mrf reports - september/october 2007

Ride With

the leadersTM

A BI-MoNthly INFoRMAtIoN BullEtIN FRoM thE MotoRCyClE RIDERS FouNDAtIoN

Mo to R C y C l E RI D E R S Fo u N D At I o N, 236 MA S S A C h u S E t t S Av E. NE, Su I t E 510, WA S h I N g to N, DC 20002

Vol . 17, No. 5 The MRF does not endorse any products or serv ices other than i ts own product l ine. Th is does not apply to po l i t ica l endorsements. September /October 2007

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PERMIT NO. 495

Motorcycle Riders Foundation, 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 510 - Washington, DC 20002-4980

Kirk “Hardtail” Willard

MRF President

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation(MRF) is 20 years old this year and I amproud to state we are still delivering theresults the MRF was founded for back in1987. The last week of July the MRFgot word through our personal relation-ships on Capital Hill in WashingtonD.C. that Representative Hensarling wasgoing to propose an amendment to theTransportation Appropriations Bill-HR3074 to zero out the Motorcycle SafetyGrants, known as the Section 2010motorcycle safety funds, starting in2008. This funding totaling 25 milliondollars over 5 years was created in themost recent Transportation Equity Actalong with the Motorcycle AdvisoryCouncil to the Federal HighwayAdministration that the MRF andRepresentatives from ABATE of SouthDakota and Ohio sit on. Reminiscent ofthe great Lautenburg HelmetAmendment defeat back in 2005 thatwent down in flames with a vote of 69 to28, a great deal of work was done in a

48-72 hour period to stop this loss offunds effort. Once the MRF WashingtonD.C Office became aware of this we hitthe ground running by activating ourLegislative Team to start making the keycalls, our Vice President of GovernmentRelations, Jeff Hennie, spent countlesshours on the Hill in Rep. Hensarling’sand other key members of Congressoffices and most importantly we sentword to our State Motorcycle RightsOrganizations who in typical fashionresponded quickly and efficiently tomake the calls and send the e-mailsneeded to educate our representatives inD.C. Our V.P. Government Relationswas ecstatic as he reported to theLegislative Team members that theAppropriations bill passed with NOrestrictions on any motorcycle funding.He echoed our sentiments perfectlywhen he said “Every motorcyclist whophoned in to their federal representativeearned and deserves the freedoms thatwe all enjoy.”

Looking into the history of the MRFas we head into another Meeting of theMinds and as we celebrate 20 years asan organization I frequently lean on thefollowing writings which is as strong adriving force today as they were whenwe originated.

The first words of the street rider’sfirst voice in Washington were uttered in

1985 in St. Louis, Missouri. There, thevery founders of the motorcyclists’rights movement in America gatheredfor a meeting of the minds. Leaders ofState Motorcyclists’ RightsOrganizations (SMRO’s), they wantedto catapult to the national scene the cloutand effectiveness of SMRO’s—thestrong, effective grassroots of state-based motorcycle rights.

They knew it had to be done. Riders’rights had to go national, because thethreat was national. Our founders at thismeeting of the minds shared a keensense that danger was not just on thehorizon but dead ahead, as freedom’sfoes had just attacked with a ban onmotorcycles in the United StatesCongress.

They knew it had to be done right.The founders wanted a staff that was allmuscle and no fat, supported not bycasual members but driven by a team ofdedicated volunteers, with each volun-teer committed to shouldering his or hershare of the demands of liberty. Theyenvisioned a team committed to corevalues like respect for riders’ diverselifestyles and opinions, integrity in con-duct, excellence and boldness in facingchallenges head on and, above all, lead-ership-leadership in the unrelentingstruggle for the safety and freedom ofAmerican motorcyclists.

So, at a meeting of the minds of grass-roots leaders, a new leader was born:The Motorcycle Riders Foundation.The first motorcyclists’ rights advocacyorganization with a full-time legislativeand political presence in our nation’scapital. The only Washington voicedevoted exclusively to you, the streetrider. And each year, the leaders of thenow-worldwide community gather formotorcycling’s premier political leader-ship summit—named to commemoratethe gathering at which we were founded:The MRF Meeting of the Minds.

Throughout the USA and across theworld, the torch of freedom burns in thehearts of motorcyclists. One by one,they recognize the need to become vol-unteers and co-partners in an organiza-tion committed to integrity, respect,leadership, teamwork, and excellence.

One by one, in every continent andculture, motorcyclists are deciding toRide with the Leaders.

With that I close with a deep sense ofmeaning and appreciation for ourFounders, Charter Members, and ourmembers and SMRO partners todaywho made and still make certain eachday we hold true to the principles of whywe were founded; to share the demandsof liberty.

The MRF - 20 Years Old

and Still Delivering

Motorcyclists Defend Safety FundsJeff Hennie

MRF VP of Government Relations

US House of Representatives passes trans-portation appropriations bill (HR 3074) by a

vote of 268-153, with no restrictions on anymotorcycle funding the Motorcycle RidersFoundation reports.

The US House passed the much needed trans-

portation, housing and related agencies fund-ing bill in the wee hours of the AM on July25th without provisions eliminating fundingfor what is known as the Section 2010 motor-cycle safety funds.

The day before debate began on this bill itbecame known to the MRF that RepresentativeJeb Hensarling (R-TX) was going to file anamendment that would have zeroed the fund-ing for fiscal year ‘08 on the motor cycle safe-ty grants. The same grants that were welcomedby 44 states in fiscal year 07. This amendmentwould have saved the taxpayers a paltry sixmillion dollars.

To be perfectly clear, Mr. Hensarling was not targeting motorcyclists, motorcycle safetyor any thing else related to motorcycles. In fact

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MotoRCyClE RIDERS FouNDAtIoN September/october 2007

Michael Kerr

MRF Vice President

This September issue of the MRF Reportscoincides (sort of) with the MotorcycleRiders Foundation’s (MRF) annual nationalconference, the Meeting of the Minds. TheMeeting of the Minds for many of us ismuch more than conference, or a seminar. Itis a time to interact with others, meet newfriends and rethink our priorities. It is aunique experience not to be duplicated else-where.

Some use the Meeting of the Minds as abenchmark of sorts - “we’ll try this projectand evaluate its progress after the Meetingof the Minds.” My own State MotorcyclistRights Organization (SMRO) places suchhigh importance on the event that our feder-al political action committee (ABATE ofIllinois FEDPAC) holds its most importantmeeting of the year during the course of theseminar. All committee members areexpected to attend.

For a number of years now the MRF hasworked out arrangements with the internetradio outlet INB Radio, to broadcast muchof the conference live. INB also archives agreat deal of the material so one may accessit at a later date. This is of great benefit tothose who can’t attend. It is also an aid tothose who were at the conference andwould like to reference portions of it.

The Meeting of the Minds is held during a

time of year when the football season isstarting to hit its stride. The term “first andgoal” is used in the game when the offen-sive team (the one with the ball) is withinless than ten yards of the defensive teamsgoal line and they have four chances toscore. While being first and goal is anexcellent position for the offense to be in, itis not a guarantee that they will score. Asmost who have played the game at one timeor another will tell you that gaining yardsinside the “red zone” can be awfully tough.

The legislative process can be a lot likefootball at times. Getting legislation intro-duced is a bit like receiving the ball. It mustbe handled carefully but it’s generally not

too difficult. Moving a bill through therespected chambers - marching down fieldso to speak - gets to be difficult. Passing abill and having a governor sign it into law islike scoring a winning touch down as theclock runs out on the field. It doesn’t getany better than that. An executive veto canbe like a fumble on your opponent’s goalline in the closing seconds of a game andhaving a defensive lineman run it back for atouch down - a heartbreaking way to lose.

Hopefully most of our members and SMROpartners who attend the Meeting of theMinds will be fired-up and in a metaphori-cal “first and goal” situation at the end ofthe conference. At the end of the meeting itmay do us well to ask ourselves questionssuch as: are the goals that we wish toachieve well defined? Do we wish to over-turn a law in our state? Do we wish toobtain increased funding for rider educa-tion? Our “game plan” should be wellthought out and realistic. Our heads need tobe “in the game” and not be distracted byoutside issues that have nothing to do withmotorcycling.

For those who will be attending the confer-ence (or doing a lot of listening on INBRadio) it is important to remember that theclose of the Meeting of the Minds 2007 isthe beginning of a new day in our experi-ence as activists in the motorcyclist rightsmovement. If we go home and not take acritical look at our methods and proceduresthat we use in our organizations or in our

lobbying efforts, we have failed.

“Continuous Improvement” is a phrase thatis used throughout industry today. To com-pete in a global marketplace most (if not all)Fortune 500 companies have adopted astrategy of always looking for ways toimprove the operations of their businesses.This was a cornerstone of the renownedbusiness consultant Dr. W. EdwardsDeming’s method’s which helped transformJapanese industry from the world’s fore-most producers of junk to the quality stan-dard-bearers of the world (Dr. Deming pre-ferred the term “Continual Improvement” ).

While it is true that motorcyclists’ rightsorganizations are anything but Fortune 500companies, it still makes all the sense in theworld to adopt the sound idea of conductingtheir affairs in a more efficient and produc-tive manner. Because we have done thingsone way for the past twenty years doesn’tmean that we must continue to do so today.We need to take what we learn at theMeeting of the Minds and apply what is rel-evant to our organizations.

Hopefully after the Meeting of the Mindswe will find ourselves and our organiza-tions in a “first and goal” situation. Whetherwe change and adapt to the different goalline defense of our opponents will deter-mine if we score or not. The opportunitiesare there, you have got the ball, now runwith it.

First and Goal -

The Meeting of the Minds and Beyond

MRF PAC Ramblings

Steve Zimmer

PAC Chairman

As the “relatively” new MRFPAC ChairI thought it would be a good idea to putan occasional article in the Reports. Theidea is to open communication and pro-vide information about the workings ofyour PAC Fund.

To start, the PAC fund is a separate com-

mittee of the MRF. We have separatefunding and accounting as per FederalElection Commission rules. We have tobe very careful not to co-mingle fundswith the MRF and we have to adherestrictly to the rules regarding how weraise funds. Even though we have a lotof red tape to deal with we are ultimatelyhere to assist the legislative agenda ofthe MRF, and we do. Our VicePresident of Government Relations is anintegral part of what we do. Jeff pro-vides us with up to date, on the hill“intel” so we can manage the fund anddonation requests. The other membersof the committee discuss and then voteon the relevance and need of a donationrequest.

So what do we do with your hard earnedmoney? Occasionally we make a dona-tion to a campaign fund straight out, butmore often we try to send Jeff and even

members from the home district to afund raiser or event. By going to theseevents we gain a little more face timewith the Rep or Senator and their staff ina relatively more casual atmosphere.

Who can we support? The MRFPACfund can only provide support to candi-dates for Federal offices, (Senators,Congressional Representatives,President, and Vice President). We cannot support anyone running for a stateposition, that is what your state PAC’sare for. Many of the donations we makeare based on recommendations from theSSMRO’s. We want your take on whohas helped and who has not.

Where do we get the money? From you!The PAC fund receives donations fromMRF members through direct donationsand fund raisers at our events. If youhave been to one of the regional confer-

ences (BEST or BEAST) or the Meetingof The Minds you will recall the auc-tions we hold or the special events suchas River Walk held in Little Rock or lastyears exciting Kilts versus Bibs Tug-o-War. These and various other fund rais-ing events, some held in hosting states,are what fund this PAC. We rely on bik-ers to fund the bikers PAC.

This year at Meeting Of The Minds inCedar Rapids we will once again beholding the Kilts Versus Bibs Tug-o-War.Like last year we will be forming teamsto raise funds and compete. Would yourstate want to enter a team? Challengeanother state? Do you have memberswho are willing to be part of the Kilts orBibs teams? Be ready. Start working onthat grip and remember it is all for agood cause, the MRF PAC Fund.

September/october 2007 MotoRCyClE RIDERS FouNDAtIoN

HIPAA UpdateJeff Hennie

MRF VP of Government Relations

The Legislationto close theloophole thatallows employerprovided health-care insuranceplans to refusecoverage of aninjury based onthe source of theinjury is steam-ing along.Although nocommittee con-sideration hasoccurred ineither body of

Congress, cosponsors continue to lend theirname in support of the legislation.

HR 1076 and S 616 are both identical bills thatdeserve fair consideration. The bills area biparti-san and the language passed the Senate unani-mously in a previous congress.

Please take a careful look at the list below andcheck for your Member of the US House ofReps. Should you not see them, contact them viaphone fax or email as ask them to support HR1076. If you do see them, send a note of thanks.

Rep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1] Rep Baird, Brian [WA-3] Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6]Rep Biggert, Judy [IL-13] Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1]Rep Boswell, Leonard L. [IA-3] Rep Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1]Rep Camp, Dave [MI-4] Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11]Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7]Rep Dicks, Norman D. [WA-6] Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. [MI-3]Rep Emerson, Jo Ann [MO-8] Rep English, Phil [PA-3]

Rep Etheridge, Bob [NC-2] Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2]Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] Rep Fossella, Vito [NY-13]Rep Gilchrest, Wayne T. [MD-1] Rep Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY-20]Rep Gillmor, Paul E. [OH-5] Rep Gordon, Bart [TN-6]Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] Rep Hayes, Robin [NC-8]Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17] - 7/10/2007Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3]Rep Kagen, Steve, M.D. [WI-8] Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3]Rep King, Steve [IA-5] Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10]Rep Kline, John [MN-2] Rep Kuhl, John R. "Randy", Jr. [NY-29]Rep Larsen, Rick [WA-2] Rep Latham, Tom [IA-4]Rep Manzullo, Donald A. [IL-16] Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11]Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13]Rep Miller, Candice S. [MI-10] Rep Murphy, Tim [PA-18]Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8] Rep Obey, David R. [WI-7] -Rep Peterson, Collin C. [MN-7] Rep Petri, Thomas E. [WI-6]Rep Pitts, Joseph R. [PA-16] Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19]Rep Price, David E. [NC-4] Rep Putnam, Adam H. [FL-12]Rep Ramstad, Jim [MN-3] Rep Roskam, Peter J. [IL-6]Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] Rep Ryan, Paul [WI-1]Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] Rep Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [WI-5]Rep Shimkus, John [IL-19] Rep Simpson, Michael K. [ID-2]Rep Space, Zachary T. [OH-18] Rep Stupak, Bart [MI-1]Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] - 3/21/2007 Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2]Rep Walberg, Timothy [MI-7] Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1]Rep Weller, Jerry [IL-11] Rep Young, Don [AK]

he was trying to reduce Federal spending orwhat he considers wasteful spending. You seeHensarling is the voice of the ultra conserva-tive arm of the Republican party, known inWashington DC as the “Republican StudyCommittee”. So Hensarling has been attempt-ing to amend every spending bill that hascome before the House to eliminate as muchmoney as possible from each of the fundingbills (there are 13 bills in total). You may beasking yourself about now, “isn’t less spend-ing and lower taxes a good thing for me?” Andyou would be right. Read on.

Is Hensarling correct?

The answer is sort of. Federal spending andour National debt are at all time high underour current administration, Although the latterhas come down significantly as of late. SoWashington does need to do a little belt tight-ening and write a few less checks.

