With 2021 in the rearview, New Year 2022 has hit the ground running in several states considering pro- and anti-biker laws, including some helmet legislation, profiling, noise, motorcycle safety, lane splitting, bike parking and lighting issues.

Freedom of Choice on helmet use is on the docket in some of the 18 states that still mandate riders to wear them, such as Massachusetts (H3524 & S2328: helmet standards), Nebraska (LB581) and West Virginia (HB2711 / SB127), while New York seeks to study the efficacy of helmets (A1107) and Alabama’s legislature will consider requiring reflective headgear (SB65).

Lane splitting has been a hot topic lately, and Massachusetts (H3513 & S2315), Virginia (HB838) and Washington (HB1106 / SB5622 & HB1254) hope to join California, Montana, Utah & Hawaii in allowing motorcycles to bypass slow moving vehicles in heavy traffic situations.

Likewise, anti-biker profiling by law enforcement has been on many states’ agendas since being enacted in Washington, Maryland, Louisiana and most recently Idaho, and now New York is the first this year among many more to introduce legislation (A1747 / S3869) in hopes of preventing police from discriminating against motorcyclists in their application of the law.

By sheer numbers, Massachusetts takes the prize for the most pro-motorcycle bills introduced already this session, with 11 pieces of legislation including H3487 / S2329 to advance motorcycle safety, H3417 / S2331 relative to a motorcycle safety fund, and H3438 to clarify testing and enforcement of motorcycle sound emissions.

On the “anti-“ side of the dockets, New York is once again considering a prohibition on children under the age of 12 from riding on a motorcycle (A148), and Virginia will debate “excessive noise” (HB367 and HB632 / SB180).

The year is young, with many more issues of interest on the horizon, pro and con, that concerned riders need to track and stay on top of, and one of the best ways to do so is to join your state motorcyclists’ rights organization (SMRO) and subscribe to the monthly NCOM Biker Newsbytes by e-mailing “Subscribe” to NCOMBish@aol.com.

Since the federal Highway Bill passed Congress and was signed into law by President Biden without most of the pro-motorcycle provisions that bikers across America lobbied to include, it is now imperative that riders turn their attention toward garnering support for the stand-alone measure in the House that would help prevent anti-biker profiling.

Nearly three years ago, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution condemning the discriminatory profiling of motorcyclists by law enforcement (S. Res. 154), and now the U.S. House of Representatives is again considering a similar bipartisan measure in the 117th Congress, H. Res. 366; “Promoting awareness of motorcyclist profiling and encouraging collaboration and communication with the motorcycle community and law enforcement officials to prevent instances of profiling.”

Sponsored once again by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) along with original co-sponsors Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX), Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI), the anti-profiling resolution was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 30, 2021 to thwart “the illegal use of the fact that a person rides a motorcycle or wears motorcycle related apparel as a factor in deciding to stop and question, take enforcement action, arrest, or search a person or vehicle with or without legal basis under the Constitution of the United States,” as profiling is defined in the resolution.

H.R. 366 acknowledges that “complaints surrounding motorcyclist profiling have been cited in all 50 States,” and the bipartisan resolution denotes three actionable items;

(1) promotes increased public awareness on the issue of motorcyclist profiling;

(2) encourages collaboration and communication with the motorcyclist community and law enforcement to engage in efforts to end motorcyclist profiling; and

(3) urges State law enforcement officials to include statements condemning motorcyclist profiling in written policies and training materials.

All concerned motorcyclists are encouraged to contact their Congressional Representatives at (202) 224-3121 to ask that they join with 59 other colleagues as current cosponsors of H.Res.366 and help put a stop to law enforcement unfairly targeting motorcycle riders for traffic stops, questioning and citations.

Traffic cameras that can identify excessively noisy motorcycles and vehicles are being deployed across France, with riders and drivers who flout the rules facing fines of €135 ($153USD).

The debate over the devices, which have been trialed in various countries across Europe, has run rife for some time, but the French are the first nation to initiate a wider roll-out of cameras that will flash and fine motorcycles and vehicles that exceed noise levels.

The Bruitparif-designed Meduse cameras feature microphones attached to a camera that can pick up and identify the direction of noise from the road below. Should the sound rise above a certain decibel, the camera is activated and a fine is subsequently issued.

MOTO-GP WILL NOT RACE IN COUNTRIES REQUIRING COVID QUARANTINES
When MotoGP resurfaced in October 2021, it looked like Grand Prix motorcycle racing might return to normal, packing the schedule with 21 rounds including eight outside Europe, but the Delta and Omicron variant waves caused many countries to reinstate travel restrictions — including quarantines upon arrival — forcing organizers to play musical chairs with the calendar throughout the year.

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta sent a clear message at a recent racing forum that MotoGP will not visit countries in 2022 that require CoViD-19 quarantines; “If they tell us that we have to be quarantined for fourteen days, the answer is clear, no, I’m not going! That’s the limit,” Ezpeleta claimed. “As for the rest, they can ask us to have vaccination certificates or the documentation that we already did last year and that is why it was important to go to the United States as a test of what can be said to the rest of the countries.”

Last year, MotoGP successfully ran events in Qatar and the United States, unfortunately the only races held outside Europe, while Japan and Australia are still requiring such measures, and Thailand is trending that direction.

 
JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE SALES HIT 23-YEAR HIGH
Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, motorcycle enthusiasts and OEMs alike lamented the elusive Millennial buyers and declining sales, but throughout the global health crisis, motorcycles have surprisingly surged in popularity. As a result, manufacturers experienced record sales growth, with Ducati, BMW, and Energica reporting large gains in 2020 and 2021, and Japanese OEMs have similarly benefited from the increased interest and the “Big Four” (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha) are reporting that domestic shipments hit a 23-year high in 2021 (235.755 units in-country, up 20.6%).

In addition to the sales uptick, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha all report increased sales among younger riders.


FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH: MOTORCYCLE RACERS BLINK LESS
A recent study has found that MotoGP riders blink far less than non-racers, with one test subject going 9 minutes without blinking!

During the first round of the 2021 MotoGP season, Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco set a new series top-speed record of 225 mph. At that speed, riders cover 330 feet in one second. The average blink takes 0.15 seconds, so riders traveling at that top velocity are effectively blind for nearly 50 feet of track.

That sounds like a terrifying prospect to us mere mortals, but a study between LCR Honda and Italian pharmaceutical company Sifi helps explain how MotoGP riders’ eyes function in such extreme conditions. Conducted over six MotoGP seasons (2015-2021), Grand Prix riders would undergo tests prior to the race and 30 minutes following the checkered flag. The dual-test method revealed that rider reaction times and pupil performance remain in “Race Mode” for an extended period.

All racers easily exceeded the normal 4-6-second blink interval, and despite the stressful conditions, none of the subjects exhibited red, dry eyes or inflammation.

The results may be fascinating, but Sifi co-owner Carlos Chines believes this is just the beginning of a broader, long-term study.

 

Well, it’s too late to write to Santa for a saddlebag stuffer, but you can contact Airbiker to acquire their portable assistive device to pick up downed motorcycles.

No matter how your bike got to the ground, you have to pick it up somehow, and while plenty of riding instructors teach methods to help you pick up a downed bike, the moment of truth may seem much different when you eventually face it.

Plus, the bigger the bike, the more intimidating the task, and what if you have a bad back or other injury that makes it a less smart idea to manhandle your scoot?

That’s the problem that French startup Airsink wants to solve with their new product called Airbiker; a small pouch with an inflatable balloon and a few CO2 cartridges inside that gives enough boost for you to grab the handlebars and guide it back upright from a completely prone position on the ground.


NCOM CONVENTION ~ SAVE THE DATE!
Some of the finest Freedom Fighters in the motorcyclists’ rights movement will be among the hundreds of biker activists from across the country to gather for the 37th annual NCOM Convention in Nashville, Tennessee over the weekend of June 23-25, 2022 to teach, learn and share information relevant to our ongoing fight for Freedom of the Road.

This year’s NCOM Convention will address legal and legislative topics of interest to all motorcycle riders, including informative seminars, regional meetings, special interest gatherings and group discussions, capped off with the Silver Spoke Awards Banquet.

NCOM Board Chairman James “Doc” Reichenbach reminds concerned bikers to “Mark your calendars now” and check back at www.ON-A-BIKE.com for further details as they develop.
 
QUOTABLE QUOTE:

“We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.”

~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd President of the United States

ABOUT AIM / NCOM: The National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) is a nationwide motorcyclists rights organization serving over 2,000 NCOM Member Groups throughout the United States, with all services fully-funded through Aid to Injured Motorcyclist (AIM) Attorneys available in each state who donate a portion of their legal fees from motorcycle accidents back into the NCOM Network of Biker Services (www.ON-A-BIKE.com / 800-ON-A-BIKE).

