State Trooper Hits Couple on Motorcycle

On August 17th 2013, Ohio State Trooper Jacob Daymon rear-ended Corey and Amy Waldman while they were riding their motorcycle.  Apparently, Trooper Daymon was traveling 81mph in a 65mph zone when he crashed into the Harley.  I was unable to find many details about the accident but from watching the video he was clearly in the wrong.  Fortunately, other than some minor injuries and lots of road rash Corey and Amy Waldman are OK.  Trooper Jacob Daymon received a $150 fine and a six month suspension of driving privileges for his negligence.  

I will not pretend that a short video on YouTube provides all the necessary information to completely understand a situation.  We do not know about any distracting factors, lighting conditions, etc.  However, from what we can see the State Trooper is completely at fault. 

 Any operator of a motor vehicle, whether a police officer or not, is required to be in control of that vehicle at all times.  Trooper Daymon is clearly not.  He is speeding and he is either distracted or traveling faster than road conditions allow for him to react appropriately.  Either way he is not in control of his vehicle.  

I understand that there are a lot of distractions inside of a police vehicle.  However, those distractions are no more of an excuse for an officer than a cell or radio would be for a normal person.  

I also understand that accidents will happen which is why they are called "accidents," not "on purposes."  However, the most upsetting act of the video to me is Trooper Daymon's reaction after the accident.  He seems more concerned with the damage to his cruiser than with Corey and Amy.  His job is to protect and serve.  His job is not to worry about his car, Corey and Amy's tax dollars will pay that that.  

As I said earlier, the operator or vehicle is responsible for that vehicle and the consequences that occur while they are in control of the vehicle.  This holds true for a lay person but even more so for an officer of the law.  Just as doctors and lawyers are held to higher standards in their respective fields, a police officer should be held to a higher standard in his.  This is not the case in this situation.  In fact, it would be hard to imagine a normal citizen getting away with a $150 dollar fine for recklessly endangering the lives of others.

I am glad for all parties that no one was killed.    

Harley-Davidson Street 500 and 750

Harley-Davidson continues it's busy 110th anniversary year.  Yesterday it released two brand new motorcycles the Street 500 and 750.  Just a couple of months ago saw The Motor Company cater to its higher end customers with Project Rushmore.  The driving force behind Project Rushmore was "listening to the customers."  Well, I would say that Harley-Davidson continues to do exactly that but where Project Rushmore's focus was on its established and wealthier riders the Street 500 and 700 occupy the other end of the spectrum.  The fact is the world is becoming more urban, diversified, and the future of any brand is attracting new buyers.  The Street 500 and 750 reflect this demographic.  

The Week's End Roundup- Top Ten Harley's of All Time

No, you are not seeing double.  Look closer.  

Man and Machine

I am not sure if this was a bad attempt to show sexism in motorcycle culture or just a brilliant viral marketing campaign but someone had the idea to recreate the advertising photos for Ducati's Panigale.  I dare you to look at the rest of the photographs comparing the women and men models and not laugh.  Good luck.


Top Ten Harley's of All Time
Without a doubt, Harley Davidson is one the most popular and recognizable motorcycle companies in the world.  Their motorcycles have spanned decades and influenced generations.  See what a group of panelists gathered by Motorcycle.com came up with as their top ten Harley Davidson's of all time.


2013 Triumph Rocket III vs Ducati Diavel Strata
Motorcycle-usa.com compares the uber powerful cruisers from Triumph and Ducati.


Build Your Own Electric Motorcycle?
Are you creative?  Are you handy? Pablo de Chaves certainly is. Check about the link above to see his latest hand made creation, a naked electric motorcycle.

The Week's End Roundup

BMW Unveils the 2014 R nineT Roadster.
BMW celebrates 90 years of Motorrad with the release of the beautiful R nineT Roadster.  Find out more here.

Eric Buell Racing Unveils the 2014 1190RX
Who said America could only produce slow heavyweight cruisers?  Not Eric Buell that's who.  Eric Buell Racing's new 1190RX is light, powerful, and fuel efficient.  And it lists for less than $19,000, competition be warned.  Find out more here.

Harley Davidson Heritage Softail vs Indian Vintage Chief
For a rush of nostalgia, check out motorcycle-usa.com's comparison of the Harley Davidson Heritage Softail and Indian Vintage Chief here.

2014 Victory Ness Cross Country Limited-Edition Test Ride
Motorcycle-usa.com may have forgotten you Victory, but I didn't.  Check out what the great people of motorcycle.com thought of the Cross Country Limited here.

Get your cowboy on.  2014 Ural Gaucho Rambler.
A Russian interpretation the American West, using a classic German motorcycle.  I like it.  See the Ural Gaucho Rambler here.

"In Mother Russia Bus Stop Goes to You"

I found this gem on thechive.com.  No explanation or background was given as to why the original sidecar is missing and in its place there is now a wooden bench.  However, I think we can make an educated guess.  First of all, the bike looks to be a Ural.  Secondly, the landscape is barren and frozen.  And finally, we can deduce from the current sidecar design that the owner has a total disregard for safety and is proud of it.   This has Russian handiwork written all over it.  So why is there a wooden bench where a sidecar should be?  Easy, as they say in Russia, "In Mother Russia you don't go to bus stop, bus stop goes to you."

