Belt Drive Betty's Blog

Support a couple of downed riders!

Rob Quinn, who's the Trenton area RFS co-ordinator, and Sam Jones sustained serious injuries in a head-on bike/car collision on July 19. 
 
Rob suffered a broken leg and spine injuries. Sam had a leg amputated and other injuries. 
Martin Emburg, who's a well-known good guy, and former Tweed area RFS co-ordinator for a coupla years, invites everyone to come to a support gathering for the above bikers. 
 
It's on Sun. Aug. 13, from 12-3pm 
At: Larry's Towing Yard, next to Don McCurdy's Chev/Olds in Trenton. 
They only ask a $10 donation. 
Great prizes, free food. 
 
You can send a donation by check (which is also welcome!) to: 
Martin Emburg 
P.O. Box 545 
327 Arthur St. 
Tweed, Ont. 
K0K 3J0

Support a couple of downed riders!

Belt Drive 0 riding community 8:40 PM

Rob Quinn, who's the Trenton area RFS co-ordinator, and Sam Jones sustained serious injuries in a head-on bike/car collision on July 19. Rob suffered a broken leg and spine injuries. Sam had a leg amputated and other injuries. Martin Emburg, who's a … Read more »

12Aug2006

Stolen Harley - Submitted by Cliff Brougham

Belt Drive 0 Cliff Brougham, Stolen Bike 12:49 PM

<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2975/2556/1600/dansharley%20005.0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2975/2556/320/dansharley%20005.0.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> 
I am trying to use the power of the internet to find my 2003 Harley Davidson Heritage Special that was STOLEN from my work parking lot today sometime after 2pm and before 3:30 from the Victoria Coast Guard Base. Please pass this along to everyone in your contact list if you would be so kind. I have had this motorcycle less than three weeks! Victoria isn't a very big place and if we get the word out quick enough it's just possible that I might recover the bike. I've included pictures, the license plate is K5 7273 and has a green DND sticker on the inside of the plate.  
 
The bike also has studded leather saddle bags and lots of chrome. If anyone spots the bike, please call the police, thanks for your help and please, again, forward this email, as soon as you can, I'm not trying to start some crazy chain letter, but rather recover what has been stolen from me. 
 
Thanks again, 
Dan 
<a href="mailto:dkettle@telus.net" title="mailto:dkettle@telus.net
dkettle@telus.net">dkettle@telus.net</a>

Stolen Harley - Submitted by Cliff Brougham

Belt Drive 0 Cliff Brougham, Stolen Bike 12:49 PM

I am trying to use the power of the internet to find my 2003 Harley Davidson Heritage Special that was STOLEN from my work parking lot today sometime after 2pm and before 3:30 from the Victoria Coast Guard Base. Please pass this along to everyone in… Read more »

12Aug2006

Links, tons of Canadian Motorcycle Group links!

Belt Drive 0 Motorcycle Community, Rider Friendly Business Association, Toys for Tots 11:31 AM

I have spent the last few weeks doing some major research for our web site. 
In all I have 244 motorcycle clubs, groups, associations and their chapters who have web sites to be added to our links section soon. 
Of course, Suzie has gone riding for the weekend - so these can't be added to the site until next week - but man am I happy with the information I have hunted for! 
 
I've been under the weather the last few days and as much as I want to go to the Ft. St. John Toys for Tots run - I can't - I can hardly hold myself up, much less a bike right now. 
Sucks hard cause it's real nice out for a change. 
Oh well, maybe next week. I'm going back to the couch and my blankie!

Links, tons of Canadian Motorcycle Group links!

Belt Drive 0 Motorcycle Community, Rider Friendly Business Association, Toys for Tots 11:31 AM

I have spent the last few weeks doing some major research for our web site. In all I have 244 motorcycle clubs, groups, associations and their chapters who have web sites to be added to our links section soon. Of course, Suzie has gone riding for the… Read more »

12Aug2006

Slobs on big noisy hogs

Belt Drive 2 American Motorcyclist Association, Community, Law & Politics, riding community 7:05 PM

My response to Mr. McKeen's article will appear in Thursdays paper. 
It may not be what you expect but it will definately cause you to think. 
Here's what he said: 
 
Slobs on big, noisy hogs make life miserable 
The Edmonton Journalby Scott McKeenPublished: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 
 
