Omnibus Public Lands Bill Voted Down

March 17, 2009 by  
Filed under On the Road

Narrow Victory for the AMA and Off-Road Motorcyclists

This month, Senate Bill 22 narrowly failed to get the two-thirds votes of the House required to get enacted into law. The vote came down to 282 yes votes vs 144 no votes. That’s a 66.2% yes margin which is about as close as it gets.

The Omnibus bill, which in reality was 160 bills rolled into one and included more than 1,300 pages, was the latest attempt to steam-roll a bill, which none of the legislators had read, through the Congress. Luckily, the AMA, along with other outraged motorcycle groups, were able to scream loudly enough to be heard. They  urged motorcycling voters to get involved and  let their congressmen know how they felt about this law, and the people responded. Luckily, enough of the representatives listened to their constituents to halt the measure before it got sneaked through.

Had the bill passed, it would have banned any motorized vehicles from more than 2 million acres of public land. Despite this bill failing, expect it to come up again. As always the price of freedom is vigilance.
 

 

Here is the Voting Roll for Senate Bill 22

Check to see how your representative voted, if they voted NAY, you might want to thank them, if they Voted Yea you might want to tell them that they are working hard to lose your vote next election.  If they are one of the six that didn’t vote at all, you have to wonder how they got elected in the first place.

