Biltwell People’s Champ 2019
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
The talent pool was deep and the competition was fierce, but alas– there can only be one Champ. This year, Nick Busby and his knockout 1962 panhead took home the trophy and the cash. The next day as an invited builder at Born Free he was given the Mooneyes award, so he’ll be on the way to Yokohma in December with the rest of the Chopperazzi. Take a peek at the event and the bike that won it on our latest WTF blog
We’ve got a few new, women-specific pieces in this year’s apparel line, and they all feature buttery fabrics and soft-handed water-based inks. Check ‘em out!Ride To Work Day 2020 Artwork
By Wayfarer | | General Posts
The recent 2019 Ride To Work Day was one of the most successful ever, with more than triple the number of motorcycles and scooters out on the roadways in support of the benefits of everyday riding. Building on that success and excitement, we are pleased to announce that the 29th annual Ride To Work Day will take place on Monday, June 15th, 2019.
With your help and support, Ride To Work Day 2020 will further elevate the awareness about riding a motorcycle or scooter for everyday travel and transportation as a social good, making the world a better place! The Ride To Work website has been updated with new artwork, ads, and posters that can be downloaded, shared, forwarded, and printed to raise even more awareness and encourage even more riders to commute by scooter or cycle on this day. In addition to grass roots efforts to educate others about the benefits of riding, motorcyclists may also seek employer recognition and support for this form of transportation, and increased public and government awareness of the societally positive benefits of utility riding.
Adding motorcycles and scooters helps traffic flow better, according to Ride To Work, a non-profit advocacy organization. Studies have also shown that across the same distances, riders reach their destinations up to 20% faster than those using automobiles. Most motorcycles and scooters also consume less resources per mile than automobiles. “Riding to work on this day is fun and highlights the value of motorcycling. Riding is a form of personal mobility that saves energy, helps the environment, and provides a broad range of personal and public benefits,” stated Andy Goldfine, this year’s event organizer.
Visit the updated Ride To Work website for all of the latest information and artwork, including:
- Downloadable 2020 Ride To Work Day ads, posters, and artwork.
- Useful tools and in-depth information about issues and programs.
- An assortment of Ride To Work supporting merchandise.
- A wholesale program available to dealers and retailers.
- A photo gallery to show your Every Day Ride on the website.
LINDBY CRASH BAR to the RESCUE
By Frankie Ball Jr. | | General Posts
Exclusive from LowBrow: Sissybars for Sportsters and Dynas
By Bandit | | General Posts
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‘Easy Rider’ turns 50: Secrets of the counterculture classic
By Bandit | | General Posts
“A man went looking for America and couldn’t find it anywhere.”
That was the tagline to “Easy Rider,” the beloved buddy pic that starred Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper as a Harley-riding hippie duo who meet a boozy lawyer, played by Jack Nicholson, in prison.
It’s been 50 years since the movie first hit the big screen, and, in the decades since its release, the movie has become a classic of American cinema.
Here, five facts that even film geeks might not know about it.
The movie was truly made in the moment
The plot for “Easy Rider,” was outlined in the screenplay, but a good deal of the dialogue was ad-libbed on set. “[The] improvisation was always within the framework of the obligations of the scene — a scene which already existed,” Terry Southern, who wrote the screenplay with Fonda and Hopper, told The Paris Review before his death in 1995.
The drug use is real
In 2009, Peter Fonda confirmed the longstanding rumor that he, Nicholson and Hopper really did inhale during the film’s pot-smoking campfire scene. “Man that stuff burned,” he told ExtraTV. The acid the actors drop in a New Orleans cemetery, however, was faked. “We did not take LSD, no matter what the rumors say,” said Fonda, “You can’t make a movie when you’re ripped like that.”
U.S. 36 stretch collapses, forcing closure of eastbound lanes and CDOT blitz to re-build bridge approach that’s 45 feet above ground
By Bandit | | General Posts
“It’s too soon” to estimate how long eastbound U.S. 36 will be closed, CDOT director Shoshana Lew said–Denver Post
By BRUCE FINLEY | bfinley@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
The highway from Boulder to Denver is collapsing at a bridge approach 45 feet above ground, concrete slumping away off a widening chasm as fast as an inch per hour with a 5-foot drop over the weekend.
This destruction related to environmental conditions — weakening of saturated clay under a 5-year-old stretch of U.S. 36 adjacent to a former reservoir near Broomfield — forced the closure of eastbound lanes and triggered a Colorado Department of Transportation blitz Sunday to re-route 14,000 commuters on free buses. The collapse between the Church Ranch Boulevard and Wadsworth Boulevard exits left a 200-foot gash resembling the fault line of an earthquake.
Colorado Front Range vehicle traffic already has been choked this summer as CDOT contractors work to widen Interstate 25 to make room for more vehicles. And CDOT officials on Sunday were bracing for major metro Denver disruptions. They said they’ll pay the Regional Transportation District about $70,000 a day for the free bus transit through Tuesday as alternative routes for cars and trucks are set up.
