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LET’S PAUSE FOR A BRIEF RELIGIOUS MOMENT– Two Nuns are riding their bicycles down the back streets of Rome.
One leans over to the other and says, “I’ve never come this way before.”
The other Nun whispers, “It’s the cobblestones.”
–M. Nitzschke
FREEDOM RALLY SCHEDULED FOR DAYTONA IN MARCH– I did find this interesting, and yes, I’ll be there. Since the ’70s and ’80s when American Bikers Against Totalitarian Enactments (the orginal ABATE) we’ve needed to do something like this on a scale of this size as no matter where you live, what work you do, what you ride or who you ride with, the LAWS and how they are applied will effect you.
–Sarge
Penske purchases motorcycle dealerships from Rossmeyer family Automotive and racing businessman buys Harley-Davidson dealership locations once owned by Bruce Rossmeyer — January 28th, 2010 One of the largest Harley-Davidson dealership chains grew smaller last week with confirmation that three locations owned by the late Bruce Rossmeyer in South Florida have been sold.
Bruce Rossmeyer started building his motorcycle empire in 1994 when he decided to sell Harley-Davidson’s as a hobby. Fifteen locations later Rossmeyer’s crown jewel, ‘Destination Daytona’ has arguably changed the face of the legendary Daytona Beach Bike Week.
But when Rossmeyer died riding to the 69th Sturgis motorcycle rally last August some wondered what would become of his expansive dealership network which stretched from southern Florida to Colorado.
Reportedly, at least three of those locations have been bought by Roger Penske, the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Corporation and other automotive related businesses.
According to sources who asked to remain anonymous, Penske toured the three locations in Broward County, Florida last week, meeting the staff and walking through the dealerships in Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise. But this isn’t a surprise to some. As long ago as September 2009 Penske’s name was mentioned as a likely buyer for a variety of Rossemeyer’s Harley-Davidson dealerships, but the rumors seemed to fade as Penske Automotive Group negotiated with General Motors to buy the Saturn brand.
While that bid for a well known brand may have failed, it appears the automobile racing enthusiasts efforts to get closer to a legendary name such as Harley-Davidson were much more successful. How much of the vast Rossmeyer dealership network is being sold, or even why the surviving family is riding down this road of selling locations has never been explained publicly.
The slowing economy left the large showroom dealerships full of motorcycles and few buyers. While discussing the company’s 2009 financial performance last week, Harley-Davidson noted 28 independently owned dealerships closed in 2009 with another 15 dealers expected to close in the next three months.
Not surprisingly, the next year could see dealerships around the country looking to the man Forbes Magazine has listed as the 296th richest person in the country and Roger Penske’s possible recipe for motorcycle success.
DETROIT BROS NEW MONSTER GARAGE DISCOVERY PROGRAM– Hope all goes well with you! Dropping you a line to tell you that James and I are the new hosts of Discovery Channel?s Motor City Motors (Monster Garage ? reincarnated).
Here?s the MCM site: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/motor-city-motors/motor-city-motors.html
There?s an upcoming episode guide, some builder bios, and some behind the scenes stuff.
–Dave
FEMA AND SWEDISH ROAD AUTHORITY STUDY GUARDRAILS– Guardrails: motorcyclists still pay a high toll Recent data from the Swedish Road Authority shows that motorcyclists suffer disproportionately from deadly impacts with guardrails and roadside furniture, compared to other road users.
V?gverket, the Swedish Roads Administration, recently released data on deadly accidents caused by roadside poles and crash barriers in Sweden over the last eight years. Motorcyclists represent almost one quarter of all casualties caused by impacts with poles; and over one third of all casualties caused by impacts with crash barriers.
Sweden, however, has only 300,000 registered motorcycles compared to 4.3 million personal cars – less than 7 percent of all personal vehicles. In addition, motorcycles are only used part of the year due to the nordic climate.
This stunning disproportion between road use and risk exposure underlines the need for change in the design and installation of roadside infrastructure, especially guardrails and road restraints systems.
Read more at www.fema-online.eu/guardrail .
A new draft standard for protective road restraint systems has been approved by Technical Group 1 of CEN (European Committee for Standardization). The proposal is now on its way to become a European standard.
Most road restraint systems consist of a single steel beam fixed on straight metal poles at a regular interval. While the rail itself is designed to absorb the energy of a crash and restrain an impacting vehicle, it does not offer any protection to a motorcyclist sliding off a bike. Motorcyclists will often hit one or more posts, which have no energy absorption properties. As a result, collision with guardrail posts is a major cause of fatal motorcyclist injury, along with serious limb and organ injury often leading to amputation.
The current European standard for guardrails does not mandate additional motorcyclist protection, and as such, rider safety is subjected to the willingness of local, regional and national road authorities to install advanced designs.
