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I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

New Vespa Motor Scooter Introduced Tuesday November 18, 1:30 pm ET The Granturismo Is The Fastest, Most Powerful Vespa Model Ever Developed LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time since 1996, Piaggio USA Inc., manufacturer of the world-famous Vespa® motor scooter, has introduced a new model to the U.S. market. The Vespa Granturismo, as its name implies, is a touring vehicle by design. The Granturismo is the biggest, fastest, most powerful and technologically advanced Vespa that Piaggio has produced, offering comfort and performance on even the longest of rides. With a large steel body and 200cc...

Everything's fun and games, until that LAST CORNER.

Vehicle of the Week Hot Wheel Dan Lienert We love reading about new products and designs from Bombardier, mostly because besides building things like airplanes and subway cars, the privately held, Quebec-based company also builds fun stuff like Rotax karts, Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Bombardier ATVs, Sea-Doo sport boats and Johnson and Evinrude outboard engines. No wonder, then, that they have produced an exciting answer to the Segway Human Transporter. Like the Segway, Bombardier's Embrio concept--a prototype that may or may not make production--uses gyroscope technology to balance riders but adds a dash of flair absent in the Segway, which...

<p>Riding in on a borrowed Harley-Davidson, John Kerry (search) appeared Tuesday on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" as rancor within his presidential campaign continued to boil.</p> <p>The Massachusetts senator, wearing a leather jacket, blue jeans and a denim shirt, rode the motorcycle onto the stage.</p>

FLORENCE, Colo. -- A former guard at a Cripple Creek casino has turned himself in to authorities after suspicion focused on him for a casino cash robbery because he purchased a $6,000 used Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a stack of $20 bills. Police say Jason Cody Jones, 27, appeared in a Teller County courtroom Friday on suspicion of burglary and theft for a looting at the J.P. McGill's casino on May 2. He was released on $100,000 bond and his next court appearance is Nov. 17. An arrest affidavit said Jones was a night security guard who allegedly sacked the casino...

Judge: Janklow Jury Can Hear Close Call Mon Nov 10, 1:22 PM ET By CARSON WALKER, Associated Press Writer FLANDREAU, S.D. - Jurors in U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow's upcoming trial in the death of a motorcyclist will hear testimony about a close call at the same intersection, but not about three accidents and 12 speeding tickets in his driving record, a judge ruled Monday. Janklow, a former South Dakota governor elected to Congress last year, is charged with manslaughter and three misdemeanors for a fatal traffic accident near Trent on Aug. 16. His trial is due to start Dec. 1....

<p>CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) - Jay Leno led 20,000 bikers on the 20th annual Love Ride charity run from Glendale to Castaic Lake, where barbecue and a ZZ Top concert awaited them. "How many people here are on parole?" Leno cracked Sunday, getting a roar of approval from the leather-clad crowd - among them Peter Fonda and Pat Boone - that helped raise an estimated $1 million for various charities.</p>

Saturday, November 8, 2003 Motorcyclists revving up for holiday-toy runs By David Josar, Stars and StripesEuropean edition, Friday, November 7, 2003 STUTTGART, Germany — Motorcycle enthusiasts stationed at American military bases in Europe are gearing up for annual Christmas toy runs to local hospitals.“It’s one of the nice things about the season,” said Cheryl Smith, secretary for the Stuttgart Clan of Motorcyclists, which is planning its annual toy run in the Stuttgart community.Smith, who works for the U.S. European Command and rides a Harley-Davidson, said the motorcycle club, which also has local German members, will team with the United Service...

Seattle Revs Up for the 2004 Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows Presented by Toyota Trucks, December 5-7 Featuring the Ball of Steel Stunt Show SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2003--This Fall, powersports fans, manufacturers and dealers are coming together to celebrate a common passion: motorcycles. The popular Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows® presented by Toyota Trucks (IMS) will be at the Seahawks Stadium & Exhibition Center in Seattle, December 5-7, 2003. Tickets for the event are $11 for adults, $5 for children 6-11 and free for children 5 and under. Tickets are available in advance at www.motorcycleshows.com and on-site at...

Universal Pictures Joins Forces With Positive Entertainment For The Fast And Furious Music Tour Tuesday November 4, 12:31 pm ET UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Pictures has joined forces with San Diego-based promoter Positive Entertainment to present The Fast and Furious Music Tour, a series of all-day events that will bring the lifestyle celebrated in Universal Pictures' hit film franchise to cities across the U.S. for Summer 2004. Both Fast and Furious films tapped into the underground street racing culture to deliver phenomenal results for Universal. The 2001 breakout smash earned more than $207 million worldwide and...

