Well, we are, and we’ve gone and done the deed. The winner of the Free Motorcycle Cover Contest is…drumroll please, Doctor:

Nick Barrett!

And there it was, something for nothing, my friends. My lovely wife selected the winner via her own secret methodology (which, without giving away all the secrets, involved her finger and a  hastily-fashioned blindfold).

So Nick, enjoy the cover…and do the right thing and send us a photo of your bike under the cover once it’s delivered.

So even though you didn’t win, you might want to go to our Facebook page, our Twitter thingy (@ToddHalterman) and give us a little likey-or-RT-love. I mean, after all, it’s surely not our last awesome giveaway and you might prevail in the next contest.

So why did we do this thing we do? Because if you dig motorcycles, we dig you…

Related posts:

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2. Motorcycle Haiku Contest Entries and Winner
3. Rider Magazine Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Contest – Get Your Basho On

Motorcycle riders across the nation say they draw special attention from the law enforcement community, and they’ve had about enough of that treatment. They say it’s time to fight back, and the forefront of the fight is now in the state of Virginia.

Riders were mortified last year during the annual Virginia Beach Bike Classic when city police set up a motorcycles-only checkpoint that ended up with some riders getting tickets for “offenses” like wearing “improper helmets,” says Matt Danielson, attorney for the Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists.

The police say Danielson is dead wrong with his take one roadblock.

Police in Arlington County, VA., ran a similar operation last year which targeted riders heading to the annual Rolling Thunder ride to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC., and Danielson said his clients were none too happy about that one as well.

If all goes to plan, such stops won’t be happening again – at least in Virginia.

The Virginia House of Delegates is now considering a bill that would make motorcycles-only checkpoints a thing of the past. The proposed legislation, HB187, was submitted by delegate Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, and was approved unanimously Wednesday morning by a Virginia House subcommittee.

“We’re not opposed to checkpoints. They’re a useful public safety tool,” Danielson said. “We just don’t want motorcyclists to be singled out.”

A spokesperson for the the Virginia Beach police department, officer Jimmy Barnes, denied the assertion that motorcyclists were singled out at any time last year by his department.

“We did have a checkpoint, but every car was stopped, not just motorcycles,” he said. “We don’t do that. That’s not our practice, and we will never do that.”

He was, however, not able to provide a list of how many tickets were issued to motorcyclists as opposed to those issue people driving cars.

Related posts:

1. Motorcycle Checkpoints Upheld in New York State And That’s Just Plain Wrong
2. Motorcycle Ride to Commemorate 9-11 Attacks Causes Fears of Gridlock in Virginia and Maryland
3. Older and Wiser Bikers? Maybe Not So Much

The driver of the Jeep, apparently off the deep end in “road rage” frame of mind, crashed into one of the bikers and the ensuing roadside confrontation escalated.

“I don’t know if it was the passenger or the driver, but I just know somebody in the Jeep was shot,” said Lt. Steve Anderson of the Tempe Police.

Anderson said the injured occupant of the Jeep was shot in the face. He added that the shooting victim was listed in good condition at an area hospital Saturday night.

According to detectives, most of the motorcycle group were gone before officers could reach the scene of the incident.

“They (the missing bikers) weren’t part of the crash, but they definitely saw it,” Anderson said. ”We’re looking for them as witnesses.”

Anderson said this kind of incident is a prime example of what can happen when road rage gets out of hand.

“It’s very dangerous especially if they’re on the freeway at high speeds,” Anderson said. ”If they make a sharp turn the cars can slide sideways, roll and take out innocent people.”

Road Rage – Car vs Motorcycle in Las Vegas

The highways and byways of America can be dangerous places, and things can get out of hand in a heartbeat. If it happens to you, you’re going to know you have the right protection to recover your losses and any damage which might happen to you – or your motorcycle.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:

• Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
• Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
• Towing / Pickup
• Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.

Related posts:

1. Bus Driver in Hells Angels Road Rage Killing Held For Murder
2. The New Motorcycle Terrorists Video – The Second Coming of The Hollister Incident
3. Knowledge Is Power – It Will Get Increasingly More Dangerous to Ride Your Bike So Know the Score

The Last Patrol MC members

Staff Sgt. Richard Jose had the Christmas pleasure of enjoying an experience usually reserved for Presidents and visiting dignitaries -  a motorcycle escort and a cheering crowd of friends and admirers to welcome him home.

