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MRF on One of the most important numbers for Motorcyclists

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Know Your Numbers! Riding Free from DC – from Inside the Beltway May was Motorcycle Awareness Month but every month should be a month for motorcycle advocacy! Whether you were in D.C. for Bikers Inside the Beltway or working on issues back home, it’s a great time to advocate for bikers’ rights. One of the most important numbers any biker rights advocate should know is the number of motorcyclists in their states. When chatting with either state or federally elected officials, you should have the number of motorcyclists in your state on the tip of your tongue and drop it into any conversation about biker rights. Why? Because when you say the word motorcyclist that elected official translates it into voters! There are different ways to calculate how many bikers are in your state and each state does it differently. Some states release motorcycle endorsement numbers, while others release motorcycle registration statistics. In fact, some states including California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Texas, and Utah provide county by county data on the number of bikers throughout the state. Spend some time looking around your state’s department of transportation or motor vehicle website and see what you can find. Regardless of how we are counted, we need to know our numbers, and share those numbers. If you can’t find the number of bikers through your state’s websites, the federal government has a list of all registered motorcycles by state. To see how many motorcycles the federal government claims are in your state click here for their revised 2021 statistics. European Motorcycles The European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers recently reported that registrations of new motorcycles in the five largest European markets increased by 10.3% in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2020. The five largest European […]

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Royal Enfield presents Rupees 20 Million to State for Covid-19 relief works

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from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com Approximately US $ 276,000 was presented to State of Tamil Nadu, India which is the home of Royal Enfield. Its commitment to extend support to the state government is being accompanied by other initiatives in the region, the company said. Chennai: Royal Enfield, part of Eicher Motors Ltd, has committed INR 20 million to the Tamil Nadu Disaster Relief Fund for the Covid-19 relief works in the State. The cheque for this was handed over to Chief Minister M K Stalin by Vinod K Dasari, CEO, Royal Enfield, at the Secretariat on Tuesday. “Tamil Nadu is the home of Royal Enfield motorcycles and we are committed to supporting the State in all its efforts to combat the devastating second wave of the pandemic. Our commitment to extend support to the state government today is being accompanied by a host of initiatives that Royal Enfield is undertaking in the region for the community. We continue to assess the situation closely and will extend further support to the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the long run,” Dasari said.

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A New Definition For Motorcycle

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New vehicles entering the roadways with little resemblance or operational characteristics to that of a motorcycle, have been arbitrarily classified as motorcycles. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation has drafted language to put an end to the confusion. When identifying bill numbers are attached to this position, you will be notified. See the attachment for more details. In the meantime… Have you registered for Bikers Inside the Beltway? It’s free but time is running out! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Have you made your appointments to visit your members of Congress? Make your appointments now in your district or in Washington, D.C. Have you made your hotel reservations? Final date for hotel registration, May 13, 2021: 703-684-5900 Embassy Suites by Hilton Alexandria, 1900 Diagonal Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 The Motorcycle Riders Foundation is moving forward to make the 2021 Bikers Inside the Beltway our most effective event ever. Thank you for your commitment to the MRF’s mission. Thank you for making appointments with your members of Congress. Click here to see the position paper for Definition of a Motorcycle. Thank you for your membership and support of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.

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More Motorcycle Safety Awareness campaigns by authorities

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California Highway Patrol asking motorists to drive with caution from https://www.kget.com The California Highway Patrol is recognizing May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. The department says as the weather warms up, more and more motorcycles and cars are expected to be hitting the road. Preliminary data from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System show more than 500 people were killed in motorcycle-involved crashes in California in 2020 and more than 11,500 people were injured. Here in Kern County, at least eight people have died in motorcycle crashes so far this year. The CHP is asking motorcyclists to be responsible and properly equipped. They’re also asking drivers to watch out for motorcyclists on the road. CHP: Motorcycle safety requires everyone’s attention by Jaime Coffee, Information Officer II, California Highway Patrol from http://antiochherald.com The warming weather and increasing number of vehicles traveling on California’s roadways offer a timely reminder of the importance of motorcycle safety awareness for motorcyclists and motorists alike. By recognizing May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) emphasizes safe riding and driving practices for everyone. “Motorcyclists who are responsible, informed, and properly equipped can help reduce rider deaths and injuries,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said. “Motorists are also key to reducing crashes by being aware of the dangers and challenges of motorcycle riding. Taking the time to look twice for motorcyclists can save a life.” “Motorcycle riders are more vulnerable out in the elements, which is why it is important for drivers to always be mindful of riders,” California Office of Traffic Safety Director Barbara Rooney said. With more than 1.4 million licensed riders, motorcycles are a popular mode of transportation for Californians, another reason motorcycle safety awareness is paramount. Preliminary data from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System show more than 500

