Edition 7-25-06

Respect the person who has seen the Dark side of motorcycling and lived.

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning." - Mark Twain

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement.
The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.
Niels Bohr (1885-1962), physicist

"Beware the man of one book."
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274), Theologian, philosopher

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming:
WOW - What a Ride!"

"Consciously or unconsciously we all strive to make the kind of a world we like."
Oliver Wendell Holmes

"We Lakota have a close relationship to the buffalo. He is our brother. You can't understand about nature, about the feeling we have toward it, unless you understand how close we were to the buffalo. That animal was almost like a part of ourselves, part of our souls." Lame Deer, Lakota

Surprise Link of the Day.
Information provided purely for entertainment value.
This goes to prove that I have way too much time on my hands and need to get a life.

Disclaimer

R.I.P

Serving the biker community since 10-15-01

Scars are tattoos with better stories

Drug free since 1-01-87

Webmaster i

Micronesia Consular Information Sheet July 24, 2006 COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is composed of four states, named after their main islands, and dozens of atolls extending over a large area of the north central Pacific. The four states are: Pohnpei (formerly Ponape), Kosrae (formerly Kusaie), Chuuk (formerly Truk) and Yap. The federal capital is located at Palikir, on the island of Pohnpei, close to its largest city, Kolonia. The FSM is a constitutional democracy, and is party to a Compact of Free Association with the United States. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: U.S. citizens require a U.S. passport, a completed FSM Immigration Arrival and Departure Record (FSM Form 5004), and completed FSM Customs Forms to enter the FSM. The passport must be valid for at least 120 days beyond the date of entry into the FSM. The FSM Immigration Arrival and Departure Record and Customs Form are distributed by the air carrier prior to arrival at the point of entry. There is no limit to the length of time U.S. citizens and nationals may remain in the FSM. All states except Yap levy a departure fee. A health certificate may be required if the traveler is arriving from an infected area. Paint is cheaper than wallpaper. Use paint effects such as sponge painting, rag rolling, and stenciling to add pattern and interest to your walls. A biker and his ol' lady were sitting in the living room and he said to her, "Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug." His ol'lady got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all of his beer.	HELMET LAW REINTRODUCED IN PENNSYLVANIA In response to a spike in motorcycle fatalities following repeal of the state helmet law three years ago, a bill to reinstate a mandatory helmet law has been introduced in Pennsylvania. Motorcycle deaths and injuries are up significantly since 2003, but so is the number of motorcyclists on the highways. These coincidental trends have led authors of a new legislative study to shy away from making definitive conclusions on whether the helmet law repeal itself is responsible for the increase in fatal accidents. The study on motorcycle accidents by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee results from a mandate in the 2003 law. Another report is due in 2008. The committee's report says that both fatalities and serious injuries involving motorcyclists increased one-third during 2004 and 2005 in Pennsylvania. But the report notes that motorcycle registrations in Pennsylvania jumped to 318,000 from 267,000, a 19 percent increase, during the same period. The report states: "261 persons died in motorcycle crashes in the two years prior to 