What?s all the buzz about?–Yes, we all liked Bikernet the way it was, but many times we?d get people saying how hard it is to find something or that it?s overwhelming when you first come to visit. Digital Gangster just wanted to clean up the face of the Home Page, and hopefully make it easier to navigate for first time visitors. Bandit agrees that the cover blurbs should be put back up, and so they will, but I think the drop-down menus will stay. I also want to say that some of the changes you see now and possibly in the future were things we have been thinking about for a long time; Not really even related to Primedia. So please bare with us as we tweak and twist, grow or shrink, flake or fulfill, our goal is to continue with the same quality of content that we?ve been putting out and keep you readers entertained and informed.
Speaking of entertainment- here?s the news.
AMERICAN THUNDER ANNOUNCEMENT–Add a 250 tire and right side drive to your factory softail. Softail owners lusting after the wide-tire look should consider American Thunder?s new 250 Right Side Drive kit. Not only do you get a 250 Avon tire, aluminum rim, swingarm and rear fender. You also get all the parts necessary to convert the stock transmission to right side drive for a more balanced motorcycle.
Conversion requires only about 8-hours of labor, not including paint, and can be performed by any qualified Harley-Davidson dealership or aftermarket shop. Kits come complete with all necessary parts and hardware and fit all Harley-Davidson Softail chassis from 2000 to 2005. For prices and information, contact:
American Thunder
16760 Toronto Ave. S.E.
Prior Lake, MN 55372
Phone 952-226-1180http://www.americanthunder.com
WHAT?S GOING ON IN THE SOUTHBAY–
Saturday Dec 11th
Mooneyes annual party
At Star Academy
11515 Colima
Whittier, CA 90605
Hours 9am to 4pm
Sunday Dec 12th
Tribute to Dave Mann and Ventura swap meet.
Be there or be square!
Gene Koch
May the wind always be at your back and love in your heart!
Catt & Randy
Florida Senior Bikers Are Sexy & Smart–-A elderly biker couple, went to a sex therapist’s office in WinterHaven, Florida.
The doctor asked, “What can I do for you?”
The man said, Will you watch us have sexual intercourse?”
The doctor looked puzzled, but agreed.
When the couple had finished, the doctor said, “There’s nothing wrongwith the way you have intercourse and charged them $50.
This happened several weeks in a row.
The couple would make an appointment, have intercourse with noproblems, pay the doctor, then leave. Finally the doctor asked, “Justexactly what are you trying to find out?
The old man said, “We’re not trying to find out anything.She’s married and we can’t go to her house. I’m married and we can’tgo to my house. The Holiday Inn charges $90. The Hilton charges$140.. We do it here for $50 and I get $43 back from Medicare.”
Is Florida great or what?
Rogue http://www.bikerrogue.com
BIKERNET ON THE TYPES OF ORGASM OF A WOMAN BIKER–
1. The Optimist – Oh Yes, Oh Yes, Oh Yes………………
2. The Pessimist – Oh No, Oh No, Oh No………………..
3. The Confused – Oh Yes, Oh No, Oh Yes, Oh No…………
4. The Traveler – Ahh, I’m coming, I’m coming………….
5. The Religious – Oh God, Oh God…………………….
6. The Userer – Ahh, More, More, More…………………
7. The Murderer – Ahh, If you take it out, I’ll kill you…
8. The Submariner – Mmm…OHHH…Deeper…Go DEEPER !
Roguehttp://www.bikerrogue.com
HOOK A LIL? SISTER UP–Hello Bandit,Fisrt let me that I’m a huge Fan of yours!I’m contacting you for my daughter, her name is Kasy and she’s 13 years old.She is required to do a science fair project this year for school. She came to me with the Idea of doing her project on the effects of TV, and how it affects popular opinions. She refined this to the topic of:” Do TV shows such as American Choppers and The Great Biker Build Off, influence popular opinion of choppers? Are choppers made more popular and/or change public opinions of what choppers should look like to the masses?(bikers and non-bikers)
She needs to compile answers to these questions, along with examples of what type of bikes were popular prior to the shows being aired. I suggested she try to contact you for your opinion of the subject, since you have been at the influential forefront of the biker life for so many years and had your finger on the pulse of the life. If you could respond to her questions, I would be very grateful! Your opinion would impart a lot of clout to her research and her project!