Alabama
Nay Bonner, Jo [R]
Not Voting AL-2 Bright, Bobby [D]
Nay AL-3 Rogers, Michael [R]
Nay AL-4 Aderholt, Robert [R]
Yea AL-5 Griffith, Parker [D]
Nay AL-6 Bachus, Spencer [R]
Yea AL-7 Davis, Artur [D]
Alaska
Yea AK-0 Young, Donald [R]
Arizona
Yea AZ-1 Kirkpatrick, Ann [D]
Nay AZ-2 Franks, Trent [R]
Nay AZ-3 Shadegg, John [R]
Yea AZ-4 Pastor, Edward [D]
Yea AZ-5 Mitchell, Harry [D]
Nay AZ-6 Flake, Jeff [R]
Yea AZ-7 Grijalva, Raul [D]
Yea AZ-8 Giffords, Gabrielle [D]
Arkansas
Yea AR-1 Berry, Robert [D]
Yea AR-2 Snyder, Victor [D]
Nay AR-3 Boozman, John [R]
Yea AR-4 Ross, Mike [D]
California
Yea CA-1 Thompson, C. [D]
Nay CA-2 Herger, Walter [R]
Nay CA-3 Lungren, Daniel [R]
Nay CA-4 McClintock, Tom [R]
Yea CA-5 Matsui, Doris [D]
Yea CA-6 Woolsey, Lynn [D]
Yea CA-7 Miller, George [D]
Yea CA-8 Pelosi, Nancy [D]
Yea CA-9 Lee, Barbara [D]
Yea CA-10 Tauscher, Ellen [D]
Yea CA-11 McNerney, Jerry [D]
Yea CA-12 Speier, Jackie [D]
Yea CA-13 Stark, Fortney [D]
Yea CA-14 Eshoo, Anna [D]
Yea CA-15 Honda, Michael [D]
Yea CA-16 Lofgren, Zoe [D]
Yea CA-17 Farr, Sam [D]
Yea CA-18 Cardoza, Dennis [D]
Not Voting CA-19 Radanovich, George [R]
Yea CA-20 Costa, Jim [D]
Nay CA-21 Nunes, Devin [R]
Nay CA-22 McCarthy, Kevin [R]
Yea CA-23 Capps, Lois [D]
Nay CA-24 Gallegly, Elton [R]
Yea CA-25 McKeon, Howard [R]
Yea CA-26 Dreier, David [R]
Yea CA-27 Sherman, Brad [D]
Yea CA-28 Berman, Howard [D]
Yea CA-29 Schiff, Adam [D]
Yea CA-30 Waxman, Henry [D]
Yea CA-31 Becerra, Xavier [D]
Yea CA-33 Watson, Diane [D]
Yea CA-34 Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D]
Yea CA-35 Waters, Maxine [D]
Yea CA-36 Harman, Jane [D]
Yea CA-37 Richardson, Laura [D]
Yea CA-38 Napolitano, Grace [D]
Yea CA-39 Sanchez, Linda [D]
Nay CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
Yea CA-41 Lewis, Jerry [R]
Not Voting CA-42 Miller, Gary [R]
Yea CA-43 Baca, Joe [D]
Nay CA-44 Calvert, Ken [R]
Yea CA-45 Bono Mack, Mary [R]
Nay CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
Yea CA-47 Sanchez, Loretta [D]
Nay CA-48 Campbell, John [R]
Nay CA-49 Issa, Darrell [R]
Nay CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
Yea CA-51 Filner, Bob [D]
Nay CA-52 Hunter, Duncan [R]
Yea CA-53 Davis, Susan [D]
Colorado
Yea CO-1 DeGette, Diana [D]
Yea CO-2 Polis, Jared [D]
Yea CO-3 Salazar, John [D]
Yea CO-4 Markey, Betsy [D]
Nay CO-5 Lamborn, Doug [R]
Nay CO-6 Coffman, Mike [R]
Yea CO-7 Perlmutter, Ed [D]
Connecticut
Yea CT-1 Larson, John [D]
Yea CT-2 Courtney, Joe [D]
Yea CT-3 DeLauro, Rosa [D]
Yea CT-4 Himes, James [D]
Yea CT-5 Murphy, Christopher [D]
Delaware
Yea DE-0 Castle, Michael [R]
Florida
Nay FL-1 Miller, Jeff [R]
Yea FL-2 Boyd, Allen [D]
Yea FL-3 Brown, Corrine [D]
