Wishing Keith ‘Bandit’ Ball a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Birthday from the Bikernet Crew.

At 75 years young, Bandit is just getting fired up and ready to find new adventures.

Competitive in features, pricing and target audience

eFTR Hooligan 1.2 priced at $3,999 is an electric bicycle by Indian Motorcycle and SUPER73®. They have partnered to bring adventurers, fun-seekers and motorcyclists together with the eFTR Hooligan 1.2 electric bike.

While lot has been published and reported on Harley-Davidson’s electric adventures including Serial 1 electric bicycles and of course LiveWire becoming a separate company, few have awareness of the electric offerings from Indian Motorcycle within Polaris Industries.

Plus the eFTR Jr and eFTR Mini are targeted at kids with very lucrative prices.

Read this overview of electric offerings from Indian Motorcycle Company by clicking here

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Follow Bikernet Free Weekly Newsletter to get latest Motorcycling news, updates, reviews, tech, tips, & lot of fun. Click here & take a test ride.

by Rogue – Misled – Christy

Sons of Speed 2023 has started Bike Week Off With Record Attendance

Sons of Speed has always been an enjoyable event for me to attend and cover. I really like that people have taken the time to keep these classic motorcycles running and even more to the point, actually racing them. This event is exploding.

I am not the only one who feels that way, the event was packed. Attendance was up and so were the new classes and number of riders racing.

Click here to read the wonderful photo feature report only on Bikernet.com

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Gear up to ride to your favorite Motorcycling Events – Click Here to view the all-new 5-Ball Racing Shop

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) 2023 legislative agenda includes a diverse set of issues that strike at the core of who we are as bikers.

Historically, the MRF has fought many battles to defend individuals and the aftermarket motorcycle businesses’ rights to customize and repair motorcycles. Our successful defense against the EPA’s “Color and Chrome” only initiative and the regulations/enforcement related to it helped define the MRF and what we stand for to this day.

The MRF has long supported the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act (RPM Act), which would ensure that modifying motor vehicles into racing vehicles used for competition would not violate the Clean Air Act. We anticipate an updated version of the RPM Act will be introduced this Spring. The MRF and our partners will work diligently for passage of this commonsense piece of legislation. Importantly, some of these parts and technology we are looking to protect are used in the EPA allowances for one-per-lifetime custom bikes and Tier 1 eligible motorcycles we fought for two decades ago.

The MRF agenda also strongly supports the desire to protect a consumer’s right to repair, and ownership of data related to their vehicles. A recently introduced bill, H.R. 906 The Repair Act, helps protect consumers’ ability to utilize independent repair shops and aftermarket parts to work on vehicles, including motorcycles.

These issues are becoming increasingly important and drawing the attention of the aftermarket industry and bike customizers. The EPA has restarted a campaign of increased enforcement and it is threatening shops and individuals with legal action.

MRF President Kirk “Hardtail” Willard recently appeared on Cycle Source Magazines “Shop Talk” radio show to discuss these issues and this week traveled to Daytona Bike Week to join independent motorcycle shop owners and others in the aftermarket industry to discuss the many issues facing this industry. The meeting was hosted by Chris Callen of Cycle Source Magazine and moderated by industry icon Bob Kay. Hardtail had this to say about the meeting, “It was encouraging to see both the level of concern and willingness in this group to engage in our efforts and educate other players in the aftermarket industry.”

The MRF won’t tackle these challenges alone, we are aggressively looking to put back together our coalition that was so effective in past battles. In the past the coalition included, the aftermarket industry, media and print publications, other custom vehicle organizations, and other motorcyclists’ rights groups. Lastly, our Master Mechanic and technical expert Dave “Dad” Dwyer is looking to schedule a meeting with the EPA in Detroit to discuss our growing concerns.

These are challenging issues, but with your continued support and the help of other like-minded advocates we will fight to defend the rights and freedoms we cherish.