A veteran of 18 years in the Army, Jose came back earlier this  month from a second tour of duty in Iraq to a hero’s welcome from the Yellow Ribbon Club, an Evesham, PA. group which provides support for returning soldiers. Part of his welcome home came in the form of a a caravan of motorcycles to herald his return.

The welcoming committee included the state police, local police officers and firefighters, politicians, members of local veterans groups and motorcycle clubs who donate their time and effort to welcome home returning soldiers. The whole shindig is put on by Yellow Ribbon Club, a group who specialize in  “rock-star” homecomings.

“It’s not very easy to surprise me, but they got me today,” said Jose.

The various Yellow Ribbon Clubs coordinate and attend celebrations to welcome veterans home in style – and they put on one hell of a show. The typical celebration includes the local fire department, local police department, emergency medical services, Warriors’ Watch Riders, Patriot Guard, Last Patrol Riders, Nam Knights as a thank you to military vets.

Jose, a Chesapeake, Va., native is stationed at the same base as his daughter, Danielle. Jose was a platoon sergeant for the 77th Special Troops Battalion and previously served in Iraq from 2005 to 2006.

Related posts:

1. So You Want to Be A Badass Biker? Motorcycle Clubs and Bike Gang Information
2. Dutch Police Arrest 56 From Biker Gang. There Are Dutch Motorcycle Gangs? You Bet, and They Use Rocket Launchers To Rumble
3. Funeral for Murdered Hells Angel Enforcer Steve Tausan Goes Off Without Further Violence

City council members Adam Vaughan and Joe Mihevc were the only two dissenters to vote against reviewing the long standing policy. According to Vaughan, motorcycles and electric scooters are “far less burdensome” forms transportation and thus deserve their current exempt status.

“I don’t think we should be charging them the same as cars when they don’t take up a full parking spot,” Vaughan said. “This is another cash grab by the Ford administration and yet we are not helping ease congestion.”

Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford, said he thinks motorcycles should have to pay to park.

The Toronto City Council seems to agree and that esteemed body voted 28-2 for a measure which would have the city staff to review motorcycles and scooters free parking some time in February. In a move sure to draw the ire of bikers, Toronto budget director Mike Del Grande and councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam led the charge to review the ordinance which allows  motorcycles and scooters an exemption from paying for street parking.

And if that’s not enough to rile the feathers of two-wheeled devotees, the same review process will also be used to determine whether or not Toronto will continue to exempt motorcycles from paying for long-term, on-street parking as well.

CEO of the Canadian Motorcycle Association, Marilynn Bastedo, , said taking away free parking for motorcycles would be a “backward step.”

“Many forward looking cities, especially in Europe, recognize that by encouraging two-wheeled transportation, congestion and pollution is greatly reduced,” said Bastedo. “The loss of parking revenues is miniscule compared to the benefits.”

Bastedo said the city would be sending the wrong message to voters and that changing the current law would indicate that  “we don’t care about reducing pollution and congestion” and added “it’s easy to target small groups in our community who have little influence on the decision making process.”

Buying Your First Bike? The Guide to Motorcycle Insurance

Whether you ride a sport bike or an American cruiser, your insurance needs can get complicated.
We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:

• Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
• Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
• Towing / Pickup
• Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.

Related posts:

1. Has the Electric Motorcycle Gotten A Foothold in the Market?
2. Weather Suck In Your Neck of the Woods? Win A Free Cover for Your Motorcycle
3. Lane Splitting On Your Motorcycle – Time Saver or Disaster Waiting To Happen?

How about a little reading material?

Shop Class as Soulcraft became an instant best-seller and attracted readers with its radical revision of the merits of skilled manual labor. On economic and psychological grounds author Matthew B. Crawford questioned the educational and philosophical sense of making everyone into a “knowledge worker.”

From his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford presented a realized call for self-reliance and a reflection on how we can live, really live,  in a world driven into insensate abstraction.

“Wood was for hippies,” Crawford wrote. “The wood whisperer with his hand planes, his curly maple, and his workshop on Walden Pond is a stock alter ego of gentlefolk everywhere, and I wanted none of it.”

But the gentle craft of woodworking failed to offer the requisite thump and thunder, Crawford found his place in the world with his motorcycle repair shop.

Crawford holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago, so expect him to deliver an intellectual take on his topic.

