Sturgis-The Big "69"-- Excellence in MC

30 more freakin' days.
(everything else is lunchmeat.)

Wed, Aug-05..Steven Tyler/Aerosmith/Under a full moon..?

Coverage begins Saturday, Aug 1 thru Sunday Aug 9 on America's great radio stations, on demand.. 360.282.5400, & www.twitter.com/abmrocks.

Follow ABM after the rally on the ride through Wyoming, Utah, & Colorado & Arizona, as we attempt to procure succulent rainbow trout dinners from ice cold streams of the Rockies. Ride with us from mountaintops down into America's arid desert. The good, the bad, the ugly.. we tell it all.

30 days.. just 30 more freakin' days!

Treating Dad Got A Lot More Expensive

1997 Grocery Specials vs Today: Price Flashback:

Motorcycles need a few newspapers on the garage floor to mop up errant oil when she gets her precious new dino juice, it keeps the cememt neat 'n' tidy so mamma won't raise cane with yours truly, the mechanic. Unable to find fresh bird cage paper, grabbed at an ancient cardboard box in the corner & found a 1997 Albertson's supermarket special flyer!

A few of the weekly advertised specials from a dozen years ago...

Fresh Atlantic salmon filets, not farm raised.. $2.99/lb. Large Tomatoes, .79/lb. Ground beef, .99/lb. Lowenbrau beer, 5.99/12pack. 1.75 liter btl rum/12.99. Wings .99/lb.

What didn't change much?

Ribs 1.99/lb, boneless pork loin chops, 3.99/lb, tuna 50 cents/can, half gallon ice cream $3, peaches, plums, nectarines, $1.99.

What went up the most?

8-pc box of mixed fried chicken, $2.99. That's double or triple now. Man, I can remember when it was on sale for 1.79.

What have we learned? Beer, liquor, most produce, and boxed chicken prices have exploded to the upside. The most expensive price on one gallon of gasoline in '97 was $1.10. Most of us likely paid far less. Any grocery item which requires extra energy to produce has shot up in price, and this includes the cost of a modern day, brand new motorcycle, plus the gas & parts to run it, so dad, don't feel bad if it seems like your gifts are shrinking. It's gonna cost twice as much to put your split lobster tail & delmonico on the grill as it did in '97. Good thing the extra love is still free! Happy Father's Day!

ABATE/Florida Sees Possible End to Vertical Plate Law

Finally.. An end to this silly Florida law?

Thanks to our friends at ABATE, for passing along this info:

"...There is a bill SB 1100 that Abate had an amendment attached to that will take out the language of the vertical plate. It should be on the Governor's desk shortly.."

ABM: The current, so called, "Vertical License Plate" law calls for fines of up to $2500, and time in the slammer for simply running a motorcycle license plate which stands on end, instead of being mounted in a horizontal fashion. South Carolina recinded it's silly plate law last year, & many other states are taking a good look at this unfair, hard, and totally unnecessary moronic piece of legislation. One of the local bro's has a $50,000 "Redneck Rocket" sporting a vertical plate which was welded to the frame at the time of construction. How happy will he be to know his lawyer won't be picking his pocket this time around?

Myrtle Beach Wanderings:

Bro reports nice large signs at the (city?) limits, warning bikers that the forward-thinking golf community will have no part of helmet-less bikers, the state law of lid freedom, be dammed. ABM predicts a tight election next time around when this bunch will have to confront business people, like hoteliers, resturants, etc who lost their shirts last spring when bikers decided to stay home in droves. We're kinda funny like that, not wanting to be around people who hate us.

What we don't get? How a little anthill of 20,000 can decide to circumvent a valid statewide law with their little city council ordinance. It's just as well. Last time we got a hotel room in Myrtle, the inbreds put us right under the garbage macerator.

Wet, and not too wild:

Attempting to put a few hundred miles in one day without getting wet at least once is nearly impossible in the so called "Sunshine State" this summer. Florida's rainly season began 6 weeks early, & shows no sign of letup. Mosquito control is having a tough time. These buzz-buckets are nearly the size of a B-52! Sturgis, here we come..

Wall Street Journal: Ethanol "Bad Deal" For USA

EPA's own study says Ethanol Sucks!

Wall Street Journal--06/02/2009:

"Ethanol bad deal for consumers with minimal or negative enviromental benefit"

(1). As much oil is used in Ethanol production as is saved.
(2). Drives up grocery prices.
(3). People who can least afford new vehicle expense are the most affected.
(4). Poor gas mileage.
(5). Obama, Crist, etc. obviously read the paper, so why the big rush?


Why do the heavy corn-producing states with the most to gain, mainly offer ethanol "E-85" in only one of three gasoline octanes, while states such as Florida force upon their citizens, no choice, with ethanol in every grade of gasoline? ABM is not against ethanol: We believe it should only be offered in one ocatane.

Could it have anything to do with those new ethanol pipelines?

With only a couple of clicks, this website will provide phone, email of your local legislators. Follow to the second page, type in your zip code.

www.NMMA.org

deadline: July 20, 2009. copy all of your friends. time is running out.

For the record, ABM has petitioned Florida ABATE for their position on this, and other matters. We'll keep you posted.

15% Ethanol Gas Bad Deal:

Motorcycle Poison?

EPA pushing for a 50% Increase in the amout of ethanol-gas ratio, so what's the big deal? ABM believes our $750 repair job on a burned valve was a direct result of ethanol, and happened on an injected, EPA certified bike, shortly after ethanol appeared in Florida, forcibly, in every grade of gasoline, thanks to a majority of bend-over leglislators.

Isn't Ethanol Green?

According to the Orlando Sentinal, the EPA's own study concluded that corn ethanol emits more greenhouse gasses than gasoline over 30 years when you compare indriect effects such as plowing of forests to make way for corn crops as a result of increased demand. Worse yet, mileage on cars, trucks, bikes, & boats actualy has decreased 10% as a result of ethanol blending.

What Does Harley-Davidson Think?

My HD manual for an '06 fuel injected softail standard says the max allowable ethanol to gas blend is 10%. Exceeding this amount can cause engine failure. Have you priced a new v-twin engine lately?

China? Russia? N Korea?

Give us a choice. Leave just one pump free of ethnol. Let the public decide. Congress, are you going to sell out the American public because a lobbyist bought your lunch?

Complaint Deadline: July 20, 2009!

1). www.regulations.gov
2). email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov