Hey,
This rapidly turned into the Sportster news special, or maybe not. I’m working on an article/guide on Sportster related products. Sportsters are the cheap avenue for anyone to jump into our lifestyle. You can buy a used or wrecked late model Sportster for between 3 and 5 grand. With the parts I will list from Paughco to Roland Sands, you can build a damn cool ride and enjoy the freedom of the once open roads for years to come.
Let’s hit the news. It’s wild, hang on:
IS HARLEY-DAVIDSON A VICTIM OF IT’S OWN SUCCESS– It’s no secret that business has been down across the industry, but especially among new heavyweights. But Harley-Davidson?s woes run deeper than just the recent recession, according to Richard D’Aveni, professor of strategic management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and author of Beating the Commodity Trap. In an article for Forbes magazine, D?Aveni says the company could have seen at least part of its troubles coming.
?The long straight highway has had a few hidden potholes, and in those potholes commoditization has lurked in the guise of both cheaper Japanese competitors like Honda and sexy upstarts at the top end like Big Dog,? he writes.
D?Aveni says H-D ran into two of three forces that have led to commoditization in more than 30 industries he?s studied. They are: Deterioration ? cheap competition eating your market shareProliferation ? ?when companies develop new combinations of price and unique benefits to attack part of an existing market?Escalation ? when competitors like Victory offer similar or better benefits at a better price.
D?Aveni posits that H-D opened the door for Japanese competitors in the ?70s by resting on its laurels. After a management buyout in 1981, the company turned around by marketing its rebel image.
?This made the Japanese rivals’ advantage in reliability less important as an inducement to purchase and value motorcycles. Rebels care more for role models than reliability,? he writes.
He found that ?in 2002 Harley customers were willing to pay on average 38% more for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle than for a similarly equipped bike from one of the big four Japanese companies.?
But about that time, it crashed into proliferation, with competition from Victory, and smaller (albeit now struggling or even defunct) brands like Big Dog and American Ironhorse. At the same time, women were more likely to choose smaller, less intimidating and less expensive Japanese bikes.
?Harley was leaving money on the table compared with its American rivals because its service, level of customization and image weren’t as good as theirs,? he writes, and by 2003, ?Harley still had the largest share of the market (just under 50%), but the fact that Harley dealers were discounting to maintain their sales disguised the bigger problem. They were, in essence, buying market share with lower prices.?
Posted by Holly Wagner
Published on Bikernet courtesy of DealerNews: www.dealernews.com
I tend to disagree. It’s tough to manage big business and not miss a step from time to time. It’s also tough to change direction with any large ship. Altering course as times change is next to impossible, even in this highly communicative era. Harley has done a helluva job. They are still the only major American motorcycle manufacturer, while others have dropped off the map. They offer customer involved interaction with tradition and devotion to the American Way like no other product on this planet. Plus, every other motorcycle manufacturer has tried desperately over the last 15 years to mimic Harley’s success. That’s not to say they don’t rub me wrong from time to time.–Bandit
INSULTS WITH CLASS CONTINUED Sponsored by Republic H-D–“His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” – Mae West
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.” – OscarWilde
“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support ratherthan illumination.” – Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
“He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.” – Billy Wilder
“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening.. But this wasn’t it.” – GrouchoMarx
–from Ray Russell
UNCLE MONKEY INVESTIGATES THE BIKE PROJECT BLUES–The thunder of Harleys, the whine of GSX-Rs. The sounds fill the night air as they roll up and down the streets or rocket around the cloverleaf, hunched over tight, farther, farther, faster, faster racing the imagination. The thrill, the excitement. The respect and awe. There is nothing better then getting out and riding. That is, unless you are standing in your garage staring at parts scattered across the floor, or where a bike use to sit as a functioning entity.
Being a motorcycle enthusiast means sometimes going without. From time to time our bikes break down (yes I hear you BMW riders, chuckle, chuckle). Sometimes we bite off more then we can chew, while performing mods. We have all stayed up late into the night with a simple half-hour job. Some weekend jobs transcend into month-long projects.
Some times life throws more at us than we can take. Money gets tight, and the wants fall to the way side. We drop the cable TV; eat Mac & Cheese instead of hamburger helper until we finally face the prospect of selling our bike. It is not something we want to do, but we’re faced to face financial hurtles or parish. Survival of the fittest. It is these dark times that prove who we are and what we are made of.
