Hey,
It wasn’t an easy Sunday. But, at 6:00 I rode my Indian to Mike Kane’s house in Sturgis for Dinner. He had about a dozen AMCA guys and girls there some from France. Jerry, his wife cooks an amazing dinner. Mike is the Fuckin’ Asshole and Jerry the dream girl and metal artist. Their house is a trip and he has a tunnel to his shop which is full of old Knucks, Pans, and Indians.
So, here’s the story: He went to France recently and these French folks hooked him up with Knucks and Pans to ride around France, so he offered the same when they came to America. So, I’m talking to the French guy and he pulls up his phone and shows me his photo from the Fandango coverage in the July/August issue of Easyriders with a couple of the other French guys. He’s over the moon.
So, Alison, the Redhead, ran to the Emporium and grabbed them a couple of copies. They had me sign them and we took photos. Amazing evening. I rode home in the dark and dodged deer all the way up the canyon.
Let’s hit the news.
The Bikernet Weekly News was created by our non-stop, never give up staff: The Redhead, Wayfarer, LA Laura, Viscous Vickie, Danial James, Freak Show Team, Sturgis Prospect Kendra, Paul Davis, Agent Zebra and Berry Wardlaw.
FROM THE DESERT KOZ–Riders, Readers & Writers
I have a special 99-cent promo this month on the Zac King supernatural thriller HOKA HEY series. Inspired by decades as a moto journalist these exciting novellas are action-packed.
From sacred burial grounds in Idaho to the oil fields of Alaska, Zac and Tala follow a trail of corruption, broken treaties, and century-old lies. As ancient spirits awaken and powerful enemies close in, they find themselves caught between the living and the dead, racing to expose a truth powerful enough to end Big Oil’s grip on the planet forever.
Download the e-book, and if you like it, please review it. Amazon doesn’t play nice to writers without dozens of reviews.
Ride safe! Koz Mraz
Visit www.kozmoto.com for hundreds of travel stories & photos
After welcoming the powersports world to the world’s largest aftermarket event — The SEMA Show — Harley-Davidson rolls into Las Vegas as a foundational anchor for the new Powersports Pavilion. “The addition of Harley-Davidson brings an iconic name and a passionate enthusiast base to the SEMA Show’s Powersports section,” says SEMA VP of Events Tom Gattuso. “Harley-Davidson has helped shape motorcycle culture for generations, and its participation reinforces the strong connection between powersports and the automotive aftermarket.”
Speaking of SEMA, the 2026 SEMA Battle of the Builders competition will debut a new element – a dedicated Motorcycle category, expanding the competition to include some of the finest custom two-wheeled vehicles in America. This new 2026 SEMA Battle of the Builders: Bike Builder Shootout will take place on the opening day of the 2026 SEMA Show, Tuesday, November 3, live at the Battle of the Builders Stage in Central Hall.
In addition to the Bike Builder Champion honors, Builders aged 29 and younger can also enter the BFGoodrich Young Guns category, which continues to provide emerging talent with increased visibility and opportunities to compete alongside some of the industry’s most respected names.
Eligible Young Guns entrants may also be selected to participate in virtual Golden Ticket competitions. Winners receive prize packages that can include vehicle transportation to Las Vegas, hotel accommodations and travel assistance. If you have already secured a spot on the 2026 SEMA Show floor for your build, enter the “golden ticket” draw.However time is running out if you haven’t signed up for the show. Enter the 2026 SEMA Battle of the Builders Presented by Mothers before October 16, 2026:
A Look Inside the U.S. Motorcycle Market
Nearly 11 million motorcycles were in use in the United States in 2025, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council’s 2026 Motorcycle Statistical Annual. The figure is just one piece of a much broader picture of the motorcycle market captured in the annual reference report.
The Statistical Annual brings together data on motorcycle population and sales, the retail network, powersports owners, motorcycle usage, and rider education. Members can use the report to examine how the market differs by model type and geography, while also looking at longer-term trends that help put current conditions into context.
For example, the report shows how the nearly 11 million motorcycles in use are distributed among on-highway, dual, and off-highway models, with additional state and regional data providing a closer look at where motorcycles are concentrated across the country. It also examines the industry’s retail footprint, including more than 10,600 franchised and non-franchised outlets nationwide.
“The Statistical Annual is designed to give members a wide view of the motorcycle market in one place,” said Buckner Nesheim, MIC Director of Research and Statistics. “It lets you look beyond an individual sales number and see how different parts of the industry fit together, which can provide important context when companies are making business decisions.”
