The GUNNY'S SACK

December 2005 WOW! Christmas is just around the corner. I don’t remember a year that went by so quickly. I guess the old saying that time flies when you’re having fun is indeed fact.

As you may know, the Sack is written around a month ahead of when we show up in printed biker newsletters. Parts of the Sack are reprinted in Easyriders and V-Twin magazines. SOME of you get it VERY early by way of E-mail. If you’d like to get your VERY OWN Gunny’s Sacks in your email inbox every month, just submit your request to BILL BISH, public relations for NCOM, the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, at NCOMBish@aol.com. You can ALSO get Bill’s monthly e-newsletter, “NCOM News Bytes”. Wanna preview Bill’s column? The Sack AND Coast-to-Coast News are BOTH archived ONLINE! You can read my pearls here going back 5 or 6 years. Just go to www.aimncom.com or to www.ON-A-BIKE.com, and click on the AIM Card on the home page. Click on “News,” and you’re there!

PORTLAND, OR: Speaking of NCOM, we just had the annual NCOM West Coast Regional Conference here in Portland, on Oct. 22nd, and it was a huge success. Our speakers covered subjects ranging from dissection of the Patriot Act to what kinds and what coverages of insurance we should carry on our vehicles, motorcycles in particular. We were graced by the presence of Criminal Justice Professor Hernandez from Sacramento, who gave us all some very scary scenarios that COULD HAPPEN HERE, if Congress enacts a new ANTI-GANG law. There was lively discussion on this, and everyone, biker or not, was urged to write their Senators and Congressmen to say NO to this very frightening law. If you want to know more, I’d get ahold of BILL BISH, once again, at NCOMBish@aol.com.

We also discussed the role that law enforcement really should play as to the handling of motorcycle confiscations, or outright theft of our machines by police. Here in Oregon, there have been instances of bikes being held by authorities for periods in excess of three years for no other reason than they could get away with it. In some cases, bikes are being returned to rightful owners in boxes. This is being addressed in our court system and many times we even win.

Several years ago a bike was taken in the city of Eugene just because the rider was leaving a patch-holder club anniversary party. The pretense was that the bike might have had stolen parts on it because it was an assembled title. It didn’t matter that the bike had been inspected and approved by DMV prior to title issue. Eventually, thanks to Oregon AIM lawyer SAM HOCHBERG, suit was filed. The city had to PAY a mechanic to reassemble the bike, at considerable cost to the city. God love the justice system, at times!

ALSO at the NCOM Regional, we discussed the Oregon Motorcycle Caucus of the Democratic Party, recognized officially, right up with the other caucuses, like labor, women, and minorities. This was started by DIESEL DAVE Ganslein. Oregon’s bikers have something to say about the party’s platform now, every year. JIM ROBISON, Caucus co-chair, gave a short talk. THIS man isn’t even a biker, but he KNOWS an unmet need when he sees one. It was HIS ENERGY, along with Diesel Dave’s and others, that made this whole thing fly. Jim is also running for the state legislature in a district here in Portland. Bikers can sure use more like Jim!

Oregon’s Motorcycle Caucus was a great idea! It make sense for us to get involved enough to help decide party platforms. Hell, we had the dems put HELMET FREEDOM OF CHOICE as part of the OFFICIAL party platform for several years! Same with motorcycle discrimination. Y’know how YOU can get involved in YOUR own party in your own town? Just GO to the county-wide party meetings, and ask to be a precinct committee-person! In most states, there aren’t enough to fill the positions, so you MAY be able to get your local party chapter to appoint you! After your term ends, you can have your name on the ballot, since it is a two-year elected position. You CAN go directly to your Elections Division, and get yerself on the BALLOT, too! These precinct people make the parties move. You might find it really exciting, you never know! We have put many of our own Oregon bikers into this position, and it makes a difference. TRY IT, you’ll LIKE it!

NEWSBITS ‘N’ PIECES:

FROM BikePAC of Oregon: MSF's Oregon lobbyist formally presented a report asking MSF's Beginning Rider Course (BRC) motorcycle training program to be certified by ODOT, even though our TEAM OREGON is the only state-approved rider training which can grant DMV skills test waivers for getting motorcycle endorsements. MSF is asking to be able to issue DMV test waivers as well.

The read I’m getting from around the patch is Team Oregon is the course recommended by most motorcycle organizations and riders in this state.

Contact your Oregon state legislators and give them your thoughts. Tell them Oregon IS THE LEADER in the country, for excellence in motorcycle safety instruction. Only this year, the Federal agency NHTSA (Nat’l Highway Transportation Safety Administration) cited TEAM OREGON as the BEST IN THE USA! The courses were initially developed by bikers themselves over 20 years ago; eventually adopted by the State of Oregon. For more information, contact: KEN RAY, Executive Director, at (503) 351-8193, or visit www.bikepac.com.

INDIA: Maybe THIS is the place to sell bikes. Hero Honda Motors Ltd. stock rose 6.6 percent to 744.30 rupees, after it said it planned to sell 3 MILLION BIKES in just the one year period ending March, 2006. That’s a whole bunch of bikes where I come from, folks.

GUNNY-IN-THE-MIDDLE: Don’t let me get through a Sack without reminding every biker that throughout the USA, the AIM lawyers are the ones who actually RIDE, just like us. They handle bike and car wrecks, but THEY know what it’s like on the road for us, unlike most lawyers. God help ya if you wreck, but call these guys at 1-800-ON-A-BIKE, and y’won’t get caught short. Oh yeah – and don’t talk to any insurance adjusters until you talk to your AIM lawyer first!

LITTLETON, Colorado: Rocky Mountain Harley-Davidson has a bang-up website, at www.rmh-d.com. They're doing a web poll on whether H-D ought to build a modern version of the old SERVICAR, a Harley trike, used by police, parking patrols and for deliveries. I for one would LOVE to see it, but something tells me there isn’t enough dough in it for HD to retool. On that same site, click on "PAST POLLS," and you'll see surprising stuff. Website visitors were asked how much they expected to RIDE the next summer, and only a little over 10% said they would ride over 10,000 miles! I'd have thought MORE than that, but gettin’ your knees in the breeze is what counts. Except for 3.9% of the readers, whose vote was: "Ride? That would involve getting it off the trailer!"

RURAL AFRICA: This is tough terrain for health care workers. Roads are often washed out or potholed, if there are any roads at all. In the isolated villages, the sick and injured can’t be seen by health care workers. Sometimes, parents walk HOURS to the nearest clinic, carrying sick kids on their backs. The best way to reach these folks? By MOTORCYCLE! Nurses, docs and allied workers get out to where they’re needed, and they couldn’t do it, if not for these machines. Unfortunately, bike maintenance got overlooked. Worse still, parts and good wrench-turners are in short supply. Many bikes end up rusted hulks after only a few months of service. Somebody with a good brain figured this one out: TRAIN the healthcare folks in motorcycle mechanics! If ever there was a project worth doing, this one is it. RIDERS FOR HEALTH, the group doing this, is in several African countries now, and they’re spreading. MORE POWER TO 'EM!