Freedom

84 arrests, 226 citations and 18 crashes reported in 24 hours at massive motorcycle rally in South Dakota

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by Caitlin O’Kane from https://www.cbsnews.com South Dakota authorities on Sunday reported the first haul of crashes, arrests and citations from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the western part of the state. The annual rally started on Friday, drawing thousands of maskless riders to the streets and bars of Sturgis. While organizers have said they expect fewer visitors than in other years, the Argus Leader reports the number of arrests and citations have increased from last year. The Department of Public Safety reported that police made 84 arrests for driving under the influence or drug-related offenses during a 24-hour period spanning from Saturday into Sunday morning. That’s up from last year, when 76 people had been arrested in a similar time frame. Police have also issued more citations, with 226 people getting tickets. The figure is 37 more than last year. But it appears police are less lenient this year and are letting fewer people off with warnings. So far, police in the region have reported 18 crashes, which is down from last year’s mark of 20. None have been fatal. Shrugging off the five million coronavirus cases now tallied in the U.S., thousands of motorcyclists converged this weekend in Sturgis for what is billed as the biggest cycle gathering in the world. “I’ve been here since the beginning of July,” one person in Sturgis told CBS News. “People are tired of being at home, you know. This is what this rally started about is freedom.” In June, city officials decided in an eight to one vote to go ahead with the rally, CBS affiliate KELO reports. In an email to CBS News, the City of Sturgis Public Information Officer Christina Steele said the “decision to hold the Rally came after hearing from thousands of attendees that they were coming to […]

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The Happy 4th of July Bikernet Weekly News for July 2, 2020

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These Are Still the Best of Times with News from Around the Globe Hey, I could go in a lot of bummer directions today, but that misses the major point. We are absolutely living in the best of times, yet I suppose some folks are bored, so they need attack shit. But I am moved by the brothers and sisters who recognize our flag, our monuments, our heritage and all the greatness flourishing in this country. I’m hiding out in Deadwood, South Dakota and it’s crowded with folks and bikers who have come to smell the Jack Pine trees, ride through amazing highways, inhale the history of the Badlands and check the action in Sturgis. We will get through this virus thing and party once more. In the meantime, the best things you can do to stay healthy and safe are to work out and ride motorcycles. CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWS ON BIKERNET Join the Cantina – Subscribe Today https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

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Memorial Day Bikernet Weekly News for May 21, 2020

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Say a Prayer for the Brothers and Sisters who Fought for Freedom Hey, This is one of those strange holidays. It’s at a time of the year when the party lamps are lite. On the other hand, it’s a time of thought and prayer for those who died in battle. We have a tremendous amount to celebrate this weekend with the country reopening, more businesses reopening and the celebration of life. But take some time out this weekend, to ponder those who have died in any combat including our own motorcycle freedom fighters. And think about life and our good fortunes to be living in the best of times of life on earth. CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWS ON BIKERNET QUICK – Join the Cantina – Subscribe Today https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

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Missouri motorcycle helmet law repeal has governor’s support, but it’s a small part of a larger bill

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by Ashley Byrd from https://www.missourinet.com One of the proposed laws tucked into a massive state transportation bill would allow motorcyclists to drive without helmets, but they must be at least 26 years old and have medical insurance and proof of financial responsibility. Representative Jared Taylor of Republic in southwest Missouri says the governor promised he’d sign it, but Parson’s spokeswoman says while he has “indicated he is supportive of this issue, but like always, there will be a thorough bill review to see what else is in the bill.’ Democrat from St. Louis, Rep. Gina Mitten opposed this part of the bill on the House floor. None of my constituents probably care a bit about the myriad of other things in this bill, except for the helmet law,” she told colleagues. “I don’t know about the other folks in this room, but I got a ton of emails over the past few days saying, ‘Do not do this.’” Mitten says there is a financial cost to citizens for this proposed law. “You get a traffic ticket, you’re going to pay money to the Brain Injury Fund. That’s basically money for motorcyclists who get brain injuries because they are not wearing helmets or they do stupid things.” Supporters of helmet repeal want the freedom to ride without a helmet.

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These Motorcycle Campers Make Me Want To Live On My Bike

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by Enrico Punsalang from https://www.rideapart.com Just when you thought you’ve seen it all. When it comes to the level of freedom motorcycles give you, the sky’s the limit. To some, the prospect of cruising down the open road aboard a cruiser embodies this freedom. While to others, clocking in hot laps on a high performance sportbike on the track gives them a dose of freedom unlike anything else. The thrills of motorcycling undeniably come in many ways, shapes, and forms, but one particular trend that we’ve stumbled across is pretty interesting. Traveling across the country in a camper isn’t exactly a rare thing. In fact you’re bound to come across a camper or RV parked in a mall parking lot, or cruising the open road almost any day. How would you fancy a motorcycle sidecar camper, though? Yup, you read that right. Some ingenious motorcycle enthusiasts have managed to create mini campers for their bikes. As far as safety is concerned, I’m not too sure any of these things will be meeting any international standards. Nonetheless, they’re pretty cool to look at, make for pretty cool customs, and just go to show the lengths at which people can stretch their imaginations to achieve most anything on motorcycles. Here are a few of the coolest ones we’ve seen.