The book is timely and provocative, and centers on Crawford’s exhortation that we’d all do well to  “extend our moral imagination to people who are conventionally beneath serious regard” and recognize “the intellectual accomplishments of people who do work that is dirty.”

It’s also about bikes, and that makes it a worthy read…

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The checkpoint stops were part of a 2008 statewide initiative by troopers, timed to coincide with rallies like Laconia which draw crowds of riders. According to Judge Gary Sharpe, it was all about safety. Sharpe said  the checkpoints differed from random stops which had “a general interest in crime control.”

Four motorcyclists sued troopers claiming safety was nothing more than a pretext the authorities used to look for criminals. They added that the practice of motorcycle only stops was intrusive and unfair to riders as a group. Attorney Mitchell Proner said the case he worked on for the riders is the only such federal suit nationally.

Judge  Sharpe’s Thursday ruling noted that 5,342 vehicles passed through 17 checkpoints in 2008 and during those stops, authorities inspected 2,278 bikes and made a total of four criminal arrests. Some 1,064 tickets, including 365 for helmet violations, 99 for other safety violations, and 600 for non-safety violations, were issued as a direct result of the stops.

The ruling said state data showed an increase in motorcycle fatalities the preceding nine years, and an increase in tickets issued for illegal helmets from 35 in 2007 to 796 in 2008, was motivation for the stops. Almost half of the total tickets from such violations were issued at the checkpoints.

“The court concludes the checkpoints were enacted to promote motorcycle safety, a manifest public interest; they were effective in addressing this interest; and that any interference with individual liberties was not only minimal, but also grossly outweighed by the interest advanced,” wrote Sharpe in his decision.

Sharpe said the checkpoints gave police “appropriately” limited powers and was “minimally intrusive” to riders. Depositions in the case  showed riders were detained  45 minutes at the most -  even when “secondary inspections” were performed and riders were cited for inadequate helmets.

“The intrusion on civil liberties is something that shouldn’t be countenanced,” Proner said. “It’s obvious just from their own internal documents they’re looking for criminal activity.”

Proner said a checkpoint near Buffalo’s Peace Bridge was manned by border patrol agents -  and at one rally in central New York sponsored by a motorcycle club,  gang task force officers manned the checkpoints.

“The fact they didn’t find crime doesn’t mean that wasn’t what they’re fishing for,” Proner said. “That just shows you’ve got law abiding citizens on motorcycles primarily being inconvenienced.”

Whether you ride a sport bike or an American cruiser, your insurance needs can get complicated.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:

• Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
• Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
• Towing / Pickup
• Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.

Related posts:

1. Bikers in Virginia Fight the Good Fight Against Motorcycle Only Checkpoints
2. Who Are the Worst Drivers In the Nation, A State by State Comparison
3. Proposed Michigan Helmet Law Repeal A Big Step Down a Slipperly Slope to a Motorcycle Nanny State

But both branches of the Illinois legislature  took the unusual step of overturning Quinn’s veto, and have now made the proposal into the law of the state.

The law as it was originally designed was intended to apply just to motorcycles, but after a raft of amendments, Illinois legislators added bicycles to the list as well. The new law was first proposed as a bill to give riders a break and help them avoid waiting at long red lights.

Sensors attached to stop lights are tripped by an electromagnet which often fails to detect motorcycles as they contain considerably lesser amounts of magnetic metals such as steel when compared to the volume of ferrous metals in a car, and the likelihood of a light turning green is reduced. This difference between cars and motorcycles was said to cause riders delays – or even force bikers to detour.

“I’ve sat at a stop light for several minutes several times before and been forced to make a right and come back around because it did not trip,” said Raymond Mucha, director of the motorcycle safety program at Illinois State University.

Mucha added that since aluminum and plastic make up the majority of materials used to construct a motorcycle, neither material would allow stop light sensors to be tripped in a timely manner, if at all.

“At the motorcycle safety program, we teach people how to deal with this problem, including putting the side stand down on the sensor,” said Erik Hanks, program coordinator of the state’s motorcycle safety program.

Hanks said there are several things bikers can do to trip the sensors, including adding a magnet to their motorcycles.

Critics of the law fear it could be abused by motorcyclists and lead to an increase in accidents. Since the law as written only requires individual riders to wait a “reasonable amount of time,” Hanks says the wording may leave open the possibility for some riders and drivers to take advantage of it.

