Hey,
Life is nuts, but bikers are cool, creative, adventuresome, and love freedom. Too bad the rest of the world can’t find the way.
I read about Buddhism from time to time. It soothes my heart and helps when I get wound up with too much bullshit. It’s not a religion, but a philosophy. Here’s a notion that seems to help. It talks about the Right Way or the Right Path.
So, anytime you’re faced with a stressful situation ask yourself what is the right aspiration, and then the right understanding, the right consideration, the right action, and the right effort. For some reason, if I ask myself those questions, everything comes easily into focus and stress is relieved.
Basically a simple mental exercise to help you center yourself on any issue and relieve the bullshit.
If only the world could find the right path. It’s easy goddammit.
Let’s hit the news.
QUICK, OPEN THE BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY– A Montana cowboy, a Native American and a Muslim are waiting for their plane in a small Montana airport. The Montana cowboy leans back in his chair, crosses his boots on a magazine table and tips his big sweat-stained hat forward over his face. The wind outside is blowing tumbleweeds around and the old windsock is flapping, but still no plane comes.
The American Indian clears his throat and softly speaks. “At one time here, my people were many, but sadly, now we are few.”
The Muslim student raises an eyebrow and leans forward, “Once my people were few,” he sneers, “and now we are many. Why do you suppose that is?”
The Montana cowboy shifts his toothpick to one side of his mouth and from the darkness beneath his Stetson says in a drawl, “That’s cause we ain’t played Cowboys & Muslims yet, but I do believe it’s a-comin.”
–from Rogue and Jerry
Bikernet Independent Motorcycle Noise Study
The unmitigated hubris of any individual that considers himself/herself so entitled as to stand in defiance to the rule of law, common decency, respect and fidelity as an American Citizen. The Loud Pipes Saves Lives (LPSL) mantra is NOTHING but an excuse for bad behavior. If followed to its logical conclusion, if NOISE if the “key” to traffic safety, we must, in all good conscience, install sirens on bicycles and mopeds, enact within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), a Federal mandate that all vehicles under a specified gross weight drive continually with its horn activated. NONSENSE!
Loud Motorcycle Cult[ure], you, with knowledge, volition, intent, opted to purchase and operate an inherently dangerous motor vehicle e.g. a motorcycle, upon a public roadway and among a caged public. You have absolutely NO right to disobey the rule of law (80 dB(A) exhaust emissions edict/EPA 40 CFR Part 205) and modify or remove your compliant exhaust mechanism and replace same with an illegal aftermarket (closed-course only) exhaust emitting two-four-six or more times the 80 dB(A) maximum (logarithmic scale).
Loud Motorcycle Cult[ure], you have NO right to take your LOUD shiny phallic extension, installed for purely hedonistic-selfish reasons, and use same to assault our children, our elderly, our families with unregulated NOISE!
Loud Motorcycles Suck, Facebook Community Page – Exposing Loud Biker Thuggery!
–Rickey Holtsclaw
rickholtsclaw@yahoo.com
Incredible, but I appreciate your response. Regarding the letter of the law, as if god etched it in stone. Laws are made by men, and many are bad laws. I could give you thousands of examples. Here are two. Our war on drugs instituted thousands of laws, some as harsh as eight years in prison for a single joint. This series of laws has failed and jammed our prison system.
In Europe, countries tried to ban motorcycles, because like you said they are dangerous. They passed lots of restrictive laws. Now, they want to embrace motorcycling, because congestion has become so daunting and parking is scarce, so laws may change.
Here’s one more, I discovered today in The Week magazine. A North Carolina Judge is dying of blood cancer. A prisoner he convicted offered to be a life-saving donor. There is a law in NC prohibiting prisoners from being donors. Incredible.
Regarding noise. Loud pipes do save lives for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Motorcycles are not caged or armor protected. It’s one noise we should enjoy and respect.
There are lots of annoying noises is life, but we supposedly live in a free society. That’s the key to everything, and I wish our government would wake up and embrace it. It’s not about passing restrictive laws. It’s about educating and understanding. So, many laws backfire. Let freedom ring loud when it needs to be heard.
–Bandit
OLD SCHOOL Iron & Resin Tool Roll— We have one of these new, old school tool rolls. We will test it shortly.
