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Photo courtesy of BruceRossMeyer.com

Renown Harley Dealer Bruce Rossmeyer died in a motorcycling accident in Wyoming on July 30, 2009. He and a group of friends were enroute to Sturgis, South Dakota to attend the annual rally. According to reports, Rossmeyer collided with a truck that was pulling a camping trailer as it turned left while Rossmeyer was attempting to pass.

Rossmeyer is survived by his wife, Sandy, five children and nine grandchildren. Visit http://www.brucerossmeyer.com for more details.

New Promotion Lets Riders Test Ride New Motorcycles at Local Dealerships

MILWAUKEE (April 3, 2009) – Harley-Davidson and its dealers are giving riders a unique opportunity to demo the motorcycle of their dreams with the new Super Ride promotion. Harley-Davidson is working with its U.S. dealer network to enable customers to ride any 2009 motorcycle between April 1 and June 30. Customers can then provide a written evaluation of the ride and post it online to qualify for rewards.

“Riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle is a unique and powerful experience,” said Bill Davidson, Harley-Davidson Vice President, Core Customer Marketing. “We want to give every rider the chance to experience the genuine feel of riding a Harley, the freedom of the open road and everything that goes with it.”

The Super Ride promotion is only valid at participating Harley-Davidson dealers and riders must present a valid motorcycle license, among other requirements.

For additional information on Super Ride, visit a participating Harley-Davidson dealer or go to www.harley-davidson.com/superride.

Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the only major U.S.-based motorcycle manufacturer, produces heavyweight motorcycles and a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson’s web site at www.harley-davidson.com.

The 24/7 Motorcycle Network also publishes comprehensive Internet based motorcycling sites such as MotorcycleCruiserLinks.com™, MotorcycleDOT.com™, and MotorcycleBookmarks.com™.

Visit the Trike Chat site.

This was a difficult decision. Myrtle Beach welcomes visitors year-round, but the giant motorcycle rallies simply grew too large. Our staff, residents and businesses strained to keep up with these huge single-focus events. It may surprise you, but our economy is much healthier with a fully diversified visitor base, instead of a concentration on one or two extremely large events.

Please know that Myrtle Beach is not anti-biker or anti-motorcycle. We want folks to come on the vehicle of their choice and enjoy all of the things Myrtle Beach has to offer. We are ending the motorcycle-related rallies because they grew too big and lasted too long. The huge rallies even kept visitors away from Myrtle Beach, and that’s not good.

For everyone’s safety and welfare, City Council has added a few new rules and regulations. We believe these new laws will make Myrtle Beach a safer and more friendly destination. For example, with your safety in mind, we now require that all motorcycle riders and passengers wear a helmet and eye protection. We also have a 1:00 to 6:00 a.m. curfew for everyone under 18. These and other rule changes are explained on this web site.

Thank you for understanding. As you know, Myrtle Beach is a great place to visit, and we welcome you at any time. I look forward to your next visit and am confident that you will have a great time in Myrtle Beach!”

The letter was signed by John Rhodes and the full text can be read here: Read Full Article >>

See related articles:

Economy, Politics Take Toll On Motorcycling: Events & Industry

First lawsuit revs up to fight anti-rally laws

Myrtle Beach Passes Biker Ordinances

Photo Credit: Christy Bowe. Courtesy of Harley Davidson

On Jan. 20, 2009, at 12 p.m. President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn into office as the 44th President of the United States. Leading the way will be a Police Motorcycle escort riding a one-of-a-kind 2009 Harley-Davidson Police concept Tri-Glide Ultra Classic Trike.

Lieutenant Scott Fear (pictured in photo on right), Commander of the U.S. Park Police Motorcycle Unit, will lead the parade from the Capitol to the White House.

For more information on the Harley-Davidson Tri-Glide, please visit www.harley-davidson.com.

The studies found Insurance losses are “21 percent lower, and fatal crash rates are reduced 38 percent for motorcycles with antilock brakes compared to those without”.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety “The importance of equipping bikes with antilocks increases as motorcycling proliferates. Motorcycle sales more than tripled from 1997 to 2005. Deaths of motorcyclists have more than doubled since 1997, with some kinds of bikes having much higher death rates than others (see Status Report, Sept. 11, 2007; on the web at iihs.org). About 5,000 motorcyclists died in crashes last year.

