by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Custom motorcycles (and custom cars, too) are like wine: the older they are, the more valuable – that’s why it’s very hard to find a unique two-wheel project from decades ago that is not capable of still turning heads. Take the Harley-Davidson Street Bob we have here. Well, it used to be a Street Bob, as now it’s called Pimp Bob thanks to some bold changes made to it by a very lucrative German garage called Thunderbike. The bike is 13 years old. Thunderbike presented it for the first time at the 2007 Custombike festival in Germany. Why we’re talking about it today? Well, like we’ve already said, we do this because unlike Orange County Choppers, for instance, Thunderbike did not have a Discovery Channel-backed show to highlight its builds – and that’s a shame, because a lot of them deserve their time under the spotlight. As usual with Thunderbike creations, what we have here is a bike that sports not only visual, but also mechanical and chassis modifications. The bike was lowered, its fork got shortened, and of course new wheels (with whitewall tires) were installed. Go to with the new stance Thunderbike either created some custom parts, or sourced them from Harley itself. The front and rear fenders, for instance, are made by the Americans, but the seat, footpegs, rims (and the brake discs than stop them from spinning) are German-made. The paint job is the work of Thunderbike’s favorite partner in this segment, Kruse Design, and brings a certain vintage vibe to the whole thing. The engine of this thing is still the stock 96ci unit. The difference is that it now uses an upgraded exhaust system, and breathes better through a new air cleaner. We are not being told how much it cost to make the motorcycle. Also, because it is more than a decade old, we have no info on its whereabouts and exploits.

by Fraser Addecott from https://www.mirror.co.uk

German firm’s adventure bike ticks all the right boxes in all the right categories.

BMW Motorrad positions the S1000XR in its range of “adventure” models, but, in truth, it should be in the “all-rounder” category – if there was one.

In fact, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what sort of bike this is – but only in a good way.

That’s because it offers sportsbike performance, adventure-bike styling and road presence, and tourer comfort and technical features.

It’s a great-looking bike, with sleek lines and a wave-like curve to the silhouette.

There’s a choice of three colourways and the paint quality is excellent.

On board, the seat is nicely cupped and not too wide, nor too high, which means you can confidently plant both boots on the tarmac.

Nevertheless, the ride position feels high and commanding, but extremely comfortable at the same time, with wide, upswept bars.

It fitted me perfectly and I felt I could ride all day.

The large TFT dash is clear and easy to use, and indicates which of the four ride modes you have selected – Rain, Rode, Dynamic or Dynamic Pro.

Each of these adjusts the throttle response and the amount of torque in the lower gears.

There’s also cornering ABS and traction control.

Start up and the engine let’s you know it’s credentials with a sound that’s more sportsbike than adventure.

On the road, the adjustable screen and fairing do a fine job of protecting you from the wind, and the mirrors offer a clear view past your elbows.

This engine is a real beauty.

It has all the power and torque of the superb S1000RR, but delivered in a more refined and manageable way.

The upper gears are long and the torque is smooth and power-delivery linear.

But don’t underestimate it. The acceleration if you open it up is awesome and you’ll be thankful for the (adjustable) wheelie control.

Suspension is via BMW’s D-ESA system which electronically adjusts the forks according to the conditions and has selectable rear spring-load setting for the monoshock.

There is also an upgraded D-ESA Pro, which offers a stiffer Dynamic damping mode and instead of the preload settings, has an automatic function to adjust the shock according to the load.

Through the bends, the S1000XR is an absolute joy.

It’s light and flickable, but also super sure-footed and confidence inspiring.

Braking, with 320mm front discs and four-pot calipers is extraordinarily powerful yet sensitive.

The superb D-ESA means you can brake quite hard into corners with no fork dive – and no rebound as you ease off and accelerate out.

As with all BMWs these days, there is a large range of configurations and optional extras available – mine came with separate Sat-Nav and fog lights.

Overall, this is a truly fantastic machine. The consummate allrounder.

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

It’s been 18 years since Ducati introduced the Multistrada series of motorcycles, and since then some 110,000 units of them have been made. For the industry, that number is huge, and reason enough for the Italian bike maker to continue to offer new and better technologies for the range.

This week, Ducati finally pulled the wraps off the fourth-generation Multistrada V4, one that brings not only a brand new engine to the table, but also more high-tech hardware than most of the players in the segment have to offer.

First, the engine. The powerplant (dubbed by Ducati Granturismo) animating the two-wheeler was shown in mid-October, but this is the first time it is featured where it belongs, in the frame of the Multistrada. Smaller than the version it replaces, it weighs 66.7 kg (147 pounds), comes with a displacement of 1,158cc, and more importantly, develops 170 hp at 10,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 125 Nm at 8,750 rpm.

Techwise, the new Multistrada is the first production motorcycle in the world to feature both a front and a rear radar. These will be used as part of either the Adaptive Cruise Control (AAC) technology, or as a means to alert the rider when a vehicle approaches from behind at high speed.

As for the design of the bike (you can check out the gallery above for more details on that), we’re told the Italians went for a functional-meets-refined look, built around an aluminum monocoque frame. The bike sits 220 mm above the ground, perched on 19-inch wheels, and weighs 215 kg (474 pounds, dry).

There will be more variants of the Multistrada offered – V4, V4 S, and V4 S Sport – with the most important one, the V4 S Sport, coming with dedicated livery and the standard Performance package with Akrapovi exhaust and carbon front fender.

Ducati says the new Multistrada V4 will arrive in dealerships at the end of this month. Pricing was not announced.

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Hey,

It’s been a strange week for sure. It’s still strange and perhaps getting more strange by the hour. I quit turning on the television. I just go to the internet and look up election results and check the stats.

I tried to stay very busy yesterday. I bought a deer guard bumper for my van. I figured as much as I am hauling ass to Deadwood, the more likely I am to encounter a deer or other wild life. First they don’t make a deer grille for Nissan NV vans. It took me weeks to research and actually reach out to companies to come to that conclusion.

They make a bumper guard, but not a deer grille. So, I bought the bumper guard and started to modify it. It’s junk, made with thinner wall tubing than our Harley exhaust pipes. It was most likely made in China. I added strips of 1.5 by 3-inch rectangular tubing, 24 inches long and 3/16 wall. Serious shit. And I’m about to dress it out with some Pauchco parts. This will be a trip. Hang on.

In the meantime, I put the Dicey Knuck on the lift. I need to take the super E off of it and clean it out. I bought a J&P Automatic advance distributor, just in case I decide to remove the mag.

Let’s hit the news and I’ll report back.

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. Most recently Quick Throttle Magazine came on board.

HARLEY IS BRINGING BACK THE ORIGINALS– THE CARDIGAN SWEATER
This sweater design with the large Bar & Shield logo dates to among the very first apparel items in 1914.

They have launched a very cool line-up of vintage clothing. Check it out, but watch out for the prices.–Bandit

DIRECT NEWS FROM THE DIME BAG EMPIRE–
More news coming from Carl Pusser and The Amethyst Triumph Chopper. Been working with Carl for years now, he is very busy as usual. I got to meet John Parham, before he passed, at the Iowa Grand Rally, so it is a pleasure to have Dime Bag leatherwork on another badass Triumph chopper built by our friend Carl Pusser on display at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA!