Greedy scooter taxi drivers in southern Sri Lanka are laying nails on roads to disrupt cheaper bus service and are charging higher fare from commuters, a news report said Friday. Calling the scooter taxi drivers "three-wheeler mafia," the Island newspaper said that the drivers place nails on roads so that tires of buses are damaged and the vehicles remained non-operational. "Their modus operandi had been to place nails almost daily on the road so as to damage the tires," Island said quoting a local transport official in Kalutara, about 25 miles south of Colombo. With no buses, commuters turn to...

Bill Would Keep Sports Injury Insurance Coverage Wed Oct 29, 6:41 PM ET By Julie Rovner WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A U.S. Senate Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would close what lawmakers describe as a loophole in a 1996 insurance anti-discrimination law--a loophole sponsors of the measure say could allow health insurance plans to deny coverage for injuries sustained doing common recreational activities or riding a motorcycle to work. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the "Health Care Parity for Legal Transportation and Recreational Activities Act" by voice vote. The insurance bill would amend the...

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A man driving a stolen pickup truck ran over five motorcyclists Wednesday, killing two and critically injuring another, police said. The man, later identified as Timothy E. Pilgren, 26, got into an argument with the bikers - five men and one woman - before running them over on a coastal highway, Panama City Beach Deputy Chief of Police David Humphreys said. "He pulled up behind the five motorcycles, hit the gas, and plowed right through them," Humphreys said. A female died on the scene, and a male biker was declared dead at Bay Medical...

Few would argue that the Dodge Tomahawk defies common sense. After all, who needs a motorcycle that reaches a top speed of more than 250 mph, cranks out 525 hp, and goes from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds? Moreover, who needs a vehicle that – if it ever reaches full-scale production – could be priced at a staggering $250,000? Obviously, no one needs it. But the Tomahawk isn't about need, and it certainly isn't about common sense. "My first reaction to this idea was that it didn't seem like the most intelligent use of power," says Mark Walters, the DaimlerChrysler...

<p>That whooshing sound Steve Dass heard Thursday as he roared down Highway 4 wasn't just air flowing over his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle at high speed.</p> <p>What was supposed to have been a routine trip will likely stand as the most expensive ride of Dass' life. Over the din of the bike's engine, 72 $100 bills -- earmarked to help pay for furniture for his mother -- shot out of the pocket of his unzipped biker jacket and into traffic, causing a free-for- all that left Dass practically penniless.</p>

``Indian ...Ride On!'' Event Planned for Indian Motorcycle Enthusiasts -- Nationwide grassroots effort to garner support for America's 1st Motorcycle Company -- GILROY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2003--Frank O' Connell, a passionate rider of Indian motorcycles and Chairman of Indian Motorcycle Corporation, today announced plans to galvanize grassroots support for the country's oldest U.S. manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles. On September 19th, 2003, Indian Motorcycle Corporation ceased production, citing the high cost of operations. "We've let too many great American brands go away," O'Connell said, "and a lot more than brands go away -- jobs go away, opportunities go away, futures go...

ROCKERVILLE, S.D. - Gene Davis went hunting for elk and came home with a motorcycle instead. While stalking elk on Forest Service land near Rockerville a few weeks ago, Davis spotted what appeared to be a tail light protruding from a mound of dirt. A little digging revealed a 1980 Kawasaki 750-cc motorcycle which, it turns out, was reported stolen in 1982. Davis, his wife and two daughters returned the next day and dug up the 400-pound cycle. It had no license plate but it did have an Air Force sticker on it. In a storage compartment they found insurance...

Gov.-appointed Benton Harbor task force makes final report The Associated Press 10/15/2003, 12:46 a.m. ET BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A 21-member task force appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to identify and defuse the causes of riots that struck the city in June has met for the final time. Members say it now will be up to the community to implement the recommendations in its final 150-page report to the governor, which will be available Thursday. "Some thought the state would pour tons and tons of money to eradicate problems here," task force co-chairman Greg Roberts told the South Bend...

One of my most sublime summer moments this year came on a gorgeous sunny day as I zipped along St. Paul's downtown riverfront, the warm wind whistling past my ears, on a motorized vehicle that made almost no noise.Yes, it was an electric scooter. No, it wasn't a Segway Human Transporter (good guess, though). I'll get to that upright contraption in a second.We're all conditioned to hear rumbling engines when moving on self-propelled vehicles, so the relative silence of an electric scooter is an unexpected delight.So many kinds of electric scooters are now on the market, at so many prices,...