Hey,
Life is nuts, but every year we make a plan, good, bad or indifferent. So, the overall mantra for 2015 is more fun, friends, and more time to relax. Okay, so how the hell are we going to find the right path.
We started two more web sites, then the 5-Ball Racing apparel line. I’m wrapping up a book, “World Run,” then a screenplay, which should be easy—sure. We will rebuild the Bonne Belle 45 flathead for Bonneville, and work like hell with Kent Weeks to build the first Streamlined Trike. All the components are at hand, including the complete 135-inch JIMS driveline. This puppy will be amazing, if only I can find the FIM rulebook. And I’m working closer with Cycle Source on their monthly New Column.
I’m working with Rich Worley of American Biker in Charleston, SC on a 2014 Indian. I’m not building any ground-ups in the shop. I was going to build my first bronze sculpture this year, but set it aside. And what else did I take off the list, oh yeah, I was going to work with a couple of brothers on a piece of property in the Badlands. Okay, they are still on the bucket list, but not for this year.
So, what the hell? It’s going to be one helluva positive year. So, keep the faith or die trying…
The Bikernet Weekly News is Sponsored in part by Cycle Source Magazine and Iron Trader News.
THE SPIRITUAL SELF FOR 2015—I’ve been studying Buddhism and mindfulness this last year. A brother, the commander, wants me to study Christianity. I won’t go into my feelings, but it’s good to take time out for a spiritual ride once in a while. In fact motorcycling is, in a sense, a meditational endeavor. The notion is to separate your brain from the bullshit once in a while, and a long ride can do that.
We have also discussed Freedom and what role it plays in our lives.
I have attached some definitions of Freedom and Liberty from Wikipedia. I often speak of freedom in contrast to government intrusion into our lives and how it could work, if we could get control of the agencies who live by all the restrictions they can muster in the name of security and safety.
Take the EPA. Instead of the EPA restricting the people, the people need to restrict the EPA never-ending controls, then allow freedom and education to help with the rest. Let them deal with the major auto-makers then leave custom motorcycles alone. It’s simple.
It’s a fascinating debate. Here’s what Wikipedia says:
Liberty in philosophy, involves free will as contrasted with determinism.[1] In politics, liberty consists of the social and political freedoms guaranteed to all citizens.[2] In theology, liberty is freedom from the bondage of sin.[3]
Philosophers from earliest times have considered the question of liberty. Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD) wrote of “a polity in which there is the same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed.”[4] According to Thomas Hobbes, “a free man is he that in those things which by his strength and wit he is able to do is not hindered to do what he hath the will to do” (Leviathan, Part 2, Ch. XXI).
John Locke (1632–1704) rejected that definition of liberty. While not specifically mentioning Hobbes, he attacks Sir Robert Filmer who had the same definition. According to Locke:
“In the state of nature, liberty consists of being free from any superior power on Earth. People are not under the will or lawmaking authority of others but have only the law of nature for their rule. In political society, liberty consists of being under no other lawmaking power except that established by consent in the commonwealth. People are free from the dominion of any will or legal restraint apart from that enacted by their own constituted lawmaking power according to the trust put in it. Thus, freedom is not as Sir Robert Filmer defines it: ‘A liberty for everyone to do what he likes, to live as he pleases, and not to be tied by any laws.’ Freedom is constrained by laws in both the state of nature and political society. Freedom of nature is to be under no other restraint but the law of nature. Freedom of people under government is to be under no restraint apart from standing rules to live by that are common to everyone in the society and made by the lawmaking power established in it. Persons have a right or liberty to (1) follow their own will in all things that the law has not prohibited and (2) not be subject to the inconstant, uncertain, unknown, and arbitrary wills of others.”[5]
John Stuart Mill.
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), in his work, On Liberty, was the first to recognize the difference between liberty as the freedom to act and liberty as the absence of coercion.[6] In his book, Two Concepts of Liberty, Isaiah Berlin formally framed the differences between these two perspectives as the distinction between two opposite concepts of liberty: positive liberty and negative liberty. The latter designates a negative condition in which an individual is protected from tyranny and the arbitrary exercise of authority, while the former refers to having the means or opportunity, rather than the lack of restraint, to do things.
