SAINT DAY Hey,
What a day. I don’t know about Quebec, but we’re rockin’. There’s painters, welding, writing, deals, the sun is glistening off the might pacific and I could use a bloody mary. I’m beginning to feel that we might have a handle on the Bonneville build with the help of Jeremiah, who is driving his lake speedboat in reverse. He had a breakdown.
Gard Hollinger of LA Chop Rods is working on the tank cowling and I need a girder front end so we can design the ever-crucial front fender. Let’s hit the news. I would like to find time to kick back with a Margarita and relax. Fat chance:
AUSTRALIAN ROAD REQUEST–The Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia (MRAA) recently requested VicRoads (Victoria’s Dept. of Transportation) to consider removing the metal “chevron” signs at roundabouts following the recent death of a rider at Braeside.
MRAA stated that although VicRoads have agreed to examine alternative materials for these signs the possibility of further deaths and serious injuries will remain as long as they are left in place. They further stated that three deaths in a relatively short period have demonstrated the danger that these signs pose to riders.
In response to material submitted by the MRAA to VicRoads, a trial of plastic signs will be conducted on the South Gippsland Highway. Additionally a VicRoads designer, who happens to be a motorcycle rider, has sourced three variants which will be incorporated as part of a trial.
SPEAKING OF LAWS, THE CALIFORNIA BLUES– New California Laws effective 7/1/07, and New Driving Fines for 2007.
1. Carpool lane – 1st time $1068.50 starting 7/1/07 (The $271 posted on the highway is old). Don’t do it again because 2nd time is going to be double. 3rd time triple, and 4th time license suspended.
2. Incorrect lane change – $380. Don’t cross the lane on solid lines or intersections.
3. Block intersection – $485
4. Driving on the shoulder – $450
5. Cell phone use in the construction zone. – Double fine as of 07/01/07. Cell phone use must be “hands free” while driving.
6. Passengers over 18 not in their seatbelts – both passengers and drivers get tickets ..
7. Speeders can only drive 3 miles above the limit.
8. DUI = JAIL (Stays on your driving record for 10 years!)
9. As of 07/01/07 cell phone use must be “hands free” while driving. Ticket is $285. They will be looking for this like crazy – easy money for police department.
–from Jay M.
NEW MIRRORS FROM HELL– Camarillo, CA, June 21, 2007; Image Motorcycle Products is proud to announce the long awaited release of our new Skeleton Mirrors. IMP Skeleton Mirrors feature an anatomically correct skeleton arm & hand, with the hand holding the mirror frame. These mirros pivot at the wrist, just as real hands move!
IMP Mirrors are cast in aerospace quality stainless steel and finished with a high polish. No chrome to peel or chip! We offer a 100% money back guarantee against breakage for life. For more information contact: Image Motorcycle Products, 1161 Calle Suerte Ste F, Camarillo, CA 93012
(800) 304-5838
www.imagemotorcycle.com
MOTORCYCLE COLLECTION DONATED– The Republican, MA – SPRINGFIELD – The owner of the closed Indian Motocycle Museum is donating her multi-million dollar collection of antique motorcycles and memorabilia to the Springfield Museums Association to assure it will be remain in the city where the historic company was founded more than a century ago.
Esta K. Manthos, 91, who has traveled to all 50 states by motorcycle, collected bikes made by Indian Motocycle Co. for many decades, along with thousands of biker toys and mementos.
Yesterday, the sprightly, ponytail-wearing owner of the Indian Motocycle Museum at 33 Hendee St. gave nearly all her beloved relics away, including her own 1942 Indian. “There is no other collection in the world like this,” said Springfield Museums Association President Joseph E. Carvalho III. Historically, it has “priceless intrinsic value” for the city, he said.
Manthos, who has no children, said she wasn’t interested in selling off the collection to live the rest of her life in riches.
“That is unimportant,” she said, adding that maybe the charitable gesture will encourage others with valuable collections to donate for the public good.
“I’m very history- and civic-oriented,” she said. The collection that Manthos donated to the Springfield Museums includes 54 motorcycles and approximately 5,000 toys.
