Hey,

This is our Independence Day weekend. Think about it. Independence means Freedom from the other guy. But now government officials believe they must pass more laws to be cool. More laws means less Independence.

How about a new rule. If you want to pass a law to create some legacy in your life and you can’t write a book or do something constructive like build a home or a motorcycle, abide by this law: for every new law passed, five must be eliminated, repealed or made toast—adding Independence. I like the sound of that.



The Bikernet Weekly news is sponsored in part by Cycle Source Magazine, Iron Trader News, Motorcycle Riders Foundation, Las Vegas BikeFest, and ChopperTown.






NEW FROM Barnett “Complete” Scorpion Clutch Assemblies-- 2007-16 Harley Davidson Big Twins

The NEW Scorpion "Complete" Clutch Assemblies for 2007-16 Harley-Davidson Big Twins includes your choice of a Scorpion low-profile lock-up clutch or non-lock-up clutch and our new 'bolt-on' billet clutch basket.



Superior in quality and durability compared to the stock basket, this basket simply bolts on to your existing ring/primary gear. With the durability of the CNC precision machined billet basket and the proven performance of the Scorpion high HP/TQ capacity clutch, this is the ultimate clutch assembly for your Big Twin! These kits come assembled with the bearing included and installed. Hydraulic versions are also available.

This product is made in-house and in the USA. To order, contact you dealer or visit pasting. 



MSRP: $949- $1236

--Barnett Clutches & Cables
2238 Palma Dr.
Ventura, CA 93003
Ph: 805-642-9435
www.barnettclutches.com






NEW BIKER-BUILD TV SHOW COMING TO DISCOVERY IN SEPTEMBER—Secret Steel with Paul Cavallo and the Spitfire Crew will hit the airways Monday nights after Fast and Loud. Don’t miss it.




BIKERNET UNIVERSITY INDEPENDENCE LESSON OF THE WEEK-- The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Pretty straight forward really—the Fourth Amendment protects a citizen’s right to privacy and freedom from arbitrary governmental intrusions. This week however, the Fourth Amendment took another blow by none other than the US Supreme Court. In a 5 to 3 decision in UTAH vs. STRIEFF, the dissenting opinions were a scathing rebuke of current police practices. Click here to see the entire decision - the two dissent opinions begin on page 14)

Essentially, this case focused on whether or not a law enforcement officer can stop someone on the street without probable cause, ask for an ID, run a warrant check and arrest that person due to an outstanding warrant, then search the person to attempt to find evidence of a different crime. ‘Someone’ could be a motorist, a bicyclist, or a pedestrian.

Let’s face it, stopping people on the street by police generally does not happen often in middle class communities. It is a more common action in communities where crime is high and where outstanding warrants are just as likely for people who cannot pay for outstanding traffic tickets and other court fees. One of the reasons that the Supreme Court majority ruled in favor of the state of Utah had to do with what they thought was ‘an isolated incident’ and ‘good faith mistakes’ by the officer who, pretty much everyone agreed, stopped Strieff illegally because there was no reasonable suspicion to do so.

But in reality as both the two dissenting authors Justices Sotomayor and Ginsberg pointed out this was indeed not an isolated or good faith detention of a citizen.

Justice Sotomayor wrote in her eloquent dissent that the Utah Supreme Court described that it is common practice for Salt Lake City police officers to run warrant checks on pedestrians who are detained without reasonable suspicion. She wrote that in the related context of traffic stops, one widely followed police manual instructs officers looking for drugs to “run at least a warrant check on all drivers stopped.”

Justice Sotomayor added that statistically speaking, narcotics offenders are more likely to fail to appear on simple citations which include traffic violations. This leads to the issuance of bench warrants. When police discover an outstanding warrant during a routine stop, the police officer can arrest and then search the now suspect.

Outstanding warrants are surprisingly common. The number of actual outstanding warrants and the police procedures that Justices Sotomayor and Ginsberg address in both of their dissents is shocking: The States and Federal Government maintain databases with over 7.8 million outstanding warrants, with the vast majority appearing to be for minor offenses.

