I would say that Motorcycle Awareness Month was a total disaster for everyone. Please ride carefully this riding season. The statistics are saying we are having a terrible start to the season… Congratulations to THUNDER PRESS Managing Editor John Galvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who bought himself his first Harley on May 15. John bought a Sportster 883 at the ripe old age of 34. Enjoy your birthday on August 24, John, and go for a long ride… Have you watched Peter Sagal ride around on his customized red, white, and blue Harley-Davidson Road King asking folks what the United States Constitution means to them? It is a very interesting four-part PBS documentary titled Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. It is fascinating and highly informative… Omaha, Nebraska, police have launched a special campaign to enforce the state’s motorcycle helmet laws. A grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety will put extra officers on the street from June through September. State law requires each rider to wear a helmet with a chin strap and a liner. Offenders will have their helmets confiscated and the riders will be ticketed… A.D. Farrow Co. Harley-Davidson of Columbus, Ohio, sponsors a student athlete at Ohio State University each year. This year it was Ille Van Engelen, a Netherlands native and champion tennis player. He closed out his career at OSU by helping the Buckeyes win the Big Ten tennis title for the seventh time in eight years. A.D. Farrow Co. is currently funding a second endowment scholarship fund… Attention: There are certain Harley-Davidson Hybrid C/C Half Helmets sold that failed to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) #218, which specifies impact attenuation and penetration requirements. Manufacturer KBC America notes that not all helmet sizes are affected by the problem, and adds that they will recall only certain L, XL and XXL units. Check your helmets, people, and make the necessary connections. According to the NHTSA, “the remedy for this recall campaign is still under development. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Customers may contact KBC at 818.526.7771.” Recall campaign number is 13E025000… A 17-year-old in Springfield, Missouri, was out for a high-speed run on what police call a pieced-together Harley when he lost control and crashed into and through the side of a house. The occupants were not home at the time of the incident. Rescue workers entered the scene using the hole in the house and removed the motorcycle and rider through the same hole. No life-threatening injuries were reported. How did he do that?… It’s still not too late to head on over to Clear Lake in Mason City, Iowa, and try to catch Harley the Walleye that has a $1,000 tag on him from Harley-Davidson of Mason City. There are also 25 other walleyes worth $100 each still out there. If you catch Harley, take him to The Crazy Minnow Bait Co. on Highway 18. The tags should be left intact and the fish kept alive (preferably) or gutted and frozen… The Labor Day holiday will be a great time to attend the AMA Flat Track Races at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. Since the race on Memorial Day was rained out, the Illinois Motorcycle Dealers Association (IMDA) has scheduled a doubleheader, having a Grand National Championship race on August 31, and the second Springfield Mile race on September 1. This is totally amazing; I don’t think this has ever happened before… Herbert Rammond “Hobie” Burgnon Jr. of Ada, Michigan, employed by Wolverine World Wide as the vice president of Harley-Davidson Footwear, died in a motorcycle accident while returning home from the annual Blessing of the Bikes in Baldwin, Michigan, on May 19. He was a lifelong rider, from racing dirt bikes as a kid to riding Harleys as an adult. He lived in Nashville for 16 years and was a sales rep for Harley-Davidson Footwear before he was promoted to an executive position. Hobie ran the brand’s U.S. sales force and often came up with product development ideas. Since he was a rider, he could test a lot of his ideas. Hobie leaves behind his wife Beverly and sons Beau and Alex… Motorcyclists in Nebraska have one more year to strengthen their fight to repeal the state’s helmet law. Senator Dave Bloomfield has asked the speaker to keep his Legislative Bill 393 off of this year’s agenda. Bloomfield said he would press ahead with his measure next year as his designated priority bill… James Gates of Oklahoma City was working on a Harley at JRT Cycles when he noticed somebody trying to steal an ATV in the front lot. When Gates confronted the thief, Michael Ruoff (27), Ruoff pulled out a gun and shot him in the hip. Gates said Ruoff was getting ready to shoot him again when his 9-year-old dog Minnie Mouse went into attack mode and jumped the guy, knocking him down and dislodging the gun. Minnie Mouse kicked his butt long enough for the police to arrive and arrest Ruoff… Celia Walther of Kenosha, Wisconsin, has scratched “Harley ride” off her bucket list. Thanks to the Lake Shore Harley Owners Group from Lake Shore Harley-Davidson, she hopped on Todd Herstedt’s 2001 Fat Boy and joined over 500 other motorcycles for a ride to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church for the annual blessing of the bikes. The 86-year-old Walther wore a pink T-shirt under her leather and wanted a biker name so they named her Pinky Tuscadero, the girl who dated Fonzie on Happy Days… That’s it for this month, folks. Don’t be a statistic out there, please. Ride fast, but ride safe.