The Amethyst is officially on display at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa IA. In great company with Von Dutch Triumph and Big Daddy Roth trike. Thanks to Bill Barber and Jill Parham to let me be a part of motorcycle history

–Adam Croft
Dime Bag Leather
Follow @dimebag.leather on Instagram

QUICK, OPEN THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BAD JOKE LIBRARY, MASK FREE, FORMERLY THE BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY–
A car full of Irish nuns is sitting at a traffic light in downtown Dublin, when a bunch of rowdy drunks pull up alongside of them.

*”Hey, show us yer tits, ya bloody penguins!”* shouts one of the drunks.

Quite shocked, Mother Superior turns to Sister Mary Immaculata and says, *”I don’t think they know who we are; show them your cross.”*

Sister Mary Immaculata rolls down her window and shouts, *”Piss off, ya fookin’ little wankers, before I come over there and rip yer balls off!”*

Sister Mary Immaculata then rolls up her window, looks back at Mother Superior, and asks quite innocently, *”Did that sound cross enough?”*

–from the Wayfarer

MICHAEL LICHTER PHOTOS OF THE WEEK— Eric Bennett’s 1977 custom Harley-Davidson Shovelhead that used the front water-cooled engine from the original Jammer Streamliner in the RSD Moto Beach Classic custom bike show. Huntington Beach, CA, USA. Sunday October 28, 2018.

Punk rock aficionados Sarah (lead singer of the rock band Seratonen) and her husband Dr. Aalok Shah (an ER pulmonary doctor) took a break from work and their 6-kids to attend the Surf City Blitz and RSD Moto Beach Classic. Huntington Beach, CA, USA. Sunday October 28, 2018.

Photography ©2018 Michael Lichter.

TODAY IN HISTORY–November 05
The order is given: Bomb Pearl Harbor

On November 5, 1941, the Combined Japanese Fleet receive Top-Secret Order No. 1: In just over a month’s time, Pearl Harbor is to be bombed, along with Malaya (now known as Malaysia), the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines.

Relations between the United States and Japan had been deteriorating quickly since Japan’s occupation of Indochina in 1940 and the implicit menacing of the Philippines (an American protectorate), with the occupation of the Cam Ranh naval base approximately 800 miles from Manila. American retaliation included the seizing of all Japanese assets in the States and the closing of the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping. In September 1941, President Roosevelt issued a statement, drafted by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, that threatened war between the United States and Japan should the Japanese encroach any further on territory in Southeast Asia or the South Pacific.

 Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor?

The Japanese military had long dominated Japanese foreign affairs; although official negotiations between the U.S. secretary of state and his Japanese counterpart to ease tensions were ongoing, Hideki Tojo, the minister of war who would soon be prime minister, had no intention of withdrawing from captured territories. He also construed the American “threat” of war as an ultimatum and prepared to deliver the first blow in a Japanese-American confrontation: the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

And so, Tokyo delivered the order to all pertinent Fleet commanders, that not only the United States—and its protectorate the Philippines—but British and Dutch colonies in the Pacific were to be attacked. War was going to be declared on the West.

SADDLEMEN SEAT OF THE WEEK–2018-2020 FXFB/FXFBS Fat Bob Kraus Pro Series Solo Seat

Brand Fitment: Harley-Davidson
Model Fitment: Fat Bob FXFB/FXFBS
Year Fitment: 2018-2020

$250.00
Saddlemen Part #: KR81828S
Availability: Built to Order
Available Options
Brand Logo
Top Stitch Color

BEANIE™ HELMET – LOW PROFILE MOTORCYCLE HELMET (DOT APPROVED)– (FREE SUNNIES)CLICK ADD TO CART TO GET THIS DEAL

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DOT FMVSS.218 CERTIFIED – The helmet meets DOT FMVSS-218 Safety Standards, ensures the quality and safety

LIGHTWEIGHT AND COMFORTABLE – Lightweight ABS shell with a thick, high density and fully vented EPS liner, brings you a better protection as well as comfortable wearing

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Fits Head Circumference: 22 1/4″ to 24 3/4″ (57 to 63 cm) smallest DOT shell ever made! Weight – 600g

To measure your head for the correct size take a tape measure just above your brow around your head just at the top of your ears. If your head measures in between sizes order the size smaller. Our helmets should fit snug when new they stretch and mold to the shape of your head. Also see hat sizes below

PLEASE check size chart

S-55 -56 22 1/4″ – 22 1/2″ = hat size 7
M-57 – 58, 22 3/8″ – 22 3/4″ = hat 7-1/8 to hat 7-1/4
L-59 – 60 , 23 1/4″ – 23 5/8″ = hat 7 3/8 to hat 7 3/8
XL-61- 62, 24″ – 24 3/8″ = hat 7 1/2 to hat 7 5/8
XXL-63cm , 24 3/4″ = hat 7 3/4 to hat 7 7/8

NEWS FROM THE TWISTED ROAD–10 Steps to Winterize Your Motorcycle

I vividly remember the first time I needed to store my bike for the winter. I had only owned my Moto Guzzi for four months, when fall started shifting into winter and I knew I needed to be prepared. But what did this even entail? I didn’t know how to winterize a motorcycle. I wasn’t handy, and the closest I ever got to working on my bike was when I read the first three chapters of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

So, I now bring you the 10 steps to winterize a motorcycle:

1. Ride Her One Last Time
Go ahead. Really appreciate the ride. You’re going to miss it. Trust me.

2. Fill Up the Tank
Make sure that the tank is completely full of fuel. This minimizes the amount of air in the tank, which in turn decreases the chances of rust forming.

3. Add Fuel Stabilizer to the Tank
This will prevent evaporation, and in doing so, it also prevents fuel from forming sticky resins. Then run the machine for a minute or two.

10. Travel and Rent
We both know that in about two weeks, you’ll be itching to hop back on two wheels. So, plan your next trip. Take a break from the cold. And rent a bike. Want to ride Los Angeles? Or Vegas? How about renting a motorcycle in Austin? We have plenty of bikes to choose from in warm climates that are ready to go!

Read all the tips and the special tip at the end tomorrow on Bikernet.–Bandit

CHINESE COVID BUSINESS HELP LOANS STILL AVAILABLE–Congress has extended the PPP Application deadline to August 8th

Roughly $130 billion of the $670 billion set aside for the PPP remains available for small businesses.

LATEST NEWS
PPP Borrowers – NEW “EZ” Forms for Loan Forgiveness

PPP Loan Bill Passed. Gives Small Businesses More Flexibility

(Members Only) Affiliation Rules for Small Business Stimulus Under the CARES Act

Powersports Employees Included Among Essential Workers

CISA Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, Version 3.0 (April 17, 2020)

President’s Guidelines for Reopening the Country

Call for Additional Funding; MIC Joins over 150 National Trade Organizations

ONE STOP SHOP FOR SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE – UPDATED 6/5/20
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is providing small businesses with the resources they need to maintain their payroll, hire back employees who may have been laid off, and cover applicable overhead.