2003, compared to 362 persons in the first two years after repeal, an increase of 38.7 percent. "However, when the number of registered motorcycles is taken into consideration, the average annual fatality rate after repeal of the Helmet Law (5.9 fatalities per 10,000 registered motorcycles in 2004 and 2005) was not substantially higher than the pre-repeal (2001 and 2002) average annual fatality rate of 5.4 fatalities per 10,000 registered motorcycles." The report also focuses on serious head injuries resulting from motorcycle accidents, but found that analytical data doesn't exist to specifically link helmet use with head trauma injuries. It's hard to draw any conclusions about what's really going on from the legislative report, said Charles Umbenhauer, lobbyist for ABATE of Pennsylvania. But two Keystone lawmakers, Reps. David Frankel, D-Allegheny, and Tony Melio, D-Bucks, have drawn their own conclusions and recently sponsored bills to restore the helmet requirement for adults. And Umbenhauer also warns that "The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma are lobbying Pennsylvania to re-enact a mandatory helmet law." In addition, "the American Automobile Association (AAA) is also pushing for a mandatory helmet law for all motorcyclists." In Florida, recent statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate that motorcycle fatalities have increased 67 percent from 2000, when ABATE of Florida successfully lobbied the state legislature to repeal their helmet law, to 2004. But a Florida Today analysis also shows that motorcycle registrations have increased 87 percent in Florida since Governor Jeb Bush signed the helmet law repeal on July 1, 2000.
To save energy, convert incandescent fixtures to fluorescent wherever practical. Fluorescent tubes illuminate more efficiently than incandescent bulbs. They are great in a kitchen or work area...	Scissors were likely invented in 1500 BC in ancient Egypt. These were likely shears with the joint at the far end. Modern cross-bladed scissors were invented by Romans around AD 100. The names "Post-it" and "Post-it note", as well as the color canary yellow are trademarks of 3M, the company which invented and manufactures them.
Jul 15, 2006 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- Harley-Davidson has raised prices about 3% on its 2007 motorcycles and added a more powerful engine and six-speed transmission on its Dyna, Softail and Touring bike models. The average price of a new Harley will increase to $15,290, from $14,791. The new Twin Cam 96 engine, paired with the six-speed transmission, will deliver up to 17% more torque. New Harleys for 2007 include two VRSC models, an all-new FXSTC Softail Custom and a limited-edition model for the Sportster's 50th anniversary. King-and-queen seat The new Softail has styling cues from a classic chopper, with a king-and-queen seat and bobtail rear fender. The Sportster has special badging and a traditional "peanut" fuel tank. The FLSTF Fat Boy has new wheels and styling details. Changes to the FXDC Dyna Super Glide Custom include additional chrome and a new seat. Mufflers on the Twin Cam 96 engine have been tuned to enhance lower sound frequencies. The new engine, while more powerful, takes its cues from the company's traditional V-Twin engine. "It's integral not only to the performance of the motorcycle, but also to its styling, its sound and the way it feels to the rider," Bill Davidson, Harley's motorcycle product development director, said in a news release. 17 new color combos For 2007, Harley will offer 17 new color combinations and a new motorcycle security system. Monday, the Milwaukee company is scheduled to release second-quarter earnings. Harley is expected to report earnings of 91 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Harley shares closed at $51.37, down 65 cents. The shares have fallen less than 1% this year.