The new study of fatal motorcycle crashes was conducted by Institute researchers,
while the analysis of insurance claims is by researchers at the affiliated Highway Loss
Data Institute (HLDI). Adrian Lund is president of both organizations”.

“Even though adding antilocks won’t make motorcycling as safe as going by car, it’s something manufacturers can do to reduce the risk of traveling on 2 wheels instead of 4,” Lund says. “It’s a way to reduce the chances of overturning a bike and crashing, so it can save lives among people who choose motorcycles for their basic transportation, to save on gasoline, or just for fun.”

When antilocks are needed: Stopping a motorcycle is trickier than stopping a car. For one thing, front and rear wheels typically have separate brake controls. Both under braking and over braking the front and rear wheels contribute to crashes (see Status Report, June 21, 1979). In an emergency, a rider faces a split-second choice to brake hard, which can lock the wheels and cause a motorcycle to overturn, or to hold back on the brakes and risk running headlong into the emergency. This is when antilocks can help. They reduce brake pressure when they detect impending lockup and about to be struck from behind, for example. But the new studies indicate that antilocks reduce crashes overall and save lives.

Crash reduction benefit: The HLDI study compares insurance losses under collision coverage for 12 motorcycle models with optional antilock brakes versus the same models without this option. The researchers evaluated the effects of antilock brakes on both the frequency of insurance claims that are filed for crash damage and the average cost of the damage, after accounting for rider age and gender, motorcycle age, and other factors that influence the likelihood of a crash”.

Visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website to read full article.

Sources:

HLDI bulletin (PDF): Motorcycle Antilock Braking System (ABS)

Research paper (PDF): Effectiveness of antilock braking systems in reducing fatal motorcycle crashes

The Texas State Lottery has announced a new scratch-off game, which will celebrate the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum and give players a chance to win one the seven limited edition Texas Ranger motorcycles being offered through this game.

LDT Customs of Vanderpool, Texas has produced 100 of these limited edition motorcycles for the Ranger museum and Lottery officials are offering seven of the 100.

The motorcycles, retailing for $60,000 each, are decorated with the museum logo and features such as “Texas Star” wheels, a cowboy-saddle seat, and “Winchester rifle” clutch and brake levers, according to the press release. The museum received a $1,000 royalty for each bike sold.

Players get two chances to win on each $5 ticket and four motorcycles can be won through the instant-win scratch-offs with the other three being awarded through a “second chance” drawing of the game tickets sent in by players.

LDT Customs Website

Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Museum Website

Texas State Lottery Website

No, it’s not the “Big Dog” chopper; actually, it’s not even a motorcycle. Nevertheless, this machine is so cool we just had to show it to you! (Click here to see the action video).

Billed as the “most advanced quadruped robot on Earth”, the Big Dog can run at 4 mph, climb slopes up to 35 degrees and walk across rubble – all while carrying a 340 pound load! And when it comes to balance – you can’t seem to knock this thing over.

“Big Dog is being developed by Boston Dynamics with the goal of creating robots that have rough-terrain mobility that can take them anywhere on Earth that people and animals can go”. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) is funding the program.

Visit the Boston Dynamics website for more information and to view the video.

Quick facts:

• The Census Bureau says out of the approximately 129,141,982 commuters in this country only 147,703 of them ride motorcycles to work regularly. That’s only .11 percent !
• Adding more motorcycles and scooters to everyone’s daily commute makes urban parking easier and traffic flow better, according to Ride to Work, a non-profit advocacy organization.
• Studies have also shown that across the same distances, motorcyclists reach their destinations faster than those using automobiles.
• Motorcycles and scooters also consume less resources per mile than automobiles.

Visit RidetoWork.org for more information.

Merriam-Webster Inc. has added the word Supercross to its new edition of the Collegiate Dictionary. The dictionary definition is: “a motorcycle race held in a stadium on a dirt track having hairpin turns and high jumps”.

Main Entry: su·per·cross
Pronunciation: \ˈsü-pər-ˌkrȯs\
Function: noun
Etymology: super- + motocross
Date (first used in an English-language publication): 1983

Visit the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary website: supercross .

Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Merriam-Webster Online. 6 July 2008 Merriam-Webster.com

Photo courtesy of KTM.