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 Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. If you’ve been involved in any kind of accident, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.

If you don’t know who this bad mafucka was, he was the guy who designed the bikes ridden by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in ‘Easy Rider’. Him and another badass black dude named Ben Hardy built the iconic Captain America and Billy bikes for the movie. Hardy was a very skilled bike builder and built two “Billy” bikes and three “Captain America” bikes. Being that it was 1969, they got no credit for building arguably the most famous choppers in history.

The Chosen Few Motorcycle Club. An important piece of chopper / club culture. They were founded in 1959 in Los Angeles. “When you talk of the Outlaw Bikers you automatically think of ‘Them Crazy White Boys’ doing what a lot of folk wish they could do. Live Life Like You Want & Fuck You And Your Rules. Well Guess What?

There was some crazy Black bikers who felt the same way, and didn’t give a Fuck. Thus was born the Black Outlaw Bikers!” The first White boy to come to the Chosen Few MC was “White Boy Art.” He came around 1960, followed by “White Boy Tom”. Soon they started to attract other White outlaw riders that wanted to join them.

The Chosen Few became a multi-racial MC with chapters that were all Black, all White, half White and half Mexican, half Black and half White, all Mexican, half Mexican and half Indian, a few Asians & one Iranian dude. They were one of the first, if not the very first, multi-racial one percenter club.

The baddest of the bad, in my opinion of course (mainly because they are from Oakland and Bay Area chopper influence, blah blah)……… Originally started as a car club, they made the switch to an M.C. in 1959.

Due to harassment from law enforcement, Long time friend Sonny Barger suggested they switch to a motorcycle club because bikes were more discreet than cars, easier to maintain, and cheaper to work on. In 1959, and even well into the ‘60s, although there were two Harley-Davidson dealerships in Oakland, no dealership in the Bay Area would sell bikes to black customers.

All the original founding members had to buy used bikes in order to obtain ownership of one. The Black Panthers came to The Dragons for ideas and support during their creation.

Due to the support both organizations had for each other, some of the Black Panthers eventually became members of the East Bay Dragons after the Black Panthers disbanded.

She rode to all 48 states and traversed the country around eight times. Hotels wouldn’t rent rooms to black folks, let alone a little black woman riding a Harley probably covered in road grime, so she often slept on her motorcycle.

Can you imagine how fucking gnarly that must have been, especially in middle America? Bessie rode Milwaukee iron. She said of the 27 Harleys she owned in her lifetime, “To me, a Harley is the only motorcycle ever made.” She was such a skilled rider that she would also do stunt riding in carnival shows.

During WW2, she worked as a civilian dispatch rider. Her job was mostly to carry documents between domestic U.S. Bases. Bessie was married and divorced six times. When she divorced her 3rd husband, Arther Stringfield, he asked her to keep his last name because he knew that one day Bessie would make that name famous.

She moved to Miami in the 1950s and eventually started the Ironhorse Motorcycle Club. Of course, she felt the hardships of the racial situation at the time, but she also felt the hardships of being a woman at the time. Disguised as a man, Bessie won a flat track race but was denied the prize money after she took off her helmet.

As I mentioned before, she was a stunt rider. She would get attention from the press by riding around while standing on the seat of her bike. She was nicknamed the “Negro Motorcycle Queen” and later the “Motorcycle Queen of Miami.”

Let’s talk about a man of choppers. If you are into chopped motorcycles and haven’t heard his name, you probably need to start over. For those of you that are just along for the read, let’s talk about Sugar Bear. In the world of choppers, having long springer front forks is almost a must at some point.

There have been dozens of manufacturers of these types of forks and almost all of them are floppy, sketchy, and just plain questionable. However, there are a few builders that come to my mind who made springers that are undoubtably superior to the rest: Dick Allen, Paughco, Denver Mullins, Arlen Ness, and Sugar Bear.

I have personally seen and/or owned all of these at one time, and the quality truly is mind blowing. Bear got into bikes at the tail end of the ‘60s, which led to him meeting, learning from, and befriending Ben Hardy (One of the masterminds behind the Easy Rider bikes).

Sugar Bear opened his own shop in 1971 in South Central Los Angeles and started building springer forks in lengths up to 18-inches over stock, using solid steel to construct them during a time when most springers were made out of tubing.

He was a mathematician when it came to figuring out rake and trail, which resulted in a front fork that could be ridden with one hand with no bounce and zero flop. Something that was usually unheard of with a long springer. Now it was on. He had a few advertisements throughout the years in numerous magazines, but most of his work was done by word-of-mouth.

Fame wasn’t something that he was seeking. He just wanted to make a living doing the thing that he loved, building choppers. This is something that I envy very much. As time went on and the styles of choppers changed and evolved, Sugar Bear stayed true to his roots and kept building them his way.

This led to more and more business over the years, and turned into a family affair. His son “Little Bear” now works side by side with him keeping the legacy going.

This last paragraph is from Street Chopper Magazine because I think it’s said perfectly: Sugar Bear and his choppers and infamous Springer front ends have stood the test of time. Sugar Bear is a true chopper-culture icon. His influence through the evolution of the custom motorcycle industry has left a mark and long-lasting impression on riders and chopper enthusiasts alike for decades past and for many years to come.

As an individual and devoted bike builder who has been there since the birth of choppers, it is with great pleasure to have Sugar Bear’s contributions help shape chopper history and his legacy to continue and flourish.

One thing I remember the most is we “rode” our bikes not ride them. We lived the life. Rode hard and fast and built our own bikes to be different.

There were no 60-Grand off-the-shelf bikes. It was the commonality of brothers, and trust was earned. Help was there when needed. If you needed a part, it was a given, but you better use or return it for someone else.

When in the fast lane we owned it, it was our style. Looked out for each other, you always knew there was backup between each other.

Riding was for the miles, the more miles we rode the better. Be it a short putt during the week or that weekend ride to nowhere. Pulling in to a local bar we always took it over the beer and woman, bartenders knew if there was to be no trouble beer was the answer.

We had nicknames like, Attitude Fred, Dirty Rich, Racist Roger, Monk, Percy the Professor, Big John, Uncle Dave, Jungle Head, Gentlemen Jim, Hippy John, Mute Ron, Mexican Mike, Pig Pen, Jaws, Bandit, Dago Mike, Tiny, Danny M, Cowboy, Preacher, Angle Mark, Pop, Tonto, Airhead, Wing Nut Frank, Hangmen Mark (RIP), Little Mike, Big Steve, Sportster Danny, Knucklehead Red, China Don, Lug Nut Louie, White Truck, and so many more, I can’t remember.

For years, I did not even know their real names– that didn’t matter. We had something in common, our bikes and riding.

We had no cares but the next ride to nowhere just the ride. Out running the cops was no big deal, some got caught, some got away, but we all lived to tell about it.

Packing a chick was always a pain, got to the point we didn’t need to pack, with all the women out there, there was no AIDS or all these weird diseases out there now. We didn’t care, pussy was pussy, and it was out there. I can even remember coming back from a run late on a Sunday, Two of us. We picked up two babes on the Freeway.

Haulin’ Ass Home that’s a story in itself.

Bikes were short and low, Ape Hangers, Drag Bars, Broomstick, Z-Bars and Flanders Risers. Had to have a Jockey shift or you were a pussy as some would say.

Each bike had its owner’s personality. We didn’t have to look at magazines or internet to get ideas. Stock front ends, VL Front end, or a stock H-D Springer were the best at the time. For us a long front end with pullback handlebars was a joke. They had no control in the traffic. Had to be functional.

Chrome! Who cares just more to clean, took away from the ride. A can of 49-cent flat black was the answer. You needed to kickstart your bike in the first or second kick or you were left holding the bag.

Yes, we kickstarted our bike’s. When the sound of an Electric start bike was in the air, it meant parts. Back then it was survival, parts were parts, but bad Karma always came with it, so that stopped. Making your own part for your bike was part of the personality you put into the machine.

Cool was taking parts from the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s and making them work on your bike. Having all glass lenses, not plastic was cool. Everything was American made no foreign crap. Flatheads, Knuckleheads, Panheads and Shovelheads. God and Harley-Davidson said no to clones.

Another 100 years Harley will still be here. Going to Sturgis once a year behind a Motorhome does not mean you lived the life. No need to go to the local H-D dealer to change our oil. Up sweep pipes, Shotguns, Drag pipes or a Dick Allan 2 in-to-one collector. Ape Hangers over your head, drag racing with a Jockey Shift, one pair of Levies (which we called originals) we wore for years, when they were falling apart, we found a Hippy chick to stitch them back together.

