Motorcycle Nation Podcast

Today is ABATE Day at the Statehouse. The legislators here in Indiana know this day well as they are annually welcomed to the Capitol on this morning with coffee and pastries passed out by motorcyclists from the organization. As they walk the halls on this day they will be greeted by leather vest wearing, smiling two wheel enthusiasts that love freedom. Hopefully everyone stopped long enough this morning to remove the bugs from their teeth,

Seriously, the legislators know that once a year they will hear from a group of riders that are passionate about maintaining their rights, both as motorcyclists and citizens. They know quite a few by name as our members stay in contact with their individual legislator throughout the year. We have been called the greatest, most powerful grass roots lobby organization in the State. We have had many victories over the years. From the repeal of the discriminatory add on motorcycle registration fee that called upon two wheel enthusiasts only to aid in funding spinal cord injury research to beating the many attempts to force mandatory helmet usage upon us.

We have accomplished this with dedication to the cause at hand. There is truth in the saying strength in numbers. There are people willing to spend a day at the Statehouse for the right to stand up and be heard. This is not only needed for motorcyclists. It is needed for all citizens. Assaults on our rights don’t only come from our states, they come from our federal government as well. We are being slammed in Washington right now and we need to stand up and be heard there as well.

On two levels I urge you to get involved. As a motorcyclist, join your state motorcyclist rights organization. Also join the AMA and / or the MRF. Just because you don’t live in DC and can’t lobby in person does not mean your voice can’t be heard. That is what the AMA and MRF are all about. They maintain a daily presence inside the beltway on our behalf. As a citizen, write and call your legislator on issues that you want heard. We put them there and they are supposed to work for us. We need to do our best to keep them honest and sitting back watching TV and complaining is not the answer. Keep them on their toes and let them know that you expect them to do the job you hired them to do. We need to take America back!

STAND UP AND BE HEARD MOTORCYCLE NATION

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In this episode we discuss some quick news. We mention the Vegas Bikefest and let you know that Jay Leno is auctioning off his 200hp V-Max to help a friend. We joke about Sen. Lautenberg from NJ helping to push a helmet law in Uganda (purely a joke). Motorcycle sales are down and we let you know just how bad the outlook is and we mention a study by the Freedonia Group that says that internationally, motorcycle sales are expected to rise 8% per year over the next 5 years.

The return of Casey Stoner to MotoGP this weekend and the trade off from World Superbike to MotoGP and vice versa of James Toseland and Ben Spies is mentioned as well. The majority of this episode involves the alarming trend over the past years of returning war vets losing their lives on motorcycles and what the Department of Defense has done in an attempt to stop these tragedies.

We close it out by mentioning friend of the show Adrian Blake, creator of the motorcycle show Ride! over on BlogTalkRadio. I urge you to go give Adrian a listen at Ride! Finally we close out the show by mentioning some interviews that we have in the works. Dwayne from Cycle Outfitters here in Indy will be joining us soon to talk about cold weather riding gear. Dwain DeVille, author of “The Biker’s Guide to Business” will promote the book on the Motorcycle Nation Podcast. This is a unique look at the world of business through the eyes of a biker. And we are in the process of setting up an interview with Jensen Beeler, Editor-in-Chief of Asphalt and Rubber, a website providing the latest motorcycle industry and racing news to the web. You won’t want to miss anything that is coming up!

Finally, we send you out with the song Ride by Adrenaline Factor. You can find this song and additional band information at MusicAlley.

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On August 5th, Jay Jackson, Executive Director of ABATE of Indiana and Vice President of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame at a breakfast in Rapid City, SD during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Jay’s inclusion into the Hall of Fame is due to his lifelong commitment to fighting for the rights of motorcyclists all over the nation.

Jay Jackson, third from right, with attendees from Indiana and Ohio.

Besides his duties as the Executive Director of the largest State Motorcycle Rights Organization (SMRO) in the nation and his recent acceptance of the VP position with the MRF, Jay is often asked to speak at hearings and committee meetings in Washington, DC concerning motorcycle safety. ABATE of Indiana is proud of his accomplishments and congratulates him on his award. I am proud to work for and with him.

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This episode starts off with a quick summary of my road trip to Cedar Springs, MI and then moves along to the loss of two very committed motorcyclists. One local, Mark Garback, a motorcycle safety instructor with ABATE of Indiana and the other Mike “Boz” Kerr, Vice President of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.