However the type of spending (known as ear-marks) Hensarling and his hard coreRepublican cronies want to eliminate accountsfor less then 1% of all Federal spending, NowI understand that a penny saved is a pennyearned but we are talking about Trillions ofdollars here. Perhaps Hensarling and hisfriends will become known as the other groupof “one percenters”?

In order to truly bring down federal spendingand lower taxes for everybody we have to cutthe fat in some of our largest expenditures.Namely the $650 million that we are giving toChinese Communists, Saudi Arabia and othersthat the USA pays in interest payments aloneon our debt owned by these foreign compa-nies, not to mention the additional $300 mil-lion we are paying for a war in Iraq. Say whatyou will about the war but one can hardlyargue that $600 million dollars per day ininterest payments is ridiculous. So if theRepublican Study Committee wants to reducefederal spending how about paying off ourdebts instead of leaving it for the next genera-tions of Americans to sort out.

Back to the Amendment.

After hearing from hundreds of motorcyclists,some intense political advice, and a healthyamount of careful consideration Mr.

Hensarling decided not to introduce theamendment. Hensarling was faced with thechoice of potentially saving a few thousandlives or saving the taxpayers a few dollars. Inthe MRF’s view he made the correct choice.

The section 2010 motorcycle safety specificfunds that the MRF and its supporting organi-zations worked so hard to have included in thelast highway bill (PL 109-59) remain intactand the popular grant program continues to bea success.

The Feds owe us.

To put things in fiscal perspective, the motor-cycle safety grant program accounts for aboutone half of one one thousandth of this entirespending package. In other words, the motor-cyclists are asking for chump change in thegrand scheme of this legislation. Also this pro-gram is not an earmark or a pet project of anyone Member of Congress its part of the bipar-tisan highway bill passed last congress.Furthermore the grant program is paid for outof the Highway trust fund which is separatefrom the general fund. The Highway trustfund is underwritten with a federal gas tax, notincome tax. Since most motorcycles burn gasthe people who ride them should benefit fromthe trust fund just like cars and trucks do withthe safety campaigns geared toward them. It’sa “we should get a piece of the pie since weput a few apples on the pile too” situation.

This was once again a great example of howmotorcyclists get things done in WashingtonDC. Every motorcyclist who phoned in totheir federal representative earned anddeserves the freedoms that we all enjoy.

The $104.4 billion dollar spending measure isnow slated to be debated in the Senate, whereno anti motorcyclists provisions are expected,and then on to the White House for final sig-nature under a potential veto threat. The MRFthanks all of its members and supporters andwill continue to keep you up to speed on allhappenings in your nation’s capital ofWashington DC.

As for the remainder of Mr. Hensarling’s pro-posed amendments? They all failed on theHouse floor. Maybe there is hope for wisdomin Washington after all.

Motorcyclists Defend Safety

Funds (continued)

MRF Lucas Bike on display in the DRM

Framelock booth in downtown Sturgis

South Dakota during the Rally at 6th and

Lazalle streets


Cindy Hodges

MRF Member Representative to the Board

Recently many MRF state reps and MRFboard members had an online discussionabout Charity… the runs, the parties, eventsput on by motorcycle organizations to raisemoney for many different needs. We dis-cussed the frustrations, the problems, the“line in the sand” that seems to be drawn upbetween the folks who are (for lack of a bet-ter word) “charity only” and “activist only”.I’ve taken my response to that discussion,edited it some to fit general reading purpos-es, and sent it off to our editor for this issueof The Reports in the hopes that maybe wecan continue, amongst the membership, tocontinue on with positive discussion on this.It seemed to me that enough of our membersfind this a topic worthy of much discussion,so as member rep, I’m inviting you, the folkswho are not Reps or board members, to tossin your thoughts.

Some excellent points were made, highlight-ing the crux of our frustration at the sametime. I will touch on them later on. I thinkI, myself, have run the full spectrum on howI feel about charity, charity rides, etc. I wentfrom loving the gatherings of friends and the"feel good" of thinking I was helping tobeing pissed off at the huge numbers of folkswithin my ABATE and others who onlywant to do charity stuff, who consistentlysay "Oh YOU do that legislative stuff, I'mnot good at it, I'll do this”, to recognizingthat there is a place and a need for each ofus, and that those ‘charity only’ folks are thebest at raising money and stirring folks whoare NOT the activist only folks to do some-thing for our legislative efforts.

Yes, I agree with those who say the largegatherings of bikers seem to really inflamethe non-riding citizens with the rapping ofpipes, etc. and the image that it projects incertain areas is negative, no matter theintent. Or that running from bar to bar to baris counter productive to riding sober initia-tives.

My anger was because too many times, leg-islative action was so weak in number, yetcharity gatherings so large. It is hard to takedefeat after defeat, knowing if only morephone calls were made, the outcome wouldhave been different. And yes, I agree that it

is a shame we cannot mandate commonsense. If there was only ONE mandateallowed in this life, that would be my pick.Media seems to find the one worst exampleto highlight for the five o’clock news, thatone person who will say something ramblingand belligerent, that does not make our point- - only hurts us.

I run an email list in my state that is for allriders to pass on legislative news and discussstrategic ideas... open to all... and I once ranoff some folks by voicing my unhappinesswith the ‘charity only’ folks. These werefolks who were my only outlet in one area ofthe state to disperse information and theywere doing it. They were also coming to ourLobby days and bringing their friends. Thathurt our efforts and I absolutely learnedfrom this.

I feel that it's no secret thatABATES/SMROs have come full circle inthis phase of their evolution and now arehaving to find a way to grow and stay fiscal-ly solvent in positive ways. Thankfully weare doing it. We were started to stand upagainst mandatory helmet laws and saw theneed to improve our image in the communi-ties so we would be taken seriously by thenon-riding general public, so they would notview us as what the media had painted us as.Nearly all SMROs have it somewhere intheir mission statement something to theeffect of "furthering the good image ofmotorcyclists". It is this that the "charity-only" folks cling to. They fill our ranks.They out vote us at the chapter level andoften at the state level on what our focus isto be or where our money is to be spent. Itdivides us.

If we never did another toy run, poker run,save the whales run, fund-the-big-healthcareoperation-that-also-foots-the-bills-for-lob-byists-who-move-against-us-in-our-respec-tive- state-houses-runs, etc. our job, our mis-sion of improving the image of motorcy-clists is DONE. Now bikers of our nation donot need to rely on SMROs to wave thatbanner. HOG does it. SCRC does it. BlueKnights do it. Pick-A-Brand MotorcycleClub does it. EVERYONE holds motorcy-cle-riding fund raising events now. Evenhigh schools for goodness sake! You'd haveto be living under a rock not to know, in thisday and age, that motorcyclists do a lot ofgood in the community. Sport bike groups,young, old, African-American, Caucasian,Hispanic, ABATES, etc. - all of us are outthere "doing good". Bravo! And I do notmean that facetiously, I really am glad.

All that said... It is the folks who continue tolove doing the fundraising that often foot thebill for our legislative work. The activistsare quite often too busy trying to stay on topof what is going on, often on an hourly basis,to work on these events. Meanwhile, therace for a limited amount of dollars in a

(continued page 6)

It begins at home and ends,

where?

MRF Young Activist Scholarship Candidate Criteria:

1) Candidates must be between the ages of 18 and 30 with a valid motorcycleendorsement on their drivers license. 31st birthday must fall after MOTM that year.

2) Candidate must be a member in good standing of a State Motorcyclists' RightsOrganization (SMRO). Length of membership required in SMRO to be determined byits members if candidate is qualified.

3) Candidates must be nominated by their SMRO. Nominations will be acceptedfrom either state or local (District/Chapter/Local) SRMO groups, and must be submit-ted on an MRF-approved application form.

4) Nominations must be submitted between October 1st and July 15th and post-marked no late than July 1st of the year for which the application is submitted.

5) Candidates are to submit a minimum three hundred (300) word essay on whybiker's rights are important to them. An well-written essay is like a picture of who thecandidate is, and it gives the committee members a better perspective of the individual.

Winning candidates will be announced via an MRF e-mail news release on or aboutAugust 15th. All candidates will be notified with a letter of thanks and encouragementto re-submit their candidacy for the next year if they are not the selected winner.

What Do Winning Candidates Receive?

1) One year membership in the MRF effective the first full day of Meeting of theMinds during the year in which they are selected.

2) Round-trip airfare to MOTM or alternate travel expenses so long as those expens-es in total do not exceed the cost of traveling by air. If an alternate mode of transporta-tion is chosen, candidates will be required to provide receipts in order to be reimbursed(receipts will be accepted for tickets on other modes of transportation), hotel accommo-dations, and gasoline. If there is any question about acceptable travel expenditures, it isthe responsibility of the candidate to check with MRF prior to incurring said expense.

3) Hotel accommodations at MOTM. Accommodations will include room and taxesonly. Telephone, food, movie rentals, etc. will be the sole responsibility of candidates.

4) MOTM conference and banquet fees waived.5) Special recognition at MOTM. Recognition to include a plaque and presentation

of a one-year individual MRF membership.6) Winners are to submit one article to the MRF Reports and the Reps Blast telling

of their SMRO activities and their experiences on attending the MOTMs.

How Winning Candidates Are Chosen:

MRF Young Activist Scholarship Fund Committee will be responsible for:1) Promoting the program.2) Reviewing all applications and choosing winner(s)3) Chairman of MRF YAS Committee will notify all candidates of their decision.4) In conjunction with appropriate MRF personnel, ensuring that all financial, trav-

el, lodging and conference issues are addressed in a timely and professional manner.Projected Cost: Estimated not to exceed $750.00 per winning candidate. Number of

winners will in part be determined by available funds.

MRF Young Activist Scholarship Fund Nomination Form

Date: ___________________________________________________________

Candidate Name: _________________________________________________

Candidate Address: _______________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Candidate Phone Number: __________________________________________

Candidate Date of Birth: ____________________________________________

Member of (SMRO): _______________________________________________

Please provide the following information on a separate piece of paper.

Candidate Qualifications:

1) Please explain why you feel this person should be selected.

2) Other considerations: Explain any circumstances you feel are appropriate.

Submitted by: ____________________________________________________

Signature / Position________________________________________________

(State / Local SMRO Presiding Officer)

Mail to: Miles France, 10795 CR 197A, Lot 255, Nathrop, CO 81236

719-395-0360; [email protected]


Kilts and Bibs RematchThere will, once again, be strong men inskirts and bib overalls vying for braggingrights at the Meeting of the Minds(MOTM) during the Kilts vs. Bibs Tug ofWar. This rematch is being organized bythe Host State Motorcyclists RightsOrganization, ABATE of Iowa. TheMOTM will be held September 20-23 inCedar Rapids.

MRF Vice President, Michael ‘Boz’ Kerrenthusiastically supports the event, “Lastyear, this competition brought out the bestof competitive spirits and camaraderie,generating thousands of dollars for theMRFPAC in a very short span of time.”

The requirements are simple. 1.) Bringyour bib overalls and/or kilts to MOTM.2.) Each entrant must donate an entry feeof at least $10. The entrant who brings themost money to the registration table,before the contest begins, wins many acco-

lades and a prize to be treasured throughall time. Last year, Bruce Downs raisedover $600!!! 3.) All participants must beregistered attendees, or guest speakers(come on, AMA, you can play, too) 4.) Beprepared to exercise super-strength in theBest Two out of Three Tug of War. That’sit! See you there!

The key to making this a successfulmoney-maker for MRFPAC is for interest-ed participants to raise money at home, andbring the bucks to MOTM!! Panhandlingto MOTM during the event, prior to thepull, is accepted and encouraged. Lastminute donations are expected! All partici-pants will receive ribbons and pins, as wellas recognition at the Saturday night ban-quet.

Let the game begin. Many new partici-pants are expected this year. Bring yourcameras!!

It begins at home and ends, where? (continued)

limited amount of riding weekends is ON!

So what is the answer? We need the funds todo what WE have committed ourselves todo, and by “we”, I mean each motorcyclist,biker, whatever you want to call yourself.

We who have a passion for this rights move-ment. Legislation, Rider Ed, Safety &Awareness, Transportation Equity, or all ofthem, if you are glutton for work. Many ofus do a lot straight out of our own pockets. Iknow I did for nearly twenty years until myfinancial circumstances changed and now Iam extremely fortunate to have the backingof my home state SMRO. Those funds comedirectly from parties, swap meets, weekendcamping events, etc. that the chapters put onto raise funds for their chapters, a percentageof which goes to the state. In fact, this yearone very successful chapter funded ourentire team’s trip to DC to lobby our legisla-tors in their Washington offices! Wherewould we be WITHOUT thecharity/fundraising folks? I can hear you outthere, some of you - - we’d be doing thework from our homes, via telephone andemail just as we are doing right now, withjust the same amount of success - - I’veheard it said. I’m not sure I believe it wouldbe as successful and either way, I would notbe changing how I work, I’d only be chang-ing how many folks I meet and get to inter-

act with in person. THAT has had a hugeimpact in how effective I feel I can be.Besides I am sure not happy with being aseffective as I have been, I want to be MOREeffective. I might be wrong here. I’m notputting this theory up as a block for you tofeel invited to knock off my shoulder. I’mputting it out there for discussion and if youcan change my mind, that’s great!

At this year’s Best of the West in Nevada, Isaid something to this effect, and please bearin mind, this is MY opinion, not an officialMRF statement and not an official statementof any of the SMROs I belong to. Eventhough I am speaking about the MRF, it ismy opinion here. I am using what I know ofthe MRF as an example. The MRF is only asfinancially healthy as the SMROs and indi-vidual members who support it. TheSMROs are only as healthy as their member-ship and chapters/charters. We can all do ALOT without much money. Picking up thetelephone, sending email, writing letters.But it is very true that a face-to-face pres-ence is necessary. Sometimes, crucial. Toall capitols. Trips to DC cost money. Andyou need to send more than one person.Having an office in DC is necessary. Tripsto your state capital are necessary. Sendingmore than one person is necessary. And sois sending them often! Having your statelegislative director in your state capitol on a

regular basis is necessary. If they live with-in easy riding distance of the capitol, wellthen your organization is VERY lucky.Otherwise motel rooms are necessary.Copies for info packets are necessary. Gasand food is necessary. On and on and on.Where does this money come from? I knowseveral state legislative directors who pullliterally THOUSANDS of dollars out oftheir own pockets to do this, willingly.Because they can. And sure most of us doand will, some to the point of really not hav-ing much else in their life. But not everypassionate motorcyclist rights activist can.Where does the money come from? Whoraises it? Our brothers and sisters who lovethe charity runs are also the folks, quiteoften, who are doing the other fund raisingand "we" are taking a percentage and usingit for the rest of the work in most cases, I dobelieve.

This is where we find ourselves now. Timeto find the solution. How to keep the folkswho prefer to do only charity/fund raisinghappy and the rights/ed workers happy andfunded. It is, after all, a family operation.