It will hold a prominent place in the yet-to-open Museum of Springfield History on Edwards Street, Carvalho said. About $1.2 million has been raised and another $4.5 million is needed to complete renovations to turn the former Verizon building adjacent to the existing museums in downtown Springfield into a home for the motorcycle collection, Carvalho said.
The Indian Motocycle Museum, which Manthos and her late husband, Charles, opened 35 years ago, was housed in the defunct manufacturer’s last remaining building.
Annual Indian rallies at times drew thousands of bikers to Springfield. Carvalho said that once the new museum opens, 18 to 24 months from now, he hopes to revive Indian Day.
The collection’s exact monetary worth, loosely estimated at $3 million to $5 million, is unknown, Carvalho said, although he noted that original Indian motorcycles in top condition can sell for $40,000 to $100,000 a piece.
–from Rogue
Sturgis Freedom Fighters
Motorcycle Hall Of Fame Member 2005
www.bikerrogue.com
CHILDREN’S CHARITY EVENT–The Bikers for Kids Foundation (www.bikers4kids.com) presents the Bikers Rock Ball, June 30 at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. The event benefits three Children’s Charities: Childhelp, Penrickton Center for Blind Children, and Variety, The Children’s Charity. “I’m just compelled to help kids in need. They are the most vulnerable and can never have enough advocates,” said Assarian.
–from Rogue
INDIANA REGISTRATION FEES JUMP– INDIANAPOLIS – A fee increase contained in the recently passed two-year state budget has motorcyclists around Indiana – and Gov. Mitch Daniels – hoppin’ mad. Legislators increased the motorcycle registration fee from $17 to $27 starting July 1. The money will go to aid spinal cord and brain injury research.
Rep. Carolene Mays, D-Indianapolis, pushed the initiative after being contacted by a group of concerned citizens. “They want research to be performed here in Indiana to help some 160,000 residents who have received such injuries. As an added benefit, these projects create new research jobs right here in Indiana,” she said. “I chose to pursue this funding method because there is a proven link between motorcycle accidents and traumatic spinal cord and head injuries.” But not everyone agrees.
ABATE of Indiana – American Bikers Aimed Toward Education – is a non-profit safety, educational, charitable and advocacy motorcyclist organization.
It has placed an emergency motorcyclist alert on its Web site urging all riders whose registration is up for renewal between now and October to renew before the July 1 enactment date so the state doesn’t get the additional money.
“We thought we dodged that,” said Jay Jackson, executive director and lobbyist for ABATE. “I am certainly not aware of any precedent being set where a motor vehicle tax is used for anything other than roads and public safety.” He also contends it unfairly targets one group of Hoosiers, who already pay the same state park entrance fees, tolls and wheel taxes despite having smaller vehicles that carry fewer passengers and weigh less.
“I contend motorcyclists have been good citizens for far too long,” Jackson said. “Now we are being singled out adversely, and there is no parity.” Daniels, an avid motorcyclist, said Wednesday the fee is not an appropriate way to finance the noble cause of spinal cord and brain injury research.
“I think it was a bad idea. Nobody even knew it was in the bill until 10 days later,” he said, noting that motorcycle accidents account for almost no spinal injuries. Daniels also said inserting the language into the budget was a bad idea because it should have received a full debate in the legislature.
“I didn’t even know about it,” he said.
Daniels likely would not have vetoed the bill regardless because that would have sent lawmakers into a special session. Indiana governors do not have a line-item veto power or the ability to strike individual items in a budget. According to the fiscal impact statement on the fee, it will bring in about $1.6 million annually.
An additional 24 percent of the spinal cord injuries are the result of falls, such as when actor Christopher Reeve fell off a horse in 1995, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. He died in 2004.
Meanwhile, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control reports that 1.4 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury each year. Of that, about 50,000 die and 235,000 are hospitalized. The leading cause of traumatic brain injury is falls – 28 percent – with motor vehicle crashes coming in at 20 percent. nkelly@jg.net At a glance
— By Niki Kelly The Journal Gazette Benjamin Lanka of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story.
–from Rogue
BEHIND THE SCENES AT BANDIT’S CANTINA–A lady walks into a bar and sees a really good-looking guy sitting at the bar by himself. She goes over and asks him what he is drinking.
