TEXAS POLICE REQUIRED TO TAKE BIKER SENSITIVITY TRAINING Last month we regretfully reported Governor Rick Perry's veto of an equal access bill in Texas that would have made it illegal to discriminate against motorcycle riders, in spite of an exceptional lobbying effort by the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association (TMRA-II) and all four Confederations of Clubs in Texas that won near-unanimous approval in the House and Senate.

Although Governor Perry gave no explanation in vetoing HB 259, he did manage to sign into law another bill supported by the TMRA-II and the Texas Confederations of Clubs, HB 2585, which clarifies enforcement of the helmet law. It also requires sensitivity training for police officers.

''House Bill 2585 changes the way the Texas helmet law is enforced,'' explained Sputnik, founder and chairman of the TMRA-II, ''so that if you are stopped for not wearing a helmet and show you are 21 or older and show proof of insurance or a Rider Ed card, the officer can not issue a citation for a helmet law violation. This new law eliminates the need for a court to decide.''

In addition, HB 2585 requires that police officers take sensitivity training to stop profiling of riders and to make them aware of the new enforcement standards. They must record all traffic stops in categories to ascertain whether bikers are being stopped disproportionately.

Section 4 of HB 2585 states, ''The Commission shall require education and training on motorcycle operator profiling awareness and sensitivity training.''

So if you're pulled over on your bike in the Lone Star State, don't forget to ask the officer if he's had his sensitivity training lately.

NATIONAL COALITION OF MOTORCYCLISTS (NCOM)

SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES PASSED FOR BIKER VETS IN NEW MEXICO Thanks to the staunch support and stalwart efforts of New Mexico State Representative Rick Miera, veterans who ride will now have access to specialty motorcycle license plates in New Mexico to commemorate their service to our country.

Miera was a motorcyclist and early member of ABATE before he launched his career in politics, and has been a blessing to New Mexico bikers since taking office. Earlier this year, Rep. Miera announced the repeal of New Mexico's handlebar height law, through a bill he authored. He's also an active member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) Legislative Task Force, along with other legislators such as U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Wisconsin State Senator Dave Zien, South Dakota State Senator Jim Putnam, and others.

In addition to the Vets plates, Miera also sponsored a separate bill that was signed into law to make specialty motorcycle license plates available to disabled riders.

Oh, and he's committed to keeping New Mexico helmet-free too!

NCOM NEWS & NOTES

CELL PHONES BANNED IN NEW YORK On June 28, 2001, Governor George Pataki signed into law the nation

''By requiring drivers to put down their cell phones and pay attention to the road, this new law will help make our roads safer and save lives,'' Pataki said.

First-time violators of the law, which goes into effect on November 1st, face a $100 fine. Second conviction calls for a $200 fine and every subsequent violation would cost $500.

Such bans have been proposed in 40 states, and cell phone use by car drivers is prohibited by law in at least 23 countries, including Great Britain, Italy, Israel and Japan.

MOTORCYCLISTS BUZZ SPEED CAMERA TO USE UP FILM Dutch police are being tormented by motorcyclists repeatedly zooming past speed cameras to use up the film.

They strike at night in Den Hout, making it difficult for police to identify the culprits or read their license plates.

A police spokesman in Oosterhout said they are still studying the tapes. He added, ''Apart from the registration plates, we have other ways to find out the identity of the driver. If it leads us somewhere, we can charge the youngsters not only with speeding but also with trying to prevent the work of justice.''

STEVE GARCIA'S ''STUFF'', ABATE OF CALIFORNIA

JAPAN RAISES SPEED LIMIT FOR MOTORCYCLISTS Japan has raised the expressway speed limit for motorcycles from 80 km/h to 100 km/h (approximately 62 miles per hour). This is now the same speed limit as for automobiles in that country.

Motorcycle riders had complained of being unable to travel with the flow of traffic and of being harassed by automobile drivers.

The raising of the speed limit is predicted to increase demand for larger displacement motorcycles in Japan, notes MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY magazine.

Motorcycles are still prohibited from carrying passengers on the expressway.

HARLEY PULLS OFF A FAST ONE After nearly half a century of traditional styling, Harley-Davidson has unveiled a radically new motorcycle design that focuses on performance and speed.

Don

And don

Porche Engineering helped Harley-Davidson in developing V-Rod's powertrain, gears by which power is transmitted from the engine to the axle.

Harley-Davidson had embargoed all news about the motorcycle until the V-Rod was to be officially introduced to the public, but gave sneak peeks and test rides to industry publications. A British industry trade publication, Motorcycle News, broke the embargo.

The new motorcycle is expected to go on sale in October and cost about

$17,000.

The new line comes at a time of great success for the company on the cusp of its centennial year in 2003. Harley has announced record earnings for the second quarter and plans to add 275 new positions at its York County, Pennsylvania, plant as part of a $145 million expansion of the facility.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON MAKES A NAME FOR ITSELF In a survey to determine the most recognizable brand names in America, Harley-Davidson rose from 10th place to 5th place in this year

CORPORATE BRANDING, a brand strategy and communications firm in New York, conducted 6,000 interviews during the annual survey to determine how familiar and favorable a company is viewed by senior business leaders.

For the first time in three years, soft drink giant Coca-Cola lost its fizz and fell into second place behind Microsoft Corp.

Sure, but how many people have a computer tattooed on their body?

TOUGH ON CRIME In Indonesia, motorcycle thieves and other crooks are being summarily beaten and executed by vigilante mobs. More than a thousand suspected thieves have been slain by mobs last year in this nation of 224 million people.

In Dangdeur, a man was beaten for an hour and then burned to death for stealing a birds nest belonging to a distant relative. In Jakarta, the capitol, pickpockets and burglars are routinely executed by vengeful crowds. In the city of Tangerang, several motorcycle thieves have been fatally beaten over the past few months, along with people suspected of stealing goats, ducks, shoes and television sets.

Instead of summoning the police, angry men are taking matters into their own hands.

Criminologists say they believe growing economic hardship in the wake of the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 is helping fuel the zero-tolerance attitude toward thefts, particularly those of motorcycles, which many people purchase with their life savings.

''We are tired of crime,'' said a man whose motorcycle was nearly stolen from a Jakarta market. ''If we have things stolen from us, we do not have the money to replace them.''

As he returned to his parked Honda Grand one recent morning, a parking attendant was holding a man by the arm and asked if he knew the suspected thief who had been trying to wheel away his motorcycle. He said no, and someone shouted ''Thief!''

In a matter of seconds, dozens of people from vendors at the market to waiting motorcycle taxi drivers and passersby, mobbed the young man. Egged on by calls of ''Burn him!'' and ''Kill him!'' they bashed him with sticks and rocks for more than 30 minutes. They would have burned him, but the gasoline vendor hadn

After the man lost consciousness, the mob eventually dispersed, and the thief was carried to a nearby military post, but he died on the way.

The police have done little to stem mob violence. Vigilantes are rarely arrested and few are convicted.

''The police don

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR A motorcycle enthusiast dropped dead as he was being handed the keys to a Harley-Davidson he won in a raffle.

The GERMAN BIKERS' UNION said 47-year-old Hans Hitzig, suffered a heart attack in front of thousands of fellow bikers at the organization's Jubilee in Schleiz, eastern Germany. Hitzig

QUOTE OF THE DAY: ''It is not so much what we have done amiss, as what we have left undone, that will trouble us, looking back.''

ELLEN WOOD

English Playwright & Journalist

1813-1887