Franks Biker News May 28th archive

Champion of riders' rights to join AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame this December at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is pleased to announce another member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2009: Mona Ehnes, a long-time champion of off-highway motorcyclists' rights. Ehnes will be among the motorcycling heroes honored at the 2009 induction ceremony at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas this Dec. 5.

"Mona Ehnes is one of motorcycling's most dedicated rights activists," said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. "She not only embodies the spirit of advocacy but also possesses the even rarer fortitude to act on her convictions. I'm thrilled that our voters are honoring Mona and her accomplishments by giving her a well-deserved place in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame."

Added Kathy Van Kleeck, senior vice president of government relations for the Motorcycle Industry Council and chairwoman of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Leadership/Motorcycle Rights Advocates Committee: "Mona is truly a legend in the off-highway vehicle community -- a shining example of a quiet leader who has set the gold standard through her thousands of hours of volunteer work and dedication to protecting off-highway vehicle recreation. What Mona's biography can't convey is her relentless passion for the cause and her can-do spirit. She tackles difficult issues head-on to find solutions and re-energizes all with whom she works. No one could be more deserving of this highest honor."

Ehnes charged into the fight for motorcyclists' rights in 1967, when controversial legislation was introduced that would have restricted off-highway vehicle (OHV) riding opportunities in her home state of Montana. Ehnes has been at the front lines of the OHV rights battle ever since, as a founding member of both the Great Falls Trail Bike Riders Association and the Montana Trail Vehicle Association. She remains both an active advocate and off-highway motorcyclist today, and serves as executive assistant to the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council.

"I've been a member of the AMA for some time, and I've always supported the AMA Museum, so this is such an honor," Ehnes said. "I've been involved with motorcycles and motorcycling since the '60s. Dirt biking is my life. If somebody is willing to give me this kind of recognition, then I hope that it inspires other riders who love dirt biking as much as I do to get out and get involved."

Ehnes added that one of the most significant lessons she's learned in her four decades of service to the OHV community is that it's necessary to tailor the OHV-access message to a non-riding audience.

"The most important thing we need to realize is that when you advocate for our rights, you're almost always talking to non-motorcycle people," she said. "You're talking to agency people who have no idea about the sport at all. They don't know the type of joy you get from riding. They do not realize that this is a family sport."

The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame 2009 Induction Ceremony at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino will take the annual event to a new level. Impressive even by Las Vegas standards, with an 84-foot guitar marking the entrance and all the glitz and memorabilia that fans have come to expect at Hard Rock Café locations around the world, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has been recently renovated with new rooms, a new convention space and a new concert venue. Ticket information will be announced shortly on the Museum website at MotorcycleMuseum.org.

Located on the park-like campus of the AMA in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum honors individuals who have made lasting contributions to protecting and promoting the motorcycle lifestyle. Its members include those who have excelled in racing, road- and off-road riding, pushed the envelope in motorcycle design, engineering and safety, and championed the rights of riders in both the halls of government and the court of public opinion.

The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Committee includes 11 members in addition to the chairman. There are 10 committees, each representing a different aspect of motorcycling. Five represent various racing disciplines, and five represent non-racing interests.

More information about the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame can be found at www.MotorcycleMuseum.org  .
 

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Jesse James rides again - Lower Hudson Journal news - The asphalt at the Famoso drag strip was hot, the bike licked with red and orange flames when Jesse James stepped up to the starting line and threw a leg over the 1,000-horsepower, nitro-powered dragster.
A flicker of green light, a twist of the grip and James was off. Seconds later, at a top speed of 161 mph, James had won the respect of the seasoned racers who trained him and sighs of relief from the production crew that was capturing it all on camera for his new Spike TV show, "Jesse James Is a Dead Man."
James had defied the program title, just as he'd done when he caught himself on fire, and when he rode shotgun in an F-16D fighter plane, subjecting his 210-pound frame to nine Gs.
James, who turned 40 last month, insists he isn't experiencing a midlife crisis and doesn't have a death wish. The motorcycle builder - who starred in the rip-it-apart-and-rebuild-it TV show "Monster Garage" and later married actress Sandra Bullock - sees himself as just "a regular working-class dude, you know. ... Really. Honestly."
Identified as an "entrepreneur" and "TV star" on NBC's most recent "The Celebrity Apprentice," the father of three sells a work-wear line through 1,500 Wal-Mart stores, runs his Pay Up Sucker! video production company and still operates his cash machine: the custom bike shop that caters to a star-studded clientele who can afford his $80,000-to-$300,000 machines.
A distant relative of the 19th-century outlaw, James is the most famous name in modern motorcycling. A renaissance man in rockabilly attire, he wears a version of the same thing almost daily: Dickie's work pants, custom Vans slip-ons and one of the plain white T-shirts he buys at three for $10 at a swap meet.
"When am I happiest besides when I'm going really fast or smashing (things)? Setting stuff on fire. This," he said with a piece of pipe in his hand, standing midway between a pinstriped Snap-On Tools cabinet and his welder.
The piece of pipe was for a bumper extension on his pickup. The next day James planned to flog his Honda XR650 on the dry lake bed - practice for a coming motocross race for his Spike TV show. In the previous two weeks, James had put 1,000 miles on the bike and traveled back and forth to the desert so often that he'd blown up the transmission on one truck, which is why he was working to extend the bumper on his backup.
But the fittings for the gate extension were a little off. By how much?
"Two-thousandths of an inch," he smiled.
Anyone who has seen his artistry and craftsmanship on a motorcycle knows James is a perfectionist. His machines are well-honed rolling sculptures. A working-class aesthete, James brings that same sense of quality to everything he does - whether it's devising a trans-fat-free menu for his solar-powered burger joint next door, sourcing high-quality fabrics for his American-made clothing line or practicing stunts for TV.
In person, James is indeed nice - with a twist. In fact, he's exactly like he appears on TV. A quick wit who's liberal in his use of expletives, his manner is methodical, his words blunt although soft-spoken. Considering the number and breadth of his projects he's remarkably calm and focused.
When an underling asks how to handle a Polish motorcycle dealer asking to be a West Coast Choppers annex, James suggests he just build the owner a bike.
When one of his builders asks what to do about the cracked water cooler on one of his customs, James tells him the bike needs to be finished Monday.
Business is still booming for James, who continues to build - and sell - about 15 bikes a year.
"I think motorcycles is just one of those things that kind of transcends the economy," said James, who split his time between the homes of his divorced parents and spent his teen years in and out of juvenile hall. "It's like, I'm just gonna build me a bike and get away from it all, you know?"
This is James' version of getting away from it all: bringing his body to the brink by doing his own stunts every week, and doing it for an audience.
"From the mind of Jesse James" is how the guy-centric cable channel Spike show is billed, and that's pretty much how the weekly show evolved.
"When I sat down to think about who could I do a show with, Jesse James was names one, two, three, four and five," said Sharon Levy, Spike TV's vice president of development.
"He's such a Spike guy, it's crazy. We wanted him to be himself: funny, brave, completely authentic, living on his own terms." So, stunts - the kind that would make seasoned daredevils think twice

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Bikie granted bail on rape charges - The Age - A Queensland member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle club has been granted bail on rape charges.
The 44-year-old man, who cannot be identified, has been in custody since April when he was arrested in southeast Queensland on 12 charges including three of rape and one of unlawful drink spiking.
During a brief bail hearing on Wednesday, the Supreme Court in Brisbane was told the rape charges were filed by the man's former girlfriend just days after he ended their two-year relationship and returned to his wife.
The offences are alleged to have been committed in 2007 and 2008.
Justice Glenn Martin said it would be a case of "word against word" when it goes to trial.
The court was told the man, who is a member of a regional Rebels motorbike chapter in Queensland's southeast, has a history of street, drug and dishonesty offences.
He was on bail for four charges including unlawful stalking when he was arrested over this latest round of allegations.
His barrister, Angelo Vasta QC, told the court his client had no history of breaching bail conditions and had no intention of approaching the complainant if released.
"He doesn't want any more to do with her," he said.
Justice Martin granted bail with conditions, including that the man reports to police three times a week.

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 Biker's lawyer steps down from case - Winnipeg Free Press - LONDON, Ont. -- Long-awaited testimony from a former biker turned police informant was put on hold Tuesday when a defence lawyer in the case of Ontario's largest mass slaying stepped down for personal reasons.
The murder trial involving the April 2006 killings of eight men associated with the Bandidos biker gang was expected to hear evidence from the Crown's star witness.
Ted Royle, senior counsel for one of the six accused, told court his wife had fallen gravely ill.

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Bandidos trial sees another delay - London Free Press -  In what the judge called "a tragic turn of events," the jury at the Bandidos trial faces another delay.
Edward Royle, the defence lawyer for accused Dwight Mushey of Winnipeg, asked for and was granted a request to be removed from the case because his wife is gravely ill.
Superior Court Justice Thomas Heeney told the jury Royle's wife recently had taken "a serious turn for the worse."
He also has a young child, Heeney said, "and the demands are such he had to withdraw from the case as lead counsel for Mr. (Dwight) Mushey."
It was a stunning turn of events eight weeks into the evidence at the trial of six men facing eight counts of first-degree murder.
Mushey, 41, Wayne Kellestine, 60, and Frank Mather, 35, of Dutton-Dunwich; Gardiner, of no fixed address; and Michael Sandham, 39, Marcelo Aravena, 33, of Winnipeg, have all pleaded not guilty.
On April 8, 2006, the bodies of eight men with ties to the Bandidos motorcycle club were found shot to death along a rural Elgin County road near Shedden.
George Jessome, 52, George Kriarakis, 28, John Muscedere, 48, Luis Raposo, 41, Frank Salerno, 43, Paul Sinopoli, 30, Jamie Flanz, 37, and Michael Trotta, 31, were all associated with the club's Toronto chapter.
The jury was out of the courtroom most of the morning yesterday. Shortly before the lunch hour, they took their seats and were told of the abrupt halt in the evidence.
The trial will not continue this week so "issues in terms of representation" can be sorted out, Heeney said.
"It's regrettable," Heeney said, but in a lengthy trial there is always a chance there will be "personal issues that need to be dealt with."
"We'll find a way through this," he said.
The jury was told to return next Tuesday.
The trial began March 31 after weeks of jury selection.
Royle is an experienced and respected Toronto lawyer and was a formidable force in the Bandidos courtroom.
His departure came before the jury has heard from the Crown's star witness -- a police informant known as M. H., who was at Kellestine's Aberdeen Line farm in Dutton-Dunwich, where he says the men were shot to death. 

