FEDS PROPOSE NEW MOTORCYCLE EMISSIONS STANDARDS No more air-cooled engines?
No more carburetors? Catalytic converters? By 2010, motorcycle tailpipe
emissions must be slashed by over 80%, making it necessary for manufacturers
to use fuel injection on the intake and catalytic converters on the exhaust
in order to comply with tough new federal regulations, as well as altering
cam timing and making other engine modifications, including liquid cooling.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has already succeeded in
curbing emissions for the first time from off-road motorcycles, ATV's,
snowmobiles and diesel-powered boats to help reduce pollution, is now turning
their attention to street motorcycles, and new bike buyers in future decades
will likely see a big difference in design, styling and price.

The EPA released its proposed rule on motorcycle emissions on July 26, 2002,
and following a brief public comment period intends to implement the
California-style cutbacks in a two-phase plan beginning in 2006.

Stricter new limits will be established for hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides
emitted by the engines, requiring motorcycles over 280cc to reduce emissions
from a currently allowable 5 grams of Hydrocarbons per kilometer to 1.4
grams/km by 2006 and .8 grams by 2010, achieving more than an 80% reduction
in less than a decade. Nitrogen oxides, which are unregulated at this time,
must also be reduced to 1.4 grams/km in 2006 and .8 grams/km by 2010.

Smaller cc motorcycles must also meet stringent new standards, ultimately
reducing HC and NOx emissions to1.0 grams/km by 2010.

The proposed standards for new motorcycles will not affect their performance,
says the EPA, adding that the Agency's proposal does not in any way change
the existing law that makes it illegal to modify the emission control devices
causing the emission systems to exceed applicable standards. Motorcycle
owners may make cosmetic changes such as the color and chrome.

Public hearings on this proposal will be held by the EPA on September 17, in
Ypsilanti, MI, with the public comment period ending November 8, 2002, after
which the final regulations will be issued. For more information on the
proposed rule, how to submit comments and the public hearings, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/roadbike.htm and http://www.epa.gov/otaq/recveh.htm.

The National Coalition of Motorcyclists encourages all concerned riders and
motorcyclists' rights organizations to make their feelings known to the EPA
and our elected officials on this important issue which will affect the
future of motorcycling as we know it.

 

HANDLEBAR HEIGHT REPEAL CLEARS PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE House Bill 1553 to repeal
height restrictions on motorcycle handlebars in Pennsylvania, passed
unanimously through the House of Representatives and is expected to see
movement in September when the Senate reconvenes, reports Rocky Gambale on
behalf of Pennsylvania's Confederation of Clubs.

"This Bill passed the House 196-0 on June 12th, and has to date no opposition
in the Senate," according to Rocky-G, adding, "I cannot stress enough that we
also thank BikePac, Charles Umbenhauer and ABATE of Pennsylvania for their
assistance with this legislation, their help has been invaluable."

Earlier this year, both New Hampshire and Minnesota modified their motorcycle
handlebar height requirements. Minnesota eliminated the handlebar height
limit altogether, while New Hampshire amended their "15 inches higher than
the seat" maximum height limit with a "no more than shoulder height when
seated" legal limit.

 

MASSACHUSETTS MOTORCYCLISTS DEMAND EQUITIBLE INSURANCE The MMA of
Massachusetts has requested to meet with the Division of Insurance to discuss
discriminatory price and coverage practices, and seeking equitable changes in
insurance practices for more than 125,000 registered motorcycles in the
Commonwealth.

"We're tired of not having the same coverage availability for our motorcycles
as we have for our cars and trucks," said Jimi Ricci, Chairman of the
Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA), and a member of the NCOM Board of
Directors.

"It's unfair," said Betsy Lister, MMA Safety & Education Director who has
been an independent insurance agent over 28 years and owns Lister Insurance
Agency, "that as 'motor vehicles,' motorcycles don't have the same options as
other vehicles when it comes to coverages and limits."

She cites that motorcycles are excluded from "stated value" coverage, when
the market value of a custom or specially modified motorcycle's value exceeds
it "book value"; no "multi-vehicle" discounts; no "anti-theft" discounts; and
only $5,000 in coverage can be purchased in "optional" medical payments
coverage by riders, despite their ability to pay the increased premiums.
Premium income and loss data over the past 3 seasons is "unfairly
disproportionate," she says.

