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While I always wear helmets on my motorcycles, I rarely wear the aluminum foil versions claiming government conspiracy.  I use the word “conspiracy” sparingly in life, as a lot of times it associated with the same kooks who are still eating their Y2K stash peaches and bartering with silver pieces.  But I have to say that a letter to push from a US Senator to the Governors of all fifty states is not settling well with me when they try to encroach on something I think is clearly a “States Rights” issue.  That would be a letter from Senator Lautenberg of New Jersey pushing for a Federal Helmet Law penned in September of this year.

Let me not sugarcoat my beliefs of

I love living in Arizona. For all the RED state flag waving, gun on hip, freedom loving statements of the local population, many areas of Arizona are more interested in controlling peoples lives. Scottsdale’s 1st in nation speed cameras on the loop 101 freeway. Avondale, Chandler, Tempe, Phoenix and Scottsdale’s red-light and intersections speeding cameras are some of my favorite RED state additions.

But now Carefree, AZ has upped the level of controlling the motorcycle lives by posting signs of an 80db noise limit with fines up to $750.

Now as we all know, I think the whole Loud Pipes saves lives argument is a bunch of BS. I have been promoting responsible motorcycling by recommending that

I’ve always liked the humility that Nicky Hayden has. Throughout the 2006 season, he was a BIG team player for HRC…much more than I could ever have been.  He kept his mouth shut as he ‘developed’ the motorcycle while trying to win a championship.  All that has earned him my respect.  Now he gets the patented Motorcycle Bloggers ‘Golf Clap Award’ for gritting out a shoulder injury sustained at Portugal when Pedrosa took him out.

Check it from roadracingworld.com:

 
 
Shoulder Surgery Means Nicky Hayden Will Miss Jerez MotoGP Test
MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden will sit out the MotoGP test at Jerez on November 28-30 in order to receive medical treatment to his injured right shoulder. The Repsol Honda rider will have

There is not much I like about government and their legislation, but every now and then they get it right.  I am proud to say that the sponsor of this HR 2048 Bill (not passed as a law yet) is a Texan…not that I’m a Texan, but I probably should be.  I am also proud to say that this Bill has bi-partisan support.

To demonstrate the efficiency of our government, this Bill was introduced in May of 2005 and has been sitting in subcommittee since May of this year.  One full year to get to subcommittee.  I only wish I could sit on my arse that much and get paid what they do. 

Anyway, here is the Executive Summary of

Yeah I know, not my normal topic.  There is a purpose though as this is a friend and co-worker’s bike listed on ebay and I figured I would give it a brotherly plug. 

What I can say:

This bike is featured in this month’s (Dec ‘06) V-Twin Magazine.  No really…it is.

I know this guy well as I bought his dirt bike off of him some 3-4 years ago.  He is an absolute nut about cleanliness and proper maintenance of his machinery.  Heh - every time he sees his old dirt bike I am sure he fights back tears of disgust at a dirt bike that was once his.  The other thing is that I have seen the finished product in person and

There is not much I have in common with true Harley biker types except the love of the machine.  I say this a little tongue and cheek because I have not actually met that many ‘bikers’.  I consider myself a ‘rider’ which is very different from a ‘biker’.  I am a helmet advocate, I wear a lot of protective gear when I ride, I don’t bar hop on two wheels (stereotype I know, but sometimes it fits rather well), and I don’t have a lifestyle built around my brand of motorcycle.

All of that said, of the few bikers that I have met and talked with, they have been very cool on average.  Of course there are some jerks, but I cannot

Ugh.  This is something I saw back on 11/22 when it originally happened.  Two of three motorcycle police escorts for President Bush during his visit to Hawaii crashed from a “rain-slicked roadway”.

Two injured motorcycle officers in serious condition

Two of the three Honolulu Police Department motorcycle officers involved in a crash while escorting President George W. Bush to Hickam Air Force Base are in serious condition at The Queen’s Medical Center.

The motorcycles reportedly slipped indvidually on a rain-slicked roadway at about 7:10 a.m near the base entry area.

City Emergency Services transported two of the officers to the medical center. Police officials said that by mid-morning two of the officers were in serious condition and the other was in good condition.

It now

I think its pretty cool.  The AMA held their AMA PRO Racing Awards Banquet and RC took the top prize.  I have always thought that Carmichael has been a class act (knowing that MX figures are somehow polarizing).  I say that because I think Bubba Stewart is still a punk…arguably the fastest punk out there though.  RC has been going strong in Supercross for ten years now.  I am not sure if anyone to date has been that dominate for that long.  In fact I know it.  CONGRATS!

Carmichael named AMA SPEED Athlete of the Year

No one in the history of the sport of AMA Supercross and Motocross has accomplished as much. And it’s entirely possible that no one will

A long time ago, I learned this very important lesson.  Unfortunately, it was when I was a kid and the right tool meant raiding my dad’s toolbox.  These days, the right tool is often waiting in the Craftsman aisle waiting to be purchased.

See, I recently bought an aftermarket head unit for my car.  It’s a BMW 528i and the problem is that those models have a unique sized head unit.  No matter how bad I want to keep the look clean, it is not possible to fit a new unit w/o one of those awful looking ‘installation kits’.  It even worse with this OE setup, but that’s not the point here.

Because the OE system has a factory amplifier, it was

Today is one of my favorite holidays of the year since I moved to Arizona.  Why?  Simple - motorcycles.  Since I spent the first thirty years of my life in Michigan, taking a quick ride or a ride over the holiday weekend simply was not an option.  Now it is.  Today, it will be 81F with some clouds.  Not too bad considerring in the past I would spend Thanksgiving Day bundled up indoors all day.

There will be no ride for me this year due to my ankle condition, but I will be wearing shorts contemplating if I should tell my family (back in Michigan) how nice the weather is (hehehe).  I still get to watch the traditional football game where