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Organizers say Pentagon is jeopardizing Memorial Day motorcycle ride

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by Nikki Wentling from https://www.stripes.com Organizers of the traditional Memorial Day motorcycle ride in the nation’s capital accused the Pentagon on Tuesday of jeopardizing the event. AMVETS, the national veterans group organizing the ride, said the Defense Department has ignored its application to use the Pentagon parking lot as a staging area. For 32 consecutive years, thousands of motorcyclists gathered in the parking lot before and after the ride around the National Mall. There are fewer than 40 days until the event, and the Pentagon hasn’t communicated its decision, said Joe Chenelly, national executive director of AMVETS. The Pentagon “won’t even talk to us,” Chenelly said. “We’ve been trying to really be good partners in all of this and not blast the Pentagon, but we’ve gotten to point recently where we have to put the pressure on them.” Chenelly said he submitted an application in July to use the Pentagon parking lot on May 30 this year. He was expecting to hear back by January, but no response came. The Pentagon’s special events office sent Chenelly an approved permit earlier this month but then rescinded the approval eight days later and said they hadn’t made a final decision. At that time, Chenelly told the Pentagon he needed an answer by April 16. “It’s April 20 today, and we still haven’t heard anything back,” Chenelly said Tuesday. Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday that “there’s been no decision yet.” She cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the cause of the delay and said the department is monitoring community spread of the virus. Masks and social distancing are required on Pentagon grounds, she said. “The permit request is still being evaluated in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Gough said. AMVETS has gained approvals for the event from

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Britain insurance companies on self-driving vehicles

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by Nick Carey, Paul Lienert and Tina Bellon of Reuters from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com Britain’s driverless car ambitions hit speed bump with insurers Insurers are key players in the shift to automated driving, with some investing in a technology they believe will slash accidents and deaths, and save them billions in payouts. But they are worried drivers might equate today’s lower levels of automation with fully self-driving vehicles, potentially causing more accidents in the short term and permanently damaging public confidence in the technology. Britain’s goal to be a leader in adopting self-driving cars could backfire unless automakers and government regulators spell out the current limitations of the technology, insurance companies warn. “What you describe things as is incredibly important, so people don’t use them inappropriately,” said David Williams, managing director of underwriting at AXA Insurance, whose parent AXA SA made 17 billion euros in revenues from property and casualty insurance, including motor insurance, in 2020. “I genuinely believe the world will be a safer place with autonomous vehicles and I really don’t want that derailed.” In what would be a world first, Britain is considering regulating the use of Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) on its roads, possibly even on motorways at speeds of up to 70 miles (113 km) per hour. It is also deciding whether to describe them to the general public as “automated” systems. It is that one word – automated – that has stirred controversy and put the country at the centre of a global debate about self-driving terminology at a sensitive moment in its evolution. The technology is evolving rapidly and there is no consensus on how to deploy it or what to call some features. Regulations in the Americas, Europe and Asia lag far behind technical developments and issues over accident liability are unresolved. ALKS

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California Pandemic Report

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By J.J. Solari Late Spring and then early Fall J.J. Solari sent Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, letters, the second one much much more caustic than the first, regarding his incompetence. He says he knows talent and he knows competence. Newsom has none of either. Click Here to Read this new article by J.J. Solari on Bikernet. Join the Cantina – Subscribe Today. https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

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Europe’s Electric Motorcycle Market Surges