She already knows my opinions and those of my friends on the subject. If you choose to respond, please address the letter to Princesscooterbunnyangel. My email is kemsr1@msn.com.
Any comments and/or help would be appreciated greatly!! (If you know any one else who would like to share their opinions, please forward this to them. ie: builders, Bikernet readers, friends, others in the biker relm).
Thanks, “Kevin E. Mowry Sr.”
BIKERNET PRODUCT OF THE WEEK ? FROM SUPER MAX–Super Max now offers Poly Over Lay?s in 65 and 70 tooth for rear wheel pulleys of most manufacture. Many of you have purchased fancy rear wheels and the pulleys to match. After only a few miles, the teeth become sharp and worn and the belts even sometimes fail long before their time.
These pulleys with the Super Max over-lays will be better for belt life as well as reducing the noise normally emitted by pulleys of metallic construction. These over-lays are constructed of a similar material as the Gates Poly Chain belts. Similar materials get along much better with each other than dis-similar materials. Well over 100,000 miles can be expected. They are quiet as well as serviceable.
You can send your worn pulleys to Super Max and they will remove the worn teeth and install their over-lays and return them to your ready for service in a wide array of colors as well as basic black.
Super Max has been in the belt drive business for many years and we?re not finished yet. Watch for upcoming issues of Hot Bike on how we install these beauties. The cost is $300 installed, plus shipping. Turn around time is approximately four weeks.
Super Max Belts
406-755-8688
http://www.supermax.net
SONS OF LIBERTY RIDERS E-NEWS–
Contents:
1. Pa. HB 873 Becomes Law
2. Charges filed in June truck-motorcycle crash
3. ABATE of Oklahoma State Website
4. It is time to do some Christmas shopping ya know
5. HERO AND DORK OF THE WEEK
1. Pa. HB 873 Becomes Law
GOVERNOR ED RENDELL SIGNS HB 873 WHICH INCREASES THE PENALTIES FORCARELESS DRIVING OFFENSES THAT KILL OR SERIOUSLY INJURE OTHERS
Today December 8, 2005 Governor Ed Rendell signed HB 873 into law.
On 11-20-2004 the House concurred in Senate amendments to House Bill 873by a vote of 192-2. House Bill 873 will establish an increased fine of$500 and a 6 month license suspension for persons convicted of carelessdriving when the offender unintentionally causes the death of anotherperson.
Careless driving offenses that result in serious bodily injury toanother person would carry a $250 fine and a three month licensesuspension.
Under current state law, a conviction of careless driving results onlyin a fine of $25 plus cost and fees, as well as three points on theperson’s driving record. No further penalties currently exist if adeath or serious injury occurs as a result of this violation.
“If a tragedy occurs because of a driver’s careless action, even thoughthose actions were unintentional, then there should be seriousconsequences,” said Representative Rick Geist, who chairs the HouseTransportation Committee. “We have to reinforce the notion that driversmust be alert and responsible behind the wheel. Tragic things canhappen in an instant if you aren’t.”
Representative Teresa Forcier had introduced HB 181 and Senator JohnWozniak introduced SB 1094, both bills provided for additional penaltiesfor right-of-way violations. After meeting with Rep. Geist it wasdecided to amend HB 873 with the provisions A.B.A.T.E. was seeking inboth HB 181 and SB 1094.
HB 873 was endorsed by both A.B.A.T.E. of PA, the Alliance of BikersAimed Toward Education and the AMA, the American MotorcyclistAssociation. A.B.A.T.E. pursued the increase in penalties as part ofthe AMA’s national “Justice for All” program.
Thanks are in order to all those that contacted their legislators andasked their support of HB 873.
2. Charges filed in June truck-motorcycle crash
Friday, December 03, 2004
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The truck driver who ran over a motorcycle earlier this year, igniting afire and trapping the motorcyclist beneath the truck, has been charged withreckless driving.