Ferguson, MO with a population of 21,000 has 16,000 people with outstanding warrants New Orleans police in a single year made nearly 60,000 arrests with about one third of those arrested having outstanding traffic or misdemeanor warrants from neighboring parishes for such violations as unpaid tickets.

In the St. Louis metro area, law enforcement officers make it a regular practice of stopping people on the street for no reason other than to check to see if the person had a municipal arrest warrant pending.

In NYC, officers are trained to stop and question first, develop reasonable suspicion later. With a population of 8.4 million people, NYC currently has 1.2 million outstanding warrants.

California has 2.5 million outstanding arrest warrants which corresponds to about 9% of its adult population.

Pennsylvania with a population of about 12.8 million has 1.4 million warrants for its citizens.

In a more personal statement in her dissent to UTAH vs. STRIEFF, Justice Sotomayor drew a link to racial inequity that pervades the criminal justice system. “It is no secret that people of color are disproportionate victims of this type of scrutiny.” She added, “We must not pretend that the countless people who are routinely targeted by police are ‘isolated.’ They are the canaries in the coal mines whose deaths, civil and literal, warn us that no one can breathe in this atmosphere. They are the ones who recognize that unlawful police stops corrode all our civil liberties and threaten all our lives. Until their voices matter too, our justice system will continue to be anything but.”






SPEAKING OF BORN FREE, EVENT REPORTS, WINNERS—
Born-Free 8 Awards
Best In Show-Jeff Leighton 1942 Harley UL



Invited Builder First Place-Kiyo’s Garage dual engine CB750
Invited Builder Second Place-Arie Vee 1941 Knucklehead



Invited Builder Third Place- Jeff Leighton 1942 Harley UL
People’s Choice- Ryan Grossman 1947 Harley Knucklehead
Best Chopper-  Ryan Grossman 1947 Harley Knucklehead
Born-Free Award- Dalton Walker Triumph PreUnit
Founder’s Pick- Prism Motorcycles 1941 Harley Knucklehead
Best Knucklehead- Arie Vee 1941 Harley Knucklehead
Best Panhead- Max Schaaf
Best Shovelhead- Andy Carter
Best Sportster- F’N’A Cycles
Best Falthead- Mike Silvio Harley 45



Best Bobber- Go Takamine 1939 Indian
AMCA Pick- Matt Walksler 1928 Harley JDH
Best Original- Matt Walksler Harley Knucklehead
Coker Tire Award- Matt Walksler 1928 Harley JDH
Best Japanese- Kiyo’s Garage dual engine CB750
Best Indian- Brian Bell Indian Chout
Best PreUnit- Brian Thompson
Best British- Choppahead
Best Modern- Oliver Jones FXR
Best Competition- Justin Walls 1927 Harley JD
Best Paint- Matt Motorcycle Tire Center Dyna



Arlen Ness Digger Show
First- Dalton Walker Harley Panhead
Second- Pascal Boyer Harley Shovelhead
Thrid- Eric Allard

San Diego Customs FXR Show
Home Built
First- Carey Hart
Second-
Third- 

Shop Built
First- Oliver Jones
Second- 
Third- 



Mason Burke won the 1953 Panhead we gave away saturday, Phoenix Peterson won the 1940 Knucklehead and Jacob Johnston won the 2016 Dyna Lowrider we gave away Sunday.

--Grant Peterson
714-686-5464
Born-Free Show





5-BALL LEATHERS PIT CREW ROAD TEST— We originally designed the 5-Ball Pit Crew Vest as a vest for the Pits, or for traveling and maybe not riding, something that wasn’t heavy or all leather.

This last weekend it was warm in Los Angeles, like 83 on the coast and 88 in North Long Beach, so I decided to take a run on the Indian wearing the Pit Crew. As it turned out the asphalt road led inland and hit 95 degrees, but I immediately noticed how the Pit Crew Vest started to breathe.