Mill offered insight into the notions of soft tyranny and mutual liberty with his harm principle.[7] It can be seen as important to understand these concepts when discussing liberty since they all represent little pieces of the greater puzzle known as freedom. In a philosophical sense, it can be said that morality must supersede tyranny in any legitimate form of government. Otherwise, people are left with a societal system rooted in backwardness, disorder, and regression.
FROM THE BIKERNET MEDICAL CENTER AND THE WEEK MAGAZINE: THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS OF THE YEAR—A cure for Alzheimer’s. It could be prevented and perhaps even cured, by boosting the brain’s immune system, a new study suggests. In a study involving mice, Stanford University scientists have succeeded in reversing Alzheimer’s like symptoms with a drug that boosts microglia, cells that patrol the brain, clearing it of bacteria, viruses, and other harmful deposits. Hang on for more reports.
—The Week magazine
Show Dates: Saturday 2/7, Sunday 2/8
Show Hours: Saturday 9A – 6P, Sunday 9A – 5P
Welcome Party: Saturday 6P (Everyone Welcome)
Industry Welcome Party featuring Jasmine Cain
Please join us at 6P Saturday night for the Industry Welcome Party.
Free Cold Beer brought to you by S&S Cycle, Inc. Hot Food compliments of V-Twin Expo. Come Hungry & Thirsty.
Everyone Welcome! Early Registration Pays Off
Dealers registering early to attend the 15th Annual V-Twin Expo, reap the rewards.
Every Friday we give away killer prizes to early registrants. All registrants will be eligible for the Grand Prize too – S.A.M. 1000 Handy Lift presented by The Carlson Company.
Register Now for your chance to win!
Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you in Cincy in February.
BLONDE JOKE OF THE YEAR?—
Millennials Own Fewer Cars, Seek Other Ways To Get Around: Report– Instead of switching to more-efficient cars, what would happen if a large number of people simply gave up driving altogether?
That seems to be what many Millennials–the generation born between 1983 and 2000–are doing.
Without any apparent preference for cars, Millennials are the “multimodal generation,” according to a new report from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.
DON’T MISS: Does ‘Peak Car’ Mean 100 Million Vehicles A Year, Forever?
Recent analysis indicates that new-car sales could soon peak, but Millennials are viewed as bucking a multi-generational trend in their perceived lack of interest in cars.
A 2013 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that about 54 percent of teenagers get driver’s licenses by the time they turn 18–compared to around two-thirds of teens of teens two decades ago.
–Steven Edelstein, Green Car Reports
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE LAS VEGAS BIKEFEST CREW–If you missed out on getting your 2014 Las Vegas BikeFest Gear don’t worry, still have some available for purchase.
Visit www.LasVegasBikeFestStore.com to gear up for 2015!
Have a great New Year and ride Safe!
–The Las Vegas BikeFest Team
THE OPERATION GRATITUDE REPORT–In 2014, Operation Gratitude shipped 116,315 care packages to our Troops, Veterans and New Recruits.
This was possible because of your volunteer efforts along with tens of thousands of individuals in Southern California and around the United States. Thank you!
I have some important information to share with you about our 2015 Volunteer Schedule.
1. The Armory will be closed January 5th through January 21st for our Annual Inventory. We will reopen on Thursday, January 22nd and will send out a reminder email that we are back open at that time.
During the inventory process, we are required to account for every item that is donated to us. As you can imagine, when sending out more than six million individual products each year, this is quite the task! These items are donated to us by 15,000+ families, schools, churches, service groups and companies throughout the year. We are very grateful for their support.
2. Weekday Schedule will be Monday through Friday 9am to 2pm, starting January 22.
3. We have posted our tentative Weekend Volunteer Assembly Days for 2015. As our schedule is always subject to change due to Military operations, please review our website and email notices before making your plans for these dates.
WEEKEND VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE 2015:
Sunday, February 22, 2015 9:00am – 12:00pm
Saturday, March 21, 2015 9:00am – 12:00pm
Saturday, April, 25, 2015 9:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday, May 16, 2015 9:00am – 4:00pm
Sunday, July 19, 2015 9:00am – 12:00pm
Saturday, August 15, 2015 9:00am – 12:00pm
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 9:00am – 12:00pm
Thank you again for your dedication and service to our Military. None of this would be possible without your volunteer support!