“A lot of motorcycle accidents happen when a car turns left in front of the rider, and this creates the potential to have this happen more often,” Hanks said. “I can see both sides of the argument and my advice is to wait and see what this changes.”

Lawmakers in Kansas, Georgia and California are considering similar stop light legislation.

Whether you ride a sport bike or an American cruiser, your insurance needs can get complicated.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Related posts:

1. Spike In Motorcycle Fatalities in Illinois A Grim Reminder To Riders
2. Motorcycle Checkpoints Upheld in New York State And That’s Just Plain Wrong
3. If You Drive A Car, Consider These Facts About Motorcycles on the Road With You

Bosco, a New Jersey dog who insisted on taking rides on his owner’s motorcycle, found himself entangled in a court case which charged that his owner, Gyula Szatmari, was guilty of animal cruelty.

“He would be crying when I would take my bike, and then I made something for him and I put him on the front of the bike,” Szatmari said.

Szatmari was pulled over by the police this past summer and charged by authorities with a count of animal cruelty for bringing Bosco for a ride.

“I told them I’ve been driving through your town for six and a half years,” Szatmari said. “You’re pulling me over now?”

Szatmari said Bosco regularly rides with him in his tractor trailer, and added that Bosco took to the bike right away and refused to be denied whenever he got a chance to ride on the motorcycle.

“I came to a red light the first time I rode him and a guy goes, ‘How long did it take you to teach him to do that on a bike?’ I told him this is the first day,” Szatmari said.

Authorities weren’t amused, as authorities tend to be when confronted with any deviation from the norm,  and took Szatmari to court.

“It was hectic but it really bugged me out I had to get a lawyer I’m glad it’s over,” Szatmari said after the matter was settled. “I never had a problem nowhere else. You know, my friend was telling me they’re making a commercial Harley Davidson’s commercial with a dog on the front of the bike.”

Authorities dropped the animal cruelty charge against Szatmari  this week. To resolve the issue, Szatmari pleaded guilty to an unsafe driving charge. The 56-year-old paid $449 in fines and court costs in Municipal Court.

The whole issue began when Szatmari was headed home from his job in August when he was pulled over in the rain in Marlboro. He was issued citations for careless driving and the improper transportation of an animal.

Szatmari said he’s never been questioned about riding with Bosco in any other county in the state, or for that matter, any other state where he and his pal have ridden their bike.

Whether you ride a sport bike or an American cruiser, your insurance needs can get complicated.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

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2. Motorcycle Checkpoints Upheld in New York State And That’s Just Plain Wrong
3. Do You Ride Without A Motorcycle Endorsement?

It was certainly met with some inquiring looks and vacant stares along the way.

The three-wheeled vehicle, developed by Japanese toilet maker Toto, features a toilet for a seat and has a giant roll of toilet paper mount on the back which flutters in the breeze as the bike cruises along. The company also makes a “talking toilet,” and that’s just another product I don’t see myself spending any money to purchase.

Fortunately for all concerned, the Neo is a “concept bike,” and there are no plans to put it on sale.

Toto unveiled its toilet-cycle earlier this year as part of the company’s plan to half their carbon emissions by 2017. As for other “emissions,” this bike will need them to keep running down the road. The three-wheeled motorcycle is powered by livestock waste, household sewage, and ecologically friendly biogas.

The seat of the motorcycle is, for lack of a more delicate way to say it,  a toilet, but in a move sure to please all of those sharing the roads with it, the toilet isn’t in working order.

“Although the seat of the bike is indeed a toilet, it is not for actual use,” said Toto spokesman Kenji Fujita. “The fuel is eco-friendly biogas, stored in the tanks on the back. It’s a surprisingly nice way to travel.”

The motorcycle can travel up to 186 miles at a speed of 45mph before it needs to be, uh, recharged, as it were. Toto has no plans to sell the Toilet Bike Neo but they have added an interesting alternative to the mix.

I must admit that I do dig the old school whitewalls, if not the overall concept of the bike.

Related posts:

1. The World’s Most Expensive Electric Motorcycle – Daniel Simon’s Detonator
2. The Future of Motorcycles Is A Unicycle? The Ryno Monowheel Motorcycle
3. Bike Find of the Day – The Lito Sora Electric Superbike

It’s an internal monologue many riders have faced over the years and it comes down to a couple of basic arguments; the hardcore rider says putting a motorcycle on a trailer is akin to committing biker heresy, the pro-trailer faction cites the practicality and convenience of having additional storage and tools along for the trip.