Spending time casting blame as to why don'tfolks care and why don't folks do less of oneand more of the other is rather pointless.Human nature, but pointless. We alreadyspend far too much time amongst ourselves

(the activists) arguing about strategy andmethods on achieving the goals we all agreeupon. Some even like to stop and explainhow they are more of an activist than someothers because of the amount of personaltime and money they put into what they do.I say - - everyone has to live with themselvesand do - as Sputnik has often said, Look InThe Mirror. Is there someone else in thatmirror with you? Not in mine. I do what Ican. Individualism is grand and I'll defend itto the death but there are times when I dolook at clubs and the military with theirorders and rules with envy.... <grin>

So how do we find that common ground?How do we streamline the amount of unhap-piness and differences of opinion? There isa way. I'm not sure exactly what it is but I'mwilling to bet discussion and toning downthe anger on the subject in some cases is agood start. Perhaps this would be a goodtopic for discussion at MOTM. I doubt any-one yet can bring us the BIG ANSWER butI know some folks must have some ideasthat would be great. Evidently there are a lotof folks who would like to hear. Email meat [email protected] or find me at MOTM. I’dlove to hear what is working for your organ-ization in your state in finding a better bal-

ance overall.


Miles France, MRF Director of Reps

MRF MEMBER REPRESENTATIVE

Member Representative Board Members:There shall be two (2) member representa-tives, elected after Meetings of the Mindsby the membership through a ballot in thenext MRF REPORTS. The Board ofDirectors shall nominate no less than two(2) persons for any such position, addition-al nominations may be received by Petitionof fifty (50) then active members of theMRF. Anyone nominated for such a posi-tion must have been a member in goodstanding of the MRF for at least one yearprior to the date of their election. Voters areIndividual, Individual Sustaining and JointMRF Members.

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATIONis seeking an individual that can fulfill therequirements for the MemberRepresentative position. If your level ofcommitment puts you on this path then stepup and join the MRF BOD’s and help leadthe top motorcycle organization in the“WORLD”.

SUPPORTING STATE MOTORCY-CLISTS’ RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONSBOARD MEMBER:

There shall be two (2) at large board mem-bers elected by the state motorcyclists’organizations, which have requested recog-nition and fulfilled the requirements of asupporting state motorcyclists organizationspecified herein. Any organization open tomembership on a statewide basis maychoose to participate in the election of sup-porting State Motorcyclists RightsOrganizations Board Member. StateOrganizations wishing to do so must meetthe following qualifications: (A) Havingpreviously been recognized by the MRF asa supporting SMRO, or (B) Having existedas a viable functioning entity for at leasttwo years prior to the time of voting; be in

support of the MRF’s purposes and be asustaining member of the MRF for the yearin which they choose to vote. If the MRFBOD questions the status of a viable func-tioning entity for at least two years, articlesof incorporation shall suffice. Recognitiononce given may be withdrawn only by threequarters votes of the Board of Directors andafter notice to the SMRO that the Board ofDirectors will be considering withdrawingsuch recognition together with an opportu-nity to be heard.

The SSMRO Board Member is elected bythe Supporting State Motorcycle RightsOrganizations that are sustaining membersof the MRF. The MRF is looking for candi-dates nominated by the SMRO’s. TheMOTM’s is where candidates can networkto meet the SMRO leadership that will casta ballot vote after MOTM for this position.

The Member Representative position andthe Supporting State Motorcyclists’ RightsOrganizations terms are for two years.

Miles France

MRF Elections Committee Chairman

Dave Dwyer,

SSMRO Board Member

Motorcycle Emissions Rules Background

The first federal emissions standards formotorcycles came into effect January 1,1978 and only applied to motorcycles withengines 750cc and larger. The early limitswere set to 14 grams/kilometer (g/km) ofHydrocarbons (HC) and 17 g/km of CarbonMonoxide (CO). The standards were tight-ened for 1980 models to 5.0 g/km HC, 12g/km CO, and no crankcase emissions. Noexemptions to these standards were avail-able and just meeting standards is not suffi-cient, certification application and EPAapproval were required. “Tampering” withany 1978 or later model is prohibited.

New EPA Rules Timeline

In the late 1990s the Sierra Club suedEPA for not acting to reduce the pollutionfrom off-road, mostly two-stroke, motorcy-cles. To settle the lawsuit EPA agreed totighten the standards for recreationalengines (marine and land-based), and high-way motorcycles. In December 2000 theEPA published their Advanced Notice ofProposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for “Controlof Emissions From Non-road Large SparkIgnition Engines, Recreational Engines(Marine and Land-Based), and HighwayMotorcycles”. EPA tried to keep the timefor this to take effect as short as possibleand set a date of Feb. 5, 2001 as the dead-line for comments and expected to have thenew standards in place by September 14,2001.

With such short notice to submit com-ments, the MRF and their SMRO partnersmobilized their members to contact EPAand request an extension of the deadline toallow more of the affected people time tocomment. Due to pressure from the MRFand the SMROs the EPA agreed to considerall comments received before Sept. 14,2001. Now that the deadline had beenextended the push was on to get the dealersand custom shops, along with the ridersinvolved in the process.

The MRF and the SMROs began work-ing with members of Congress to separatehighway motorcycles from the off-roadmotorcycles and watercraft rulemaking. Weeven worked with the Small Business

Administration's Office of Advocacy andthe White House’s Office of Managementand Budget to get this accomplished.

In September 2001, EPA published thenew emissions rules for Non RoadMotorcycle and Large Spark IgnitionEngines. The MRF and the SMROs hadbeen effective, highway motorcycles werenot included in the new regulations.

MRF and ABATE of Illinois met withthe White House Office of Managementand Budget with two EPA staffers present (amember of EPA's Office of GeneralCounsel, and the Executive Assistant toEPA Administrator Christie Whitman) inOctober 2001 on the harm that the proposedrules would have on the custom and after-market motorcycle industry. ABATE ofIllinois and MRF, again briefed a high-ranking EPA official in January 2002.

In August 2002, EPA published the new“Proposed Rules for HighwayMotorcycles”. At the public hearing onSeptember 17 MRF offered testimony criti-cal of proposed rule because it included noflexibility for the aftermarket that had beenallowed to grow without restriction sincethe first rule that prohibiting tampering hadbeen published. The proposed rule also didnot include any provisions for building cus-tom motorcycles for highway use.

In September MRF requested that EPAextend the comment deadline fromNovember 8, to January 8, 2003. In October2002, EPA published notice that it hadextended the comments deadline to January7, 2003. This allowed MRF time to contractthe Economic Impact Study of ProposedEPA Highway Motorcycle Rule (VaughnStudy). Our SMRO partners donated over$20,000 for completion and publishing ofthe Vaughn Study.

In December 2002, Abate of Wisconsin,Wisconsin Independent Shops Association,Dr. Vaughn and MRF met with WhiteHouse Office of Management and Budgetofficials in Washington DC to discuss theirconcerns on the proposed EPA rule and itseffects on the motorcycle aftermarket. Onthat trip Abate of Wisconsin, WisconsinIndependent Shops Association and MRFalso met with an EPA Policy official sever-al interested members of Congress.

The MRF Vaughn Study, when pub-lished in January, confirmed the high costthe EPA Proposed Standards would have onthe motorcycle custom and aftermarketindustries if no exemptions for those partsof the industry were included in the newrule. Publication of the Vaughn Study camein time for the MRF to include it when theysubmitted their Public Comments to EPA.The SMROs, during their annual trips toWashington D. C. started distributing theVaughn Study to members of Congress and

(continued page 8)

EPA Update MOTORCYCLE RIDERS

FOUNDATION’S

ELECTIONS 2007

MRF has volunteer position openingsfor interested parties with experiencein Communications and Marketing.

Please contact Deborah Butitta, MRFCorporate Secretary, [email protected] for

general information, the qualifica-tions we seek, and the anticipatedtime commitments these positionswill require, and/or to submit yourresume for consideration.

OPEN BOARD POSITIONS

U.S. Senate:

You may phone the U.S. Capitol Switchboardat (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator willconnect you directly with the Senate office yourequest.

U.S. House:

You may phone the U.S. Capitol Switchboardat (202) 225-3121. A switchboard operator willconnect you directly with the HouseRepresentative office you request.

Information about your Federal, State and Local Senate and Representatives is also available froma link at the top of the MRF web site’s home page (www.mrf.org). You will need your Zip+4number when running this search.


Carol Downs

MRF Conferences Director

It is late July as I write this. Here inthe Denver area we have had a very hotsummer, but not today. Today it is onlyexpected to be 79 degrees. What a nicechange. It certainly is conducive to drag-ging my laptop out to the back verandaand sitting outside to work. I prefer towork in the fresh air. I’m certain it won’tmake my article any more interesting, butit does make it nicer for me to write.

Those of you who routinely read myarticles know I like to write about myrides to and from Conferences. I am veryfortunate that I usually have time to makethe rides, if not the articles, interesting.This one will be disappointing for you.No great rides after my trip to Killington,VT for the BEAST.

Now Bruce and I did ride to the BESTof the West in Elko, NV last month. Butanyone who has ridden across the desertin early summer can tell you, it is nothingbut hot! It was a nice ride through theColorado mountains, but by the time wehit Eagle, CO it got warm, and the tem-perature just kept rising. We made SaltLake City on Thursday evening prior tothe Conference. We wanted an early startacross the Salt Flats in the morning. Werode as far west as we could withoutactually getting to the Flats. No reserva-tions, after all it was a Thursday in SaltLake. We never anticipated a problem.Neither did we anticipate the NationalRotary Convention to be in town. This isone time a reservation would have beenmost helpful. We finally found an over-priced pillow to lay our heads upon.

We got up early the next morning toget across the Flats before it got to hot;another flawed plan. It is quite coolgoing across the flats in the early morn-ing. We only got about 15 miles beforewe had to stop and find more clothes toput on. I’m not complaining I prefer rid-ing in cool temperatures as opposed tohot temperatures. But it does show thatyou need to be ready for any and all con-ditions when you ride. Fortunately wehad enough layers to put on. By the timewe hit Wendover, NV it was time to peelall of the additional layers, and thensome. The rest of the ride was just plainhot!

Hot would be a good way to describethis year’s BEST of the West. The tem-perature set the tone for the Conference.We had a great time! Elko sits in a very

pretty valley and we had everything youcould ask for at a Conference. Greathost, thanks ABATE of Northern NV!,great location, great friends, and lots offirst-timers.

Al Paquette and his wife made the tripfrom Florida. Being from the deep souththey weren’t used to the variety of condi-tions you find in the high desert. Butthey found them. Al and his wife arrivedearly and rented a bike for a few days.They rode up the valley and found snow.It was a lot of fun to be standing in 100degree plus weather and listen to themtell us about the snow they played in.

In addition to the folks from Floridawe had 140 other attendees representing14 states, plus DC. The states in atten-dance were Arizona, Colorado, Florida,Idaho, Montana, North Carolina, NewMexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma,Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyomingand the District of Columbia. It was niceto have Charlie and Bernie Williamsinclude us in their vacation.

All of the workshops presented werewell received. ABATE of NV did giveme a list of what they wanted and whilewe weren’t able to give them everything,I think we gave them enough of whatthey needed. For any group planning tohost a conference please be aware that Iwill do my best to provide for you theworkshops that you think are most need-ed in your area. Just let me know.

One of the general sessions was sup-posed to cover the topics of helmet legis-lation and alcohol awareness. At somepoint Steve Zimmer got the microphoneand began discussing helmet issues. Therest of the session became devoted to thattopic. It was a great presentation and

could have gone longer. It was, in fact, sowell received that Steve will do doing itagain as a breakout workshop at thisyear’s Meeting of the Minds. It will betitled “Tools in the Toolbox” and giveslots of ideas of ways to work to defeat hel-met legislation. This is one of the work-shops that will be broadcast on INB.

Before I start discussing MOTM, Iwant to finish discussing BEST. I need tothank all of the folks from ABATE ofNorthern NV who worked so hard.Connie Campbell was great. That ladyput a lot of heart and soul into making thisthe successful event it was. As a rewardwe celebrated her 50 minus 1 birthday onSaturday evening. As much as Conniedid, she did not do it alone. Her husbandJohn Bland not only helped out, but hestayed out of Connie’s way so she coulddo her thing. Dale and Vicky Andrus andtheir daughter Leslie were wonderful.Last minute printing, art supplies, water;all I did was ask and it was there. I alsowant to thank Don Blanscett, MariaCammarano, Don Gantenbein, MikeGerber, Jacque and Marvin Orr, SteveSexton, Ken Wellington, Tom Wurth andDonny and Susan Whisner. In addition Iwant to thank ABATE of Northern NVmembers Charlie Myers and his wifeTammy. Charlie is the local CountyCommissioner, an ABATE member, and astrong advocate for motorcyclist rights.

Because Elko is a gambling town, ourfacility was a casino. We don’t usuallyget to play and work in the same location.This was fun. One of the entertainmentsour hosts provided for us was a slot tour-nament. It went quite well. It raised$350.00 for the MRF PAC and was a lotof fun.

By the time you are reading this

MOTM is just around the corner. If youhave not registered yet, be sure to do so.You can register on-line or by mail. Thisyear we will be Cedar Rapids, IA hostedby ABATE of IA. One of the highlightsof this year’s Conference will be SliderGilmore. Slider will be doing a generalsession on “What Successful People Do”.He will also be doing a workshop on acci-dent scene management. I already men-tioned the workshop on “Tools in theToolbox”. Imre Szauter and Terry Cookfrom the AMA will be in attendance aswell presenting State Legislative issuesand alcohol awareness. You can go on-line to see the tentative agenda. I reallyhope to see lots of folks there. There is alot happening across this country andMOTM is a good place to meet, shareideas, and steal concepts from one anoth-er. We will also have representatives fromthe Federation of European Motorcyclists,the Committee for Action on Politics inMotorcycling (Canada) and MotorcyclistConfederation of Canada. Protecting ourright to ride is not just an American issue.

For those of you who like to planahead I will tell you that the 2008 BEASTand BEST will be sending us coast tocoast. Massachusetts MotorcycleAssociation will be hosting BEAST onthe east coast; Washington Road Ridersand ABATE of OR will be co-hostingBEST on the west coast. It would be agood year to ride. Meeting of the Mindswill be located in Denver, CO in 2008. Ialready have my maps out.

As always I appreciate input from allof you in regards to the Conferences. Tellme what you want and need and I will domy best to get it for you. If you are inter-ested in hosting a Conference I will behappy to talk to you about what isrequired.

BEST of the West -

another fantastic conference

asking for their support in protecting thecustom and aftermarket motorcycle industry.Their efforts were successful, in June of2003, 46 members of Congress, led byCongressmen John Shimkus (R-Illinois) andTed Strickland (D-Ohio), sent a letter to EPAat request of MRF and SMROs, questioningthe process EPA used and the possibleimpacts of the new rule on small business.

New EPA Highway Motorcycle Emissions

Rule

EPA released the new HighwayMotorcycle Emissions Rule online,December 23, 2003, and published it in theFederal Register January 15, 2004. The ruleset two tiers of emissions levels manufactur-ers would have to comply with;

* Tier 1 in 2006, HC+NOx 1.4 g/km andCO 12.0 g/km. This was the first time theEPA regulated NOx (Oxides of Nitrogen).

