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f you ride a Harley-Davidson, you might want to take part in this trans-USA endurance event. Scheduled to start on August 5, 2011, in Mesa, Arizona, and finish in Nova Scotia, Canada, the route will cover 10,000 plus miles and pass through all 48 contiguous United States. Last year’s winner, Will Barclay, completed a Florida to Alaska route in just over 8 days. Apart from being a spectacular ride of itself, there will be $500,000 in prize money which will be distributed among the top 25 finishers. Members of the H.O.G. Club may have a chance to win a 2012 CVO motorcycle. While you do have to complete the entire course to be eligible for prizes, it’s possible to do just part of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge if you’re short on time but want to participate. Be warned. This is meant to be an endurance event, so participants are not allowed to have support teams following them around, and will be expected to camp out along the route. This year the organizers of the challenge have signed up David Roma, producer of Academy Award nominated documentary Gasland, to create a feature-length documentary on the Challenge and the riders participating in it. All riders may be interviewed for the documentary, and some will have cameras mounted on their bikes. In addition, there will be mobile units and helicopters following the action. You can find more information on the Hoka Hey website. It’s possible to register right up until August 4, the day before the start. If you check out the website blog, you’ll find some hints about where the route will run—it sounds amazing.

There will be many interested eyes looking at motorcycles this weekend in California as the LA Calendar Motorcycle Show take place in Long Beach. But bikers heading to event should know that some of those interested parties aren’t just fellow motorcycle enthusiasts looking at the latest in two-wheeled designs, but the Long Beach Police Department. A statement released yesterday stated that the Long Beach Police Department will be scrutinizing motorcycle safety and laws this weekend with an 8-hour operation paid for by state and federal grants. Not only will the Long Beach Police Department’s Traffic Division patrol citywide and focus on collision-prone areas but they will also be checking for equipment and helmet violations as well as moving violations by riders and motorists. While using the occasion of a motorcycle event to ‘scrutinize motorcycle safety’ may raise some eyebrows, if it takes the form of checkpoints, the Long Beach police could find themselves riding into a nationwide controversy. New York and Georgia are among the states cited by lawmakers who are upset that government grants are being used to fund ‘motorcycle only’ checkpoints. The issue cumulated in a bill introduced by Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) prohibiting the DOT "from providing grants or any funds to a state, county, town, or township, Indian tribe, municipal or other local government to be used for any program to check helmet usage or create checkpoints for a motorcycle driver or passenger." After New York State operated ‘motorcycle only’ checkpoints using state funds last year, a lawsuit was considered in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York which questions their legal foundation. The lawsuit notes the Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly made it clear that any roadway checkpoint whose primary purpose is general crime control constitutes an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment and is presumptively unconstitutional. Motorcycle advocacy groups have joined with a bipartisan group of politicians in fighting the federally funded motorcycle only checkpoints. Among the reasons given for the checkpoints, both by officials conducting them and the prescribed use of the federal funds is for motorcycle safety. However, when pressed on the matter, officials involved in some checkpoints have admitted the checkpoints focus on equipment violations and forged and stolen VINs, and don’t address any of the major causes of motorcycle accidents such as reckless driving, driver inattentiveness and alcohol impairment. In its announcement, Long Beach Police stated ‘Studies cite speeding and impairment due to alcohol or drugs as a contributing factor in many motorcycle crashes as well as inexperience.’ The Long Beach Police will carry out the eight hour operation on Saturday between from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A  pub in Ripon, New Yorkshire, U.K. marked American Independence Day by inviting a group of US-style bikers to show off their motorcycles to the pub’s lunchtime customers. The Black Bull on Old Market Square marked July 4 by welcoming some iconic Harley Davidsons, and their owners, to the pub. Landlord Daniel Short hit on the idea when he was trying to come up with an eye-catching way of launching the pub’s new menu, which includes an American-style Skyscraper Burger, and marking the USA’s national day. “Harleys are synonymous with the USA and when we were considering how to celebrate Independence Day and launch the new menu they were the first thing that came to mind. “You can’t help notice a Harley going by and the spectacle certainly seemed to bring out a celebratory mood in our regulars.” His idea went down well with the bikes attracting admiring glances and comments from pub customers and shoppers in the market square. “I had a number of positive comments from people who had come to the pub for their lunch, and many of them joined in the celebrations by ordering from the American section of the menu. “I think we succeeded in creating a buzz on what otherwise could have been a normal Monday, generally not everyone’s favourite day of the week.” Elsewhere in Ripon traders declared their own “Independents Day” to celebrate the independently owned shops and businesses in the city. Shops and cafes decorated their shop fronts with colorful red, white and blue balloons to encourage city residents and visitors to make at least one purchase in an independently owned shop. The Chamber of Trade and GRIP both supported the day, which was set up to highlight the diversity of services Ripon has to to offer. It took place for the first time this year and was promoted nationally by TV retail supremo and government high street advisory Mary Portas.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A new exhibit at the Harley-Davidson Museum is proof the Milwaukee motorcycle maker is about much more than its classic hogs. An all-leather motorcycle made in Japan, rarely seen prototype bikes and a rocket engine that powered drone missiles during the Vietnam War are just a few of the items the company has dug out of its archive for "Collection X: Weird, Wild Wonders of the Harley-Davidson Museum." The museum's senior curator, Kristen Jones, said certain items were chosen to tell particular stories when the museum opened nearly three years ago. But many got left in storage, only to be glimpsed by museum goers on special behind-the-scenes tours. It's from those tours that curators got the idea to put together the new exhibit, said Jim Fricke, curatorial director. "You see the look on people's faces when you let them into the climate-controlled storage area and we begin to pull out this treasure," he said. "So we decided to play off the kind of mystery embodied in the kind of secret storehouse. That's where the theme came from." The exhibit, which runs through Aug. 21, includes a 1920s leather aviator's facemask, a tiered "trophy cake" that displays racing trophies from the early 1900s and handmade kidney belts that riders wore through the years. "There are a lot of different chapters, and there are chapters that aren't as well-known as others," said museum vice president Bill Davidson, the great-grandson of Harley-Davidson Motor Co. co-founder William A. Davidson, describing the history of the company where he's worked most of his life. He said just talking about the exhibit gives him goose bumps. The vehicles on display highlight a lesser-known side of the popular motorcycle maker. There's the all-leather motorcycle, a ¾-scale replica that it took 20 craftspeople from a Japanese company specializing in leather products more than two years to complete. There's the Rikuo model, the first motorcycle manufactured in Japan, which was made by a company that licensed the tooling and design of a Harley. There's also a prototype of a liquid-cooled motor-cross bike from 1978 when the company considered getting into that market, and "Project K," an experimental, three-wheel vehicle from the mid-1980s that was a cross between a motorcycle and a car powered by a Harley engine. Theresa Illingworth, 46, of Milwaukee, said she had only associated Harley-Davidson with the loud rumble of their motorcycles — a sound that always annoyed her. She came away from her first visit to the museum with a new appreciation for the company. She said the exhibit stayed true to its weird and wild billing, but "in a good way." She was impressed with the Cyclone Motor-Sled, a 10-foot-long canvas-covered spruce snowmobile that the Mead Co. sold as a kit for $38.50. Mead had recommended using engines from Harley motorcycles during winter months when their owners weren't using them. "It was very interesting, very fun," Illingworth said. Harley-Davidson has 500 vehicles in its archive, as well as 150,000 photos and negatives, 7,000 pieces of clothing and accessories, and loads of marketing literature, manuals, business documents and personal mementos like journals and diaries. The archive dates back to when the company started in 1903. Davidson said walking through the exhibit brought back many memories. "It's very rewarding for me to see these and remember back when we were actually testing them, riding them," he said of the vehicles on display. "Very exciting."

