THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists(A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the LawOffices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE, orvisit us on our website at
I was a recipient of one of the “Silver Spoke” awards given to various people each yearfor their contributions to the motorcycle world over the years. I was, and am, honoredand still in disbelief. I may be the recipient, but you folks are the reason ithappened. There is no way for me to describe what it does to a person when their peersfeel they have done good works and tell you how they feel. Thank you all.
There were a near-record 1,100 attendees from all over the biking world. We had seminarswhich included information about some of the lawsuits and other actions our A.I.M.Attorneys are involved in around the country, all for the benefit of bikers. We had arepeat performance of something we did last year: A mock-legislative session, to teach ushow to work a bill through a state legislature. We were also updated on issues coming atus from across the big pond.
There are many more things coming at us even here in this country that are of far moreconcern to us than the laws that require us to wear a hat when we ride. Mandatory “endof life” for vehicles, and emission standards and controls that will eventually do awaywith the air-cooled motorcycle engines many of us enjoy today. Can anyone name a popularbike manufacturer known for their air-cooled motors, and who just released aliquid-cooled version of their future platform bike?
Standardization of motorcycle attire from one end of the world to another is anotherbright idea some person has come up with. And the idea of some sort of air-bagprotection still is rearing its ugly head. One such device is on the market now. And wein the states still worry about helmets. WOW! The idea of maybe having to wear anair-bag scares the hell out of me a lot worse than a stupid helmet.
For more on the NCOM Convention, go to Here in Oregon, we still have ?Dr. Tax? as governor for a short while longer. He is nowdoing his level best to panic our people into voting for higher income taxes and at leastfifty cents more tax on cigarettes. He can’t balance the budget and we already pay someof the highest taxes in the nation. If I ran business the way he does, I’d be bankrupt.And fired. Please folks, get out and vote. We only had a 40% turn out for this past (May) electioncountry wide. I like to think at least bikers voted in higher proportions, but I don’tknow. In Oregon there are enough RIDER ENDORSED people that had we all voted we couldhave had anything we wanted on the ballot. Think about it! EVERY VOTE COUNTS,especially when the rest of our population doesn’t bother. NUFF SAID! NEWS BITS’N PIECES: ROME, GA: Suzuki Motor Corp is now a bona fide made-in-America manufacturer with theopening of a $30 million factory in Georgia. They promise on time delivery of all theirvehicles. They expect to employ 150 workers full time. WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA: The Regina Leader Post tells us that Canada now has ananti-gang law aimed at motorcycle clubs that have clubhouses in and around towns. It’scalled: Manitoba’s Fortified Buildings Act, known around the area as the “Biker BunkerLaw.” It gives the police the power to shut down clubhouses because the police decidethey are a danger to the community. Talk about NAZI’s. HARRISBURG, PA: From the PR Newswire comes these stats: In Pennsylvania there were 20people killed in Memorial Day crashes according to the State Police investigating theincidents. In addition, there were 327 injured and 724 wrecks. All this in 4 days. ONEof the dead was riding a motorcycle. There were 5,831 speeding tickets and 268 werecharged with driving under the influence. These were just the things that the StatePolice investigated, not the whole picture. What about the city cops and sheriffs? Thisis just from one state, folks. We need to be more vigilant. We are killing our peopleon the highways faster than we can with wars. NEW HAMPSHIRE: Officials here are considering the implementation of rider courses inorder to get or retain the right to ride a motorcycle. Driving courses are required forcars and boats, but at present bikers don’t have to. 38 other states require rider edcourses now for young novice riders, but none of them require adults to pass a coursebefore getting a license. New Hampshire is trying to make sure they will be able tooffer the courses to all 65,000 who need them before making the courses mandatory. RICHMOND, B.C., CANADA: WOW! This just might be the tool we’ve been looking for: SaltireSystems Inc., a developer of tire pressure and temperature monitoring technology, isshowcasing a tire monitoring system for motorcycles at Refine 2002 in mid-June, in Essen,Germany. This gizmo is made for bikes, and it’s designed to warn us of sudden changes intire pressure, so we can get set for the dreaded blowout on our scooters at speed.This thing is scheduled to go on sale in the USA by the end of 2002, and be compatiblewith all rides. This here kid will be looking at that there doodad very closely. DEARBORN, MI: AAA is at it again. They are saying the repeal of the helmet law here willincrease deaths and injuries in motorcycle accidents. Never mind that the accidents aremostly caused by fools driving cages. Never mind that car drivers will never wearhelmets, although if the AAA were right, it would save many more head injuries in caraccidents. House Bill 4823, sponsored by Rep. Gene Dearest (R-Manchester), would remove themandatory helmet requirement for all riders and passengers 21 years of age or older, butdoes not require motorcycle riders to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurancecoverage. I hope the legislators keep their wits about them and pass this bill. MIAMI, FL.: Well now! Seems the fight against terrorism has taken the FBI away from thebusiness of supporting the local police in their harassment wars against motorcycleclubs. Now that the FBI is going to be focused on its core mission of terrorism, I’mwondering how our state and local agencies are going to deal with motorcycle gangs,narcotics trafficking and white- collar crime? Washington State Patrol Chief Renal Serassaid. “White collar crimes don’t usually occur in just one city or one county … andthe FBI has been really helpful with that over the years.” Smaller agencies may feel more of a pinch. In Peoria County, IL, Sheriff Chuck Scaffoldsaid the FBI provides crucial support for fighting “gang” activity. The local cops arenow faced with the terrible task of keeping tabs on scooter people all by themselves. My! If they spent more time on legitimate vehicle stops and the pursuit of realcriminals, they’d save money and do us all a lot more good. ATHENS, GREECE: Seems there’s a new riding hazard we can worry about: Flying spiders!According to the Associated Press (AP), a 33 year-old woman was riding her scoot when aspider got blown into her ear. Started to hurt after awhile, so the doc took a peek, andthere it was! He videotaped the little bugger inside her ear, just in case people calledhim a liar. According to the doc, the temperature inside your ear is comfy for spiders. Let’s not let that rumor out to the Spider world! GUNNY AGAIN: That does it for this month folks. Remember the riding season is in fullswing now and rider courses are filling up fast. Hope you can get in on one. These pearls of wisdom are part of the nationwide network of A.I.M. Attorneys and as suchare part of the protection and information they provide us. If, God forbid, you have anincident on your scoot or car, get a hold of your nearest A.I.M. Attorney for free adviceor representation. Call nationwide at 1-800-531-2424, or 1-800-ON-A-BIKE, any time 24hours a day, seven days a week. Sam Hochberg, our local Oregon A.I.M. Attorney, can befound at 1-800-347-1106, or in the Portland area at 503-224-1106. Sam will be glad togive free advice on any motorcycle-related issue, as will any of our A.I.M. Attorneysthroughout the country. And I’ll see YOU all at the runs in the Northwest! Keep the round side on the bottom,GUNNY, Oregon A.I.M. Chief Of Staff