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Vermillion County Coroner investigates motorcycle crash death - llinois truck versus motorcycle crash claims Florida biker’s life.Danville, IL(JusticeNewsFlash.com)–A Florida biker was killed in a Vermillion County motorcycle crash Sunday afternoon. Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department bike wreck officials and the Vermillion County Coroner’s Office continue to investigate the cause of the motorcycle crash fatality involving a truck driver in the Danville, Illinois reported the Commercial-News.Apparently, 54 year-old, Eugene W. Timmerman, a Ruskin, Florida man, was thrown from his motorcycle on Old Ottawa Road when he collided with a truck. Timmerman was pronounced dead at the fatal bike wreck scene by Danville area motorcycle crash investigators. Preliminary reports suggest Timmerman struck a truck when the rig came around a curve in the 1400 East Road area at about 4 p.m. Sunday. Timmerman was thrown from his bike, and no other details of the fatal crash were available. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.JusticeNewsFlash.com news for Illinois motorcycle crash lawyers.

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A number of Mongol motorcycle gang members have pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking, murder - KTLA - LOS ANGELES -- A number of Mongol motorcycle gang members have pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking, murderand other offenses, according to prosecutors
The revelation came in court documents filed earlier this month by prosecutors, who asked a judge to seal all plea agreements in the case against 79 defendants.
Prosecutors wanted the plea agreements sealed because the suspects face possible retaliation from other Mongul members or other gangs, including the Mexican Mafia and rival motorcycle gangs.
The judge in the case granted the request Tuesday, but ruled that any further plea agreements filed with her must show evidence that the defendant faces retaliation or other danger.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office declined Tuesday to say how many people have pleaded guilty to what charges.
After infiltrating the Mongols biker gang, law enforcement agents served more than 100 arrest warrants in six states in October.
A racketeering indictment said the group, which is mostly Latino, attacked black people, committed robberies and stole motorcycles. It also alleged the group funded itself in part by stealing credit card information.
The gang's former national president, Ruben Cavazos, is among those charged.
Attorneys for 34 defendants opposed the request to seal all plea agreements, saying details about the plea agreements were vital to their clients' defense. Cavazos wasn't among those opposing the motion.
Besides the indictment, prosecutors Tuesday also secured an injunction that prohibits gang members, as well as their families and associates, from wearing, licensing, selling or distributing the Mongol trademarked logo.
Last year, five members of the Mongols were sentenced to a year in Nevada state prison and two were given probation for their roles in a deadly Casino brawl with rival Hells Angels gang members in 2002. Three people died in the fight.

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Hogs for Horses motorcycle poker run - Brush News Tribune - The Hogs for Horses motorcycle poker run will be held on May 30 with only one goal in mind, to raise funds for the Blue Skies Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center based in Sterling Colorado.
Blue Skies Riding Center has been established in Northeastern Colorado for 20 years quietly keeping their eyes and hearts on the goal of providing free Therapeutic Horseback Riding to all of Northeastern Colorado. .
Motorcycle riders with many different brands and styles of Motorcycles come from many different towns in Colorado to participate in the Annual Running of the Hogs for Horses event and helped raise more the $3,000 for the facility last year.
It is a fun time for all involved with the route starting in Sterling at Chester’s Pub for registration at 8:30 a.m., then heading to Akron, Brush, Fort Morgan, Hillrose and ending back at Chester’s Pub for your last draw.
One biker stated it perfectly last year, when he said we ride for the ones that can’t, When I pay the $25 fee to ride I know that Blue Skies in going to be able to provide the ride of a life time for a special needs child.
Many children from Brush have participated in the sessions that Blue Skies have to offer. And all have received this beneficial therapy free of charge.
Therapeutic Riding is recognized by the American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Physical Therapy Association.
Therapeutic horseback riding is a special world that brings together horses, disabled children and adults, caring volunteers, and of course one of the most intelligent animals on earth, the horse.
In the process, the lives of everyone involved are enriched. Therapy is fun instead of painful when provided on horseback. And Learning becomes a game rather than a chore.
Imagine the difference between taking a child to a setting every week that is full of doctors, nurses, needles, gadgets stethoscopes and monitors that is all enclosed in some building. Then taking that same child to a setting that has fresh air, birds chirping, volunteers who are smiling and laughing with the children and their doctor being a horse that is lead into the arena that they get to ride.
If you would like to participate in this years Hogs for Horses or if you have a loved one or friend, child or adult who would like to ride with Blue Skies and would like information please call (970)-521-9965.