It was sort of amazing and I discovered a new application for the Pit Crew, it became damn handy in the extreme temps. The Pit Crew is a tough and durable vest built basically with ballistic Nylon, capable of deflecting shrapnel, but it also breathes. So if you’re working in the hot pits, but need to carry shit like a camera, a phone, keys, tools, you name it, the Pit can do the job and cut you some slack from the heat at the same time.

Plus, this puppy contained our exclusive Media pocket in the back for magazines, I-pads, files, you name it.



I was impressed as I cut through the Wilmington ghetto on the way back to the Bikernet digs on the edge of the Los Angeles Harbor.

--Bandit





Chop N Grind Surfaces




Bob is that you doing good? I was just talking to Mike Parti just before he died. He was telling me that he was at the Stateline remembers the time we were all partying when you were biting the tops of everybody’s beer cans. The good old days, me and Paul still talk about them. Longtime no see.


-- Trav

Westchester, CA







LEPERA SEAT OF THE WEEK— BARE BONES DIAMOND SEATING:

This seat makes me smile. We ran low profile seats for a lowered Dyna look, which was hard to do. But now, styling has changed for more performance and handling. Now a guy might raise up his Dyna with taller shocks and need a lower seat so he can reach the ground.

Overview

Give your Dyna that extreme, slammed look with the lowest, most narrow production seat in existence.

Diamond Stitch seating area.

Matching pillion available - LK001PDM

Specs

Driver Seating:
9.75" Wide
Passenger Seating:
N/A

MSRP:
$299.00

Options:
Biker Gel: MSRP + $ 87.00
Leather Seating: MSRP + $ 88.00
Full Leather: MSRP + $149.00

Part Number:
LK-001DM ['06-'16] Dyna






RIDE THROUGH DEATH VALLEY With Norman Reedus (Zombies Not Included!)--

AMC’s “Ride with Norman Reedus” Visits Furnace Creek Resort in Episode 2;
Map Available Online of Movies and TV Shows That Have Filmed in Death Valley Over the Years

For years, Death Valley National Park has been a popular location to film movies and TV shows, and the latest to visit was AMC’s new travel series, “Ride with Norman Reedus” (AMC, Sundays at 10/9c). Mr. Reedus, known for riding motorcycles and killing zombies in “The Walking Dead,” explores Death Valley in episode two of the travel docu-series, which is now available online at AMC.com, the AMC app, or via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Xbox.

“Death Valley: Dante’s View” follows Mr. Reedus and actor/friend Balthazar Getty as they embark on a Las Vegas joyride to Death Valley, spending the night at the Inn at Furnace Creek and riding through volcano-formed mountains and painted canyons to Dante’s View. Reedus exclaims as he looks out over Death Valley and the Badwater salt flats, “This is probably the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Directors, producers and film crews have long known that Death Valley offers one of the most unique landscapes in the world (and the prettiest!); many popular movies and TV shows have been filmed in the destination, including the original episode of the “Star Wars” epic (“Episode IV – A New Hope”) and “The Return of the Jedi.” A complete list can be found on the Furnace Creek Resort website here: http://www.furnacecreekresort.com/filming-in-death-valley.

Both the Inn at Furnace Creek and Furnace Creek Ranch have provided accommodations for the actors and film crews during the production of these movies and TV shows, and many actors have returned to enjoy the luxurious AAA Four Diamond, historic Inn at Furnace Creek for some rest and relaxation after filming has wrapped. Nestled into the mountainside where the spring bubbles forth, the Inn was built in the late 1920s by the Borax Company and features 66 elegant rooms, fine dining, verandas with sweeping views of Death Valley, opulent gardens, a stunning spring-fed pool (maintaining a constant temperature of 85 degrees), tennis courts and pool-side massages.

With its towering palm trees and true oasis atmosphere, The Ranch at Furnace Creek is fed by natural spring waters and boasts a large pool, golf course (the lowest on Earth), post office, general store, casual dining restaurants, horseback riding and 224 family-friendly rooms. The Borax Museum, with artifacts large and small including some of the original 20 Mule Team Wagon trains, also calls The Ranch home, as does a nearby landing strip. The Death Valley National Park visitor center is also within walking distance.

