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August, 2002

FEDS PROPOSE NEW MOTORCYCLE EMISSIONS STANDARDS

No more air-cooled engines? No more carburetors? Catalytic converters? By 2010, motorcycle tailpipe emissions must be slashed by over 80%, making it necessary for manufacturers to use fuel injection on the intake and catalytic converters on the exhaust in order to comply with tough new federal regulations, as well as altering cam timing and making other engine modifications, including liquid cooling.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has already succeeded in curbing emissions for the first time from off-road motorcycles, ATV's, snowmobiles and diesel-powered boats to help reduce pollution, is now turning their attention to street motorcycles, and new bike buyers in future decades will likely see a big difference in design, styling and price.

The EPA released its proposed rule on motorcycle emissions on July 26, 2002, and following a brief public comment period intends to implement the California-style cutbacks in a two-phase plan beginning in 2006.

Stricter new limits will be established for hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides emitted by the engines, requiring motorcycles over 280cc to reduce emissions from a currently allowable 5 grams of Hydrocarbons per kilometer to 1.4 grams/km by 2006 and .8 grams by 2010, achieving more than an 80% reduction in less than a decade. Nitrogen oxides, which are unregulated at this time, must also be reduced to 1.4 grams/km in 2006 and .8 grams/km by 2010.

Smaller cc motorcycles must also meet stringent new standards, ultimately reducing HC and NOx emissions to1.0 grams/km by 2010.

The proposed standards for new motorcycles will not affect their performance, says the EPA, adding that the Agency's proposal does not in any way change the existing law that makes it illegal to modify the emission control devices causing the emission systems to exceed applicable standards. Motorcycle owners may make cosmetic changes such as the color and chrome.

Public hearings on this proposal will be held by the EPA on September 17, in Ypsilanti, MI, with the public comment period ending November 8, 2002, after which the final regulations will be issued. For more information on the proposed rule, how to submit comments and the public hearings, visit: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/roadbike.htm and http://www.epa.gov/otaq/recveh.htm.

The National Coalition of Motorcyclists encourages all concerned riders and motorcyclists? rights organizations to make their feelings known to the EPA and our elected officials on this important issue which will affect the future of motorcycling as we know it.

HANDLEBAR HEIGHT REPEAL CLEARS
PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE

House Bill 1553 to repeal height restrictions on motorcycle handlebars in Pennsylvania, passed unanimously through the House of Representatives and is expected to see movement in September when the Senate reconvenes, reports Rocky Gambale on behalf of Pennsylvania's Confederation of Clubs.

"This Bill passed the House 196-0 on June 12th, and has to date no opposition in the Senate," according to Rocky-G, adding, "I cannot stress enough that we also thank BikePac, Charles Umbenhauer and ABATE of Pennsylvania for their assistance with this legislation, their help has been invaluable."

Earlier this year, both New Hampshire and Minnesota modified their motorcycle handlebar height requirements. Minnesota eliminated the handlebar height limit altogether, while New Hampshire amended their "15 inches higher than the seat" maximum height limit with a "no more than shoulder height when seated" legal limit.

MASSACHUSETTS MOTORCYCLISTS DEMAND
EQUITIBLE INSURANCE

The MMA of Massachusetts has requested to meet with the Division of Insurance to discuss discriminatory price and coverage practices, and seeking equitable changes in insurance practices for more than 125,000 registered motorcycles in the Commonwealth.

"We're tired of not having the same coverage availability for our motorcycles as we have for our cars and trucks," said Jimi Ricci, Chairman of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA), and a member of the NCOM Board of Directors.

"It's unfair," said Betsy Lister, MMA Safety & Education Director who has been an independent insurance agent over 28 years and owns Lister Insurance Agency, "that as 'motor vehicles,' motorcycles don't have the same options as other vehicles when it comes to coverages and limits."

She cites that motorcycles are excluded from "stated value" coverage, when the market value of a custom or specially modified motorcycle's value exceeds it "book value"; no "multi-vehicle" discounts; no "anti-theft" discounts; and only $5,000 in coverage can be purchased in "optional" medical payments coverage by riders, despite their ability to pay the increased premiums. Premium income and loss data over the past 3 seasons is "unfairly disproportionate," she says.