MMA Legislative Director Paul Cote, a former insurance claims examiner and
currently a legal consultant on accident reconstruction and claim handling,
sent a letter to Division of Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler
"requesting a meeting with policy-makers within the Division to address these
inequities" that the MMA has uncovered.

"Nationwide, more than 80% of the motor vehicle/motorcycle accidents are the
motor vehicle operator's fault," says Cote, "yet we suffer due to their
negligence and our limited coverage availability. We want to address that,
and our rates with the Commissioner."

"I'm happy we have the talent, experience and energy of Betsy and Paul on our
MMA Board to address these issues professionally," said Ricci. "We believe a
lot of good will come out of this for those who ride motorcycles in the
Commonwealth."

 

ALLSTATE LOSES ----- MOTORCYCLISTS WIN! An attempt by Allstate Insurance to
eliminate motorcyclists from medical payment coverage went down in defeat in
the case of a young passenger on a bike in Virginia, thanks to the efforts of
Virginia Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney J. Thomas (Tom)
McGrath.

Jennifer L., a teenager living with her grandmother, went for a ride on a
motorcycle owned by a friend. The driver crashed the bike and Jennifer was
injured. Her grandmother had a policy of insurance on her car with Allstate
Insurance Company, and for an extra premium she purchased a $1,000.00 medical
payment benefit which would reimburse any resident relative of the
grandmother's household up to $1,000.00 for injuries sustained in an
accident.

The law in Virginia requires an insurance company that sells bodily injury
liability insurance to also offer medical payment insurance provided it
covers the named insured and any resident relative of the named insured while
in or upon, entering or alighting from or through being struck by a motor
vehicle

"Allstate sold the coverage to Jennifer's grandmother but had changed the
language in it's policy to limit the coverage to injuries sustained while in
or upon a four wheel vehicle," said attorney McGrath. "This attempt to cut
motorcyclists out of coverage is part of what I see as an ongoing struggle
between us and the insurance industry. They keep trying to take away our
freedom to ride by trying in every way to deny us coverage."

Suit was filed in the Circuit Court of The City of Richmond based on the
statutory language and the fact that the definition of "motor vehicle" in
Virginia includes motorcycles. In addition to the $1,000.00 that we claimed
was owed to Jennifer L., we asked for double the damages plus attorney fees
and court costs.

McGrath argued, and the Court agreed, that Allstate's effort to change it's
policy was really an attempt to change the Virginia statutory law. "The
Court declared Allstate's definition void and we received a check in the
amount of $6,345.00," said McGrath. "Not bad for a $1,000.00 claim."

If you have medical payment benefits on any of your policies check the
language and if you find that it is similar to Allstate's, in that it defines
a motor vehicle as an automobile or vehicle having four wheels, please let
AIM know.

"Remember this," McGrath admonishes, "companies that write insurance are
always seeking ways to limit what they have to cover. Only we can protect
our rights."

 

POLITICS AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS With another election cycle
coming upon us, we'd like to share with you the following article by Marcia
Mercer written June 25 for the Media General News Service, regarding the
political appeal of motorcycles:

WASHINGTON -- In the world of presidential politics, it was hot news. John
Kerry, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, had decided to make a
serious bid for the White House.

No, he didn't announce his candidacy. Officially, Kerry was still testing
the waters.

But to political observers, Kerry had sent a clear sign of his intentions.
He got rid of his Italian-made Ducati motorcycle a few weeks ago in favor of
a shiny black Harley-Davidson.

The switch wasn't just a matter of what Kerry is riding. It said Kerry is
running.

In America, it's not enough to dash around the country, raising money, making
eye contact, acting humble and talking about your vision. Lots of people do
that.

To show you're a real presidential contender, you need to do something that
shouts, "I'm a regular guy."

It's a curiosity of American politics that presidential candidates have to
prove they're ordinary men, the kind of guy other guys enjoy hanging out
with.

Kerry may be super-smart and super-rich, a fellow with four houses and a
chestful of combat medals. Voters may have elected him to the Senate three
times. But he has a problem: People see him as aloof, arrogant and stiff.
(Shades of Al Gore?)

