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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 accident happened Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse. State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.

Yesterday, thousands of bikers descended upon Washington, D.C., for the annual Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally. The rally is an annual demonstration that was started in 1987 to bring attention to the plight of prisoners of war and to those service people missing in action. Among the riders? Sarah Palin. Decked out in a black jacket, big shades, and a Harley-Davidson helmet the Mama Grizzly transformed herself into a Motorcyle Mama for the day to join them in the cause. Palin was joined at the rally by her husband Todd (forever riding the metaphorical sidecar) and her two daughters, Bristol and...

There’s no better way to see D.C. than on the back of a Harley! My family may be used to snowmachines more so than motorcycles (though you couldn’t tell it with Todd driving a hog today with Piper on the back and with Bristol riding on the back of another bike). But whether you’re riding the open road or the frozen tundra, you’re celebrating a free spirit. What could be more American than that? Today’s Rolling Thunder rally in DC is all about freedom. And it’s about duty and loyalty and service. The message heard loud and clear through the...

Sarah Palin's much-publicized "One Nation" bus tour got off to a chaotic and rumbling start Sunday in Washington, with no bus in sight and the potential presidential candidate only occasionally popping into view. The former Alaska governor, who has indicated she is still contemplating a run for the White House in 2012, showed up at a motorcycle rally at the Pentagon, clad in black leather, a black helmet and sunglasses, riding on the back of a motorcycle driven by an unidentified woman. Fox News, with whom Palin has a contract for political commentary, said Palin attended the rally with her...

I've been looking at motorcycles. I need something a bit more fuel efficient than my 1-ton pickup! There are two that I really like. One is an 09 Yamaha V-Star touring bike (not used, been sitting at the dealer) and the other is a Harley Fat Boy. Any recommendations?

In 2009, 5,474 people were killed on American roads due to distracted driving. Now, April has become National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The MSF has put together a list of 10 things cagers need to know about driving around motorcycles. I hope you’re not reading this on your iPhone from the driver’s seat. 1. There are many more cars and trucks than motorcycles on the road and some drivers don’t “recognize” motorcyclists. They ignore them, usually unintentionally. Look for motorcycles, especially when checking traffic at an intersection.

 2. A motorcyclist may look farther away than he or she is in...

Norton fiends can now officially rejoice – the resurrected bike maker's wares will finally be available here in the U.S. starting in either April or May. The final date depends on whether or not the 961 Commando can swim through EPA testing, though the company is confident that there shouldn't be any issues. A whopping total of 200 limited edition 961 Commando SE models have been built, and of the 50 allotted for U.S. sale, only a handful were still available as of yesterday. Every last one of the UK's batch were spoken for. Buyers can opt between a wire-wheeled...

Washington (CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board Tuesday called on states to require all motorcycle riders wear helmets. The announcement, made at a news conference in Washington, is part of the NTSB's "Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety" -- an initiative directed at state governments. The board added motorcycle safety to the list this year and dropped recreational boating safety -- an area it said improvements have been made.

Courtesy KOVR: It wasn't this California boy's usual ride to school this morning! Hundreds of other bike riders came along--- Many of them veterans, and some from out of state, all wanting to show support to 13-year-old Cody Alicea. School officials had told Cody he shouldn't ride his American flag-decorated bike to school because some students were offended. That kicked up a firestorm of protest. The school superintendent has since apologized, and promised that something like that will not happen again. But the school district is now facing a lawsuit from a civil liberties group.

 When it comes to being an All-American supermodel, Marisa Miller knows she needs to be more than just a pretty face and fabulous figure. The swimsuit stunner confirmed to Pop Tarts that she has shed her “Victoria’s Secret” wings and is now devoting time to projects supporting the U.S military. (edit)Speaking of the military, Miller has also teamed up with Harley-Davidson to show support for the brave men and women who serve in the U.S military. Ever since the first American troops rode Harleys during the Mexican Expedition in 1916, the motor company has committed itself to showing appreciation to...

