Hey,
The news is still pouring in from the Badlands. We will bring you a tech on two new Baker products in the near future. Baker is about to launch a new oil bag with 1.5 extra cooling quarts of oil. They also have a clutch throw-out bearing fix, and we will bring you more info on this helpful item. Late model throw-out bearings are weak, and if you adjust your clutch lever too tight, you will damage that little bastard.
Plus we will wrap up another report on JIMS transmission re-man program. Let’s hit the news, and I’ll report in on the content headed to Bikernet next week:
UNCLE MONKEY REVIEW–
First, I want to say that I really enjoyed your Uncle Monkey today. You are absolutely right. There should be a place in Rapid where you can ship bikes, guys can fly in and ride their bikes for a week, then back to Rapid and fly out. Not a bad notion.
–Wrench
Another million dollar idea going to waste. A motorcycle shipping company headquartered in Rapid City would do good. Lots of people simply don’t have the time to ride. I’m sure there are people who trailer just because they can cover a few extra hundred miles each day, each way saving a day or two either to spend at Sturgis or back home at work.
I think you are like a lot of people in the industry just trying to figure out where you fit in and which way to go. The industry has changed so much in the last few years its hard to know which way is up. Everyone was riding high during the “OCC” years but that bubble burst. The last of the Shovelhead riders are finally breaking down and buying baggers – wondering out loud why they waited so long. The industry has become plug and play where if it isn’t easy snap on or peel and stick they are not interested.
EFI, ABS, single cylinder at idle, fly-by-wire, and catalytic converters. Next will be ride control cutting power or apply brakes if it thinks you are unsafe. As for what the next big thing in way of bikes no one really knows. Harley has to be rolling out a new engine here as the TC is over 12 years old. Indian has to stay close to Victory if it wants to be a premium brand. People will pay more but only if they know there is a dealership close by.
I.E. Hummer and Caddy owners can go to any GM dealership for repairs. As for safe and secure the brotherhood and the code have taken a beating recently. You use to feel safe knowing if you broke down on the side of the road a fellow rider would stop to help. You didn’t mess with another man ride or his old lady. You could hang your jacket on your bars with your wallet and know that it would still be there. A fight was settled with your fists, not a gun or court. Being a biker meant something, that has been lost.
Take care. The world is changing, lead or follow, it will be hell of a ride.
–Uncle Monkey
WHEELER’S PERFORMANCE CORNER…….STAY TUNED……….
Upcoming feature, 140 CUBIC INCHES, AEROCHARGER TURBO W/ 8# of
BOOST…… a friend in Florida is building this bad ass hot rod for the 2012 Bonneville event….
Might be running in the same class? BRING IT ON! ……… and …….Ride for your LIFE!
–Ray C. Wheeler
Performance Editor in Chief
Bikernet.com
NEW BOOK COMING TO BIKERNET–I just wanted to let you know that a pre-publication galley of Melissa Pierson’s new book was sent to you, “The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing.”
You might remember her from her book of a decade ago, The Perfect Vehicle. I’m helping her connect with the moto-media. Please let me know if you’re interested in talking with her.
Also, if you’re located in SoCal there might be a media event there for her in October.
Peter Jones
peterjones@mindspring.com
Office: 828-692-2850
OFFICIAL BIKERNET BOOK REVIEWER RETURNS FROM THE BADLANDS–I put together a small selection of photographs and have them for sale on www.fineartamerica.com. The pictures are of my favorite subjects: motorcycles and landscapes, specifically of western landscapes around the Sturgis, South Dakota area.
I would appreciate it if I could post this in the news or really anywhere on your fine site.
Friends of Bikernet will recognize the name Kevin Thomas as the official Bikernet.com music and book reviewer as well as a contributing photographer. He has just released an online source for some of his motorcycle and landscape portraits.
