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CLUB LEADER TESTIFIES AGAINS NEPHEW IN LIVONIA SLAYINGS--By John Bebow and Craig Garrett / The Detroit News.LIVONIA — The leader of a Detroit biker gang snitched on his nephew for the Pesce killings in Livonia because of “the kids,” the biker testified Friday. Billy Smith, 36, who identified himself as the “west side boss” of the Devil’s Disciples biker gang, told a crowded Livonia court room that he turned in his nephew, John Wolfenbarger, for the Dec. 21 killings of jeweler Marco Pesce, his mother, and his three children in their upscale home.
“It was the nature of the crime,” Smith said. “The kids. The kids. You can’t step over that line.”
Wolfenbarger was bound over Friday for trial in Wayne County Circuit Court based on police evidence and the testimony of Smith and several other witnesses. The preliminary exam for Wolfenbarger’s alleged partner, Dennis Delmar Lincoln, is scheduled to continue next Friday. Both Wolfenbarger and Lincoln pleaded not guilty. Witnesses Friday described Wolfenbarger as a man who could mix murder with everyday convention in the days before Christmas. A 12-year-old witness testified Wolfenbarger drove his family to church the morning after the shootings and then took them to Sunday brunch at The Copa, a bar on Schoolcraft. But the star witness was Billy Smith, a bartender at The Copa, who broke the case wide open for detectives who had no inkling of a connection to Detroit’s rough Brightmoor neighborhood, where Wolfenbarger lived on and off since his parole from prison in August. “Before Billy, Brightmoor was not on our radar,” said Wayne County assistant prosecutor Mike King. Others testified Wolfenbarger sometimes stayed two doors down from Smith’s home in Brightmoor. Smith said Wolfenbarger woke him up in his house after 11 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, saying cryptically, “Five dead,” and told Smith to watch the news. Later, Wolfenbarger told him, “The (expletive) I did will be on CNN” and asked for help in disposing of gold taken in the robbery of Pesce’s home, Smith testified.
–from Rogue and Detroit News
FRANK KAISLER BREATHER LESSON–Shovels have two vents. The first is the fitting above the oil pump, justbehind the rear lifter block that returns oil and oil vapor to the tank..The second is the crankcase vent inboard of the oil pump on the cases. If this is a late model Shovel there are two tapped holes forfittings. One hole for oil returning from the primary chaincases, the secondis the crankcase vent to the atmosphere . Is one or both of these holesplugged?
What is the oil level in the oil tank? Over full oil levels in the tankdon’t allow enough room for oil return and oil vapor in the tank. Rememberoil return is driven pressure from the pump, oil feed to the pump isgravity, and then pressurized through the engine.
Oil filter? are the oil lines to and from the filter correct? Is thefilter plumbed correctly?
Oil is filtered by entering the center of the filter, and then through thefilter element returning to the tank through the outside holes around theperimeter of the filter.
On a Shovel the filter should be plumbed in the return line from the pump tothe tank. So, oil leaves pump, goes to middle fitting on filter housing,leaves filter housing and connects to oil tank. Fitting on oil tank shouldbe higher than oil level inside tank (back to over-full oil level). Ifthe oil return has to force itself into the oil in the tank it buildsadditional pressure back downstream all the way to the pump. You want theoil to flow freely back into the tank.
Is the correct oil filter installed? Oil filters come with a built–inrelief valve. When pressure inside the filter builds to a pressureexceeding the valve (like when the filler element becomes clogged withdebris) the valve will open allowing the oil to flow freely back to thetank. Different filters have different pressure relief valves, also, newerfilters used on the Twin Cam will filter smaller particles of dirt, meaningmore restrictive, meaning higher pressure. Most Shovels run straight 60weight oil, which is thick, trying to force 60 weight through a late modelfilter will build up undue pressure, even with the oil filter pressurerelief valve. These late model filters were designed to be used with multi-weight oils like the factories 20-50.
Larger displacement engines need tohave the opening enlarged in the crankcases where the breather gear spins to allow more air and oil vapor to pass through as the pistons come down the cylinders.
That’s all I can think of off the top of my pointed head.
BIKERNET REVEALS SECRETS TO STOCK CV CARB–Check the teck on the home page for mods to your common, stock, Harley-Davidson CV carb. Ron Trock of Cycle Specialities can set up a CV carb for any Harley.
THE QUANTUM SAGA CONTINUES–I have been notified by the Law Office of Peter Hill, attorney for George E. Mills the trustee in the Quantum bankruptcy case No 00-08472-OB7 that they want to approve another compromise with 3 more debtors.
Basically what they want to do is settle these actions for a lower fee. They are saying it is a better deal than going to court and paying legal fees to try and collect and they are probably right. So far I have seen reports and compromises and it appears the only one making any money has been the Trustee and his Attorney.
The 3 cases are Management Recruiters of Cheyenne Inc. sum of $17,500.00 reduced to $12,000.00, – GFS Investments Inc. sum of $20,000.00 reduced to $12,000.00, – American Express Company sum of $17,500.00 reduced to $10,000.00
Some of you may remember the last compromise the trustee requested that some Quantum employees objected to. The employees appeared at the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Orlando Florida on March 21,2002 and removed the objections after the attorney and trustee told the Court that the monies coming in from that settlement would be enough to pay all the employees their past wages. They also stated that payments should start 90 to 120 days after that. Of course all of you know that never happened.
