BIKER NEWS

By Tim Anderson

The first “Bikers At The Capitol” event will beheld April 14, 2011. The event, sponsored by the Colorado Confederation Of Clubs, US Defenders, and the Coalition Of Independent Riders, is part of an ongoing motorcyclist awareness effort by US defenders and COIR.

The message of the event is a celebration and appreciation of our freedom, standing up for our constitutional rights, and getting involved in that process.

By Tim Anderson

Take it off the streets and onto the track this year with the Motorcycle Roadracing Association. For the second year, the MRA is offering a Super Street Class of racing specifically designed for riders who want to experience the thrill and challenge of racing on the track without incurring all the expense and commitment of getting into racing in a serious way.

Southwest Scooter News has joined the ranks of motorcycle roadracing in Colorado. Scooter News, the most widely distributed motorcycling publication in the Rocky Mountain Region, has committed to the Motorcycle Roadracing Association as a class sponsor for two classes for the MRA’s 2011 season.

Scooter News is the sponsor for the Lightweight Grand Prix and Super Twins GTU classes.

In a race full of red flags and crashes and cautions, Colorado’s Ricky Orlando still managed to make motorcycle racing history at the Daytona 200 March 12, 2011.

Going into the race, Orlando was only nine miles shy of breaking the record for the most miles completed by a single rider at Daytona—a mark of 3728 miles held by Rick Shaw. When it was all said and done, Orlando came home to Colorado in one piece and with the new mileage record in his name.

Attempting to take away the rights of a motorcycle enthusiast is all fun and games until somebody has to pay for it, or so it seems.

That is the lesson being learned by a group in New Hampshire who have pursued legal actions over how much noise should come from a motorcycle exhaust systems, EPA and state decibel levels, all relating to a local law passed in May 2010 in the town of North Hampton.

The Georgia State Patrol has every intention of operating motorcycle-only roadside checkpoints in March, presumably before, during and after Daytona Bike Week in Florida. Bike week runs March 4-13, 2011 and tens of thousands of motorcyclists from around the nation could be subject to the Georgia motorcycle-only checkpoints.

Colorado will apparently not be participating in the controversial motorcycle-only checkpoint program being pushed by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to Heather Halpape, Safety Programs Public Relations Manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the state has no plans in the works to implement motorcycle-only checkpoints.

A bill in New Hampshire that would prohibit motorcycle-only roadside checkpoints in that state has been quietly working its way through the House of Representatives towards passage in that state.

HB148, AN ACT relative to federal funding for motorcycle-only roadside checkpoints, was introduced January 11, and has progressed to being unanimously passed out of the transportation committee and on to the full house earlier this month.

Simply put, this bill prohibits the acceptance of federal funding for motorcycle-only roadside checkpoints.

Ricky Orlando’s 29-year Superbike and road racing career is coming up fast on a major landmark.

When the 54-year-old professional motorcycle racer from Frederick, Colorado, takes to the track at Daytona International Raceway on March 12, 2001 for the Daytona 200, he will be only nine miles away from setting the all time lap/mileage record for the race.

This means that somewhere near the end of the third lap of the 57-lap (200 mile) race, Orlando should be the new record holder.

By Tim Anderson

Colorado’s motorcycle training and awareness campaign, “Live To Ride,” will be evident around the state again this year.

The program is administered by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), and funded by an award from Section 2010 funds made available by the United States Congress.

The first two years of the program focused on impaired riding and trying to reduce the number of riders who might ride after having a few too many drinks. The “live To Ride” program was launched in 2008, the year Colorado recorded 98 motorcyclist fatalities.