Additional sections explore dealership operations, owner characteristics, riding and ownership patterns, and industry-related data, giving members multiple ways to dig deeper depending on the questions they are trying to answer.
–MIC
Damn, this is just a pitch for you to spend the big bucks to join. Sorry!
–-Bandit
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce 7 Hills Harley-Davidson is permanently closing,” says the Loomis Family. “Our final day of business will be September 12th, and the dealership will be permanently closed beginning September 13th.” The store has served riders in the Cincinnati area in one form or another since the 1970s.
–Dealer News
BOOMTOWN DURING DOOMSDAY
Global Pressure Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to American Motorcycling
Walk into any dealership today and you’ll find machines from Japan, Germany, Britain, Italy, maybe even India and beyond — precise, powerful, eclectic and undeniably good. For a while, it looked like bad news for homegrown iron. Let me convince you, it’s the opposite. Nothing sharpens a nation’s sense of self quite like competition, and the flood of world-class imports has done something unexpected, i.e. it’s reminded American riders exactly what they had all along.
American motorcycling was never really about the factory floor. Sure, the big names built the bikes — but the soul of the thing lived somewhere else entirely. They were born in cramped garages lit by a single bulb, in backyard sheds that smelled like gasoline and cutting oil, in the hands of self-taught mechanics who couldn’t leave scrap metal well enough alone.
Even a stock bike was just a starting point. The real American tradition was what came after the showroom — the stretched frames, the raked forks, the tanks repainted at midnight because the color in your head didn’t exist yet. Every weld told a story. Every scar on a knuckle had a name.
That spirit hasn’t gone anywhere. If anything, it’s why the big, torquey, mechanically honest American V-twin remains such a gift to a builder — it practically begs to be taken apart and put back together as something more personal. You don’t customize a motorcycle like that so much as have a conversation, a shared life and an entire lifestyle with it.
The part that should give every old-timer a little hope is the new generation raised on sportbikes and adventure tourers is starting to look sideways at all this heritage, and getting curious. Not out of nostalgia they didn’t earn, but because a machine with real mechanical character — one you can actually understand, actually wrench on, actually make your own — that’s a different kind of thrill than anything that has a touchscreen, encrypted communication and is lifeless without a transmission tower.
Which means there’s a reckoning coming for every barn, garage, and back shed in the country. Somewhere out there, an old American bike is sitting under a tarp, untouched since a knee gave out or life (or wife) just got in the way. Its owner isn’t looking for top dollar. They’re looking for someone who’ll look at that machine the way they once did, then take it back out on the road where it belongs.
Funny thing about pressure is that sometimes it doesn’t crush you. If it’s ‘electric’ enough, the spark in your neurons will fire the heart to heat some water for black coffee to get good with grease while reassessing your toolbox. It will remind you who you are. You were built at home, ready for the world, through a tough dirt road where fellow riders share and grow an industry out of a place you called hometown.
Get busy, go to a showroom and then swear you can get better at getting better!
Wayfarer
Associate Editor, Bikernet.com
Blog Editor, Easyriders Mag
wayfarer@bikernet.com
AMA HALL OF FAME–The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame presented by Yamaha Motor Corporation welcomed six new inductees on Thursday, Sept. 10, during the 2026 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Pickerington, Ohio. The Hall of Fame Class of 2026 includes Russell Bobbitt, Damon Bradshaw, Eraldo Ferracci, Jake Johnson, Gary Sellers and Dale Walker, all of whom received their Hall of Fame rings and ceremonial gold jackets during the event.
Motocross great Broc Glover — a 2000 inductee into the Hall of Fame — was also honored as an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legend, a special distinction to honor the motorcyclists who transcend beyond a single discipline, era or achievement. The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame also took a moment to recognize the memories of the seven Hall of Famers who passed away over the past year, which includes George Barber, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Mike Kidd, Mert Lawwill, J.N. Roberts, Jeff Smith and Steve Wise.
The AMA extends its gratitude to the supporters and partners for the 2026 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, including Yamaha Motor Corporation, Dunlop Motorcycle Tires, Ducati North America, KTM North America, MX Sports, Feld Entertainment, Baxley Companies, Phoenix Handlebars, Guts Factory Grip Seats, Stunt Double, the Broc Glover Family and Rob Buydos. For more information on the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, visit MotorcycleMuseum.org.
Class of 2026 Inductees
Russell Bobbitt: Off-road racing champion.
Damon Bradshaw: Motocross and supercross star.
