The GUNNY'S SACK

July 2005 As I begin to put this issue of the Sack together, the bombing in London of innocent people on their daily commute to work lays heavily on my mind. I realize this has nothing to do, per se, as to the motorcycle world, but it does affect every person on this planet.

I rarely comment on things that aren't strictly motorcycle-related, Helmet laws and such are a royal pain in the butt for you and me; but terrorism is unacceptable to this planet and needs to stop. The people who perpetrated this act of MURDER on those innocent folks aren't going to scare anyone away from individual dignity and the pursuit of life in the freedom lane. This is a sacred duty we all have while on this earth.

Alright, no more Gunny on a soapbox for now.

NEWSBITS ‘N' PIECES:

MILWAUKEE, WIS: In Patriotic Times, You Are What You Believe. Americans are becoming more likely to go public with visible expressions of whatever their passions and beliefs happen to be, including patriotism. Whether it's supporting our troops with a yellow ribbon, or wearing their patriotism with red, white and blue clothing we are showing our personal values. IT'S ABOUT TIME, I say, we begin to appreciate the freedoms we have and work to protect them publicly. With all her faults, America is the STILL the freest country on this earth. And the best.

FREE STUFF: Watch for me or other AIM reps at most all the big runs. In case y'didn't know, I run the AIM booth at the runs in Oregon. You should know more about AIM, that's Aid to Injured Motorcyclists, because it could save your life, and it's FREE. Stop by any AIM booth and say howdy, will ya please? We've got lots of solid information, including the latest 2005 AIM/NCOM Legal/Legislative newsletters, plus stock up free stickers of all sorts – my favorite is still the one AIM has been running for years and years, on T-shirts and bumper stickers; it's as true today as when Richard M. Lester started AIM and NCOM over 20 years ago: IT'S NOT ILLEGAL TO BE A BIKER. The bumper sticker is in use right now in the city of GRANTS PASS, OR, where there's a heck of a problem with the local sheriff. It's looking like some of the members of the VAGOS MC will be filing a civil rights lawsuit against the fellow, who was quoted in the paper as saying that these club riders are NOT welcome in "his" county! So, when the Oregon Confederation of Clubs (the COC) held it's meeting there, the Chairman of the Oregon COC, Longview Tom, held up a stack of those bumper stickers, waved them in the air, and told EVERYONE to PUT THEM ON their cars and trucks. It is NOT illegal to be a biker – put one on YOUR car, too. It's OUR statement to the world, and it NEEDS to be said. I have them at the runs, or ask your own AIM ATTORNEY. You can find out who that might be, by calling 1-800-ON-A-BIKE, or by going to www.ON-A-BIKE.com. Regular Sack readers KNOW: These are the lawyers who ride, and who protect our right to ride. They specialize in beating up the insurance company for you, preferably without any lawsuit, to get you COMPENSATED FAIRLY if you're hurt. And, they sponsor NCOM, the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, so it's FREE for the rest of us.

SALVADOR, BRAZIL: Bellevue-Washington based Evader, Inc. maker of these new electric high-performance vehicles powered by what they call their "EPIC" technology, has partnered-up with the Garini Motorcycle Group of Brazil. They're talking about more than 110,000 gas AND electric motorcycles and scooters over the next five years. They're building an assembly plant in central Brazil, so they can sell those little suckers all over South America. The FIRST shipments are scheduled for the next month or two! Look out folks, I think maybe we will be riding zero emission electric scooters instead of our old reliable gas rigs sooner than we think. My God, think about it: No loud pipes. What will we do? Sounds kinda like SCI-FI, but someday, there's gonna be an ELECTRIC bike club. I may even live to see it. See below for yet ANOTHER electric motorcycle story -- looks like it's gonna happen, too!

LOS ANGELES: A BRITISH CO. is going to relocate here. It's another outfit going for the zero emission scene. This rig will sell for about $6,000.00. Not a bad price if the thing rides well. It's expected to hit the market in 2006. It's called an "ENV fuel cell" motorcycle. Looks like we oughta keep our eyes open, troops, JUST in case it gets TOO popular. If it does, and gas prices get too far out of sight, don't be surprised by talk of OUTLAWING gas vehicles, and THAT could include our gas sipping bikes. One good thing: It might create a JOB or two, maybe even here in the USA. No reason why these electric bikes can't co-exist and compete with my fossil fuel steed for this old fossil. I'll keep ya posted.

RAPID CITY, SD: In the wake of the base closures nationally, 150 bikers who love freedom turned out for a protest ride over to Ellsworth Air Force Base. Their message: Don't close bases! We have too much going on in the world right now, and we JUST might NEED ‘EM! There were an estimated 11,000 folks there for the hearing, and that could determine whether Ellsworth remains open. They say the six-decade-old base is essential to our future national security. Boy, a whole lot of us agree there, ‘course yer readin' the slightly biased pearls of an old Gunnery Sgt from USMC, but I think MOST folks would agree with me.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA: "THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES,'' the story of revolutionary CHE GUEVARA'S life-changing 1950's trip across Latin America, won top honors at the Imagen Awards, like best picture. The film's writer also won the Norman Lear Writer's award. Might just be worth pickin’ up the video, at LEAST for the bikes! Sam Hochberg, our AIM Attorney here in Oregon, has been reading the BOOK version. He says Che and his friend traveled together, TWO UP, on one bike. A real adventure, Sam says, including their fair share of roadside repairs and metal fab. The DISTANCE ridden was MORE than the length of South America! Sam is chomping at the bit to SEE this film, so we might have to rent it together. Hell, I've worked for him for 14 years or so. Time to buy the old boy a beer and a movie, don'tcha think? I'll make sure he doesn't RIDE afterwards!

DRINKING BIKERS STILL DYING: In 2003, more riders were killed in crashes who had .08 or more alcohol than any OTHER type of vehicle driver in fatal crashes. Like, THIRTY PERCENT of all fatally injured bikers had BAC levels at .08 or higher. NOT riding after drinking might have saved 33 PEOPLE out of every hundred killed. Another 7 percent had lower BAC's, from .01 to .07. But, GET THIS: In SINGLE VEHICLE bike crashes, a whopping 44 percent of riders killed were DRUNK, with blood alcohol readings of .08 or more.

PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND RIDE. Just PARK the bike if yer gonna drink.

More from the new NHTSA report: Motorcycle deaths have nearly doubled since 1997, and it's being said older riders are a big reason. Riders 40 and older had 47 percent of deaths last year, up from 33 in 1997, and 14 percent in 1990. These numbers, as you might guess are from NHTSA stats. Nevertheless, they frighten me because I'm one of those older riders. One might think we are not capable of handling the big rides we prefer. I personally don't think that's the case. Many of these OLDER riders are NEW riders, or they're coming back after years of not riding, and then getting into trouble. RIDER ED would help, I'm sure. The truth is that us old guys own more than half the bikes sold and most of them are big bore scoots. The story is BE CAREFUL out there. Older riders die at nearly triple the rate of others on the road. The thought that big brother might decide to limit the size of bike I can ride bothers me. They are saying we might not have the skills we need to handle the big stuff. If your comin’ back from a long lay-off or an older newby, take a riding course just to make me feel better. Hell, ya might accidentally learn something.