“Magic Beer”, he says.
She thinks he’s a little crazy, so she walks around the bar,but after realizing that there is no one else worth talking to, goes back to the man sitting at the bar And says, “That isn’t really Magic Beer, is it?”
“Yes, I’ll show you.” He takes a drink of the beer, jumps out the window, flies around the building three times and comes back in the window.
The lady can’t believe it. She says, “I bet you can’t do that again.”
He takes another drink of beer, jumps out the window, flies around the building three times, and comes back in the window.
She is so amazed that she says she wants a Magic Beer, so the guy says to the bartender, “Give her one of what I’m having.”
She gets her drink, takes a gulp of the beer, jumps out the window, plummets 30 stories, breaks every bone in her body, and dies.
The bartender looks up at the guy and says, “You know, Superman, you’re a real asshole when you’re drunk
–Akita
AMERICAN IRON HORSE DEAL OF THE WEEK, 2007 SLAMMER TRIFECTA– BLACK, RED OR BLUE … YOUR CHOICE: ONLY $ 35,995.00. PICK A SLAMMER … ANY SLAMMER.
The 2007 American IronHorse Slammer features a super street soft-style molded frame with 2″ top tube stretch, radical 42 degree rake (38 degree frame rake plus 4 degree raked triple tree), stealth swing arm, 300 mm low profile rear tire with 18″ chromed wheel, 90 mm front tire with 21″ chromed wheel, polished 111 cubic inch S&S Super Sidewinder Plus engine, 2 into 1 dyno tuned exhaust system with integral heat shields and 6-speed close ratio polished right side drive transmission.
Also features progressive adjustable air ride suspension, dual disc front brakes with chromed 6-piston calipers, high gloss paint, 5.75″ chromed headlight, one-piece stretched tank with exposed backbone, chromed custom v-handlebars, low profile digital information center, smooth chromed lower legs, chromed billet side-mounted, “fold-away” license plate frame, phantom solo seat and vibration resistant LED turn signals. We’ve only got these three on the floor, so hurry in to LifeStyle Cycles today!
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CALIFORNIA DMV PROBE PREVENTS REGISTRATIONS– DMV probe keeps bikers off road SACRAMENTO – Dain Gingerelli says he locked up a sure sale of his motorcycle in April – about $10,000 for a kit bike he built himself. But two months later, the bike is gathering dust in his garage and the cash is in someone else’s pocket.
What happened? The state Department of Motor Vehicles, Gingerelli said, blocked the sale. It turns out Gingerelli used a kit made by Custom Chrome Inc. and the DMV is investigating something related to the company’s bikes. I say “something” because the DMV has refused to give me any details about the investigation, other than acknowledging it affects all California owners of Custom Chrome bikes. Gingerelli, a Mission Viejo resident who edits the national Harley magazine IronWorks, said an investigator told him the DMV is looking into a motorcycle shop that was improperly building and selling a large number of Custom Chrome kit bikes.
But Gingerelli says he didn’t buy his bike from any shop. The only thing he’s guilty of, as far as he can tell, is owning a Custom Chrome motorcycle.
“I’m being held guilty by association,” he said.
As it happens, the state frequently goes after bike shops that sell large numbers of custom-built motorcycles. State law stipulates that kit bikes assembled by hobbyists for their own enjoyment are not subject to emission standards. No smog tests, no maintenance requirements and no special equipment. (The state could add such requirements in the future.)
–By BRIAN JOSEPH
The Orange County Register
2-WHEELERS BLESSES NEW LOGO– I really like the new logo with the trucker girls and the 5-Ball in the middle , I’ll be looking for the girls beater shirts when they are printed… There is a place in your area Kavio , Commerce Ca, they carry blank shirts different styles and some larger sizes and the prices aren’t bad…$ 3.35. Any color for a ladies beater fits good. Spegitti strap t’s for 2.80..
–Donna
MYRTLE BEACH LOSES THEIR SANDRA– Sandra (Sandy) Leone, 55, special events organizer & coordinator for Myrtle Beach Spring & Fall rallies was killed Sunday in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Her stepfather shot her, her mother and his wife before committing suicide.