Right on the heels of the announcement that David Arquette and wife Courteney Cox are in the midst of a trial separation after 11 years of marriage, Arquette decided to call in to Howard Stern’s. Arquette, 39, told Stern of Cox, 46. “She’s the greatest woman I’ve ever met. I’m not the one who called this separation.” Arquette went on to explain that Cox gave him a motorcycle after their 11th wedding anniversary and told him, “I don’t want to be your mother anymore.” When the couple headed to Ann Arbor, Michigan to film “Scream 4,” Arquette said he was...

Fort Myers chiropractor offers husband's motorcycle in exchange for his deathA Fort Myers chiropractor hired a man to kill her husband and planned on paying for the murder-for-hire with the husband's Harley, police said. Kimberly Alters, 53, is in the Lee County jail facing five different charges after police arrested her Sunday for plotting to kill her husband, 58-year-old Bernard Alters. A confidential informant told deputies that Kimberly met him at the Lee County Wellness Center and gave him a photo of Bernard and $125 to buy a gun. The same informant claims Alters told him if he shot her...

The open road. The wind blowing through your hair. The sun sets over the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Abyan Delta -- Yemen’s most fertile valley. The Harley revs as you cruise down the coastal plain along the Aden Mukalla highway, past cotton and tobacco fields, orchards, fruit farms, clay houses, hot springs, a fish-canning factory and the Khanfar Mountain. Not anymore. Authorities in Yemen’s Abyan Governorate, a growing stronghold for Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, have banned motorcycles from cities in the region’s urban centers. "Using motorbikes in terrorist operations to assassinate intelligence officers and security...

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,”...

University Chancellor Rides Cross Country For The Greatest Generation You can't classify Dr. Bruce Heilman as just a World War II veteran. That would not do him justice. Even if you add that he is the only known member from The Greatest Generation who still is an avid Harley-Davidson motorcycle rider. Heilman is much too complex a person to categorize with only one label. But that is part of his lifelong creed; live a great adventure or a series of them. Heilman grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression. He has seen combat as a...

It's the roar that made Milwaukee famous — the distinctive throaty rumble of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. But that much-loved racket could be rumbling away to another state if the company cannot bring down its labor costs. Harley-Davidson warned employees in April that it will move its Wisconsin manufacturing operations elsewhere if it cannot cut millions of dollars at the factories that build the bikes known as "Milwaukee Iron." Harley's corporate headquarters would remain here, but that's small consolation to a community that has already endured repeated blows to its civic identity. Loading stock quotes… Index Last Change HOG 27.84 +0.45...

Harley-Davidson Inc. said Tuesday it expects the global market for motorcycles to remain challenging this year as more consumers opt for lower-priced used motorcycles instead of new ones. Chief Executive Officer Keith Wandell said he expects Harley's shipments to be down 5%-10% from 2009, while the preference for used motorcycles and the weaker world economy have pushed year-to-date retail sales down 40% from the company peak in 2006...

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine, July 24, 2010 (AFP) - Leaving a cloud of dust in his wake, a black-clad Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin roared into a rally in Ukraine on a Harley Davidson and hailed bikes as a "symbol of freedom". Putin drove into the rally of bikers on the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea astride a gigantic three-wheeled Lehman trike conversion Harley Davidson motorbike, wearing dark glasses and waving his black gloved hands.

Yamaha Motor Co. said Wednesday it will start selling its "EC-03" electric motorcycle on Sept. 1. The company projects annual sales of 10 million units of the model, priced at 252,000 yen. The bike is scheduled to be released in Taiwan and Europe begining next year, the company said. As Honda Motor Co. plans to begin leasing its new electric motorcycle to domestic companies and other entities in December, eco-friendly motorcycles could become widely used. According to Yamaha, the EC-03 model is powered by lithium-ion batteries and does not emit carbon dioxide. As the size of its body is nearly...

Bavarian company resurrects classic Horex motorcycle brand Published: 16 Jun 10 11:23 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20100616-27883.html The classic German motorcycle brand Horex has been resurrected and the newly re-founded company plans to put out a new bike by the end of 2011. The old brand went out of production in 1960 after it was bought by Daimler-Benz, but Compact Bike secured the brand copyright in 2007 and has now set up the Garching-based Horex GmbH just outside Munich. The company unveiled its new TT-3D prototype on Tuesday evening, complete with a what it called an unprecedented 1200 cc supercharged VR6 engine. The...