Carolyn Blashek
Founder, Operation Gratitude
PS – If you think your friends and relatives would like to support Operation Gratitude with a gift before December 31st, please share our website with them at www.operationgratitude.com. Thanks!
KUSTOM KOMMUNE: ‘Nice bikies’ uniting over love of motorcycles–
A member tinkers away on a motorcycle in the Collingwood community space. (ABC News)
In the back streets of Collingwood in Melbourne’s inner-north, there is a warehouse that is getting a reputation as a bit of a bikie hangout.
But in place of hardened criminals and standover men there are motorcycle enthusiasts looking for somewhere to work on their beloved vehicles in a city often short on garage space.
When it is suggested to Kustom Kommune co-founder Richie Baldwin that the affable, motley community he started could be considered the “nice bikies”, he balks at part of the label.
“I wouldn’t say we’re bikies at all. [But] I would say we’re nice,” he said.
“Nice motorcyclists is probably the better way to put it.”
Kustom Kommune has been open for 12 months.
Part mechanic workshop, part community space, it was conceived by friends Richie Baldwin and Jimmy Goode.
“We kind of came up with the idea that there must be other people out there after a space similar to this,” Mr Goode said.
Everyone who’s in here is so lovely. There’s not attitude at all, everyone is helping each other out.
Eddie James, workshop member
Through crowdfunding and other fundraising they got together more than $50,000 to open the workshop.
The Kommune started with 100 members but now has 320. All pay a yearly fee to access the workshop and tools.
At first it raised the interest of both the local council and police.
“We had a bit of interest from both, just to see what we were doing and make sure everything was okay,” Mr Goode said.
“As they came in and met us and saw what was going on they were fine with it.”
On the weekday morning we visit, about four people tinker away on their motorcycles, asking each other for advice and trying to fix the niggles that are part and parcel of owning an old bike.
Eddie James said she got a love of bikes from her former boyfriend, so was keen to get involved with the Kommune when it opened.
Emelyne Palmer had no previous mechanical experience before rebuilding her motorcycle at the workshop. (ABC News)
“Everyone who’s in here is so lovely. There’s not attitude at all, everyone is helping each other out,” she said.
Media student Emelyne Palmer holds the Kommune’s record for the fastest rebuild, taking two months to do up a 1971 Suzuki Stinger she found on a friend’s farm.
“It was covered in rust and hadn’t been turned on for at least a decade,” she said.
“I remember wheeling it in and the guys were like ‘oh my god’. The whole frame was completely rusted out and yeah, it didn’t look anything like this except the tank, that’s original.
“Sometimes I was here for eight hours a day just ripping it apart.”
Ms Palmer said it was amazing completing such a big project given she had no previous mechanical experience.
“Putting it back together was like putting back a really big puzzle. It was challenging.”
As Jimmy Goode helps Eddie James maneuver a split pin, he emphasises the Kommune’s sense of community.
“Whether you ride a scooter or a sports bike or a race bike or a Harley it doesn’t matter,” Mr Goode said.
“It’s just for the love of two wheels I guess, so yeah, everyone’s welcome.”
–By Jessica Longbottom, ABC.net
BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!—
PRE-BUB’S BONNEVILLE BIKERNET THURSDAY NEWS FOR AUGUST 19TH
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=8604
Wow, really amazing pics, Bandit. These virtually fill happiness in riders’ hearts!
— Chris Greene
New York, NY
NHTSA ANNOUNCES DROP IN MOTORCYCLE FATALITIES—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that motorcycle fatalities have dropped for the second year in a row, reports the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF). According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS data, collected by the federal government, motorcycle fatalities for 2013 dropped from 4,986 to 4,668 a difference of 318. The motorcycle fatality drop was the largest percentage of all vehicle groups at 6.4 percent. This is the second year on year drop in motorcycle fatalities since 2009.
This is an encouraging trend, but it is likely just that. It is a promising direction, since more motorcycles continue to be registered year after year.
Another aspect motorcyclists can be proud of is the decrease in the number of alcohol related deaths. Fatal crashes where alcohol was a factor dropped by 117 deaths, or 8.3 percent, also the largest decrease in the category.
Also reported was the drop in the number of injured motorcyclists from 93,000 to 88,000, a 5.4 percent drop. Eighty-eight thousand still seems like an awfully large number but consider that the number of passenger vehicle injuries is 2,046,000 for 2013. The drop in injured motorcyclists is again the largest decrease in the category.