Check out his work on Fine Art America. The site provides a one stop shop for buying art prints, matting and framing. If you didn’t have your camera handy at Sturgis check out some fine photographs of Devil’s Tower, Wind Cave Park and close-ups of old motorcycles.
http://www.1-kevin-thomas.artistwebsites.com/
http://www.1-kevin-thomas.artistwebsites.com/featured/drilled-flathead-color-kevin-thomas.html
THE SHERIFF COUNTS THE DAYS–40 active days left in the Swedish military.
http://www.facebook.com/SHERIFFMEDIAGROUP
SHERIFF MEDIA GROUP
SWEDEN
Unfortunately, the day he is released from the Swedish Military, he will be drafted into the Bikernet Black Ops Special Forces, Cantina Security Division, and forced to watch the back door for a decade. The benefits are amazing.–Renegade
BROTHER WANTs TO CALM HIS RINEHART PIPE DOWN– I recently bought new/old stock slip on Rinehart mufflers. They are Bub/Rineharts R5 2027BB. They are the black ones, way cool, but really loud. I emailed Bub about baffles and found out the part number 22-2149/2, but they didn’t have any in stock. Old stock, remember? Rinehart hasn’t bothered to reply.
When I talked to the lovely Jennifer Eagle at BUB, she offered ‘packing’ as a possible cure. Since my old mind was still seeing fins inside the mufflers, I didn’t see this as a cure for the loudness. Now that I have removed one to take pictures, I can see it as a possibility. What do you think? Still no word from Rinehart. Two emails to them, no response.
Thanks for your help.
Lee ‘Friedfeet’ Nelson
friedfeet@att.net
He is going to try the packing, but the options are tremendous, from quiet performance D&D or Samson mufflers.
“BAIL’EM OUT!!! ????–Hell, back in 1990, the government seized the Mustang Ranch Brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now, we are trusting the economy of our country, our banking system, our auto industry and possibly our health plans to the same nit-wits who couldn’t make money running a whore house and selling whiskey?!”
“What the hell are we thinking”
BORN TO RIDE ON PAY PER VIEW–
I am please to announce I discovered last night that biker theme movie Born to Ride is now on Time Warner pay per view.
Hupy and Abraham, S.C. sponsored the world premiere screening in Milwaukee in July and is bringing some of the stars including Branscombe Richmond to Milwaukee for an appearance during the Milwaukee Rally, which we are also a sponsor of.
Dave Zien, one of our clients and the only person ever to ride 1,000,000 miles on one motorcycle makes a guest appearance in the movie. Writer of the movie, Mike Jones is also a singer and will be here to perform at various venues. You will love the ending and the rental is well worth the $4.99. It is also available on DVD.
I am working with Mike on his next movie, H.O.A.
Attorney Michael F. Hupy
Hupy and Abraham, S.C.
111 E. KIlbourn Avenue, Suite 1100
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Main: (414) 223-4800 Fax: (414) 271-3374
NEW BENEFIT, THE KNIFE OF THE WEEK–
Ray, It was great hanging out with you at Sturgis! Glad we were able to catch up. I always seem to meet a lot of cool people vending with Tim at Negotiable Parts. Take care bro and see you soon!
–Robert
The below link is the link that will take people directly to our site for purchase. When you put this on your site can you input that link on the ad so when people click on it, it will take them
to our site for purchase? Let me know if this will work for you. If not maybe you can provide me with more specific instructions on the format you want this in? I figured the JPG you can alter to your needs if needed.
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY HISTORY LESSON–What have we learned in 2,066 years
“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to
work, instead of living on public assistance.”
– Cicero – 55 BC
BIKERNET PERFORMANCE EDITOR HEADS TO BONNEVILLE FOR SPEEDWEEK– Haulin Ass!
See ya Wed. eve.
Sturgis Drag Strip…..1996….. photo by Helen Wolf.
