Old Motorcycles without Clutches or Brakes Thrill Spectators during Daytona Bike Week

Sons of Speed inspired by Billy Lane’s passion for the thrill of old school early board-track racing, took place under sunny skies during Bike Week.

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Sons of Speed inspired by Billy Lane’s passion for the thrill of old school early board-track racing, took place under sunny skies during Bike Week. It was not far from the Cabbage Patch and other sandy camping hangouts at the New Smyrna Speedway.

The ride over to the racetrack was beautiful, warm and sunny compared to the -22 below wind chills I left behind in Wisconsin. Daytona, with family, friends and temperatures in the 70s was heavenly. I love antiques and am an adrenaline junkie. Excited women that I know, will be racing with the guys, yes this will be awesome! Each racer must ride a pre-1925 motorcycle, even more awesome!

You pull into the parking lot that is gravel and set up like a county fair. Going inside you are met by grandstands. As you walk past the stands you start to see the vision Billy must have had.The paved track had banks so high they were even difficult to maneuver as I walked down to the pits. The engines roaring, the smell of oil and fuel intoxicating. Each racer had their own crew assisting with needs of the riders. The buzz drew you in. Walking through the bikes stripped down, simplicity in their glory.

I arrived just in time for Brittney’s heat’s. So glad I didn’t miss this iconic vintage racer. Brittney Olsen on the track has been tearing it up for years now. After watching her success with that heat, I headed over to meet up with a couple other gals as she was surrounded by her fans.

Shelly Rossmeyer-Pepe known by many because of Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona Harley-Davidson. She’s not just a pretty face behind a counter, no she is passionate about everything she does including racing her 1915 Harley-Davidson 8. If she was nervous you never saw it. We talked briefly as she readied for her heat, I wished her speed and headed to meet up with the next female rider.

I have to say I know this next rider from many events through the years. What I find so cool about Jody Perewitz is her authenticity. She is kind, friendly and has no problem sharing her passions. When I met her years ago one might have thought she was just a daughter in her famous father’s shadow. Let me put that to rest. She is fierce and successful on her own. Her land Speed records of well over 200 speak for themselves, so it seemed only natural for this adrenaline junkie to race old school. Though she was not pleased with runs of the day she was very sure she would be back and faster then ever. I look forward to seeing Jody and her success in this type of racing.

I love seeing women participating with men and winning races on motorcycles. I love how men are embracing women and their passion for adrenaline and encouraging them to participate with them! I love the vision Billy Lane has and his passion he shares with all of us! I look forward to many more of these types of motorcycle events.

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NMA E-Newsletter #531

In September 2014, the National Motorists Association sent a letter of complaint to then-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi about predatory practices by rental car companies in the state related to toll service charges. The NMA letter included a petition calling for reform and compensation signed by several hundred association members.

The Consumer Protection Division (CPD) of the Florida Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation and agreed with our assessment of systemic abuses of motorists. The CPD previously notified the NMA that it had reached a settlement with Avis, Budget, and Payless, a fact that we documented in NMA E-Newsletter #461 and in a national email alert to members in November 2017. Eligible claims against those three rental car companies had to be filed by January 7, 2018.

Laura Boeckman of the CPD recently notified the NMA that an out-of-court settlement has been reached with the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group in which DTAG has agreed to make significant changes in how the toll fees it charges are disclosed to customers. It also agreed to provide refunds of its toll fees and PlatePass charges to eligible consumers who were charged fees by Dollar or Thrifty between January 1, 2011 and January 7, 2019.

If you rented a vehicle in Florida from Dollar or Thrifty during that time period and incurred toll fees and/or PlatePass charges from either of those agencies, you may request a refund by submitting a claim form. The form and information about the settlement can be found here. Please note that refund claims must be submitted by July 7, 2019.

In her letter to the NMA, Ms. Boeckman noted:

“We share the concerns you and your organization expressed in your previous correspondence to us and are seeking to ensure that individuals that may have been charged these toll fees and PlatePass charges by Dollar or Thrifty during the above-noted timeframe and without proper disclosure have an opportunity to seek refunds. We therefore ask that you assist us by sharing this information with your members so that as many eligible consumers as possible can apply for refunds before the July 7, deadline.”

We’ll take that a step further. Share this NMA e-newsletter with others in your social and business networks. Everyone who was victimized by the toll-service practices of Dollar or Thrifty in Florida during the prescribed period should seek restitution per the settlement negotiated by the Consumer Protection Division of Florida’s Office of the Attorney General.

Friday January 25th, my friend Allen and I loaded the bikes and headed to the Briar Creek Expo here in Charlotte. We loaded Allen’s 1952 K-model in the back of my truck, his 1984 XR-1000 in his van and my 82 Shovelhead in Cox’s Harley-Davidson trailer. We were on our way!

The first thing we noticed was that it was a lot easier unloading the bikes at the new location. No long lines! So we unloaded and rolled the bikes to the entry table, where you get your picture taken with your bike and a number placed on your headlight, you also get a duplicate of that number to keep for exiting the building if your numbers don’t match when it is time to leave, the bike does not leave! A great idea!

So, we went about setting our bikes up and doing the final detailing work. When we finished, we walked around to look at other entries and let me tell you, the quality of the bikes were top shelf! We hung out for a good while talking to old friends. That is another good thing about the Easyriders shows, you always see old riding buddies and re-live some old times.

Saturday morning rolls around and were on the spot bright-and early. The crowd started to pour in around 11am. It was a sunny day in the 50s, so the parking lot contained a lot of bikes. Speaking of the parking lot, Briar Creek Expo has its own parking lot and only cost you $8 to park, a lot nicer that the $20 and up fee for downtown parking in the past. I took another walk around. With over 200 bikes in the show and all seriously impressive bikes, the judges had their work cut out for them!

Around noon Jasmine Cain took the stage. I had read about her, but this was the first time that I had seen her. If you have never seen her, you need too! She rocks! She reminds me of Janice Joplin, I had the pleasure of meeting her and I told her that. She is very friendly and down to earth.

Saturday at 5pm, I think there were eight bikes that won the Peoples’ Choice vote, and they were moved into the Invitational class.

Before I finish Sunday I want to give you a little back ground leading up to the show.
Last July I came across a 1982 FLHS Shovehead and it ran. My plan was to just ride it. Me being a detail freak, that idea did not last long. I loaded her up and took her to my friend Jay’s shop, HOLLYWOODS CYCLES. Well, one thing lead to another and before we knew she was all the way down to the frame for powder coating. So, the plan had changed. The goal was to have the Shovel ready for the Easyriders show! We put a deadline on the project, it had to be ready to roll Friday January 25th! Everything was made to look new! Seven months of dedicated work was coming to an end, and I would soon see how we did!

Sunday I spent the day feeling like I had been kicked in the head with the cold I had. I walked around checking the bikes out again and they looked even better this time around. The competition was stiff!

Five o’clock Sunday finally rolled around, and it was time for the awards presentation. Dave Nichols editor of Easyriders magazine said that this was one of the largest shows in sometime and the quality of the bike were off the chart! The first class that was called was Antique and my name was called first for 3rd place in the Antique class! I was blown away!

I waited a second before going up on stage to get my award, I just wanted to make sure I heard it right. There were any number of bikes that could have won in this class and I felt very fortunate to have won an award. A few minutes later my friend Allen’s name was called , 2nd place Specialty class for his 52 K-Model! Don’t know which of us were more excited!

Now time for the thank you notes. A special thanks to Jay and Dean at Hollywood’s Cycles. I could not have asked for two better guys to take care of the old girl. Thanks to Cox’s Harley-Davidson, Thanks to Allen for all his help getting us there. Thanks to Bandit and BIKERNET.COM for posting the progress of Re-Birth of a Shovelhead and last but not least my wife Vicki for never complaining about the time and money that it took to pull this off.

Until next time , keep building!
–Stealth

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‘Taco’ Bowman was president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Harry Joseph “Taco” Bowman, the former president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club who was on the FBI’s top ten most wanted fugitive’s list, will have his funeral on Saturday at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.

Bowman’s funeral is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. A procession from the fairgrounds to Bear Creek Cemetery on North Union Road in Madison Twp. will begin at 12 p.m.

Sheriff’s Deputies will be shutting down North Union Road to Hoover Avenue in Trotwood for the funeral.

Additionally, deputies will also partially close down Infirmary Road from the Montgomery County fairgrounds to SR-35 for the procession.

Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said officers are not expecting any safety issues but given the size of the crowd and the reputation of the group, they do have contingency plans in place.

“There’s always concerns when you have get large groups of people who have been known to be violent. They do not try to hide that fact,” Streck said. “(But) We don’t have any chatter of suspected violence, we don’t have any indications that other clubs are going to try and cause trouble at the event.”

Bowman, who was serviving a life sentence in federal prison, died on Sunday at the Federal Medical Center in North Carolina. He was 69 years old.

According to the Detroit News, Bowman was considered one of the most infamous motorcycle gang leaders in U.S. history. The Outlaws were rivals to the Hell’s Angels.

Bowman was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List in 1998, interrupting what had been a relatively low profile kept by Bowman while serving as leader of the Outlaws.

In 2001, he was convicted in a Federal court in Florida of the murders of several rival gang members, firebombings, racketeering and conspiracy among other charges. He was sentenced to two life sentences plus 83 years.

Bowman had a long-running feud with Hell’s Angels leader Sonny Barger over which gang was superior.

Several members of the Outlaws were previously interned at Bear Creek Cemetery.

Markets in Indonesia, Vietnam saturating; India priority No. 1, says top executive.

Japanese auto major Yamaha Motor Company (YMC) expects India to overtake Indonesia to emerge as its largest base in terms of production output in the next five years.

“India sells more than 20 million two-wheelers annually and the numbers are growing. Our company’s market share is in single digits. We want to improve this. There is a lot of opportunity,” says Yamaha India Chairman Shitara.

Two-wheeler sales in India increased 6.95% to 19,740,727 units till February this fiscal. In the same period, India Yamaha Motor’s sales remained largely flat at around 732,006 units. The company additionally exported 226,010 units.

Yamaha Motor India’s group chairman Motofumi Shitara was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of MT-15 priced at ₹1.36 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

“India is priority number one for us worldwide. We aim to have production volume of 2.5 million units in India in the next five years,” he said.

Going ahead, Shitara said the company would steer clear of the mass segment and focus on launching premium motorcycles in the domestic market. The company has also commenced a study on introducing electric two-wheelers in India.

Shitara is currently defining the mid-term roadmap for the company till 2025 to lay the foundation on how the brand Yamaha takes shape the country. Apart from growing volumes, Shitara said a focus area for him is to project a strong image for the Yamaha brand in the local market.

Yamaha MT-15 was launched on Friday – a 155cc bike with liquid-cooled four-stroke engine mated to a six-speed transmission. MT-15 is priced at Rs 1.36 lakh ex-showroom. It has ABS and fuel injected variable valve actuation (VBA).

On the idea of electric motorcycles, the Yamaha Chairman says – “Three points are important, one is performance. Second, is price control. And third, infrastructure for battery charging. These three issues we should answer (for electric vehicles to take off)”, Shitara said.