Eraldo Ferracci: Tuner and builder known for Fast by Ferracci.
Jake Johnson: Dirt track racing champion.
Gary Sellers: ABATE founders’ rights advocate.
Dale Walker: Drag racer and race engineer.
ELECTRIC WORLD NEWS–Sydney, NSW, Australia —
Dozens of high-powered and illegal ebikes have been seized by police on Sydney’s northern beaches just weeks after the force was granted new powers to destroy dangerous bikes. The operation was part of a coordinated push with the New South Wales government to ensure people only ride legal ebikes that have not been modified to reach high speeds.
One of the ebikes seized on Friday belonged to a 14-year-old boy and was capable of reaching speeds of more than 90km/h. Recently, NSW police were given new powers to destroy ebikes capable of exceeding the legal speed limit. Owners of seized ebikes have 14 days to let police know whether their bike was stolen and being used by someone else. After that two-week window, the bikes will be “crushed,” the government says.
The legislation also allowed police to seize ebikes that do not cut power assistance at 25 km/h, with non-compliant bikes to be removed from the streets. The government has invested in a number of “dyno units” – portable speed-testing devices – to measure an ebikes power output. NSW recorded 226 injuries related to ebikes in 2024. In the first seven months of 2025, that had already surged to 233 injuries plus four deaths.
–AMA
AI AT THE CROSSROADS–Innovation meets responsibility
As artificial intelligence opens new doors to progress but also raises new risks, how do we make sure it does not leave human rights, dignity and fairness behind? That question takes centre stage at the 4th UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (14–17 September, Riyadh), bringing together voices from around the world to help shape an AI future that works for everyone. Under the theme “Transforming Global Cooperation for Ethical AI Governance,” the Forum explores how ethical principles translate into action, how innovation and responsibility can go hand in hand, and how AI can serve people.
While the rapid development of artificial intelligence has created many opportunities globally, it has also raised profound ethical concerns.
NEW FOR 2026 – CALLING ALL MOTORCYCLE BUILDERS!
The 2026 SEMA Battle of the Builders competition will debut a new element – a dedicated Motorcycle category, expanding the competition to include some of the finest custom two-wheeled vehicles in America. This new 2026 SEMA Battle of the Builders: Bike Builder Shootout will take place on the opening day of the 2026 SEMA Show, Tuesday, November 3, live at the Battle of the Builders Stage in Central Hall. Entries will be evaluated separately by motorcycle industry judges based on craftsmanship, design innovation, and overall execution, with the Top 10 finalists serving as judges to determine the Top 3 category winners and the overall SEMA Battle of the Builders: Bike Builder Shootout champion.
Contact Mike Ausec at mikea@sema.org or 714-213-1584 for more information.
Or, Click Here to sign up now!
Easyriders is proud to sponsor the SEMA Battle of the Builders and support the talented builders who continue to push motorcycle design and craftsmanship forward.
THE ETHANOL VOTE–
When Congress returns from recess May 12, advocates hope E15 will get another chance in Washington. The measure was removed from the Farm Bill Wednesday following heated debates.
Legislation to allow year-round, nationwide E15 sales is now moving forward as a standalone bill. If the bill passes the House, it will likely be reintegrated into the broader Farm Bill.
The push for E15 has been a long-fought political struggle. However, Washington insiders believe the odds of passage are currently high. This is due in part to a renewed focus on biofuels and domestic energy security following recent global conflicts.
A Critical Vote on the Horizon
Industry leaders remain optimistic about the upcoming legislative schedule. Troy Bredenkamp, Senior Vice President of Government & Public Affairs for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), expects movement soon.
“I believe we will get our vote on the E15 measure on May 13. So things are still on track,” Bredenkamp says.
Despite the momentum, many farmers remain cautiously optimistic. The industry has seen similar measures fail at the finish line several times before.
“I mean, we get it right to the edge and then and then off it goes again. So, it’s been extremely frustrating,” Brent Johnson, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau says.
Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the RFA, explained the criteria for these exemptions: “If you can prove to EPA that you are at imminent risk of closure, and you can make that disclosure publicly, and you can show that the reason that you’re at risk of closure is the RFS itself, then you can have access to a capped amount of exempted volume.”
Additionally, a provision was added for other small refineries facing emergencies. This includes a 150 million RIN category they can tap into if they face an imminent threat of closure.
Economic and Environmental Impact
The industry is confident that these compromises will secure enough support for passage. Bredenkamp noted that the coalition of support is broad and bipartisan.