Nay FL-4 Crenshaw, Ander [R]
Nay FL-5 Brown-Waite, Virginia [R]
Nay FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
Nay FL-7 Mica, John [R]
Yea FL-8 Grayson, Alan [D]
Nay FL-9 Bilirakis, Gus [R]
Yea FL-10 Young, C. W. [R]
Yea FL-11 Castor, Kathy [D]
Nay FL-12 Putnam, Adam [R]
Nay FL-13 Buchanan, Vern [R]
Nay FL-14 Mack, Connie [R]
Nay FL-15 Posey, Bill [R]
Nay FL-16 Rooney, Thomas [R]
Yea FL-17 Meek, Kendrick [D]
Yea FL-18 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
Yea FL-19 Wexler, Robert [D]
Yea FL-20 Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D]
Nay FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R]
Yea FL-22 Klein, Ron [D]
Yea FL-23 Hastings, Alcee [D]
Not Voting FL-24 Kosmas, Suzanne [D]
Nay FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario [R]
Georgia
Nay GA-1 Kingston, Jack [R]
Yea GA-2 Bishop, Sanford [D]
Nay GA-3 Westmoreland, Lynn [R]
Yea GA-4 Johnson, Henry [D]
Yea GA-5 Lewis, John [D]
Nay GA-6 Price, Tom [R]
Nay GA-7 Linder, John [R]
Nay GA-8 Marshall, James [D]
Nay GA-9 Deal, Nathan [R]
Nay GA-10 Broun, Paul [R]
Nay GA-11 Gingrey, John [R]
Yea GA-12 Barrow, John [D]
Yea GA-13 Scott, David [D]
Hawaii
Yea HI-1 Abercrombie, Neil [D]
Yea HI-2 Hirono, Mazie [D]
Idaho
Yea ID-1 Minnick, Walter [D]
Yea ID-2 Simpson, Michael [R]
Illinois
Yea IL-1 Rush, Bobby [D]
Yea IL-2 Jackson, Jesse [D]
Yea IL-3 Lipinski, Daniel [D]
Yea IL-4 Gutierrez, Luis [D]
Nay IL-6 Roskam, Peter [R]
Yea IL-7 Davis, Danny [D]
Yea IL-8 Bean, Melissa [D]
Yea IL-9 Schakowsky, Janice [D]
Yea IL-10 Kirk, Mark [R]
Yea IL-11 Halvorson, Deborah [D]
Yea IL-12 Costello, Jerry [D]
Nay IL-13 Biggert, Judy [R]
Yea IL-14 Foster, Bill [D]
Yea IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
Nay IL-16 Manzullo, Donald [R]
Yea IL-17 Hare, Phil [D]
Nay IL-18 Schock, Aaron [R]
Nay IL-19 Shimkus, John [R]
Indiana
Yea IN-1 Visclosky, Peter [D]
Yea IN-2 Donnelly, Joe [D]
Nay IN-3 Souder, Mark [R]
Nay IN-4 Buyer, Stephen [R]
Nay IN-5 Burton, Dan [R]
Nay IN-6 Pence, Mike [R]
Yea IN-7 Carson, André [D]
Yea IN-8 Ellsworth, Brad [D]
Yea IN-9 Hill, Baron [D]
Iowa
Yea IA-1 Braley, Bruce [D]
Yea IA-2 Loebsack, David [D]
Yea IA-3 Boswell, Leonard [D]
Nay IA-4 Latham, Thomas [R]
Nay IA-5 King, Steve [R]
Kansas
Nay KS-1 Moran, Jerry [R]
Nay KS-2 Jenkins, Lynn [R]
Yea KS-3 Moore, Dennis [D]
Nay KS-4 Tiahrt, Todd [R]
Kentucky
Yea KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
Nay KY-2 Guthrie, Brett [R]
Yea KY-3 Yarmuth, John [D]
Nay KY-4 Davis, Geoff [R]
Nay KY-5 Rogers, Harold [R]
Yea KY-6 Chandler, Ben [D]
Louisiana
Nay LA-1 Scalise, Steve [R]
Nay LA-2 Cao, Anh [R]
Yea LA-3 Melancon, Charles [D]
Nay LA-4 Fleming, John [R]
Not Voting LA-5 Alexander, Rodney [R]