We sit on our front stoops listening to the sounds of the streets. The howl of a Ducati, the echo of a Twin Cam. It twists our insides. Our circumstances finally face dismal fruition. We don’t have a bike. We are not out riding. It fortifies us, a callus of emotional forms, and we vow that we will never let it happen again, Never will we let ourselves go without a bike again.–bad Uncle Monkey
Lehman Trikes’ Good Turn Trike program still open for entries–LEHMAN Trikes is once again running its annual Good Turn Trike award program. The program, which began in the mid-90s, converts the winner’s motorcycle into a trike.
The winner is the person chosen from the entries that, despite physical or financial means, continues to make a positive impact in the lives of others and illustrates the program’s motto of ‘One good turn deserves another’.
Applications are accepted throughout the year, and are available at Lehman dealerships and on the Lehman Trikes website (in the ‘About Us’ section), www.lehmantrikes.com. Applications for this year’s award must be submitted by April 3.
–from AMD club
THE BLONDE JOKE IN A VACUUM– A blonde was playing Trivial Pursuit one night… It was her turn. She rolled the dice and she landed on Science & Nature. Her question was, ‘If you are in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?’ She thought for a time and then asked, ‘Is it on or off?’
–Jim Waggaman
OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM AT QUICK WORK–I recently received a slanted survey from a local California State Senator. I tried to fill it out then decided to include the letter below. Check it out, then see what happened:
Senator Jenny Oropeza
2512 Artesia Blvd. suite 200
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
Dear Senator,
Interesting questionnaire. I understand your dilemma. It’s tough, but I can’t fault the Governor’s proposal based on your question. That aside, I believe there are ways to save funds and freedom. Every time we pass a law that forms another controlling bureau it grows into an expensive monster. I believe in freedom and individual responsibility. I also believe that a number of regulatory agencies could be downsized if we embarked on a drive to implement education over legislation.
Education empowers citizens to make individual decisions. Right now, we encourage the public to remain uninformed and reliant on government to make decisions, and build regulatory agencies to control everything.
You may need to think out of the box to raise funds. I don’t smoke marijuana, but it looks like an industry that could save this country, if allowed to flourish. I think we need to find ways to afford freedoms, creativity, and innovation without restrictive costly agencies that hinder growth and business. I’m involved in the custom motorcycle industry. A large number of builders have quit building custom motorcycles due to the threat of smog testing and enhanced CARB regulations. Custom motorcycle account for little or no emissions in the grand scheme of things. So why not educate over increased legislation.
Just some thoughts.
All the best,
K. Randall Ball
Publisher
Bikernet.com
California Puts Legalizing Marijuana on Ballot–
Richard C. Paddock San Francisco Correspondent
SAN FRANCISCO (March 25) — California voters will decide in November whether to legalize personal use of marijuana and impose a tax that could raise more than $1 billion for financially struggling state and local governments.
California Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced Wednesday that an initiative known as the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 has qualified for the ballot. Sponsors of the measure submitted 694,248 signatures, far more than the 433,971 they needed to win a place on the Nov. 2 ballot.
The initiative would allow anyone 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and cultivate plants in an area up to 25 square feet. It also would allow local governments to regulate and tax the cultivation, distribution and sale of marijuana in their jurisdictions.
At the same time, the measure would prohibit the possession of marijuana on school grounds; outlaw providing marijuana to anyone under 21; and ban smoking marijuana in public or in front of a minor. It would not overturn the conviction of anyone who violated marijuana laws before the initiative’s passage.
“It takes the cannabis industry out of the black market, out of the back alleys, and brings it into retail establishments,” campaign spokeswoman Dale Sky Clare said. “We can have safer communities by controlling and taxing cannabis.”
The measure is sponsored by activist Richard Lee, who contributed more than $1 million to the signature-gathering drive. Lee operates a medical marijuana dispensary and other marijuana-related businesses in Oakland. He is the founder and president of Oaksterdam University, which teaches students how to cultivate the plant and operate medical marijuana dispensaries.
The university, which is closely connected to the initiative campaign, is growing rapidly and recently moved its main campus into a 30,000-square-foot building in downtown Oakland.
California has long been in the forefront of the marijuana legalization movement. In 1996, voters approved Proposition 215, which authorized the use of marijuana for medical purposes and inspired similar measures in other states.