Horseshoe taps on our engineer boots was not for the noise but to keep vehicles off our ass, put your boot on the pavement and throw a fury of sparks in the air like a Big Rig just exploded or throw a ball bearing in the air and it would hit the windshield like a 357 magnum.

Not to take 3 days to clean your bike for a Run but to make sure everything was tight, tuned and had fresh oil. If she leaked some oil you didn’t run to the H-D dealer, just meant she was alive. The bitch just left her mark on the pavement showing she was there.

Didn’t like to be told what to do, had enough of that in the military, most of us were Vietnam Era Vets and still had partners dying in Vietnam. The open road was our home, our life. Live the Life and We be Cool… That’s my opinion. Opinions are like assholes, and everyone has one. And that’s that, and I hope you don’t like it…

No Breakdowns, always made sure everything was good to go; you didn’t want to come home in a truck, because the harassment was crazy, always left ready for anything.

The ride lasted for years; it was the life we had.
Things sure have changed; the technology today in the bike industry is amazing, but what else? Hang on.

I knew some guys back then who were ahead of the times like Dick Allan (RIP) and Bob George (RIP). They did things that changed a lot for the industry.
What gets me is reading some of the Bike Mags. You see some bikes that took years to build. Years can’t image that, look at time you lost riding. Oh well, to each his own.

Well, I could go on for a few more days. Didn’t want to bore you with the good old days.
Everyone says their generation was great, but ours was the Best, The Bikes, The Road, The Women and Most of all The Freedom…Enough Said……………

 

Google is now denying the ability of climate change deniers to make money off its platforms and to spread ‘climate misinformation’ through advertisements. Google announced Thursday it will no longer allow advertising to appear alongside “content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change.” Google (GOOG) will also prohibit advertisements that deny the reality of climate change. This insane policy, starting next month, applies to any content on YouTube and other Google platforms that refers “to climate change as a hoax or a scam,” as well as denials that “greenhouse gas emissions or human activity contribute to climate change.”

You have to ask yourself, what in the Ayn Rand, Anne Frank, 1984 and talking pig, Third Reich shit is THIS now? It seems that since the America people laid down like docile little lambs to being censored on social media, they have decided to take it one step further. Now, they are refusing to do business with people who deny ‘climate change.’

Well, you know, I deny climate change, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I am old enough to remember that potato headed Dan Quayle and his spastic, dire, feckless tirades about ‘global warming.’ I also survived Y2K, murder hornets, my Mom’s Miss Clairol making a hole in the ozone layer, riding in cars without catalytic converters, killer bees, quite a few Arkansas tornadoes, one Iowa Derecho, and so far, the Kung Flu. I know that political aspirations to ‘change the climate’ are always ostentatious jackassery that stokes fear in the tree huggers, and is used to teach children not to litter highways or throw out plastic bottles or don’t use straws or let cows fart or mow our yards or whatever the hell else we are supposed to do or not do these days… What’s one more fairy tale? Santa Claus and Smokey the Bear.

The main reason I don’t agree with climate change is one that many of you may not agree with, and that’s okay… I reckon since we are still allowed to say ‘One nation under God’ in a few places in America… I am going to go on and say this. I don’t believe humans can change the climate because I am a Christian. If someone asked me to describe why weather seems more extreme these days, I would reply, “yea, God’s pissed.’ It irritates me to see President Magoo and the Tweaker of the House stand up and declare they are such big Catholics then turn right around and push ‘climate change.’ I suppose they have a different Bible than I do. It’s so very hypocritical… but I mean, so is them supporting abortion, so.. there ya go.

Now, I, and everyone who believes the same way as me, are not allowed to advertise on social media like youtube or google. We are banished from free speech in our country. Between racism, climate change, ‘political correctness’, Facebook jail… they have wiped their asses on our First Amendment. I guess those Democrats have a different Constitution than I do, too.

I am not surprised that they are acting this way. I have been banned from operating my B&B on airbnb, Expedia, Hipcamp.. many sites… for my political beliefs and Confederate memorabilia. They add one more brick to the prison wall every day and no one notices they are being pinned in.

It’s terrifying that the American people are willing to give up their freedoms so easily. I think a whole lot of people need to realize not all concentration camps have fences around them.

–The Wicked Bitch

Here’s the wildest truth. Climate Alarmism or Climate Doom IS misinformation. Oops. –Bandit

“When I think of Daytona I have always thought of Willie’s Tropical Tattoo show as THE event for our home bike-builder culture,” said Edge, the founder of the Smoke Out. “This was a special year in a way. Everyone knows Willie had a bad bike accident and at this event I think a lot of people were grateful that the show continued and we are just grateful for Willie.”

The 29th Annual Biketoberfest–
October 14-17, 2021

Biketoberfest celebrated a full-throttle lifestyle born on two wheels. Motorcycle enthusiasts come together during the four-day rally each year to enjoy beautiful Florida weather, live music, motorcycle racing at Daytona International Speedway, and miles of scenic rides along famous A1A, historic Main Street or the scenic Loop.

They experienced the Southeast’s best motorcycle rally featuring motorcycle shows, custom bike builds and hundreds of the industry’s top vendors throughout Daytona Beach. All roads lead to this rally.

Biketoberfest this year was a collection of activities that take place at venues and businesses in cities throughout Volusia County and beyond. Local hotels, businesses, parks and beaches were open for visitors to enjoy the area’s beautiful October weather and scenic rides. We ask all our visitors who do decide to travel to please visit responsibly.

And our Bandit’s Cantina crew won’t miss mister Willie’s Show and the Smoke Out Party.

2022 Rally Dates

The 81st Annual Daytona Bike Week is March 4-13, 2022. For information go to OfficialBikeWeek.com.

The 30th Anniversary of Biketoberfest® is October 13-16, 2022.

“I had a chance to really watch Chris and Heather Callen (Cycle Source Magazine) in action and it hit me that these are people that can not only continue the Smoke Out but they will take it to that next level,” said Edge. “They have great organizational skills. They can implement new ideas in a way that shows respect for the past and a deep understanding of our culture. I mean… of course, they have always been part of the culture… and they will move the Smoke Out forward in a way no outside promoter ever could. I’m excited about the new Smoke Out, coming soon.”

Circling back to the NCOM Legislative Task Force Meeting during the recent NCOM Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, examining existential threats to motorcycling, NCOM-LTF Member Ed Schetter notified the NCOM Board of Directors that “Mercedes Benz is claiming the first Level 3 autonomous technology will be in production for their 2022 EQS equipped with Drive Pilot.”

Level 3 is known as conditional driving automation, and it uses various driver assistance systems and artificial intelligence to make decisions based on changing driving situations around the vehicle.  People inside the vehicle do not need to supervise the technology, meaning they can engage in other activities.

During the NCOM-LTF’s presentation on “The Demise of Gas-Powered Vehicles,” Schetter reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating 11 crashes since 2018 in which a Tesla vehicle with “Autopilot” has struck one or more vehicles involved in an emergency response situation.

Tesla currently operates at Level 2, partial driving automation, which falls short of self-driving because it comes with the expectation that a human will always be alert and ready to take over.

If you don’t know what’s happening with the infrastructure bill, you’re not alone, as even political insiders who should be in the know seem not to be.  The vote on this ‘highway reauthorization bill’ is complicated by action to be taken on another measure, a sweeping social spending and climate package, that has been politically tied to the infrastructure proposal by congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden.

Despite both chambers of Congress agreeing to extend the FAST Act deadline, H.R. 5434; the “Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2021,” Biden put the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill on hold, telling Democrats that a vote on the highway measure must wait until the party agrees on spending trillions more for his far more ambitious social policy and climate change package.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will become the first major city to ban stops for minor traffic infractions, with a historic piece of legislation that puts the brakes on police pulling over drivers for so-called “secondary violations.”

The City Council approved a bill 14-2 that bans police officers from stopping motorists for minor violations, such as having a broken taillight or not having certain stickers displayed.  Drivers who are guilty of those minor violations will instead receive a warning or a citation in the mail.

“So that an expired license plate or fuzzy dice in the mirror isn’t a death sentence that it can be in some cases,” said Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., who is a co-sponsor of the “Driving Equality Bill.”

Jones said the city reviewed 2.8 million stops and found that Philadelphia police pull over a disproportionate number of black drivers for minor violations.  Supporters contend the new law would “end traffic stops that promote discrimination while keeping the traffic stops that promote public safety.”