“We are probably three to one, almost four to one, support versus opposed to the E15 measure. We have over 60, almost 70, Democrats that are in support. So I think we can more than offset the amount of Freedom Caucus Republicans that may be in opposition to this,” Bredenkamp says.
While E15 remains voluntary, proponents say it will significantly boost corn demand. Bredenkamp estimates a massive shift in the market over the next several years.
“Within five years, you can move E10 to E15. That’s an additional 7 billion gallons of ethanol demand. That’s going to be an additional two-plus billion bushels of corn grind that is going to be needed,” he noted.
For farmers and consumers, the benefits are clear. Beyond market demand, the move is seen as a win for the environment and the American wallet.
“To, you know, help increase production, lower fuel costs for every consumer out there and really to start to take care of ourselves more domestically when it comes to our our fuels and it’s cleaner for the environment and it’s, I mean there’s just so many positives about it. It’s frustrating that the politics gets in the way,” Johnson says.
–AgWeb
VETERAN’S BENEFITS ACCELERATED–
Cutting the Backlog, Ending the Wait. This week, President Trump signed a directive to dramatically accelerate veterans’ access to earned benefits and employment opportunities, cutting through the bureaucratic backlog that has kept compensation out of the hands of those who served. An exclusive Daily Caller report detailed the administration’s aggressive action at the VA: identifying and eliminating fraudulent claims that crowded out legitimate veterans, streamlining the adjudication process, and connecting veterans directly to employment programs tied to the manufacturing and infrastructure boom underway across the country.
No veteran should wait years for what they have already earned — and under this administration, they won’t.
–D.C.
For those of you who are rooting for the other bike, we’re giving away ’46 Knucklehead Tin Sign for FREE!
GET YOURS HERE–Wheels Through Time Museum
Now, for the next 24 hours, the next 50 orders of our “Greater Deal” package (or higher) will receive the ’46 Knucklehead Tin Sign absolutely FREE!* Your support is what enables the vision of Wheels Through Time to continue for generations to come.
*Offer expires Sunday, September 13th at 5:00 PM, or once all 50 Tin Signs are claimed.*
THERE ARE ONLY 50 AVAILABLE!
This Year’s Stunning Machines…
The Iconic 1946 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead is powered by a 61 c.i. OHV engine mated to a 4-speed transmission. Featuring a 120 mph speedometer, and finished in rich Flight Red paint with chrome Harley-Davidson emblems and stainless trim. The Streamline 1939 Harley-Davidson UL Flathead is powered by an 80 c.i. Flathead engine mated to a 4-speed transmission. Finished in stunning, one-year-only Airway Blue and White paint with stainless fender trim, and first-year cat-eye dash.
RAFFLE IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!
MORRIS NEWS–Check out our M5 Magneto
Only available from Morris Magneto… our -5 series of impulse coupled magnetos for incredible starts. Fully automatic and compatible with kick or electric start. Here’s how they work – A spring winds up, then at the proper retarded timing moment, spring is released and magneto blasts an incredibly hot spark for starting, no matter how slow the motor is turning.
LIFESTYLE CYCLES DEAL OF THE WEEK–2023
Harley Davidson
Softail Street Bob
5,175 Miles
* Harley Davidson 114 Cubic Inch Milwaukee 8 Motor
* 6 Speed Harley Transmission
* 10-Inch wrinkle Black Handlebars
* Vance and Hines 2 into 1 Hi-Output Exhaust
* Vance and Hines V02 Falcon Air Cleaner
* Black Leather Swingarm Saddlebag
* Forward Controls
* Passenger Foot Pegs
* Two-Up Seat with Diamond Lattice Stitch
All that for only $12,995
Plus license, $85.00 documentation fee, and local sales tax.
THIS JUST IN FOR THE CERTIFIED ER MONK–Get ready to Let Go
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
— Lao Tzu
It is ironic how tightly we sometimes hold on to the very things that no longer serve our highest good. We hold on to the past, fears, regrets, resentments, old relationships, painful memories, limiting beliefs, and false things we have been told about ourselves. Sometimes we even hold on simply because what we know feels safer than what we do not know.
Yet, what are we giving up by refusing to let go?
Melody Beattie wrote, “Letting go helps us to live in a more peaceful state of mind and helps restore our balance.” Letting go allows others to be responsible for themselves while freeing us from trying to control situations that do not belong to us. It releases energy that can be used to create, love, grow, and truly live.
The time we have on this plane is precious. We cannot change yesterday, but we can learn from it. We can take the lesson, release the pain, Let Go and move on. Each day is a gift, and none of us knows how many of those gifts remain. Why spend another precious moment carrying something that belongs to yesterday?