“We’ve seen the separation at up to an inch an hour. You just cannot have people going through here,” CDOT director Shoshana Lew said Sunday evening, standing with engineers on the highway as crews cut through concrete and tried to assess stability.
“If working from home is a viable option, the next few days might be a good time to think of it,” Lew said.
“Be patient, especially during the early part of this week. It is an unusual situation. We know many people will be frustrated. Focus on safety.”
The highway was closed at the Wadsworth and Church Ranch exits, and officials said they’re hoping to route traffic both ways into the three westbound lanes by the end of the week.
RTD officials issued a bulletin warning that buses will face the same traffic detours as other vehicles and that riders are likely to face standing-room conditions and delayed travel.
State officials recommended that drivers use Colorado 93 to West Sixth Avenue, Wadsworth to Interstate 70, and Highway 7 (Baseline Road) to Interstate 25.
YouTube Star’s Death Renews Concerns About E-Scooters’ Safety
By Bandit | | General Posts
A YouTube star’s death on an electric scooter may renew safety concerns as scooter companies aggressively seek to expand their presence as “alternative transportation.”
Emily Hartridge, a television presenter who made videos about fitness and mental health, died after her scooter was hit by a truck in London, apparently making her the first such fatality in Britain, The Guardian reported. The death comes amid scores of complaints about safety as scooter use rises by the millions in North America, Asia Pacific and Europe.
Some officials in the U.S. have been reluctant to allow e-scooters, citing safety to both the rider and the public, as well as clutter from riders leaving scooters on sidewalks.
Nashville Mayor David Briley said in June that he would recommend banning them after a 26-year-old resident diedafter a scooter accident. The Nashville Fire Department had responded to 74 scooter-related injuries between January and April 2019, according to figures from the city.
“If these devices return in the future, it will be after a public process, on our terms, with strict oversight for numbers, safety, and accessibility,” Briley tweeted.
Scooter-rental companies Lime and Bird Rides Inc. have been rapidly expanding and lobbying local officials in places like New York City to legalize the vehicles. But the safety concerns could prompt more bans or regulation that could be a hurdle to increasing ridership. Last week, Chattanooga, Tennessee, enacted a six-month ban on dockless electric scooters and bikes.
”Cities are saying, ‘Hold on a second — we can’t go through with you what we went through with Uber and Lyft five years ago,’” said David King, an urban planning professor at Arizona State University.
Consumer Reports reported in February that there have been about 1,500 incidents of people seeking treatment for e-scooter-related injuries in the U.S. since late 2017.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the public health impact from the scooters is “generally unknown.” The CDC completed a study of medical records of people who used emergency services from September to November in Austin, Texas, found that almost half the injuries were “severe.”
Boston Consulting Group said in a report this year that public safety remains a key issue for cities. It estimates the global market for shared e-scooter rides could reach up to $50 billion by 2025, but noted that “mass adoption” isn’t certain.
–Bloomberg
–from the NMA
An Honorary Motorcycle Ride across South Dakota
By Bandit | | General Posts
As a group of 10 Navy sailors rode their motorcycles Sunday into Mitchell, the bikers gathered at the Corn Palace to honor one of the greatest warships in the U.S. Navy’s history.
The revered USS South Dakota BB-57 warship is what helped inspire the bikers — who are all Navy sailors on the USS South Dakota SSN-790 — embark on a two-day “Ride Across South Dakota,” which began Sunday in Sioux Falls at the BB-57 memorial.
Thanks to J&L Harley-Davidson, out of Sioux Falls, the USS South Dakota SSN-790 submarine and BB-57 now have their own motorcycle that sat on display in front of the Corn Palace for several hours before the bikers continued their trek to Sturgis.
In honor of the battleship responsible for helping defeat the Nazi regime during WWII, the customized Harley-Davidson features embolden letters that read “USS BB-57” next to the engine.
“This is a special experience to be a part of, and I want to thank the city of Mitchell for gathering here today to honor such a great warship,” said Craig Litty, commanding officer of the USS South Dakota SSN-790 submarine.
Litty began the ceremony by gifting the city of Mitchell a folded American flag and a commemorative document out of thanks for hosting the event, in which Mitchell Mayor Bob Everson accepted the memorabilia on behalf of the city.
Prior to the brief ceremony that united roughly 40 people to witness the honorary event, Litty gazed at the military-themed corn murals. He said the support for the memorable Ride Across South Dakota has been a humbling experience.
“We are very proud of this bike, and it will be going to a special place,” Litty said of the customized SSN-790 and BB-57 Harley-Davidson bike. “We serve for our country and all of you, and this our way of showing thanks to your support.”
The 10 Navy bikers took turns riding the Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle throughout their journey across the state, which concluded at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, where the special bike was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Tom Muenster, retired Navy commander, said it’s the Navy’s first dedicated bike to receive an induction into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum’s Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Muenster said past and present Navy service members will have the opportunity to rent the bike in Sturgis for an extended period of time.