* Tier 2 will take effect in 2010 atHC+NOx, 0.8 g/km and CO, 12.0 g/km andwill most likely require the use of fuel injec-tion and catalytic converters on most of theaffected motorcycles.

The new rule contained some veryimportant concessions MRF and the SMROshad been working to achieve.

* Small-volume manufacturers (SVM)with fewer than 500 employees worldwideand producing fewer than 3000 motorcyclesper year in the United States are not requiredto comply with Tier 1 standards until 2008,(SVMs still have to meet 5.0 g/km HC, 12g/km CO, standard before 2008)

* SVMs are not required to comply withthe Tier 2 standards at all.

* A new “once-in-a-lifetime” exemptionfrom EPA emissions compliance for a cus-tom or kit motorcycle for your own person-al use, as long as you do not sell it for at leastfive years.

* A display only custom motorcycle clas-sification.

* A provision to allow the creation of acertification program for aftermarket enginepackages for use by custom builders.

The new rules also include some evapo-rative emissions regulations concerning thetypes of fuel hoses, plastic fuel tanks. Metalfuel tanks will meet the standard.

California Rules

California Air Resources Board (CARB)has had motorcycle exhaust emissions stan-dards since 1978 and evaporative emissionstandards since 1984. The only exemptionsCalifornia allows is for “special construc-tion” motorcycles built by the registeredowner.

* Tier 1 and Tier 2 exhaust standards sameas EPA but apply 2 years earlier:

* Tier 1(2004): HC+NOx 1.4 g/km; CO12.0 g/km

* Tier 2(2008): HC+NOx 0.8 g/km; CO12.0 g/km

* SVMs don’t have to meet Tier 1 until2008 and are exempt from Tier 2 (Same asEPA requirements.

* Evaporative emission requirements aremore extensive; charcoal canisters requiredsince 1984.

* Exemption required for “modified” or“add on” parts.

The CARB SVM Definition is differentfrom that of EPA. In California, the SVMexemption did not apply until the 2004model year, and only applies to manufactur-ers producing less than 300 motorcycles forsale in California per year. Prior to 2004, allmanufacturers had to meet the same stan-dards regardless of annual production vol-ume and there were no exemptions.

EPA Enforcement

Historically EPA has not taken enforce-ment action against builders of custommotorcycles or enforced the anti-tamperinglaw. The increased media coverage throughthe shows on the Discovery Channel andothers has raised the profile of this marketsegment. Currently EPA does not haveenough manpower in their enforcement divi-sion to pay much attention to non-compliantmotorcycles. EPA has the authority to levyfines that can add up to $32,500 for operat-ing an uncertified vehicle on the road andthe sale or installation of uncertified after-market parts.

The lack of enforcement may changenow that global warming is becoming a hottopic in the Democratic controlled Congress.A Federal Court has even ordered EPA toformulate regulations to control the emis-sions of carbon dioxide (CO2). This gas,which is said to be the cause of global warm-ing, is formed during the burning of all fos-sil fuels, including gasoline and ethanol.

CARB Enforcement

CARB has recently started takingenforcement actions in three areas; uncerti-fied motorcycles produced by small volumemanufacturers, “Special Construction”motorcycles not actually built by the regis-tered owner and the sale and installation ofunapproved aftermarket parts.

The CARB penalty for selling each uncerti-fied motorcycle is $5,000. Additional penal-ties for “unfair competition” may also belevied. Selling uncertified aftermarket partscan cost up to $750 per sale plus the addi-tional penalties for “unfair competition.”Some big name builders and their shopshave already paid fines in excess of$100,000 for CARB violations. At least onehas quit building motorcycles entirely.

EPA Exemptions for Motorcycles

The new rules made specific exemptions

available starting on March 15, 2004

Display Exemption;

* Bike may only be ridden to and fromevents where it is used for “display pur-pose”. Display purpose is not well defined.It may be possible to build a motorcycle inNew York and ride it to a show in Sturgis.

* There is a limit of 24 exempt motorcy-cles per year for each manufacturer.

* There must be a label on the motorcyclestating it as “limited use on public roads”

* The manufacturer or builder must noti-fy EPA if it is sold and provide assurancethat bike will continue to used for displayonly

Personal Use Exemption

* This can be used for your own homebuilt custom or a kit bike.

* Exemption available only to individuals,not manufacturers or assemblers. Shops cannot build and sell motorcycles using thisexemption unless the customer buys theparts for the motorcycle and hires the shopto assemble the custom motorcycle.

* One exemption per lifetime is availablefor individuals.

* You may not use a certified productionmotorcycle to start with.

* The bike may not be sold for 5 years.

To use these exemptions you must send arequest to EPA with information stating youare meeting these requirements. EPA willsend you back a letter back saying yourmotorcycle is exempt from their emissionsrequirements. However, EPA isn’t sure thatthis will satisfy some state Department ofMotor Vehicles registration requirements.

CARB Exemption for “Special

Construction” Motorcycles

In California, “Special Construction”Motorcycles do not have to meet CARBemission standards, but the owner can notsell them in California. The requirements toreceive the Special Construction Motorcycleexemption include:

* Can be a complete custom build or kitbike

* You may not start with a certified motor-cycle

* Available to individuals only, not man-ufacturers “Special construction vehiclesmay not be made for resale, built for anowner, or delivered as a complete vehicle.”

* The owner may subcontract the follow-ing “project areas”: -Design, material, andcomponent selection- Parts and materialssourcing - Component and frame fabrication- Specialty services such as: paint, powdercoat, and plating - Saddle or other trim work– Electrical - Brakes and hydraulics - Misc.trim fabrication - Wheels and suspension -Engine and transmission building - Exhaustsystem fabrication.

* The owner must complete the majority

of these project areas themselves or each ofthese project areas must be completed by aseparate, unrelated business.

EPA/CARB

Exemptions/Approval Requirements for

Aftermarket Parts

EPA or CARB approval required for“emissions-related” parts for motorcycles,only “direct replacement parts” are automat-ically approved. The sale of “ModifiedParts” or “Add-On Parts” for use on certifiedmotorcycles is prohibited unless they havereceived an “exemption” from CARB.Exemptions for modified parts will be issuedonly if they do not increase emissions bymore than 10% for HC and NOx or 15% forCO. EPA accepts CARB approval of after-market parts; there is no comparable federalprocess.

The CARB requirements for aftermarketparts are problematic. The“emissions-relat-ed” parts definition is vague, as is the“replacement parts” definition of “function-ally equivalent”. The CARB approval(exemption) process is arbitrary, cumber-some, and expensive. Aftermarket exhaustexemption criteria are irrational (e.g., after-market exhausts for non-catalyst motorcy-cles are automatically exempt only if manu-facturer does not recommend re-jetting oradjustments to maintain the original air-fuelratio.)

MRF EPA Survey

In early September 2005, MRF met withEPA at the Vehicle Emissions Laboratory inAnn Arbor Michigan to discuss the proposedMotorcycle Industry Council (MIC) enginecertification progress, along with othermotorcycle regulation issues. EPA informedus they were reviewing the proposal and thatthere would not be a public comment period.In response to the lack of public input avail-able to weigh in during the processAmerican Iron Magazine and MRF sentLetters of Concern to EPA over the possibleloss of exemptions during the EngineCertification approval process.

To get shops, builders and riders involvedand to get their input American IronMagazine published MRF’s EPA Survey forBusinesses and Individuals. To help spreadthe survey as far as possible S&S, the V-Twin performance products manufacturer inViola Wisconsin, included the survey intheir product shipments.

Of the thousands of surveys returned themessage was clear, enforcement of the exist-ing rules will cause shops to either lay offemployees or close their doors. Riders willnot be willing to face heavy fines for buyingand installing commercially available prod-ucts while the sellers and manufacturersmake the profits.

(continued page 9)


EPA Update (continued)


The Detour

Sarah Muckenhoupt

Former D.C. Office Administrator

You’re riding along, with your route mapstowed in the window of your tank bag, orstashed on the inside of your windshieldwhere you can consult it any time. All youneed to do is keep an eye on the road signswhile you watch the scenery flash past, andyou know you will find your way to yourdestination. And then you see it.

Unexpected, and perhaps unexplained, youknow that for a time it will render yourcarefully planned route map and instruc-tions useless. That big, black and orangedetour sign. You don?t know where it willlead, but you know it must be followed, soyou flip on your signal and make the turn,trusting that eventually it will bring youback to your planned route. It may be a bet-ter road, more fun, more twisties to play in,more to look at. Or, it could be a nightmareof potholes and industrial smoke.

Detours occur in life as well as on the road.About two and half years ago, one loomedon my horizon when I stumbled on an adon Craigslist.org for an OfficeAdministrator for the Motorcycle RidersFoundation. After interviewing by phonewith four members of the Board, and withJeff in person, I found myself in a rentedbox truck on my way to a new job and anew life in Washington, DC. A little over

a month ago, I came around a turn to findmy main road looming ahead in the form ofa position with a historic preservation firm.History is my passion, especially as itexists in the buildings and structures we seeevery day, so without regret I see that it istime to merge back onto my main road.

But what a detour it has been! The learningcurve was pretty steep at first, but I lovedthe challenges that came with learningabout the motorcyclists’ rights movementand the MRF operations. But it was notlong before I realized that this would bemore than just a job. During my first yearwith the MRF, a few trials arose in my per-sonal life, and I was amazed by how quick-ly and thoroughly my new employersjumped in to help me out in any way theycould. I felt like I had suddenly been adopt-ed by a new, extended family. The MRFhas also offered me opportunities to traveland see many new parts of this country, of

which I had previously seen very little. Iknew from the beginning that I would beflying to some events, but I never expectedto have the opportunity to see some ofthose areas on a motorcycle. It was a rareprivilege to obtain my first glimpse of thesouthwest on a ride last year, and to revisitmy home this year the same way. Overall,it has been an amazing couple years, filledwith new experiences and new people--thesort of detour that makes a great ride thatmuch more memorable and special.

So although I will no longer be in the MRFoffice every day, I can assure you that inthe future I will take time here and there fordetours--it will be well worth it to crosspaths with the amazing people I have metand come to love in the past couple years. Itravel forward without hesitation and withkeen anticipation, but also with deep thanksfor the time I spent with the MRF--it hasbeen a rare and special detour.

EPA Update (continued)

There is a thriving economy in the motor-cycle aftermarket business. The shops thatresponded to our survey reported annualgross incomes from $15,000 to $15,000,000with an average slightly in excess of$1,000,000. This translated into taxes paidin the range of $0 to $600,000 a year.

There is a lot of money put into local andstate tax coffers by motorcycle businesses.These shops ranged in size from one-manshops to a very large business with130employees. The average shop has 5 employ-ees. The motorcycle businesses feeds manyfamilies. If the anti-tampering is fullyenforced three-fourths of the shops feel theywill either have to lay-off employees or sim-ply shut their doors for good. These shopshave been in business for an average of 12years, some as long as 53 years working onmotorcycles.

Only 5 shops reported being aware of thepending regulations prior to 2004, with onein California finding out about the regula-tions there by receiving a fine. The mostcommon way for these shops to find outabout this was through the media. Secondwas through the industry and third wasthrough friends. By 7 to 1 more shop ownerswere willing to meet with EPA officials ifthere was a chance they could change therules. By 4 to 1 more of the shops respond-ing built motorcycles either for personal orfor sale. Those shops will be helped by theengine certification program if they chooseto use it. Almost 12% did not do any per-formance or exhaust modification work, soare already in compliance with the anti-tam-pering rule, except most of those shopsreported building custom motorcycles.

Individuals had spent anywhere form$100 to $100,000 on motorcycle modifica-tions over the years with 53% doing all thework themselves and almost 45% havingshops do all their work. Less than 14% went

back to their dealer for the performancework. That leaves the majority of the workfor the aftermarket shops. Respondents haveowned anywhere from 1 to 20 motorcycleswith the great majority, 87%, having modi-fied all the motorcycles they owned. Only4% left all their motorcycles stock. 30%owned a custom built motorcycle.

Engine Certification

When EPA released the Letter ofGuidance for Engine Certification in July2006, the existing exemptions remainedintact. Now a SVM, custom builder, shop, orindividual could purchase and install anengine that has already been EPA certified,and build an emissions legal motorcyclewithout going through the certificationprocess. This is the only alternative to therequired vehicle certification process forthose who want to build and sell motorcy-cles. This will be a great help to the smallshops because most small builders do nothave the resources needed to meet the EPAregulations.

EPA Engine Certification Detail;

* Available only for Small VolumeMotorcycle Manufacturers, including indi-viduals wishing to build their own bikes.These may be resold like any other legalvehicle.

* Only the engine manufacturer has todeal with EPA and obtain certification, notthe motorcycle builders.

* Requires only the “worst case” engineand chassis to be tested and certified.

* Engine manufacturer supplies instruc-tions, owner’s manual, and EPA label.

* Motorcycle manufacturer must followinstructions and not modify the engine.

* Certified as “Worst Case” with the max-imum vehicle weight, maximum N/V Ratio(N/V is engine rpm in top gear divided byvehicle speed (e.g., 3000 rpm/60 mph = 50

N/V), highest horsepower engine in “enginefamily” or the engine most likely to havehighest emissions (based on cam timing,air/fuel ratio, etc.)

Included with the “Certified EnginePackage” you will find:

* Maximum allowable N/V specification* Maximum allowable weight specifica-

tion for the finished motorcycle* A statement that modifications to the

engine are prohibited* Description of the required gas tank and

fuel line materials* Complete exhaust system only if cata-

lyst needed or back pressure requirementsfor exhaust. Exhaust manufacturers are notpublishing the back pressure data needed tocomply with the engine manufacturersinstructions. The motorcycle must still meetnoise restrictions. The federal standard is 80db on a pass by test that can not be duplicat-ed on the street.

* Statement that failure to meet the abovefive requirements makes motorcycle illegaland subject to fines.

* Label to be affixed to the motorcycle* Owners manual that explains emissions

warranty, maintenance requirements, andtampering prohibitions.

S&S has built an EPA CertifiedEmissions Lab in their LaCrosse WI distri-bution facility that will be ready for opera-tion by mid September of 2007. S&Salready has their V-Series engines certifiedas EPA compliant in sizes from 96 cubicinches to 124cubic inches. Those enginesare available now. Once their emissions labis in operation, they will begin testing othermanufacturer’s components with S&Sengines for certification. When that happensyou will be able to buy an EPA certified S&Sengine package with another brand of fueldelivery system if you prefer not to use theS&S system.

Their new X-Wedge engine will be avail-able Oct. 1, 2007. They were able to certifythe X-Wedge to Tier 2 with no catalytic con-verter needed. S&S is also looking at certi-fying their emissions lab for testing to passthe European Union tests.

This certification is only good for 49states, CARB will not accept the EPAEngine Certification program because itdoes not include durability testing. This isstrange because CARB does not requiredurability testing for manufacturers sellingless than 10,000 per year in the US. CARBalso wants evaporative testing that is notrequired under CARB’s own test proceduresfor manufacturers producing less than 500motorcycles per year. CARB even wants theengine manufacturer to take responsibilityfor an SVM not following the assemblyinstructions that come with the engine.