One unfortunate aspect of the report is that motorcyclist fatalities now take up 14 percent of the total fatalities. This is likely a direct result of more motorcycle licenses being issued and more motorcycle registrations being reported. Highway motorcycles saw a two percent increase in sales in 2013, and manufacturers are reporting record setting sales for 2013, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council. As with any increase in a vehicle population, it is predictable that fatalities would also rise.
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation believes that through strong rider education programs and prolific motorcycle awareness campaigns this drop in motorcycle fatalities can continue. Feel free to contact the MRF for any information on motorcycle fatality avoidance campaigns.
Read the full NHTSA reports here: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812101.pdf
–Jeff Hennie
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
Join the MRF and support motorcycling, freedom, and legislative awareness all over the country.
NEW VICTORY MOTORCYCLE CATALOG COMING FROM BIKER’S CHOICE—That’s right. The crew at Biker’s Choice first put together an Indian specific catalog, and now their first Victory Catalog.
Don’t miss it!
BIKERNET CONTRIBUTOR CHECKS IN–I feel so cool having a 5-Ball key fob gizmo. Thanks and Happy New Year.
–Charles Plueddeman
“A Good Man to Have Along”
Oshkosh, Wis.
SEATTLE ULTIMATE BUILDER SHOW REPORT–Here is a brief overview of the bike and show…
The T140 750cc stock mil was modified to 800cc with a hop-up kit. The fully polished engine features Megacycle cams, a lightened valve train, Morris magneto and finned covers.
The bike sports a custom frame, ACME springer, NOS 1960’s Wassell tank and fender, Akront shouldered rims with custom drilled “speed” holes and a custom seat. It features lots of aluminum and stainless, as well as a long list of handmade one-off parts.
A righteous win, Egging’s first place in Retro MOD took place at the 2014 J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Custom Show at Seattle’s Convention Center this year. Between the two buildings of the Convention Center is a classy glass and steel arch. Lit by spots and twinkle lights, the bikes can be seen from all sides and the custom builders spend substantial time with enthusiasts, answering questions and helping riders who are deciding what customizations to make on their rides.
–Jeffrey Najar, Partner
Biker Pros
PRICE OF PRISON EXPANDS–JPay and other prison bankers collect tens of millions of dollars every year from inmates’ families in fees for basic financial services. To make payments, some forego medical care, skip utility bills and limit contact with their imprisoned relatives, the Center for Public Integrity found in a six-month investigation.
Inmates earn as little as 12 cents per hour in many places, wages that have not increased for decades. The prices they pay for goods to meet their basic needs continue to increase.
By erecting a virtual tollbooth at the prison gate, JPay has become a critical financial conduit for an opaque constellation of vendors that profit from millions of poor families with incarcerated loved ones.
JPay streamlines the flow of cash into prisons, making it easier for corrections agencies to take a cut. Prisons do so directly, by deducting fees and charges before the money hits an inmate’s account. They also allow phone and commissary vendors to charge marked-up prices, then collect a share of the profits generated by these contractors.
Taken together, the costs imposed by JPay, phone companies, prison store operators and corrections agencies make it far more difficult for poor families to escape poverty so long as they have a loved one in the system.
Shifting costs to families
“It’s not just the money transfer that’s the problem, it’s the system it enables to shift costs onto families,” says Lee Petro, an attorney who helped litigate for a national cap on some prison phone rates. Without companies like JPay, he says, “it would be much harder to take money from families and make families of inmates pay their own keep.”
In 12 years, JPay says it has grown to provide money transfers to more than 1.7 million offenders in 32 states, or nearly 70 percent of the inmates in U.S. prisons.
For the families of nearly 40 percent of those prisoners, JPay is the only way to send money to a loved one. Others can choose between JPay and a handful of smaller companies, most of them created by phone and commissary vendors to compete with the industry leader. Western Union also serves some prisons.
JPay handled nearly 7 million transactions in 2013, generating well over $50 million in revenue. It expects to transfer more than $1 billion this year. (The company declined to provide any financial details; those included in this article are culled from public records and interviews with current and former employees.)
“We invented this business,” said Ryan Shapiro, 37, the company’s founder and CEO, in a phone interview in June. “Everyone else tries to imitate what we did, and they don’t do it as well.”