Program Overview
For Borrowers
For Lenders
Program Rules
For more information and updates, visit Treasury.gov/CARES and SBA.gov/PayCheckProtection.

COVID-19 STATE RESOURCE AND REOPENING GUIDELINES MAPS
COVID-19 State Response Resources

The maps are updated by 5 pm PDT daily and is intended to be a guide for informational purpose

“We are like books. Most people only see our cover, the minority read only the introduction, many people believe the critics. Few will know our content.” — Emile Zola

“When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent… you sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying “You are too this, or I’m too this.” That judgment mind comes in. And so, I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.” – Ram Dass

–Wayfarer
Senior Monk
Bikernet Two-Wheeled Temple
At the base of the Gray Mountain

TEXAS STREETS–Well I did it, paid off THE 2016 ROAD GLIDE. Man, I had originally agreed to pay on that bike for 84 months! I paid it off 30 months early and saved thousands…what a knucklehead. I don’t know how I get into these messes.

Oh, and I’ve ridden the M8 Fatbob a few times at it is a scream to say the least. I bought it for my wife. I appreciate the HIPPO I normally ride. It’s definitely a different ride. To celebrate, I bought the tour pak quick release kit and put my bike on a diet. It’s like a whole new motorcycle now.

–Johnny White

DIRECT FROM THE NMA—Eliminating Jaywalking Laws will make roads safer? A response.

By Tom Pearson, NMA Alabama Member

Editor’s Note: The issue of abolishing jaywalking regulations, particularly where high-volume, inner-city streets are concerned, is a tricky one. In last week’s NMA E-Newsletter, #615, Arthur Miller made a compelling case that road safety suffers when one set of users (pedestrians) can cross the street whenever and wherever they like, and another set (drivers) is held responsible for dealing with the uncertainty involved. Tom Pearson provides a thoughtful rebuttal in this newsletter, presenting a rationale for eliminating jaywalking rules.

Eleven years ago, NMA Newsletter #32, A Different Kind Of Distracted Driving, described how the town of Drachten, in the Netherlands, removed all traffic regulatory signs — and even street-to-sidewalk curbing — in the spirit of what Hans Monderman espoused, as noted by Tom in this newsletter. The result was fewer accidents and better overall road safety.

But there is a key difference between eliminating all regulations, like what Drachten did, where every road user knows that having no rules actually means everyone is reacting to the same set of circumstances, and what New York City is proposing by eliminating jaywalking rules. In the latter case, the pedestrian (and presumably, bicyclist) class of road user is free to cross the road with impunity, leaving the driver to guess what each pedestrian’s personal decision-making behavior outside of normal crosswalk protocols will be, while also bearing responsibility for any mishap that occurs.

Attorneys Miller and Pearson make solid cases on either side of the jaywalking issue. We present both for your consideration.

Eliminating Jaywalking Laws Will Make Roads Safer? A Response

I don’t usually comment, but I must speak up in opposition to aspects of this week’s newsletter.

Though certainly not appropriate for all roadways, I believe that the elimination of jaywalking rules is, in general, a very good thing. While rules are important, more important, is that everyone using the roadway space pays attention to what they are doing when using that space.

As the pioneering work of Hans Monderman has demonstrated, too many rules, especially those providing right-of-way to drivers or pedestrians, are associated with less attention to driving or walking in a shared space. The rule creates the psychological presumption that everyone knows and will follow the rule. The rule seeks to ensure safety and draws attention to the “rights” in the space rather than what is actually happening. Drivers and pedestrians assume that the rule has covered the safety aspects of the space and, therefore, they can relax. Relaxed, inattentive drivers and pedestrians cause accidents.

We don’t want people thinking primarily about rules when they are in shared spaces like roads. Instead, we want them to keep an eye out in an environment where not doing so often means the difference between life and death.

In this case, on the fly negotiations between users of the space using eye contact and a variety of signals is safer than implementing right-of-way rules. For accidents that occur, tort doctrines like the “last clear chance” work well in resolving liability in such cases.

Further, the author dismisses the racial component of law enforcement out of hand because the rule is neutral on its face. Well, so what? Every rule issued by a state is a potential point of bias or corruption because its enforcement relies on armed officers interacting with citizens. Because a significant number of officers don’t seem to be able to keep their personal biases out of or cannot resist abusing the power that comes with their law enforcement duties, it behooves us to keep their duties restricted to the enforcement of only rules that are absolutely necessary and effective for ensuring the liberty of the people to go about their business in a reasonably safe manner.

Absolute safety cannot and should not be the goal.

I share the author’s opposition to dirty license plates being a pretext for a police stop but wish that he could see that the same logic applies by and large to jaywalking rules.

I am also an attorney and, though I share the author’s concerns about road safety, I firmly disagree with much of what he advocates as a solution to road safety issues. As Monderman has demonstrated, making the rules in shared spaces ambiguous often results in safer use of the spaces as well as more efficient flow. In the experiments he carried out in a dozen European cities, he went so far as to remove all traffic lights and other indications of how one should navigate the space. That required users of the space to remain focused on the situation rather than using the “rules” as a psychological excuse for not devoting full attention to a risky activity.

That approach aligns the risks of everyone who uses a roadway with the necessity of paying attention and the benefits of staying alive. Reliance on rights of way, on the other hand, subsidizes inattentive behavior and makes everyone less safe.

–NMA

By Luli Ortiz

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) —

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is trying to figure out why some battery-powered cars are catching fire while parked and unattended.

Just a few weeks ago, a Port St. Lucie family woke up to the smell of smoke.

St. Lucie County Fire District were called in and soon discovered it was coming from the garage.

Their 2019 Chevrolet Bolt Electric Vehicle was burning.

Shane Kozac with St. Lucie County Fire District says extra resources were called in once they realized the fire was likely caused by the car’s lithium-ion battery.

“It’s enough to seriously hurt or kill you,” district’s Fire Engineer Shane Kozac said. “For us, we treat it as a hazmat.”

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, those batteries can reach temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which for perspective, is twice as hot as molten lava.

A clear threat to first responders and everyone else in the immediate area.

“They off-gas toxins and it could be hours, even days after a protect has been under that heat condition can off-gas still, so it’s always a concern when we’re working those conditions,” Kozac said. “Our investigators may come in two to three hours after a fire has been extinguished, and they’re still wearing a certain level of outer protection, a type of respirator.”

Kozac says the 750 gallons of water carried by most fire trucks are not enough to put one of these electric vehicle battery fires out.

He adds the lithium-ion cells have been known to reignite, even a day later.

“The ability to extinguish it is extremely difficult,” Kozac said. “You’re better off protecting the vehicle, or the home, or another vehicle, versus trying to extinguish that fire because the reaction is occurring.”

Chevy Bolts Electric Vehicles received a 5-star federal safety rating, but the model is now under investigation by the NHTSA after at least three cars have caught fire while parked.

In one of the complaints, the owners of Chevy Bolt EV reported last year intense headaches from fumes after their battery-powered car caught fire, filling their Massachusetts home with smoke.

The cause is still unknown.