As of 2024, California will ban “small off-road engines” (SORE) primarily used in gas-powered lawn equipment, such as lawnmowers, leaf blowers and chainsaws, in a new law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 1346, will apply not only to fuel-fed lawn equipment, but also to generators and emergency response equipment operated by internal combustion engines (ICE), and “other assorted categories” including golf carts.

AB 1346, authored by Assembly member Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), directs the California Air Resources Board to adopt regulations by July 2022 that would prohibit the sale of new “small off-road engines” — a category that includes all gas-powered engines under 25 horsepower — but does not regulate the use of existing equipment, and includes exceptions for farmers and emergency responders.

According to CARB, there are more small engines in California than cars, 16.5 million vs. 13.7 million, but have not been the subject of regulation and lack adequate pollution control devices.

It seems that all vehicles, including motorcycles, are destined to become battery-powered in the near future.  Honda, BMW, as well as Yamaha, have all announced their plans to go full electric by 2050.  But for Kawasaki, their self-imposed deadline is coming much sooner, being in 14 years’ time, and by 2035 all of their motorcycles sold will be electric-powered.

To help maximize resources and increase management flexibility, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has spun off its motorcycle division into the aptly named Kawasaki Motors, which will focus solely on the motorcycle business.  KHI, meanwhile, will continue to oversee the company’s interests in producing aircraft, ships, industrial equipment, and trains.

“Outdoor leisure activity has been popular during the COVID pandemic,” said Yasuhiko Hashimoto, KHI President, adding that “We will strengthen our environmental efforts with our sights set on post-pandemic lifestyles.”

Honda, KTM, Piaggio and Yamaha all got together to sign a letter of intent about their EV battery swapping plans, with the project’s stated goal being to agree upon a set of shared standards to which all four companies plan to adhere, thus creating the Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium.

Battery standardization has been one of the key stumbling blocks to electrification, but the big issue with battery swapping has always been the cost of the infrastructure.  If there are to be enough batteries in circulation, this would require enormous investment by a manufacturer.

If every company used a different battery type, it would be both expensive and wasteful. However, if a battery in a docking station fits multiple bikes, scooters, mopeds and other small machines, it becomes more viable.

The hope is that by working together not only can they share costs, thus lowering prices both for the bikes and the infrastructure, but that they can work together to improve battery technology resulting in longer ranges and shorter charging times.

“Honda believes that the widespread adoption of electric motorcycles can play an important part in realizing a more sustainable society. For that purpose, we need to solve several challenges such as extending the range, shortening the charging time and lowering the vehicle and infrastructure costs to enhance convenience for customers,” according to Honda Motor Company Limited motorcycle operations chief officer Yoshishige Nomura.

The ACEM – European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers – has spoken out on the noisy motorcycle debate, issuing its response to growing efforts across the continent to ban bikers from certain routes over complaints motorcycles exude too much noise.

The union, which represents 18 manufacturing companies and 20 national industry associations, is concerned bikers are being unfairly singled out for an issue that is endemic across all road users, saying modern motorcycles don’t exceed the permitted decibel levels compared with many four-wheel alternatives.

Interestingly, the ACEM also supports the use of devices that measure noise and issue fines, since it places the onus on the individual potentially abusing the regulations, rather than the industry as a whole.

The debate over noisy motorcycles has stepped up in recent years, with the issue leading to a number of measures being implemented across popular routes throughout Europe.  Germany and Austria have been particularly pro-active in introducing rules seemingly aimed specifically at the motorcycle industry, going so far as to ban motorcycles entirely from certain stretches.

However, as the ACEM points out, Euro4 and Euro5 motorcycles are already designed not to exceed the permitted 77dB of noise (on average), but, that said, these machines can be altered by various customization techniques, just as with cars.

With this in mind, the ACEM’s position is that manufacturers, the industry in its entirety and every biker shouldn’t be unfairly targeted with specific motorcycling bans since the issue comes down to individual practice and can just as easily be mirrored across all modes of transport, thus applicable to all road users or none.

As such, the ACEM has taken the stance of supporting the use of noise pollution devices, despite them coming in for sharp criticism from bikers, so long as the devices are placed in key locations, shifting the onus back onto the individual – regardless of machinery – and without using the sweeping brush of preventing all bikers from using certain routes.

The world may be getting back on its feet, notwithstanding the ongoing effects of the global pandemic, but the manufacturing sector in particular will surely struggle to go back to normal.  With mass lay-offs following months of closure, companies around the world are finding themselves severely undermanned as business begins to open up, and demand increases.

Furthermore, the already problematic shipping container shortage further aggravated by the Suez Canal blockage in March 2021, parts shortages, supply chain breakdowns, and backlogs of cargo ships waiting to dock, continues to present challenges to global trade.

As such, multiple industries — the motorcycle and automotive industries, particularly — are experiencing production delays brought about by raw materials shortages, such as with the semiconductors and microchips in recent months.  Now, price hikes in materials have hit the tire industry, with the cost of producing rubber increasing.

QUOTABLE QUOTE:

“If you have enough breath to complain about anything, you have more than enough reason to give thanks about something.”
~ Mattie J.T. Stepanek (1990-2004), Poet & Peace Advocate

ABOUT AIM / NCOM: The National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) is a nationwide motorcyclists rights organization serving over 2,000 NCOM Member Groups throughout the United States, with all services fully-funded through Aid to Injured Motorcyclist (AIM) Attorneys available in each state who donate a portion of their legal fees from motorcycle accidents back into the NCOM Network of Biker Services (https://onabike.com 800-ON-A-BIKE).

 

 

 

Look Ma………No brakes!!! No Clutch!!!!NO HANDS!!!!

 

 

2021 has turned out to be the year of the “Covid Hangover!” 

 Many lives have been permanently changed, but Sons of Speed has not skipped a beat and has returned to the New Smyrna Speedway breathing life into the asphalt, 23 degree banked, ½ mile track.

 Originally started in 2017 by Billy Lane of Choppers, inc., the race has been held at both New Smyrna Speedway and at the Pappy Hoel Campground Racetrack, in Sturgis, South Dakota. 

 Winners Circle:

 

 

 1910 – 1929 Modified (HOT) 61 Board Track Race was won by Michael Lange on a heavily modified 1929 Harley Davidson.

 

 Stock 61 Cubic Inch Board Track Class – Michael Lange did it again and took the class on a stock 1925 Harley Davidson.

 

 

Seven time Sons of Speed Champion, Ebay Jake,  took 1st place in the modified (Hot) 45 cubic-inch class on a 1950 Harley-Davidson WR.

 

 Four time Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick, defected from the Daytona Speedway track to win the stock 45 class (1929-1955) on a Godspeed Racing 1947 Harley-Davidson WL.

 

 Billy Lane won the 500cc single cylinder class on a Mototique Racing 1921 Harley-Davidson J model twin (rear cylinder removed), defeating Tom Keefer Jr of Franklin Church Choppers.  

 

 Billy has since transplanted to Franklin, Tennessee, from Florida’s East Coast – but will be returning back to Florida, once again….SO MARK YOUR CALENDAR – March 5^th and 6^th 2022 Bike Week Sons of Speed will be at the New Smyrna Speedway. Plan to be at the Evening Race on March 6,2022 for bigger, better, faster….MORE!!!! 

 

 After that……..Sturgis – Sons of Speed – Buffalo Chip….or bust?

 

 Choppers.inc: 

https://www.instagram.com/choppers.inc/?hl=en

 

 Jody Perewitz and her 1941 WLDR.

 

 

YO! ADRIAN AND HOTSHOT!

 

 

 

Quick fixes!!!!

 

 

 

BOLLWAGE ON THE LOOSE!!!!

 

Ebay Jake

 

Stephen “HOTSHOT” Aretz

 

 

[photo  108752]

 

Track crew were the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Track temps matched top speeds for the day. 100+DEGREES!

 

 

 

 

THE END!

 

 During every Biketoberfest I make sure to attend Willie’s Tropical Tattoo Old School Chopper Show, or die trying…

The show has 20 classes and is sponsored by Bikernet.com, Hot Leathers, Twisted Tea, Blings Cycle, S&S, Church Of Chop, Renegade Magazine and Rue & Ziffra.

 

Bill Dodge got an award for his build. He generally does. 

Tony Agoso and his motorcycle Pandemic were also featured.

 

Best Knuckle                                Garret Madalone

Best Old School                           Garret Madalone

Tropical Tattoo Choice              John (no last name given)

Willie’s Choice                             Antique

Tarball’s Choice                           Tino

BD Custom’s                                 Zackery Zdrodokski

Trailer Trash Choice                   Hatch

There was every kind of bike you can think of from Flatheads with patina and refurbished, to new, to gorgeous custom paint jobs on Knuckleheads, Panheads, Shovelheads, Evos and some imports.