Apparently, CARB does not understandthe custom motorcycle market becauseCARB wants the engine manufacturers tospecify each model that will use the engineover a year in advance.

What can you do?

CARB needs to hear from the Industryand aftermarket. CARB, the CaliforniaGovernor and Legislature need to be madeaware of the damage being done to theindustry by CARB’s arbitrary and unreason-able enforcement policies affecting SVMsand aftermarket parts. CARB needs to beencouraged to adopt clear and reasonablepolicies to provide “type approval” of mostaftermarket parts. CARB needs to beencouraged to adopt the EPA engine certifi-cation option with the minimum changesnecessary to address evaporative emissions(include a charcoal canister and purge valvein the package with instructions for theirinstallation).


Group photo of

CMT/ABATE members

and other Tennessee

motorcyclists, meeting

with Tennessee Governor

Phil Bredesen to discuss

Motorcycle Awareness

and Safety, as well as a

spirited conversation

about Helmet usage.

Also in suits, Helmet

modification sponsor,

Rep. Joey Hensley and

May is Motorcycle

Awareness Month spon-

sor, Rep. Judd Matheny.

Tennessee

Jack Jones, Nashville Charter

assistant director of CMT/ABATE;

Dean Lucas, Assistant State

Director of CMT/ABATE; Carol

Simpson, CMT/ABATE life mem-

ber, and MRF member

Representative to the board;Mike

Hays standing on motorcycle,

CMT/ABATE Legislative Director.

All vying for Presidential

Candidate Fred Thompson's

attention at Airport Rally.

Illinois

ABATE of Illinois members with Congresswomen Biggert after the parade.

MRF Vice

President Michael

“Boz” Kerr & Will

County President

Mike Ceranek with

State

Representative

Patti Bellock.

Roger Treend, ABATE member, North East Regional Coordinator Rick Olsen,

State Senator Kirk Dillard. & MRF Vice President Michael “Boz” Kerr

Arizona

Too Broke for Sturgis, ABATE of Arizona’s annual fund raiser in the tall, cool pines of

Northern Arizon, continues to break attendance records every year.

The Bike Show

this year at Too

Broke had 61

entries.

Best of Show was

won by

Mo Boskin.


BEST of the West 2007 - Nevada

BEST of the West 2007 was held in

Elko, Nevada. The event was hosted by

ABATE of Northern Nevada.

It was, by all accounts,

a huge success.Kirk “Hardtail Willard, MRF President and MRF Secretary

Deb Butitta attending the General Session.

Michael “Boz” Kerr,

MRF Vice President

Wisconsin

MRF President hard at work during the Great River Road-Women in Motion

Ride

Flag Flying "Don't Tread on Me" as Dave "Chubby" Charlebois representing

ABATE of Wisconsin (pictured) and Hardtail representing the MRF ride into a

small Wisconsin town to protest a recently enacted selective

No Colors Ban policy


Letter to the Editor:Normally, as Editor, I will not run too muchalong the lines of 'Letters to the Editor'.They would really need to be of vitalimportance to make it to press.

However, I am printing a reply from CrisSommer-Simmons, wife of Doobie BrotherPat Simmons, in response to an article thatran in the last issue of the MRF Reports.

Many of us know - who have approachedcelebrities about membership in an SMROor the MRF - that they are not alwaysreceptive.

Since personal criticisms were published, arebuttal is in order.

Ed.

Nelson, but he even goes after me! What did I do?I’ve never felt I needed to defend what Pat and Ido to help others but I guess Warren Woodward iskeeping score.

Let’s start with the facts about Willie:Willie Nelson has done countless benefits in themany years he’s been playing music. I don’t needto defend Willie’s record. You’d have to be blindor living in a hole somewhere not to know whatgood things Willie does.

The show Warren refers to in Maui is one thatWillie’s wife Annie helps to put on every year. Itis a benefit for a private school. Yes… a privateschool, but what fact Warren didn’t bother to findout was that the proceeds benefit a scholarshipprogram to help kids go there who can’t afford it.I don’t think that’s a bad thing, do you? Also,ALL the musicans played for free and donatedtheir time. The high price for the Meet & Greetwas not set by Willie or the Doobies, but by theschool who held the pre show event. Yes, it was ahigh price to meet the musicans, but the money isfor the kids. Duh! No one else complained, in factmost people were happy to help out the schooland be able to talk to the musicians.

The fact that Warren choose this way to meet Patand Willie to give them applications for SBU isreally weird. First of all, Willie doesn’t even ridea motorcycle, hasn’t since the 1970’s, so whywould Warren say Wiilie is a “FreedomFreeloader”. Again, checking facts is importantwhen you are trying to be a real writer.

As for Pat. He is very approachable and visible inthe community. Ask anyone at Home Depot! DidWarren even bother to talk to him at the Meet &Greet? Saying “Hi” is one thing, but Pat talks to

fans at meet & greets ALL the time. He is normal-ly the last to leave and not one person has evercomplained about Pat. Maybe Warren shouldhave taken this opportunity to talk to Pat aboutSBU instead of shoving an enevelope at him andwalking away with his shitty attitude. I was there,Pat was talking to all kinds of people and every-one was happy and smiling.

Warren was obvioulsy looking at the Doobieswebsite and found the line on Pat’s bio about usriding motorcycles. There’s a link there to contactus. He could have emailed a message to any oneof the Doobies, like many people do everydayand gotten a personal reply from Pat, ( whoanswers his own fan mail every day). MaybeWarren just likes to hear himself complain.

Pat has done numerous benefits in his career.More than Warren could ever know… if he both-ered to look. I’ve never thought we needed to listthe things Pat and the Doobies or Pat and I dobecause we don’t do them for attention and tokeep score, but to just help and give back when-ever we can. We feel lucky to able to do this andencourage our children and others to do the same.I’m not going to list them all here, but there aremany.

Here’s for Warren: We brought the entire Doobie Brothers band toMaui several times to play for free and gave themoney to local public and private schools andcharities. Maybe Warren wasn’t looking orinvolved enough in the community to know aboutthe large amounts of money we have given tohelp the people of Maui, our home… HIS home.I’m sure the kids who use the computer lab at alocal public elementary school are glad Pat caresabout them enough to donate the computers or

the abused kids who have money for clothes andcounseling that Pat and the Doobies gave them.

But no…. we didn’t give Warren our $20.00 forSBU and don’t ride in the motorcycle eventsoften enough to please him. I’ve been riding forover 30 years and never knew it was mandatory.Isn’t it a freedom issue?

Like most American motorcyclists, my husbandand I have to balance a hectic work schedule with raising three kids and otherfamily priorities. Our time on two wheels is very precious to us and wespend it as we choose--- not where Warren thinks we should ride. We don'tneed Warren thinking he knows what's best for us.

Oh, and maybe Warren doesn’t know that wegave money to the Salvation Army to buy toys forthe Toys for Tots program… but we weren’t hereto ride with him that day, so I guess that doesn’tcount.

Maybe Warren should realize that it’s not allabout HIM… but about all of us doing our part tomake things better in this crazy world. Isn’t thatwhy the MRF was started all those years ago… tomake things better? Does he think negative lettersabout us will help anything?

By Warren writing that letter Pat and I will prob-ably never join “his SBU” and ride with him.Why would we want to ride with someone likehim? Why would anyone…?

Cris Sommer-Simmons

Maui, Hawaii

Dear Editor,

After reading the piece you ran in your July/Aug.‘07 issue of MRF Reports entitled, “Doobie orNot Doobie” I sit here in disbelief. It’s shockingthat someone would write such trash and evenmore of a shock that you would actually print it.I can’t believe that the egotistical contributor ofthis negative mud slinging thinks that this kind ofthing can help his “cause”.

As a writer for many years I’ve always thoughtthat before writing anything I needed to know thefacts first. Pay attention Warren, you just maylearn something.

Not only does he wrongly slam my husband, PatSimmons of the Doobie Brothers and Willie

(July 23, 1988—Washington DC) Members ofthe M.R.F. Steering Committee, and some guestsinvited to address the Steering CommitteeMeeting, took time on Saturday afternoon for aprofessional publicity photo at the United StatesCapitol.

Those activists attending (from LtoR) are Dr.Dr. Alexander Mackenzie, Motorcycling DoctorsAssn.; Bill Gannon, Massachusetts-ABATE;Howard Segermark, Washington DC Lobbyist;Hewitt Mitchell, Texas-ABATE; Bill Durning,California-ABATE; “Balls” Farabaugh, Indiana-ABATE; Rob Rasor, American MotorcyclistsAssociation VP of Government Relations; DanBoyd, Pennsylvania-ABATE; Attorney RussBrown (Invited Guest); Jimmy Rhodes,Michigan-ABATE; Carla Georgia (InvitedGuest); Max Hermanns, Motorcycle ActionGroup-England (Invited Guest); Lee Richardson,Georgia-ABATE; Bill Bish, Secretary to RussBrown (Invited Guest); Doug Messer, New

York-ABATE (Invited Guest); and Nancy Lewisof New York-ABATE.

The quarterly meeting of the M.R.F. SteeringCommittee took place from July 22 through July24, 1988 at the offices of Howard Segermark.

This photo was featured in media outlets andmotorcycling publications throughout the worldand was the cover photo for the very firstM.R.F. Publication entitled the American BikersJournal.

The photographers were granted a photo permitby the Capitol Police with strict guidelines and asmall window of opportunity that allowed theSteering Committee members to ride theirmotorcycles onto the Capitol’s grounds.

(photo by Rynne)

First Official Publicity Photo of the

Motorcycle Rider’s Foundation Steering Committee First Meeting of the

Motorcycle Rider’s Foundation Founders

(April 11, 1987--Indianapolis)

The original members of the M.R.F. SteeringCommittee meet for the first time to form theorganization that has been in the forefront ofprotecting motorcycling interests on a nationalfront for the past twenty years.

The prestigious league making motorcyclinghistory that day were (LtoR – Front Row)Hewitt Mitchell, Texas-ABATE; Bill Gannon,Massachusetts-ABATE; Lynda Stewart, Florid-ABATE (pictured with husband Marion); BillDurning, California-ABATE; (LtoR – BackRow) Bob Illingsworth, Minnesota MotorcycleRiders Association; Jim Baker, Utah-ABATE;

Clay Johnson (R.I.P.), Iowa-ABATE; JimmyRhodes, Michigan-ABATE; Howard Segermark,Washington DC Lobbyist; and “Balls”Farabaugh, Indiana-ABATE. Missing from thephoto are Co-Founders Nancy Lewis of NewYork-ABATE and Rob Rasor, AmericanMotorcyclists Association VP of GovernmentRelations.

That Indianapolis location was picked becausemany of the M.R.F.’s Co-Founders on the origi-nal Steering Committee were M.S.F. Instructorsalready there for an Instructor Update.

(photo by Debbie Farabaugh)


PRESS RELEASE: From the Federation of European Motorcyclists’

Associations (FEMA) 8th June 2007

Directive Infrastructure:

Incoherence at the European Parliament!

PRESS RELEASE: From the Federation of European Motorcyclists’

Associations (FEMA) 18th June 2007

CEN recognises the need to revise EU guardrail

standard to include motorcyclists

After 25 years of continuous fight atnational and European level, FEMAfinally made Member States recognisethe problem of existing road restraintsystems with regards to motorcyclists,and made them commit to find a solu-tion.

Thousands of dead and seriouslyinjured motorcyclists, hundreds ofdemonstrations, numerous presenta-tions, discussions and shouts of angerthroughout Europe have been neces-sary before Member States’ representa-tives recognised the problem caused byguardrails and decided to find a solu-tion.

Road restraint systems in Europe haveso far been designed and tested to pro-tect all categories of vehicles, exceptmotorcycles. This situation has notbeen amended but rather reinforcedwith the development of a Europeanstandard. Although the standard proved

to be inadequate for motorcyclists,Member States rigorously applied it .Motorcyclists immediately denouncedthe problem, calling for the EU stan-dard (EN1317) to be adapted and totake their specific characteristics intoaccount. Indeed, when impacting, col-liding or simply sliding on a road,motorcyclists are obviously not pro-tected by traditional “road restraintsystems”. On the contrary: these turninto a major additional hazard whenthe motorcyclist impact the supportingpoles.

Aline Delhaye, General Secretary ofthe "Federation of EuropeanMotorcyclists’ Associations" (FEMA)attended her first CEN/TC226 1 meet-ing last week in Oslo, Norway, sincethe association was granted the liaisonstatus last January as representative ofEuropean motorcycle riders. Duringthe meeting, Aline Delhaye managedto explain motorcyclists’ concerns

about existing EN1317 standard andcurrently designed guardrails and con-vinced TC226 members to start work-ing on the issue of motorcyclist protec-tion with regards to road restraint sys-tems. In its resolution 287, CEN mem-bers unanimously accepted in principleto work on the protection of motorcy-clists in respect of road restraint sys-tems and asked the Chairman, theSecretary and the convenor of WG 1,in consultation with FEMA, to preparethe scope for a new work item basedon the existing standards, regulationsand technical specifications in theCEN member countries”.

CEN/TC226 last week’s vote marks amilestone for FEMA and its membersin their collective fight to have protec-tive guardrails which do not turn intoadditional road hazards in the unfortu-nate case of an accident.

Aline Delhaye says: “The CEN resolu-

tion is a great success for the wholerider community and we can celebratethis as a first step towards victory! Toobtain such a positive result at our firstmeeting with CEN members was unex-pected. One would have thoughtFEMA lobby work would have lastedyears before obtaining such positivemove forward. I was particularlypleased to notice a broad understand-ing and recognition of the problemamong TC226 members, which Ibelieve is mostly due to FEMA mem-bers’ constant work and pressuretowards road authorities, standardizingbodies and the general public atnational level.”

The next challenge will be to ensurethat the work undertaken will not takeages, as it is sometimes the case forEU standards.

By rejecting the Directive onInfrastructure, the European Parliamentvoted against a proposal aiming to savehundreds of lives per year on Europe’smain road network. This decision is notonly completely incoherent; it alsounderlines the influence of powerfulMember States, which overlook theneeds of less advanced countries in theroad safety field. In addition, the voiceof road users has completely beenignored. This is a worrying sign forparticipative democracy.

Too many European roads are unsafe.Thus, the European Commission’s pro-posal for a directive on infrastructuremanagement was warmly welcomed byroad users, particularly motorcyclists.Providing Member States safety man-agement procedures and guidance toensure that safety is integrated in all

phases of road planning, design, con-struction, operation & maintenance,could indeed drastically reduce thenumber of road fatalities and help meetthe road safety targets set in 2001 (50%reduction of road casualties by 2010).

During the last voting session of 5June, the Transport Committee howev-er rejected the Directive on RoadInfrastructure Safety Management as awhole. Being described as “too bureau-cratic” and “too costly”, the directivewas eventually judged “unnecessary”!

