being hit by vehicles while riding their motorcycles.

 

by Todd Halterman from https://www.autoevolution.com

Tiny Triumphs and EV Motorcycle Range in Prototype Now With Indian Firm Bajaj

Triumph is now teasing the development of a series of smaller displacement motorcycles that the company plans to build with Indian manufacturing giants Bajaj.

As far back as early 2020, Triumph announced that it reached an agreement with Bajaj – one of the largest motorcycle firms in the world – to develop and build an all-new range of so-called ‘baby’ Triumphs that would fill in the 200 – 750cc engine displacement category.

While the plan called for the companies to roll out the first models in the collaboration in 2022, the project has been pushed back as a consequence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now that the pandemic crisis seems to be loosening its grip, both parties say they’re back on track to develop the bikes.

Triumph Head of Brand Management Miles Perkins says prototypes have already been created and plans are back in the offing.

“That’s going great guns, I have seen the development motorcycles – and the prototype for those – it’s all on track,” Perkins says. “We haven’t yet confirmed exactly what the bikes are and exactly when we will launch them but the news is forthcoming soon.”

And fear not, though Triumph hasn’t confirmed exactly which the partnership will create models, it has said the resulting bikes will be sold globally rather be sold only in Asian markets more conducive to sales of cheaper, small capacity motorcycles.

According to Perkins, Triumph found the ideal partner in Bajaj. He says the company’s large market share in India and experience working with KTM and Kawasaki were key to the deal.

“The relationship with Bajaj and conversations I have had with the team over there and the engineering team working with them are very like-minded and passionate individuals, and their focus and commitment are outstanding. They have similar leadership family principles and values,” Perkins says. “The working relationship is strong, the design development is completely Triumph, these are Triumphs and the partnership is building it and selling them around the world. What Bajaj brings is phenomenal in terms of the ability to develop quality in this volume, especially in the lower capacity range.”

Perkins also says the Triumph TE-1 EV prototype has been built and is ready for testing. It represents an electric sports bike model developed in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering, and Perkins calls it “a blueprint for a future EV Triumph.”

Power for the TE-1 comes from an electric motor that delivers 174 horsepower at peak and 107 horses of continuous power. Triumph chose not to publish additional specifications, but Motorcycle News learned the bike weighs 485 pounds and offers up to 120 miles of range. Quick-charging technology zaps the battery pack with an 80% charge in about 20 minutes. Triumph stressed it aimed to give riders the performance of an internal-combustion-powered bike in an electric package, but what you see isn’t necessarily what will land in showrooms.

Triumph will begin testing the TE-1 prototype in the coming months, but it told Motorcycle News that it still needs to clear the cost hurdle before approving the production model. When it will do that is up in the air.

Triumph calls the TE-1 EV a prototype platform development and not an actual motorcycle available for sale, it’s a project which the company is using for “learning and developing the team’s experience but also developing the partnership of technology with several partners for a full-on electric Triumph platform that will follow in years to come.”

from https://www.businesslive.co.za

Darryn follows brother Brad to the premier motorcycle racing division, and takes over from the legendary Valentino Rossi

SA motorcycle racer Darryn Binder has signed for Yamaha’s rebranded RNF MotoGP team for the 2022 season, with an option to stay on for 2023.

He will team up with the experienced Andrea Dovizioso and takes the place of the legendary Valentino Rossi, who retires at the end of this season.

Darryn, younger brother of KTM MotoGP rider Brad, is only the second rider since Jack Miller to jump from Moto3 to the premier MotoGP class.

Darryn has competed in the Moto3 class since 2015 and became a well-known name after Brad won the 2016 Moto3 championship.

However, Darryn has since long proven that he is an exceptional racing talent in his own right. Known for his hard racing and making use of any and every available gap during a race, the 23-year-old has ridden to six Moto3 podiums, including a win at the 2020 Catalan GP.

He is sixth in this year’s Moto3 world championship with two podiums.

“I want to give a warm welcome to Darryn. We are delighted that he is joining the Yamaha line-up next year,” said Lin Jarvis, MD of Yamaha Motor Company.

“We’ve had many conversations about who would be a good match for the new RNF MotoGP Team. It’s a fresh start for the Yamaha satellite team and that makes it all the more fitting to have a young and eager rider like Darryn join them.”

Jarvis said the primary mission of Yamaha’s satellite team is developing MotoGP talents.

“Darryn has already shown on numerous occasions what he’s made of in the Moto3 class,” he said. “We know he is a fast and determined rider who has got what it takes to battle at the front of the pack. Obviously, the step up to MotoGP is significant and will take some adjusting, but we feel that he’s ready.”

Binder said: “I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity, as it has been a lifelong dream to race in the MotoGP category. I definitely didn’t expect to make the jump straight from Moto3 to the highest class, but I do believe I’m up for the challenge, and I’m ready to put in all the hard work for 2022.”