Free Republic

Iranian media reported on Saturday that a 43-year-old Iranian military officer was killed and another soldier was wounded in a shooting incident that occurred early on Saturday morning in the western Iran city of Khorramabad. According to the report, which was brought by Israel’s Channel 2 News on Saturday night, the incident occurred when two motorcyclists fired shots at a group of soldiers who were on their way to an air force base located near the city. The soldier who was wounded in the incident, said the report, suffered injuries to his leg and neck. A senior official in the...

(For the short version, skip to the "Body of Comment" section.) This is a personal rant, and is why I will leave Maryland as soon as I can afford to. Please indulge. Thank you. The state of Maryland kicks a man while he is down. April 2010, I lost my job as a computer programmer. Though I interview at least twice a week, jobs are competitive and very hard to get. Perhaps my biggest pet peeve is the trend for employers to tell me, "You're hired. You will start as soon as we get the budget for the project approved."...

Illinois motorcycles and bicycles will be allowed to run red lights starting in 2012, but only in certain instances. Motorcycles and bicycles often aren’t big enough to trigger magnetic sensors that switch traffic lights from red to green, WBBM Newsradio’s Alex Degman reports. That could mean the riders either break the law and run the red light, or wait until another vehicle comes along. State Rep. Dan Beiser (D-Alton) says the new law means bikers can go through a red light if they wait a reasonable amount of time, but that amount isn’t yet defined. “A reasonable amount of time,...

ST. LOUIS • Drivers have reported huge packs of motorcycles swarming the highways around St. Louis, with the bikers pulling stunts, making hand gestures and forcing cars off the roadway.

TUCKERTON, N.J.- Authorities in New Jersey said a man cited for riding his motorcycle with his pug on his lap told them he had been riding with the canine for years. Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief law enforcement officer for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said an SPCA officer spotted Gyula Szatmari, 56, of Tuckerton riding his motorcycle with the dog on his lap in the rain, the Asbury Park Press reported Wednesday. Amato said a police officer pulled Szatmari over on Route 18 and he was issued citations for careless driving and the improper...

TAVARES — Lawyers for civic leader Bruce Duncan may learn today if they persuaded a judge to toss out evidence that strongly suggests Duncan was drunk when authorities say he caused a fatal accident. Circuit Judge Michael Takac listened to two hours of argument and testimony Friday from five witnesses, including Duncan, 47, who has pleaded not guilty to DUI/manslaughter in the death of retired postal worker Herbert "Steve" Muller, 61, of Mount Dora. --snip-- Muller was known for his white beard and a collection of one-liners at the Mount Dora post office. Duncan recently participated in an economic-development workshop...

Driver was unaware of new passenger after 'non-injury collision with a twist' A Southern California motorcyclist rear-ended a minivan and was thrown through a window into the back seat but escaped unscathed, police said. After the incident on Thursday, the driver of the minivan continued driving and pulled into his own driveway nearby, unaware that he had a new backseat passenger, the Victorville Daily Press reported. "We're calling this one a non-injury collision with a twist," Karen Hunt, spokeswoman for the Victorville Police Department, told the newspaper. Victorville is a town of 115,000 people on the southwestern edge of the...

<p>A bareheaded motorcyclist participating in a ride to protest mandatory helmet laws was killed when he was thrown over the handlebars in Onondaga, New York.</p> <p>Philip A. Contos, 55, of Parish, New York, was on a ride organized by the Onondaga chapter of American Bikers Aimed Towards Education (ABATE), state police said Sunday.</p>

ONONDAGA, N.Y. (AP) — Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.

The diwheel is a vehicle with two wheels on the same axle, i.e. in parallel, like the back two wheels on a wheelchair, and works by mounting a cabin of sorts for a driver between them. In this case, the power source is electricity stored in a battery. Diwheels have been created before, and have of course been seen in sci-fi movies; what’s new here is the stability control. Traditionally, the problem with creating a diwheel is in keeping the driver from gerbiling, an effect that comes about when you consider how a diwheel is constructed. If you simply connect...

Dontcha’ know, Sarah Palin is coming to town this weekend, and you may see her cruising the streets of D.C. on the back of a hog. The former Alaska governor, who is the subject of a lot of overheated speculation about whether she will run for president in 2012, has accepted an invitation to participate in the annual Rolling Thunder memorial ride this Sunday, an official says. “As far as I know, she is trying to rent a motorcycle, so she can ride with her husband,” said Nancy Regg, a spokeswoman for Rolling Thunder. Gregg says the tentative plan is...

PELHAM - “I wasn’t going to let him pass me.” That’s what police say a Windham teen told officers at the scene of a motor vehicle crash in Pelham early Friday morning, where the 18-year-old is said to have intentionally crashed his car into a motorcyclist, causing serious injuries. Cody Eller of 123 Lowell Road in Windham was arraigned in Derry District Court Friday morning on a felony charge of second-degree assault and a misdemeanor charge of vehicular assault. Police said Eller was driving south on Windham Road in Pelham around 4:30 a.m. Friday when he noticed a motorcyclist trying...

Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) today announced the acquisition of Indian Motorcycle. The business was acquired from Indian Motorcycle Limited (“IML”), a company advised by Stellican Limited and Novator Partners LLP, U.K. Private Equity firms. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “We are excited to be part of the revitalization of a quintessentially American brand,” said Scott Wine, CEO of Polaris Industries Inc. “Indian built America’s first motorcycle. With our technology and vision, we are confident we will deliver the classic Indian motorcycle, enhanced by the quality and performance for which Polaris and Victory are known.” With this acquisition,...

Models tend to do anything they can to make sure they always look their best - they're much more likely to be nibbling at a solitary salad leaf than taking part in dangerous motor sports. But Chesca Miles isn't like most models. The 20-year-old motorbike fanatic has become the first woman in the country to turn professional as a stunt rider - and it's just seven months since she started learning how to do the tricks by herself.

One of the side effects of not having a combustible engine is that electric vehicles are quiet. Very quiet. So quiet, in fact, that police in California will soon be using electric motorcycles to improve their stealth. The bikes, produced by Zero Motorcycle, are currently being employed by the Scotts Valley Police Department, reportedly the first California police force to utilize electric bikes.

This link takes you to a truly wonderfully well photographed article/post on the The first ever… LEGEND OF THE MOTORCYCLE International Concours D’Elegance Held on May 6’th 2006 at the Half Moon Bay Ritz-Carlton. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> KEEP GOING DOWN THE PAGE... There are some of the most beautiful bikes you will ever see. http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5959=

Milwaukee-based Iconinc bike maker Harley-Davidson on Tuesday said it will start an assembly facility of its motorcycles in India by the first half of 2011, making it the second facility outside the US. "This investment will allow us to improve our market responsiveness and production flexibility while reducing the tariff burden, which we expect will drive growth over time by making our bikes more accessible to India's consumers," said Harley-Davidson Motor Company President and Chief Operating Officer Matthew S. Levatich. The company will set up the new facility near Bawal in Haryana and expects the assembly facility to be operational...

Going 96 mph on a 65-mph highway is enough to land a speeder in serious legal trouble. That’s 31 mph over the speed limit, and it’s the threshold between a regular speeding violation and the more egregious offense of “excessive speeding,” which earns violators a meeting with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that they’ll likely walk out of with a suspended license. On Wednesday night, state police stopped a motorcyclist they said was clocked at 147 mph. That’s 82 mph over the limit. “That is probably the highest speed I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been at PennDOT nine years now,”...

A state trooper rolled his car multiple times while chasing two reckless motorcyclists, one of whom returned to the scene just to rub salt into the wounds of the trooper.

To all the Bikers, I'm asking for help. Netmilsdad got a motorcyle last year. He is having problems with it now and can't find the solution. Any thoughts? He says... "Bike runs fine until you idle in traffic for a long time, it will start to misfire and eventually stall if you don’t give it gas. If it does stall, it will start back up. If you are driving, it does not misfire. The radiator was flushed, the back two ignition coils read the same, about 2 Ω’s cold." If anyone can give us a hint as to what to...

Video at link, Or story below,, HERE GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Twenty-four-year old R.J. Wild shows off the medals on his backpack following two tours of duty as Marine. The most special, the Purple Heart, given to those wounded or killed in combat. "I thought the medals were too precious to my heart to let go and just sit in a closet and get dusty," said Wild. Wild's unit was ambushed in Iraq in 2006. Two rocket propelled grenades hit them. "The next thing I know I wake up in Germany," said Wild. "I was in ICU with any kind of...

Dallas police say a traffic accident Tuesday night involving a pedestrian and a motorcycle rider doing a wheelie at 70 MPH left both men dead. Police on Wednesday identified the fatalities as 45-year-old Paul Bellard and 38-year-old Lashon Hudson. The crash happened in the 6200 block of Bonnie View Lane. Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse says witnesses reported that at about 10:30 Tuesday night Bellard was attempting cross the street, but did not use the crosswalk. Janse says Bellard failed to yield right of way to Hudson's motorcycle and was hit. Janse says the motorcyle had "the front tire off the...

‘Star Trek’ scripts, William Shatner’s motorcycle for sale By Associated Press Monday, April 26, 2010 LOS ANGELES — Shoppers can boldly go where no man has gone before when "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry’s collection of personal effects and show memorabilia go up for auction. Hand-annotated scripts, costumes from the show and Roddenberry’s own studio pass are among the items available at the June 27 auction at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, administered by Julien’s Auctions. Proceeds will benefit the Roddenberry Foundation, which makes grants to support children, education and the environment. The original Capt. Kirk, William...