And there is plenty to do – or not do. For active vacationers, activities range from hiking, cycling, and Jeep treks to horseback riding and golf. The lush oasis also attracts wildlife such as roadrunners and coyotes, and it is also one of only a few gold-tier designated International Dark Sky Parks in the United States where stargazers can actually see the Milky Way with the naked eye.

Furnace Creek Resort is two hours west of Las Vegas by car and a four-hour drive from Los Angeles. For additional information, visit www.furnacecreekresort.com or call 760-786-2345.




RUSSELL MITCHELL’S EXILE TURNS 20--
Our ‘party’ is open to all and is a free event, although we will be trying to hit folks up for donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There is lots of vendor space too, if you come across any companies that might like to set up a display.




--Russell Mitchell
Exile Cycles
T: 818 706 1230
F: 818 706 1229




SCOTT JACOBS ESCAPES CALIFORNIA-- Haha! We already moved!



I am a South Dakotan now! CA is going down the toilet with taxes, politics, and over population.

We open on Main St in Deadwood on July 4th!



--Olivia Jacobs
Scott Jacobs Studio
760 471-9913
www.scottjacobsstudio.com




Riki's Ride SPONSORED BY LAW TIGERS 2016: Starts from Los Angeles and Heading-- Well, You Tell Us


Riki Rachtman, former host of MTV's Headbanger's Ball and current host of the nationally syndicated radio show Racing Rocks, started today on his third annual running of Riki's Ride, an epic motorcycle trek that traverses North America.

"I'm going to hook up with friends in Los Angeles," says Rachtman. "We're going to ride from Mexico up to Canada-- then head towards North Carolina. Which leaves us a lot of America to see in between."

Rachtman and travel campanions Taime Downe, lead singer of sleaze rock band Faster Pussycat, will embark from Los Angeles in June and take their cues of where to go and what to see from participants via Twitter and Instagram. In this way, they hope to discover and experience local arcana in the nooks and crannies of North America, and they will post live route updates and videos of their adventures as they happen.

This year he will raising money for the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation, which provides help and support to individuals with epilepsy.

Previous Riki's Rides have taken the duo all over the United States and into Canada and Mexico. This year, Rachtman anticipates a 10,000-mile sojourn across North America. He'll be taking to the road on his 2010 Harley-Davidson® Road Glide®, and Riki is delighted to have Hot Leathers, Law Tigers, METZELER Tires and Death Wish Coffee Company as sponsors again for #RikisRide16. They will be providing product and support for the duration of the trip.


--Ken Conte





NEW HARLEY-DAVIDSON FRAYED LOGO CAP COVERS--
A LID WITH HIGH-MILEAGE STYLE

A solid lid is a basic fashion essential, and the new Men's Grey Frayed Logo Cap (P/N 99412-16VM, $20.00) from the Harley-Davidson® MotorClothes Collection will keep a guy covered with classic style. This cotton twill cap has a worn-in look with a raw-edge embroidered patch and distressed bill. Adjust the back closure for a perfect fit.

Harley-Davidson MotorClothes apparel is available at more than 750 authorized retail locations in the United States and online.

About Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Since 1903, Harley-Davidson Motor Company has fulfilled dreams of personal freedom with cruiser, touring and custom motorcycles, riding experiences and events, and a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, general merchandise, riding gear and apparel.

For more information, visit www.h-d.com.





LOWBROW HITS BORN FREE--What better way to get to Born Free 8 than to ride there?



A small group of us departed Lowbrow for a 3,000+ mile jaunt West, North, South, East all over the dang country, hitting 12 states along the way. It was the perfect way to test the Pan-American S&S-powered 93-inch Panhead that was finished just a couple days before we left.



More on that later! We also used this trip to abuse a bunch of riding gear and parts.


My Sturgis Shovel was built around an S&S 93-inch Shovel motor. It was the best Shovel I ever owned for vibration, haul-ass performance, and reliability. --Bandit