Next up is an interview with Paul Holdsworth that you have to listen to. You will be floored by Paul’s experiences over his many years of motorcycling and he speaks of his role with IronWorks Magazine. Many thanks to Paul as he was patient with my screwed up schedule and waited many weeks to record this podcast. Thanks again Paul. You can find subscription info to IronWorks Magazine by following the link and you can enjoy the musings of Snakebit Sam at IWBlogger.

We close out the show with another Eclipse song, Green Fishing Line. Follow the link to their website and get your own CD if you have been enjoying the music we have been playing on the podcast.

Special thanks to my friend Dennis Tyger for taking the road trip with me. Better friends are hard to find. As always, we appreciate you, the listeners of the Motorcycle Nation Podcast, for taking the time out of your life to support and listen. Safe travels.

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Malcolm Smith has had a storied life in the world of motorcycling. Most of us probably remember him from the 1970’s movie “On Any Sunday”, in which Malcolm starred with Steve McQueen. This really was a documentary about off road motorcycling and it is credited with fueling the passion for a whole new generation. He had great success while racing in Baja 1000 and Six Day Enduro races, enough to have him inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

During my quick research on Mr. Smith, I found a funny story that he mentioned about his youth. He tells a story about his first real dirtbike, a Matchless, at the age of 15. He mentioned that he was such a small young man that he could not kick start the motorcycle. His remedy was to roll the bike down a hill and bump start it. He attributes his prowess with the clutch to the fact that he did not want to kill the engine in the woods because he could not restart the bike without finding a hill. It is ironic that a man who has made a huge impact was such a small young man.

Malcolm Smith has managed to add yet another huge impact to his list. As most of you know, the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) recently added off road motorcycles and ATV’s, at least those designed for use by 12 year olds or under, to the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act of 2008. This act originally covered mostly toys made in China. The intent was to protect children from high lead contents that have been found in imported toys in recent years. The act has effectively stopped the sale of small dirt bikes, ATV’s, accessories, parts, and gear. The potential impact to the dealers is huge and could lead to the end of off road riding for kids under that magic age. Malcolm organized a protest called KidsLove2Ride to gather support to fight the ban. Make sure to watch the video on this page. In addition, as Malcolm’s anger continued to rise he decided to do the unspeakable. In order to get the attention of Congress and to bring more publicity to the cause Malcolm organized the sale of three banned units from his store, Malcolm Smith Motorsports, two of which were KTM dirt bikes sold to multi AMA champ Jeff Ward and custom helmet and apparel designer Troy Lee respectively. These dirt bikes will be used by the children of the two men. The third unit was an ATV sold to Bud Feldkamp, owner of Glen Helen Raceway to be used by his grandchildren.

What is so big about this? By purchasing these motorcycles and ATV with the knowledge that they were banned, I would assume that these men could possibly face legal consequences. Malcolm Smith just stuck his neck out to the tune of $300,000 as each unit could cost him $100K. This shows us how strongly Malcolm Smith believes in the right of todays youth to enjoy motorcycling. For this, he definitely makes my Hall of Fame.
Rumor has it that there are members of Congress that have taken note and are working on a solution. Will you make a difference? Help the cause by going to the AMA website and filling out info that will reach your member of Congress. Do it today and let the kids ride!

YOU GOTTA FIGHT…FOR YOUR RIGHT…TO PARTY!!!
As I was trying to come up with the title for this post that song was pounding through my head. Believe it or not, we can learn from the Beastie Boys. No, I am not talking about partying, but I am talking about being willing to fight for something that we want or believe in. This post provides good timing as many of our state legislatures are in session right now. I can promise you that in the mountain of proposed amendments or bills, there is at least one that will affect your rights as a motorcyclist. There are hundreds that will affect you as a citizen. What are you willing to do about it? Are you a leader or a follower?

The followers in this fight usually take one of two stances. Stance 1 is when they sit back and say that no matter what you do you can’t fight government. You will never win. Stance 2 is when they take the attitude that the next guy will stand up and fight for them so they don’t have to. Either way, they are among the loudest voices in the crowd whining about the problem but never have any intention of trying to be a part of the solution. If you are a follower, let me speak directly to you. There is strength in numbers and you can fight the government and win. Case in point. Indiana enacted a law in 2007 that allowed an additional fee above and beyond the normal administrative and licensing costs associated with putting your motorcycle on the road. This fee added $10 per motorcycle registration in the state and was to be used to fund research for spinal cord injuries. The legislature grossly assumed that motorcyclists were overly represented in this area due to motorcycle accidents. The fact that Indiana does not require helmets for anyone over 18 (unless on a permit) and the fact that they are defeated nearly every year on the issue may have played into this decision as well.