JPay CEO Ryan Shapiro in his office north of Miami, Florida.
–Eleanor Bell/Center for Public Integrity
Megabanks have prison financial services market locked up
By Daniel Wagner
Shapiro says working with corrections includes extra costs for security and software integration. He says he charges only as much as he must to maintain a razor-thin profit margin.
But others provide similar services for less.
NIC Inc., a competitor that helps states set up their websites, charges a flat fee of $2.40 in Maine to send money to inmates. Until recently, Arkansas charged 5 percent to send money through the state’s own Web portal. Floridians pay a fee of 3.5 percent to handle traffic tickets online.
Despite its kudzu-like growth, JPay so far has avoided scrutiny by consumer regulators.
In response to questions for this story, however, the New York Department of Financial Services’ consumer division is reviewing the company’s practices, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to discuss active investigations.
JPay’s rapid rise stems in part from the generous deal it offers many prison systems. They pay nothing to have JPay take over handling financial transfers. And for every payment it accepts in these states — prisoners typically receive about one per month — the company sends between 50 cents and $2.50 back to the prison operator. These profit-sharing arrangements, which vendors offer as deal-sweeteners in contract negotiations, are known in the industry as “commissions.”
JPay’s payments to Illinois last year came to about $4,000 a month, according to documents obtained under the state’s open records law.
Jails often deduct intake fees, medical co-pays or the cost of basic toiletries first, leaving the account with a negative balance. This prevents inmates from buying “optional” supplies like stationery or sturdier shoes until they have paid down the debt.
Such charges levied by jails for common items are not new. The practice began prior to the rise of JPay, mainly with phone companies and operators of prison stores. But by automating the process, prison bankers make it a lot easier.
DHARMA WORDS FOR THE DAY—Broken things can be restored, but not broken affections or honor; thus we should treasure friendship.
Lost wealth can be regained but not time; thus, we should treasure time.
–Venerable Master Hsing Yun
MIDNIGHT RIDER, New Bikernet Reader Comment!–Midnight Rider: Demons of Darkness II – EPISODE 4
http://www.bikernetbaggers.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=10395
Where can I read the whole story?
–Kevin Meehan
Highland, MD
This amazing story is available a couple of ways. If we can find the Midnight Rider, we may get the answers, if we’re lucky. Did you check on Bikernet Trikes.
–Bandit
FROM THE AMERICAN BIKER SERVICE SHOP– Here is a little video of the knucklehead that I just finished. Well, almost finished, got a few small details to complete. Hope to have it at the Easyriders show in Charlotte, NC on the 24th.
Thought you might like to see it…
Talk to you soon…Rich
Farmers Award winner passes away December 30, 2014
ABATE of Illinois, and the entire motorcycle rights community, lost a true champion on December 24, 2014. Please, forward the information included in this email to the other SSMRO’s throughout the country.
Dr. Rickey Lee “Rick” Jones (61) of Effingham…
http://www.hallfuneralchapel.com/displayobit1.aspx…
Dr. Rickey Lee “Rick” Jones, age 61, of Effingham, IL, formerly of Robinson, IL, died Wednesday December 24, 2014 in Beaufort, South Carolina after many months of battling ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).
Born March 15, 1953 in Robinson, IL, he was the son of Maxie G and Barbara Jo (Peak) Jones. On March 7, 2012 he married Patsy (West) Harrington and she survives.
Dr. Jones was a Federal Inspector for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry Division from 1986 thru 2012. Rick graduated Lincoln Trail College in 1980, then received his Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois and Graduated with a Doctorate in Veterinarian Medicine from the University of Illinois in 1985.
Dr. Jones served in the United States Navy, 1971 – 1978; was a member of the Robinwood Assembly of God, Robinson, IL; member National Association of Federal Veterinarians; National Charter Member of the Motorcycle Rider’s Foundation; Member of the executive board of the A.B.A.T.E. educational organization from 1992 thru 2012; Member of the Illinois Farm Bureau; National Rifle Association and a life member of the U.S. Navy Non-commissioned Officers Association.