Nay LA-6 Cassidy, Bill [R]
Nay LA-7 Boustany, Charles [R]
Maine
Yea ME-1 Pingree, Chellie [D]
Yea ME-2 Michaud, Michael [D]
Maryland
Yea MD-1 Kratovil, Frank [D]
Yea MD-2 Ruppersberger, C.A. [D]
Yea MD-3 Sarbanes, John [D]
Yea MD-4 Edwards, Donna [D]
Yea MD-5 Hoyer, Steny [D]
Nay MD-6 Bartlett, Roscoe [R]
Yea MD-7 Cummings, Elijah [D]
Yea MD-8 Van Hollen, Christopher [D]
Massachusetts
Yea MA-1 Olver, John [D]
Yea MA-2 Neal, Richard [D]
Yea MA-3 McGovern, James [D]
Yea MA-4 Frank, Barney [D]
Yea MA-5 Tsongas, Niki [D]
Yea MA-6 Tierney, John [D]
Yea MA-7 Markey, Edward [D]
Yea MA-8 Capuano, Michael [D]
Yea MA-9 Lynch, Stephen [D]
Yea MA-10 Delahunt, William [D]
Michigan
Yea MI-1 Stupak, Bart [D]
Nay MI-2 Hoekstra, Peter [R]
Yea MI-3 Ehlers, Vernon [R]
Nay MI-4 Camp, David [R]
Yea MI-5 Kildee, Dale [D]
Yea MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
Yea MI-7 Schauer, Mark [D]
Nay MI-8 Rogers, Michael [R]
Yea MI-9 Peters, Gary [D]
Yea MI-10 Miller, Candice [R]
Nay MI-11 McCotter, Thaddeus [R]
Yea MI-12 Levin, Sander [D]
Yea MI-13 Kilpatrick, Carolyn [D]
Yea MI-14 Conyers, John [D]
Yea MI-15 Dingell, John [D]
Minnesota
Yea MN-1 Walz, Timothy [D]
Nay MN-2 Kline, John [R]
Yea MN-3 Paulsen, Erik [R]
Yea MN-4 McCollum, Betty [D]
Yea MN-5 Ellison, Keith [D]
Nay MN-6 Bachmann, Michele [R]
Nay MN-7 Peterson, Collin [D]
Yea MN-8 Oberstar, James [D]
Mississippi
Yea MS-1 Childers, Travis [D]
Yea MS-2 Thompson, Bennie [D]
Nay MS-3 Harper, Gregg [R]
Yea MS-4 Taylor, Gene [D]
Missouri
Yea MO-1 Clay, William [D]
Nay MO-2 Akin, W. [R]
Yea MO-3 Carnahan, Russ [D]
Yea MO-4 Skelton, Ike [D]
Yea MO-5 Cleaver, Emanuel [D]
Nay MO-6 Graves, Samuel [R]
Nay MO-7 Blunt, Roy [R]
Nay MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
Nay MO-9 Luetkemeyer, Blaine [R]
Montana
Nay MT-0 Rehberg, Dennis [R]
Nebraska
Yea NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R]
Nay NE-2 Terry, Lee [R]
Nay NE-3 Smith, Adrian [R]
Nevada
Yea NV-1 Berkley, Shelley [D]
Nay NV-2 Heller, Dean [R]
Yea NV-3 Titus, Dina [D]
New Hampshire
Yea NH-1 Shea-Porter, Carol [D]
Yea NH-2 Hodes, Paul [D]
New Jersey
Yea NJ-1 Andrews, Robert [D]
Yea NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank [R]
Yea NJ-3 Adler, John [D]
Yea NJ-4 Smith, Christopher [R]
Nay NJ-5 Garrett, Scott [R]
Yea NJ-6 Pallone, Frank [D]
Yea NJ-7 Lance, Leonard [R]
Yea NJ-8 Pascrell, William [D]
Yea NJ-9 Rothman, Steven [D]
Yea NJ-10 Payne, Donald [D]
Yea NJ-11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R]
Yea NJ-12 Holt, Rush [D]
Yea NJ-13 Sires, Albio [D]
New Mexico
Yea NM-1 Heinrich, Martin [D]
Yea NM-2 Teague, Harry [D]
Yea NM-3 Lujan, Ben [D]
New York
Yea NY-1 Bishop, Timothy [D]
Yea NY-2 Israel, Steve [D]