A motorcycle featured on KDLT News last month is making an appearance at Automania in Sioux Falls. The event takes place Friday night in downtown Sioux Falls. The girls at the Abbott House in Mitchell helped rebuild a Harley Davidson Heritage Harley Softail and named it "Salt". They helped design the gas tank, fenders and paint job. The motorcycle is being raffled off this fall with the proceeds going to the home for troubled girls. Laura Klock of Klock Werks Motorcycles in Mitchell worked with the girls through her Helping with Horsepower Program. The $20 raffle tickets will be available at Automania. The event runs Friday from 5:15 until 11 PM and features classics, muscle cars and hot rods. Raffle tickets for the Abbott House Motorcycle can also be purchased at abbotthouse.org

Monday, June 20 is the 19th annual Ride to Work Day. If you're so inclined (and have a motorcycle that will give wheels to your fancy), ditch the car and hop on a hog (or Vespa or scooter) and two-wheel your way to the office. According to the U.S. Census, of the 129,141,982 people who commute daily in the United States only 147,703 (.11 percent) ride motorcycles. Motorcycle enthusiasts are quick to extol the virtues of two wheels. In addition to the hair-raising feeling of freedom one gets from the ride, there are economic incentives to ride motorcycles as well. According to the United States Department of Transportation, motorcycles consume 56 percent less fuel than automobiles. Are you riding to work Monday? Do you ever ride to work -- on motorcycle or bike? Please let me know here!