Survivors include his wife, Patsy Lee Harrington-Jones, Effingham, IL; father, Maxie G. Jones, Robinson, IL; daughters and sons-in-law, Angel and Tony Sanders, Marshall, IL; April and Jarrod Hale, Mt. Vernon, MO; son, Mr. Cody Jones, Auburn, IL; brother and sister-in-law, Randy and Wanda Jones, Robinson, IL; sister and brother-in-law, Brenda and Robert Fields, Lewisburg, PA; three step-children, Jedediah and Ida Harrington, Effingham, IL; Tory and Rusty Kelly, Beaufort, S.C.; Montana Harrington, Los Angeles, CA along with several grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Preceding him in death was his mother, Barbara Jo Jones, December 29, 2010.
Funeral Services will be conducted at 10:30 am Wednesday December 31, 2014 at the Hall Funeral Chapel, 1110 North Fourth Street, Effingham, Illinois, with Chaplin Jay Bridges officiating. Interment will follow in the Kirk Chapel Cemetery, rural Robinson, IL. Friends may call on Tuesday December 30, 2014 between the hours of 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm at Hall Funeral Chapel in Effingham. Memorial donations to charity may be made to the A. L. S. Foundation (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) or A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois or to the Paralyzed Veterans of America with envelopes available at the funeral chapel. Condolences may be left online at www.hallfuneralchapel.com.
J. Ryan Hubbard
A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois, Inc.
AUSTRALIAN 5-BALL RACING TEAM SUITED UP FOR THE GREAT RACE–The shirts, stickers and key fobs arrived today.
On behalf of the team, thank you very much.
I’ll send you a news item soon.
Cheers and happy new year!
–Doc
I AM THE POLICE— Accomplished Law Enforcement Instructor and Security Professional
I am the police, and I’m here to arrest you. You’ve broken the law. I did not write the law. I may even disagree with the law but I will enforce it. No matter how you plead, cajole, beg or attempt to stir my sympathies, nothing you do will stop me from placing you in a steel cage with gray bars.
If you run away I will chase you. If you fight me I will fight back. If you shoot at me I will shoot back. By law I am unable to walk away. I am a consequence. I am the unpaid bill. I am fate with a badge and a gun. Behind my badge is a heart like yours.
I bleed, I think, I love, and yes I *can* be killed. And although I am but one man, I have thousands of brothers and sisters who are the same as me. They will lay down their lives for me, and I them. We stand watch together. The thin-blue-line, protecting the prey from the predators, the good from the bad. We are the police.
“Fidelis Ad Mortem”
–Rogue
BIKERNET MEDICAL CENTER AND THE WEEK MAGAZINE’S HEALTH SCARE OF THE WEEK: DA FLU—This flu season could be one of the worst in years, reports the Washington Post. The Centers for Desease Control and Prevention has warned that the influenza strains most active in the U.S. so far this year are versions of the H3N2 virus, which typically result in more hospitalizations and death from flue. To make matters worse, this year’s flue vaccines are effective against only about half of these strains; five children have already died from the flue this season.
The head of the CDC, Tom Frieden, said the vaccines “still offer us the best chance for prevention,” but said that anti-viral medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza were an “important second line of defense.”
ZIPPER’S RELEASES 107-INCH KIT DYNO GRAPHS–Dan has sent me over a new Dyno graph for our Muscle 107 Engine Kit. Zipper’s just updated new mapping configurations for the recently released Zipper’s Muscle 107 Engine Kit.
The engine has the same engine configuration as the one we previously published, this one however uses the full length D&D Fat Cat pipe, where the previous graph used the D&D Stubby (The Stubby is required when custom bags do not allow the use of a full length pipe).
With the full length D&D Fat Cat, the engine and graph demonstrate a substantial torque gain over our original graph published (with the Stubby pipe).
The best in class just gets better!
I’ve attached both the new dyno graph, a picture of the Muscle 107 Kit, and a little graphic we have made up with the new dyno.
Happy 2015! Cheers to the new year!
Thank You for Choosing Zipper’s Performance Products!
–Trish Cobb
Zipper’s Performance Products
6655A Amberton Drive, Elkridge, MD 21075
Phone (410) 579-2828 ext 144
Fax (410) 579-2835
www.zippersperformance.com
BORN FREE SECRETS REVEALED FROM NEW INVITED BUILDER–Joe Lingley Invited BF7 Builder Beefcake East Coast– The first builder post for BF7 is on Big Joe Lingley of Live Free Cycles in New Hampshire.