Now they are coming forward again requesting another compromise. I personally do not see much sense in objecting, as it would be money coming in.
–ROGUE
HORSE BIKE WEEK NOTICE–Hey ya’all,Here’s the ad we are running in the next issue of Da Horse.It lets everyone know where we will be at Bike Week.Pass it on to whoever u think is deservin’
–geno
BIKERNET SPORTS REPORT–SUPERBOWL– Worst example of “Time Managment” and play calling I have ever seen!! I couldn’t believe they tried that 2 pt. B.S. all night long after scoring. Fucking unreal. That call by the Ref. on the 2 pt. conversion in the endzone clearly showed that he must have been paid off by the Buc’s owner. Old “Deep Pockets” Glazer!! Ya need to go for the high percentage pt’s, kick the fucker shit!!.
What was up with the Raider quarterback?? It looked like on every interception he had thrown that he looked straight at the defender and said here’s another one for you guy’s!!
The Buc’s it seemed to me were in better condition. That Dago heat must have ate up the Raiders or some damn thing. After the Buc’s got over the “Jitter’s” early on they really put the “Hammer” down on the Silver & Black.
Oh well. Anyway one of the best part’s of the night for me was hearing & watching those Dixie Chick’s do the national anthem proud!! Truly a great moment for American Sports. A well deserved “Atta Girl” for all three of those sweety’s.
–Pablo
P.S. The Daytona 500 is up next buddy.
DEATH OF MOTORCYCLISTS UP–Nation & World: Saturday, January 25, 2003,By Seth BorensteinKnight Ridder Newspapers.WASHINGTON – Fatal motorcycle crashes are up more than 50 percent since1997, and no one can figure out why.Graying riders, weakened helmet laws, drunken motorcyclists, souped-upengines and oblivious car drivers all may be factors, but safety expertsaren’t quite sure why the rate of fatal crashes are soaring as fatal car andtruck crash rates fall.
“We don’t know why it’s happening, so how can we do anything about it?” saidDavid Thom, program manager at the Head Protection Research Laboratory, anonprofit safety group. He is also co-author of a study of motorcycle riderand industry safety.
Other nations are seeing a similar rise in motorcycledeaths, Thom said.U.S. motorcyclist deaths dropped consistently from 1980 to 1997 but now arejumping each year by the hundreds. In 1997, 2,116 motorcyclists were killed;in 2001, the number was up to 3,181, according to the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The rising death toll can be attributed in part to the rising number ofmotorcycles on the road, but crashes are up even taking that into account.The rate of fatal U.S. crashes per 100 million miles ridden increased by 59percent from 1997 to 2001, from 21.4 to 34.4.In 1997, one in 20 U.S. road fatalities was a motorcycle rider; it was onein 13 in 2001.Motorcycle crashes that injure, but not kill, have increased only 19 percentsince 1997.
With little protection around them, motorcyclists suffer more severeinjuries – often to the head – that turn fatal, experts say. Motorcyclistsare 26 times more likely to die in a crash than a passenger in a car.Bikers know this all too well.
“Things are more intense all around,” said Art Friedman, a senior editor atMotorcyclist magazine. He writes the “street survival” column and commutesaround Los Angeles daily on his motorcycle. “I’ve taken greater efforts tomake myself conspicuous. I wear an orange helmet. I wear a bright yellowjacket, and I ride with my high beams on.”f
NHTSA cites many possible causes for the increased motorcycle death rate,among them that riders tend to be older – the average age of motorcyclistskilled in crashes increased from 29.3 in 1990 to 36.3 in 2001.Bigger bikes are doubtlessly another contributing factor, as engine size hasincreased by 25 percent, on average, from 769 cubic centimeters in 1990 to959 cc in 2001.Another major factor, according to the agency, is that five states -Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Florida – have weakened lawsrequiring motorcycle helmets since 1997. NHTSA studies show dramaticincreases in fatalities in each of those states except Florida.But even those reasons together don’t provide a full explanation, expertssay.
“There are some question marks that can only be answered by doing acomprehensive (motorcycle accident) causation study,” NHTSA spokesman RaeTyson said.But NHTSA will not do such a study because it costs too much, between $2million and $3 million, Tyson said.As a point of comparison, the federal government spends $4.2 million a yearon shrimp aquaculture research and $5 million a year to run the BaldrigeNational Quality Program, which recognizes private companies’ “quest forexcellence.”Independent experts agree that such a study is needed. It was the No. 1recommendation from both riders and the motorcycle industry in a 98-pagesafety proposal in 2001, according to Friedman.No such a study has been conducted in the United States since 1981. Sincethen much has changed involving motorcycles, riders, safety equipment andbusier roadways full of high-riding sport-utility vehicles.Europe is in the midst of such a comprehensive study. Thailand recentlyfinished one and “is certainly more caught up than we are,” Friedman said.
Instead of studying the causes of crashes to figure out what needs to bechanged, NHTSA this month unveiled a 24-page motorcycle safety program. Itwould study how states differ in rider training, target drunken riding,improve helmets and their use, and educate drivers in two states on how toshare the road with motorcyclists.But experts say the NHTSA plan is weak because it does not aim to find outwhy fatal crashes are increasing.
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