Sandy was a familiar & smiling face for all vendors & custom builders participating to the Myrtle Beach events. Hired by Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson in 2000, she played a pivotal role in organizing the spring & fall rallies. She was a very personable & friendly person.
There will be a memorial service June 23 at 3 PM in Ormond Beach, FL, held at the War Memorial Gardens, 78 East Granada Blvd
–from Rogue
RAT DISCOVERED AT ROT RALLY–Check this bike from ROT Rally.
I am bored, not use to being off at night during the week. The girl I had scheduled for the LD Shorty(red) bike who flaked last Monday came running up as I hit the door last night to show me her phone. She ran over so I am going to give her one more chance. And that damn Frank wants his bike out of the shop.
–RFR
BIKERNET RIVER WALK– There’s this blonde out for a walk. She comes to a river and sees another blonde on the opposite bank. “Yoo-hoo!” she shouts, “How can I get to the other side?” The second blonde looks up the river then down the river and shouts back, “You ARE on the other side.”
–from Katmandu
ARIZONA WOMAN BRANDED AS SNITCH– PHOENIX (AP) — A woman had the word “snitch” burned into her face with a branding iron in apparent retaliation for helping police in a domestic violence case, authorities said. The brand singed into her flesh during a June 13 attack is 4 to 6 inches long and stretches across her left cheek from lip to earlobe.
Mesa police Sgt. Chuck Trapani said Friday. “Obviously, they were trying to send a message to her, and they were obviously trying to humiliate her,” Trapani said. Trapani declined to identify the 38-year-old woman. He said the woman had not returned calls relaying interview requests from the news media.
The woman told police she was attacked by four people, including an acquaintance whose Mesa apartment she was visiting, Trapani said. That acquaintance, Preston L. Valdez, 21, told police the woman was smoking methamphetamine with him shortly before the attack.
–By AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press Writer
–from Rogue
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY SEX STUDY RELEASED–NEW YORK (AP) — It’s a question that often prompts a boastful answer or a bashful one: How many sex partners have you had? Now the federal government says it has authoritative statistics, documenting that men are far more likely to play the field than women.
A new nationwide survey, using high-tech methods to solicit candid answers on sexual activity and illegal drug use, finds that 29 percent of American men report having 15 or more female sexual partners in a lifetime, while only 9 percent of women report having sex with 15 or more men. The median number of lifetime female sexual partners for men was seven; the median number of male partners for women was four.
The survey, released Friday, is based on data collected from 1999 to 2002 for the National Center for Health Statistics, a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This time, data was gathered from 6,237 adults, aged 20 to 59, in what are called computer-assisted self-interviews – a method designed to provide complete privacy and produce more honest answers. -About 96 percent of U.S. adults have had sex. -Sixteen percent of adults first had sex before age 15, while 15 percent abstained from sex until at least age 21. -The proportion of adults who first had sex before age 15 was highest for non-Hispanic blacks (28 percent) compared to 14 percent for both Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic whites.
-Six percent of blacks abstained from sex until age 21 or older, fewer than Mexican-Americans (17 percent) or non-Hispanic whites (15 percent).
-Black men and women were more likely to report having 15 or more partners in a lifetime (46 percent and 13 percent, respectively) than other racial or ethnic groups.
-Seventeen percent of men and 10 percent of women reported having two or more sexual partners in the past year.
-Twenty-five percent of women and 17 percent of men reporting having no more than one partner of the other sex in their lifetime.
-Twenty-six percent of men and 17 percent of women have tried cocaine or other street drugs (not including marijuana) at some time in their life. Seven percent of men and 4 percent of women had done so within the past 12 months.
-Non-Hispanic whites had a higher percentage of ever using cocaine or street drugs (23.5 percent) than blacks (18 percent) or Mexican-Americans (16 percent).
-Adults who were married or had more than a high school education were less likely to use street drugs than others. The survey, formally titled the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, did not include the homeless, prisons inmates or other institutionalized adults.
The questions about numbers of sexual partners specified heterosexual relationships, and thus the survey did not measure the extent of gay or lesbian sexual partnerships. However, Porter said there was no such specificity in the questions about ever having had sex or about the age of first sexual activity, so answers to those could have referred to straight or gay sex.
–from Rogue
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