Motorcycle News

Cam-Am Gets a New Engine

Well, it looks like the new engines just keep on coming. Cam-Am has released its new Triple Rotax Engine. Named the Rotax 1330 ACE (Advanced Combustion Efficiency), the engine puts out a claimed 115 hp at 7250 rpm and 96 lb-ft of torque at 5000 rpm.  The engine only comes in RT platforms with the RS and ST models retaining the Rotax v-twin.  You can find out more about the new engine and other improvements here.

Suzuki Celebrates 50 Years 

Motorcycledaily.com has a great write up on Suzuki motorcycless with lots of colorful pictures of Suzuki bikes past and present.  Click here. 

  

Harley Davidson 110th Ride Report

The 110th Harley Davidson anniversary party has come and gone, but it was one to remember.  Maybe my expectations were low, maybe the flu had got to my head, but I enjoyed every minute.  In fact, I can't wait until 2018 to do it all again.

My wife and I planned on leaving early Friday morning but instead found ourselves leaving at 1 pm during the hottest part of the day. We ended up having to leave so late because our daughter was sick the day before, a sickness which we both now had the pleasure of experiencing.  So, hot and sick we took off.  Besides every joint of my body feeling like it was painfully stuck and sweating profusely from the heat, the first part of the trip went fine.  Approximately 60 miles west of Milwaukee, a cloud as black as night was moving toward us traveling Southeast.  20 minutes later, 70 mph winds, hail, horizontal rain, and flash flooding.  Luckily, after several miles of hold on for dear life we found a Shopko, where we were able to wait out the storm.  Unfortunately, our packed clothes, sleeping bag, and blankets didn't fair so well and sat soaking up the rain.

Eventually my wife and I made it to our campground at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.  Not typically used for tent camping, the park opened the Milwaukee Mile racing grounds for us "budget conscious" campers.  The good side was it was a pretty cool place to camp and it was located only minutes from downtown, the lake front, and the HD museum.  The bad, several inches of rocks directly under a thin layer of grass made staking a tent almost impossible and sleeping about as comfortable as riding through the hail storm.

Once we got the tent set up and the bike unloaded, it was starting to get dark.  We decided to head downtown.  For those of you who have not visited Milwaukee, I highly recommended it.  Milwaukee is set on the shore of Lake Michigan with the Milwaukee River snaking throughout its downtown area.  The shoreline has parks and green space broken only by museums and concert venues.  This is where the majority of the 110 celebrations took place, filling the lake front with vendors, exhibits, and several concerts.

Unlike mostly rallies I have been to, the urban location of the 110 celebration provided a unique atmosphere.  Thundering around skyscrapers and the lake front with thousands of other motorcycles made for an exciting experience.  If crowds aren't your thing, but instead you prefer to relax with a beer and listen to music, no problem.  There is apparently no open container law in Wisconsin and alcohol was sold along the lake front.  You could quench your thirst while walking around, lying in the grass, or dipping your feet in Lake Michigan.

On Saturday, I awoke at 6 am to the sound of a gas generator next to my tent.  Funny thing is, half asleep, for the first few minutes I thought it was the worst sounding Harley I had ever heard.  But seriously, if you are camping in a tent only area, have some courtesy and don't bring a generator. I think it is funny that the "biker" next to me could afford a pickup, enclosed trailer, motorcycle, and generator but could not afford a DC to AC converter to plug in his coffee pot.

Up early, we decided to have some coffee and breakfast on the lake front.  From there we went the HD museum which by opening time was already packed and continued to fill up with each passing second.  So maybe I should have thanked my neighbor for getting me up so early, not cursed him.  Oh well.

The rest of the day was spent riding around town and partaking in festivities.  By night time, we had one item left on our to list, UFC 164.  I am a huge mixed martial arts fan.  Again maybe my expectations were low, but the fights Saturday night were fantastic (except for one undercard heavyweight fight which after about one minute, I am not sure if the two fighters were cuddling or just sleeping together, but they were certainly not fighting anymore.  It's called a "cardio" big boys, you should try it sometime).  Several of the fighters were hometown boys which always gets the crowd going.  UFC 164 was not biggest crowd with less than 10,000 people.  However, we made up for our lack of numbers with boisterous enthusiasm.  Even my wife who reluctantly agreed to come to the fights was screaming at the end.  Saving the best for last, the fight night ended with a new minted Lightweight champion.  Anthony Pettis, a Milwaukee native, and Taekwondo practitioner, winning via submission against a Jujitsu black-belt.  I did not see that coming, awesome stuff!

Anyway, the rest of the trip was uneventful, excluding the drunks and burnouts at the campground at 3 am but hey, it's a bike rally.

As always, there is too much to see and do in such a short period of time.  But isn't that what keeps us coming back for more?