Nay NY-3 King, Peter [R]
Yea NY-4 McCarthy, Carolyn [D]
Yea NY-5 Ackerman, Gary [D]
Yea NY-6 Meeks, Gregory [D]
Yea NY-7 Crowley, Joseph [D]
Yea NY-8 Nadler, Jerrold [D]
Yea NY-9 Weiner, Anthony [D]
Yea NY-10 Towns, Edolphus [D]
Yea NY-11 Clarke, Yvette [D]
Yea NY-12 Velazquez, Nydia [D]
Yea NY-13 McMahon, Michael [D]
Yea NY-14 Maloney, Carolyn [D]
Yea NY-15 Rangel, Charles [D]
Yea NY-16 Serrano, José [D]
Yea NY-17 Engel, Eliot [D]
Yea NY-18 Lowey, Nita [D]
Not Voting NY-19 Hall, John [D]
Yea NY-21 Tonko, Paul [D]
Yea NY-22 Hinchey, Maurice [D]
Nay NY-23 McHugh, John [R]
Yea NY-24 Arcuri, Michael [D]
Yea NY-25 Maffei, Daniel [D]
Nay NY-26 Lee, Christopher [R]
Yea NY-27 Higgins, Brian [D]
Yea NY-28 Slaughter, Louise [D]
Yea NY-29 Massa, Eric [D]
North Carolina
Yea NC-1 Butterfield, George [D]
Yea NC-2 Etheridge, Bob [D]
Yea NC-3 Jones, Walter [R]
Yea NC-4 Price, David [D]
Nay NC-5 Foxx, Virginia [R]
Nay NC-6 Coble, Howard [R]
Yea NC-7 McIntyre, Mike [D]
Yea NC-8 Kissell, Larry [D]
Nay NC-9 Myrick, Sue [R]
Nay NC-10 Mchenry, Patrick [R]
Yea NC-11 Shuler, Heath [D]
Yea NC-12 Watt, Melvin [D]
Yea NC-13 Miller, R. [D]
North Dakota
Yea ND-0 Pomeroy, Earl [D]
Ohio
Yea OH-1 Driehaus, Steve [D]
Nay OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R]
Yea OH-3 Turner, Michael [R]
Nay OH-4 Jordan, Jim [R]
Nay OH-5 Latta, Robert [R]
Yea OH-6 Wilson, Charles [D]
Nay OH-7 Austria, Steve [R]
Nay OH-8 Boehner, John [R]
Yea OH-9 Kaptur, Marcy [D]
Yea OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D]
Yea OH-11 Fudge, Marcia [D]
Nay OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R]
Yea OH-13 Sutton, Betty [D]
Yea OH-14 LaTourette, Steven [R]
Yea OH-15 Kilroy, Mary Jo [D]
Yea OH-16 Boccieri, John [D]
Yea OH-17 Ryan, Timothy [D]
Yea OH-18 Space, Zachary [D]
Oklahoma
Nay OK-1 Sullivan, John [R]
Nay OK-2 Boren, Dan [D]
Nay OK-3 Lucas, Frank [R]
Nay OK-4 Cole, Tom [R]
Nay OK-5 Fallin, Mary [R]
Oregon
Yea OR-1 Wu, David [D]
Yea OR-2 Walden, Greg [R]
Yea OR-3 Blumenauer, Earl [D]
Yea OR-4 DeFazio, Peter [D]
Yea OR-5 Schrader, Kurt [D]
Pennsylvania
Yea PA-1 Brady, Robert [D]
Yea PA-2 Fattah, Chaka [D]
Yea PA-3 Dahlkemper, Kathleen [D]
Yea PA-4 Altmire, Jason [D]
Nay PA-5 Thompson, Glenn [R]
Yea PA-6 Gerlach, Jim [R]
Yea PA-7 Sestak, Joe [D]
Yea PA-8 Murphy, Patrick [D]
Nay PA-9 Shuster, William [R]
Yea PA-10 Carney, Christopher [D]
Yea PA-11 Kanjorski, Paul [D]
Yea PA-12 Murtha, John [D]
Yea PA-13 Schwartz, Allyson [D]
Yea PA-14 Doyle, Michael [D]
Yea PA-15 Dent, Charles [R]
Nay PA-16 Pitts, Joseph [R]
Yea PA-17 Holden, Tim [D]
Nay PA-18 Murphy, Tim [R]
Yea PA-19 Platts, Todd [R]
Rhode Island
Yea RI-1 Kennedy, Patrick [D]
Yea RI-2 Langevin, James [D]