Polaris Industries Inc. has recalled certain 2011 Victory Cross Country motorcycles because their handlebars may slip, possibly causing the operator to suddenly lose control of the vehicle. Medina-based Polaris (NYSE: PII) said the handlebar clamps or risers may have been machined improperly, according to a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Polaris said the recall affects 840 cycles made this year through April 11. Polaris is notifying owners, and dealers will replace defective parts free of charge.

You’re looking at the first time in history a Harley-Davidson Road King has been asked to perform a back flip. You’re also looking at a very lucky man. Aussie stunt rider Kain Saul – who on an XR1200 became the first man to successfully flip a Harley in 2009 – only just avoided having the 367kg bike land on top of him. Not a problem in a foam pit – where the stunt was being practised – you might think. But you underestimate the crushing ability of an upside-down Road King in freefall, and the danger a leaking fuel breather poses submerged in 20ft of flammable foam. "Shit man, that was a panic" admits the bike’s builder, and boss of Harley dealer Quick-Fix Mildura, Gavin Walker. "It was going to rain, so Kain didn’t have time to practise on the XR. The ground was damp, we didn’t have enough run up, and we had to be quick. But Kain got psyched to do it, and once he’d gone he’d gone." By the ramp's end a couple of important differences between the XR and the Road-King were apparent. The bike's standard heavier-flywheel, longer-stroke motor is slow to rev and the standard gearing a bit leggy for the job in hand. "He just wasn’t making enough torque" explains Walker. "On the XR he leaves the ramp pulling about 3000rpm, but it was under two on the Road King. He soon got the feeling it wasn’t going to come round all the way". High engine speed is critical to success as the gyroscopic force generated by the spinning crank is what provides most of the bike’s ability to flip. The bike effectively tries to rotate around its own crank as soon the wheels leave the ground. Theoretically, thanks to its heavy flywheel, it’s a job the Road King should be able to do well. The jeapordy wasn’t over once rider Saul had abandoned ship. Says Walker: "The bike buried itself 20ft down, started pissing out fuel and the exhaust caught on some of the foam. The boys had to dive down and keep coming back up with smouldering chunks until the crane came" – something which took longer than expected after the planned three-ton crane failed to lift the bike from the bottom of the pit. It was replaced with a seven-tonner. Work will now focus on tuning the motor and lowering the gearing to attain the necessary off-ramp engine speed.  

A spry, white-haired woman with bright blue eyes slid into the sidecar of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Sporting a Harley-Davidson tattoo around her right arm and wearing a Rolling Thunder T-shirt, Lorena Schmidt smiled from ear to ear. "This is good," she yelled to the driver. "Let's go to St. Pete." She gave her friends a thumbs up as she drove by a small crowd gathered in front of Jupiter Village, an assisted-living community in Cape Coral. It was the best present a 102-year-old retired teacher could have asked for, she said. Lorena wanted to do something she'd never done in honor of her 102 birthday, which is June 13. "I've never been on a bike of any kind," she said. She told Daisy Godbe, activities director at Juniper Village, about her wish and Daisy set the wheels in motion. Bobby Wallaver and his friends from the Rolling Thunder Chapter 10 of Naples roared into town to take Lorena on a once-in-a-lifetime birthday ride. Once Lorena's ride was over, almost two dozen residents stood in line to get a turn. "I was flabbergasted," Bobby said. "I wished it would never end." Everybody noticed an extra bounce in Lorena's step after her motorcycle ride. "Yes, I saw her with her nose stuck in the air," said her friend and dining companion, Majoria Binau, 94, who did not take a spin on the bike. They both live at Jupiter Village. "She looks like a tough little hussie." Majoria and Lorena eat most of their meals together. "She's got a hearty appetite," Majoria said. "She likes everything." The two women spend a lot of time joking and laughing - and always enjoying dessert. "Eat today, diet tomorrow," Lorena said as she dug into a piece of pecan pie. Lorena has always been fully engaged in her life. She was raised in Dunkirk, N.Y., and has one daughter, Alicia Schmidt of Cape Coral, who she talks to every day. She moved to the Cape 45 years ago and worked as a second-grade teacher at Cape Elementary. Before that she taught in elementary school at Dunkirk. A student from New York recently contacted her and told her his age. "I told him, 'I don't care how old your father is, how old are you?' " "He told me he was a retired farmer and he was 82 years old." She doesn't know how everyone has gotten so old. She feels strong and doesn't have any significant health problems, she said. "I used to swing from my hips and now I swing from my ankles," she said with a smile. She knows how fortunate she is and is grateful for her health, faith and sense of humor. "I try not to brag, knock on wood and kiss my thumb," she said. She could brag just a little bit. She's now an honorary member of the Rolling Thunder Chapter 10. "They better respect me, baby," she said about the residents at Jupiter Village. "Or I'll get my gang after them."