• 100% Cotton Martexin Waxed Canvas
• Leather strap and closure wrap
• Multiple pockets and zippered pockets to secure small tools and other items
• Hand built to last right here in CA at the Iron & Resin factory
• 18” x 12.5”
By: Iron & Resin
$ 70.00
FABRIC: 100% Cotton Martexin™ Waxed Canvas
THE PANHEAD ADVENTURE BEGINS– After almost two years of hard work, patient waiting and more than a couple sets of busted knuckles, my cross country journey has finally begun!
We left the east coast yesterday morning, me astride my 1933 VL and Tim astride his 1934 VLD. Our first day went well, covering around 170 miles and ending back at my house which is conveniently located on the way to California.
Today we head north into VA and then strike out west for Kentucky.
Thanks again for your support in this venture and stay tuned for more photos and emails as my journey across the country progresses.
-Panhead Jim
BIKERNET GUN NUT REPORT– Congressman Sam Johnson Introduces Bill to Protect Social Security Recipients From the Obama Administration’s Most Ambitious (and Outrageous) Gun Grab to Date
On Wednesday, Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Tex.) introduced H.R. 3516, the “Social Security Beneficiary 2nd Amendment Rights Protection Act.” The purpose of the bill is to protect recipients of Social Security from being forced to choose between benefits to which they are legally entitled and their Second Amendment rights.
Since July, we’ve been reporting on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) plan to use “representative payee” assignments as a basis for reporting SSA beneficiaries to NICS as prohibited “mental defectives.” A representative payee is simply a person who is appointed by the SSA to receive the disbursement of benefits on behalf of the beneficiary.
According to a former SSA attorney we interviewed about the process, beneficiaries themselves usually initiate the representative payee process as a matter of convenience. With many beneficiaries living in remote areas or having conditions that limit their mobility, they often need help with chores like banking and shopping.
The attorney indicated that the assignment of a representative payee is almost always a cooperative process that involves no third-party adjudicator and has no necessary connection to a person’s propensity for dangerous or violent behavior. Yet according to the LA Times reporter who originally broke the story, millions of SSA beneficiaries could potentially be affected, which would make this the biggest gun grab in American history.
Adding to concerns about SSA’s recent move is the Veteran’s Administration’s (VA) current practice of reporting to NICS as “mental defectives” all beneficiaries assigned a “fiduciary” to receive benefits on their behalf. Like the SSA process, this does not typically involve any sort of adjudication, nor does it require the agency to find the beneficiary poses a danger to self or others. Nearly 180,000 VA beneficiaries are affected by this designation, which presumptively bans them from exercising their Second Amendment rights for the rest of their lives.
Rep. Johnson’s bill would conclusively resolve these concerns for Social Security beneficiaries by specifying, “No determination by the Commissioner of Social Security with respect to an individual, including a determination that benefits under this title to which such individual is entitled shall be paid to a representative payee, shall be considered to be a determination that the individual has been adjudicated as a mental defective for purposes of [the mental health provisions of the Gun Control Act of 1968].”
Not only would this protect beneficiaries with representative payees, it would ensure that SSA could not report its beneficiaries to NICS as prohibited “mental defectives” under any pretext. It short, it would give them peace of mind that one of America’s largest and most important entitlement programs could not be used as a pretext to abolish one of its most cherished and important constitutional rights.
Besides the NRA, the bill has also been given a positive review by the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress to enhance the quality of life for all Americans with disabilities and their families. According to the NCD, “linking the need for a representative payee with a presumption of incapacity to exercise any right sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the goals of the [Americans With Disabilities Act]: equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.” NCD also noted it has been warning the Obama Administration since 2013 that “needing a representative payee to assist with receiving and managing Social Security benefits should not be grounds for an inference that the individual is incapable of exercising his or her rights.” Even more specifically, “NCD cautioned against linking this status to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).”
The NRA thanks Rep. Johnson for his leadership in this vital effort and urges all of its members to contact their congressional representatives and strongly urge them to support the Social Security Beneficiary 2nd Amendment Rights Protection Act. You can do so through the Write Your Lawmakers feature on the ILA website or by calling the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
THIS JUST IN FROM CHOPPERTOWN– We finished the newest episode of bike & builder and hope you enjoy it! Click here to watch the video and read all about Sam “Diesel Monkey” Turner’s insane build.