South Carolina
Nay SC-1 Brown, Henry [R]
Nay SC-2 Wilson, Addison [R]
Nay SC-3 Barrett, James [R]
Nay SC-4 Inglis, Bob [R]
Yea SC-5 Spratt, John [D]
Yea SC-6 Clyburn, James [D]
South Dakota
Yea SD-0 Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie [D]
Tennessee
Nay TN-1 Roe, David [R]
Nay TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
Yea TN-3 Wamp, Zach [R]
Yea TN-4 Davis, Lincoln [D]
Yea TN-5 Cooper, Jim [D]
Yea TN-6 Gordon, Barton [D]
Nay TN-7 Blackburn, Marsha [R]
Yea TN-8 Tanner, John [D]
Yea TN-9 Cohen, Steve [D]
Texas
Nay TX-1 Gohmert, Louis [R]
Nay TX-2 Poe, Ted [R]
Nay TX-3 Johnson, Samuel [R]
Nay TX-4 Hall, Ralph [R]
Nay TX-5 Hensarling, Jeb [R]
Nay TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
Nay TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
Nay TX-8 Brady, Kevin [R]
Yea TX-9 Green, Al [D]
Nay TX-10 McCaul, Michael [R]
Nay TX-11 Conaway, K. [R]
Nay TX-12 Granger, Kay [R]
Nay TX-13 Thornberry, William [R]
Nay TX-14 Paul, Ronald [R]
Yea TX-15 Hinojosa, Rubén [D]
Yea TX-16 Reyes, Silvestre [D]
Yea TX-17 Edwards, Thomas [D]
Yea TX-18 Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D]
Nay TX-19 Neugebauer, Randy [R]
Yea TX-20 Gonzalez, Charles [D]
Nay TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
Nay TX-22 Olson, Pete [R]
Yea TX-23 Rodriguez, Ciro [D]
Nay TX-24 Marchant, Kenny [R]
Yea TX-25 Doggett, Lloyd [D]
Nay TX-26 Burgess, Michael [R]
Yea TX-27 Ortiz, Solomon [D]
Yea TX-28 Cuellar, Henry [D]
Yea TX-29 Green, Raymond [D]
Yea TX-30 Johnson, Eddie [D]
Nay TX-31 Carter, John [R]
Nay TX-32 Sessions, Peter [R]
Utah
Nay UT-1 Bishop, Rob [R]
Yea UT-2 Matheson, Jim [D]
Nay UT-3 Chaffetz, Jason [R]
Vermont
Yea VT-0 Welch, Peter [D]
Virginia
Yea VA-1 Wittman, Rob [R]
Yea VA-2 Nye, Glenn [D]
Yea VA-3 Scott, Robert [D]
Nay VA-4 Forbes, James [R]
Yea VA-5 Perriello, Thomas [D]
Nay VA-6 Goodlatte, Robert [R]
Nay VA-7 Cantor, Eric [R]
Yea VA-8 Moran, James [D]
Yea VA-9 Boucher, Frederick [D]
Yea VA-10 Wolf, Frank [R]
Yea VA-11 Connolly, Gerald [D]
Washington
Yea WA-1 Inslee, Jay [D]
Yea WA-2 Larsen, Rick [D]
Yea WA-3 Baird, Brian [D]
Nay WA-4 Hastings, Doc [R]
Nay WA-5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R]
Yea WA-6 Dicks, Norman [D]
Yea WA-7 McDermott, James [D]
Yea WA-8 Reichert, Dave [R]
Yea WA-9 Smith, Adam [D]
West Virginia
Yea WV-1 Mollohan, Alan [D]
Yea WV-2 Capito, Shelley [R]
Yea WV-3 Rahall, Nick [D]
Wisconsin
Nay WI-1 Ryan, Paul [R]
Yea WI-2 Baldwin, Tammy [D]
Yea WI-3 Kind, Ronald [D]
Yea WI-4 Moore, Gwen [D]
Nay WI-5 Sensenbrenner, F. [R]
Yea WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]
Yea WI-7 Obey, David [D]
Yea WI-8 Kagen, Steve [D]
Wyoming
Nay WY-0 Lummis, Cynthia [R]