The debate rages on.

Kendon Industries, Inc. president and professional rider, Frank Esposito, is willing to offer you some tips if you opt for the trailer option.

“It used to be that most people only bought a trailer to take their bike in for repairs,” Esposito said. “Now the perception is growing that a trailer can add a new dimension to their motorcycling experience as it increases the opportunity for adventure.”

The average rider doesn’t go beyond a 150-200 mile radius of their garage, and physical limitations prevent a growing number of riders from traveling longer distances.

“It comes down to a simple matter of quality vs. quantity,” Esposito said. “Using a trailer for motorcycles is a sensible way to get out of the comfort circle and change riding habits from a typical ride to a weekend adventure while opening up new riding opportunities.”

What’s the upside of hauling a trailer? The trailer option opens up the possibility of multi-day adventures brings planned weekend getaways with family and friends who don’t ride into the picture.

“Having rested and happy companions doesn’t hurt either,” Esposito said. “Motorcycle trailers definitely help enthusiasts enjoy more of their passion by allowing for comfortable, convenient and fun times in distant riding destinations. A trailer really allows you to look at what is beyond that 150-200 mile comfort circle.”

On the flip side of the coin are the hardcore contingent who believe putting a running motorcycle on a trailer is the Devil’s Work.

The flip side comes from riders like a guy who bills himself as BoldBiker. He relates a story about meeting a family on the road during his ride to Sturgis

“They were on their way back to Kansas where he owned an airplane.  They had no idea about Sturgis but just happened to be passing through to see Mt Rushmore after their vacation in Yellowstone,” says BoldBiker. ” He looked around and said,  ‘This makes me want to buy a Harley and come up here next year.’  Then he watched the bikes go by a while, turned to me and asked, ‘What do you all do up here?’  I tried to explain how it was like Woodstock…just being here.  Then I realized he had no clue. He is a RUB.  There are the folks who trailer a bike 1500 miles, apply fake tattoos and ride around feeling like they are ‘bikers.’  They’re on the other extreme.

BoldBiker is willing to give people a pass, but only if they’re not just putting on the costume.

“The real line is somewhere between and I can’t define it.  I also believe there is another group in the middle…the motorcyclists.  These are the folks who understand bikes, who ride them for the sheer joy of being out of a cage, who appreciate the differences in smells and temperatures as they ride through the hills.  But their bikes are something they ride…not who they are,” BoldBiker said. “Does it make a difference?  Not to me.  I just chuckle at RUBs and as long as they don’t bother me I don’t bother them. They wave, I wave, we are all on the road. Motorcyclists are okay folks.  They don’t pretend to be anything other than what they are.”

Whether you ride a sport bike or an American cruiser, your insurance needs can get complicated.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:

• Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
• Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
• Towing / Pickup
• Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.

Related posts:

1. Does What Kind of Bike You Ride Determine Your Safety? The Statistics Say Yes
2. Dog Harassed By Legal Eagles In Quest To Ride His Motorcycle
3. Women Hit the Road In the Harley-Davidson My Time To Ride Video Series

“We’re surrounded by helmetless states, so if somebody wants to travel to the Great Lakes, they’ll oftentimes travel into the Wisconsin area where the Dells are and avoid coming into Michigan. I’ve been on the scenes of accidents and they are tragic – we don’t want to see anybody injured,” said Peter Pettalia, R-Presque Isle. “But we’re trying to increase Michigan’s ability to compete with other states and people traveling on motorcycles don’t come into Michigan because of our helmet law.”

Pettalia supports the change to the law because he believes the current helmet requirement is impeding motorcycle tourism in Michigan.

Pettalia spoke in support of repealing the helmet law. As a former emergency medical technician, Pettalia said people can still wear their helmets if they wish, but  he added that he believes people can drive safely without helmets simply by driving carefully.

Snyder has said in the past that he would consider changing the helmet law as part of a broad effort to reform Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance law, so it appears the status of the controversial repeal will become a political football and part of a power struggle over insurance requirements.

“The governor has been clear and consistent that for him to look at any helmet law repeal it has to take place in context of broader auto insurance reform.”