MMA Legislative Director Paul Cote, a former insurance claims examiner and currently a legal consultant on accident reconstruction and claim handling, sent a letter to Division of Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler "requesting a meeting with policy-makers within the Division to address these inequities" that the MMA has uncovered.

"Nationwide, more than 80% of the motor vehicle/motorcycle accidents are the motor vehicle operator's fault," says Cote, "yet we suffer due to their negligence and our limited coverage availability. We want to address that, and our rates with the Commissioner."

"I'm happy we have the talent, experience and energy of Betsy and Paul on our MMA Board to address these issues professionally," said Ricci. "We believe a lot of good will come out of this for those who ride motorcycles in the Commonwealth."

ALLSTATE LOSES ----- MOTORCYCLISTS WIN!

An attempt by Allstate Insurance to eliminate motorcyclists from medical payment coverage went down in defeat in the case of a young passenger on a bike in Virginia, thanks to the efforts of Virginia Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney J. Thomas (Tom) McGrath. Jennifer L., a teenager living with her grandmother, went for a ride on a motorcycle owned by a friend. The driver crashed the bike and Jennifer was injured. Her grandmother had a policy of insurance on her car with Allstate Insurance Company, and for an extra premium she purchased a $1,000.00 medical payment benefit which would reimburse any resident relative of the grandmother's household up to $1,000.00 for injuries sustained in an accident.

The law in Virginia requires an insurance company that sells bodily injury liability insurance to also offer medical payment insurance provided it covers the named insured and any resident relative of the named insured while in or upon, entering or alighting from or through being struck by a motor vehicle?

"Allstate sold the coverage to Jennifer's grandmother but had changed the language in it's policy to limit the coverage to injuries sustained while in or upon a four wheel vehicle," said attorney McGrath. "This attempt to cut motorcyclists out of coverage is part of what I see as an ongoing struggle between us and the insurance industry. They keep trying to take away our freedom to ride by trying in every way to deny us coverage."

Suit was filed in the Circuit Court of The City of Richmond based on the statutory language and the fact that the definition of "motor vehicle" in Virginia includes motorcycles. In addition to the $1,000.00 that we claimed was owed to Jennifer L., we asked for double the damages plus attorney fees and court costs.

McGrath argued, and the Court agreed, that Allstate's effort to change it's policy was really an attempt to change the Virginia statutory law. "The Court declared Allstate's definition void and we received a check in the amount of $6,345.00," said McGrath. "Not bad for a $1,000.00 claim."

If you have medical payment benefits on any of your policies check the language and if you find that it is similar to Allstate's, in that it defines a motor vehicle as an automobile or vehicle having four wheels, please let AIM know.

"Remember this," McGrath admonishes, "companies that write insurance are always seeking ways to limit what they have to cover. Only we can protect our rights."

POLITICS AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS

With another election cycle coming upon us, we'd like to share with you the following article by Marcia Mercer written June 25 for the Media General News Service, regarding the political appeal of motorcycles:

WASHINGTON -- In the world of presidential politics, it was hot news. John Kerry, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, had decided to make a serious bid for the White House.

No, he didn't announce his candidacy. Officially, Kerry was still testing the waters.

But to political observers, Kerry had sent a clear sign of his intentions. He got rid of his Italian-made Ducati motorcycle a few weeks ago in favor of a shiny black Harley-Davidson.

The switch wasn't just a matter of what Kerry is riding. It said Kerry is running.

In America, it's not enough to dash around the country, raising money, making eye contact, acting humble and talking about your vision. Lots of people do that.

To show you're a real presidential contender, you need to do something that shouts, "I'm a regular guy."

It's a curiosity of American politics that presidential candidates have to prove they're ordinary men, the kind of guy other guys enjoy hanging out with.

Kerry may be super-smart and super-rich, a fellow with four houses and a chestful of combat medals. Voters may have elected him to the Senate three times. But he has a problem: People see him as aloof, arrogant and stiff. (Shades of Al Gore?)

