The state Senate on Monday voted 21-16 and narrowly passed bill
SB43. The bill modifies the California Vehicle Code to make it a crime to operate a motorcycle manufactured after Jan. 1, 2013, that fails to meet federal noise-emission control standards. Meaning that Motorcyclists whose vehicles lack the proper U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stamp on the stock exhaust can would be subject to a fine of up to $100 for first-time offenders.
"Basic common sense and decency dictates that when a motorcycle drives by and sets off every car alarm on the street, that is too loud," said the bill's author, Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills.
Many people feel loud pipes save live and other anti- bill people feel that there are laws already on the books to deal with the modified exhaust issue. "This is just an extra layer of bureaucracy," said Wayne Harter, an owner of a Harley-Davidson dealership in San Jose. "Our scarce police resources could be better utilized." Harter, who has been riding for more than 40 years, said adequate laws already are in place to deal with motorcycle noise and illegal mufflers.
The bill now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign or not sign into law. The Gov. is a known motorcycle enthusiast and has sevral of them. But he is also known as an environmentalist so it is anyone's guess if he will sign the bill or not. Matt Connelly, a spokesman in the governor's press office, said Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on Pavley's bill.

After more then 40 years, the motorcycle industry stalwart Cycle News has ceased operations. The weekly magazine fired longtime editor Paul Carruthers last week and many industry insiders considered that an ominous sign for the struggling publication. Sharon Clayton, the longtime publisher of Cycle News has yet to make an official announcement.

I had the pleasure of meeting Hells Angels icon, Ralph "Sonny" Barger and his wife Zorana at Mike Corbins party in Hollister, California this July. Though more a Sport Rider than a "Biker," I have always been fascinated with Sonny, and I have to say, after meeting him, I am impressed even more!

Ken Kesey once wrote, "I try to be a warrior like my heroes and writing is just one blade on my Swiss Army Samurai sword." I have always tried to emulate that philosophy myself, and its not just Sonnys "warrior" aspect that I find fascinating, its more his tenacity and longevity.

Sonny was a founding member of the Oakland Chapter of the Hells Angels back in 1957 and has appeared or popped up in places as diverse as the movies; "Hells Angels on Wheels" and "Hells Angels 69" and books; Hunter Thompsons, "Hells Angels: The Strange & Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs," and Tom Wolfs, "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. He was at the Rolling Stones infamous Altamont concert in 69 and in 88 served four years in Federal Prison on unrelated charges. He has published about a half dozen books and gone from Ex-Con to paying the IRS a half a million dollars in taxes last year...

My goal is to make you a lifelong motorcyclist. You’ll need to do a lot more than just buy a $20,000 Harley—you’ll need to devote yourself to not only learning to ride, but learning to appreciate the ride. You’ll know you’ve become a serious motorcyclist when you stop riding just because your buddies are taking their bikes out together and you start riding because you can’t wait to feel the freedom of the open road. Hell, you won’t ride because you want to ride; you’ll ride because you need to ride...



From the book, "LET'S RIDE: Sonny Barger's Guide to Motorcycling."
Copyright © 2010 by Sonny Barger Productions.
Reprinted courtesy of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

The Kawasaki Concours 1400 police bike. The California Highway Patrol has contracted for 300 of the units and beat out BMW for the right to supply the police agency. The Corbin factory will be supplying the new police bikes with comfortable seats.

Secret Society Scooter Club is the oldest continuously operating scooter club in the US and is no stranger to throwing a party. This June marked the 24th year that the San Francisco chapter has thrown their signature rally, Scooter Rage.

The usual event typically consists of welcoming riders from all over the US and the world who will bring 200-300 vintage and modern (mostly) Italian scooters for rides and events all over the city of San Francisco and beyond. Events include scenic and sport oriented rides, live and DJ'd music, food and plenty of chances to socialize with fellow enthusiasts. This year the club has decided to add an event to the mix which is unprecedented in the scooter world, a 24 hour time/distance endurance event.

With a bit of obvious inspiration from the legendary Le Mans race the 24 Heures du Rage event allows teams of riders to pit their machines against the clock and the streets of San Francisco. The event will begin on the afternoon if Saturday the 19th and end Sunday the 20th. Teams will consist of three to six riders and there will be a vintage and a modern class. www.secretsociety.org.

For scooter info, check out Karryll Nason's ScooterPhile blog below. And be sure to check out her ScooterPhile column in the UM magazine for a complete calendar of scooter events in the Bay Area.