–Ray C. Wheeler
Editor in Chief,
THE BIKERNET CLASSIC CAR DEPARTMENT–When Detroit Was In It’s Full Glory
THE WEEKEND TECH QUESTION– I have looked and looked trying to find some site that will tell me what the numbers stamped on my engine mean. The only number I can find stamped on the engine is BKLX932285. Can You point me in the right direction as to find out who made this engine and is displacement? We figure it to be an aftermarket engine.
The bike is registered as a 2003 KIT KRAFT Body – ROA, VIN # IA033966
I purchased the bike through a consignment place. No one know anything about the bike other then it was built at a shop in Sioux City Iowa and that the shop had closed up sometime after building the bike.
–Dale Morck
canonbal@gwtc.net
DEALING WITH THE DEBT CEILING–
You come home from work and find there has been a sewer backup and you have sewage up to your ceilings. What do you do …raise the ceilings, or pump out the crap?
–from Jim Waggaman
HELLS ANGELS PRESIDENT ARRESTED FOR FIREBOMBING BUSINESS RIVALS– Federal investigators arrested the former president of the Ventura County Chapter of the “Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang” on Friday for firebombing two competing tattoo shops, according to a press release.
George Christie Jr., 64, of Ventura, was one of four defendants arrested on federal conspiracy, extortion and arson charges contained in a six-count indictment stemming from an extortion plot and the firebombing of two Ventura tattoo shops in 2007.
The indictment alleges that Christie, while the president of the Ventura County Chapter of the Hells Angels and owner of The Ink House, conspired to threaten the owners of rival tattoo parlors in an effort to force them to close down their businesses.
When the owners of the Scratch the Surface and the Twisted Ink refused to shut down, Christie allegedly conspired to firebomb the tattoo shops.
On July 6, 2007, Christie allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into the competing businesses.
At the time of the firebombings, Twisted Ink was located directly across the street from Ventura High School, while Scratch the Surface – housed in the same building as an occupied residence – was operating next to a pre-school.
Christie is charged with three Hobbs Act extortion conspiracies, one count of conspiracy to use fire or explosive to damage property, and two counts of use of fire or explosive to damage property.
Kyle Douglas Gilbertson, 33, of Ventura; Benito Hurtado, 34, of Oak View; and Richard Reeves Russell III, 29, of Ventura are named along with Christie in the first Hobbs Act extortion counts.
The three counts in the indictment that charge the Hobbs Act extortions each carry a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The counts in the indictment that allege arson each carry a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, and a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison.
If convicted of all six counts in the indictment, Christie would face a statutory maximum penalty of 120 years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department; and the Ventura Police Department.
BIKERNET MEDICAL CENTER ALLERGY DEPARTMENT MEMO–Allergies Bugging You?– If you suffer from hay fever, allergies, itching or hives, but don’t want the drowsiness or other side effects of many over-the counter antihistamines, consider quercetin.
A bioflavonoid from buckwheat and citrus fruits, quercetin may help to alleviate the symptoms commonly associated with allergies. Look for quercetin products that come as coated tablets (500 mg) rather than in powdered form, and follow package directions. Children should take half the adult dose. And be patient – for allergies you will need to take quercitin regularly for six to eight weeks before realizing its full benefits.
BIKERNET INSURANCE DEPARTME WEEKEND MEMO–TRAILERING YOUR MOTORCYCLE – Sometimes, it’s just the way to go.
Several good friends of mine trailered their bikes to Sturgis this year. In fact, more of our biker friends trailering than usual it seemed like. Why the Crew pondered? Here are some of the reasons we discussed at the office over the past couple of Sturgis weeks.
Our butts just ain’t as tough as they use to be.
Doing double-duty once we arrive at destinations.
Many of us have a time constraints problem.
Don’t know about you all, but we seem to always be working for the man with little time off for the pursuit of personal freedoms, rest and relaxation. Clearly, riding both directions, to and from a destination takes time so calling our transportation company of choice (Keyboard Motorcycle Shipping 270-737-5797) just makes good sense. You ride to where you need to go then fly back home or vice versa. They handle the shipping of your bike anywhere. Not necessary cheap, but a great time management solution.