Since the proposition’s passage, hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries have sprung up around California. They have contributed to economic growth in some communities — most notably downtown Oakland — but also have posed regulatory problems in others, particularly the city of Los Angeles.
The campaign over the legalization initiative is certain to be hard-fought and costly.
No formal campaign opposition has emerged, but opponents can be expected to argue that legalizing marijuana would result in greater consumption, exposure to second-hand smoke, increased automobile and industrial accidents and reduced academic achievement.
There may also be some who argue that the initiative does not go far enough because it limits legal use to adults, doesn’t free those now in jail for marijuana offenses, and could create a system of patchwork regulation by cities and counties.
Nevertheless, after decades of working to legalize marijuana, activists may finally have hit upon the right timing and approach to win over the general public. A Field Poll conducted last year found that 56 percent of Californians supported the idea of legalizing and taxing marijuana.
In part, that may be because state and local governments are desperate for cash. The state has been compelled to raise fees repeatedly at public universities, require state workers to take unpaid furloughs and begin releasing inmates from overcrowded prisons.
“There are voters across every demographic group who are not necessarily pro-pot, but they understand the present system is not working and are well aware that California could use an extra billion bucks a year,” said Dan Newman, a strategist with the campaign. “The combination of the current marijuana laws not working and the disastrous fiscal situation has created a situation where many people see this as a commonplace reform.”
Supporters of the measure hope to raise as much as $10 million to win passage of the measure, Newman said. The campaign in support of the initiative kicked off the first day by issuing a statement that included backing from retired law enforcement officers and a judge from conservative Orange County.
“I’ve been on the front lines of the drug war for three decades, and I know from experience that the current approach is simply not working,” said retired Superior Court Judge James P. Gray. “Controlling marijuana with regulations similar to those currently in place for alcohol will put street drug dealers and organized crime out of business.”
Marijuana would still be illegal under U.S. law, but supporters of the measure hope that the federal government would abstain from enforcing the law, as it is doing now with medical marijuana sales.
Clare, also the executive chancellor of Oaksterdam University, said the initiative would allow cities and counties to adopt a wide range of activities — or none at all.
An agricultural county could authorize large-scale marijuana growing to produce hemp, a durable fiber that can be used in making paper, clothing or rope. “Labor unions see this as an opportunity for tens of thousands of jobs,” Clare said.
Or a city such as Oakland or Berkeley could issue a permit to a bar or nightclub to serve marijuana rather than alcohol, she said. There also could be the equivalent of “dry counties” where the sale of marijuana is not permitted, although possession would still be allowed.
The campaign is drafting a range of model ordinances that local governments could adopt if the initiative is approved by voters, she said.
Clare attempted to counter expected opposition from law enforcement by pointing out that local authorities could tax marijuana to help train and equip police departments, among other expenditures.
“Right now, the profit margins are going to buy more guns for the Mexican cartels,” she said. “That same margin could be paid into what matters most to Californians: education, public health and public safety.”
BIKERNET OPENS MUSIC CONSERVATORY–I don’t know what got into me, but I have always wanted to learn to play musical instrument. Now we have a couple of young musicians living in the headquarters and we stumbled into an antique 1925 Wurlitzer piano. Then it turned out that a couple of Bikernet readers, Pablo and Anson Alexander, are active blues harmonica players, and I stepped up and bought one. Here’s the latest tip:
We ought to be neighbors. I have been playing the harmonica since high school. I play blues harmonica. I learned from a book I stole at the Racine public library. I checked it out every two weeks for a year. I decided if no one else wanted to read it then I would keep it. Library has never sent me an overdue notice.
I am going to guess you want to play blues harp. It is completely different than the Bob Dylan, Neil Young or Steve Earle sound. Blues harp is “cross” harp. The harmonica you play is the 4th note of the scale. For instance in the key of G you would play a C harp. In the key of C you would play a F harp. Key of E means an A harmonica. Using the fourth position note allows you to draw on the harmonica instead of blowing. This way you can “bend” notes for the minor or 7th effect. That is what gives the blues scale its mournful sound and wail. If you want the Bob Dylan sound then play a harmonica that is the same key as the song. Song is in the key of G then key of G harp. My favorite blues harp player is Junior Wells. He was from Chicago and really laid down a bounce with the harp. I can send you a CD if you want to check him out.