- Sara Wurfel, spokesperson for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder

Motorcyclists, led by ABATE,  have long pushed for the change, but  insurance companies and health advocates who say repeal will result in increased injuries and fatalities have been consistent in their efforts to block the change.
“The consequences of a person’s decision not to wear a helmet is borne by all of society through higher insurance premiums, lost productivity and increased health care costs,” said Lori Conarton of the Insurance Institute of Michigan.

The House amended a bill that was passed by the Senate by changing a provision requiring motorcycle owners to carry medical insurance.The Senate version required motorcycle riders to carry $100,000 in medical coverage, but the House reduced that amount to $20,000.

The bill now heads back to the Senate for approval.

In addition, the law would also require motorcyclists to be 21 or older, and to have had a motorcycle endorsement on his or her driver’s or chauffeur’s license for at least two years, or to have passed a motorcycle safety class to qualify to ride without a helmet.

Rep. Dian Slavens, D-Canton Township, pushed legislators not to support the bill and said abolishing helmet laws has proved costly in other states.

“When universal helmet laws were repealed in other states, hospital admissions for traumatic brain injury increased 42-80 percent and acute treatment costs more than doubled due to increased injury severity,” Slavens said. “This bill’s proposed $20,000 medical insurance coverage will not sufficiently cover the total initial and long-term costs associated with a serious TBI. How can Michigan’s budget and its citizens absorb the huge financial burden of health care for unhelmeted riders, including visiting out-of-state riders?”

Related posts:

1. Proposed Michigan Helmet Law Repeal A Big Step Down a Slipperly Slope to a Motorcycle Nanny State
2. Massachusetts Mulls Repeal of Helmet Law
3. Motorcycle Helmet Law Debate Rages On – How Would You Fix The Issue?

The “Bike vs. Car” episode of the show aired on September 28,  and since then, the emissions have hit the fan. While their general conclusion is true without a doubt, the reasons it’s true might be a little less than good news for the motorcycle industry.

David Munro, CEO of Long Island-based Global MRV, the company which supplied the Discovery Channel series with its signature lightweight “portable emissions testing systems” – or PEMS – and  then scientific and technical consulting to set up the equipment in the field and crunch the results, wasn’t surprised to find out how much pollution motorcycles actually do create.

While motorcycles used considerably less fuel, and therefore created less total pollution, the pollution they did create was, well, nasty…

When Munro and Global MRV finally finished work on the  points of data collected for the show, motorcycles did prove to use less fuel per mile than the cars created substantially less carbon dioxide: 43 percent less than the 1980s cars, 15 percent less for the 1990s cars, and 30 percent less than the vehicles made in the 2000′s.

To test their hypotheses, Mythbusters hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman took out each pair of vehicles out on the road for  30-minute test runs on city streets  and freeways. What they found was, at best, some slightly conflicting data. The data showed motorcycles generated more pollution than automobiles.

• Motorcycles created several hundred times more hydrocarbon pollution than cars.

• Nitrous oxide emissions were equal for the 1980′s vehicles, but the 1990′s-built motorcycle produced 138 percent more NO2 than its partner car, and the 2000′s motorcycle up to 3,220 percent more than the car it was up against.

• The 2000s-built cycle emitted 8,065 percent more poisonous-to-breathe carbon monoxide than the car it was matched against,  while the 1990s and 1980′s-built motorcycles produced 516 percent and 313 percent more than the cars from the same era.

“We suspected that the results might turn out the way they did,” says Global MRV’s Munro. “What surprised us was how big of a percentage difference that was discovered.”

Why did the cars do so well against the bikes? Uncle Sam’s rules.

Pretty easy to figure: stricter regulation for cars since the mid-1970s federal standards went into effect to reduce hydrocarbons and  tailpipe emissions have ratcheted up while motorcycles have largely been ignored by in that legislative effort.

But where does that actually leave the motorcycle as a viable source of transportation?

In limbo, that’s where.

What it really comes down to is what’s referred to in the eco-business as a “lifecycle assessment,” and that’s where the whole car vs motorcycle as polluters question gets dicey once again.

Lifecycle analysis attempts to measure how much energy is required to harvest raw materials during production and what impact that has on the environment. How much energy is required to harvest the raw materials needed to build a motorcycle? How much energy goes into the manufacturing processes used to build a motorcycle? What’s the impact of all the infrastructure required to support a motorcycle like gas stations and oil changes? What amount of wear and tear does a motorcycle cause to streets and parking lots when compared to a car? How useful will the motorcycle be as transportation and how many miles will it take passengers? What’s involved in recycling a motorcycle when it’s done running and how much pollution is created in getting rid of it?