Yet, the directive was proposed in thecontext of the European Road SafetyAction Programme. It’s mid-termreview by the Parliament specificallyunderlined the problems of motorcyclesafety and called for an integratedapproach to road safety: “Infrastructure

in particular, must be thought anddeveloped considering the needs of allroad users including the more vulnera-ble ones, namely motorcyclists, cyclistsand pedestrians.” (EP 2005/2007 reporton road safety)

Infrastructure is indeed one of the maincontributing factors to Powered TwoWheelers accidents, but motorcyclistsare surely not the only ones to benefitfrom the proposed measures. If the pro-posed measures were implemented,around 7000 road injuries could beavoided and around 600 lives could besaved every year. According to theFederation of European Motorcyclists’Association (FEMA), the directive isan absolute necessity to improve vul-nerable road users’ safety, amongwhom motorcyclists.

The European Parliament obviouslysteps backward and shows a total lackof political consistency. FEMA wishesto express its strong disappointmentand underlines that in this context, itwill not be ready to accept any addi-tional restrictive regulation aiming atso-called ”motorcycle safety improve-ment” if the issue of infrastructure isnot being addressed.

Besides, FEMA - as all major civilsociety stakeholders - have been close-ly involved throughout the consultationprocess and have clearly expressedtheir support for the directive. If therole of the Parliament is to reflect thevoice and needs of European citizens,this representative role is now to bequestioned!


Around the USAArizonaEric HamptonMRF Asst. State Representative

The Arizona Governor's Office of HighwaySafety invited NHTSA to come to the state andmake recommendations about their perceptionsof the state of motorcycling in Arizona. They heldclosed seminar/meetings the week of 10 June2007. On 15 June, they held a press conference -of sorts - where the public was welcome toattend, though there was not a question andanswer period.

Their recommendations included a universal hel-met law (which was never defined), the fact thatthey wanted the state to take over the MotorcycleAwareness Program and hire two employees tohandle it, that motorcycle license permit holdersshould be held to a zero-tolerance blood alcohollevel (0.0% B.A.C.) - though no mention wasmade of drivers of cars or trucks, and that a cross-indexing system should be established to com-pare motorcycle registrations to a list of motorcy-cle endorsements... among many other things -like impounding motorcycles of those pulled overwithout a motorcycle endorsement... again, nomention of those driving cars or trucks with nolicense.

As usual, they presented several one-sided statswithout taking in all the factors or real numbersinvolved. Nothing new here, it is just kind ofstrange to actually sit in a room with these folksand listen to their half-truths and skewed num-bers, without opportunity for feedback.

For more about this NHTSA hearing, visit theMRF web site - www.mrf.org/az.php.

ArkansasConnie ShepherdMRF State Representative

Last year, for whatever reason, Arkansas did notapply for the Federal grant money availablethrough NHSTA. But I am glad to report thatArkansas has submited an application before thedeadline date this year. ABATE members haveworked with the Arkansas State Police (thedepartment that deals with this type of grantmoney) and State Legislators to meet the require-ments to apply for and receive this Federal grantmoney.

ABATE of Arkansas submitted information onit's rider's ed program, the Accident SceneManagement Inc program, Public ServiceAnnouncements for radio and television that runthrough-out the state and a list of counties where4 x 8 foot signs and banners are posted for motor-cycle awareness to the Arkansas State Police.Some of this information was used in applyingfor the Federal grant money. A BIG "Thanks" toABATE of Arkansas' members for their efforts totrain riders and alerting the public to share theroad with motorcycles!! Because what they dohas been the ONLY things done to help themotorcyclists in Arkansas (there are several pri-vate rider's ed programs through out the state.)The State of Arkansas has never had any type ofprogram for rider's education or motorcycleawareness. Now, the Arkansas State Police are inthe process of setting up a council for a rider'seducation and motorcycle awareness programand they have asked ABATE of Arkansas to haverepresentation on this new council!! ABATE ofArkansas was honored to be asked on this coun-cil!!

ABATE of Arkansas will host it's second OfficersTraining Seminar October the 13th in HotSprings, Arkansas. The planning committee isworking on getting a speaker from the MRF andAMA. The ABATE State Board meeting will bethe following day in Hot Springs.

CaliforniaRobert CuthbertsonMRF State Representative

A bill that would allow motorcycle dealers toinstall EPA approved exhaust, AB 829 is movingforward. It has passed out of the Assembly withno opposition and also has passed out of theSenate Trans Committee and is scheduled to beheard on the Senate floor on 7-9-07. This billwould now make it legal for new motorcycle buy-ers to have aftermarket exhaust installed at thepoint of sale, by the dealer.

AB 1581 is our red light bill. This is also movingforward, about one step behind of AB 829. It'sstill in the Senate Transportation Committee,scheduled to be heard on 7-9-07. Update as of 7-17-07: both bills have passed out of committee.

For those who are interested in how we are doingon the Judicial side of fighting the helmet law,Richard Quigley has written an excellent summa-ry. It can be found athttp://usff.com/calbolt/0407update.html

The two cases that we are currently fighting areunder section II and section III.

If you would like to help out, donations may besent to:Judicial FundABATE of California Inc10240 7th Ave.Hesperia, Ca 92345-2631

ConnecticutRon TroiaMRF State Representative

Here in Connecticut we have the “Open theThrottle, Not the Bottle” campaign which hasbeen going on for 3 or 4 years now. I am prettysure it is funded and administered by the stateD.O.T and can be found at www.ride4ever.org. Itis a good site with some good interactive skillstests and also provides a link to The ConnecticutMotorcycle Riders Association as well as otherassociated web sites.

Ron Troia

IdahoJoel ArnoldiMRF State Representative

HELLO! FROM THE HOODOO HIPPIES &NORTH IDAHO A.B.A.T.E EVERY THINGSGOING WELL

Not a lot going on here but we have been busywith our A.B.A.T.E chapters promoting ridereducation and making people aware that moyor-cycles are on our roadways.

And north Idaho, southern Idaho and I.C.M.S(IDAHO COLATION MOTORCYCLESAFTEY) was very happy to receive theTEA/LU moneys - one hundred thousand bucksand some of that money was used to promoteawarenes such as public service anouncements ontv and radio.

LOOK TWICE SAVE A LIFE!!!!!!

THANKS EVERYONE, RIDE SAFE JOEL ARNOLDI

IowaPolly SchoellerMRF State Representative

With Iowa's Straw pole approaching we havebeen a "state of interest" for several political can-

didates. Abate of Iowa invited CandidateTancredo to come and address our Board meetingin May in Eldora, Iowa. Candidate Tancredoshared his platform points with the Abate Boardof Directors and his stance on illegal imigrationas well as important points for motorcylist andmotorcycle rights.

With August quickly approaching Iowa is hostingthe annual Straw Pole in Ames, Iowa on August10th & 11th. Candidate Tommy Thompson fromWisconsin with TEAM Tommy will be having astreet dance and will meet with Abate of Iowamembers.

Other events comming thru Iowa will be theTraveling Viet Nam Memorial Wall, an 80%replica of the original Wall located in DC. Thetraveling Wall will be in Harlan, Iowa on August8th, 2007. Be sure to mark your calendars for thisyear's MOTM (Meeting of the Minds) inSeptember in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

MinnesotaTodd RibaMRF State Representative

That old phone is ringing off the hook, on theother end is a wake up call for all Bikers inMinnesota.The argument could be made that wehave it pretty good in the Land of 10,000 Lakeswhen it comes to motorcycle rights. Adult ridershave had freedom of choice since 1975, wepassed the first equal access bill in thenation.Blue dot tail lights and ape hangers at anyheight are legal, the list goes on.That's the goodnews.The problem is when you got it good youget complacent and fall asleep at the switch,which brings me to the bad news.

The Minnesota media has decided that the bikersin Minnesota should wear helmets.They havebeen writing articles, the talking heads on TVhave been spewing about it, and there have beena couple of polls about the subject.Once word gotout about the polls, common sense prevailed anda lot of freedom loving people voiced their opin-ions on our behalf.That doesn't mean the media isdone but they are kind of quiet about the subjectfor now.Thanks to all who voted on our behalf.

There is more bad news.The gang task forcepulled over and detained a large group of bikes ona run in Central Minnesota.It really sounds likethey went way overboard with their tactics.Iguess the task force thinks the Constitution onlyapplies to people in mini vans and suits andties.The task force also planned a "sting" on I-90aimed at bikers headed to Sturgis.There weresome reports that the "sting" was called off aftera concerned biker started spreading theword.There is no way of knowing the out come atthis time but I am sure we will know the resultsby the time this issue of the MRF Reports is pub-lished.

Outright harrassment isn't the only form of attackthat we face, outright discrimination is also athreat.The city of Stillwater has been pulling overbikers like crazy for noise violations.Now there isno doubt that some of the bikes are loud and wecould all do a better job of keeping a low andquiet profile at the appropriate times but I haven'theard of any other groups getting ticketed.Thenwe have a real ugly situation just over the borderin Hudson Wisconsin.There was an alleged inci-dent involving the Outlaws M/C at Dibbos, a barin Hudson.City officials got kind of scared andforced Dibbo's to deny access to patch holders oranybody else wearing anything that resemblescolors.And if that isn't bad enough, they forcedDibbo's to prohibit any motocycle group fromholding lawful meetings at the business.Thismeans that the St. Croix Valley Riders, a groupthat has been big a MRF supporter, can no longerhave their meetings at Dibbo's.It sounds like The

Outlaws are going to fight this and they should.Iknow the St. Croix Valley Riders aren't going totake this sitting down either.It's like I said, theSCVR's have been huge MRF supporters, so staytuned, we may have a chance to return the favor.

Well that's about all of the bad news that I cantake for now, the bottom line is every now andthen we all need a wake up call.The good news iswe have the MRF, The SCVR's, A.B.A.T.E. ofMN, and the Minnesota Coalition of Clubs tofight for our rights, I gotta say "I like ourchances."

MontanaDal Smilie of Helena, Montana was re-appointedto the Montana Motorcycle Safety AdvisoryCouncil by Governor Brian Schweitzer on June20. Schweitzer is the fifth Montana governor toname Smilie to this council since it was created in1989.

The Montana Motorcycle Safety AdvisoryCouncil guides the Montana Motorcycle RiderSafety Program which provides safety trainingfor riders. This national award winning programhas trained almost half of the riders in Montanasince its inception. The program is attached toMontana State University at Northern and can bereached at 800 922-BIKE [email protected].

Smilie is a recipient of the Motorcycle SafetyFoundation’s Award of Excellence, its highestnational award in 1995. He is an avid on and off-road rider, motorcycle rights advocate,Motorcycle Hall of Fame member and currentlyserves as the Chairman of the Board for theAmerican Motorcyclist Association. Dal Smilieis an MRF charter member and a charter memberof ABATE of Montana and a long time memberof its Legislative Committee.

North CarolinaCindy HodgesMRF State Representative

Here in North Carolina, our legislative year thusfar has been grueling. More so for Thomas “DocSki” Wasileski, Ph.D. than many bikers in ourstate. Not that there are not others who are veryactive legislatively, but from where I’m sitting,Doc Ski has been not so much walking the walkas marching the march. Double-time. With aloaded pack. Under fire. Against the wind, uphill, “both ways, in the snow” as my father usedto say. We have had some successes and somereally crushing blows. Still we march on. A billsits on the Governor’s desk that, if signed or not,will become law soon unless he vetoes it. Thisbill adds to our already mandatory state helmetlaw the “definition” of FMVSS-218 standards.Yee ha. We got this defeated in committee onlyto find it on the Gov’s desk three days later. Canyou say Politics? For the details in extreme, seehttp://docskivnv.bravejournal.com/, dateTuesday, July 24, 2007.

MRF membership continues to grow in our state,as does the membership in CBA/ABATE of NC.The Lucas bike promotion started out with a bigbang but I believe the high temps has everythingslowed. I know it is hard for me to get out toevents in this heat, and I am encountering moreand more of like mind. Will someone from mystate win the Lucas bike? I sure hope so! If youhave not re-upped your MRF membership orsigned up someone this year, let me know… I canhook you up.

Vinny Neumann and Bruce Harris’s HistoryTours are off and running with great business sofar this year, raising hundreds of dollars oncemore for the MRF and also gaining members.


Around the USA

Damage Control Won't Create Better Drivers

.Hi,I read your article and feel you did a goodjob researching the data. Except, as usual, itmisses the point that motorists in the US(Cars &Trucks) drive like inattentivemorons.

Yes, I wear a helmet, boots and an armoredjacket, but that won't prevent some distract-ed motorist from turning into me, turning infront of me or running into the back of me.When will the issue become, "teaching,testing and enforcing safe driving prac-tices?"

My company belongs to the MotorcycleIndustry Council and at our annual meetingin February the guest speaker was MaryPeters, now Secretary of Transportation.The good news is that she and her husbandboth ride their own motorcycle. The badnews is that her big plan to reduce deaths isto encourage motorcycle dealers to giveaway helmets on every motorcycle pur-

chase. You know what? Most dealers Iknow would do that, if motorcyclists wouldget equal rights and protection underFederal and State law. But damage controlwith increased helmet use is only one partof the answer. How about preventing thecollision from happening in the first place?

Here in Arizona if a motorist runs into orover you, but they're not alcohol or drugimpaired they will go free almost 100% ofthe time; they won't even get a traffic tick-et. In just the last two years in our littlecommunity of Prescott, Arizona a femalerider was killed when a car driving womanturned left in front of her. The womanadmitted seeing the motorcyclist, butthought "she had more time". No ticketissued, even though a mother of three waskilled.

Just this June four motorcyclists were rid-ing near Prescott when an oncoming truckillegally crossed the double yellow to passa slow moving vehicle and hit the motorcy-clists head-on. Two died at the scene. Theother two were air evacuated in criticalcondition. No ticket issued, even though thetrucker made an illegal maneuver and killedtwo people.

Two years ago a good friend and one of thebest motorcycle restorers I knew, Lynn

This letter was to Joseph White at the

Wall Street Journal in response to his

article titled "Bikers Fight to Ride Free

- and Win".

Ed.

Snodgress was riding with his wife and washit head-on by a vehicle that crossed thecenterline into his path. He and his wifedied at the scene. No ticket issued.

The first week of July a friend of mine,Wayne Pierce, owner of Pierce Harley-Davidson of Dekalb, IL was killed when aJeep turned left in front of him. No ticketissued. Wayne was 56, an experienced riderand a strong advocate for safe riding. Healways wore a helmet, but that didn't savehim when he T-boned the 2-ton vehicle thatturned into his path.

And last. I want to point out how car com-mercials have changed in the US in the lastcouple years. For example, a Subaru adrunning recently for their Impreza shows ayoung woman checking her makeup,adjusting her boyfriend's hair and thenpulling a U-Turn from the curb to be on hermerry way. All the while the voice-over ispitching the attributes of the Impreza enjoy-ing a 5-star crash rating. So, it seems thatcar manufacturers have figured out thatAmericans drive like idiots, so they can sellcars based on protecting them from themany crashes they're sure to have in theirlifetime. And, I might add, that car manu-facturers continue to add electronic gadgetsto their cars, only to draw more criticalattention away from the road.