Dawn Riba
Motorcycle Riders Foundation Communications Director

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Follow Freedom and Rights News on Bikernet.com at:

• Weekly Thursday News, click here

• NCOM and other rights news, click here

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE RACING LEADS MISSION® SUPER HOOLIGAN® NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOLLOWING SEASON OPENER AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

 2022 Super Hooligan® Champion Tyler O’Hara Takes Early Points Lead Following Back-to-Back Wins At Daytona Doubleheader

 Indian Motorcycle Racing Comes Away with Podium Finish in Mission® King of the Baggers,

O’Hara Ranks Fifth In Season Standings with 21 Points, McWilliams Eighth with 19

 MINNEAPOLIS (MARCH 14, 2023) – Following an offseason that expanded the competitive landscape with new manufacturers lining up for the MotoAmerica® Mission® Super Hooligan® National Championship (SHNC), it was Indian Motorcycle Racing and its factory team claiming the top two spots on the leaderboard, following the season-opening doubleheader at Daytona International Speedway. Piloting a pair of S&S®-built Progressive® Mission® Foods Indian FTRs, reigning SHNC champion Tyler O’Hara and teammate Jeremy McWilliams each left Daytona with a pair of podiums, including back-to-back victories for O’Hara and third and second-place finishes for McWilliams.

On Friday, March 10, O’Hara strategically tailed RSD Indian FTR privateer Bobby Fong for nearly the entire six-lap race. Waiting for the final lap to strike, O’Hara was able to carry more speed through the chicane and go up and around the outside of Fong to capture the season’s first win by .0064 seconds. McWilliams rounded out the podium to complete the Indian FTR podium sweep.

“Bobby was running fast all weekend and gapped me for a period until I was able to make up some ground. The lapper through the chicane definitely played a big role as I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to draft pass him on the finish,” said O’Hara. “But what  a fun race, and for Indian Motorcycle to sweep the podium just shows how impressive this Indian FTR really is.”

Race 2 on Saturday, March 11, was filled with plenty of action. After an early crash caused a red-flag restart, it was a five-rider group at the front of the pack. Pushing hard in the group, KTM rider Andy DeBrino lost his front end and laid his bike down, while Fong encountered a technical issue – making it a three-rider run for first between Harley-Davidson rider Corey West, O’Hara and McWilliams. While West ultimately crossed the finish line first, a post-race bike inspection found an illegal air intake that resulted in a disqualification – awarding O’Hara his second win of the weekend and earning McWilliams a second-place finish.

In the MotoAmerica® Mission® King of the Baggers (KOTB) class, O’Hara reached the podium with a third-place finish in Race 1. While the Indian Challenger had been running fast all weekend, even clocking the weekend’s fastest speed on a bagger at 182 mph, both O’Hara and McWilliams suffered technical issues in Race 2. Indian Motorcycle Racing concluded the opening rounds at Daytona with O’Hara in fifth (21 points) and McWilliams in eighth (19 points) on the season’s leaderboard.

“Our issues this weekend were specifically with our tires, MotoAmerica is a spec tire series, we are only given one choice for tires for Daytona and they failed with our higher speeds after four laps, but our new bikes are performing incredibly well, with a significantly higher level of both handling and power, as evidenced by both our riders registering speeds of more than 180 mph throughout the weekend,” said Gary Gray, Vice President – Racing, Technology and Service for Indian Motorcycle. “At the end of the day, the performance of our Indian Challengers, coupled with our success in the Super Hooligan class has us feeling extremely optimistic and incredibly motivated heading into the second round in Atlanta.”

The 2023 KOTB and SHNC seasons continue with Road Atlanta April 21-23. For more information visit MotoAmerica.com.

Indian Motorcycle Racing is presented by Progressive Insurance®, Mission® Foods and Medallia®, with additional support from Indian Motorcycle Motor Oil, S&S®, Parts Unlimited, Drag Specialties®, Performance Finance, and J&P Cycles®.

For information about Indian Motorcycle, visit IndianMotorcycle.com, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Sons of Speed has always been an enjoyable event for me to attend and cover. I really like that people have taken the time to keep these classic motorcycles running and even more to the point, actually racing them. This event is exploding

  I am not the only one who feels that way, the event was packed. Attendance was up and so were the new classes and number of riders racing.

 

Races have several different classes for types of engines.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfNG48LwU6o

 

I ended up in Shelly Rossmeyer’s Pit watching Berry Wardlaw, Chuck Kennedy and Rebel Glover keep her bike running in top condition. Prior to the race Shelly’s bike went to Berry’s shop Accurate Engineering in Dothan, Alabama for tuning and runs on the new racing dyno he recently installed. They found some problems, when running on the dyno, fixed them and the end result is her bike ran the best it has ever performed.

While the races are the big thing, it was also a time to see friends and get to spend some time with them and catch up

 

Chris Callen, the emperor of Cycle Source was in the pits next to us. He’s gone from helping with the races to working the pits and this year entered a bike. He ran 28 second laps and won a couple of heats and made the main event. He’ll be back. 

 

In the final race of the day Moonshiner Josh Owens crashed coming out of turn 3 and received serious injuries and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

At the time of this writing he is recovering. Friend and brother racer Freddie Bollwage reported on his condition.

Josh has two broken legs, both kneecaps, ankle, broken neck and lower back injury. He had surgery and is alert and doing well considering the extent of his injuries. There was no head trauma or internal bleeding.

Freddie thanked everyone for their prayers. Please keep them coming.

There will be a Go Fund Me set up in the near future to help with the hospital expenses and recovery. We will keep you informed as we get more information,

 

https://www.facebook.com/thesonsofspeed/

I’ll be back next year, can’t miss it!

Despite rising inflation in 2023, there are still cool new motorcycles under $5,000

• 2023 Honda Monkey: $4,249

• 2023 Honda Rebel 300: $4,749

• 2023 Kawasaki KLX230: $4,999

• 2023 Royal Enfield Classic 350: $4,799

• 2023 Yamaha MT-03: $4,999

by K. Randall “Bandit” Ball

The city from Laguna to Irvine and El Toro closed in on Trabuco Canyon like a concrete plaque. But Cook’s still resided in the last remaining unencumbered scrub hills. Bruno tied off his helmet to his TT bars and kicked up dust in the ground-shale parking lot to the door. It was wide, thick planks and swung open with a rusting creak. Dark inside the Four Tops played Only the Lonely from the neon jute box.

But something foreboding filled the air. Straight ahead was the bar and a number of club members scrambling around something or someone on the floor.

Click here to read the latest biker fiction from the master of the genre only at Bikernet.com

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Visit Bandit’s Cantina for entire novels, click here.

Editor’s Note: We are having some fun with the notion that bikers may become the cowboys of the future. So, we took liberties with a movie from 1974 with Burt Lancaster, called Valdez is Coming. Watch for the final chapter in April 2023.

The city from Laguna to Irvine and El Toro closed in on Trabuco Canyon like a concrete plague. Cook’s resided in the last remaining unencumbered scrub hills. Bruno tied his helmet to his bars and stepped up to the entrance. The door cried in pain as he pushed it open. The inside smelled of sawdust, tobacco smoke, and beer. The Four Tops’ “Only the Lonely” played on the juke. Straight ahead was the bar. In between, six Comancheros  M/C members kicked the shit out of someone on the floor.

“What the fuck?” Bruno approached the melee on the slat floor scattered with cigarette butts, peanut shells and dust. He yanked one rider from the rat pack to see a black motorcyclists on the wooden deck bloodied and desperately trying to protect himself.

“That’s enough,” Bruno said. “Let the kid go.”

A big Hispanic with massive arms stepped up. Meaner than cat shit, he glared at Bruno and spit on the deck. “What the fuck is it to you? He stole a club bike. He pays.”

Bruno looked down at the battered kid on the deck, who shook his head tearfully through blood and spit and muttered, “I never stole a motorcycle.”

Bruno looked back at Pablo the club VP with tattoos running up his neck and one on his temple. “Did you get the bike back?”

“That’s none of your fucking business puto,” Pablo snapped as nasty as a stepped on rattlesnake.

“Pick him up,” Pablo ordered and the brothers hauled the black rider to his feet.

“I ride a sport bike,” the rider said through bloody teeth under a crushed nose.

Pablo spun in the direction of the young man in the darkened bar. He pulled a shiny 12-inch, straight blade and buried it into the abdomen of the kid just below his ribs and twisted the blade. The African American youngster gasped and stared wide-eyed. Pablo wiped the bloody knife on the kid’s t-shirt as he took his last breath. “Drop him, let’s ride.”

Pablo stepped up, the knife reflecting from the dim barroom lights and neon. He wasn’t much taller than Bruno, but big and buffed. “That was your fault, don’t interrupt,” he muttered his voice low and gravely.

Bruno watched the knife. He was too close, but the big man put it away and then shoved Bruno hard. Bruno stumbled and knocked over a table as he hit the deck. Before he could get to his feet, he was surrounded by Comanchero brothers some reaching for weapons.

A tall white member sporting a Prez patch sewn over his leather vest pocket, stepped through the crowd and put his arm around Pablo as he stared down at the redheaded white boy. “You don’t want to mess with my brothers. As you can see, if some sonuvabitch steals one of our bikes, we don’t fuck around. Let’s ride brothers. Nobody messes with the Comancheros.”

Bruno quickly jumped to his feet as the members jammed to the parking lot, fired up their bikes and rode out. He made his way to the bar and ordered a Jack on the Rocks as the young girl dove to the side of her boyfriend weeping and holding him in her slender arms.

Bruno took his drink to her table, sat and watched for a moment. Other patrons tried to console the young girl. The bartender called 911. Bruno didn’t want to be there when the cops arrived.

Shaken, he downed the whiskey, stood and headed for the door. Outside, he unhooked his helmet and suddenly the girl was as his side. Mexican, she had warm features and he studied her for the first time. Under the vague, distant, parking lot lights, her features glowed like a camp fire, beautiful, partially because of her pregnancy. He look down at her stomach.

“What am I going to do now?” Sheila said and ran her slender hand over her baby bump. “He never stole anything. It’s my fault. My ex was a Comanchero.”

Bruno ran a gloved hand over his face and looked around the lot as if searching for directions or answers. “Get on,” he said and jumped on his motorcycle. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Bruno had to think, and the best place to accomplish that was in the saddle, cutting a dusty trail to nowhere.

They rolled through the canyon, onto 10 freeway, turning off on the highway leading into 13 Palms and the desert. He pulled up to a small concrete block house in the middle of no place and a Hispanic brother came out of the pad. “Ola, what the hell are you doing here?”

Bruno scowled. The two went inside and the girl sat at Diego’s dining room table. “Family?” Bruno asked her.

“I can’t go there,” Sheila said. “The Comancheros threatened my people. There’s no place to go.”

Diego’s wife brought chips and salsa, tea for the girl and whiskey for the men.

“What happened,” Diego asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Bruno said, “and neither can she. The less you know the better. Can she spend the night?”

Diego looked at his wife and she nodded. She wouldn’t say no to a young Hispanic pregnant woman.

Diego walked Bruno back to his racy-looking Sportster. “I’ve got to figure something out,” Bruno said.

“We’ll be here,” Diego responded, nodded and patted Bruno on the shoulder. They rode together back in the early chopper, Long Beach days. Bruno did Vietnam service time and rode with a couple of Port of LA clubs. He straddled his bike and rode into the night over the curvy pass and onto the freeway toward Los Angeles. All along the way he thought about the girl and her predicament.

Diego, his lovely wife Maria and Sheila sat at sort of a rickety wooden picnic table. They called it their dining room table, the only table in the two-room cinderblock pad. They dug into huevos rancheros, juice and coffee.

“Who’s the father?” Bruno blurted. “Was it the dead kid or the clubber’s.”

Sheila swallowed hard and followed the gulp with a swig of freshly squeezed orange juice. “The dead kid, goddammit,” she muttered.

“Then the bastards owe you,” Bruno spat and grabbed a tortilla off the plate, rolled it and stuffed it in his mouth. He snatched her cup of joe and washed it down. “Let’s go.”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Diego barked, unusual for him.

“Si,” said Maria, the resilience strong in one word.

“She’s pregnant,” Diego confirmed. If you’ve got a problem with them. It’s on you.”

Bruno looked at the girl, at Diego and Maria. “I’ll be back,” he said and bolted for the door.

Diego turned to Sheila, “He has a big heart.”

Bruno gassed up and hit the freeway. A soft-traffic Sunday, he peeled through mild congestion like a snake through weeds until he leaned onto the 605 freeway heading east toward no-mans’ land on the outskirts of Duarte, California, an industrial wasteland. Rolling off the freeway onto a wide boulevard he peeled passed manufacturing block buildings until he rolled up to the front of the Comancheros club house.

He continued past the chain-link fence surrounding the compound until he found a coffee shop where he parked his Sportster and made his way back to the compound on foot. Brothers patted him down and allowed him entrance into the asphalt grounds containing a small two-bedroom clapboard home and a large tin and steel industrial building. Old school industry surrounded by newer buildings in stages, stucco, block and finally concrete tilt-up structures.

He made his way through lines of choppers, Dynas and baggers to the front porch. As he approached the wooden slat deck Pablo burst out of the front door. ?“What the fuck do you want, except to die like that black punk?” He demanded.

“I want to talk to your boss,” Bruno said. Rapidly he was being surrounded by members of the club, all carrying some level of weaponry.

“You’ll talk to me or die trying,” Pablo said. A snarky bastard with a large fuzzy head of hair and a long jet-black fu man chu mustache, he ground his teeth and spit. With 20-inch arms and a 46-inch chest the imposing figure made an evil statement and Bruno knew what the sonuvabitch was capable of. “What the fuck do you want?”

“That kid didn’t steal a club bike and you know it,” Bruno snapped and stared at the club monster. “The girl was the problem and now she’s pregnant. What the fuck are you going to do about that, leave her on the streets?”

The ragged wooden-framed screen door on the bungalow burst open and out stepped the tall wavy-haired white guy carrying a cup of steamy hot coffee. “What’s up?”

Pablo stepped aside. “This punk came back.”

“Just want to know what you guys can do for the pregnant girl?” Bruno asked.

The club prez stepped up to the porch railing post and leaned against the 6 by 6-inch wooden post. He sipped his coffee. “What do you suggest?”

“I will put up a grand, if you will,” Bruno said.

“Why would you do that?” The prez said looking into his cup. “What has she done for you?” He snickered as if sexual favors passed between the two. Others grinned.

“Nothing,” Bruno said. “She’s pregnant and needs help, that’s all.”

“The bitch gets nothing from my club,” the prez said and smirked. “Unless she wants to come around and take care of the brothers.” He laughed a haunting tone and threw his remaining coffee at Bruno. “Don’t come around here anymore, if you know what’s good for you.” The prez nodded to Pablo. “Show him to the gate.”

Pablo singled-out two of his Lieutenants to assist Bruno to the gate.

“Just a grand to help the girl out…” Bruno said the coffee dripping off his vest. He pulled a black and orange bandana out of his back pocket and wiped his face and bright red mustache. His eyes frowning, he was struck by an aluminum baseball bat from behind. He dropped to one knee but recovered quickly and got to his feet. Another brother shoved him toward the gate and he stumbled.

Bruno turned to face his assailants and Pablo. He had only 25 feet to the wire gate, but he wouldn’t run. Another bother approached with a 4-foot two-by-four and pulled back for a swing. Bruno turned, stepped up to Pablo and grabbed his black leather and spun him as a barrier from the wooden plank. It hit Pablo and the brother froze. The massive weight-lifter wasn’t fazed.

“Just a grand muthafucker,” Bruno said gnashing his teeth as his eyes made direct contact with the VP. He shoved him hard into the other brothers, but more kept coming.

He fought off two more, but the bats were coming hard and fast and a machete barely missed his hand as he reached for the gate. It smacked the galvanized post with an eerie clang. Another bat hit his other hand while pushing the gate open and Bruno stumbled out the gate and fell in the sandy dirt at the road’s edge.

The members pulled the gate closed abruptly as Pablo approached. “Next time you won’t leave in one piece, punk.”
‘
Bruno got to his feet and turned toward Pablo. “How about $500. That’s my final offer,” he said clutching his bruised hand and smiled, turned and walked away. “Good for today only.” He waved his arm and walked away.

Illustration by Jon Towle R.I.P.

The Master of the Line Drawing for Early Easyriders Magazine
By Ann Robinson Hal2 with illustrations by Hal Robinson

Click here for this enlightening article about an artist only on Bikernet.com

I am writing this because I want people to know about the things Harold (Hal) Robinson went through in his life; things that led up to his greatness as a Cartoonist of the late ‘60s, ‘70s and the ‘80s. Hal Robinson did not have an easy life. However, he called his own shots and did things his way.

He needed this freedom to think and do the magnificent works he created. I loved my husband, Hal Robinson. I loved his drawings also, and I loved him because he was a great human being.

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Click to Visit and Shop for the delightful Hal Robinson Collection only on 5-Ball Racing Shop