So, Kerry works at presenting himself as a man's man. He tells people he
flies airplanes. Plays ice hockey. Windsurfs. And he hopped on a Harley.

A man with three purple hearts shouldn't have to prove anything. But that's a
topic for another day.

"It's an American icon," said a Harley-Davidson spokesman. Sales of the
American-made bikes are up 21 percent post-Sept. 11.

At least Kerry didn't send his wife, Teresa Heinz, out on a chopper. In
1996, GOP candidate Bob Dole's wife Elizabeth rode onto the Tonight Show
stage on the back of a Harley, behind Jay Leno. The very ladylike Dole wore
jeans, motorcycle boots and a black leather jacket with chains.

The motorcycle effect was dramatic in Ames, Iowa, in August 1999, when the
Republicans sponsored a presidential straw poll, a symbolic test of
popularity in the state with the first presidential caucuses.

At first, it looked as if the governor of Texas might skip the event. But
no. The sign that the man with the famous pedigree had decided to be a
serious presidential contender came when he rounded up a couple hundred
bikers.

Led by the unlikeliest of Republicans - Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of
Colorado, with his ponytail and black leather jacket with chains - the bikers
swooped in off the prairie and revved their Harleys for George W. Bush in the
parking lot outside the arena. Take that, Gary Bauer.

George Bush, the elder - senator's son, prep school, Yale - never could shake
the perception that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. George
Bush, the younger - president's son, prep school, Yale - wasn't going to let
that happen to him.

Bush didn't actually straddle a motorcycle that day, but that was OK. He was
one of them. He won the straw poll.

A few months after that, Elizabeth Dole, a presidential candidate in her own
right, rode on the back of a Harley to a barbecue in Salem, N.H.

Later in the 2000 campaign, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe
Lieberman, visited the Harley-Davidson factory in Kansas City. Lieberman
donned a helmet and hopped on the back of a Harley. The candidate joked that
putting on the helmet was "another act of courage."

A few weeks before Election Day 2000, Al Gore went on the Queen Latifah Show
and talked about how much he and Tipper had loved riding motorcycles in their
youth.

In 2002, when it comes to projecting an image of raw, American manliness with
the help of a motorcycle, John Kerry has an edge. He likes riding
bareheaded, and freedom-loving New Hampshire, site of the first presidential
primary, has spurned mandatory helmet laws.

Brace yourself for a barrage of pictures showing regular guy Kerry astride
his black Harley, hair blowing in the wind.

 

WEIRD NEWS OF THE MONTH: Children Blackmail Parents With Landmine Suicide
Threats Authorities in India say children are using landmines to blackmail
their parents. Army personnel patrolling India's border with Pakistan claim
to have averted eight suicide attempts in the last month. The Dainik Ujala
newspaper reports a teenager who was rescued after crossing into mined
territory claimed he was trying to kill himself because his parents refused
to buy him a motorbike. Harnam Singh, a farmer from the border village of
Kahangarh, said: "The mines have become a very effective tool for blackmail.
Children know they can extract anything from their parents if they threaten
to walk into the danger area."

 

A DEATH IN THE FAMILY "Little Jimmy" Rouse, Business Manager for the
Modified Motorcycle Association (MMA) of California and member of the
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) Board of Directors, died on
Friday, July 19, 2002, in Sacramento of complications from lymphatic cancer.

 

"Lil' Jimmy was one of the founding fathers of the MMA of California back in
1972 and has been involved ever since," said "Sleepy," Chairman of the MMA
Board of Directors. "Lil' Jimmy helped fight for motorcyclists alongside Ron
Roloff, Gorilla, Whitey, and Sonny. Lil' Jimmy was involved to the very end,
even reviewing and approving the newsletter the night before. Lil' Jimmy was
always there for all motorcyclists and will be missed beyond description."

Our sympathies go out to the MMA and to the family and friends of "Little
Jimmy" Rouse, a pioneer in the motorcyclists rights movement and a true
freedom fighter.

 

QUOTABLE QUOTE: "If we don't all hang together, then we'll all damn sure
hang separately, by the straps of our own helmets."
"LITTLE JIMMY" ROUSE, MMA of California