The owner of another Chevy Bolt EV, a Virginia woman, said her bolt caught fire twenty minutes after she parked it and she felt obligated to raise the alarm, according to WJLA.

“I would see smoke just growing, and getting bigger and bigger behind the car,” Hajime Rojas told WJLA. “ If I don’t say anything, and I hear later on that this happened to somebody else, I’m going to feel horrible.”

It’s even happening overseas, a friend of a Chevy Bolt EV owner shared a video on social showing the vehicle burning in the Ukraine.

Here at home, that Port. St. Lucie family has hired a lawyer to look into the fire that destroyed their garage.

General Motors would not comment on any of these incidents, only telling CBS12 News the carmaker is “cooperating with NHTSA’s investigation” for its part.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not ruled out issuing a recall.

For now, investigators are still working to determine how common these fires are among the 78,000 bolts manufactured and sold by General Motors in the 2017 through 2020 model years.

–CW34
–from the National Motorists Association

ALL KIDS BIKE NEWS– I come to you with some VERY EXCITING news!

Out of 2,000 submissions for the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Grant, the All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Program for New York City Schools was selected by State Farm and voted by the public into the TOP 40!

This means the $25,000 grant will teach thousands of NYC kids how to ride a bike in school, and YOU made this possible!

THANK YOU!!!! We want to share our most sincere gratitude for all of you who helped make this happen. This is a huge deal, and we truly could not have done it without you and your votes!

Watch our social media for the big announcement so you can share and celebrate with us!

#AllKidsBike

–Breiane Williams
Campaign Marketing Specialist
Strider® Education Foundation
Rapid City, SD 57702
605-956-3877
www.AllKidsBike.org

[page break]

LIFESTYLE DEAL OF THE WEEK–2018 Harley-Davidson® FLSL – Softail Softail Slim for $15,995.00

See it here: https://www.lifestylecycles.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=9491797

This bike is a cool Softail Slim low stance low mean look

ONLY 17314.00 Miles !!!!!

2018 Industrial gray denim Harley-Davidson SOFTAIL SLIM FLSL

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

* H.D. low profile seat
* MX style bars
* Chrome shotgun exhaust
* 103 C.I.
* 6 Speed trans
* Blacked out rear pegs and rider floorboards

This bike has passed Lifestyle Cycles rigorous 101- point safety and mechanical inspection. Whether your looking to commute to work, ride the coast or take that dream vacation, this bike is ready to go!!!

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WUHAN COVID REPORT: Are Indians more immune to Covid-19?

The World Health Organization says safe water, sanitation and hygienic conditions are essential for protection of health against Covid-19. A joint study by the WHO and the United Nations’ children’s agency, Unicef, found that nearly three billion people – some 40% of the global population and living almost entirely in developing nations – lack “basic hand washing facilities”. This was enough to spark concerns that the coronavirus would tear through their populations, and lead to millions of deaths in countries such as India.

“Typically access to healthcare facilities, hygiene and sanitation is poorer in these countries and is often believed to be the contributing factor of higher incidence of communicable diseases there. It was not unexpected that Covid-19 would have catastrophic consequences in the low and low-middle income countries,” says Dr Shekhar Mande, director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

India has a sixth of the world’s population and a sixth of the reported cases. However, it accounts for only 10% of the world’s deaths from the virus, and its case fatality rate or CFR, which measures deaths among Covid-19 patients, is less than 2%, which is among the lowest in the world.

Now, new research by Indian scientists suggests that low hygiene, lack of clean drinking water, and unsanitary conditions may have actually saved many lives from severe Chinese Covid-19.

In other words, they propose that people living in low and low middle-income countries may have been able to stave off severe forms of the infection because of exposure to various pathogens from childhood, which give them sturdier immunity to Covid-19. Both papers, yet to be peer reviewed, looked at deaths per million of population to compare fatality rates.

Praveen Kumar and Bal Chander from Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College looked at data from 122 countries, including 80 high and upper middle-income ones. They suggest that Covid-19 deaths are lower in countries which have a higher population exposed to a diverse range of microbes, particularly of what is called “gram-negative bacteria”.

These bacteria typically are responsible for severe pneumonia, blood and urinary tract and skin infections. But they also are believed to produce an antiviral cytokine – molecules which help fight pathogens – called interferon which protects cells against the coronavirus.

“So far, the existing predictive models for Covid-19 have not taken into account the immune status of populations caused by microbiome or environmental microbial exposure,” Dr Chander told me.

Scientists believe it all boils down to the “hygiene hypothesis”.

Its philosophy is that our environment has become so clean that it has left our immune system insufficiently trained, according to Matt Richtell, author of An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System. “The broad idea is that we are starving our immune systems of training and activity by excessive focus on cleanliness,” he says.

By itself, it’s not a new idea.

A paper on hay fever, published in 1989, found a striking association between the likelihood of a child getting hay fever allergy and the number of his or her siblings. The paper hypothesised that “allergic diseases were prevented by infection in early childhood, transmitted by unhygienic contact with older siblings or acquired prenatally from a mother infected by contact with her older children”. Another paper published by the World Allergy Organisation and quoted by Mr Richtell said migration studies showed that types of both allergy and auto-immunity “rise as people move from poorer to richer countries”.

Smita Iyer, an immunologist at the University of California, Davis, believes the “hygiene hypothesis” in Covid-19 “does fly in the face of our understanding of anti-viral immune responses”.

Soutik Biswas
India correspondent
BBC

This is typical of the media. They try anything to make the point of their story. I just googled 1/6 and found that it’s 16 percent. Suddenly the different between 10 percent and 16 percent doesn’t seem that significant. More research is needed.—Bandit

NEWS FROM THE CLIMATE DEPOT–
Aussie Scientist Dr. Jennifer Marohasy: ‘Experts can’t see anything ‘unusual about current rate or magnitude’ of climate change’

Biologist Jennifer Marohasy says natural disasters such as Australia’s recent bushfires are not caused by land getting hotter or drier it’s because “we’ve changed how we manage the landscape”.

Ms. Marohasy is the editor of ‘Climate Change: The Facts 2020’ which details the facts around climate change by dissecting the major myths propagated by climate alarmists.

The book features works from leading scientists including atmospheric physicists and chemists who discuss the technical side of climate change. She told Sky News, the scientists and experts in the book “can’t see catastrophes, they see cycles”.
“They can’t see anything unusual about the current rate or magnitude of climate change.”

–Sky News Australia

UPDATE: TELL NEW MEXICO TO ALLOW MOTORSPORTS TO RESUME–
DON’T DELAY!

Please contact New Mexico’s leaders and ask them to support the New Mexico Motorsports Coalition’s updated plan to safely resume racing with spectators.

YOU MAY USE THE FOLLOWING POINTS IN YOUR MESSAGE:

The New Mexico Motorsports Coalition (NMMC) has put forth an updated plan to safely allow racing to resume statewide with spectators.

NMMC’s proposal allows motorsports to safely operate under Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s reopening plan for the state.

NMMC’s plan allows residents to enjoy racing in their communities instead of traveling to neighboring states that have already implemented similar guidelines.