Maybe it is time to ask ourselves: What am I still carrying that I no longer need?
Is it time to Let Go of a past hurt? A resentment? Fear? Regret? A relationship that no longer serves either person? An old belief about ourselves? Perhaps it is simply time to release the need to control how everything is supposed to turn out.
Letting go does not mean that something never mattered. It does not erase the experience or deny the lesson. Letting go means I refuse to allow yesterday to control today.
Lao Tzu said, “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” Think about the power in those words. Sometimes we become so attached to who we have been that we leave no room for who we are capable of becoming.
Today Know:
As I begin the gift of today, I take an honest inventory of the thoughts, beliefs, situations, resentments, and even people I may need to Let Go of.
I choose to Live today fully.
I Know that Spirit Guides and Guards me through this process. Even when I am afraid to Let Go, I Trust that releasing what no longer serves me creates room for greater Good to enter my Life.
I forgive and Let Go. I release the energy I have invested in yesterday and place that same energy into Living fully in the Present.
I release fear and replace it with Faith.
I release resentment and replace it with Love.
I release regret and replace it with Gratitude.
I release the past and embrace the possibilities of Today.
I release doubt and any belief that my good is conditional and I know my good is forever with me.
I am Grateful for the freedom to choose again. I am Grateful for the opportunity to change, grow, and become a greater expression of who I am meant to be.
Today I Let Go, I Let God, and I move forward.
I will not waste one precious second of the wonderful gift of Today.
And So It Is.
Namaste’
Questions for Contemplation
What am I holding on to today that no longer serves my highest good, and what is it costing me to keep holding on?
Is there a person, resentment, fear, regret, or old belief that I am ready to forgive, release, and Let Go of?
If I truly Let Go of what is holding me back, who might I become and what new Good could I make room for in my Life?
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day and you shall begin it well and serenely.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
May be an image of text that says ‘”WHEN ONE DOOR OF HAPPINESS CLOSES, ANOTHER OPENS, BUT OFTEN WE LOOK so LONG AT THE CLOSED DOOR THAT WE DO NOT SEE THE ONE THAT HAS BEEN OPENED FOR US.” -HELEN KELLER’
Thanks
Yale Gelfant
RUSTY SAVAGE CAR AND BIKE SHOW COMING–Here’s the web site:
http://bikeshow.allamericanmotorcycle.com/
Hey Bandit,
Thanks for calling me today, it was great talking to you. I was finishing up my Newspaper end of issue wind up today, I finished deliveries yesterday and today finished the website updates and social media posts.
So I’m working late again today, I wanted to get something off to you right away.
I’m a tireless promoter and event coordinator and I have a lot of relationships that will contribute to the overall atmosphere and event possibilities. And ultimately, I’m open to any ideas that would have us working together in some way.
Thanks, Bandit, give it some thought and get back to me, let’s do something cool and old school… I attached some promotion stuff Im currently running.
Rusty Savage
541 221-3283
HOLY SHIT, BUCKWHEAT–I did a deal with Berry Wardlaw for the Assalt Weapan. He’s spent two years scrambling to rebuild it and make it the first 200-mph Panhead. You’ll read all about it in the Nov/Dec issue of Easyriders. But after Bonneville I made a decision. I had to turn it over to him. He deserves to call it his Rough Boys Racing Ride. It’s no longer a 5-Ball Racing unit. I only have one project. It’s a 1913 Boardtrack racer and all it needs is a running engine.
I asked him about that, but I have most of the parts to make it happen. Cabana Dan said he would work with me to see if I have all the pieces to make a complete engine. Then I can have it rebuilt by the masters.
So, what else could I possibly need. I’ve had an itch to own two more motorcycles. One is my Sturgis Shovel. The guy who owns it now reached out, but I lost contact. The other bike is a stock 1969 Sportster, my first Harley in 1969. Here’s an interesting twist. I customized it some, back then. I would love to have the original back, but who the hell knows where it is. It had 6-inch over glide tubes and I extended the stock risers and chromed them. It had a Le Pera Cobra seat and was custom painted with blue graphics. It also had earlier shorty mufflers. Otherwise, the stock Sporty was cool with the shorty mufflers and the mandatory Cobra seat. The one I had was sort of an amber brown.
Berry is looking and found a cool ’68. But it was an XLCH. I offered a trade. Let’s see what happens next.
In the meantime, ride fast and free, goddammit.
–Bandit