“It’s amazing seeing how much bikers have rallied with us on the first part of our ride from Sioux Falls to Mitchell,” said Daniel Pelino, navigations and electronic technician for the USS South Dakota SSN-790 submarine. “We couldn’t be more thankful for the support we have had from South Dakotans, and it’s a testament to how proud people are of the Navy and military.”
Pelino is one of the 10 bikers who had the chance to ride the motorcycle, and said the group of Navy servicemen welcomed roughly 60 bikers on the first 58 miles of their trek across the state. All motorcyclists were able to join the honorary ride.
Pelino said he’s proud to be a part of the Navy’s most recent battleship, and sharing a motorcycle with the most decorated warship in the Navy’s history adds another memorable experience to his time serving in the military.
“It’s the newest battleship in the fleet right now, and we have a lot of comradery on the ship,” Pelino said. “It’s an honor to serve with them.”
–The Daily Republic
Hall of Fame Highlight Class of 2019
By Bandit | | General Posts
The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame is featuring Hall of Fame Highlights of this year’s outstanding new group of inductees. Here is a glimpse at what they had to say. For the full story join us at the 2019 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (tickets available below). Congratulations and welcome Freedom Fighter Vince Consiglio.
*Please note: Hall of Fame Highlights will be published as we receive them from the Inductees. We look forward to sharing information about all of our Inductees in the weeks and months to come.
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BEST RIGHTS GROUP NEEDS SPONSORS
By Bandit | | General Posts
SUPPORT THE GUYS WHO SUPPORT US
My name is Fredric Harrell. I’m a founding member of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. After
a long hiatus, in 2017 I returned to the MRF Board of Directors as Director of Conferences and
Events. Like my fellow board members, I serve without compensation. I serve for one reason and one
reason alone: I believe in the MRF’s mission to promote, protect and preserve motorcycling.
Over the years, the MRF has made marginally successful attempts to acquire sponsors for the MRF’s
premier event – the annual Meeting of the Minds Conference. Typically, that introduction and
solicitation begins with what the MRF has done.
After many discussions with motorcycle industry
leaders, I believe that approach does little to assure potential sponsors of our intent. Here’s what your
sponsorship of the MRF’s annual Meeting of the Minds Conference will not get you…
ü Interaction with motorcyclists rights advocates and influence centers and a network of over
250,000 motorcyclists;
ü Display space at the event location (Crown Plaza Aire Hotel, Minneapolis, MN., Sept. 19-22,
2019);
ü Ad space in the event program;
ü Admission to all workshops;
ü Admission to the event banquet;
ü One-year subscription to the American Bikers Journal.
The Meeting of the Minds was the precursor and catalyst for the Motorcycle Riders
Foundation. Founded in 1989, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation recognized the need for full-time
representation in Washington, D.C., and on a shoestring budget, established an office in Washington with
a one-person staff and a full-time lobbyist.
In 30 years, the MRF has not strayed from the original commitments to motorcyclists’ rights. It has
not been easy. In retrospect, the issues facing the motorcycling community today are equally as important
as those of the early days.
In September 2018, the MRF outlined a list of legislative priorities, and accomplishable goals, for the
upcoming session of Congress and beyond — 2019 Legislative & Regulatory Priorities – available online
at www.MRF.org. These legislative priorities touch every aspect of motorcycling from the Road to Zero
(a noble goal of zero highway fatalities that does not include motorcycles in the matrix of highway users);
to autonomous vehicles with no motorcycle recognition algorithms, to the year-round sale of E15 and the
adverse effect it has on motorcycle engines.
None of this would be possible without the dedication of MRF members, the contributions of
motorcycle industry leaders and enthusiasts, and the training and motivation that motorcyclists’ rights
advocates receive each year at the MRF’s annual Meeting of the Minds.
Do not hesitate to inquire deeper into what
the MRF is doing to promote, protect and preserve motorcycling and motorcyclists rights.
With few exceptions, the attacks against motorcycling are subtle and they go a lot deeper than helmet
laws, blacklists of sport bikes or banning motorcycles from HOV lanes. For 30 years, the presence of the
Motorcycle Riders Foundation is witnessed daily in the committee rooms, staff offices on Capitol Hill
and in front of members of Congress. That presence exists and is successful because of the dedication
and determination of MRF members standing behind that commitment to promote, protect and preserve
the freedoms that we all enjoy, especially as motorcyclists.
As I stated at the start of this letter, I serve on the MRF’s board of directors because I believe in the
work of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.
Thank you, and thank you in advance for your sponsorship of the Meeting of the Minds Conference.
Sincerely,
–Fredric Harrell
Director of Conferences & Events
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
P.S. If you need more information or would like to discuss the MRF and the Meeting of the Minds
Conference in greater detail, please let me know a convenient time to call you. Thank you very much.
P.P.S. If times are tough and sponsorship support of the Meeting of the Minds Conference is not possible, please consider
joining the MRF. Thank you.