The show runs from 11:00AM until the Awards at 4:00PM with many people showing up early.

 All the proceeds made from this event goes to support our veterans.

www.veteranssupportfund.org.

 

 Though the Bike Show was the main feature, out back Jackson Slim put out some good sounds. There was also plenty of food and beverages, including Twisted Tea.

There are numerous T-Shirts that are interesting for one reason or another. And of course, plenty of women.

 

Some great news was announced that The SMOKE OUT will be coming back in September 2022!

Chris Callen and the Cycle Source crew were in attendance and hard at work as were numerous other publications.

 

 While it is always good to see a lot of old friends, this year especially Bill Dodge and Willie, up and about, both still healing from serious injuries from being hit by vehicles while riding their motorcycles.

 

 

 

 

 

I asked Bandit, the guy running this operation you’re now reading, if he thought you, the guy reading this operation you’re now reading, might be interested in what Lou Kimzey accomplished. He was the original editor of Easyriders magazine, and while I am not sure, maybe he was the guy with the original idea for what Easyriders staff were proud to refer to as “the rag.”

Bandit replied, and I quote, “Sure. You might make him a mystic. Only a few knew, yet he controlled the free world for several decades and didn’t care…. Go for it.”
This response actually jolted me backwards for an instant. For one thing all the words were spelled correctly. And for another, he had just written my whole article in one sentence. With more insight. But then he worked with the guy every day. In fact, he was hired by the guy. Basically sight unseen, just from an inquiry Bandit made on the phone about a motorcycle he built that the new rag might want to take pictures of. Kimzey said “You want a job here?”

This is kinda like Jesus gathering his army of 12, bam bam bam, without preliminary interviews and resumes.

This same thing happened with me. I broke Absolute Rule Number One when sending material to a magazine for consideration for publication. Which rule is, “Study the magazine first. Learn their audience. Editors cater to their audience. Their audience is more important to them than you are.”

My writing journey….isn’t that the word in use now? Journey? Everyone being on a fucking journey while sitting on their ass or fucking a goat? They’re on their ass- sitting journey? Or their goat-fucking journey?

“So, Conswallatta, tell me about your journey from failed male prostitute to Drag Queen Extrava GAN za!!”

Everyone’s on a fucking journey. Even though no scenery is actually going by. Life isn’t a journey. Life’s a fucking death sentence. It’s a journey to Hell.

Fucking “journey.”

So, I broke Rule Number One sending Kimzey a fiction tale. I had never even heard of Easyriders, forget about “studying” it. I never went to writing school. I never worked at a publication. My writing teachers were Writers Digest and the Writer, two magazines I don’t even know if they still exist or not. In fact, I decided to BECOME a writer from an ad in Writer’s Digest showing some daydreaming fool sitting on a large boulder in the middle of nowhere and pensively squeezing his chin with his thumb and index finger, wearing clown pants even David Lee Roth wouldn’t have anything to do with, and staring out into the distance like he was trying to understand why he had no life skills. The ad asked in large letters, “Is this you?”

I looked at it for a long time and said “Yeah, that’s me.”

So, I learned about magazine writing from a magazine about magazine writing. Seemed logical to ME.

I know what you’re saying: “Isn’t this about Lou Kimzey?” Yeah. But he was an editor. And I am a contributor. That’s writer jargon for someone who sends stuff to an editor. For a writer to have ANYTHING good to say about an editor…..it’s like a bureaucrat saying anything good about free enterprise. Mt. Shasta explodes more frequently than that.

Contributors have a legendary dislike of and opprobrium towards – opprobrium means, as far as contributors are concerned, relentless, usually unvocalized, disgust – they hate editors. And I have nothing but (to this day) astonished amazement of Kimzey as an editor. And he was MY editor. Who I was writing for. So, I have a unique perspective regarding his editorship. Which-editorship is what I am writing about.

I have NO idea what kind of a PERSON he was. This is about his – as Bandit very interestingly put it – his apparently “mystical” abilities to successfully defy the publishing industry AND to be immune to published criticism by them. But they all knew he was there. In fact, I am prepared to say that Lou Kimzey is in a club with only two people in it: “The Club of Editors Who Advanced America.” The other is John W. Campbell.

I know what you’re saying: “You’re just saying nice things about his editorship just because he published your stuff.”

Let me tell you something: no editor on earth would have published my stuff. It was that unprecedented for a national newsstand magazine. WHILE he was publishing it, I couldn’t believe he was publishing it. Little did I know that Easyriders was unprecedented.

The first thing of mine they ever published was something I sent in just to piss them off! I had sent in some stories – at the insistence of a buddy who said I needed to send them some shit ‘cause he was a former Galloping Goose and he read the rag.

I said, “No way this is a so-called biker rag that would even be close to representing what bikers actually are: “which is America’s Bad Examples.” So, I sent them what I ASSUMED they would like. Shit all came back.

I said to Dennis, “Fuck you, fuck Easyriders, I’ll send them something that’s actually ‘biker’ the way EYE see bikers just to AGGRAVATE their fairy asses.” I wrote a tale overnight and read it aloud to Dennis on the phone the next day.

When he stopped laughing he said “Send it. They’ll fuckin’ love it.” I said “You’re even stupider than I thought.” He said “Fuck you: send it.”
I sent it and four months later I get an envelope with two issues of May ’75 #29, a check, and a hand-written note that said “We cannot fucking believe this. You need to come in here.” I called Ousley and said what just happened. He said “I told you, asshole. Pay attention when I talk.”
I said, “ok.”

I was living in utter squalor at the time near MacArthur Park, of the song fame. I was at the bottom rung of my existence and I wrote something completely and totally WRONG for publication in a “normal” universe….but without being technically criminal or illegal, just Very Black Humor, which is a variety of comedy and has nothing to do with race and makes an effort to make death, mishap, calamities, injury, everything bad….
You have to make the reader actually laugh at all that bleakness, preferably aloud but inside their head is good enough, and which I had a natural flair for and actually WORKED at, but I knew there was no actual audience for it in the global professional publishing world. It was SO wrong, and so relentlessly so. I wrote it just to piss off whatever the fuck “Easyriders” even was. Just because fuck them that’s why.

TURNS OUT…..Easyriders was every bit as fucked up as I was.

Here’s the Unbelievable-Editor part: not only did he say to his underlings “Yeah, ok, this is fine,” not a word was altered. I said to myself, reading the story in the issue on the floor of my rats nest….”These people are crazy. You can’t put out a magazine, expect to be successful……and publish this story to the English-speaking world.” TURNS OUT….. the English speaking world in ENGLAND, where English kinda has its headquarters, and thanks to my first submission which I wrote just to offend everyone who SPEAKS English….apparently offended the QUEEN.

Because Easyriders was banned from its shores for 3 months. Because of Lou Kimzey’s decision-making. I’m guessing he PROBABLY had to publish it over the florid-faced outraged objections of his own boss, the publisher. He apparently – maybe – put his job on the line. TURNS OUT…. my little yarn wasn’t the only objectionable thing in there. Keep in mind I never even heard of this magazine. So I’m actually going through my first-ever issue and every page I’m going “….well this ain’t right…..this ain’t right…..this ain’t right……. you can’t print this…..”

The fucking thing was geared exclusively to such ilk as the Hells Angels….Satans Slaves…..Devils Disciples…..Galloping Gooses….Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington…..Gypsy Jokers…..Boozefighters….. and of course Bandit.

You don’t create magazines for these people! That’s wrong!! It gets worse: women were nonchalantly assumed, via the contents, to be created for men first, and for themselves second; having been in prison or currently in prison was just somewhere you eventually go in America, not anything actually unusual or to be ashamed of.

NOT having a firearm was a warning sign that something was fundamentally wrong with the person; being in full and total control of your wits was, if anything, AIDED by the ingesting of nonnutritive chemicals; not ever bathing was hardly anything to criticize; AND….being a patriotic American was something you were just born with if you were normal and thus it was not open for debate or discussion. In other words, fuck your inclusivity, you stay away from us we’ll stay away from you.

There was advice to the lovelorn, or basically wiseacres, by way of a vastly overweight happy go lucky libertine broad named Miraculous Mutha with occasional hygiene issues; cartoon representations of bikers who looked NOTHING like the ones I would describe in my yarns but were instead massively muscled trim handsome human versions of Jack Russell terriers or alert border collies who OFTEN could be found passed out in junk yards or filthy living quarters or calmly allowing themselves to be brutally yelled at by a girlfriend who would be at one or the other end of human female attractiveness.