The Bottom Line
Shipping and hauling your bike(s) to rallies and vacation spots has become very common place and even the popular thing to do. The old stigma of the earlier years is eroding fast. More and more bikers recognize the “wear and tear” benefits of trailering and that long distance adventures don’t all have to be endurance contests. Plus, with time being a most precious commodity, hauling that bike just makes good sense for many a good biker.
Ride safe out there and remember, you are not just another policy number with us. We care about you.
–The Crew at Bikernet Insurance
Toll Free: 888-467-8703 | Fax: 858-693-8703
Email for fastest response: clientservice@bikernet-insurance.com
Website: http://www.bikernet-insurance.com
Agents serving 20 states. States added as required to serve customers.
Resident State: CA Agency 0G67810. Principal Agent 0D71028
Member of Worldwide Insurance Network Inc.
LIMITED EDITION DAVE MANN PRINT FROM SEGAL FINE ART–Tim from Negotiable picked it up in Sturgis. It’s for sale
Ron Segal ….Limited Edition….
–Tim Negotiable
Negotiableparts@aol.com
BIKERNET READER PITCHING HIS BOOK NOTION– When Jake Walker comes home, and finds that his fiancé has left him to go back home to her parents, life as he knew it, is in limbo. Jake makes a decision and goes to his garage to alter his life forever.
Jake heads out to his garage and climbs upon the Harley Davidson left to him by his Uncle Allen, who died due to complications from Agent Orange, a horrible toxin that he was exposed to in Viet Nam, while he served his country.
With violence possible with every twist of the throttle, Jake has to rely on his wits and instincts to make it home safe. Outbound is the story of a young man’s search for himself and a journey to honor the request of a deceased Uncle.
Outbound is 80,901 words in length and is comprised of 27 chapters.
Author’s biography: Brian Becker has been an avid motorcyclist and a member of ABATE of Illinois for several years. He also goes into classrooms in his area, teaching motorcycle safety and awareness. Mr. Becker also works full time at the Beardstown Fire Department as a Paramedic and Firefighter.
He has co-written Nightshifter, a fantasy novel, which is currently being solicited. His hobbies include spending time with his children, reading, woodworking, and traveling on his motorcycle. He can be reached at btmedic1974@yahoo.com or by phone at 217-248-26219
Enclosed are the twenty five pages of Outbound. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had writing it. Thank you for taking the time to read my query and I hope to hear from you soon.
–Brian Becker
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY SQUIRRELLY WORD OF THE DAY– entelechy en-TEL-uh-kee, noun:
1. A realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality.
2. In vitalist philosophy, a vital agent or force directing growth and life.
It must gratify a man to evolve so perfectly concomitantly with his years, to write patriarchally when he is old, to be so complete an entelechy .
— Kenneth Burke, Here & Elsewhere: The Collected Fiction of Kenneth Burke
The vast realm of natural entelechy is virtually unknowable, but we already have on the books more information than any poet can use.
— Herbert A. Leibowitz, Parnassus: Twenty Years of Poetry In Review
Entelechy is built from the Greek roots telos “goal” andech “to have.”
NEW CANTINA MEMBERSHIP PACKAGE INCLUDES 50% OFF BIKERNET CLASSIFIEDS PACKAGE–We are going to work on constant deals for our new Cantina member Bandit’s Back Stage Passes. We want the membership to pay you.
Back Stage members also receive 10 percent off an Dairyland Insurance policy.
–Ray C. Wheeler
V.P. Cantina Business Development
OLD PISTON PIC FROM PABLO–We were told not to post this because of the woman in the background.
FULLER CUSTOM BUILT ON AIR–
Take a look at our “Full-Report” which is attached to this email.
Check us out on HD Theater Wed. Night at 9:00 eastern for the premier of Cafe Racer TV. Its a great show I think you will enjoy immensely!
Over 4 episodes we take a 1969 Honda CB 750 that we cut up in front of the original owner!! Jack Feldman put 75,000 miles on this bike himself before the Fuller Crew gave her a serious makeover.