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has formally objected to a process being developed by the Obama Administration to potentially designate as many as 13 million acres of public and private land as National Monument. The designation, currently being considered by the Department of Interior (DOI), would occur with no public debate. "As the nation's largest organization advocating for the rights of America's estimated 20 million motorcyclists, the AMA is delivering the message that any measure to restrict our right to recreate responsibly on public land must be considered in the light of day," said AMA Vice President...

Pictures of unusual motorcycles.

EAST TROY, Wis. -- (Thursday, October 15, 2009) Buell Motorcycle Company officials thanked the company’s customers, employees and dealers for an unforgettable ride, following today’s announcement by Harley-Davidson, Inc. that it will discontinue the Buell® product line as part of Harley-Davidson’s go-forward business strategy. The new long-term strategy aims to drive Company growth through a focus of efforts and resources on the Harley-Davidson® brand. “I want to personally thank all our past and present Buell employees, dealers and suppliers for their efforts. I also want to thank Buell motorcycle owners for their support and passion for the brand,” said Buell...

If your into F1M motorcycle racing, then your familiar with The Isle of Man TT races usually held in June. YT has a slew of clips from this years races..check em out.

More than two dozen motorcycles crashed on a freeway in Oregon on Friday, blocking traffic for hours, police said. Oregon State Police said the bikers were behind a car when traffic unexpectedly slowed in the northbound lanes on Interstate 5. The collision sent bikes scattering across the road, near Wilsonville, south of Portland.

OCALA, Fla. – Authorities say a Florida man was charged with driving under the influence after he was spotted riding his motorcycle naked. The Marion County deputy was driving on Interstate 75 early Tuesday when he spotted what appeared to be a naked man on a motorcycle. The deputy caught up with 45-year-old J. Dante Krauss at a red light and stopped him. Capt. Mike Rolls said Krauss could not explain where he was coming from or why he was naked. Rolls said the deputy asked him if he had been drinking, and he answered that he had. Breathalyzer tests...

The deputy reports that he was driving on Interstate 75 early Tuesday morning when he spotted what appeared to be a naked man on a motorcycle. The deputy caught up with 45-year-old J. Dante Krauss at a red light and stopped him. Krauss reportedly could not explain where he was coming from or why he was naked.

I want to say Thank you Holy Lord! My hubby (Netmilsdad) wiped out on his motorcycle today. He was on a very busy street (five lanes on both sides). Through the Grace of God, he has only a broken collar bone. He could have died, been run over, paralyzed, head trauma, ect. He is fine. A painful fine, but fine. Wear your helmets!

It takes a serious modder to look at his motorcycle and think "I could put a Viper motor in there." This thing is truly badass and totally street legal.

WERA Racer Chapman Critically Injured At VIR Aug 09, 2009, ©Copyright 2009, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=37639 From a press release issued by Team Velocity Racing: Zac Chapman, a WERA racer and team rider for TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha, was critically injured in a sprint race on Saturday during WERA’s Cycle Jam at Virginia International Raceway. Chapman supported TVR during the endurance race on Friday, although he opted not to ride. He is recovering from a broken ankle and felt the hour-long stints might be too strenuous. After the endurance race, Chapman stayed to compete on his own bikes throughout the...

A motorcyclist was killed Monday in a collision with a motor home on Highway 101’s Conejo Grade after he slowed rapidly in front of the recreational vehicle in an apparent road-rage incident, authorities said. The motorcyclist, a 57-year-old Ventura man, was killed about 12:22 p.m. on southbound Highway 101 near Camarillo Springs Road when he collided with a roughly 30-foot motor home driven by Michael Antoine, 68, of Thousand Oaks, said Officer Terry Uhrich of the California Highway Patrol’s Moorpark office. The motorcyclist and Antoine were both traveling about 55 mph when the collision occurred in the right lane, authorities...

LEAVENWORTH — The Washington State Patrol says actor James Caviezel suffered minor injuries when a man hurled a bicycle into the path of his motorcycle about 14 miles southeast of Leavenworth.

Nearly half of the 1,000 job cuts announced by Harley-Davidson Inc. on Thursday will come from Wisconsin, the company says. Of the 1,000 jobs to be eliminated, about 480 will come from Wisconsin, including the elimination of 300 hourly production positions. About 180 salaried employees will lose their jobs here, including 100 from Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The production of Harley-Davidson Sportster engines in Wauwatosa will be shut down for about 14 weeks late this year, including the company's entire fourth quarter.