I have kept a C harmonica in my saddlebag for years. It has bought me a lot of beers in a lot of places. I prefer the Hohner Marine Band, simple harmonica with no scale tricks. With a Green Shure microphone and a Fender Deluxe amp it will sound like a saxophone in heat.
Damn you want to be a harmonica player, I knew I liked ya.
……………Anson
Hey Bandit,This is for when you get into the playin and down the road. You will want to do this on a old Harp at first. Don’t want to mess up a good harp. Most harp’s even new need to be dialed inCheck this out. http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica/mikesretuning.html Also goto Youtube and check out the video’s for tuning a diatonic Harmonica.
–Pablo
This may be the biggest and best Peel Back Pricing ever at K and G Cycles!!!!!–This week, we have everything you need to get the riding season underway — all at rock bottom prices. We have a wide variety of air filters to fit just about every configuration and style starting at less than $25.00!
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Check out the EZE Brake Bleeder system at over 25% off retail. This simple device makes one-man brake bleeding as simple as can be. How did we ever live without it?
Maybe it’s time to replace that old, beat up jiffy stand. We have two different styles available this week at over 20% off. In addition, we have peel back specials on shocks, grips, fenders, license plate holders, and much, much more. This week, K and G Cycles is offering over 40 products with Peel Back Pricing that simply cannot be beat!
Just drop by K and G Cycles at www.kandgcycles.com and “peel back” the upper right hand corner of the home page. Click on the graphic below and you are whisked off to the best deals on the planet. Peel Back Pricing deals change every week and we announce them exclusively on Bikernet.com and on our Facebook page. Stop by our page on FB and become a fan. We have added over 1,200 new fans in the last month alone.
Thanks to all our customers and Facebook fans for making K and G Cycles their one-stop online motorcycle parts megastore.
HANG ON FOR THIS ONE–While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
‘Welcome to heaven,’ says St. Peter. ‘Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.’
‘No problem, just let me in,’ says the man.
‘Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.’
‘Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,? says the senator.
‘I’m sorry, but we have our rules.’
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a lovely green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar, and champagne.
Also present is the devil, seemingly a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives the senator a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises…
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
‘Now it’s time to visit heaven.’
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They too have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
‘Well then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.’
The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: ‘Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.’
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a horrible, barren land reeking of pollution and garbage.
He sees all his friends, filthy, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and moaning while more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ‘I don’t understand,’ stammers the senator. ‘Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of trash and my friends look miserable.
What happened?’
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ‘Yesterday we were campaigning…today you voted!’
–Robin Hartfiel
LE PERA SEATS ARE BUSY–Thank you for your E-mail and choosing Le Pera. We are experience ahigh volume of calls and E-mail. We suppose the riding season hasbegun. We will answer your e-mails as soon as possible. We are sorryfor the delay. Thank you for your understanding.
–Le Pera Enterprises
It’s good to hear our industry is clicking once again.Don’t ever let the bastards get you down.–Renegade
Back to the 50’s in the attitude toward motorcycle clubs– (SALEM, Ore.) – The Oregon Attorney General’s Office sent out a news release today stating that “A total of seven members of the North Valley Chapter of the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Club have been convicted of charges ranging from robbery and kidnapping to burglary and coercion.”
The statement from Attorney General John Kroger goes on to say how his office convicted a “Grants Pass-based outlaw motorcycle gang member” on charges of coercion and unlawful use of a weapon.
Now, is it a gang or a club? I don’t know the Vagos, but I know a lot of bikers who are having a very hard time with their civil rights these days, and the semantics are important.
Police and prosecutors are in a new time when words like “terrorist” instantly mean that a person loses their treasured Civil Rights, simply over a charge, an allegation. “Gang member” isn’t as bad, yet… but where does it end?
This is where the rubber of real Civil Liberty meets the asphalt.
There is no clause in the U.S. Constitution that states “Unless the person is wearing a patch on their jacket” that I have ever seen.
I know that these law enforcement officials, keen on the key words, play out their strategies and that 99% of the media in this nation knows not the first thing about this unique American culture, so they aren’t much help, simply parroting the words of law enforcement bent on seeing bikers removed from our streets.