Joe is known for building his body and really tough bikes that can move. Joe was recently married, opened his new shop and still committed 100 % to Born-Free. The big guy has a heart of gold and pythons for biceps. Here is Joe’s description of his build:
1948 Indian Chief- Frame is mostly stock except it’s been cut here and there and all un necessary mounts will be removed. I Modified a ‘70s Moto Guzzi fork and trees, weird headlight I got in a pile of parts yesterday.
I am using a Moto Guzzi dual action magnesium brake up front with 18″ Borrani wheel. Stainless Sportster style bars with internal throttle and spark advance. Narrowed Indian tanks with black paint and gold leaf scallops. Bates seat with coppersmith rear fender.
Rear wheel includes a 16-inch Borrani aluminum shouldered rim with Indian hub and rear brake assembly, modified magnesium cover on left side.
Engine is a stroker 84-inch with S&S wheels, custom Max Brubeck lengthened rods with custom pistons, front drive magneto with a custom oil pump driven tachometer. Relieved cylinders with custom cam lobes, modified heads for high lift cam and domed pistons. Modified Mothers manifold for Indian cylinders, SU remote float down draft style carb, custom exhaust, king clutch, modified foot controls, modified transmission top with left jockey Relieved cylinders with custom cam lobes, modified heads for high lift cam and domed pistons. Modified Mothers manifold for Indian cylinders, SU remote float down draft style carb, custom exhaust, king clutch, modified foot controls, modified transmission top with left jockey style shift.
All fab and engine building will be done in house by my father and myself. This bike should pull really hard for a side valve or be a really expensive hand grenade…
–Joe
Supreme Court Rules 8-1 Citizens Have No Protection Against 4th Amendment Violations by Police Ignorant of the Law—
In a blow to the constitutional rights of citizens, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Heien v. State of North Carolina that police officers are permitted to violate American citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights if the violation results from a “reasonable” mistake about the law on the part of police. Acting contrary to the venerable principle that “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” the Court ruled that evidence obtained by police during a traffic stop that was not legally justified can be used to prosecute the person if police were reasonably mistaken that the person had violated the law. The Rutherford Institute had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hold law enforcement officials accountable to knowing and abiding by the rule of law. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Court’s lone dissenter, warned that the court’s ruling “means further eroding the Fourth Amendment‘s protection of civil liberties in a context where that protection has already been worn down.”
“By refusing to hold police accountable to knowing and abiding by the rule of law, the Supreme Court has given government officials a green light to routinely violate the law,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of the award-winning book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. “This case may have started out with an improper traffic stop, but where it will end—given the turbulence of our age, with its police overreach, military training drills on American soil, domestic surveillance, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, wrongful convictions, and corporate corruption—is not hard to predict. This ruling is what I would call a one-way, nonrefundable ticket to the police state.”
In April 2009, a Surry County (N.C.) law enforcement officer stopped a car traveling on Interstate 77, allegedly because of a brake light which, at first, failed to illuminate and then flickered on. The officer mistakenly believed that state law prohibited driving a car with one broken brake light. In fact, the state traffic law requires only one working brake light. Nevertheless, operating under a mistaken understanding of the law, during the course of the stop, the officer asked for permission to search the car.
Nicholas Heien, the owner of the vehicle, granted his consent to a search. Upon the officer finding cocaine in the vehicle, he arrested and charged Heien with trafficking. Prior to his trial, Heien moved to suppress the evidence seized in light of the fact that the officer’s pretext for the stop was erroneous and therefore unlawful. Although the trial court denied the motion to suppress evidence, the state court of appeals determined that, since the police officer had based his initial stop of the car on a mistaken understanding of the law, there was no valid reason for the stop in the first place.
On appeal, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that even though the officer was wrong in concluding that the inoperable brake light was an offense, because the officer’s mistake was a “reasonable” one, the stop of the car did not violate the Fourth Amendment and the evidence resulting from the stop did not need to be suppressed. In weighing in on the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Rutherford Institute attorneys warn against allowing government agents to “benefit” from their mistakes of law, deliberate or otherwise, lest it become an incentive for abuse.
Affiliate attorney Christopher F. Moriarty assisted The Rutherford Institute in advancing the arguments in the amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court.