New Mexico has a rich motorsports tradition and is home to 16 racetracks and the businesses and enthusiasts that support them.

The safe resumption of racing would provide desperately needed economic stimulus to New Mexico and a morale boost to its residents.

Overview: The New Mexico Motorsports Coalition (NMMC), a group comprised of racing facilities across New Mexico, has submitted an updated, comprehensive SAN-supported plan to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham that would allow motorsports to safely resume with spectators statewide. As it stands, New Mexico residents must travel to neighboring states in order to enjoy racing.

–SEMA

D E C E P T I O N–
“Your mind is continuously creating distractions. Just watch your mind, and you will understand what Buddha is saying. It never allows you to sit silently even for a few moments. If you sit silently it says, ‘Why not listen to the radio? The newspaper must have come, the mail may have arrived. Why not go to the movie? Why not watch TV?’ If you are in the shop your mind says, ‘Go home, rest – you are tired.’ If you are at home your mind says, ‘What you are doing here, wasting your time? Go to the shop – you could have earned something!’

The mind never allows you to be where you are, it never allows you to see things as they are. It is always taking you somewhere else, either into the past or into the future; it never allows you to be in the present. Either it drags you into memories – which are nothing but footprints on the sands of time – or it drags you into the future: great projections, great expectations, desires, goals . . . And you become so much involved with them – as if they have some reality! And the reality is slipping out of your hands while you are engaged in all these trips into the past, into the future.

The mind never allows you and will never allow you to see that which is; it always takes you to that which is not. One of the names of Buddha is Tathagata – one who lives in suchness, one who has become free from all the distractions of the mind. And the miracle is that the mind consists only of distraction, so once you are free of all distractions there is no mind left. In the present there is no mind. In the present there is only consciousness, awareness, watchfulness.

Live in the world, but not through the mind. Don’t let the past or the future stand between you and reality. And if you can manage the state of no-mind even for a few moments – that’s what meditation is all about – you will be surprised: suddenly you are in rhythm with existence. You will know what Buddha calls aes dhammo sanantano – the eternal law.”

–O S H O
‘Dhammapada, Vol 5, Ch 9’

OSHO
Never Born
Never Died
Only Visited this
Planet Earth between
Dec 11 1931 – Jan 19 1990

–from the Wayfarer
Senior Bikernet Monk
Bikernet Two-Wheeled Temple
At the Base of the Gray Mountai

Washington Activist Blasts State Efforts To Block Future Car Tax Cuts–Attorney general in Washington state seeks lifetime ban political activist who has led public revolt against car taxes.

On the day Washington state motorists began submitting ballots for the 2020 election they learned the state Supreme Court had nullified a hotly contested decision they made in 2019 — and perhaps permanently.

With 55 percent of the vote last year, motorists endorsed Initiative 976 which was supposed to roll back legislative increases in car registration fees, known as car tabs. Earlier this month, high court justices accepted the argument of car tax beneficiaries that voters must have been confused by the measure’s wording.

On Tuesday, initiative sponsor Tim Eyman blasted state attorney general Bob Ferguson (D) not only for losing the high court case on purpose but also seeking to ban Eyman from introducing ballot initiatives in the future.

“By spending nearly $2 million of taxpayer money aggressively attacking me and my family, Ferguson hoped to break me,” Eyman explained in an email to supporters. “During mandatory arbitration a few months ago, the attorney general told my attorney Richard Sanders that the state would only stop if I ‘voluntarily’ agreed to the lifetime ban.”

Eyman rejected the offer as an attack on his First Amendment rights. The political activist has become a high-profile target from his introduction of dozens of statewide initiatives, many passed by voters, that reduce taxes — including three car tab fee reduction initiatives. He also led the successful ballot effort that banned red light cameras in his hometown of Mukilteo. Eyman claims his measures have saved voters $43 billion, but Ferguson has filed a lawsuit that says Eyman may have violated campaign finance rules to make that happen. Losing the suit could end Eyman’s initiative-writing career.

“That’s what it’s always been about — shutting down the most effective taxpayer protection organization in state history,” Eyman said.

The Washington Supreme Court said in its ruling earlier this month that “the average informed lay voter” did not understand that voting in 2019 to reduce car fees would also repeal a subset of taxes that had been approved previously by voters. It also argued the measure violated the rule requiring initiatives to be about only one subject. Eyman said the justices were applying a different standard to his measure after upholding far more confusing proposals introduced by special interest groups.

“When an initiative is approved by voters, judges are required to bend-over-backwards to uphold them — initiatives, and legislative laws, are assumed to be constitutional and there’s a very heavy burden to prove they’re not,” Eyman said.

Source: PDF File Garfield County Transportation Authority v. Washington (Washington Supreme Court, 10/15/2020)

MIC RESEARCH & STATISTICS
Third-Quarter Sales Success:
Bikes Up by Double Digits

The good news on sales keeps rolling.

The MIC is reporting a new-model sales increase for the third quarter of this year. Year-to-date sales of new motorcycles and scooters through September increased 10.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

More detailed information by model type is available in the MIC Retail Sales Unit Summary. All MIC members who have signed restricted use agreements may access the summary on the MIC.org website.

MIC members can also access the MIC Tire Sales Report, showing total September year-to-date motorcycle/scooter tire sales, compared to the same period last year. The quarterly report, an excellent indicator of industry tire sales trends, as well as motorcycle usage, vehicle population, and aftermarket sales trends is available on the MIC website.

–MIC

MORE BIKERNET COVID FREE BANDANAS FROM HAL ROBINSON—We, or actually Marie has been working on this art for a Hal Robinson bandana for almost a year, maybe longer.

We finally came up with the killer color combination. We are currently working with a new manufacturer. Ann Robinson, Hal’s ex is determined to keep Hal’s legacy alive through his magnificent art from the pages of Easyriders.

I’ll let you know if we are able to order a batch. In the meantime, check out our other Hal Robinson products.

–Bandit

REALITY CHECK–‘Today, we live some 100 times better than did our ancestors at the end of the 18th century’

The luxuries that we take for granted — abundant food on demand, clean running water, electricity, electronic communications and media, advanced medical care, inexpensive clothing, home and office heating, rapid transportation, universal basic education, free libraries, and dozens of other important advances — are linked to warming temperatures that have afforded enough surplus food to support educators, scientists, inventors, technicians, physicians, and the suppliers of so many of our modern conveniences.” …

“Global food production has exploded since 1970, due in part to a favorable climate. For the first time in human history, we live in an age during which it is not necessary for large numbers of human beings to go hungry.”

–Climate Depot

BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT WORD OF THE DAY– Where Did The Word “Achoo” Come From? Every sneeze has a different ring to it, but there are only a few words in English that name the sound. Achoo is one of the most favored, but is it really a word?

Where did achoo come from?
This instance of onomatopoeia imitates the sound of sneezing. The first syllable mimics the quick intake of breath, while the second corresponds with the tone of the convulsive expulsion of air through the nose and mouth. Achoo is also considered an interjection, in the same class of words as ouch or gosh.

Other languages follow the same approach. A sneeze sound in Russian can be apchkhi; in Korean, achee.

