Born To Ride News

As many know, ABATE of Florida, Inc. had a Bill introduced in the recently finished 2010 Florida Legislative Session designed to create a new law establishing penalties for hitting a motorcyclist. Many in FL have heard the tales of a biker getting hit and sometimes killed by a vehicle, and the at-fault driver only receiving an $87 ticket. At ABATE of Florida’s request, FL Representative Greg Evers sponsored Bill 875 in the FL House of Representatives (for the second year in a row) and Senator Dave Aronberg sponsored twin Bill 1918 in the FL Senate.

Thanks to Committee Chairpersons Sen. Gardiner, Sen. Dockery, Sen. Crist, Rep. Aubuchon, Rep. Ambler, and Rep. Murzin, both the Senate and House Bills made it through their assigned Committees. In the last House Committee, Rep. Evers decided to help expedite the process and let the House adopt the Senate version. In doing this, Rep. Evers gave up the prestige of passing a Bill with his name on it for the sake of the safety of all motorcyclists in Florida.

On Wednesday the 21st of April, the Senate version was placed on the Special Order Calendar and on the 23rd it was heard on the Senate Floor. From the 23rd until the 29th it was heard several times on the floor and each time came up against heavy opposition. During this time it had nine different amendments attempted to be attached and the jail time was ultimately stripped from the original language.

One amendment by Sen. Oelrich from the district that covers Alachua County and nearby areas stated that the penalties would ONLY APPLY IF THE MOTORCYCLISTS IS WEARING A HELMET. IF YOU HIT & KILLED A MOTORCYCLIST THAT WAS NOT WEARING A HELMET, THE PENALTIES DID NOT APPLY.

There was also talk if the Bill was successful an amendment would be added that would REQUIRE ALL MOTORCYCLISTS TO WEAR A HELMET AGAIN. This would in effect repeal Florida motorcyclists’ right of choice that we now enjoy. It was soon apparent that if the Bill was to be passed the opposition would require some type of helmet amendment.

Therefore, our options were: 1) pass a very weak Bill that had been stripped of all its teeth; 2) let a strong Bill pass that would require helmets to be worn; or 3) let the Bill die and try again next year. Since a very weak Bill was worthless and being forced to wear helmets again was totally unacceptable, the decision was made to let the Bill die and try again next year.

We have many elections coming up this fall. Some of the Legislators named above may be up for re-election; some new names may be on your ballots. It’s time to learn about the individuals you want to represent you and your ideals. It’s time to work with ABATE of Florida and elect motorcycle friendly candidates to represent us all in Tallahassee.

Darrin “Scribe” Brooks

State Legislative Trustee

PO Box 10720, Naples, FL 34101

(239) 398-7145 Fax: (239) 261-5795

statelegislative@abateflorida.com

Dave “Lockdown” Rich

State Public Relations Trustee

PO Box 990584, Naples, FL 34116

(386) 490-4821 Fax: (386) 490-4482

statepr@abateflorida.com

www.abateflorida.com

Two Harley-Davidson V-Rods^® Qualify for Pro Stock Motorcycle Eliminations

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 14, 2010) – Screamin’ Eagle^®/Vance & Hines riders Andrew Hines and Ed Krawiec qualified Harley-Davidson V-Rod^® motorcycles for elimination rounds at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Hines qualified sixth for the event with an elapsed time (ET) of 6.907 seconds. Krawiec qualified eighth with a 6.962-second pass. Racers Edge Suzuki rider Michael Phillips led all qualifiers with a time of 6.855 seconds.

Krawiec lost on reaction time in the opening round of Sunday eliminations, with a 0.075-second start and 6.997-second run that was not enough to beat the 0.038/6.998 pass of Run Bum Buell rider Shawn Gann.

Hines defeated Suzuki rider Jim Underdahl in the first round of eliminations, but lost in round two when he left the starting line 0.039 seconds early against C&L Suzuki rider Steve Johnson. Phillips won the event, defeating Johnson in the final round, which was delayed by rain until Monday.

“The level of competition in Pro Stock Motorcycle is really intense this season,” said Krawiec. “As a team and as a rider you need to be on top of your game right away. We struggled in qualifying with my bike until the last round. I need to do better at the line, and I also think right now our clutch set-up is too conservative. We’ll just move forward from this race and get ready for Norwalk. Last year the Screamin’ Eagle team won three in a row starting at Norwalk, so we feel good about racing there.”

Following seven rounds of the 17-race 2010 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule, Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana leads in points with 558. Phillips is second with 488 points, followed by Al-Anabi Racing Buell rider Matt Smith with 484. Hines is fourth with 477 points. Krawiec is in seventh place with 420 points.

The next Pro Stock Motorcycle event on the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule is the Summit Race Engineering NHRA Nationals, June 24-27, at

Summit Motor Sports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin’ Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications, while Screamin’ Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information.

The Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team is sponsored by Matco Tools, Dunlop and S100.