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The Harley-Davidson Ride Home Is How You Properly Celebrate Freedom

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by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com/ Ask anyone about Harley-Davidson and probably the first word you’ll hear out of their mouth is “freedom.” This is what the Ride Home is all about. Even for those who don’t ride or have little knowledge of the Harley-Davidson brand (or bikes in general), the image of the Harley-Davidson rider is that of a man’s man (or woman’s woman, in the case of female riders). Throughout the years, the brand has cultivated this image of the rugged outlaw, of the rebel who forsakes the urban environment for the open road and the sense of ultimate freedom. While the “outlaw” image has been turned into a cliché by the Hollywood machine, the rebel label still holds water. And it’s for and by these rebels that the big Ride Home was born into reality. The most recent edition, the 2018 one, solidified the event as the biggest of the kind in the world – and Harley-Davidson’s status as a leader in the biker community. All motorcycle groups and gangs have that brotherhood / sisterhood approach, but it is only Harley that can boast such a loyal following as to go on a cross-country pilgrimage every 5 years, just to honor the Harley-Davidson spirit. The Ride Home is a tradition that started in 1988, when the company celebrated its 85th anniversary. To mark the occasion, management rented out the front half of the Milwaukee SummerFest grounds, and the city of Milwaukee welcomed bikers from all over the world. They had no idea what to expect or how this event would snowball into something this impressive. As you probably know, Harley-Davidson was founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by the Davidson brothers and their friend William Harley (with some help from another friend, Henry Melk). It is one of

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Montreal woman leaves her job, hits the road for solo motorcycle trip across Canada

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Wendy McGean fulfilled her dream — of driving cross-country on a motorcycle — at 55 years old Suddenly, in her late forties, Wendy McGean started having an unexpected reaction every time she’d spot a motorcycle on the road. “My head would just pivot and I’d think: ‘I really want to do that!” she told CBC Montreal’s Daybreak. At the time, she thought it was an odd feeling for a married mother of two teenage daughters with a white collar job. “It was a very traditional kind of life,” she said. Before she knew it, McGean was leaving all that behind — her home, her job, even her marriage. “Some people thought I’d absolutely lost my mind,” McGean said. “I just completely turned my life upside down.” Just one kick at the can McGean started to chase her dream of riding a motorcycle at 51 years old, signing herself up for circuit training. She realized that she didn’t feel comfortable on only two wheels and bumped up to a three-wheeled bike. She said it was “love at first sight,” and suddenly McGean was buying a bike of her own. “I think it’s the first thing in my life I found that I thought, ‘this is mine,’” she said. “It represents complete and utter freedom.” Not long after McGean got a taste of that freedom, she suffered a major loss. Her father died. “[It] made me realize that if there’s something that I want to do in my life, then I better get at it,” she said. “So I made the decision to leave my marriage.” After 23 years of married life, McGean said she started to feel like a square peg and her life was a round hole. Something just didn’t fit anymore. “I was lucky enough to have somebody that

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The Thanksgiving 2019 Bikernet Weekly News

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Hey, Making progress is a major motivator. I like to climb out of bed thinking the day is going to be exciting. This week I solved some issues, took my 1928 Shovelhead to Larry Settle for a look-over. We organized and shipped Hugh King’s Discovery Channel biker build-off bike to the Sturgis Museum. We attempted to get two girders from Spitfire Motorcycles. We scored a few Antiques motorcycle parts from Bobby Stark’s lot. I solved a minor issue with the Salt Torpedo and we are just a couple of weeks away from our first trial runs. I roughed out another Cantina Chapter. READ THE BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS IN THE CANTINA – CLICK HERE –  Join Today

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Whacky Bikernet Weekly News for November 21, 2019

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Hey, A couple of infrastructure changes. From now on, we will post the news on the Free side of the Bikernet Iron Curtain for one week each week. We will also do the same with selected articles before slipping them into Bandit’s Cantina archives for our esteemed members. We need members, but I want the largest readership to check the news. We also need to inform the largest possible audience of the issues facing motorcycling and of happenings on Bikernet. So, what the fuck, I’m giving it a shot. Let’s hit the news. It’s going to be a good one: CLICK HERE TO READ THE BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS NOW !!! Subscribe to the Cantina for exclusive access – https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

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House introduces Motorcycle Advisory Council Reauthorization Act

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressmen Mike Gallagher (R-WI) along with Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH), Harley Rouda (D-CA), and Troy Balderson (R-OH) introduced bipartisan legislation, Motorcycle Advisory Council Reauthorization Act.  The bill reauthorizes the Motorcycle Advisory Council (MAC) for six years and ensures national motorcycle organizations regain seats on the council. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), along with our partners ABATE of Wisconsin, ABATE of Ohio, Harley-Davidson, and American Motorcyclist Association, have been hard at work over the past month ensuring the future MAC membership is representative of the riding community.  This legislation clarifies the membership of MAC which now will include five highway engineering experts from state or local governments, one state or local traffic safety engineer who is a motorcyclist, one roadway safety data expert on crash testing and analysis, and one representative from each of the following groups: a national association of state transportation officials, a national motorcyclist foundation, a national motorcyclist association, a national motorcycle manufacturing association, and a national safety organization. “As the feds address the vast roadway infrastructure issues and emerging technologies surrounding vehicles and roads, there isn’t a more appropriate time to re-establish the Motorcycle Advisory Council,” said Kirk “Hardtail” Willard, President of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.  “It was originally and effectively designed to give motorcyclists a voice with regards to the unique challenges we face on two and three wheels when it comes to roadway design.” The MRF is encouraged that this legislation will ensure that motorcyclists will continue to have an open dialogue with government officials about the unique characteristics and challenges that motorcyclists face when they are not adequately considered or accounted for as infrastructure programs are being discussed and implemented. We want to acknowledge and commend the relationships that our state motorcyclist rights organizations (SMROs), specifically ABATE of Wisconsin and

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