In the medical world, ACHOO is an acronym for a sternutation disorder called Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioophthalmic Outburst Syndrome that results in uncontrollable sneezing.

What about God bless you?
After a sneeze, there are a few common responses. God bless you (or bless you) and gesundheit are two. Gesundheit is German for “healthiness.”

As for the origin of God bless you, there are a number of ideas. There are superstitious beliefs that connect evil to sneezing, such as the idea that a sneeze releases a soul to the waiting grasp of evil spirits. Hence, a blessing is needed.

A false belief that originated during the Renaissance dictates that a sneeze causes the heart to momentarily stop. The blessing was a brief prayer that the heart would not fail completely.

There are numerous other tales that have to do with sneezing. For example, one folk saying asserts a sneeze means that someone is thinking amorously about you.

What are some alternatives to bless you?
If you’re not a fan of bless you, what should you say? In some countries, people tend to ignore sneezes (China and Japan, for example), but in most, there is some expectation of a response. To say these vary quite a bit is an understatement.

If you’re looking for an alternative to bless you, we humbly propose one of these:

health (or recover): Since Gesundheit means “healthiness,” why not use the English word as a substitute? (You’ll never struggle to spell it.) The Dutch, Armenians, Greeks, Ukrainians, and many others use a version of their own word for health to acknowledge a sneeze. You might try salud (Spanish) or noroc (Romanian) to give your blessing a bit of flair. To your health and recover also have nice rings to them.

Live long: Again, there are multiple variations of this one, some longer than others. (One Telugu phrase offered up after a sneeze translates to “May you be blessed with a life without death.”)

It’s the truth: The Czech, Slovenian, and Marathi languages use a phrase that translates to “it is true/truth,” while the Polish and Croatian languages use “truth” due to a superstition that sneezing means something the sneezer said is true.

You shall grow tall: This is the translation of the German Großwachsen. For a child, you might use May you grow up (as they do in Romania).

Go away, kitten: This one might be the most creative of the responses. Serbians use this phrase with children for the most part, as a sneeze supposedly sounds like a cat’s cough. Hmm. We can’t say we disagree. (But how many cat videos should we watch to be sure? All the videos, right?)

Are you all right? After multiple sneezes, maybe you should simply pose a polite question. In Japan, sneezes are seldom noted, but they might inquire about someone’s health after a particularly noisy sneezing fit.

A sneeze by any other name is still a sneeze, though … even if you call it a sternutation. Read more about that and other fancy words for bodily functions here.

–from Dictionary.com

BRAND NEW New Bikernet Reader Comment!–Top Ten Motorcycle Road Trip Safety Tips for Beginners

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/5_Motorcycle_Road_Trip_Safety_Tips_for_Beginners.aspx

Excellent

— Jonathan Coltman
Springs, Gauteng, South Africa

KEEP THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BAD JOKE LIBRARY WIDE OPEN—Mask Free!

A 65-year-old man walked into a crowded waiting room and approached the desk.

The Receptionist said, ‘Yes sir, what are you seeing the Doctor for today?’

‘There’s something wrong with my dick’, he replied.

The receptionist became irritated and said, ‘You shouldn’t come into a crowded waiting room and say things like that. ‘

‘Why not, you asked me what was wrong and I told you,’ he said.

The Receptionist replied; ‘Now you’ve caused some embarrassment in this room full of people. You should have said there is something wrong with your ear or something and discussed the problem further with the Doctor in private.’

The man replied, ‘You shouldn’t ask people questions in a roomful of strangers, if the answer could embarrass anyone. The man walked out, waited several minutes, and then re-entered.

The Receptionist smiled smugly and asked, ‘Yes??’

‘There’s something wrong with my ear,’ he stated.

The Receptionist nodded approvingly and smiled, knowing he had taken her advice.. ‘And what is wrong with your ear, Sir?’

‘I can’t piss out of it,’ he replied.

The waiting room erupted in laughter…

–El Waggs
Officially Certified
Librarian
Bandit’s Cantina™
Bad Joke Library

Autonomous Race Car Starts Test Lap, Immediately Slams Into Wall–And we mean immediately.

Driver assistance systems are gradually getting closer to full autonomy; however, none of them are quite there yet. Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” is not actually capable of driving on its own, and Cadillac’s Super Cruise only works on the highway. There’s also a slew of startups attempting to develop fully driverless tech that has yet to offer anything for sale to the public. However, it should be easier on racetracks, right? There are no intersections, no stoplights—just the mapped course ahead.

Well, as easy as it may sound, an autonomous vehicle in the Roborace series seems to be having a bit of trouble with it. After starting a race as the only vehicle on-track, it took a sharp right turn and accelerated, running straight into a barrier while livestreaming on Twitch. You can’t help but laugh at the immediate mishap.

To be clear, not all Roborace vehicles do this. The plan is for each race team to develop its own autonomous tech with the electric drivetrains and chassis all being identical. So, in a race, that means this car would just DNF while other AIs drove around it, hopping on the radio and screeching like an old dial-up modem…or something. That’s how robots express joy. At least, I think.

Jokes aside, this incident is one of a few embarrassing mistakes Roborace cars have made in the past. That doesn’t mean they don’t also have good laps, though. One of the vehicles successfully drove up the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed a year ago, impressing spectators when the driver monitoring the car got out midway through the run, sending the vehicle on its way.

So, while not every autonomous racecar outing ends in an accident, all of the funny ones do. It would be interesting to see what a Tesla with FSD would do around a racetrack. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ran into a barrier as well.

Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com

–By Peter Holderith

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS–Eyes and Ears on Moab

The scenic Southwestern city of Moab, Utah, for decades a favorite destination of powersports enthusiasts, has voted on new restrictions aimed at local noise reduction following a record number of public complaints.

The Grand County Commission and the Moab City Council met last month and decided on three joint resolutions:

A temporary moratorium on issuing new business licenses for the sale, rental, or leasing of all-terrain vehicles, as well as commercial outdoor recreational uses involving an ATV, and ATV outfitting, guiding, and touring. Plus a temporary moratorium on issuing new special events permits for all-terrain vehicle vendors, associations, and groups.

“Despite receiving comments from industry organizations and their intent to compromise on the issue, the county and city have taken this direction,” said Scott Schloegel, MIC senior vice president of government relations. “Nationwide, we’ve seen greater interest in outdoor OHV recreation and Moab has seen a recent increase in city and county business license applications for sales, rentals, and licensing of ATVs, and related guide services that serve non-residents.

The MIC Government Relations Office is monitoring developments in Utah and will continue to represent industry and enthusiast interests.”

–MIC

Voxan claims 11 records with the world’s fastest electric motorcycle–While some speed records are going through a heated patch of controversy right now, others appear to be agreed upon. French manufacturer Voxan and the global sanctioning body for motorcycle racing, the FIM, have put out joint press releases announcing no less than 11 new electric motorcycle speed records.

After COVID-19 forced it to abandon a planned record attempt on the salt flats in Bolivia earlier this year, Voxan went home to France and hired out a runway instead. Last weekend, the team went out to Châteauroux airfield, a few hours south of Paris, and got the job done in comprehensive fashion.