There are many clubs that exist without excessive legal difficulties, but when motorcycles are involved, the term club frequently becomes gang when police talk about it, and it is a matter of legal maneuvering. I think this type of “news” from a state office looks an awful lot like propaganda when the facts are skewed.
I remember when my niece was in high school, cruising around with a few of her friends at night, and they were pulled over by the “gang unit” because there were six kids together in a car. A car that belonged to a girl’s mom.
The police use these terms out of context.
?Outlaw motorcycle gangs pose a major threat to public safety,? said Attorney General Kroger. ?This case put a major dent in outlaw motorcycle gang activity in Southern Oregon.?
Apparently they had an issue with a club member and somebody tried to steal a motorcycle. One person reportedly, “chased two individuals with a sawed-off shotgun.”
(Note: Since the story was published last night, ‘Badger’ Mark the Vagos club Spokesman for Oregon, told Salem-News.com, “The whole thing is over two years old and was about us finding out a convicted sex offender had made his way into our club and was kicked out.”)
OK, I wouldn’t want to be chased around by a pissed off biker with a shotgun, I admit that, but the way this story is laid out you would think they had just brought Charles Manson to justice.
Robbery and Coercion. Those are the crimes that the motorcycle club member in question was convicted of. No drugs, no Murder, nothing like that. The news release states that the conviction led to a 26 month (slightly over two years) prison sentence for 52-year old Richard Coelho. The AG says it was “the final case in a multi-year prosecution of the North Valley Chapter of the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Club.”
Years? And all they did was convict some bikers for apparently hassling one of their own? It doesn’t exactly fit the bill for public menace, based on the conviction.
The other Vagos who were prosecuted include 43-year old Chris Jorgenson, who was sentenced to 70 months in prison for robbery, coercion and burglary; 44-year old Chris Church, who was sentenced to 70 months in prison for kidnapping and coercion (two counts); 63-year old Gary Jones, who was sentenced to probation for coercion; and 52-year old James Lloyd, who was convicted at trial and sentenced to probation for robbery and coercion. 49-year old Jack Sanders, and 56-year old Bob Moore, who were each convicted of coercion (two counts), have not yet been sentenced.
It reminds me of another recent story where vast amounts of tax dollars were spent funding a tremendous list of Oregon police agencies that busted a drug dealer. Rafael Martinez Ayala sold meth ten times to narc cops, and made drug deals while his kids were in the house. He was sentenced to 269 months in prison. Taxpayers will pick up the tab for 269 months, more than 22 years of prison incarceration. Yet in the same timeframe, a couple who repeatedly harmed other human beings, children no less, who refused a lawyer, behaved disrespectfully to the judge, and left children with lifetime scars on their bodies and souls, will serve a sentence less than 1/3 third the length of Ayala’s.
Hispanics and bikers; huge lengthy sentences. A white couple that is extremely dangerous and abusive; a comparative slap on the wrist. What gives?
The public needs to realize that motorcycle clubs are as All-American as apple pie, whether people like it or not. Most bikers are U.S. military veterans. Many served in combat, starting with WWII, which is what launched the American biker movement.
Yet in the biker circuit are a whole bunch of undercover cops posing as bikers. They infiltrate these clubs, and if they were simply doing it to arrest people for illegal activity, that is one thing. But that is not what they do.
It seems the biggest goal of police intervention in motorcycle clubs is to incite problems between the various clubs.
I know for a fact that this is and has been taking place, and these are serious allegations. If the bikers themselves did anything remotely similar they would be arrested and face heavy charges, almost certainly on a federal level. Inciting violence is totally unacceptable criminal police behavior.
Some of these actions by police have resulted in clubs taking violent action against each other over the years. Police should not be allowed to do this. Being deceptive is a specialty of undercover ‘narcs’ and anyone who relies on deceit as their main tool reeks of dishonesty, and their word is stained.
Nobody writes about this because there is such a shortage of reporters who cross over in these areas of knowledge. Bikers are largely mistrusting of media, and I understand why. Sometimes though they need a break. I am not making excuses for breaking the law, that is not the point.
According to the news release from the Oregon AG, “Testimony established that the Vagos members considered themselves a 1 percent club, a reference to a 1960s claim that up to 99% of motorcyclists are law-abiding citizens, but the last one percent are outlaws.”
–Tim King Salem-News.com
Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com’s Executive News Editor.
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