Click to watch the video and read about Sam’s crazy build.
*If you’re building something cool let us know via email. Take lots of videos with your iPhone and maybe we’ll help you edit them for a future Bike & Builder episode!
I, Superbiker
It’s a real honor to be presenting the I, Superbiker movies for you guys to enjoy as this weekend’s special – check them out for something dramatic and different!
“The stories of these six superbikers are quite interesting and they show the reality of the highs and lows of the life of a racer. I think even non-motorbike fans would enjoy the classic themes of struggle, redemption, and heartache involved in this film. And this isn’t “reality TV”; it’s reality!”
~TLRJohnny
www.choppertown.com
ART RETURNS WITH MISS HIT IMPORT NITES– Best pics I could grab with my phone. This was a hot contest in San Pedro, California.
–Art Hall
Bikernet Supreme International Editor
2015 COOK’s SPEED TRIALS— Though cancelled we still had the best high performance motorcycle and snowmobile show/gathering on the planet. Notice the lake in the background.
There is a serious effort to save the salt for future runs and we will bring you more reports in the near future.
–Drew GATEWOOD
AMA/F.I.M. Technical Steward
AMA Track Racing Commission
G.E.A.R.S. – Gatewood Engineering And Race Support
342E 1325N Chesterton, IN. 46304
tele/fax: 219-926-5647
email: gears55@frontier.com
“PUT SOME PORK ON YOUR FORK”– Let’s hear it for a Quebec mayor…
The MAYOR REFUSES TO REMOVE PORK FROM SCHOOL CAFETERIA MENU and EXPLAINS WHY:
Muslim parents demanded the abolition of pork in all the school canteens of a Montreal suburb.
The mayor of the Montreal suburb of Dorval has refused, and the town clerk sent a note to all parents to explain why.
“Muslims must understand that they have to adapt to Canada and Quebec, its customs, its traditions, and its way of life, because that’s where they chose to immigrate.
“Muslims must understand that they have to integrate and learn to live in Quebec. “They must understand that it is for them to change their lifestyle, not the Canadians who, so generously, welcomed them.
“Muslims must understand that Canadians are neither racist nor xenophobic. Canada accepted many immigrants before Muslims showed up (whereas the reverse is not true, in that Muslim states do not accept non-Muslim immigrants).”
“Just like other nations, Canadians are not willing to give up their identity or their culture.
“And, if Canada is a land of welcome, it’s not the Mayor of Dorval who welcomes foreigners, but the Canadian-Quebecois people as a whole.
“Finally, they must understand that in Canada (Quebec) with its Judeo-Christian roots, Christmas trees, churches and religious festivals, religion must remain in the private domain.”
The municipality of Dorval was right to refuse any concessions to Islam and Sharia.
“For Muslims who disagree with secularism and do not feel comfortable in Canada, there are 57 beautiful Muslim countries in the world, most of them under-populated and ready to receive them with open halal arms in accordance with Sharia.
“If you left your country for Canada, and not for other Muslim countries, it is because you have considered that life is better in Canada than elsewhere. We will not let you drag Canada down to the level of those 57 countries.”
“Ask yourself this question – just once: “Why is it better here in Canada than where you come from?” “A canteen with pork on the menu is part of the answer.”
If you came to Canada with the idea that you will displace us with your prolific propagation and eventually take over the country, you should pack up and go back to the country you came from. We have no room here for you and your ideology.
–from Bob Clark
WILD RACE VIDEO OF THE WEEKEND— Hang on for this one.
–from Bob Clark
Posted by 20th Century Speedway on Monday, November 3, 2014
BIKERNET TRIKES NOTE OF THE DAY– Steve Seidner, CSC’s owner and founder, aboard the company’s trike prototype. The fully street-legal kit is expected to release this spring.
On Tuesday, September 8, 2015 3:54 PM, Jame Winn
Also if possible I would like to have a two-wheel trike set up for the front of the bike. From what I have heard it is safer and easier to handle than the rear wheel version. Please let me know your opinion and experience on this.
PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY– Not sure who the photo is, his name is in the corner, wish I’d have thought of it!
–RFR
Texas
$8,695
Was
$10,995
Exterior: Grey/Silver flame
VIN: 1HD1BXB304Y035044
Mileage: 7,421 miles
Lifestyle Cycles 1510 N. State College Blvd. Anaheim, California 92806 (714) 490-0155 – See more here
1. a peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular class or set of persons.