The climax comes when Jack and the new owner of the bike get to take it for a ride…..on the Barber Motorsports Track alone!!!! Pretty cool stuff!
Lots of stuff going on around the shop these days. Probably the biggest is that after 2 years of work, “Full-Bore Sheetmetal” is finally at the printer. It will be available at www.fullerhotrods.com in August for purchase!
Thanks again for all your support!
–Bryan Fuller
250 Arizona Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
AUSTRALIA INVESTIGATES AGAVE AS A SUPER BIOFUEL--A new study by University of Sydney and England’s Oxford University researchers is investigating the possibility that the agave plant could be farmed as a fuel source in the Australian outback.
The agave plant is best known as a Mexican plant used to distil tequila and mescal.
University of Sydney senior lecturer in agronomy Daniel Tan said, ”You get up to five times more energy out of the plant than you put in. A lot of the biofuel crops in the US also generate land-use change, so sometimes they are releasing more C02 than they are sequestering. ‘In terms of producing ethanol, agave is about the same as sugar cane – but the advantage over sugar cane is they survive in very dry areas on little water,” The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 29 July.
Tan added, “The agave plant is probably one of the most promising crops we can grow to produce ethanol-based fuels. It can grow in arid areas without irrigation; it doesn’t compete with food crops or put demands on limited water supplies.”
The article in the journal Energy and Environmental Science noted, ”the results suggest ethanol derived from agave is likely to be superior, or at least comparable, to that from corn, switchgrass and sugar cane in terms of energy and (greenhouse gas) balances, as well as in ethanol output and net (greenhouse gas) offset per unit land area.”
A November 2010 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation report concluded that growing agave plants in Australia’s harsh drought-ridden environment was probably commercially viable, with production costs and profits being similar to those of the country’s sugarcane industry.
We believe there is a match out there for Aidan, please find out if it’s you!
LA CHOPPERS OFFERS EXTENDED WIRING– for Harley handlebar changeouts LA Choppers has released handlebar wiring extensions that are compatible with 1996 to current Harley-Davidsons with handlebars up to 20 inches. The kit helps users extend wires when changing out handlebars. Wires are color-coded to match.
HUPY AND ABRAHAM NATIONWIDE EFFORT TO SAFE BIKER LIVES–This billboard was spotted in California.
–Attorney Michael F. Hupy
Hupy and Abraham, S.C.
111 E. KIlbourn Avenue, Suite 1100
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Main: (414) 223-4800 Fax: (414) 271-3374
WHAT A PITY KULULA DOESN’T FLY INTERNATIONALLY – WE SHOULD SUPPORT THEM IF ONLY FOR THEIR HUMOUR – SO TYPICALLY SOUTH AFRICAN–
Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in Johannesburg. Kulula airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight “safety lecture” and announcements a bit more entertaining.
Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported: On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, “People, people we’re not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!”
On landing, the stewardess said, “Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you’re going to leave anything, please make sure it’s something we’d like to have.”
–Sam Burns
SOMETHING FOR THE MUDFLAP GIRL FXRS–
You could put one of these on the new Mud Flap Girl. Israel develops a ‘force field’ for their armored vehicles — AWESOME …
The system has been installed in over 70% of the IDF’s main battle tanks and other important armored vehicles. The balance of approximately 30% will be completed in very short order. Numerous armies have indicated a very strong interest in the Trophy system, but so far, the IDF is not prepared to share the technology with anyone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62jzAupr044
–Sam
AUTO INSURANCE BILL WAS CLASH OF THE TITANS WITH ATTORNEYS FROM BIKERNET–SPECIAL REPORT–
Companies, trial lawyers dominated insurance rollback
By Kate Golden
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Last year, a driver in Milwaukee had a seizure, crossed the median and killed Samuel Milons Jr., 38. After Milons’ death, his fiancee, Angela Minerick, couldn’t afford the rent on their Milwaukee townhouse and racked up credit card debt.
