Free Republic

The folks from Elio Motors dropped by the Philadelphia Business Journal offices in Old City on Monday to show off their new concept car (see attached photo gallery). Small in stature and containing three wheels (two in the front, one in the back), the car costs just $6,800 and gets 87 mpg highway (49 mpg city). Although still in the concept and fundraising stages, Elio’s top brass has been showing off the vehicle across the country – from its headquarters in Shreveport, La. to New York to Detroit. For the first time, they revealed a prototype of the car’s engine,...

The legend has returned – and its splash is sure to reverberate from Main Street all the way to Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee. The new generation of American V-Twin cruisers made its grand debut in front of a crowd of thousands of enthusiasts and dignitaries at the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame Saturday night....... For those who worried Polaris would severely alter the legend, fear not: the new 2014 Indians harken back to a bygone era of motorcycling.

In 1917, the United States entered World War I and the military demanded motorcycles for the war effort. Harleys had already been used by the military in the Pancho Villa Expedition, but World War I was the first time the motorcycle had been adopted for combat service. Harley-Davidson provided about 15,000 machines to the military forces during World War I. - Wikipedia

An increasing number of police officers are forming motorcycle clubs, but gang investigators fear such groups can hurt the credibility of law enforcement.

Vatican City, 12 June (AKI) - Harley Davidson has given Pope Francis a leather jacket and two of its classic motorcycles to mark the brand's 110th anniversary and on Sunday hundreds will be allowed to park along the road leading to St Peter's Square while the pontiff recites the Angelus prayer. Between 1,000 and 2,000 bikers are expected to fill St Peter's Square for the Pope's blessing - the highlight of a four-day event in Rome to celebrate more than a century of Harley Davidson. More than half a million Harley Davidson riders and fans from around the world...

MILWAUKEE—Some motorcycle enthusiasts feared Keith Wandell might be the outsider who drove Harley-Davidson into the ground. Instead, he may be remembered as the guy who kept the motorcycle maker on the road. Wandell grabbed the handlebars at the motorcycle maker in the heart of the economic crisis in 2009. Harley lost $55 million that year, as buying a motorcycle stopped being an option for many consumers. "We had to make, quickly, some big, bold, decisions," he said in a recent interview. Wandell was the first CEO from outside Harley, so those decisions were watched closely. Not all were well-received. He...

Aceh Town to Ban Female Passengers from Straddling Motorcycles Banda Aceh. The administration of the Aceh town of Lhokseumawe is set to issue a regulation that will ban female passengers from straddling motor bikes. “We’ve seen that people’s behaviors and morals are getting far from Aceh’s Islamic cultural values. Therefore we will issue a regulation that will ban women from straddling while sitting on the passenger’s seat of motorcycles,” Lhokseumawe mayor Suaidi Yahya told the Jakarta Globe. “We want to save women from things that will cause them to violate Shariah law. We wish to honor women with this ban,...

The European Parliament has voted to separate regulation on motorized and non-motorized bicycles, a move two-wheeler associations say will safeguard investment in cycling. In the plenary session, European lawmakers decided on Tuesday (20 November) that any electronically power assisted cycle (EPAC) under 250 watts (0.335 hp) and a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour (15.5 mph) would remain a bicycle. Anything more powerful is considered a motorbike, in line with the European Commission’s original proposal. …

Robert Thomas Price Jr. borrowed about $105,000 for his tuition at Harrisburg Area Community College from 2005 and 2007... ... A U.S. Middle District Court indictment alleges that Price spent much of the loan money on crack cocaine, cars, motorcycles, jewelry, tattoos and video games. U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith said today that Price secured about $92,000 in private student loans and around $13,000 in federal PELL grants and Stafford loans ... Tuition for 12 credits of study at HACC currently costs $2,022 per semester ...

In a second-season episode of "Portlandia," Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein play a boring Southeast Portland couple who want to spice up their life. A tough guy and a hot dame pull up on a motorcycle, and Fred and Carrie feel pretty un-cool in their presence. So they get the bright idea of acquiring motorcycles of their own. The next scene, Fred coasts up on a three-wheeled monstrosity, and Carrie putters around the street on an odd-looking, one-wheeled, motorized transporter that reminds one of the Segway. Carrie's riding atop the Ryno bike, the second prototype of the fledgling Ryno Motors...

Ukrainian immigrant Dmitry Khristenko has found scrap watches an ideal medium for use in creating miniature tributes to American cultural icon Harley-Davidson... among other things: More at Reaganite Republican _________________________ Deviant Art

In a quirky example of new media getting tripped up over history, overseas press reports Thursday claimed that Harley-Davidson Inc. had built a new factory in Milwaukee - with the writers not realizing they were taking information from a 94-year-old magazine article. Trade publications as far away as India picked up the story, which originally ran in the May 1918 issue of Motorcyclist Magazine and was reprinted in the magazine's recent issue as a historical article. Those who used the information, without Motorcyclist Magazine's permission, apparently didn't get the back-in-time angle. One automotive publication in India wrote: "To make their...

SuzukiScoop.com's Elena Myers won a thrilling Supersport final this morning at Daytona International Speedway, the 19-year-old Californian beating National Guard Suzuki's Corey Alexander by .239 of a second and showing that you can lead out of the chicane on the final lap at Daytona and still win. Myers also became the first woman to ever win a professional race at Daytona.

The framed photograph hanging in his family's deli in Mehlville shows James Ruma at his best. The front wheel of his motorcycle is high in the sky, the back wheel planted on the pavement. It's an image of thrill-seeking that stands in sharp contrast to where Ruma is now, drifting in and out of consciousness at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Ruma is expected to live, but his family wonders whether his final ride was last weekend. On Saturday, Ruma, 32, of De Soto, was one of about 2,500 bikers who converged on St. Louis area highways for the "Ride of the Century,"...

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Five bikers were found dead Sunday in a recreational vehicle at a Tennessee speedway and a festival organizer said fumes from a generator were to blame. Three men and two women were found in the RV at the Clarksville Speedway about noon and there was no sign of foul play, Clarksville police spokesman Jim Knoll said.The head of Bikers Who Care, the charity that organized the event, said he heard someone shouting that all of the people in the trailer were dead. The event festivities came to an abrupt halt as ambulances arrived. "This is a tragic...

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?