I always had a fondness for Dennis Hopper. Not only did I feel he did a better acting job in “Easy Rider” than Peter Fonda, but I liked his character of “Billy” in the movie, more than Fonda’s and felt it was semi-autobiographical. It was also pretty obvious non-acting in the one scene in New Orleans when he almost gets into a fight with a guy on Bourbon Street, showcasing his volatile temper.
Besides “Easy Rider” Hopper was also in quite a few of my other favorites, like “Apocalypse Now”, “Blue Velvet”, “Cool Hand Luke” and “True Grit”.
He first came to fame acting with James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause”, where he and Dean, both being true rebels, became close friends. One of my favorite stories of Hopper’s is when he was doing the movie “Giant”, Dean’s third and final film. On the set of the movie with Dean, during the filming in a very small Texas town, the entire population would come out and watch them shoot each day. Hopper was surprised when he witnessed Dean walk out in front of the crowd of townspeople, whip out his dick and take a piss right there in front of all of them!

Supermoto, Motocross & Baja Desert Racing-

The Xtreme LivFast events were hosted at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV June 17-20 and
captured by UM photo-journalist Glen Coddington in Current Issue (to your right!)

Glen interviewed Richard Silverman, the extremely innovative CEO of the Sierra Grand Resort. Fortunately for us, Richard is a huge moto enthusiast and next year’s Xtreme Outlaw event is going to be even wilder!

UM: The Xtreme of Xtreme Outlaws ties in with the Grand Sierra Resort sports bar - how did this event come to be? And how did you formulate the concept behind the sports bar?

RS: I came up with the concept for the sports bars a few years back. It became apparent to me that the concept of sports in general had shifted dramatically and that for a younger demographic, sports had become something far more extreme and non-traditional compared to your typical NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB sports. If the athletes were not risking life and limb at every turn, it just wasn't cool enough for this new generation of sports enthusiasts.

Be warned, dirt ride park opponents. Austrian firm KTM will become the first large scale manufacturer to produce an electric bike called the Freeride going into full production in 18 months.

The prototype was unveiled at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show with an enduro and a supermoto version going on sale at under $15,000 dollars.

Of the two versions being made – the supermoto machine will be fully-road homologated. KTM is presenting the enduro version as ‘a new chance for off road riding’ as it can get around the noise issues that have seen so many riding tracks shut following complaints.

KTM sees this as a way that motocross tracks could be moved into urban areas to allow more people to ride – just like BMX or skate parks are in the middle of urban areas.

Both bike essentially share the same architecture. This means a 10bhp power output from the lithium ion battery in a delta box frame with self-supporting subframe. The bike has an overall weight of 198 pounds and KTM claims the low weight combined with the fairly low power output still allows the Freeride to match the performance of an equivalent 125cc internal combustion machine.

"BMW’s stunningly fast S1000RR has defeated all eight of its major rivals on the race track, comfortably annihilating the competition from both Japan and Europe." (MCN news)

Experts took part in the annual Masterbike test at the new Motorland circuit near Valencia, Spain, where all nine 1000cc inline-fours and 1200 V-twin sportsbikes competed head-to-head. The manufacturers were allowed to select from a choice of track tyres to suit their machines, and set suspension up to suit track riding. Each bike was subject to an independent dyno test to ensure the bikes weren’t tuned.

And if you like this story, just wait for Urban Moto's March issue featuring the BMW S100RR - coming soon!

Pictured right, Wade Boyd on the revered Beemer, by Conan Soranno

Ducati is aiming the new Multistrada 1200 straight at the heart of the BMW R1200GS, but has given the motorcycle an ultra-modern twist and 150 bhp! There are two versions of the Multistrada 1200 – a standard version that can be specified with or without ABS and then a higher specification S.

The S can be ordered in either Sport Edition or Touring Edition. The Sport has carbon fibre parts like engine covers, front air intakes, rear mudguard and spoilers. The Touring has panniers, heated grips and a centre stand. The S also gets the Ohlins electronically adjustable suspension system.

“Cafe Society” is the first full-length documentary to chronicle the origins, legacy and rebirth of the Cafe Racer subculture. Two years in the making and shot in Europe (mainly England) and the US, this documentary provides an intimate view.
The Cafe Racer Cult had been kept very much alive by events - Rocker Reunions held on London’s Chelsea Bridge, and goings-on at Ace Cafe in London. But very few know about the rich history of the Ton-Up culture and the stories of the men and women who created the first high-performance street bikes. To take you on the city streets wild ride, the film features great rockabilly music as stripped-down as a Bonneville Bobber. A Chet Burks Productions with Mike Seate reporting and interviews.
Pre-order the DVD by at the Cafe Society Website.