CALIFORNIA TRIES TO REDUCE NOISE FROM MOTORCYCLES

Calling California motorcycle riders!!! Today Senator Pavley signed off on a bill that will try to reduce the level of noise from motorcycles. Let us know if this new law that will supposedly go into effect by 2013 be useful? Check out the press release from Pavley's website below to learn more.....

SACRAMENTO, CA – The ear-splitting roar of illegally modified motorcycles may soon be quieted thanks to a bill authored by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica). SB 435, which will give law enforcement a tool to enforce current anti-tampering and noise level statues for motorcycles, is now headed to the governor’s desk. It passed the Senate Monday on a 21-16 vote.

“The noise caused by illegally modified motorcycle exhaust systems is a major quality of life issue across the state,” said Senator Pavley. “Basic common sense and decency dictates that when a motorcycle drives by and sets off every car alarm on the street, that is too loud. Additionally, many of the modifications which are aimed at making a bike louder - for example removing the catalytic converter - also make the bike exponentially more polluting. This has direct, measurable and negative impacts on public health.”

The past decade has seen improvements in pollution control equipment for motorcycles, and most now come equipped with catalytic converters and other emissions control devices. “However, many motorcycle enthusiasts remove the factory installed emissions control equipment and replace it with custom parts that create an exponentially higher amount of noise and air pollution than the factory kits, or legal aftermarket replacements,” said Senator Pavley.

This practice violates current state law and Federal regulations, but enforcement remains lax mainly due to a lack of effective tools for law enforcement, and due to the fact that motorcycles are not subject to smog check, as all other motor vehicles are, where many instances of tampering are discovered.

“In the absence of smog check, or other emissions or noise testing mechanisms for motorcycles in California, it is necessary to establish an enforcement mechanism that does not allow motorcycles to skirt current law,” said Senator Pavley.

SB 435 would require that motorcycles maintain their federally required emissions equipment (on both original, and aftermarket exhaust systems), including a readily visible EPA stamp certifying compliance. These regulations have been on the books since 1983. This gives law enforcement the ability to cite violations under the CA Vehicle Code, using a readily visible and unalterable stamp, already required by Federal regulation. A violation will be cited as a secondary infraction, and a first offense can be dismissed upon proof of correction. This bill will apply to motorcycles and aftermarket parts going forward from 2013.

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City to try flat fee parking program for motorbikes

Sample permit courtest PDOT.
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland transportation division officials said they are going to try a pilot program that offers motorcycle and scooter riders a flat monthly fee to park in the city’s metered parking spots.

Riders have complained in the past that the stick-on tags from the current parking meters are too easily lost or stolen, resulting in parking tickets.

In a press release distributed Tuesday, the Portland Bureau of Transportation announced the pilot program would run for a year beginning September 1, 2010. Permits will cost $40 a month.

“The permit is to be used for limited, short-term visits in a meter district and not to be used for long-term commuter parking. The motorcycle or moped may stay on the blockface only for the time limit of the meter, after which it must be moved either across the street or to a different block.,” the press release stated.

Cheryl Kuck, Public Information Officer for the bureau, told KATU News the $40 figure was arrived at using information from parking enforcement officers and other feedback the city has received.

Kuck said the permit is aimed at riders who come into downtown a few times a week for a few hours at a time.

Cycles and scooter owners must attach a numbered permit plate to their vehicle. Permits must match the license plate of the registered user’s motorbike.

Violators who go overtime in their parking space can be penalized with suspension or revocation from the program.

Current Portland Mayor Sam Adams, who is well-known for advocating bicycling in the city, is also a motorcyclist. He has met with local riders at town-hall meetings when he was a city commissioner to hear their concerns. Parking issues have been a primary topic and the city has added motorbike-only parking spots at various locations around the city.

Officials did note that two-wheeled commuters can also purchase monthly SmartPark garage permits for $30 but that does not allow the vehicles to use curbside or street parking without paying parking meters.

Portland has a robust motorbike and scooter community as well as a Motorcycle and Scooter Citizen Advisory Committee that works with the Bureau of Transportation. Kuck said the advisory committee supports the pilot program.

Motorbike riders can apply for a permit here (PDF link).

Successful and deadly, Sturgis counts the numbers
Tuesday, 17 August 2010 | Written by Digits | Print | E-mail

Although the official attendance numbers for the legendary motorcycle rally won’t be known for about a month, a deadly statistic has Sturgis officials agreeing that it was a deadly year for accidents.