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Press Release: IDTechEx from https://www.scoop.co.nz IDTechEx expects electric motorcycle sales in Europe to grow at least 50% year-on-year in 2020, building on the momentum of recent years. This is driven by continued policy support from governments alongside start-ups and incumbent OEMs entering the market with new model releases, finds the recent report from IDTechEx. Growth is also being boosted by consumer awareness and acceptance in Europe of the benefits of electric motorcycles. Besides the low cost of ownership, electric motorcycles improve the riding experience, taking away the noise, fumes, vibration, shifting, and clutching from the user experience, alongside the environmental benefits of low emissions. The result has been strong growth on par with the electric car market since 2017. How are electric motorcycles different? Electric motorcycles are unique, serious machines with power and energy requirements orders of magnitude higher than other common types of electric two-wheelers such as electric scooters, both the standing kind – think Lime – and the sitting kind – think Vespa. Indeed, electric motorcycles typically utilize electric motors beyond 40kWp, which is more comparable to those found in electric cars than electric scooters, in a much more restricted space. This high-power need, coupled with the limited space on the motorcycle, means manufacturers rarely use off-the-shelf parts and design motors in-house from scratch. The situation is the same for the battery packs, which actually take up the most space in boxy designs unconventional for the moto industry (even when utilizing high-energy automotive-grade Li-ion cells). In contrast, low energy, cheap LFP packs sourced from China can be used for the low energy needs of electric scooters. Zero Motorcycles, the global market leader for electric motorcycles based out of California, USA, is a good example. It uses locally sourced NMC pouch cells in a custom pack and has an

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Proposed California Fee Increases Threatens Motorcycle Industry

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September 17, 2020 For Immediate Release “Proposed California Fee Increases Threatens Motorcycle Industry” Empowered by changes to state law, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has begun the process of increasing certification fees for original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket manufacturers. The CARB certification is required to sell motorcycles and parts in the state of California and has ripple effects throughout the nation. The stated goal of the increases is to help offset the cost to California for enforcement and operations of its clean air policies. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) is concerned that grossly inflated certification fees will further hamper the aftermarket parts industry’s ability to remain viable. In these trying economic times, increasing fees on the manufacturing industry will no doubt have wide ranging effects. MRF President Kirk “Hardtail” Willard stated, “Putting additional financial strain on aftermarket parts manufacturers will without question impact the average consumer. Motorcycle shops, dealers, manufacturers and distributors are all key components of the motorcycle ecosystem. Anything that impacts the motorcycle industry eventually impacts the motorcycle consumer. The state of California should not destroy the motorcycle industry in an attempt to balance its budget.”

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Health officials concerned about Iowa motorcycle rally: ‘We don’t want to be another Florida’

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by Chris Gothner from https://www.kcci.com/ ALGONA, Iowa (AP) — A group still plans to hold a three-day motorcycle rally in northern Iowa that’s expected to attract thousands of bikers despite the concerns of local officials that the event could spread the coronavirus. Local officials usually welcome the annual Freedom Rally held on a farm northeast of Algona, but this year’s event planned for Thursday to Saturday has officials worried. “We have a good relationship with them,” Algona Mayor Rick Murphy told the Des Moines Register. “The bikers are friendly. They’re fun to visit with. … But this year, everyone is a little more on edge.” Algona is in Kossuth County, which has had 32 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and no reported deaths, but officials think that could change because of the motorcycle rally, which typically draws 10,000 bikers. The rally is organized by ABATE of Iowa as a fundraiser for the nonprofit group, which supports motorcycle safety and training. The annual rally was long held in Humboldt before moving in 2002 just north to Algona, a city of 5,400 about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Mason City. David Duffy, the ABATE state coordinator, said the group is encouraging social distancing and is calling for riders to limit trips into Algona. “We’re taking all the precautions necessary to make this safe,” Duffy said. The group’s website states that participants will have to sign a form that seeks to identify anyone who has been to a coronavirus hot spot and could exclude them from the event. The website also notes Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations but adds, “social distancing is a suggestion by the CDC, not a law. This rally was created and called the Freedom Rally to promote freedom of choice. Attending is just that, freedom of

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