So, Kerry works at presenting himself as a man's man. He tells people he flies airplanes. Plays ice hockey. Windsurfs. And he hopped on a Harley.

A man with three purple hearts shouldn't have to prove anything. But that's a topic for another day.

"It's an American icon," said a Harley-Davidson spokesman. Sales of the American-made bikes are up 21 percent post-Sept. 11.

At least Kerry didn't send his wife, Teresa Heinz, out on a chopper. In 1996, GOP candidate Bob Dole's wife Elizabeth rode onto the Tonight Show stage on the back of a Harley, behind Jay Leno. The very ladylike Dole wore jeans, motorcycle boots and a black leather jacket with chains.

The motorcycle effect was dramatic in Ames, Iowa, in August 1999, when the Republicans sponsored a presidential straw poll, a symbolic test of popularity in the state with the first presidential caucuses.

At first, it looked as if the governor of Texas might skip the event. But no. The sign that the man with the famous pedigree had decided to be a serious presidential contender came when he rounded up a couple hundred bikers.

Led by the unlikeliest of Republicans - Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, with his ponytail and black leather jacket with chains - the bikers swooped in off the prairie and revved their Harleys for George W. Bush in the parking lot outside the arena. Take that, Gary Bauer.

George Bush, the elder - senator's son, prep school, Yale - never could shake the perception that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. George Bush, the younger - president's son, prep school, Yale - wasn't going to let that happen to him.

Bush didn't actually straddle a motorcycle that day, but that was OK. He was one of them. He won the straw poll.

A few months after that, Elizabeth Dole, a presidential candidate in her own right, rode on the back of a Harley to a barbecue in Salem, N.H.

Later in the 2000 campaign, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, visited the Harley-Davidson factory in Kansas City. Lieberman donned a helmet and hopped on the back of a Harley. The candidate joked that putting on the helmet was "another act of courage."

A few weeks before Election Day 2000, Al Gore went on the Queen Latifah Show and talked about how much he and Tipper had loved riding motorcycles in their youth.

In 2002, when it comes to projecting an image of raw, American manliness with the help of a motorcycle, John Kerry has an edge. He likes riding bareheaded, and freedom-loving New Hampshire, site of the first presidential primary, has spurned mandatory helmet laws.

Brace yourself for a barrage of pictures showing regular guy Kerry astride his black Harley, hair blowing in the wind.

WEIRD NEWS OF THE MONTH:

Children Blackmail Parents With Landmine Suicide Threats Authorities in India say children are using landmines to blackmail their parents. Army personnel patrolling India's border with Pakistan claim to have averted eight suicide attempts in the last month. The Dainik Ujala newspaper reports a teenager who was rescued after crossing into mined territory claimed he was trying to kill himself because his parents refused to buy him a motorbike. Harnam Singh, a farmer from the border village of Kahangarh, said: "The mines have become a very effective tool for blackmail. Children know they can extract anything from their parents if they threaten to walk into the danger area."

A DEATH IN THE FAMILY

"Little Jimmy" Rouse, Business Manager for the Modified Motorcycle Association (MMA) of California and member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) Board of Directors, died on Friday, July 19, 2002, in Sacramento of complications from lymphatic cancer.

"Lil' Jimmy was one of the founding fathers of the MMA of California back in 1972 and has been involved ever since," said "Sleepy," Chairman of the MMA Board of Directors. "Lil' Jimmy helped fight for motorcyclists alongside Ron Roloff, Gorilla, Whitey, and Sonny. Lil' Jimmy was involved to the very end, even reviewing and approving the newsletter the night before. Lil' Jimmy was always there for all motorcyclists and will be missed beyond description."

Our sympathies go out to the MMA and to the family and friends of "Little Jimmy" Rouse, a pioneer in the motorcyclists rights movement and a true freedom fighter.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: "If we don't all hang together, then we'll all damn sure hang separately, by the straps of our own helmets." "LITTLE JIMMY" ROUSE, MMA of California