Despite using a scarily-short 3.5-km (2.17-mi) runway instead of an expansive, smooth salt flat, ex-MotoGP racer and the 362-horsepower (270 kW) Voxan Wattman managed to substantially raise the bar for electric land speed motorcycling.

The first big-ticket record was a two-way average of 228.05 mph (366.94 km/h) for the “partially streamlined electric motorcycle over 300 kg (661 lb)” class, measured over a full mile (1.6 km) after a flying start, beating the previous record of 204 mph (329 km/h) set by the Mobitec EV-02A. The bike peaked at 254 mph (408 km/h) for just an instant during the record run, giving the team a taste of what it might be able to achieve with a longer track.

The second was the same flying mile using a non-streamlined naked version of the bike with a tiny bikini fairing instead of a giant dustbin. This version of the bike can be seen in the hero image at the top, revealing the Wattman’s single-sided front swingarm, presumably hub-steered. This bike managed a two-way average of 217.14 mph (349.38 km/h), reaching a peak speed of 231 mph (372 km/h) that would’ve felt absolutely crazy from the saddle.

The team chalked up nine more records including:

¼ mile, flying start, partially streamlined: 394.45 km/h (245.10 mph) – no previous record
¼ mile, flying start, non-streamlined: 357.19 km/h (221.95 mph) – no previous record
1 km, flying start, partially streamlined: 386.35 km/h (240.07 mph – previous record: 329.31 km/h (204.62 mph)
¼ mile, standing start, non-streamlined: 126.20 km/h (78.42 mph) – no previous record
¼ mile, standing start, partially streamlined: 127.30 km/h (79.10 mph) – previous record: 87.16 km/h (54.16 mph)
1 km, standing start, non-streamlined: 185.56 km/h (115.30 mph) – no previous record
1 km, standing start, partially streamlined: 191.84 km/h (119.20 mph) – previous record: 122.48 km/h (76.11 mph)
1 mile, standing start, non-streamlined: 222.82 km/h (138.45 mph) – no previous record
1 mile, standing start, partially streamlined: 225.01 km/h (139.81 mph)

While the team is happy with its performance, the plan is to go faster, and Voxan now has the 400 km/h and 250 mph marks in its sights with further attempts planned up until the end of 2022.

By Loz Blain
News Atlas.com

I kept moving the Bandit’s Dayroll around on the Pandemic. I like what I did to the front end and hate to hide it, including the Paughco brass dogbone risers. I think I found a cool spot.

I’m wrapping up another Bandit’s Dayroll story with Cruz Tools. They make three versions of this super small took kit. There’s another Cruz tool kit in the Pandemic dayroll.

RFR in Texas is running a Bandit Bedroll on this classic.

Have a helluva weekend and Ride Fast and Free!

–Bandit

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

Almost two decades ago, Discovery Channel started airing a show called “American Chopper.” It was the story of Orange County Choppers, and how the two Teutuls managed to get incredible two-wheelers done while going at each other’s throats. It was fun, it was exciting, and it was sad. And then it ended.

The show was made possible thanks to the existence of a large number of custom motorcycle garages in the States, and the incredible builds they make. Other regions are less appealing for networks in this respect, because there’s not much going on there, and that’s why we don’t have, for instance, a British Chopper show.

But there could be a German one. For the past 20-something years, a group called Thunderbike has been breaking norms and turning heads there. The garage has created literally hundreds of projects either based on stock Harley-Davidson motorcycles, or on custom frames made in-house, powered by and fitted with Harley hardware.

Thunderbike’s portfolio is so vast we’ve been talking about it all year, and we are not even close to the finish line. That means that we’re not only covering the shop’s most recent builds, but also much older ones. Why? Because there’s no Discovery Channel show about them, and this is the only way to bring them into the spotlight they deserve.

Today’s menu is all about a 1951 Panhead. Dubbed Flying Pan by its makers, it was completed in 2010 as the last in the Thunderbike portfolio to have “once sailed across the pond,” and is part of the shop’s vintage family of motorcycles.

Sporting the ‘51 engine, the Flying Pan comes with tons of purpose built parts: the handlebar, grips, footrests, fuel tank, oil tank, rear fender (there’s none up front), all and more have been made specifically for this project. The motorcycle rides on equally-sized wheels (18-inch) wrapped in Firestone rubber.

As for the mechanical bits, the Panhead is aided in its mission by S&S hardware (carburetor and intake), and a custom Thunderbike exhaust.

Sadly, we have no info on how much this build cost to make, nor do we have any idea what happened to it after being completed a decade ago.

by Janaki Jitchotvisut from https://www.rideapart.com

Meet the diesel-powered Tower Trike.

What is a motorcycle? It sounds like a question that’s disingenuous at best, but after watching this video, you may find yourself asking it anyway. It turns out that legal definitions and official standards and classifications vary by state—and outside the U.S., also by country.

According to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), “Motorcycle is defined as a motor vehicle with motive power having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground.” That’s why the Tower Trike you’re seeing in this video does, in fact, qualify as a motorcycle.

At one point, the Tower Trike’s builder mentions an 11,000-pound vehicle weight limit for motorcycles that he found somewhere, and it’s unclear where this figure originated. However, that’s not a huge surprise, as vehicle classification standards vary so much from state to state—and who knows, maybe the guy just wanted a handy story to tell.

In any case, when SRK Cycles describes this bike as what happens when a semi-tractor-trailer and a motorcycle have a baby, he’s not wrong. The resulting behemoth weighs just under 11,000 pounds and is powered by an enormous two-stroke Detroit diesel engine. It’s road-legal, with mirrors, headlights, indicators—and also seat belts, because you sit in the kind of seat you’d find in a big rig. Gas and brake are pedal-operated on the right side of the floorboard, and if you have a big enough foot, you can even heel-toe shift to your heart’s content.

There’s also a 200-plus pound metal cross on the back, which the Tower’s builder says isn’t only a design choice; it also functions as a roll bar of sorts for the trike’s rider and passenger. Since rolling this thing would have to be absolutely terrifying, let’s hope no one tests that functionality any time soon.

Editor’s Note: Recently one of our esteemed Bikernet™ contributors sent me a batch of historic Motordrome shots, then a pile of great shots of classic racing bikes from that era. I recently wrote a screenplay, called Splintered Road, about this era around WWI and it’s being looked at in Hollywood. This year one of the racing heavyweights, and a man who has been involved in the industry all his life, Don Emde, published a magnificent book on the sport of board track racing.

I won’t try to compete with Don’s account of the history, but we will share a few stories about the sport with the terrific number of shots Sam sent, so enjoy the ride.–Bandit

The Board Track Era ran from 1908 to approximately 1929. There were dozens of tracks across America that touted high banks and were up to two and one-half miles around. The term “Board Track Racer” also referred to the similar version that was raced on dirt tracks.

Motordromes allowed motorcycles to go increasingly faster than they ever had before because banking around corners reduced the need to slow down around turns. In fact, these bikes didn’t even have brakes.