In 2007, FEMA has been granted liaison status with CEN, the European standardization body. After more than a year of joint work between users (FEMA), test houses, manufacturers and road administrations, a new draft standard for protective road restraint systems has been approved by the Technical Group of CEN. FEMA is now hoping that WG1 (Working Group 1) will approve it during its next meeting on March 18-19, 2010 in France, which in turn will allow its adoption by TC226 (Technical Committee 226) during its annual meeting at end of June in Prague (Czech Republic)
2010 should see the proposal becoming become a European standard, should political will go along the tremendous efforts put forward by many European experts to find a practical solution to an urgent problem. http://www.fema-online.eu/uploads/images/click_testimonies.gif
Faced with incomplete accident records, FEMA also decided to launch a wide European campaign in order to get a clear and accurate view of the most common accident configurations and protection needs. Two months after the launch of a Call for Testimonies, FEMA has gathered more than 220 individual stories of accidents involving motorcyclists impacting guardrails. http://www.fema-online.eu/guardrail
FMCSA to Ban Texting by CMV Drivers– This morning (January 26), U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood and FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro will hold a press conference in Washington, D.C., to announce a new ban on texting by commercial motor vehicle drivers while operating a CMV. During the press conference scheduled for 10:30 am EST, Secretary LaHood and Administrator Ferro will discuss new ?regulatory guidance,? to be officially published in the Federal Register and made effective later this week, that will apply to all interstate drivers of CMVs currently subject to FMCSA?s safety regulations.
ATA President and CEO Bill Graves will participate in today?s press event and will make short remarks supporting DOT?s announcement. Although the current safety regulations do not include an explicit prohibition against texting while driving by professional truck and bus drivers, FMCSA believes that an existing general restriction against the use of additional equipment and accessories that decrease the safety of operation of commercial motor vehicles applies to the use of electronic devices for texting.
This general restriction is found in 49 CFR Part 390. FMCSA?s regulatory guidance will further explain that handheld or other wireless electronic devices that are brought into a CMV are considered additional equipment and accessories within the context of Part 390 (emphasis added). FMCSA will define texting as the review of, or preparation and transmission of, typed messages though any such device or the engagement in any form of electronic data retrieval or electronic data communication through any such device.
FMCSA will state that it acknowledges the concerns of motor carriers that have invested significant resources in electronic dispatching tools and fleet management systems and clearly states that the Agency?s new guidance should not be construed to prohibit the use of such technology. FMCSA will further state that its new regulatory guidance should also not be construed to prohibit the use of cell phones for purposes other than text messaging.
Later today, ATA will provide additional information in its regularly scheduled Truckline. Contact: Senior Vice President Dave Osiecki at dosiecki@trucking.org.
–from Scott Wiese
GANG ATTACKS POLICE BUILDING– Hemet, CA – Hemet detectives are continuing to search for suspected gang members who they believe rigged the gas lines in a police office to explode. Police are waiting for information from DNA evidence and a raised fingerprint found on the roof of the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Gang Task Force office where a natural gas line was rerouted and left open on New Year’s Eve.
The office on St. John Place filled with natural gas overnight. Gang detectives arrived the next day and smelled the gas before entering.
Police called it an assassination plot with the intent to kill any officers who would enter the building. Police said the gas could have been ignited from a spark with a light switch or static electricity on the carpet.
No arrests have been made and no suspects have been publicly identified.
Earlier this month, the Hemet City Council approved a new, undisclosed location for the gang task force, Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana said.
The former building is owned by the city and was converted from a printing press six years ago. The site will be sold and was deemed safe, Dana said.
In the weeks prior to the attack, gang detectives were conducting high profile sweeps to identify gang members in the San Jacinto Valley, Margis said.
Hemet police received no threats prior to the attack. About two weeks earlier, two San Jacinto gang members were arrested, accused of firing at police and striking a Hemet police car.
Police have not zeroed in on a particular gang. On Dec. 29, a Vagos motorcycle gang funeral was held at a church next door, but police reported no problems. The gang has not been linked as suspects.
— BY: JOHN ASBURY
–from Rogue
SUNDAY DEAL USED MATCO TOOL BOX–Chance of a life time. Tim from Negotiable Parts was recently at West Coast Choppers buying parts.
SEVEN DEGREES OF BLONDE, THE FINAL DEGREES–SIXTH DEGREE: Bambi, a blonde in her fourth year as a UCLA freshman, sat in her U.S. Government class. The professor asked Bambi if she knew what Roe vs. Wade was about.
Bambi pondered the question and finally, said, “That was the decision George Washington had to make before he crossed the Delaware,”
SEVENTH DEGREE: Returning home from work, a blonde was shocked to find her house ransacked and burglarized. She telephoned the police at once and reported the crime.
The police dispatcher broadcast the call on the radio. A K-9 unit, patrolling nearby, was the first to respond.
As the K-9 officer approached the house with his dog on a leash, the blonde ran out on the porch, shuddered at the sight of the cop and his dog, then sat down on the steps.
Putting her face in her hands, she moaned, ‘I come home to find all my possessions stolen. I call the police for help, and what do they do? They send me a BLIND policeman!”
–Jim Waggaman
IT’S A WRAP FOR SUNDAY–We fixed a 2009 FLH with a Bassani Exhaust system last night. I’ll put the tech together next week. Humble Johnny in Texas was assigned to bring you a complete report on the Bubs 365 mph streamliner. “I think I can do 400 mph,” Denis Manning, of Bubs, told me the other day.
We are working on a feature of the 5-Ball Factory Racer with some hot babe for Cycle Source and Bikernet, a Cannonball entrant feature, a feature on the Nyla’s Root Beer Float for American Iron, and I’ll work on another tech this week. Something bad is happening in the Cantina to one of the girls. She couldn’t keep her mouth shut, and the Cantina soap area will bring you the full report.
We also need to work with Keyboard shipping to have Johnny’s bobber shipped to Texas from the East Coast. Hang on for that report. There’s never a dull moment around the Bikernet Headquarters.
Ride forever,
–Bandit