Either variety was totally acceptable to these handsome rogues on Harley chopper, which they were exclusively on. Topless chicks were the norm. Living on choppers was the norm. Violating the ingested-chemical edicts was not only the norm….it was almost not worth even mentioning. It was, like, “Um…isn’t that what you DO?”

There was a section that printed letters from guys in jail. Totally unheard of in proper journalistic endeavors. The human skull was the fucking logo. There were skulls everywhere. You would think it was a black magic mag. But oh contraire, it was parties, drinking, riding motorcycles in the wilderness, jokes, aggressive cluelessness, shaking-off ineptitude and moving on to the next ineptitude….And the magazine was its own worst critic, “Hey, yeah, we fucked up, what do you want from us, you seen our ‘office’? You seen our STAFF?”

I actually DID see the office. And the staff. I eventually showed up as requested and it was at the other end of a very short strip mall on literally a dirt road in Agoura Hills with a 7-11 at one end and Easyriders at the other. A woman named Izzy Petty let me in. Very polite, Very businesslike. Very handsome. Handsome in a woman is a good thing. Just for the record. She totally didn’t notice that I looked like what Tiny Tim had used as a guide to proper hair management. I had a white dress shirt on that looked like I pulled it off a dead hobo, some pants – as I recall – and I think I showed up on a Honda 175 four- stroke.

Izzy took me down a hall, around an old, pristine antique Harley that was in the fucking hallway, I went into a room and the only other two Easyriders “employees” were in the room, Kimzey behind a desk that had a fucking dirty Harley engine on it. Keith “Bandit” Ball was sitting in a chair near the desk, who I pretended wasn’t there because he looked like a 7 foot long fucking enforcer in the Biker Hockey League. There were David Mann original oils ON THE FLOOR leaning against the wall, which, if anyone would have been interested in buying them at the time might have fetched a hundred dollars apiece and which would now easily sell for 20-30 grand apiece.

The place was a fucking mess, just like where I was living, and these three people were the fucking staff. Lou gestured me to sit, I did and he said, “You got us kicked out of England, you know.”
My heart lit up! In MY head this was SUCCESS. TURNS OUT….Kimzey had the same attitude! Which was crazy! I mean crazy as in not at all sensible. Not for a fucking editor, the fucking whiniest, self-pitying entities on earth outside of writers.
So, he tells me “No Class Chick” got them kicked out of England and after he saw my face light up he said, “It was probably Duffy’s illustration.”

I THINK he was probably trying to communicate that I wasn’t in any trouble and this meeting wasn’t going to end with the guy at the side of the desk taking me into the desert and coming back alone. But the way I saw it, it was kind of downplaying my accomplishment. I think Kimzey noticed that and I’m thinkin’ said to himself, “This weirdo is as fucked up as we are.”

He then said “You know how many letters we got about your story? 25.”

I said after a minute, “25 letters to a national, apparently global, magazine ain’t really a lot.”
He said, leaning abruptly forward, “IT IS FOR US!!!”

I stared at him for a long time, and he was still frozen in his new position, looking right at me. And I thought to myself “….This fucker is alright. He’s telling me that whatever the fuck it is I’m doing to keep on doing it.”

That was the meeting! I spent a total of about ten minutes in the Great Easyriders Building, a building which bums would have avoided, met the staff of three and went back to LA and wondered, “How the fuck do I top what I just did.” Which I did, in order to get REJECTED. For the first time in my writing “career” I was AIMING for a reject slip. And what do I get? Encouragement. Fuckin’ Haight-Ashbury- level brain-bending.

Turns out I was involved with some strange new force in publishing that was targeting an audience that was reviled by everyone except B-Movie- makers who were making the human version of monster movies but with biker renegades with titles like “Demonic Biker Angels Eating Your Dog’s Face On Wheels!!” and “Crazed Biker Filth Bathing Your Mom!” and “Satan’s Breed On Wheels of Lust For Your Daughter On Prom Night!” and “Biker Inbreds vs Catholic Girls In High School Uniforms!!”
There were scripted biker movies in existence, which enterprise was basically scripted-wrestling only outside the arena and the fighting even more choreographed. But there was no effort on the face of the earth to take lowlife biker ilk seriously and cater to their likes and get on board with their dislikes.

Then Lou Kimzey showed up. Apparently his editorial policy was, “We will target only one audience: people who put riding a Harley first…and everything else second.” There was only one kind of person like this at the time: male American lunatics. PROBABLY in California. Because there’s plenty of places to ride and plenty of places to hide. Plus, you’re not out of commission for 6 months of the year due to seasons that don’t know that climate ‘scientists’ have declared Spring Winter and Autumn to be extinct. I’m guessing this was his thinking.

Whatever his editorial policy was it didn’t include articles of interest to guys in suits. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that the target audience rode extended and stripped Harleys as priority-1 and getting drunk, stoned, ripped and laid as priority.
Everything After 1……you would not be able to tell the target audience from what crawls out of a sidewalk tent these days on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. Until you actually talked to them. Which “normal” folks refused to do.

However, unlike sidewalk vagrants, lifer “biker trash,” as they are sometimes referred to, can be extremely coherent and, unlike vagrants, possessed of very quick reaction responses. They are also capable of figuring out not only what kind of person is talking to them, but will make responses that actually have some connection to the initial topic that was put forth.

Harley biker trash and sidewalk vagrants, in fact, before Kimzey showed up, had only one thing in common: no one had ever published a magazine directed at them. To this day no one has published a magazine aimed at sidewalk vagrants. In fact, that sounds like a funny idea. I ought to do it myself. But first I gotta take a dump, hold on.

So, my meeting with Kimzey and Bandit is over in about ten minutes, Lou gives me the first 24 issues of Easyriders to take home and I guess “study.” Writers are supposed to “study” the outfits they write for, so they know what the editor is going to at least CONSIDER. That’s a rule. You can be Voltaire, you write an article for Car&Driver about the history of the Phoenicians…they’re pro’bly not gonna read it. No matter how “well” it’s written.
So, I’m going through these magazines, lookin’ at the pictures of Deeply Dedicated actual biker trash and I’m going “…..these are the people that were, like, the Invisible Scary People that people only heard about but never wanted to see that roared through the San Fernando Valley in the ‘50s when it was empty except for the Tuxford Pit, traveling carnivals, and the feral populations of Sunland and Tujunga.”

When I was a pre-teen in the ‘50s, the “motorcycle gangs” – who parents everywhere declared to be some new kind of mental-patient society, since, as all us kids ever heard from mom and dad was that, “riding a motorcycle is the craziest thing you can do.”

This naturally translated to us kids as “then it must be fun.”…..the “motorcycle gangs” were almost phantom enigmas that everyone talked about but usually only heard very late at night.
The Ozzie and Harriet type parents at the time were terrified of them. Even though they steered clear of everyone. Kids kinda regarded them as interesting.

Parents however came unglued at the very mention of them. What they saw in photos was enough: beards and whiskers…..in Ozzie & Harriet World that meant crazed escapee from an asylum….tattoos – that meant you stabbed strangers to death 24 hours a day every day….earrings?? on men?…..that meant something from some whole new dimension of horror…..swastikas and german helmets?…..actually no one had a problem with those. Germany and the Nazis had been pulverized and Ozzie & Harrietland saw it all as trophies of war, and CERTAINLY not a looming Nazi threat.

They had enough sense to know, unlike the libs of today, that without Hitler there’s no actual Nazi threat. What passes for Nazis in America today would not be able to defeat an army of ants. But the Communists will never get over the Nazis. Which was actually one reason bikers wore the paraphernalia. Just to piss off Communists. You do not have to be a Nazi to have a problem with Communists. But you’ll never convince a “progressive” of that.

But in a way TURNS OUT….they were kinda right, our parents. These traveling-in-packs high-decibel inebriates with startling motorcycle skills were not on the fast track to anything anyone would consider respectability. And this particular VARIETY of crazy people were riding motorcycles that they went out of their way to invent new ways to make them even more dangerous by removing functional gear and replacing it with lunacy apparatus. One example being something they called a “suicide shift.”

And fairings and windscreens? No. Goggles. If anything. Helmets? You fucking serious? Wear a goddamn helmet? “I’m on a fucking Harley going 80 miles an hour most of the time, fucker. You think safety is a fucking issue with me? YOU better have put on a helmet because I’m about to try and knock some clueness into you.”

These were mega-crazy people, in other words, bikers. You don’t publish a magazine targeting the insane. These were people who wanted everyone to understand that their Life Priorities were bikes; chicks; booze; and kicks, in
that order: “kicks” being defined as anything they, not necessarily you, thought was fun, rather than, ya know, annoying or infuriating, etc. Fun things, like, for instance, ya know, urinating on your sole items clothing and then immediately wearing your sole items of clothing, preferably unlaundered, for the rest of your life. Ya know: fun stuff.