2. a slogan; catchword.
Quotes
The latter air is indeed the shibboleth and diploma piece of the penny whistler; I hazard a guess it was originally composed for this instrument.
— Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, The Wrong Box, 1889
Origin
Shibboleth entered English from the Hebrew and was a word used by the Gileadites as a test to detect the fleeing Ephraimites, who could not pronounce the sh sound.
ART EXHIBIT COMING TO PEDRO–
You are invited to attend a reception October 10th, 6-9pm for “From the Roots to the Leaves” at the Greenly Art Space at 2698 Junipero Avenue, suite 113 in Signal Hill. I hope to see you there!
–Karena
SUNDAY GUN NUT REPORT– Third Time’s the Charm: Federal Appeals Court Voids Provisions of D.C. Gun Control in Heller III– Dick Anthony Heller, the lead plaintiff in the historic 2008 Supreme Court case that invalidated D.C.’s handgun ban, has once again successfully challenged D.C.’s oppressive gun control regime.
This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling in the NRA-supported case of Heller v. District of Columbia (Heller III), bringing further relief to the beleaguered law-abiding gun owners of the nation’s capital. While the court did not totally invalidate D.C.’s onerous registration regime, today’s ruling is an important step in bringing gun ownership within reach to more of D.C.’s upstanding residents.
Following the Supreme Court’s rebuke in the original Heller case, an unrepentant D.C. Council immediately set out to make the lawful keeping and bearing of arms in the District as expensive, time-consuming, and difficult as possible.
Intrepid reporter Emily Miller chronicled her own experience negotiating D.C.’s firearm registration process between 2011 and 2012 in a series of reports for the Washington Times that later formed the basis for a book. At the time, registration involved a 17-step process, $465 in fees (not including the price of the gun), five hours of mandatory training that had to be completed outside the District, and multiple trips to D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) headquarters during business hours.
Thanks to a combination of political advocacy, media exposé, and litigation, the hurdles and expense of D.C.’s firearm registration process have been whittled down over the years. Nevertheless, the District has consistently remained one of the most difficult places in the U.S. to acquire a firearm lawfully.
The plaintiffs in Heller III challenged numerous aspects of the remaining law, including its application to long guns; the requirement for applicants to appear at police headquarters to be fingerprinted, photographed, and to submit their registration paperwork; the requirement that registrants bring their firearms into police headquarters; the expiration of the registration after three years; various fees; the mandatory training requirements; the requirement of passing a test on D.C. law; and a prohibition on the same person registering more than one handgun during any 30-day period.
District officials attempted to justify these requirements on the basis of “protecting police officers” and “promoting public safety.” Significantly, the court of appeals found that “the District has not offered substantial evidence from which one could draw a reasonable conclusion that the challenged requirements will protect police officers ….”
Citing the testimony the of one of the District’s own witnesses, the court noted that police are trained to account for the possible presence of dangerous weapons in any situation where they might encounter a crime in progress, a domestic dispute, or any other potentially violent environment. This is so, the expert acknowledged, even when responding to calls at locations without registered weapons. In any event, the evidence in the case revealed that MPD officers very rarely even bother to check the firearm registry when responding to a call, conducting an investigation, or executing a search warrant.
The court also determined that several of the challenged registration requirements did not promote public safety, including the requirement that applicants bring the firearms they wish to register to MPD headquarters; the three-year expiration and re-registration requirement; the required test of legal knowledge; and the limitation of registering one handgun per person during any 30 day period.
Accordingly, it held that all of these requirements offended the Second Amendment and are unenforceable.
The court rejected the premise that limiting the number of firearms lawfully present in a home is a valid argument for gun control, even if it could reduce the harm that could be caused by firearms generally. “Accepting that as true,” the court wrote, “it does not justify restricting an individual’s undoubted constitutional right to keep arms (plural) in his or her home, whether for self-defense or hunting or just collecting, because, taken to its logical conclusion, that reasoning would justify a total ban on firearms kept in the home.” This may be one of the most significant aspects of the decision, as discouraging lawful gun ownership has been the cornerstone of D.C.’s approach to gun control.