International Motorcycle Rallies

March 16, 2009 by  
Filed under Rally News

 

International Motorcycle Rallies in '09

 

  • Speed Fest - Mar 14-15 (Valles, Barcelona/Spain)
  • Honda 40th Anniversary Rally - (Queensland, Australia)
  • 7th Costa Rica National Rally - April 24-26 (San Jose/Costa Rica)www.harley-davidson.com
  • 17th Love Ride - May 3 (Switzerland)
  • Harley-Davidson - May 7-10 (Port Grimaud/St. Tropez/ Cote d'Azur/ France
  • Skagen Rally - May 21-23 (Copenhagen/Denmark)
  • 64th Rally FIM - May 25-30 (Zadar-Zaton/Croatia)
  • Swiss 500 Miles - June 6-7 (Zurich Dietikon/Switzerland)
  • Custom Bike Show - June 6 (Norralje/Sweden)
  • XIX Reunion International HDC-C - June 11-14 (El Vendrell/Spain)
  • Helsinki Bike Show - June 13 (Helsinki, Finland)
  • Ultimate Rally 2009 - June 26-27 (Marcillat en Combraille/France)
  • International Trucker & Country Festival - June 26-28 (Interlaken/Switzerland)
  • Swiss Harley Days - July 3-5 (Interlaken/Switzerland)
  • H.O.G. Rally - multiple dates in July and August (Cranbrook/Victoriaville/Halifax/Barrie/Calgary/Canada)
  • Bulldog Bash - August 6-9 (Warwickshire/England)
  • 12th European Bike Week - September 8-13 (Faak am See/ Austria)
  • 10th Caribbean H.O.G. Rally - November 6-8 (Copamarina/Puerto Rico)
  • The Carole Nash NEC Bike Show - November 27 - December 6 (Allesely, Coventry/England)
  • Snowdogs Moto Rally - (Russia)

Many of the websites are not translated into English, so check the details listed carefully before making travel plans. While we attempted to provide the most accurate information about the rally date and location, the rally website will be most reliable. For those that end up attending one of these rallies, send us details of your adventure to share with other BikerCamps.com readers.

Sturgis Rally Marketing Rights Dispute Over

March 14, 2009 by  
Filed under Rally News

 

Sturgis Chamber of Commerce - New Owner of Sturgis Bike Week

For nearly a decade, the relationship between the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and the owners of Sturgis Bike Week, Inc., have remained strained in a dispute over who would own the motorcycle rally’s marketing rights. When you have an event that has that much notoriety among motorcyclists worldwide, attracting hundreds of thousands of bikers to the venue yearly, it’s likely that trademark and copyright ownership for that event would be worth big bucks. In the world of motorcycle rally games, this tug of war seemed like it would never end. Finally, on March 3rd, 2009, that ongoing dispute was finally resolved.

Happy Campers Only at Sturgis ’69

The  details of the transaction that put this Sturgis Rally issue to a much-needed rest has not been disclosed, but the news is that Sturgis Bike Week has been purchased by the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and that both parties are happy with the resolution. Francie Ruebel-Alberts, one of the three Sturgis Bike Week, Inc., owners, stated that, "…we just kept coming back to our desire to keep it in the Sturgis community. Despite the fact that we have had our differences over the years, the Sturgis Chamber seemed the obvious choice and to maintain local ownership was very important to us." Gary Lippold and Bob Davis were the other two owners.

This wasn’t the first newsworthy dealing to take place in Sturgis this year. The Glencoe Campground and the Rock’n the Rally Amphitheater also changed ownership this year. Gary Lippold, again co-owner of those properties, participated in a little official paper inking a few months back that finalized that $8.6 million real estate transaction. These are just a couple of  Sturgis behind-the-scene details we thought might interest you. The 69th Anniversary Sturgis Rally countdown is still ticking down to its scheduled August 3-9, 2009, date with plans for a great motorcycle rally still in the making. Aerosmith and Toby Keith are just a couple of the top-named musicians you’ll find on the ’09 event calendar along with lots of other great motorcycle rally activities.  