Slobs ride hogs.Slobs ride hogs that rattle windows, awaken children and scorch neighbourhoods with sonic waves of industrial thunder.You blame the motorcycle for that hellacious, thumping roar? I blame the people on them. Narcissistic people. The kind of people who spit on sidewalks, butt into lineups and allow the door to slam in your face. In short, slobs.I can't count the number of times I've been on Whyte Avenue and experienced the two-wheel equivalent of an F-18 flying under the street lamps. I've heard countless complaints from people in downtown highrises about revving, roaring motorcycles. 
Frankly, I'm sick of it. There are civic bylaws and provincial laws against excessive noise. But noise is considered a nuisance, not a crime. So the police enforce the laws when time and circumstance allow it -- in other words, almost never.In fairness, noise regulations, as written, are difficult to enforce. And the fines under the Highway Traffic Act, at $115, are not much of a deterrent.  
 
Maybe it's time to change those laws.According to the Motorcycle and Moped Industry Council, Transport Canada sets noise limits on motorcycle manufacturers at a reasonable 82 decibels.But a University of Florida study tested a random sample of street bikes and found half were capable of 100 decibels. One bike hit 119 decibels. To put that in perspective, the ear-splitting volumes at Rexall Place during the Oilers' playoff run, with nearly 17,000 screaming fans, peaked at about 116 decibels. Motorcycles get even noisier when they're modified with aftermarket exhaust systems. Worse yet are the hack handymen who remove the guts of the stock mufflers, turning their bikes into moving heavy metal concerts.Some guys claim noise makes their motorcycles safer. There's an old saying in the biker community: loud pipes save lives. The adage is just an excuse for selfish stupidity.Flemming Kristensen, the chief motorcycle instructor with the Alberta Safety Council, says there's no advantage to noise. Being visible is important to safety. Being audible? Nope. You don't hear a loud bike coming, you hear it leaving. Too late by then. Motorcycle rider groups are not silent on this issue. 
 
The American Motorcyclist Association, for example, has long opposed excessively noisy motorcycles.The association realizes that if the biker community doesn't voluntarily reduce noise levels, governments will step in. Already, a number of U.S. cities have proposed motorcycle bans because of excessive noise.Hob Murphy, the proprietor of Heritage Harley-Davidson in Edmonton, has been tackling the noise issue for years by talking to staff and clients. His firm does not sell loud aftermarket exhaust systems.Harley-Davidson, the company, is taking a progressive position against noise, too, says Murphy.  
Harleys get blamed for being the noisiest bikes of them all. But the company's earliest advertising, at the turn of the 20th century, used the slogan Silent Grey Fellow.Motorcycle gangs changed the image of Harleys. Riding a hog made you an outlaw. And how do you act like an outlaw now, if you don't wear gang colours? Scrap the mufflers. Go loud.To be fair, Harley-Davidson gets a bad rap. Japanese and European manufacturers make motorcycles with earth-shaking V-twin engines, too. Their riders modify their bikes, too.The key, says Murphy, is in educating motorcyclists on the nuisance factor. Good idea. But I'd go further. We need to tell owners of loud, modified bikes the ugly truth. You, sir, look like a buffoon to us. You are a slob on a hog.For the record, I'm not against motorcycles. Most riders are good people.  
 
I spent a recent Saturday afternoon cruising on the back of a friend's new motorcycle. Loved it.Some other friends own Vespa scooters, which are just motorcycles for hipsters, lads and metro sexuals. But even some of them modify their exhaust systems. Sigh.For the record, I am no fan of regulating people to death. Freedom is precious. But when people abuse those freedoms, we are forced to consider limits.The world is changing. We pack more and more people into close, urban spaces.  
 
To get along, people must respect the needs of others.If not, communities will rise up. Laws will change. Fines will increase. Motorcycles will be seized.You've been warned, slobs. Silence yourselves. Or you will be silenced. 
 
I HOPE YOU GUYS UP NORTH AREN'T GONNA TAKE THIS

Slobs on big noisy hogs

Belt Drive 2 American Motorcyclist Association, Community, Law & Politics, riding community 7:05 PM

My response to Mr. McKeen's article will appear in Thursdays paper. It may not be what you expect but it will definately cause you to think. Here's what he said: Slobs on big, noisy hogs make life miserable The Edmonton Journalby Scott McKeenPublishe… Read more »

07Aug2006