One way to measure the worth of a particular vehicle is “passenger miles traveled.” It goes like this: a city bus which travels 100 miles a day and carries 10 passengers is responsible for 1000 passenger miles per day and a motorcycle which travels that same 100 miles, carrying 1.3 passengers  resulted in 130 passenger miles. Now you’re talking the same language, and it’s that kind of model which Mikhail Chester,  a transportation lifecycle analysis expert, uses to develop his theories on the environmental impact of transportation modes.

So what does Chester’s work reveal? Some not great news for bikers.

Chester’s study basically found that a motorcycle’s environmental impact is determined largely by “economies of scale.”  That means a motorcycle, by virtue of an overall look at what it takes to make it and maintain it,  produces more waste and pollution because production methods are less efficient.
“The discussion of okay-to-good motorcycle fuel efficiency hides the discussion of direct human health and environment-impacting pollutants which tend to be larger for motorcycles than other modes [of transportation],” Chester said in his study.

It comes down to this, motorcycles are manufactured in smaller quantities than cars and  smaller scale production, at least in general,  equals less efficiency, more pollution and more waste. Chester’s work points to the fact that it takes nearly the same amount of energy to manufacture a motorcycle as it does to make a car.

On the other hand (and there’s always another hand in environmental debates)  motorcycles often don’t have catalytic converters and evaporative emissions equipment. While this means they put out less more hydrocarbons, their environmental impact is lessened as a result – at least by one measure :

• An internal combustion engine equipped with a three-way catalytic converter to run at the stoichiometric point means it is less efficient than if it were operated lean. What does that mean? It means there’s an increases the amount of fossil fuels consumed and an increase in the carbon-dioxide emissions from the vehicle.
• Catalytic converters do remove hydrocarbons and other harmful emissions, but they don’t solve the basic problem created when you burn fossil fuels. The U.S. EPA says catalytic converters are “a significant and growing cause of global warming,” because of their release of nitrous oxide (N₂O), a greenhouse gas over three hundred times more potent than carbon dioxide.
• Catalytic converter production requires palladium or platinum, and a big chunk of the world’s supply of those precious metals is produced near Norilsk, Russia. So, you say, big deal. Well, in part due to the mining and production of said metals there, Norilsk was added to Time magazine’s list of most-polluted places.

So what’s the final conclusion? There isn’t one, or more to the point, let’s say the answer is dependent on work which isn’t really complete at this stage, but all signs point to one pretty unavoidable fact; as it stands, motorcycles aren’t really all that nice to the environment and you, as a rider, are indeed on the wrong side of the tree-hugging nation.

If that is indeed the fact, the case for electric motorcycles might have gotten a bit stronger, but don’t electric motorcycles essentially run on coal? Oh boy, here we go again…

Environmental Life-cycle Assessment of Passenger Transportation: A Detailed Methodology for Energy, Greenhouse Gas and Criteria Pollutant Inventories of Automobiles, Buses, Light Rail, Heavy Rail and Air v.2

Frequently Asked Questions: In-Depth Information for Motorcycle Owners on EPA’s New Emission Standards for Highway Motorcycles

Related posts:

1. How Green Is Your Motorcycle or Scooter? Myth Busted?
2. Will Michigan Change the Rules in the Middle of the Game? No Fault Insurance Laws Under Fire For Motorcyclists
3. Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study Aimed at Collecting Realistic Rider Data

The list was developed and approved by member motorcycle rights organizations at the MRF’s recent Meeting of the Minds, held in Detroit in September, and the list takes on a whole passel of items of concern to motorcyclists in the US.

The Strategic Action Plan includes the following issues, and riders should be aware of them.