You do not publish magazines for people like this.

So, I’m going through these magazines and there’s articles about being drunk. Articles about being stoned. Articles about naked girlfriends. Articles about cops being a pain in the ass. Not “the enemy.” Just dumbass fucks, with of course a smattering of to-the-bone sociopathic monstrosities in uniform. But not people to go to war with.

People to ignore and avoid. Never challenging them. For one thing they have access to infinite backup. For another thing….it’s almost not sporting duking it out with a cop: you’ve lived most of your life wrangling a fucking Harley around and could probably beat up a bull rider, not that anyone would want to ’cause they’re really nice guys….and you’re tangling with some bloated out of shape guy who sits in a car most of his life driving around to nowhere for no reason and taking donut breaks 50 times a day.

I mean: cops are pathetic. They’re an army at war with Americans. Talk about confused. Kamala Harris is more focused. Ok, no, you’re right. She’s not.

There were endless cartoons of impossibly-fit bikers dead drunk in fly-swarmed squalor, impossibly-fit bikers drooling bulge-eyed at walrus-sized women acting coquettish and holding a liquor bottle and a steaming order of fries as enticements to romance, impossibly-fit bikers doing something idiotic in front of cops that still made the cops look like the stupid ones, impossibly-fit bikers laying in living room debris ordering to be fetched a can of beer from a cartoon chick a thousand times better looking than that particular biker deserves yet still eagerly granting his every command….

And that’s another thing: Easyriders made no effort to suggest that the women who hung around these denizens of dirt and asphalt did not consider themselves property. And that the women had no problem with being considered such.
Now you might say “That’s because they live in fear.” You go up to one of these broads face to face and tell her that, that she lives in fear of the men. You will find yourself on the ground real quick. Probably with a broken jaw. You have to tread around these broads a whopping lot lighter than you have to with the men.

You had best be nice to them: 99% of the time they don’t need their boyfriends to back them up. And there’s two ways to learn that: the easy way, reading this. Or the hard way, unconscious and humiliated by a broad.

Political incorrectness reached a whole new level with this target audience. They were America Firsters. Everyone else?….do not fuck with us.

This was non-negotiable and in force 24 hours a day, all year long, every year. Period. Even the Constitution wasn’t this patriotic. No other magazine would have dared to have as policy “America right or wrong” as a given. This was not even a stated policy. It was assumed it was understood automatically in the natural order of things.

To continue, illegal ownership of things that were illegal by decree – rather than because you stole them – was not considered anything to even remark-on much less chastise.

But by far the most uniquely insistent aspect of the “magazine policy” was “not to make converts” and not even to make new readers……but to be left alone.

The magazine didn’t care if you liked bikers, didn’t like bikers, wanted to be a biker, wanted to criticize bikers (bikers are immune to criticism) all that mattered to the publication and its target audience was that they be left alone because they sure weren’t gonna fuck with YOU.

What could be fairer? If there had been only a hundred bikers in America Easyriders wouldn’t have cared. There at least would have been a hundred bikers in America with a magazine they could rely on for addressing their likes and dislikes. Turns out there were millions of bikers in America.

My little collection of magazines on my dirty 75 dollars a month floor revealed more and more eye-popping realities of the rag. 1: Prisons are places where you make an extra effort to stay in touch with the imprisoned, rather than abandon them as pariahs against society. 2: Fuck society. 3: Tattoos are not despicable; they are an advanced art form. 4: Choppers are an advanced art form. 5: Graffiti is an advanced art form. 6: Prisoner art is a MAJOR advanced art form because if all art comes from pain, prisoners are artists 24 hours a day. 7: Women actually are the best thing there is; we’re just not saying that to THEM. That would be giving them an inch. 8: We know something you critics of our feral rag don’t: there are actually millions of us. You think there’s just 2 or 3 hundred down in the Bayou picking their noses trying to figure out what alligators are.

Lou Kimzey had a secret weapon other editors didn’t have: he knew he was hitting not just a silent majority, he was hitting an in-hiding majority. They were in-hiding not because of fear. They were in-hiding because they didn’t want to get contaminated by “society.”

These were individuals. Rugged ones. The last of the “rugged individuals” that used to be the highly valued goal for all male American youth to reach: being an individual, and having some sand. That’s what an American male was: an individual with some sand. What the goals were for American women….let one of them step up and announce them. I’m not a woman. No offense. Women ain’t my department. When they have their clothes off then I sort of know why the hell they’re here. But, hey, that’s just me.

California gave birth to two major social revolutions: the movie industry. And the Hells Angels. At some point the movie industry and the Hells Angels found each other, which was PROBABLY inevitable. And at some point, like
Darwin staring at lizards and a light going on, a light went on in Lou Kimzey’s head and he thought, “There is no magazine targeting this biker ilk as customers.”

That realization, combined with an entrepreneurial spirit and ceaseless motivation, created Easyriders and changed America. It united the rugged individuals. The Last Actual Americans looked around and said, “I ain’t the only one that’s like this: apparently there’s a whole magazine publicizing my shitty appearance and my shiny, delightful-to-look-at, spirit!”

Easyriders wasn’t created for Hells Angels to read. It was created to make the announcement that what these guys want out of life, and what the other Harley fraternities like them want out of life….is what ALL actual Americans want out of life: to be left alone to have fun….and ride like hell a death machine across the empty desert in the middle of a summer’s moonlit midnight at 80 miles an hour.

Well, certainly all THESE actual Americans, these clubbed-up Biker Americans wanted to do that. Also the Hells Angels spirit of enthusiastic positivity was 100% the opposite of what remained of the American Spirit by the 1950s after Americans having died in two world wars, one of them by decree, and achieving no new terrain, just dying defending foreigners on foreign soil just for the sake of Virtue Signaling – which is now almost mandatory for everyone 24 hours a day, then Korea, another waste of time and lives to save other citizenries, then Vietnam, another waste of time on other terrain to save other citizenries and deplete our own, then 20 years wasting time in Afghanistan such that guys in Toyotas, wearing robes and sandals could conquer the country in two days, I mean at some point it has to begin to look like, even to accountants in the offices of Meek Meek and Meek that the biker life is the last hope for sanity and relaxation under what passes for the Land of the Free these days.

Let me tell you something about the “American” government as long as I brought it up: if the “American” government detests you – like it does bikers – …..you must be eluding their tribute demands. Government is a protection racket parading around as a benign selfless guardian of the lesser beings who depend upon it for love, safety and guidance and which lesser beings treat its office-holders and appointed high chancellors as though they were saints standing around the throne of God and giving God advice.

While there were many biker clubs forming after WW2 it was and still is the Hells Angels who were manifesting whatever it was that the cowboys and the “wild west” of America had done to apparently win the hearts and minds of the citizenry not just in America but all over the world.

The American West was where you went to ….and you might want to sit down for this…. the American West was where you went to to escape the Constitution, now grown from a piece of paper you had nothing to do with in the forming of or the signing of, grown now to a Mystical Level of Worship Rivaling The New Testament. Sergei Leone wasn’t making movies in Italy with Clint Eastwood portraying Presidents and Speakers of the House. No, he was making movies in Italy with Clint Eastwood portraying American Gunslingers of the American Frontier. The American Frontier of the 1840s.

But not the American Frontier of the 1950s. Which American Frontier by the 1950s consisted of the Hells Angels, the Satans Slaves, the Galloping Gooses et cetera. Through what I am about to declare as brilliant marketing, advertising, public relations and bizarre self- promotion, the Hells Angels, via what they apparently recognized via some kind of genius wizardry as the eventual guru of lowbrow culture via something called “gonzo journalism,” they took a gander at Hunter Thompson, and someone in the Hells Angels, or maybe all of them, with astounding shrewdness, recognized the unknown Thompson as a writer competent-enough with the language and stylistically suited to “tell their story.” Which he did.

What the Hells Angels shrewdly wanted to achieve via Hunter Thompson – who they eventually beat up by the way – Lou Kimzey recognized in the whole “outlaw biker” aggregate, an aggregate more or less subconsciously devoted to achieving a cultural-icon status, for better or for worse, as that of the Hells Angels.

The name “Hells Angels” appeared a LOT in the early issues of Easyriders, as I learned, slowly turning the pages one by one of my sudden stash of the first 24 issues and it was in there with their permission. The Hells Angels sponsored their own stuff and shindigs in the rag. It was like two geniuses finding each other: the Hells Angels….and Lou Kimzey.