With the ten year average being four to five fatal accidents, the nine motorcycle deaths during the event which just wrapped up surprised many. The famous motorcycle rally ended on Sunday August 1th, leaving behind nine deaths in the Black Hills which included Sturgis, Rapid City, the southern part of the Black Hills and the Badlands.

One reason being given for the increased number of fatalities is the sheer number of riders who came to enjoy the 70th anniversary of Sturgis. Estimates are placing the number at 600,000, well above last year's estimated total of 442,000.

If this year’s estimate holds true, the attendance could rival that of the rally’s record year which was coincidentally 660,000 when Sturgis celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Statewide statistics will be released later today.

Fewer attendees were arrested for drunken driving but more were made for drug violations. The number of citations dropped however with 1,442 riders being written up compared to 1,803 last year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, MILWAUKEE - It's the roar that made Milwaukee famous -- the distinctive throaty rumble of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. But that much-loved racket could be rumbling away to another state if the company cannot bring down its labor costs.

Harley-Davidson warned employees in April that it will move its Wisconsin manufacturing operations elsewhere if it cannot cut millions of dollars at the factories that build the bikes known as "Milwaukee Iron."

Harley's corporate headquarters would remain here, but that's small consolation to a community that has already endured repeated blows to its civic identity.

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"When you think of Milwaukee you think of beer, brats and Harley-Davidson," said Steve Daily, a researcher at the Milwaukee County Historical Society. "Right or wrong, that's what it is."

But that's been changing. For example, beer giant Miller Brewing Co. moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2008 after merging with Molson Coors Brewing Co. Then there was Schlitz, which billed itself as "the beer that made Milwaukee famous" until financial and labor problems forced it to sell out to a Detroit company in the 1980s.

That leaves Harley-Davidson Inc. as the city's lone signature brand. It's also a magnet for tourists, many of whom want to visit the factories where Harley engines are made.

"We get asked frequently where the plants are," said Paul Upchurch, the president of the VISIT Milwaukee tourism bureau. "A lot of people around the world associate Milwaukee with the home of Harley."

Harley chief executive Keith Wandell said the company will make its decision on whether to move in the next two months. Harley executives are already scouting out other states, though Wandell will not say which ones.

The company, he said, would also be open to incentives to keep the 1,630 manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin. But the idea that it could move production elsewhere stuns many Harley loyalists.

"You can't describe it. They've got so much history here. They've just become the blood of the community," said Tom Steepy, a lifelong rider and the director of the suburban Milwaukee chapter of the Harley Owners Group, or HOG. "If they moved their manufacturing, it would just create a void you can't fill."

Harley has been a local fixture for more than a century. It all started in 1903 when 23-year old William S. Harley and 22-year old Arthur Davidson began selling motorcycles built in a cramped wooden shed.

The company later built motorcycles for the U.S. military in both world wars, which helped introduce the bikes to a global audience that saw them as an American icon.

"They symbolize the classic American values of independence and hard work, freedom, all those values," said Kanti Prasad, a marketing professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee business school. "Harley-Davidson is a uniquely American phenomenon."

And a Milwaukee phenomenon. Prasad said when he travels to Europe, China or Japan most people respond blankly when he says he's from Milwaukee. Then he points out it's Harley's hometown and their faces light up with recognition.

As storied a company as Harley has been, it's weathered some rough spots, too, most notably in 1984, when a banker had the option of allowing the company to refinance a $90 million loan or forcing them to declare bankruptcy.

At the last minute, the banker allowed the company to refinance. According to the story, it's because he owned a Harley.

The famed motorcycles have also had a long history with Hollywood. They've appeared in films from "Easy Rider" to the more recent "Simpsons" movie. Elvis Presley rode one. And so did the Fonz in "Happy Days" -- the classic TV sitcom that was set in Milwaukee.

So if the Milwaukee-Harley marriage is so solid, how could the company even think of straying?

Company spokesman Bob Klein said Harley wants to remain faithful, but its production schedule needs to be more closely aligned with seasonal demand, a change that would require approval from labor unions.

Negotiations with the unions began in late July. The president of Harley's largest union did not return multiple messages seeking comment.

Prasad, the UW-Milwaukee professor, doesn't see Harley's threat to move simply as a negotiating tactic. A company with a 107-year history is more concerned with the next 100 years than with making idle threats to extract short-term advantages, he said.

Harley benefits the city's image and its bottom line. When the company turned 105 two years ago, some 100,000 fans from around the world joined the Milwaukee celebration.

