Motorcycle Nation Podcast

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This episode covers the recent rumors, or Trouble in Paradise?, of the Motor Company. There have been recent rumors of Harley Davidson being sold and we give a little info here. Most interesting is the spin the Todd B. Wilson, cohost of the Motorcycle Radio Network, takes. See his blog post here. Not all the trouble in the industry lies in Milwaukee though. We talk about the final sale of American Ironhorse and the sale of Ridley Motorcycles. Find out what will happen with them.

We also bring a little MotoGP news and provide you a link on how to get your chance to ride with the big boys in World Superbikes and World Supersport at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. There are wildcard spots to be filled if you feel like you have what it takes to get off the porch and compete. You can find out the requirements and fill out an application by clicking right here. In addition, we give information on an upcoming endurance ride, The HokaHey Challenge, that you can join. It is a run from Key West, FL to Homer, AK and covers some 7,000 miles.

Our final story comes from the UK and involves alcohol and riding. You gotta listen to this one.

As promised the interesting video on how sound checks are done on motorcycles courtesy of YouTube.

There may be trouble in Milwaukee Paradise but there is still plenty of true paradise in the Dominican Republic. Call my friends at MotoCaribe Motorcycle Tours and book your trip to fun in the sun the two wheel way. 800-877-MOTOFUN ext. 100

We have exciing interviews coming up with the creators of some unique products aimed at the motorcycling community and based on riders. Make sure you come back soon and check us out. Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes or the Zune store or just listen right here on the website. Show recommendations are always welcome at Steve@mcnationpodcast.com

Right-Click Here to Downolad

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

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