But Minerick, a funeral director, is more secure knowing that their young son, Samuel III, will likely be able to afford college. Because of a 2009 auto insurance law that allowed Minerick to “stack” her two auto insurance policies and collect $75,000 — twice what it would have been without the law — Samuel has a trust to support him when he turns 18.
Beginning Nov. 1, however, cases like Samuel’s could have very different outcomes. That’s because one of the new Republican-controlled state Legislature’s first acts was to allow companies to forbid policy stacking.
On April 6, lawmakers repealed every aspect of 2009’s so-called “Truth in Auto” law except mandatory auto insurance. In addition to allowing anti-stacking language, the new law lowered auto insurance minimums to 1982 levels.
And it once again allowed insurance companies to insert “reducing clauses” into under-insured motorist policies that can dramatically reduce how much insurance companies must pay in accidents.
The 2009 changes required drivers to have $50,000 in coverage for the injury or death of a person, $100,000 for the injury or death of more than one person, and $15,000 for property damage. The new law will restore levels to the former minimum amounts: $25,000, $50,000 and $10,000.
Both sides invoked the public good. Insurance companies argued that the 2009 changes would lead to higher premiums and more people going without insurance. They brought up examples of people whose bills had risen by hundreds of dollars a year.
Trial lawyers, on the other side, invoked catastrophic situations in which stacking or reducing clauses could make the difference in whether accident victims can pay their bills or go bankrupt.
And both sides spent heavily to influence the Legislature.
During 2009 and 2010, advocates for the two industries poured a total of at least $336,319 into the campaigns of state legislators they hoped would vote their way, according to data collected by MapLight, the California-based nonpartisan political money trackers.
In addition, the two industries spent nearly $1.1 million on lobbying in 2009 and 2010, much of it on the fight over auto insurance, an analysis by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has found.
And while consumers’ pocketbooks were the main issue mentioned during a six-hour hearing on the bill in January, the insurers offered anecdotes — but no statistical evidence — that the 2009 law would drive drivers’ costs upward.
Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a nonprofit that opposed the new auto insurance law, last year reported that Wisconsin auto insurance rates — the cost per unit of insurance — were essentially flat from 2009 to 2010, when “Truth in Auto” took effect. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, a trade group that favored the rollback, issued a rebuttal to the report but did not dispute the statistic.
Auto insurance: Money in the fight
Legislators who got the most from interest groups, and how they voted: Explore the Center’s data using the tabs below.
Powered by Tableau
‘A very hot political football’
In the debate over auto insurance coverage, “consumers are virtually unrepresented, except at the margins,” says Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, which advocates for affordable health care, good jobs and consumer protection.
Lobbying and legislative records show the battle was fought largely by trial lawyers against insurers. Car rental and trucking companies joined insurers in pushing for the rollback.
“It’s a very hot political football between trial lawyers and insurance companies,” says John Lehman, a former Democratic state senator from Racine who was defeated in November despite at least $28,655 that trial lawyers put into his race.
The gamble paid off for the insurance industry: Several Democrats supported by the trial lawyers lost, while some Republicans who got insurance company contributions won in November, an election in which the balance of power in the Assembly, Senate and the governor’s office tipped to the GOP.
“The way the legislative process works is, those people who have a major financial stake in the outcome of legislation have a major motivation in trying to invest money to achieve that result,” says former Rep. Spencer Black, a Democrat from Madison. “The average person … who drives a car and might get hit by a car doesn’t have that kind of leverage.”
Property and casualty insurance lobbyist Andy Franken of the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance disagrees, saying, “I don’t believe that legal contributions influence the Legislature.”
If so, there’s a whole lot of money being wasted.
Auto insurers, truckers and car rental companies donated at least $195,239 from January 2009 to December 2010, favoring Republicans nearly 3 to 1. Trial lawyers identified by the Center donated at least $141,081, nearly all to Democrats who lost, according to an analysis of MapLight data.