Pittsburgh police issued an arrest warrant for Jack M. Fatta Jr. of IndianaCounty, who surrendered and was arraigned this week.
Fatta was driving a tri-axle truck on Forbes Avenue on June 3, outside theArmstrong Tunnels, when he ran into the back of Mark McGreevy’s motorcycle.McGreevy, of Baldwin, was trapped in the fiery crash that followed; hisright leg ultimately was amputated and he suffered burns over much of hisbody.
Biker saved from wreck offers thanks to rescuersBaldwin Borough man was pinned under burning truck following collisionThursday, November 25, 2004
3. ABATE of Oklahoma State Website–Hello, Everyone–In case you haven’t gotten the word yet, ABATE of Oklahoma has a newaddress and layout for its State Website. Our new home is located at:http://www.abateofoklahoma.org. We have a number of our ABATE membersworking hard on making sure it’s a really good site, with up-to-date,comprehensive and helpful information, and it’s continuing to beimproved. The site also contains links to the home pages of ALL TEN ofour active ABATE of Oklahoma Chapters. It’s well-worth logging onto,and I hope all of you will take the time to check it periodically tostay informed on Biker Freedom issues and upcoming events. I’dappreciate it if anyone of you that receives this will update yourfavorites and website links for ABATE of Oklahoma to this new websiteaddress, especially on Bikers Rights Organization WebPages. The oldGeocities ABATE of Oklahoma site had a good run, but it’s not going tobe updated any longer. Thanks a bunch for switching your database toreflect our new address, and for your continued dedication to BikerFreedom, both in the Sooner State and nationwide. Please contact me ifyou have any questions. Have fun getting ready for what I hope will bean enjoyable and rewarding Holiday Season for all of you. See you onthe road!
Yours in Liberty,
Tiger Mike Revere
State Coordinator
ABATE of Oklahoma, Inc.
405-672-1008 (H/Fax)
405-596-1072 (C)
4. It is time to do some Christmas shopping ya know–My latest creation:100% of the profits go to SoLR.Animalhttp://www.cafepress.com/animalpen
5. HERO AND DORK OF THE WEEKSend any nominations to tmor@nauticom.net and the Officers will pick fromthe cast of entrants and characters.
This weeks winnersare…
HERO
Walter E. Williams
Probing the zero-sum divide
By Walter E. Williams
Recent elections indicated deepening divisions among Americans. Hasanyone given serious thought to why? I have part of the answer, whichbegins with a simple example.
Different Americans have different and intensive preferences forcars, food, clothing and entertainment. For example, some Americans loveopera and hate rock ‘n’ roll. Others have opposite preferences, lovingrock ‘n’ roll and hating opera. When was the last time you heard of rock’n’ roll lovers in conflict with opera lovers? It seldom, if ever,happens. Why? Those who love operas get what they want, and those wholove rock ‘n’ roll get what they want, and both can live in peace withone another.
Suppose instead of freedom in the music market, decisions on whatpeople could listen to were made in the political arena. It would beeither opera or rock ‘n’ roll.
Rock ‘n’ rollers would be lined up against opera lovers. Why? It’ssimple. If the opera lovers win, rock ‘n’ rollers lose, and the reverseif rock ‘n’ rollers win. Conflict would emerge solely because thedecision was made in the political arena.
The prime feature of political decision-making is that it’s azero-sum game. One person or group’s gain is of necessity another personor group’s loss. As such, politically allocating resources increasesconflict while market allocation reduces conflict. As more decisions aremade in the political arena, the potential for conflict increases. There are other implications of political decision-making.
Throughoutmost of our history, we have lived in relative harmony. That’sremarkable because just about every religion, racial and ethnic group inthe world is represented in our country. These are the veryracial/ethnic/religious groups that for centuries tried to slaughter oneanother in their home countries. Among them: Turks and Armenians,Protestants and Catholics, Muslims and Jews, Croats and Serbs.
While we haven’t been a perfect nation, there have been no cases ofthe mass genocide and religious wars that have plagued the globeelsewhere. The closest we’ve come was the American Indian/Europeanconflict, which pales by comparison.
