CBA Swap Meet - Charlotte, NC - Get ready for a good time

A few days ago we referenced the upcoming CBA Swap Meet in Charlotte, NC.

This event is held twice a year with "spring" and "fall" events at the Metrolina Fairgrounds.  The next meet will be the the weekend of march 23 + 24.

Here is a clip of some folks getting on the road to the event.

and...here is a 4 minute peek at the event. 

Part 2 of Girls Garage

So, here it is....Part Two of the Girls Garage - Motorcycle Tips, from J&P Cycles.

Girls Garage - Motorcycle Tips Part 1

After a number of requests we are pleased to present a couple of "How To" videos, targeted for ladies.

Thanks to J&P Cycles for producing  Tech Tips for ladies.

Progressive Motorcycle Show - Charlotte, NC

The 2013 edition of the Progressive international Motorcycle Show visited Charlotte, NC a couple of weeks ago.  Since the show from last year was much the same as this one....here is a clip from 2012.

The Concerned Bikers Association show will be at the Metrolina Fairgrounds in Charlotte March 23.  If you've never been you really need to treat yourself to a few hours immersed in the biker culture.

Austin PD Find Parts Dumping Area.

More than a dozen motorcycles stolen over a number of years have all been found in the very same place....the floor of Lake Austin beneath the Pennybacker Bridge, Austin Texas.

Brent Mullinix with the APD Auto Theft Unit.said that parts to 15 motorcycles, one reported stolen as far back as 2005, have been recovered by the Department of Public Safety Dive Team.

The parts include a rusted out engine and several body frames.

Ckeck video from FOX-TV in Austin


Motorcycle thieves will strip a stolen motorcycle for valuable parts and discard the rest according to Mullinix.

“This is a good indication of what happens to those motorcycles that get stolen,” said Mullinix. “Based on what we are seeing, it is obvious it was someone’s pattern or some group’s pattern.”

The owners who reported the motorcycle stolen will be contacted, but Mullinix said environmental concerns are also a reason why they want all the parts recovered.

“We need to remove all the stuff from the bottom for the safety of other people and the environment.”

If California Can do it...Why Can't S.C.?

Motorcyclists who slide between cars on crowded Bay Area roads and zip to where they're going faster than everyone else - while infuriating more than a few drivers - now have the official blessing of the California Highway Patrol.

The practice, called lane-splitting, has always been legal in California. But state authorities have never, until now, told motorcyclists how to weave the white line safely.

California is the only state in the country where lane-splitting is legal.

The new rules, which the CHP introduced in January after consulting with other state agencies and motorcycle-rider groups, apply to city streets, highways and freeways across the state.

"You should lane-split no faster than 10 mph over the speed of traffic around you, and we recommend (motorcyclists) not split at all if the traffic is faster than 30 mph."


Some car drivers see lane-splitters as borderline cheaters cutting ahead of others, but  the practice is actually safer for motorcyclists than politely staying in line in a lane.

Now.....the big question is...why can't South Carolina, have the same rules in place?

Yamaha - 2013 title sponsor of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast

Yamaha, the brand that carried AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Scott Russell to two victories in the famed Daytona 200, will be the 2013 title sponsor of the AMA Yamaha Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona, presented by Motul, on Friday, March 15, at 7 a.m. in the Daytona 500 Club on the infield at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Russell, who won the Daytona 200 five times, plus numerous AMA roadracing championships and a World Superbike title, will be the featured guest.

Taking place during 2013 Daytona Bike Week, the fundraising breakfast will include a live interview with Russell on stage, an audience Q&A period and an autograph session with the AMA Hall of Famer and Daytona 200 legend. Longtime race announcer Ben Cheatwood will interview Russell.

Russell’s Daytona 200 wins are among the most impressive Daytona 200 finishes ever. His 1995 victory, which came after an opening lap crash that saw him remount in last place and battle for 199 miles to win over Carl Fogarty, is perhaps his best remembered. The photo of Russell jumping over his fallen bike to remount made the cover of Cycle World magazine, and cemented the Georgia native as a bona fide roadracing hero to millions of fans worldwide.

We Older Riders More Likely to Get Hurt

Motorcyclists over the age of 60 are three times more likely to be hospitalized after a crash than younger bikers, at least thats part of a report  in the journal Injury Prevention. They found that serious chest and rib cage fractures were very common.

The reports goes on to suggest that reduced bone strength in older adults and their ability to buy more powerful bikes may play a part.

Motorbike groups in the UK say they have seen similar trends.

The study analysed data between 2001 to 2008 from the US National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) which collects information from 100 US hospitals which have an A&E.

During this period about 1.5 million adults over the age of 20 needed emergency treatment due to a motorcycle crash.

Bikers over the age of 60 were three times more likely to be admitted to hospital compared with those in their 20s and 30s - and two-and-a-half times more likely to sustain a serious injury.

One of the conclusions, : "The greater severity of injuries among older adults may be due to the physiological changes that occur as the body ages, bone strength decreases, fat distribution may change and there is a decrease in the elasticity of the chest wall.

"Other factors such as a delayed reaction time, altered balance and worsening vision may also make older adults more prone to crashing."

They point out that underlying illnesses like cardiac disease, hypertension and diabetes may also increase the rise of complications.

'Keep skills up'

Data on motorbike size was not available to the researchers, but they suggested that older adults were more likely to buy bikes with larger engines - leading to more severe injuries.

Upper body fractures were more common in older adults while arm, shoulder and hand fractures were more likely in those that were younger.

This may be due to their faster reaction times - sticking their arms out to protect their fall.

Daytona Bike Week - Look Twice, Save a Life

With the approach of Dayton Bike Week,  bikers waved signs and stood together in the cold at Colonial Drive and Rouse Road, urging people to be watchful for motorcycles and to look twice before changing lanes or turning right at a red light.

Bike Week, the 10-day, rumbling homage to Harleys that is reputed to be the world's largest motorcycle event, filling Central Florida's roadways with hundreds of thousands of visiting bikers.

Cullen Ryan, 28, of Oviedo, was killed a few weeks before Christmas when a 77-year-old man turned his SUV into the path of Ryan's motorcycle. The Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating the crash on Alafaya Trail.

Almost all of those braving the chilly air Sunday knew a rider killed or injured by an inattentive motorist. Mike Wilcox, whose brother, Bryan, died in a crash in 2011, held a sign that read, "Da 4 Deadliest Words ... I DIDN'T C Him."

Heidi Weclew, 34, said she has lost three friends in crashes and sometimes mounts a camera on her bike to capture reckless motorists. She said she recently called the inattentive driver of an airport taxi to tell the woman, "You almost killed me today."

Hector Rivera, 51, who has been riding motorcycles since he was a boy, said he rides more carefully than ever on Central Florida's highways as, more and more, he has to share the road with careless and distracted drivers.

"They are texting and doing everything but watching," he said.