First Motorcycle with Flexible Fuel Technology

March 14, 2009 by  
Filed under On the Road

Honda CG 150 Titan Mix

Moto Honda da Amazonia LTD., a Brazilian subsidiary of Honda, has announced that beginning sometime in mid-March 2009, the CG150 Titan Mix, which introduces the new flex fuel technology, will become available for purchase in Brazil.  This will be the world’s first motorcycle to be equipped with a mix fuel injection system, a technology independently developed by Honda. By blending gasoline-based fuel with bio-ethanol fuel, often produced from sugarcane and wheat, Honda anticipates a reduction of CO2 emissions along with customer fuel costs.

So why Brazil as the venue to launch this new motorcycle? Well, turns out that while the CG 150 Titan Mix will be the first motorcycle in the world to offer this new flex fuel technology, around 90% of new automobiles already being sold in Brazil now use this technology. So the Brazilians already have ample supplies of this fuel mixture already available.

Commuter Bike - Clean & Affordable

Honda is expecting that because of the lowered fuel costs and cleaner emissions of the CG 150 Titan Mix, it will be an ideal form of transportation for commuters. In 2008, there were approximately 1.91 million motorcycles registered in Brazil. Of those bikes, 1.326 million (about 72%) were Honda’s. So brand recognition among the Brazilian people is already in place. Another feature that Honda hopes will be attractive to commuters is the starting price for the CG 150 will be 6,340 Real. Converted to U.S. dollars, that would  be 2758.32, a price that Honda believe commuters will find affordable. They’re hoping for annual sales of about 200,000 units.

Motorcycles Included in 2009 Stimulus

March 1, 2009 by  
Filed under On the Road

 

2009 Tax Credit for Motorcycle and RV Purchase

The recent stimulus package that was signed into law on Tuesday (2/17/09) had a last minute inclusion for motorcycles and recreational vehicles. Cars and light trucks already had dibbs on their dollar share of the stimulus billions, and with the successful lobbying from the AMA, Harley-Davidson, and other industry groups, along with the support of four senators from areas most affected by a struggling motorcycle industry (Bob Casey, D-PA, Christopher Bond, R-MO, Russell Feingold, D-WI, and Herb Kohl, D-WI), motorcycles and RVs quietly squeaked there way into the bill. This is not an industry-saving piece of legislation, as we understand it, but may be a gentle purchase incentive for certain buyers. The cost to include motorcycles and RVs to the stimulus is estimated at around $100 million.  

Section 1008 of the Stimulus Plan

Section 1008 in the stimulus bill allows taxpayers purchasing a motorcycle or RV under $49,500 to deduct state and federal sales tax paid in 2009 when filing their ’09 tax returns. It is important to understand that this is a tax deduction and not a tax credit.  A tax deduction reduces income reported and not taxes owed. To be eligible for the tax deduction, a single person’s annual modified adjusted gross income for that tax year cannot exceed $125,000 or $250,000 for a joint return.  The effective date for this deduction, according to the language of the bill itself applies, "to purchases on or after the date of the enactment of this Act in taxable years ending after such date." We interpret this to mean that for any bike purchased after the date the Act was signed until one year from that date.You may want to check with the dealer on that if you are purchasing close to the beginning or ending date.

What does that mean to me?

Let’s say you were buying a bike that costs $20,000 and you pay 6% sales tax where you live.   The sales tax wold come to $1,200 and is deductable from your taxes next year.  So if your tax bracket is say 30%, then that would be a savings of $400.  Not a lot, but every little bit helps.  If you were thinking of buying a new motorcycle anyway, that’s $400 worth accessories that you won’t have to shell out the cash for.

Major Motorcycle Rallies in March 2009

March 1, 2009 by  
Filed under Rally News

March ’09 Motorcycle Rallies

The March Motorcycle Rallies Calendar is starting to kick into gear, especially in the southern states where hints of Spring have bikers more than ready for some nice riding weather and a little rally action. Daytona Bike Week, which started on February 27th, is one of the first major rallies of ’09, and continues until March 8th. Some of the other rallies scheduled for the month of March include:

There are lots of other motorcycle rides, runs, rallies, and other events scheduled throughout March, so visit the Motorcycle Rallies page to view a more complete list.