My opinion is that the motorcycle industryis headed for a major crash. That before toolong, if left unattended motorists will makeit just too dangerous to ride. The result?Mass exodus from an industry that does inthe neighborhood of $20-billion in sales peryear. Putting hundreds of thousands of peo-ple out of work. Putting millions of motor-cycle riders into cars and trucks to clog theroads even more. When that happens we alllose the benefits of more motorcycles onthe road more often. Motorcycles produceless road wear, use fewer natural resources,can park 2-3 to one car space and reducegridlock as they take less room on the road.

It would be nice if a prestigious paper likeyours would address these concerns beforeit's too late. To date the only major entitydoing this is the American MotorcycleAssociation that sponsors a program called"Justice for All". They have lobbied to get11-States to enact some sort of legislationthat encourages better driving by enforcingsevere penalties for injuring or killingmotorcyclists by inattentive or illegal driv-ing.

Thank you,David G. KoshollekPrescott, Arizona

For more up to date information on these runs andpictures of the fun involved, seehttp://ncrider.com. I’m not quite sure how tothank these guys for their tireless work anymore,they are as consistent and dependable, not tomention effective, as anyone I have ever known.

North Carolina gained a fabulous new tool in thetoolbox in the person of Susan “Miss Red”Huttman who moved to our state from the beau-tiful state of Florida earlier this year. Susan hasalready gotten involved with her localCBA/ABATE of NC chapter and recently attend-ed her first CBA/ABATE of NC state meetingand committee meetings. She has taken point onsome key committees and I have assured theorganization’s board members of her abilities anddedication to projects. We are very glad to haveSusan here. Who knows, we might have anotherassistant state rep one day soon.

One of our own has been nominated for a YoungActivist Scholarship this year. This makes oursecond nominee. J.T. Boone, a second-genera-tion bikers rights activist, is 18 years old and ispresident of one of CBA/ABATE of NC’s chap-ters. We are very proud of J.T.

For more updated information from NorthCarolina, please see the above URLs or go tohttp://cba-abatenc.org.

OhioBarbara TittleMRF State Representative

In Colorado and Oregon the training programsfor new riders are under attack from theMotorcycle Safety Foundation regarding the con-tent of the programs and alleged legal principles.On that front, if MSF truly does have trade-marked material, it is required to protect its trade-

mark.

However, Ohio has a newly proposed law whichmay affect our rider training differently. In Ohio,the Director of Public Safety and the MotorcycleOhio (“MO”) program administer rider trainingprograms. Course completion lets you apply fora motorcycle endorsement. MO only charges $25for the basic course and some insurance compa-nies and others will reimburse that amount. Thecourses are offered directly by the Department ofPublic Safety (“ODPS”)at various communitylocations. Some are held at public communitycolleges and career centers/vocational schools.The public centers are reimbursed for someexpenses from the Motorcycle Safety andEducation Fund, which is created by part of thelicense fees paid when we buy our MC plates andtags. (P.S., last year this healthy fund was the sub-ject of a possible raid for money by some ill-advised Congress members. They learned thatthey had a vocal and active rider community tooppose and they thought better of trying to out-right steal it!)

Evidently one or more of the community collegesites did not properly file with ODPS to be reim-bursed for its course, and/or felt they could cashin on the dollars which Harley and other privatecompanies have seen in “for profit” rider trainingfor which there is such a huge demand. So, a fewOhio representatives proposed a bill which wouldallow the ODPS to authorize public entities, suchas community colleges and vocational schools, tooffer MC rider training without fee restriction.However, the school would not be allowed toapply to ODPS for expenses or subsidies, whichthey currently receive.

We have seen that there is no shortage of peoplewho take the HD courses at inflated prices.Vocational schools see that they may have a prof-it center available in the plethora of new riders

who wish to obtain their endorsement by taking acourse. One of the problems is that the ODPSalready has problems finding enough suitablelocations and instructors to offer more courses at$25 vs. $250. By taking some of the prime loca-tions available at public sites-vocational schoolsand community colleges – this reduces the num-ber of affordable training sites. It also drains theavailable instructors. While it does still offertraining- much needed- it reduces the number oflow fee sites available. It is to be noted that of the36 training sites in Ohio (used by ODPS), only 7are vocation schools or community colleges.

On the other hand, if it is a profit center for theschools, perhaps the schools will offer moreclasses than it before and open more, albeit moreexpensive, classes. And if a larger number ofpeople are taking the for profit classes to satisfytheir training need, then perhaps the remaining$25 classes will be more available for those whocan’t pay the exorbitant price. In the end, if thepublic schools which privatize their classes pro-vide more outlets for training and bring on morenew instructors, there could be a dividend.

Certainly, one can write to the sponsors of OhioHB 176 (Courtney Combs of Hamilton, ClydeEvans of Rio Grande, Robert Otterman of Akronand Thom Collier of Mt. Vernon) to express youropinion that this may not in the best interests ofOhio’s motorcycle riders. One can and shouldexpress his/her own opinion to one’s ownCongressman and Senator in Ohio, as well, tosupport or defeat the proposed bill.

An additional option is to look to your own com-munity for additional sites where ODPS couldoffer training. The physical space requirementsare demanding, but not impossible to fill. Whatabout parking lots at abandoned schools ordepartment stores or at a local company whichwould be willing to promote safety? Further,individuals whose interest is in safety and whohave a moderate temperament can consider tak-ing the training regimen to become an instructor.

We all know the need for more training classesand to promote more training among not onlynew riders, but also those who have been on theroad for awhile. Think about what you can do.


Sustaining MembersAlaska

Craig BreshearsABATE of AK, JuneauBikers of AmericaSuezanne & Dan CoffeyFrank MarineauBarbaraAndersonKenai PenninsulaMike SeamanBoyd & Debbie McFailMina DouglasKen BrewerScott HamannJames Max KitchensABATE of AK, Anchorage

Arkansas

Dist 1 ABATE of ARDist 22 ABATE of ARDist 17 ABATE of ARPhillip BarnettDist 14 ABATE of ARAllen WinnRusty LeewrightDist 13 ABATE of ARState Office ABATE of ARUSA Promotions

Arizona

ABATE of AZ State OfficeLaw Tigers of AmericaAZ Confederation of MCAmon Builders Inc.AZ Rider M/C NewsLouis Schwitzer IIIModified Motorcycle Assoc.of AZDeborah ButittaINB Communications

California

Local 14 ABATE of CALocal 6 ABATE of CADonald L WoodsonHank HallmarkJohn LaneLocal 15 ABATE of CAFix My Hog, Inc.Jean HughesValley V-TwinByron SandsJim BrownJess SorelNew York MykeABATE of CALocal 10 ABATE of CAMark ThomsTony SidlowskiBob WhiteMichael K CowanRichardMansfield

Canada

Motorcyclists Confed. ofCanadaFed. Motocycliste du Quebec

Comite' D'action PolitiqueM/CAMTTV

Colorado

Dist 11 ABATE of COErik EriksonDist 1 ABATE of CODist 9 ABATE of CODist 5 ABATE of COJB Janitorial, Inc.Dist 2 ABATE of CORider Ed ABATE of CODist 13 ABATE of COLafore's IncDeb LowerDist 15 ABATE of CODist 22 ABATE of CODist 16 ABATE of CODist 17 ABATE of COState Office ABATE of CODist 18 ABATE of CODist 6 ABATE of COJim JonesDist 8 ABATE of COMaggot Mike & Linda NiesGrant H GobleDistrict 21 ABATE of CORiders For JusticeScot & Trish LockeDave ChristyDist 14 ABATE of CORichardDennerlineSue & Torch BarrMiles FranceNat. Assoc. of SMSA

Connecticut

Ray HolbrookWilliamOgonowski

Delaware

Newcastle Cnty ABATE of DEKent County Chap. ABATE ofDE

District of Columbia

Jeffrey Hennie

Florida

Associates & Bruce L.ScheinerBruce ArnoldEstero River ABATE of FLHurricane CycleClaude HamelinkROARSDouglas MacCoyState Office ABATE of FL

Georgia

State Office ABATE of GADist 5 ABATE of GADist 6 Chapt 2 ABATE of GADist 4W ABATE of GADist 1 ABATE of GA

Dist 6 ABATE of GAHawaii

Warren & Josee WoodwardStreet Bikers United HawaiiJack Wallace

Iowa

Mad Dog & Lady KittySons of SilenceDist 12 ABATE of IADave & Kathy Warren SrDist 15 ABATE of IARonald D BraaksmaDist 4 ABATE of IAChosen Few M/CDist 11 ABATE of IADist 9 ABATE of IADist 24 ABATE of IADist 20 ABATE of IAMcCubbins TrophysDist 25 ABATE of IADist 14 ABATE of IAJohn BarberState Office ABATE of IAMark MaxwellMike CmelikDist 6 ABATE of IAJames & Roxana WestJ & P CyclesDist 5 ABATE of IACharlie & Norma Canny

Idaho

State Office ABATE of IDHoodoo Chapter ABATE of NIDABATE of North IdahoKootenai Road DogsFeatherberry FarmICMSCharles D CoulterFrank J DanielsNW Classic M/C

Illinois

Twin Rivers ABATE of ILSteel Justice M/CFulton Cnty ABATE of ILDuKane ABATE of ILKishwaukee Valley ABATE ofILRandy ScottPiasa Gateway ABATE of ILDonald J LopatkiewiczPeo Taz Chap ABATE of ILFreeport Chap. ABATE of ILDave & Lee MartinS Suburban ChapABATE of ILCrossroads ABATE of ILLawrence SchabSo. Dupage Chapt. ABATE ofILCity Heat M/CChap. 27 ABATE of ILFreedom Valley ABATE of IL

Freedom By Choice ABATEof ILKelly's Chicagoland LawTigersChicago ABATE of ILRobert "Gopher" GoffinskiN IL Chap ABATE of ILCentral Chap ABATE of ILNW Suburban ABATE of ILJim & Marilyn ViveritoBackroads Chap. 32 ABATEof ILMidstate ABATE of ILKathy & Dave ConnerBarrio Riders Illinois M/CShoal Creek ABATEChap. 12 Freedom RidersRich & Barb AmlingBlackhawk ABATE of ILFord Cnty ABATE of ILBarak's Truck RepairRonnie OsiolVince & Sue StarkoWill Cnty ABATE of ILShawnee Hills ABATE of ILBlack Diamond ABATE of ILHeritage Trail ABATE of ILPib KnebelOpen Roads ABATE of ILAmerican Harley Express M/CLincoln Land ABATE of ILRobert Myers & KathleenSkeltonKorg & Pauli WardShar SonnenbergVernon GottelEastern IL Chap. ABATE of IL

Indiana

IN MC Operators SafetyProgramLaporte Cnty ABATE of INBill CreightonFrank D HernlyRobert D MaasRegion 2 ABATE of INRegion 6 ABATE of INJames San PietroHendricks County ABATE ofINElkhart Cnty ABATE of INStarke County ABATE of INRegion 3 ABATE of INLake County ABATE of INRegion 11 ABATE of INR.P. MorrisBig ChuckState Office ABATE of INRegion 4 ABATE of INRegion 1 ABATE of INTom McClellanGino JohnsonRegion 13 ABATE of INRegion 7 ABATE of INPulaski Cnty ABATE of INMorris & Dee Kintner

Al "Putt" PutmanRegion 0 ABATE of INRegion 9 ABATE of IN

Kansas

State Office ABATE of KSGraveyard Custom CyclesDist 2 ABATE of KSDist 8 ABATE of KSDist 12 ABATE of KSSMART IncDist 7 ABATE of KSDist 4 ABATE of KSDist 1 ABATE of KSDist 3 ABATE of KSDist 15 ABATE of KSDist 11 ABATE of KSCAMM Enterprise, LLCSledge Hammer Repair, Inc.Dist 9 ABATE of KSDist 5 ABATE of KS

Kentucky

Ed MathenyState Office KMA/KBA

Louisiana

ABATE of LA, Inc.

Massachusetts

Walter PolchlopekState Office MMA-MAPaul W CoteDavid L Elias

Maryland

Tom GreenbankJay Irwin BlockCarroll County ABATE of MDPc.hlp/Henry S WinokurBaltimore County ABATE ofMD

Maine

Hancock Cnty UBMKnox County UBMSagadahoc Cnty UBM

Michigan

David & Wendy RamirezRegion 5 ABATE of MIPatriot Steel & FabricationRegion 1 ABATE of MIXtreme LeatherFarmer's TavernJ & J Customs & CollisionNorthern Knights M/CState Office ABATE of MIRegion 17 ABATE of MIRay C'sCycle & SportsRegion 13 ABATE of MIPam & Vince PiacentiRegion 4 ABATE of MIRegion 12 ABATE of MIKimberly's Pub-FOCCRegion 9 ABATE of MI


Sustaining Members (continued)

Nedd's Auto RepairRegion 16 ABATE of MIRegion 15 ABATE of MIAFAB Motorcycle PartsRegion 19 ABATE of MIRegion 7 ABATE of MIGary Lee SlawterThomas & Patricia RahnEd SteinkampfRon FinchTown & Country Sports CntrDiaz GreenhouseRegion 18 ABATE of MIRegion 8 ABATE of MIShady Shores InnRegion 11 ABATE of MIRT Boring, Inc.Region 20 ABATE of MITecumseh Harley DavidsonShopThe Mystic Bar & GrillRegion 14 ABATE of MIRegion 6 ABATE of MI

Minnesota

John SullivanMetro Chap ABATE of MNSth Cntrl Chap ABATE of MNGlacial Ridge Chap ABATE ofMNAssoc. of Independent RidersNorthwest Chap ABATE ofMNMichelle & Mack BacklundBorderland ABATE of MNE Cntrl Chap ABATE of MNFlatlanders ABATE of MNPhilip & Susan SwansonHeartland STEAMNortheast ABATE of MNJon KrapuCentral Chap BATE of MNState Office ABATE of MNRiver Valley ABATE of MNTodd & Dawn RibaLake Chapter ABATE of MNKevin ToddTri-County Chapter ABATE ofMNSand Dunes ABATE of MNBuffalo Ridge ABATE of MNStraight River ABATE of MNRiver Riders ABATE of MNDavid "Too Tall" CarlsonSt. Croix Valley RidersBuzz Plante & Karen May

Missouri

Stephen M MorrisLocal 4 FORRCentral Committee FORRLocal 29 FORRSteve "Wildman"HowardLocal 33 FORR

Mississippi

ABATEof MS

North Carolina

Triad CBA/ABATE of NCBrunswick Cnty CBA of NCWade IsraelLarry & Gail RumlerJames TuthillTar River BasinCBA/ABATEBruce W HarrisRaleigh Chapter CBA of NCSusan "Red" HuttmanChatham Cnty CBA/ABATEof NCCBA Abate-NC Buncombe CoCarolina Custom Products,Inc.Carteret/CravenCBA of NCDavid GoreState Office CBA of NCVinny Neumann

North Dakota

FM Crusaders MCFreedom Riders M/C

Nebraska

State Office ABATE of NE

New Hampshire

State Office NHMROGary A DelongVictor Sweren

New Jersey

ABATE of the Garden StateRider Education of NewJerseyRichard F Bogert

New Mexico

Chuck & Carolyn RyderFirst Mountain ABATE of NM

Nevada

Red RiderzABATE of Northern NevadaCecil's Custom CycleAccessoriesConfed. of Clubs Southern NV