A thundering farewell for veteran biker: `Brothers' of the road give friend a final ride Jul 19, 2006 (Chicago Tribune - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- Joachim "Papa Joe" Mothes of Villa Park died last week, but Tuesday his wife made sure he got one last ride from a beloved Harley-Davidson. Escorted by a dozen bikers, their engines blatting out a decidedly non-funereal roar, Mothes' casket was pulled in a shiny hearse trailer behind a modified Harley tricycle from a funeral home to a church mass, then to a cemetery. "The heck with tradition," said Mothes' wife, Kathy. "When someone passes away, you do what they would have liked." As his friends and family gathered at Steuerle Funeral Home in Villa Park, the tears, as at any such memorial, were a testament to love and a life lived well. But unlike at most funerals, many of those tears were shed by big men with black vests, chains and motorcycle boots. Mothes, 62, a factory worker who died after a yearlong battle with lung cancer, planned many of the details of his funeral and burial, and much of it was dedicated to the Night Cruisers MC of Rolling Meadows, the biker club where he had been a member for two years. He had been riding for about a decade. He picked out his black and chrome casket and was placed in it wearing his black club shirt, not a despised suit. He still wore his gray beard, but his disease had eroded many of the 289 pounds that had made him look like a Hollywood version of a tough guy. "You wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, but he was a pussycat," Kathy Mothes said. Next to the coffin stood Mothes' black leather club vest, mounted on a stand, and his pride and joy, a black 2002 Harley Softail, lovingly polished down to the last spoke by his Night Cruisers brothers and ready to rumble. The Night Cruisers' president, who goes by "Digger," praised Mothes as a man who "if you said you were hungry, he'd rip his sandwich in half for you." He also tried to explain the lure of the club to the nonbiker mourners who filled the seats. "It's not for everyone," he said. "But once you are accepted into the club, you are considered a brother. .. I know that he would have taken a bullet for me." Then the pallbearers, wearing a mix of biker colors and suits, lifted Mothes into the shiny black hearse-trailer rig, which had been attracting attention all morning in front of the Ardmore Avenue funeral home. Cops and firefighters had stopped to look at the custom black Road King tricycle with chrome-spoked wheels. Passersby pulled out cell-phone cameras and took pictures. Driving the trike was Gary Simpko, a biker and former police officer from Streator, Ill., who owns Midwest Iron Horse Funeral Coach Service. The rig announces something to the world about the person who died, he said. "Being a policeman, I've seen so many different funerals--police funerals, caskets on the back of a fire truck--I thought, there should be something out there for bikers," said Simpko, a franchisee for Tombstone Hearse Co. who has been in business a year. "It's something different." Motorcycle-drawn hearses have become popular in the last five to seven years, said Celine Clark, spokeswoman for the National Funeral Directors Association in Brookfield, Wis. "It is a growing trend," Clark said. "We're seeing it as Baby Boomers age--they're all about individualism. They're doing something that reflects their own life more, who they are, what their passions were." After mass at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Lombard, Simpko led the procession to Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside and parked the hearse outside the Interment Chapel, where an Army honor guard saluted Mothes, a veteran. Inside the chapel, a priest said another prayer. Simpko, who had been wearing one spur the entire morning, took it off and presented it to Kathy Mothes, explaining it as an ancient ceremony dating to medieval knights. The soldiers removed the American flag from Mothes' coffin and folded it, while outside another part of the honor guard fired three volleys and a bugle played a mournful taps. Mourners filed past the shiny casket, the bikers dropping off the purple armbands they had worn and female relatives placing roses. Papa Joe's last ride was over. Or maybe not, said Preacher Terry, a Christian "motorcycle missionary" from Sterling, Ill., who belongs to a group called the Holy Ghost Riders. Preacher Terry ministered to Mothes when he was sick. "When you hear the thunder," he had said at Mothes' funeral, "that's Papa Joe, gunning down those golden streets." Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR VETOES REPEAL OF HELMET LAW Governor Jennifer Granholm vetoed legislation that would have repealed the state's 37-year-old mandatory motorcycle helmet law, despite the measure having passed the Michigan State Legislature by a 2-1 margin. Members of ABATE of Michigan accused her of caving in to pressure from insurers, who opposed repeal. ABATE legislative director Jim Rhoades said riders will make their votes count on Election Day. It didn't take long for the motorcycle group ABATE to cast an endorsement for Granholm's Republican challenger, Dick DeVos, who himself rides a motorcycle and said he would have signed the repeal. Bikers are hoping they can sway the election. "With the passage of time, they have become much better organized, much more aggressive," said Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics and a former state lawmaker. "They really go after people in primary elections," Ballenger said. "They've become much more of a force. The question is: Can they make a difference in the general election?" ABATE claims a high success rate in backing winning candidates. "We usually have about 85 percent voting," Rhoades told reporters. "In the last cycle, we supported 90 candidates and had a 92 percent success rate." Granholm is currently trailing in the polls. "This will not be over," said Rhoades.

	If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. --Margaret Fuller, Feminist and poet	Young riders pick a destination and go. Old riders pick a direction and go
"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato, Greek Philosopher (427-347 BC)

Past Editions 2006 road trip pictures My Pets Motorcycles Viruses/Hoaxes Family/Friends Sturgis 2001 Natural Bridge State Park Humor Fun Links Archives Senior Sacrifices Sexual Trivia Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers When the last Biker Falls