While these developments will bring substantial benefits to those who wish to lawfully own guns in D.C., the court still upheld the balance of the registration procedure. If history is any guide, moreover, the District may seek further review of the court’s decision, or it may simply enact other impediments to firearm ownership, which will require further court testing at taxpayer expense. Thus, while pro-gun advocates should cheer the court’s ruling, it also merely underscores the ongoing necessity of the D.C. Second Amendment Enforcement Act, which would comprehensively reform D.C.’s gun control laws and prohibit future abuses by the D.C. Council.
BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY IS STILL OPEN– FROZEN CARBURETOR
People often complain about the police, but you rarely hear about the positive things they do, such as this incident involving a biker and a frozen carburetor. Last January on a bitterly cold winter’s day, a North Dakota State Trooper on patrol came upon a motorcyclist who was stalled by the roadside. The biker was swathed in heavy protective clothing and wearing a full-face helmet.
“What’s the matter? asked the Trooper
“Carburetor’s frozen,” was the terse reply. “Pee on it. That’ll thaw it out.”
“I can’t,” said the biker.
“OK, watch me closely and I’ll show you.” The Trooper unzipped and promptly warmed the carburetor as promised. Moments later the bike started and the rider drove off, waving. A few days later, the local State Troopers’ office received a note of thanks from the father of the motorcyclist.
It began: “On behalf of my daughter Jill…”
–from Rogue and Jerry
MONGOLS MC PATCH FORFEITURE CASE DISMISSED– In a long-awaited decision with ramifications that could affect all patch-wearing clubs, on September 16, 2015 Federal District Judge David O. Carter issued a dismissal of the government’s most recent attempt to seize the Mongols Motorcycle Club’s name and patch.
In the case titled United States of America versus Mongols Nation, Judge Carter saw the key legal question in the case as the “distinctness” between a “person” and “an ‘enterprise’ that is not simply the same ‘person’ referred to by a different name.”
In layman’s terms, the good news is that the government’s indictment is hereby dismissed pending appeal, which appears unlikely.
“We won,” said Richard Lester, a California-based attorney who has rallied support for defense of the patch forfeiture case through various Confederations of Clubs around the country and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, organizations he helped to establish. “We didn’t win the day on key legal points, and the court’s decision didn’t make the statement we wanted to make in defending the patch, but we won.”
The protracted litigation against the Mongols MC on racketeering charges began October 21, 2013 when the indictment against the club was unsealed. Although the club won its first trial, the judge’s ruling was poorly written and welcomed the charges to be properly re-filed.
While the constitutionality of seizing the Mongols insignia — or the insignia of any motorcycle club — remains unresolved under the dismissal, Judge Carter did rule that the government cannot indict a club as an “enterprise” for racketeering without also indicting a group who can be actually punished; noting that the indictment makes “no meaningful distinction between the association Mongol Nation and the enterprise of the Mongols Gang,” which is good news for all motorcycle clubs.
The prosecution, and subsequent persecution, of the club as a whole was designed to bankrupt the Mongols with mounting legal fees, but money has been raised by both the Mongols club and through the “Save the Patch” effort launched by the COCs and NCOM, and the Trademark Defense Fund I will continue to accept donations until the enormous debt is retired or if needed for a governmental appeal.
BONNE BELLE ENGINE UPDATE— It’s our 1940 45 flathead effort. We are building a new engine with Departure Bike Works, Richmond, VA, at the helm. “Go to Endfield Racing, look at the WR heads (now available) and the WR cylinders (soon to be available) we need these for the new engine,” said Lee Clemens. “Also found and ordered the valve spring covers for Tom Seymour’s K-model top end 45.”
ONE GUARANTEE—Shit is always changing. Shit is always coming and going. We can’t stop it. But we can get use to it, adapt to it, relish it, embrace it, and find the right path.
Takes focus and effort. Just like it does with all the content flying at us. Now, I can start to work on an antique feature for the Cantina, a Steve McQueen Indian from the La Quay collection. We should be able to kick off a tech from Custom Cycle Engineering on life-changing Dyna parts.
We are working on a Bikernet Bagger feature from Strictly Hawgs. And Gary covers anything that moves in the Trike industry. That’s not all, but I’m going to get the hell out of here.
Have a helluva week. Vegas is coming up.
–Bandit
