BIKER NEWS

By Tim Anderson

The first-ever Biker Day At The Capitol in Denver April 14, 2011, was by all accounts, a resounding success.

The event sponsored by the Coalition Of Independent Riders, Us Defenders, and the Colorado Confederation Of Clubs drew about 150 people and some 70 motorcycles to the State capitol building in downtown Denver for what is best described as a meet-and-greet with state legislators.

By Tim Anderson

Motorcyclist deaths in Colorado dropped for the second straight year in 2010 according to statistics released by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

According to CDOT, 82 people were killed in motorcycle accidents last year—72 operators and ten passengers. That figure is down from 88 deaths in 2009, a 7% drop. The figure is down from a record high of 98 fatalities suffered in 2008, a 16% drop.

By Tim Anderson

Friday, April 15, was as close to a prefect spring day as you’re likely to see in mid April in Colorado. In between a series of storm fronts that brought cold temps and snow to much of the state, there was a gap of sunshine and warmer temperatures. It was just right for the 3rd Annual Fort Carson Spring Kick Start at Ironhorse Park on The Mountain Post.

Speed demons are back in Colorado!

After a six-month layoff to let ol’ man winter do his thing, the Motorcycle Roadracing Association is gearing up to start tearing up pavement again on May 7 & 8, 2011

The MRA’s 2011 season gets underway with a full schedule of racing set at High Plains Raceway, a few miles east of Byers, Colorado.

‘We’re just about ready,” said MRA Spokesman Jim Wilson. “Everybody’s had some time to make changes and prepare for another season of racing. It sure seems like there’s a lot of excitement…everyone’s ready to get on the track.”

The best kept secret for Harley-Davidson motorcycle service in Southern Colorado is no longer secret.

Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza at 412 North Chelton in Colorado Springs (just south of Chelton & Platte) announced in April that the longtime Colorado Springs motorcycle store has begun offering service work for Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

The saga of Indian motorcycles continues as an unexpected, but welcome, development took place in late April 2011.

Polaris Industries Inc., maker of Victory Motorcycles, announced the acquisition of Indian Motorcycle on April 19, 2011.

The iconic motorcycle brand was acquired from Indian Motorcycle Limited, a company owned by private equity firms Stellican Limited and Novator Partners LLP, UK.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Big Dog Motorcycles, one of the high-flying beneficiaries of last decade's go-go economy, has been put down.

Intrust Bank foreclosed on the motorcycle manufacturer April 6, 2011, and now owns the company's remaining assets. Big Dog founder Sheldon Coleman Jr. has dissolved the corporation.

Coleman has formed a new company, BDM Performance Products, and is reportedly hiring the last 22 Big Dog employees, according to Mike Simmons, the new company's president.

Harley-Davidson said first-quarter earnings soared to $119.3 million, or 51 cents a share, from $33.3 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier as worldwide sales of motorcycles rose 3.5% and operating income at its financial division skyrocketed.

Harley-Davidson said operating income from financial services climbed 154.6% from a year earlier.

First- quarter revenue rose to $1.06 billion from $1.04 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected Harley-Davidson to earn 53 cents a share in the quarter.

April 9th was a special day for the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame as the 19th Anniversary and Open house also celebrated their Grand Re-Opening. The museum is now located on the 2nd floor of PPHD at 5867 N. Nevada Ave in Colorado Springs. The new layout allows for much better viewing of the classic motorcycles including outstanding examples of original condition and restored Indian’s, an outstanding example of an Excelsior and even a 6-cylinder Honda CBX along with many others. Well over 200 people attended the event.

A Nebraska man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for a drunken driving crash that killed four motorcyclists in Western Iowa.

The sentence for 22-year-old Andrew Schlichtemeier, of Murray, Nebraska, was in keeping with a plea deal he accepted last month in Harrison County District Court. He pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide. Had He gone to trial, Schlichtemeier faced as much as 100 years in prison.