• Transportation Equity Act (TEA) and Reauthorization (the Highway Bill) – The group plans to closely monitor for any action that would positively or negatively impact motorcycles, motorcycling, and motorcyclists.
• Continuation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) lobbying ban within individual states. The NHTSA is, at least at this point, legally prohibited from lobbying for measures such as a national mandatory helmet law, but the NHTSA has been has been actively promoting those efforts with federal dollars and efforts in contravention of the law.
• Insure continuation of the Motorcycle Advisory Council designed to advise the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on motorcycling issues.
• Oppose any and all federal blackmails or sanctions contained in the Highway Bill having to do with motorcycles. The MRF cites examples like states being required to pass helmet laws or forfeit federal highway funding.
• Pursue reintroduction of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) HR1253 to require health insurance companies to disclose the list of “source of injury” exclusions in the policies they issue. The Feds passed legislation several years ago forbidding insurance companies from excluding motorcycle-related accidents from coverage, and that’s all good, but when the agency set up the rules by which this law is actually administered,  it somehow managed to specifically allow exclusions to be made for motorcycles. Go figure.
• Cut off all funding for NHTSA motorcycle-specific checkpoint grants. This controversial NHTSA provision allows for  funding for states to operate checkpoints where only motorcyclists are stopped. The stops included provisions which require bikers to provide proof of license and insurance, and nothing like that exists for any other variety of motorists.
• Monitor the crash causation and the naturalistic studies now ongoing.
• Press for complete abolition of all forms of distracted driving…
• Promote a Right to Repair Act which would prohibit manufacturers from making technical know-how and equipment necessary for independent shops to work on bikes available only to registered dealerships. This provision would allow independent shops to repair and modify motorcycles and take on industry groups seeking to close down that avenue to motorcyclists needing repairs.
• Work to clarify the actual  definition of what a motorcycle actually is considered to be a motorcycle. If a wide variety of non-two-wheel vehicles are counted as motorcycles for licensing purposes, the MRF says the expanded definition will skew accident data and make  it difficult to develop valid policy in accident prevention efforts.

The MRF is working to wipe out federal spending which currently supports motorcycle-only checkpoints.

Whether you ride a sport bike or an American cruiser, your insurance needs can get complicated.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:

• Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
• Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
• Towing / Pickup
• Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.

Related posts:

1. Kawasaki Competes By Pushing the Social Media Agenda
2. Older and Wiser Bikers? Maybe Not So Much
3. Motorcycle Checkpoints Upheld in New York State And That’s Just Plain Wrong

Some twenty officers in the department are being investigated for violating the department’s policy on private, paid details, and attorneys for the officers say at least three of the motorcycle cops have been transferred out of the traffic division after allegedly taking cash or checks for working a detail.

“Motorcycles can be very lucrative. I mean, escorts are being done all the time, for weddings, for funerals, for large transports, and things like that,” said Fraternal Order of Police President, Henry Dean. “If you’re moved out of that position, you have virtually cut your throat by violating those regulations.”

The FOP is giving the officers under investigation legal counsel in the case.

The incident, which occurred back in September, revolves around motorcycle detail administrator James Neyrey allegedly soliciting payment in the form of checks which were then given to individual officers. The detail for which the payments were solicited involved escorting the Tennessee Titans football team to the Superdome.

While the FOP’s Dean said his organization is helping with legal counsel, he sounds less than supportive of the officer’s conduct in the case.

“To my knowledge, it’s like 19 or 20 officers who were discovered that are taking cash for details after being instructed not to do that. In fact, it was made quite clear,” Dean said.

Ronal Serpas of the NOPD confirmed that the actions of 20 officers in the traffic division are being scrutinized for violations of the “cash for details” policy. He added that there are a total of 34 motorcycle officers employed by the NOPD. Serpas said he sent an email to the entire traffic division to discover if any officers had taken cash for details, and that this current investigation came about after he read the officers’ responses to his email.

“I think it does send a very, very loud and strong message to other officers to get their act together,” Dean said.

The U.S. Department of Justice is in on the act as well.

“My big fear is that if there is too much Brouhaha about details and allegations of violating detail regulations, who’s to say at some point, they won’t ban details all together?” Dean said.

The NOPD did release a statement on the incident which read, in part:

“Based on the Titans incident, I instructed compliance to review motorcycle details, and it was found that- currently- 20 of 34 officers may be in violation. The public integrity bureau is now investigating these allegations. If they are sustained, the officers will face appropriate sanctions.”

NOPD officials have not yet said what those sanctions might involve.

Whether you ride a sport bike or an American cruiser, your insurance needs can get complicated.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:

• Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
• Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
• Towing / Pickup
• Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.

Related posts:

1. Indy Bikers Sue Drunken Cop, City After Fatal Accident
2. Motorcycle Checkpoints Upheld in New York State And That’s Just Plain Wrong
3. The Inevitable Demise of the Motorcycle Cop – Illinois Council Considers Killing Off An American Tradition