200mph jet cycle could be world's fastest Imagine sitting on top of two jet engines, catapulting yourself to 200 mph in 7.887 seconds. If this unconfirmed wild ride is for real, that feat would make this jet-powered motorcycle the world's fastest. Sure beats that 155mph superbike we were gawking at last year. Not much else is known about this alleged world record-breaking stunt, except that the cycle's powered by J402-CA-702 Model 373 turbine engines, originally developed for the U.S. military's cruise missiles, with each engine developing 1,000 pounds of thrust. We're speechless, except to say that must be one hot...

A motorcyclist has told how he was electronically tagged for four months and given a 36-hour community order – for dropping mint imperials while riding. Thomas Payne, 19, must be at home from 8pm till 6am under the terms of his ankle tag after police spotted the trail of sweets left by his Yamaha DT175. A police charge notice said he had ‘intentionally and without authority or reasonable cause, caused sweets to be on a road, namely Lancaster Circus, in such circumstances that it would have been obvious to a reasonable person that to do so would be dangerous’ contrary...

Can anybody tell me if the Harley Davidson Sportster 883 is okay for a beginner? Any suggestions on the best bike to start out with?

WHEREAS, Alaska has more registered motorcycles per capita than any other state, yet motorcycles are still the minority users of the Alaska road system; and WHEREAS, in 80-90 percent of all accidents involving a motorcycle, it is the other motorist’s fault. Motorcyclists everywhere face a constant threat to personal safety caused by a lack of alertness of the driving public. It is imperative all motorists operate with caution near motorcyclists; and WHEREAS, Alaska Bikers Advocating Training and Education (ABATE) is a nonprofit organization of motorcycle riders and non-riders dedicated to both education and preservation of freedom of the road. ABATE...

On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris early in the morning . The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine , through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur. No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The...

This is a wonderful rare film of motorcycle board racing in 1920. Great fun to watch Indian Motorcycles are the Fastest in the World! http://www.jockeyjournal.com/?p=235

There seems to be a trend among manufacturers to design motorcycles for people who don't really like them. It's no surprise, then, that Honda, the world's largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, wants in on this nontraditional crowd. This is, after all, the "you meet the nicest people" company that virtually invented the concept of motorcycling as a mass-market pastime. Now it wants to broaden those horizons further, and it sees a niche smack dab between the loafer-wearing scooter crowd and those preening, leather-shod bikers. Its solution is the DN-01 ($17,499). While it looks like a motorcycle (well, sort of ), it...

Dozens of motorcyclists' lives could be saved every year if air bag jackets were made compulsory, accident and emergency doctors have said. The jackets are the equivalent of car air bags and inflate if the rider is thrown off during a crash.

Steve McQueen’s bike jump is an iconic movie moment, but is it as authentic as it looks? To find out, we recreated it. Nick Rufford reports: Two feet, four, six . . . 7ft off the ground. After repeated nervous, muddy attempts, Bud Ekins, a motorcycle stunt rider, coaxed the old Triumph into the air, flew over the strands of fake barbed wire and into the history books. The sequence helped make The Great Escape a cinema classic and turn Steve McQueen into an international star. It also made Ekins, who doubled as McQueen, a legend among fellow riders. In...

Nude Biker Crashes with Trooper's Car SEARCY, Ark. - A naked man on a motorcycle who crashed with an Arkansas state trooper's cruiser on a night when it was sleeting faces misdemeanor charges. A Searcy police report says 35-year-old Christopher A. Clark of Searcy kept riding when a trooper tried to pull him over during the Jan. 26 incident. Clark stopped abruptly several times in the street and then sped up quickly, until the trooper bumped him on one of the stops. The report didn't indicate any injuries but both vehicles were damaged. A witness quoted in the police report...

I heard today that a great young American motorcyclist, Racer, and "X game" Champion died after failing to complete a "Hart Attack" backflip in Costa Rica. Video of the crash has been posted on YouTube He has crashed in that (almost) exact same way several times before, without a severe injury. Link to another, better, story on it.

Harley-Davidson Inc. said Friday it will cut 1,100 jobs over two years, close some facilities and consolidate others as it grapples with a slowdown in motorcycle sales. The Milwaukee-based company also reported its fourth-quarter profit fell nearly 60 percent, and said it is slashing motorcycle shipments in 2009 to cope with reduced demand. The iconic motorcycle maker said it will consolidate two engine and transmission plants in Milwaukee into its facility in Menomonee Falls, Wis. It will shrink its paint and frame operations in its York, Pa., plant and close its distribution facility in Franklin, Wis., whose duties will be...

Motorcycle biker ralley is a big deal here in Texas. I know that there are big bike ralleys in Florida and California. Here in Austin, TX. we litterly stop the city and attend to all of the bikers that come from all over. After all, the live music capital of the world has some of the best biker scenes that there are. In Austin, TX. our ralley is known as the R.O.T. Ralley (Republic of Texas). So many of our small business thrive off of the revenues generated through this ralley. I know that it doesn't compare size wise to...

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