But even if Harley's production goes elsewhere, there's still a tourist draw here -- the popular Harley-Davidson Museum. Whether that's enough to help Milwaukee cling to the brand that keeps it on the map is another question.

Either way, the loss of Harley production would be another painful drop of water in the erosion of the city's proud working-class history, Milwaukee historian John Gurda said.

"It's important to have that identity. You need a certain level of civic self-confidence," Gurda said. "And Harley-Davidson, that's a brand that's been imprinted on America's imagination unlike any other Milwaukee-made product."

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BMW Brings Six Cylinders to Two Wheels

* By Chuck Squatriglia Email Author
* July 6, 2010 |
* 8:00 am |
* Categories: Motorcycles, Performance
*

No one builds six-cylinder engines like BMW. They’re smooth, they’re powerful and they’ve got loads of torque. Having used them with great success in automobiles, Bayerische Motoren Werke is finally putting them in motorcycles.

The boys in Bavaria have released some technical info and renderings of the new machines, which we got a glimpse of as the sexy Concept 6 sportbike last fall and the guys at Hell for Leather spied as a full-dress long-haul machine aimed at the Honda Gold Wing.

Turns out the big block will appear in two bikes — the sport-touring K 1600 GT and the continent-crossing K 1600 GTL.

The 24-valve straight-six engine will put down 160 horsepower and 129 pound feet of torque at 5,000 RPM. A full 70 percent of that grunt is available at just 1,500 RPM. BMW says the engine weighs 226 pounds and is just 22 inches wide. Throttle control is ride-by-wire, a system BMW calls E-Gas.

Bikes these big are invariably heavy, and while BMW didn’t say what they’ll weigh it did note that the front panel carrier is magnesium, the rear subframe and crank are aluminum, etc.

Of course they ride on the Duolever front suspension and Paralever rear. They’ve got antilock brakes, and you can get dynamic traction control and the Electronic Suspension Adjustment system that allows on-the-fly tweaking. There’s also an optional adaptive headlight that changes the shape of the beam to better illuminate corners, and a multi-function, multi-color thin-film transitor LCD display. That’s a first for motorcycles.

This isn’t the first time someone’s stuffed a six between two wheels — Honda’s awesome CBX-1000 from 1978 comes to mind, and the big Goldwing uses an 1,800-cc boxer six. But these big Beemers may be the closest you’ll come to driving a 3-series with two wheels.

No word yet on just when we’ll see the bikes or what they’ll cost, but the K 1200 LT super-tourer goes for $21,700.

Images: BMW

The K 1600 GTL is designed for long-haul touring. Don’t blink. You’ll miss Montana.

Six cylinders, 160 horsepower, 129 pound feet. Sweet.

The engine from the other side.

Read More http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/07/bmw-six-cylinder-motorcycle/#ixzz0vlM5OB6I

The gloves we always wished we owned
Hammarhead-Gloves-1.jpgSure, these gloves won't protect your hands as well as a set of rainbow-colored GP-Techs, but at least you won't look like a power ranger while you're picking bits of gravel out of your palm. We've always looked at pictures of vintage dirt bike racers and marveled at their amazing gear. Gloves like this probably came from old work gloves, modified to provide a little impact protection with the leather strapping on top. Now, Hammarhead Industries, makers of the Jack Pine, have created an accurate reproduction.


Hammarhead-Gloves-2.jpgMade in the USA from American deer skin, these gloves come in these three different colors and retails for a positively affordable $69. They're the first of series of items Hammarhead is commissioning to complement its vintage-style bikes.

Hammarhead-Gloves-3.jpg
Hammarhead Industries

Putin Jumps On A Harley To Praise Motorbikes
SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (AP) ―

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Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rides Harley Davidson Lehman Trike decorated with Russian and Ukrainian national flags as he arrives for the meeting with motorbikers at their camp near Sevastopol in Ukraine's Crimea on July 24, 2010.

Sergei Karpukhin/Getty Images

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin leaped on a Harley Davidson and roared into an international biker convention in southern Ukraine.

Around 5,000 bikers from Europe and beyond gathered in Sevastopol for the annual festival Saturday on Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.

Putin, in Ukraine for talks with the country's new Russia-friendly leadership, had his black shirt sleeves rolled up as he motored toward a stage along a dusty road on the three-wheeled bike.

In sunglasses, black jeans and black fingerless gloves, the Russian prime minister clearly reveled in the moment, smiling and waving to the enthusiastic crowd.

From a podium, he described the motorbike as "the most democratic form of transport" and praised the bikers' free spirit.

He also urged them to unite in promoting safe driving.