The money gap between the two sides widens with the addition of lobbying expenditures.
The Wisconsin Association for Justice, formerly the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers, spent $173,174 to lobby lawmakers in the last two years, lobbying records show. But the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance spent just over $1 million on lobbying in the last election cycle, six times as much.
“My experience over the years is that the insurance companies outspend all players,” says Douglas Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a national nonprofit. “That doesn’t always win the day, but it often plays a huge role in the battle.”
Bill passed quickly
Assembly Bill 4, introduced in January and signed in April, was one of the first bills to get through the Legislature this session. Leading the charge was state Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, an insurance agent who received $5,425 in donations from insurers and none from trial lawyers.
“A lot of our people made that an issue in the campaign, especially our freshmen talked about how they heard that as they went door to door,” Nygren says. “So the (Republican) caucus made it a priority.”
It was easy to pass, Republican leaders say, because it just repealed provisions passed in the 2009 biennial budget.
But opponents such as Dave Dwyer, legislative director for the motorcyclists’ group ABATE of Wisconsin, say they were shocked by the speed at which it was adopted. The group, closely aligned with a trial law firm, opposed the bill because lower minimums and reducing clauses could leave injured motorcyclists with hefty medical bills.
The Assembly bill was introduced on a Friday, and the public hearing for it and its companion bill, Senate Bill 7, was scheduled for the next Wednesday, Jan. 19. Dwyer says he scrambled to find people to testify on such short notice.
Speaking against the bill were six trial lawyers, two accident victims, two motorcyclists and Kraig. All 10 people who spoke in favor of the bill were from the insurance industry.
Mandatory insurance long a goal
Despite warnings that the insurance lobby was too powerful, Lehman introduced bills session after session to require drivers to carry insurance. He says he was motivated by “an old-timer from Racine” who was shocked to learn that the driver who hit him had no insurance — and that it was not required.
The effort failed every time. Lehman was not the first to try.
“I was in the Legislature 25 years or more ago, and used to author bills (mandating auto insurance),” says Joseph Strohl, a former Democratic Senate majority leader and now the trial lawyers’ lobbyist. “And they never passed, because of the strength of the auto insurance industry.”
By 2009, Wisconsin was one of two states that didn’t require auto insurance. Then-Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat heavily supported by lawyers, endorsed mandatory auto insurance and the other provisions in his budget.
Republican opponents like Nygren cried foul because they couldn’t vote on the items separately. He says the measure’s sudden appearance in the budget was a “red flag” that special interests, not the public, were behind it.
Opponents had the same suspicion about the rollback introduced by Nygren after it sailed at lightning speed through the Legislature. Nygren says it was constituents, not the insurance lobby, that pushed for the repeal.
Asked for constituent correspondence on auto insurance over the past two and a half years, Nygren released 42 emails — two-thirds of which came from people associated with the insurance industry. Most cited concerns that costs to consumers would rise.
Aside from three agents, no one mentioned stacking clauses. And no one talked about reducing clauses, which allow companies to cut payouts when accident victims get other compensation, such as insurance payments from drivers at fault, disability benefits or worker’s comp.
“Wisconsin has always had a very favorable insurance climate, but the recent mandates have changed that,” wrote Mark Truyman, an insurance agent from Seymour.
Nygren has been criticized for offering the bill while having a personal stake in the industry. But he says he has not sold auto insurance for years, and his statement of economic interests filed with the state lists no auto insurers.
Nygren had the ninth most donations from the bill’s supporters. The top three recipients were Rep. John Klenke, R-Green Bay, a co-sponsor of the bill, with $13,975; Sen. Frank Lasee, R-Bellevue, current chairman of the Senate insurance committee, at $8,590; and Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, a co-sponsor, at $7,900.
Of the 15 current legislators who got the most money from the bill’s supporters, all voted for it.