Other ads consisted of people no one heard of making skull jewelry, places to buy new engine parts for Harleys, places to have new redesigned creations for “normal” Harley parts in order to create new customized Harleys, detailed particulars of a monthly featured road art you could ride and wreck so that others could build their own just like it, calendars for outdoor parties in cow fields where thousands of Harley riders and their girlfriends would show up at, with upper attire on the women being generally absent.

I mean, who knew this shit actually even existed and went on? Turns out Lou Kimzey did. Easyriders eventually started creating their own rodeo events for Harley riders and their own bike shows where sculptures in metal and wiring you didn’t know whether to ride or pray to filled vast hangars filled with thousands of strolling bikers. Easyriders Magazine was like an escapist video game for a hidden audience that you didn’t have to plug in. You just turned its pages.

No journalistic entities fucked with Easyriders even though in these entities’ astoundingly cunning and yet amazingly stupid heads they could smell that something was not right.

Every magazine in the USA was already completely on board with caring and sharing and love and the, “you are not important but your neighbor is” perversion of the Golden Rule. They were all on board that America was the problem in the world, that unconditional love for everything in existence was very, very, very important.

Sure, love is important. But putting your fist into a face once in a while is also very very very important. The bikers in the Easyriders pages were revealing themselves in their huge numbers and without taking a shower first and putting on some new clothes to make a good impression.

What was already in existence in the shrubs and forests and dirt piles was now being broadcast to the planet. Over and over and over, issue after issue, with no hint of apology or embarrassment or even concern.

There was an entire magazine devoted SOLELY to people who rode Harleys….and just like honeybadger…….what you thought about it….they just didn’t give a shit.

No articles from the Butthurt Press Cabal consisting of people who don’t know shit about shit emerged to chastise this new magazine that was displaying what all other publications agreed was, “all that is wrong with America – disobedient individuals,” while Easyriders was nonchalantly declaring bikers as the only thing RIGHT with America. None of this made any sense to the journalism world. Very little does. And PLUS….. the rag appeared to be run by bikers. That was just not possible: bikers can barely read, much less write. Much less…. MEET DEADLINES???

Easyriders could not be figured out. Better to just ignore them until it vanished from the newsstands.

But it didn’t vanish from the newsstands. Don’t go looking for it NOW! Lou Kimzey is DEAD! Ok? Just like Steve Jobs is dead. Just like Tesla is dead. Ok, you’re getting the picture.

It didn’t vanish from the newsstands. It grew. Everyone wanted to be a biker. Everyone wanted to have a Harley. Everyone wanted to be in a Harley fraternity. Even cops. Talk about being too successful.

I am going to stop here and leave Sons of Anarchy waaaaaaay over there and I am not going toward that direction any longer. I’m gonna just back up a little and get back onto some sort of normally-real ground that is not an Accidental Satire disguised as Biker Life.

Today Sturgis – which the normal human public never heard of before Easyriders made it a point to relentlessly insist that it was Priority One for everyone on earth to do in their to-do list before death – is now Annual National News for being irresponsibly selfish and uncaring and recklessly cruel to others by its visitors not staying home and not wearing masks and not getting whatever the vaccine is, and not doing all the ten other million rules that change from day to day and by refusing to be “charitable” by not- attending this Existential Threat to Humanity via the flu that is not a flu but is also a super flu but is also a galactic onslaught by the Arbitrarians that has no cure and no solution and no means of escape from no matter how many times inoculated, the only known road-to-safety being total obedience to orders for eternity that have no effect on viruses but only on humans.

Or…. basically declaring humans to be a disease. Basically. And since humans are a disease, they have to be isolated from all other humans. Even though all the other humans are already a disease every human already has. Yeah: it’s about that level of comprehensibility.

The Sturgis attendees say in response to this, “Fuck you.” And then the criticism stops. Until next time. Cause Harley bikers are like honey badger. They don’t give a shit. In fact, there should be a biker club named Honey Badgers. No one would fuck with them.

In closing it would not be a crazy statement to say that Lou Kimzey was in fact the starting point of a long series of events, with him as the ignition switch, that started an engine that had as its most recent achievement the transporting of Donald Trump into the Oval Office.

And if you think that was a bad thing………I have a picture of a honey badger right here. His name is Scruffy. Tell him.

BIKERNET BATTERY TENDER INVESTIGATION—How to use battery tenders? We are on the hunt. A friend kept his bike on a tender 24/7. But when he rode to his girl’s house and spent the night, the bike was dead in the morning.

So, what’s the proper way to use a tender. Many folks recommend keeping their bikes on tenders all the time. I don’t like leaving a bike on a tender overnight or for long periods. If something goes wrong with the battery, the tender or garage circuits, your garage could burn down and perhaps your house, not to mention your Prize Possession.

Jason Mook, the owner of Deadwood Custom Cycles recommends putting your bike on a charger or tender once a week, charge it and then unplug it. You may need to charge more often depending on how new your bikes is and the constantly operating electronics, like the clock or security system.

We are also looking into how to check your battery. Our ’69 Panhead just had an issue with a recently replaced battery. At fully charged, it worked to electrically start the bike, but with the slightest draw and it didn’t have the power to turn over the engine. Jason replaced the battery, but the damn things are expensive to replace once a year. The guys at Battery Tender said most batteries only last three years or maybe four.

Let us know your thoughts and experiences. I will also reach out to some of the manufactures. According to the Battery Maintenance guys a smart trickle charger will start charging your battery when is reaches about 12.5 volts. It will charge it to 14.7 volts and then back off. So, if you measure your battery and it indicates only 12 volts or less, you’re probably in trouble and need a charge.

Another tip is to keep your battery off the shop floor, concrete or steel. Don’t let it set around, unless you slip a chunk of plywood under it. The same applies in your bike. Don’t just mount it against bare metal for two reasons, maybe three. The steel will pull power out of the battery, the steel is not protected from battery acid or corrosion from the battery terminals, and I try to cushion a battery as much as possible in its container. That has several positive effects on battery performance. It slows or prevents damaging battery motion messing with battery acid or even the plates. That will kill a battery fast. Padding will prevent dangerous cracking and acid leaking, which will damage everything including your paint and frame. It will also prevent damage to your battery connections and leads. A broken wire on the road can be a serious problem, especially if it was the lead from the voltage regulator.

So yeah, it’s best to keep tabs on your battery and keep it charged. The most common battery chargers you’ll come across are trickle chargers and smart chargers. A trickle charger is constantly working and slowly trickling a small charge into the battery, even when it’s fully charged.

If the battery charging/maintenance unit you have doesn’t have an in-line fuse on the connection cables plug your unit into a surge protector to help protect your electrical system from a sudden power surge.

In addition, if you aren’t using a smart charger, it’s best practice to remove the battery from the motorcycle. That way if the charger does cause an issue with the battery (overcharging, boiling, etc.) the damage will be confined to the battery and won’t harm your motorcycle or electrical system.

If the battery side of your cable came with ring terminal ends, see if you can source a SAE 2-pin lug with open ended fork terminals. Or clip the end of your ring terminals to make your own forked ends. The benefit of the fork terminals is that they are easier to mount to the battery posts than completely removing the screws to install the ring terminals.

And if you have multiple bikes, you can swap the leads from one battery to another much faster and easier.

If you have your motorcycle dialed in with smart charger and a quick disconnect cable, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look at your battery occasionally.

For optimum battery life and performance peek under the seat (or wherever your battery is located) occasionally, and make sure it looks normal. Make sure there is no swelling, leaking or heavily corroded cables.

This isn’t completely wise. Batteries are dangerous. The acid can blind you. Don’t peak, stand back, wear eye protection, take off your seat and check the battery area. If you notice any problem, cracking, leaking, etc. remove the ground strap first. Use a towel and or rubber gloves and get your battery away from your chopper and preferably out of your home or shop. 

Secure the battery in the battery compartment. A battery that moves around can lead to some major issues. If your battery compartment doesn’t have a brace or sturdy rubber strap you can use foam blocks as padding to secure the battery. Foam blocks are also great if your new battery is shorter or isn’t the same dimensions as your old battery. 

Jeff G. Holt brand director and editor of V-Visionary says the following about battery tenders, “I am forever in need of battery tending. From my personal bikes to the Harley-Davidson and Indian test bikes, I frequently have battery drainage issues.

I would say that personally, battery failure is the main mechanical factor in me not getting rubber on the road. I combat this by using a good quality battery tenders that both charge and condition the battery internally.”

J E F F G. H O L T
V-Twin Visionary
626.391.3143
@jeffgholt
@vtwinvisionary
VTWINVISIONARY.COM