BIKER NEWS

By Tim Anderson

The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Show & Swap Meet—known locally as the Hawg Wild Swap Meet--is moving again.

After moving to the Larimer County Fairgrounds facility—The Ranch--last November, show promoter Ed Honedein said he has met with difficulty getting the annual spring show scheduled there.

As a result, the Spring Hawg Wild show will move to Island Grove Park in Greeley, Colorado, on April 18 and 19, 2009.

In case you’ve missed it, the Four Corners Region has a spring motorcycling tradition. It happens every year the last weekend in March, and it’s one worth being a part of if you’re in the Durango area.

It’s the 5th Annual Durango Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Swap Meet March 28 and 29, 2009.

“We’ve been able to ride a little bit in the last month or so this year,” explained Jeff Murray of Durango Harley-Davidson. “That’s not always the case, though. This event is kind of the kick off for spring riding here, so we’re ready to get going.”

The “official” Sturgis rally could grow to ten days from seven in 2010 if the Sturgis Rally Department has its way.

Rally Department Director Brenda Vasknetz appeared before the Sturgis City Council on February 17 to pitch the idea.

"This has been discussed several times in the past," Vasknetz said. She explained vendors, visitors, and others have not been aware of events occurring the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before the rally's official beginning.

The helmet wars have entered new territory.

Legislators in Utah are offering riders a discount for traffic fines if they wear a motorcycle helmet.

The unique bill was approved in February by a legislative committee and is moving forward. If passed, the bill allows riders cited for traffic violations a $10 discount off the fine if they were wearing a helmet at the time of the offense.

The bills sponsor, Rep. Ronda Rudd Menlove, views the bill as an incentive for riders to wear helmets.

Arkansas Senator Kim Hendren really wants motorcyclists to wear helmets. He proposed a bill in February that met with a less than enthusiastic reception.

Arkansas Senate Bill 29 failed in committee after a 45-minute hearing. The Bill, a helmet law with a twist, would have required riders to wear a helmet or provide proof of at least $10,000 in medical insurance. That proof would have been in the form of a decal displayed on a motorcycle and would be good for three years.

The insurance requirement was specific to motorcyclists. No additional insurance for other motorists was proposed.

Colorado’s roadways were less deadly in 2008 according to the Colorado State Patrol.
CSP reported that 540 people died as a result of motor vehicle accidents on Colorado roads last year compared to 554 in 2007—a drop of 2.5%.

When it comes to motorcyclist fatalities, the news is not as good. CSP reported 83 motorcyclist deaths in 2008 compared to 79 fatalities in 2007. Those four additional deaths translate to an increase of 5.1%.

The Denver boot has been Denver’s most infamous export to the world of motor vehicle law. But now Denver has a new export—the city’s onerous motorcycle exhaust law.

New York City adopted a much-enhanced version of the law, and the sponsoring councilman directly credited Denver’s contentious ordinance.

“It gives police "an extra tool to get at what is truly a serious problem," said Councilman Alan Gerson (D-Manhattan), who said he crafted the bill based on a law in use in Denver.

Harley- Davidson is asking for federal bailout money.

The factory is waiting to hear whether the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will designate the company eligible for federal funding under a bank bailout program.

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, wrote a January 16 letter to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Chairman Sheila Blair, saying Harley-Davidson recently inquired whether its financing company and subsidiaries, Harley-Davidson Credit Corp. and Eaglemark Savings Bank, are eligible for the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, or TLGP.

Optimists are pouring champagne in celebration of yet another comeback for Indian Motorcycles marked by the arrival of the first limited edition 2009 Chiefs. The retro but thoroughly re-engineered big twins are turning heads, but the icon's return couldn't come at a worse time.

The next court hearing for an alleged Hells Angel member facing felony assault charges after being shot by an off-duty Seattle police officer, and member of the Iron Pigs motorcycle gang, during an August 9, 2008 bar fight in Sturgis has been postponed until February 23, 2009.

Joseph McGuire is recovering from surgery required as a result of his wounds suffered when Seattle detective Ronald Smith shot him twice during a scuffle at the Loud American Roadhouse.