How do insurers profit? Unclear
Insurers’ main argument in favor of reducing clauses and against stacking policies is that such provisions would raise rates, pricing some drivers out of the market. Heller of Consumer Watchdog concedes that lower limits make some sense. He says if limits are too high, drivers required to buy insurance might not be able to afford it.
But Heller said he believes the real motivation is that companies profit more from lower minimums because they charge almost the same premiums but expose themselves to tens of thousands of dollars less in risk.
Kraig points to reports that insurance companies must file with state regulators showing auto insurers pay out 57 cents for every dollar of premium they take in, a calculation known as a pure loss ratio. The 43 cents they keep are for executive salaries, agent commissions, profits, marketing, reserves, litigation and other operating expenses.
“What we’d like to see is more in the 75-cent range” being paid out for every dollar, Heller says.
In 2009, the auto insurance industry wrote $2.7 billion in policies for personal and commercial vehicles in Wisconsin, and incurred $1.5 billion, or 56 percent of that, in losses, according to data from the state insurance commissioner’s office.
Franken says pure loss ratio is not an accurate picture of the profitability of auto insurance, because it doesn’t take companies’ expenses into account. The property casualty trade group says 10-year average Wisconsin profits are 8.9 percent, and the national margin is 7.5.
Trial lawyers profit from injured clients
At first, Minerick says, her son’s financial settlement “didn’t mean anything to me, to be perfectly honest.”
The loss of her fiance and the boy’s father could not be replaced with money. But now, more than a year later, she appreciates being able to “give my son a jump-start in life.”
Samuel Milons III wasn’t the only one to benefit from policy stacking. The lawyers, too, got more than they would under the new bill, which takes effect in policies written or renewed on or after Nov. 1.
Hupy and Abraham, the Milwaukee personal injury law firm that represented them, got 25 percent of the $100,000 payout to Samuel, says Minerick.
Says attorney Michael Hupy: “We only benefit to the extent our clients benefit.”
Kate Golden can be reached at kgolden@wisconsinwatch.org. Center reporter Amy Karon contributed to this report. This project was produced as part of the Center’s Money and Politics Project, a partnership with MapLight.
The nonprofit and nonpartisan Center (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Public Radio and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication and other news media. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
–by Gale Golden
WisconsinWatch.org
PRODUCT OF THE WEEKEND–
Your blog/website recently caught my eye as I was looking through influential motorcycle-related blogs. I wanted to reach out to you regarding a product I think will appeal to both you and your readers, and see if you may be interested in testing and reviewing the product.
LiquiVac is a unique product that makes oil changes — for cars, boats, motorcycles, and the like — incredibly quick and easy. As you may know, oil changes are important for the health of any machine product. The LiquiVac extracts oil using a powerful vacuum and places it into durable plastic holding tank. Below are some quick facts I think you will find to be pretty impressive and you can learn more at www.liquivac.com
As mentioned, I’d love to send you a product for review on your blog/website, offer a giveaway to your readers, and hear what they have to say. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and hope we can work together soon!
— Gwen
Why is this product a “must have”?
1.) The LiquiVac changes oil in small engines, including ATVs, jet skis, boats, and more, in minutes.
2.) It uses a new air-powered technology to suck oil out of dipstick tubes with no hassle and no mess — do an oil change while wearing your Sunday best!
3.) Provides an eco-friendly alternative from traditional oil change methods by extracting oil directly into a durable holding tank. This allows for proper disposal of oil and eliminates the chance of an oil spill, which can contaminate ground water or cause damage to grass, driveways and clothing.
4.) It’s only $45.99 — which means it’s far less expensive than the tradition oil change, which requires hauling machines to and from a mechanic.
5.) It’s sold across the country at Lowe’s and Home Depot locations, and is available online at www.liquivac.com
MIKE the STEALTH
We spent yesterday working on Danny’s XS, and you’ll see a tech soon. I’m still running through my scattered Sturgis notes, but I’m getting there. We have features, techs, girls of Bikernet, and Zen fiction lined up. Hang on.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