— by John W Whitehead
–from Rogue
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY PERFECT NEW YEARS EVE WORD—Flapdragon:
noun
1. an old game in which the players snatch raisins, plums, etc., out of burning brandy, and eat them.
Quotes
Thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon.
Origin
Flapdragon entered English in the late 1500s as a portmanteau of flap and dragon.
THE PATH TO POT AT TRIBAL CASINOS—
With Cuban competition, Seminoles might offer new perk.
President Barack Obama’s decision to push for normalized relations with Cuba eventually can provide new access to special smoking materials for Floridians and tourists.
But I’m not talking about Cohibas. I’m talking about “legal” marijuana.
As Bloomberg has explained, Obama’s decision to lift some restrictions on Cuba will not result in a flood of Cuban cigars. Individuals will be allowed to bring in a small number of cigars, but a true open market would require Congress to end the broader embargo.
That will take time, but it is sure to happen. As it does, the dominoes that could lead to legal marijuana sales in Florida already are falling. The U.S. Justice Department this month released a memo telling federal prosecutors to allow Native American tribes to grow marijuana on tribal lands without threat of prosecution.
So far it’s all pretty theoretical. Neither the Seminoles nor the Miccosukees are ready to jump into the buzz biz. But they are studying it.
And there will be more and more reason to do so. Indian casinos are facing increasing competition nationally. And non-Indian gambling interests for years have been pushing the Florida Legislature to help them compete with tribal casinos.
Pari-mutuels in Miami-Dade and Broward counties already won the right to run slots. Other gambling venues, like Palm Beach County’s Kennel Club, have added poker rooms. Lawmakers in 2015 yet again will be tempted to approve Las Vegas-style “destination resorts” in Miami and elsewhere to compete with tribal casinos.
Such resorts would be problematic, since they could encroach on the exclusivity of certain card games like blackjack that were guaranteed in the soonto- expire Compact that then-Gov. Charlie Crist signed with the Seminoles.
The tribe gives Florida about $116 million a year for those exclusive rights. If the Compact goes away, the money goes away.
The promise — whether it would pan out or not — is that the new gambling venues would more than make up for that lost revenue.
But there is perhaps a more potent competitor on the horizon: A return of Cuban casinos. Consider this item from the South Florida Sun Sentinel: “Before there was Las Vegas, there was Havana, and if President Obama’s efforts to thaw U.S.- Cuba relations succeed, gamblers might return to the island nation.
— By Jac Wilder VerSteeg
–from Rogue
QUICK OPEN THE BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY--There is a very fine line between “hobby” and “mental illness.”
Four old-timers were playing their weekly game of golf, and one remarked how nice it would be to wake up on Christmas morning, roll out of bed and without an argument, go directly to the golf course, meet his buddies and play a round.
His buddies all chimed in and said, “Let’s do it! We’ll make it a priority, figure out a way and meet here early Christmas morning.”
Months later, that special morning arrives, and there they are; all on the golf course! The first guy says, “Boy this game cost me a fortune! I bought my wife such a diamond ring that she can’t take her eyes off it.
Number 2 guy says “My wife is at home planning the cruise I gave her. She was up to her eyeballs in brochures.”
Number 3 guy says “Well my wife is at home admiring her new car, reading up on the manual.” They all turned to the last guy in the group who is staring at them like they all had lost their minds.
“I can’t believe it! You guys all went to such expense for this golf game?” I woke up, slapped my wife on the ass and said; “Well Babe, Merry Christmas!” It’s a great morning “either we fuck or I go play golf”
She said: “Take a sweater”!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
SO WHAT’S NEXT—So many things. I’m looking into some more 45 parts for the Bonne Belle. I swear we will do it right this time around. I was headed to a New Years Eve party with a bundle of cash. Negotiations abounded, but I came back empty-handed.
Then I need to reach out to Carl Morrow. We are going to run his carb on our Bonneville Trike, the Assault Weapon II. I’m going to write a tech about this 50 mm puppy.
And I need to roll out to Progressive for a new set of shocks on my FXR, and to Metal Sport to check their new products, and finally to Arch to bring you another chapter on the KRGT-1.
Plus, we are now working on a new line of 5-Ball Racing leather shirts. But goddammit, we need to find time to ride, relax, and be spiritual about it.
Happy New Year and Forever,
–Bandit