We have been able to live in relative harmony because, for most ofour history, government was small. There wasn’t much pie to distributepolitically.
When the political arena decides who gets what, the most effectivecoalitions are the most divisive – those based on race, ethnicity,religion and region. Our most costly conflict involved a coalition basedupon region – the War of 1861.
Many of the issues dividing us, aside from the Iraq war, are thosebest described as a zero-sum game, where one group’s gain is necessarilyanother’s loss. Examples are: racial preferences, Social Security, taxpolicy, trade restrictions, welfare and a host of other governmentpolicies that benefit one American at the expense of another.
You might be tempted to think the brutal domestic conflict seen inother countries at other times can’t happen here. That’s nonsense.Americans are not superhumans; we possess the same frailties as otherpeople in other places. Were there a severe economic calamity, I canimagine a political hustler exploiting those frailties here, just asAdolf Hitler did in Germany – blaming it on Jews, blacks, the EastCoast, Catholics or free trade.
The best the president and Congress can do to heal our country isreduce government’s impact on our lives. This would not only reducedivisions and improve economic efficiency but bear greater faith andallegiance to our Founders’ vision of America – a country of limitedgovernment.
Walter E. Williams is a nationally syndicated columnist.
DORK
The Michigan Nanny State
State better off if 38-year-old bikers’ helmet law is not repealed.We are sympathetic to the passionate argument bikers make about helmets.They feel extremely put upon that Michigan law demands that motorcycledrivers wear them. This should be a matter of personal choice, they argue,not something dictated by the state.
Last month, the state House took up the issue, voting for a bill to repealthe 38-year-old law. Under the bill, bikers over 21 who pass a safety courseand are licensed for two years could ride without a helmet.
But so far indications are that the Senate will not vote on the issue in thecurrent lame duck session. If the law does not pass before the New Year, theprocess will have to begin from scratch next year under the new Legislature.
It is a tough issue, yet we will not be sorry to see the legislativecalendar change without passage of the bill. Because by repealing it,inevitably more Michigan bikers would die or suffer severe head injuries. Inaddition, that’s more spouses, children, friends and other family memberswho would suffer right along with the accident victims.
Advocates of repealing the law like to say that if bikers want to take thatchance, then they should be able to. And besides, goes the thinking, whyshould it matter to everybody else if a biker wants to take a risk?
But there is a price to be paid by others. The more bikers killed inaccidents with other vehicles, the more people there are who have to livewith knowing they were involved in a fatal accident. The cost to societyalso would be bumped up a bit in the form of long-term medical care forbikers who suffer serious head injuries. So it’s just not accurate to saythat people who prefer four-wheeled transportation don’t have a stake in theissue.
The rationale for opposing helmet law reform is similar to the long-standingdebate over seat belt laws. Yes, it would be nice if laws weren’t needed tocompel people to buckle up. Yet until seat belt laws became all the rage afew years ago, their use stood at around 50 percent. Studies show that usagehas shot up something like 20 percent in states that have mandatory seatbelt laws, and correspondingly many lives have been saved.
We know that not all laws couched in terms of “saving lives” are necessarilygood laws. They should be taken on a case-by-case basis. But in these twoinstances, the overwhelming evidence is that a great amount of pain andsuffering can be avoided by simple acts of safety.
If that’s flawed reasoning, then we’re happy to know that many more peoplesimply will have to live with the results. — THE HERALD-PALLADIUM (ST.JOSEPH), Dec. 1.
The E-mail address to send a letter to the editor is letters@freepress.com.Please put the letter in text of the E-mail, not as an attachment.
All writers must provide full name, full home address and day and eveningtelephone numbers. Letters should be 200 words or less and are subject toediting. Anonymous letters, letters to third parties and letters to otherpublications will not be considered.
If you need more info on this or any other subject just go to the Sons ofLiberty Riders Info Zonehttp://solriders.com/ or _ http://bikers4row.org Enews mailing list
Enews@solriders.comhttp://mail.solriders.com/mailman/listinfo/enews_solriders.com
Continued On Page 2