New York

James SchuylerMelchizedeks MCJames (Jeddy) TranquillN Ulster Chapter ABATE ofNYOnondaga Chap. ABATE ofNYNew York Freedom RidersProspector- MRF RepCorky EdwardsColumbia Cnty ABATE of NYTompkins Cty ABATE of NYRobert Friedrich

Long Island Chapter ABATEof NYRobert B BancroftGreene Co ABATE of NYNiagaraABATE of NYSusan BuckBuffalo ABATEOntario Cnty ChapterOrleans Cnty ABATE of NYMonroe Cnty ABATE of NY

Ohio

Joe & Robin PickensRegion 7 ABATE of OHJim BownRegion 1 ABATE of OHNorma & Keith FletcherState Office ABATE of OHMichael J Zaciewski SrRegion 8 CMRORegion 9 ABATE of OHRegion 16 CMROSteel HorsepowerRoland "Buzz" UdeRegion 1 CMROConcerned M/C Riders of OH

Oklahoma

Lakes Area Chap. 13 ABATEof OK

Oregon

Josephine Chapter ABATE ofORSE Portland ABATE of ORJerry's Custom Cycle RepairHub City ABATE of ORWashington Cnty ABATE ofORBrian StovallJill TracyKen RayRiver City ABATE of ORJoy HooverState Office ABATE of ORTed TracyCentral Or Chap ABATE ofOREd Vaughn

Pennsylvania

Chap. 69 Liberty RiderABATE of PAAllegheny Cnty ABATE of PAPhiladelphia ABATE of PAChester Cnty ABATE of PAFayette Cnty ABATE of PABald Eagle Mtn ABATE of PAFreedom Riders PCOMSusquehanna Valley Big TwinClarion Cnty ABATE of PALancaster HDState Office PCOM-Wm LaberSouth Mountain ABATE of PASusquehanna Motorcycle ClubKeystone Chap. ABATE of PA

Delaware ValleyABATE of PAJohn GarnerIndiana Cnty ABATE of PARobert A. YohnGod's Country ABATE of PAWilliam S. Holmes

Rhode Island

RI Motorcycle Association

South Carolina

SC Motorcycle Rights Assoc.Swamp Fox Chap ABATE ofSCGreenville CntyABATE of SCJasper County ABATE of SCState Office ABATE of SCPee Dee ChapterABATE of SCEast Cooper ABATE of SCLow Country ABATE of SC

South Dakota

Wayne & Susan LettauSioux Falls ABATE of SDS. F & GThose Guys ABATE of SDNortheast ABATE of SDState Office ABATE of SDBlack Hills ABATE of SDJoseph L. EnglerSioux River ABATE of SDWindriders ABATE of SDAberdeen ABATE

Tennessee

Upper CumberlandCMT/ABATEState Office CMT/ABATEWheels of ThunderCMT/ABATE

Texas

Brenda SheaAndy StoodyTexas ABATE ConfederationDad & Bag Lady

Utah

Bob & Sue AddamsCentral ChapterABATE of UTDavis Chapter ABATE of UTBrian (B-Y) Hepworth

Virginia

Scott BlankenshipTommy CoatsVA Freedom Riders RACEKen SwartzDouglas FindlayRiver City ABATE of VACoalfield Riders of ABATELonesome Pine ABATE of VAJ Thomas Mcgrath

Vermont

Southwest Freedom Riders,Inc.United Mcists of VT

Washington

John BolinVern JenkinsState Office ABATE of WAIan KingGinger MaguresPacific Cnty ABATE of WARoy E FisherCowlitz Cnty ABATES King Cnty ABATE of WAJo Breneman & Mark CollingNorth Kitsap Chapter ABATEof WA

Wisconsin

David & Susan DwyerRegion 2J ABATE of WIRegion 4A ABATE of WIRegion 7B ABATE of WIRegion 3A ABATE of WIJesse James KittredgeMichael HupyDonna & Wayne PingelRegion 2E ABATE of WIRegion 1A, Milw. CntyABATE of WIDan & Barbara BatkerJohn HagerOzaukee Cnty ABATE of WIBill "Wild Bill" CarrickDave (Chubby) CharleboisDonnie LiegeoisGrant WilkinsonRegion 1H ABATE of WIState Office ABATE of WIKirk "Hardtail" WillardRegion 2F ABATE of WIRegion 2B ABATE of WIHupy Law FirmRegion 2H ABATE of WIRegion 1I ABATE of WIRegion 1J ABATE of WIWeigel, CarlsonBlau &Clemens

West Virginia

Upper OH ValleyABATE of WV

Wyoming

Graydon L WheelerABATE of CodyState Office ABATE of WYAlbany Cnty ABATE of WY

For your convenience, we

can accept memberships,

donations,conference

registrations and product

orders by phone or fax, or

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or American Express.

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATIONSeptember/october 2007

This newsletter is an official publication of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 510, Washington, D.C. 20002-4980; phone (202)546-0983; fax (202) 546-0986. All rights reserved. Portions may be reprinted with proper attribution. MRF Reports is published six times a year and distributed nationwide.Opinions expressed herein are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent those of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, its officers or representatives. TheMotorcycle Riders Foundation will not knowingly contract with or do business with any entity that discriminates against motorcyclists in any way, shape or form.

PRESIDENTKirk “Hardtail” [email protected]

VICE-PRESIDENT Michael “Boz” [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT OFGOV’T RELATIONSJeff [email protected]

SECRETARYDeborah [email protected]

TREASURERChuc Coulter208-343-7452fax [email protected]

Communications DirectorOPEN

Carol DownsConference [email protected]

Dave DwyerSSMRO Board [email protected]

Cindy HodgesMember [email protected]

Jay JacksonMotorcycle Safety/Rider [email protected]

Steve ZimmerMRFPAC [email protected]

Miles FranceState Reps Program [email protected]

Products DirectorOPEN

John PierceMembership [email protected]

Todd RibaState Reps Board [email protected]

Carol SimpsonMember [email protected]

Steve ZimmerSupporting SMRO Board [email protected]

Tiffany LatimerDC Office [email protected]

MAIL TO BOARDMEMBERSmay be sent to the MRF officeand will be forwarded. If youmust mail time-sensitive mate-rial to a board member, contactthat person by phone or emailfirst to make arrangements.

Board Assistants

Helen WessonProducts Assistant

Polly SchoellerMembership [email protected]

Susan [email protected]

Paulette [email protected]

Todd SudaGrant [email protected]

WebmasterEric [email protected]

Sarah MuckenhouptDC Office [email protected]

Ex-Officio Board

Mark Buckner, [email protected]

Marc Falsetti, [email protected]

Rick Gray, [email protected]

Lynn [email protected]

MRF Reports

EDItoR

Eric [email protected]

Send all submissions

for publication to:

[email protected]

DEADlINE

The FIRST of everyeven-numbered month

ADDRESS ChANgE

Please send in writing to:Motorcycle

Riders Foundation

236 Massachusetts Ave. NESuite 510Washington, DC [email protected]

MRF Office236 Massachusetts Ave. NESuite 510Washington, DC 20002-4980Phone: 202-546-0983Fax: [email protected]

Website

http://www.mrf.org

Mission

StatementTo continue developing

an aggressive, independent

national advocacy for the

advancement of motorcy-

cling and its associated

lifestyle, which is financially

stable and exceeds the needs

of motorcycling enthusiasts.

Mission

GoalsMaintain and improve

our ability to act as an advo-

cate before national, state

and local legislative, execu-

tive and judicial bodies, and

with private or public enti-

ties, regarding issues affect-

ing motorcycles, motorcy-

clists or motorcycling.

Maintain and improve

our financial base and

ensure financial stability.


our capability to meet and

exceed the needs of our

membership base and all

state motorcyclists’ rights

organizations.


our capability to be the

national information center

for motorcyclists’ rights

information.

Enhance the training of

national, state and local

motorcyclists’ rights

activists.

Board of Directors


We are there…watching

Support Your Voice in

Washington, DC

Help Build MRFPAC!Contributions of $5 and

$10 can go a long way to

make our voices heard in

DC and coast-to-coast

Send to:

Motorcycle Riders

Foundation,

236 Massachusetts Ave. NE,

Suite 510, Washington, DC

20002

Please make checks payable to

MRFPAC

Donations to MRFPAC are not Tax Deductible

We cannot accept corporate checks

MRF FinancialsSome of the newer demands being made on thosewho would continue the fight, and especially theMRF, to protect the street rider:

1. The developing world view that everyoneshould be the same, ride the same bike, graduatedlicensing. This has involved the MRF financiallyto remain involved and represent the U.S. riders,representation in what is going on in Europe forglobalization.

2. There is also a developing cohesive aftermarketorganization. Much of that work has been carriedby the MRF. The cost of that involvement hasmade new demands on the MRF, cost of time,travel and commitment of personnel.

The day to day costs of maintaining the MRFinvolvement on all fronts has experienced increas-ing costs of doing business. Just like everyoneelse experiences.

And most importantly, the MRF will not compro-mise its commitment to represent riders in thisfreedom business.

The MRF has to depend upon the commitment ofindividuals and the SMROs to finance this fight.The demands go up and the MRF has to be in aposition to meet those.

Chuc CoulterMRF & MRFPAC Treasurer

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATIONSTATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

October 1, 2005, to September 30, 2006

ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS

Cash $158,845.12Pledges Receivable $ 22,735.00Inventory $ 10,637.00

TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS$192,217.12

TOTAL ASSETS $192,217.12

LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE

CURRENT LIABILITIES $ 31,791.28LONG TERM DEBT, Net of Current Position $ 0.00 FUND BALANCE $160,425.84

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE $192,217.12

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATIONPAC STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

October 1, 2005, to September 30, 2006

Beginning Balance as of October 1, 2005$16,810.31Donations to PAC Account $ 8,308.07Campaign Donations/Refunds, Bank Charges $1,930.34Ending Balance as of September 30, 2006$23,188.04

Janus—The God of looking for-

ward and backward at the same

time.

So here I am at one of many crossroads in mylife. Hoping to garner a little wisdom fromthe history of Janus, (Which was the name ofmy high school yearbook, by the way.), anddepending on my Faith to find ways to applythat bit of wisdom to the intent of my HigherPower. This day, In November of 2006, setthe precedents for my future. All my pastdays of being a mother, a freedom fighter, amotorcyclist, a friend, an adversary, a middleAmerica woman—culminated in this moment.Looking forward to the future.

I am no longer interested in serving on theBoard of the MRF, and hope that those whostep up to the plate understand the bottom lineof our issues. Freedom, accountability, credi-bility, RESPECT. I will always be interestedin maintaining our personal liberties, and willbe involved, in some way not yet defined.

All that I have learned from so many peopleacross this country will be vested in the grand-son in this photo, and the other five grandchil-dren in my life. Laughing, loving, learning,understanding. I look forward to my experi-ences and enjoyment of my new job at theTennessee General Assembly and well as thegrowth and development of these youngstersin my life, in addition to the good times andadventures shared with my children and myspecial guy, Mike. Family, friends, motorcy-cles. It’s all good.

Over twenty five years ago, I was riding downthe road with my kids in the back of the sta-tion wagon. The adult conversation wasabout… you guessed it…politics and unfairlaws. In the back seat, my younger son,Chris-10 years old at the time- piped up “ Weonly need one law in the whole world.” Iturned in my seat and inquired, “Oh great littlewise one, what would that be?” (With a hint ofskepticism, of course.) Chris replied.“RESPECT”.

Nothing more can be said.

See you soon, somewhere down the road…..

Carol Simpson

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ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

PHONE

Send check or money order to: MRF, 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20002-4980 before August 20, 2007. After August 20, 2007 registration fee increases $10.00 per person. For room reservations call the Cedar Rapids Marriott 319-393-6600 (mention MRF for group rate). Room rate $69 per night. Room reservation cut-off date, September 1.

(Must be received by August 20, 2007 to qualify for discounted rate) Registration includes all workshops, workshop materials, and Saturday banquet.

$60.00 Current individual MRF member (before Aug. 20th) $70.00 Current individual MRF member (after Aug. 20th) $70.00 Non-MRF member (before Aug. 20th) $80.00 Non-MRF member (after Aug. 20th)

MRF Committees

By-Laws: Michael “Boz” Kerr (Chair),Carol Downs, Deborah Butitta, KirkWillard, Paulette Pinkham

Communications: Deborah Butitta(Chair), Jeff Hennie, Susan Huttman, JohnPierce, Michael “Boz” Kerr, PaulettePinkham, Eric Hampton

Conferences & Meetings: Carol Downs(Chair), Kirk Willard, Jeff Hennie, CindyHodges, Carol Simpson, Todd Riba, SteveZimmer

Elections: Miles France (Chair), ChucCoulter, Dave Dwyer, Cindy Hodges,Dave Anderson

Finance: Carol Downs (Chair), KirkWillard, Chuc Coulter, John Pierce, DaveAnderson

Grants & 501(c)3: Michael “Boz” Kerr(Chair), Kirk Willard, Chuc Coulter,Susan Huttman, Todd Suda, Dave Dwyer,Jeff Hennie, Deborah Butitta, Jay Jackson,Paulette Pinkham, Dave Anderson

Marketing: Deborah Butitta (Chair),Susan Huttman, John Pierce, CindyHodges, Todd Riba, Eric Hampton

Membership: John Pierce (Chair), MilesFrance, Sarah Muckenhoupt, CindyHodges, Polly Schoeller, Todd Riba

MRF PAC: Steve Zimmer (Chair),Michael ”Boz” Kerr, Chuc Coulter, DaveDwyer, Jeff Hennie, Dave Anderson

Products: Carol Downs (Chair), ChucCoulter, Lynn Oldenburg, Polly Schoeller,Helen Wesson, Dave Anderson

Reps Growth Group: Miles France(Chair), Cindy Hodges (co-chair), CarolSimpson, Susan Huttman, Polly Schoeller,Todd Riba

YAS Fund: Miles France (Chair), CindyHodges, Carol Downs, Jeff Hennie, SusanHuttman, Steve Eggleston

Farmer's Award: Kirk Willard, MarkBuckner

Federal Leg. Awards: Dave Dwyer(Chair), Michael Kerr, Carol Simpson,Steve Zimmer, Jeff Hennie, Todd Riba

Lifetime Achievement Award: KirkWillard, Deborah Butitta

Reps Awards: Miles France (Chair),Polly Schoeller, Todd Riba

Safety Recognition: Jay Jackson (Chair),Carol Downs, John Pierce, Chuc Coulter,Paulette Pinkham

State Leg. Awards: Dave Dwyer (chair),Cindy Hodges, Steve Zimmer, JeffHennie, Carol Simpson, Todd Riba

Alcohol Awareness: Jay Jackson (chair),Steve Zimmer, Jeff Hennie, Dave Dwyer,Lynn Oldenburg, Susan Huttman, CarolSimpson, Carol Downs, Paulette Pinkham

Outside Conferences: Carol Downs(chair), Jeff Hennie, Steve Zimmer, CarolSimpson, Kirk Willard, Lynn Oldenburg

mrf reports - september/october 2007

Documents