You can surely guess what kind of response this was met with in the Indiana motorcycle nation. We did not appreciate being discriminated against in this fashion. Had these people mistakenly overlooked the skateboarders, bicycle riders, athletes, skiers, and others that are afflicted with this injury or was there malicious intent to single out the “no helmet wearing bikers”? This bill passed as a rider on the state budget that passed merely minutes prior to the close of the session. It was added after it failed to ride the back of another bill (which ABATE of Indiana helped squash) but could not stop the state budget. We were disappointed but we vowed to win in 2008.

ABATE of Indiana holds an ABATE day at the Statehouse where we lobby our legislators on issues coming up in session. This is normally held in January or February and we have members sign up and spend the day at the capitol building. 2008 was the largest turnout that we ever had! Motorcyclists were passionate about this issue and it showed. During the year, ABATE of Indiana Executive Director Jay Jackson worked with Governor Mitch Daniels’ office to discuss this matter with the bill author, Representative Carolene Mays. ABATE members had called her office and written letters and emails to her as well and she had agreed to approach the appropriate committee during this session and ask for a modification. We agreed that there was a need for the research to be funded and that a more fair approach would be to add a $.50 fee to all motor vehicle registrations rather than singling out the two wheeled crowd. Besides, this would raise a much larger total.

There were people there on both sides of the issue at the committee meeting which was held in a small committee meeting room in the basement of the state capitol. There were enough motorcyclists there that we spilled out into the outer foyer area and even out into the main hallway. How could they resist? Needless to say, the Hoosier motorcycle nation is no longer handcuffed by an unfair, discriminatory fee.

In summary, strength in numbers. Next time your local, state, or federal government tries to tread on you, get off your lazy rear ends and stand up for yourself. If you are not an ABATE or other state motorcyclist rights organization member, I urge you to make that your first step off the couch and join up. Don’t forget, there are brain dead legislators in Washington too so throw a little money to the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (http://mrf.org) or the American Motorcyclist Association (http://ama-cycle.org). Get off the couch. You enjoy the victory when we win so earn your piece of the victory!

……you gotta fight…for your right… to paaarrrrrrttaayy!!!!!

Steve “Bullitt” McQueen

Literally. Seeing red. How many times has this played out in your experiences? You pull up to a red light and bring your motorcycle to a smooth, safe stop. Cross traffic begins to thin and you prepare to proceed through the light to your destination. As the cross traffic begins to come to a stop, you begin to anticipate the changing of the light by easing your clutch into the friction zone and letting the motorcycle slowly start to edge forward. Just then it happens. The traffic traveling the opposite direction begins to proceed but your light does not change. You wait as the same scenario of thinning out takes place and then they come to a stop and cross traffic begins to move again. You begin to see red. Literally. In more ways than one.

This is a problem everywhere. The sensors buried in the pavement are supposed to detect the metal mass above them to trigger a light change. Most cities have the sensitivity set to detect automobiles which have far more mass to them than a motorcycle. So, you do not get detected sitting there and you see more and more red as the lights cycle. So, what options do we have when faced with this predicament? Wait for a car to pull up or run the light are about our only options outside of purchasing a “Green Light Trigger”, a device that proclaims the ability to trigger the sensors. I am somewhat skeptical of this, but if any of you readers have first hand knowledge, let us know.

California has taken measures to mandate that any new installations have sensitivity settings that will detect motorcycles and even bicycles. Other states have passed red-light laws. These laws allow you to safely proceed through the red light if the light is not being triggered. My experience has been that most occurrences happen in left turn lanes, but my research has shown that it often happens at throughways as well. Either way, it is a frustrating experience when your choice is to wait or illegally run the light.

The states that are allowing motorcycles to safely proceed through the light, legally, if it will not trigger have provided a simple approach to solving the problem without spending taxpayer money. Hats off to Minnesota for leading the charge to allowing this law back in 2003. Since then, Tennessee, Arkansas, Idaho, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and South Carolina have seen the light as well (no pun intended). There are currently proposed bills in Oklahoma, Georgia, and Missouri. I like this law. My only problem is that there are irresponsible motorcyclists out there that will not safely check for traffic and will lose their lives. When this happens, the cries will not cease to echo in the halls of the state legislatures. If you live in one of the states that allow this action, please be responsible and be safe. Let’s show the safetycrats that this can work and see if we can’t get it adopted in other states as well.

As always, I encourage your comments whether you agree with me or not!
Ride Safe
Steve & the MC Nation