–Wikipedia 

“The 1.25-mile-long Los Angeles Motor Speedway, also referred to as the Beverly Hills Speedway, was 1 of the 22 board-track speedways built between 1915 and 1928. These massive wooden ovals, America’s timber circuses became popular during the roaring ‘20s, though like their shorter circular relatives, the motordromes, the speedways too fell out of fashion within a short time after their introduction.

“However, compared to the frenzied and often times violent motordromes, the larger, safer speedways gave the sport a proper venue for achieving breathtaking new speeds.”

“This was the grand age of factory competition, overhead-valve machines, lionized competitors, and lightning fast races. As seen in the film, former Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew member Shrimp Burns, who was now the star of the Indian camp, covered 13 and 3/4 miles in the miss and out race in just under 6 minutes, an average speed of 103.78 mph, charging past Harley’s Otto Walker at the finish line and beating him by only inches.

“Shrimp then crashed out in the 25-Mile race on the 11th lap at 106 mph, which Otto Walker later beat out Jim Davis, Gene Walker, and Joe Wolters to win. Otto Walker also set a new M&ATA record for the distance with an average speed of 104.43 mph.

“While Shrimp was carried off to the hospital, his teammate, Indian’s Curly Fredericks on a factory stock Power Plus, was leading the 50-mile event, but he too crashed on the 9th lap. Fredericks complained his spill was due to dirty racing, but the officials could find no evidence of the fact, Harley-Davidson’s new kid Jim Davis won the 50-Mile followed by Ray Weishaar, Joe Wolters and Fred Ludlow.

“By the final race of the day, the 15-Mile, Shrimp was back from the hospital, splinter free and ready to run, though heavily bandaged. He piloted Frederick’s Power Plus as his 8-Valve was down for the count and immediately jumped to the front of the pack.

Shrimp hit 102.55 mph on the stock pocket-valve motor, setting a record as the first stock engine to do over 100 mph in competition, and winning the race in front of Ludlow and Hepburn.

“Indian’s most tenacious young star Shrimp Burns gave one of the most sensational performances of his career that day in front of 12,000 spectators at the Beverly Hills Speedway.”

On September 8, 1912, Eddie Hasha, a.k.a. “the Texas Cyclone,” was competing in the final event of the day at a motordome in Newark, New Jersey—a five-mile race against five other riders—when disaster struck. Hasha began the race in the lead, but in the third lap the engine on his bike developed a misfire. Another rider sped by him.

Hasha dropped one hand from the handlebar, adjusted the engine, and quickly picked up speed. In the next instant he shot up the banked track and struck a rail at the top, along with a number of spectators looking down into the bowl from above. The number of dead varies from four to six, depending on the account. Hasha ended up hitting a post and being thrown to his death among the spectators. The press began referring to motordromes as “murderdromes.”

With the onset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s, board track racing disappeared rapidly. However, several of its most notable aspects have continued to influence American motorsports up to the present day, including: A technical emphasis on raw speed produced by the steep banking; ample track width to allow steady overtaking between competitors; and the development of extensive grandstands or stadium-style spectator seating surrounding many of the courses.

One guy stepped up recently to revive the world of board track racing, Billy Lane. Sons of Speed racing also enhanced his business of building and restoring the most valuable antique motorcycles is the industry today. Billy, with all his SOS riders and competitors including Berry Wardlaw and Jody Perewitz are bringing back these magnificent machines and making them available to young enthusiasts who can’t get enough of these wild machines.

Editor’s additional note: If you want to step into the early world of motorcycles and motordromes, check out Don Emde’s magnificent book called “The Speed Kings.” Below is a short description from a Charles Fleming review:

In his expansive new book ‘The Speed Kings’, motorcycle historian and Daytona 200 race winner Don Emde has chronicled the meteoric rise and tragic fall of American board track racing, which at its peak in the early 1900s rivaled baseball as America’s number one spectator sport and made its champions into the country’s first national sports heroes.

Emde spent four decades collecting images and information on “motordrome” racing, which flourished in the U.S. between roughly 1909 and 1914, ultimately compiling 6,000 pages of data. From this he has created a dense, oversized coffee table book, massive in scope and weight, packed with the ephemera of a bygone era. Included are more than 600 photos.

–Charles Fleming
The Vintagent
A Motorcycle Arts Foundation Production

by Krista Simpson from https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/

A Hollywood heavyweight was able to enjoy some bikes from a Harley-Davidson dealership in Cambridge last week.

Jason Momoa is a star on both big and small screens, and also a fan of the open road. His love for motorcycles led him to Blackbridge Harley-Davidson.

“Jason has been part of the Harley-Davidson family for quite a while now, he’s worked very closely with the motor company with some of their projects,” Erin Mitchell, with the dealership said. “It’s a pleasure to share his enthusiasm for riding.”

The dealership delivered some new electric LiveWires to Momoa and his crew. The actor of “Aquaman” and “Game of Thrones” is currently filming the second season of “See” in Toronto.

“It was just fortunate, a happy accident I guess,” Mitchell said. “They noticed we were open and that we had bikes for rent.”

The dealership posted about the LiveWire drop-off on social media. Mitchell said Momoa showed off his bike collection and was a gracious host.

“It’s always really easy to speak to any of our customers and guests who are enthusiastic about the brand,” Mitchell said. “There’s lots to talk about, there’s always your last ride, where you want to go next, what you plan on doing with your bike next and having fun on it.”

The experience isn’t just for celebrities. Anyone can come to the dealership and try out the bike.

“(It’s) 105 horsepower, zero to 100 in less than three seconds,” Erik Emin, who is also with the dealership, said. “It’s quite an impressive machine.”

Emin described the LiveWire as something you have to experience to truly appreciate it. The latest models of all the motorcycles at the dealership are available to rent.

“Whether it’s a day, 24 hours, or multi-days during the week or even a weekend, it is available,” Emin said. “This allows the rider to get the better opinion on the book and also if it’s the right bike for them.”

“If you’re wanting to try something new, even just to get out and have fun on it, we always encourage that, because that’s what the love of riding is all about,” Mitchell said.

from https://citizen.co.za

Latest reincarnation of tourer lives up to its RT moniker in every sense of the word.

For decades, BMW Motorrad’s RT moniker has been synonymous in the world of dynamic as well as touring motorcycles. To ensure that this continues, Munich has introduced a number of changes to the R 1250 RT, it says has resulted in “even greater riding pleasure and touring enjoyment at the very highest level”.

As before, the two-cylinder boxer engine continues with its displacement being unchanged at 1 254 cc and output at 100 kW. Equipped with ShiftCam technology though, BMW claims that overall running is smoother and power delivery improved. For the first time, an Eco mode has been added to the Dynamic Traction Control system, with another new addition being the ABS Pro braking system, which has however been adapted specifically for the R 1250 RT.

On the comfort side, an LED headlight with swivel function stars with buyers having the option of upgrading to the full adaptive setup. Also included is a 10.25-inch colour TFT instrument cluster with navigation, smartphone pairing and Bluetooth, plus an upgraded sound system, a new front fairing and three bespoke variants; Elegance, Sport and Option 719. The upgraded R 1250 RT will be available in South Africa from the second quarter of next year.