Born To Ride LifeStyle

HARLEY-DAVIDSON® AUTHORIZED TOURS WELCOMES NEW TOUR OPERATOR

Renowned motorcycle tour operator Edelweiss Bike Travel joins forces with Harley-Davidson for a dedicated touring program MILWAUKEE (Mar. 25, 2014) – In an exciting new partnership, Harley-Davidson is teaming up with Edelweiss Bike Travel as part of its Harley-Davidson® Authorized Tours program to offer riders a brand-new selection of premium riding tours across Europe and Africa. “We are thrilled to be working with Edelweiss, whose experience in motorcycle touring makes this a natural fit for Harley-Davidson. Only the best and most experienced tour operators manage the Harley-Davidson Authorized Tours service, so it's great to have Edelweiss on board. They understand…
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6TH ANNUAL SAM SWOPE CHARITY RIDE RAISES $350,000 FOR SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN® – TAMPA

 (TAMPA, Fla., March 2014) - - The 2014 6th Annual Sam Swope Charity Ride presented by Bahia Shriners took place on March 9, 2014 in the Orlando area. The 40 mile ride was led by Mr. Sam Swope, benefactor of the ride. The bikers made their way to Seminole Harley Davidson in Sanford, Florida where the efforts to support expert medical care at Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Tampa continued with live and silent auctions, refreshments and a Foghat concert. This ride generated $350,000 for Shriners Hospitals for Children®-Tampa - a tremendous impact for the hospital that provides orthopaedic specialty…
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HARLEY SCREAMIN’ EAGLE V-RODS RACE TO ROUND TWO AT GAINESVILLE

Hines and Krawiec Open NHRA Pro Stock Drag Season with a Solid Performance GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 16, 2014) – Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle®/Vance & Hines riders Andrew Hines and Ed Krawiec qualified their Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycles in the top six and each won a single round in Sunday eliminations at the 45th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway. The event was the season-opener for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.   “We didn’t run as well as were we hoping after testing during the week, but we are on the…
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WYMAN WINS THIRD AMA PRO VANCE & HINES HARLEY-DAVIDSON RACE AT DAYTONA

  Top 10 Riders Finish Within Half Second in Huge Drafting Battle MILWAUKEE (March 15, 2014) – Kyle Wyman (KWR/Millennium Technologies) cemented his mastery of the Daytona draft by winning his third AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley Davidson series race in four career tries at Daytona International Speedway Friday, expertly setting up a final lap move that brought him to the front of an 11-rider pack battling for the victory on the last of seven laps around the famed 3.5-mile road course.   Wyman’s 0.068-second margin of victory turned the tables on runner-up Tyler O’Hara (Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels’ H-D),…
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HARLEY-DAVIDSON, MARVEL INVITE FANS INTO THE ACTION AND ONTO THE RED CARPET

Harley-Davidson, Marvel Invite Fans into the Action and onto the Red Carpet at Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier Hollywood Movie Premiere Harley-Davidson Street™ 750 Motorcycle Makes Hollywood Film Debut; Iconic Brand Surprises Fans with VIP Red Carpet Experience   MILWAUKEE (Mar. 14, 2014) – Harley-Davidson and Marvel LLC hosted a surprise, one hour “for the fans” engagement at Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie premiere in Hollywood March 13, following the close of the red carpet. Fans at the event were spontaneously selected to walk and experience the official red carpet and to check out a brand new…
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HARLEY-DAVIDSON SCREAMIN’ EAGLE DRAG TEAM SET FOR OPENER AT GAINESVILLE

Hines and Krawiec Confident and Ready to Race after R&D-Focused Off-Season MILWAUKEE (March 13, 2014) – The Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle®/Vance & Hines drag racing team is warmed up and ready to rumble at the 45th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, March 14-16 at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville. The event is the season-opener for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.   Fresh from two days of testing at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga., riders Ed Krawiec and Andrew Hines arrive at the Gatornationals with a pair of fine-tuned, earth-shaking Harley-Davidson®…
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MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY COUNCIL RECOGNIZES PAUL VITRANO’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO POWERSPORTS INDUSTRY

MIC Extends Best of Wishes to Vitrano in New Industry Position IRVINE, Calif., March 11, 2014 – The Motorcycle Industry Council wishes MIC General Counsel Paul Vitrano the best as he prepares to join Polaris Industries as vice president of global government relations, effective March 17. In addition to serving as MIC and Motorcycle Safety Foundation general counsel, Vitrano also served as executive vice president and general counsel for both the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America and the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association. Vitrano first began working with the MIC in 1999 as outside counsel alongside MIC consultant Stu Ross, founder…
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FROM MARCH 7-16, AMA RIDING, RACING CONVERGES ON DAYTONA BEACH BIKE WEEK

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- One of the biggest bashes in motorcycling kicks off this weekend as Daytona Beach Bike Week revs into high gear, and the American Motorcyclist Association will be front and center at a number of events, from the woods to beachside.  The annual migration of hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists to Daytona Beach, Fla., began with the Daytona 200, a race that got its start in 1937 when AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Ed Kretz Sr. won the inaugural event. Today, Bike Week features nearly all forms of national-caliber motorcycle competition as well as a long list of…
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FESTIVALS OF SPEED MARCH 7 – MARCH 8

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BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL WOULD BAN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR MOTORCYCLE-ONLY CHECKPOINTS

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- A bipartisan bill introduced today by U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) would prohibit the use of federal funds in establishing motorcycle-only checkpoints. This is a similar bill to H.R. 1861, introduced in in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.). Specifically, the "Stop Motorcycle Checkpoint Funding Act" would restrict the Secretary of Transportation from granting funds to any government entity for a program to check helmet use or to create checkpoints for an operator of a motorcycle or a passenger on a motorcycle.…
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EPA DECISIONS FAVOR E10, HAMPER EFFORTS TO EXTEND E15 AVAILABILITY

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- New regulations unveiled March 3 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency include two key provisions that help protect motorcyclists and all-terrain vehicle owners from damaging their engines and possibly voiding manufacturers' warranties, the American Motorcyclist Association reports. The EPA adopted E10 -- a fuel containing up to 10 percent ethanol by volume -- as its standard test fuel, beginning in 2017. The pro-ethanol industry had pressed for adoption of E15 as the standard test fuel. The AMA submitted comments to the EPA to oppose the E15 standard in June 2013. Also, the agency refused to grant a…
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SAM SWOPE RIDE — SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014

Meet Leigh Dittman When 13-yr-old Leigh Dittman was an infant, she was diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), or brittle bone disease. OI is a genetic disorder characterized by bones that break easily, often from little or no apparent cause. Leigh has been a patient of Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Tampa since infancy. She had six broken bones in utero, 34 breaks, seven rod surgeries in her femurs and tibias and receives medication that helps make her bones stronger, all at the Tampa Hospital. Leigh and her parents are determined to help other children in need of Shriners Hospitals for…
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THE AMA PRESENTS THE BIKE WEEK PREMIER OF “WHY WE RIDE,” MARCH 13 IN DAYTONA BEACH, FL — FREE FOR AMA MEMBERS

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The American Motorcyclist Association is pleased to present the Daytona Bike Week premiere of the acclaimed motorcycling documentary film "Why We Ride" on March 13 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Best of all, it's free for AMA members! The movie will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Paragon Ocean Walk theater just across from the parking deck on the beachside in Daytona Beach (250 N Atlantic Ave). Tickets can be reserved in advance at the following link: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=vw9ldxbab&oeidk=a07e8zzbsky17598cf2 Non-members are also welcome, and tickets can be purchased from the above link for just $5 each. Seating is…
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MOVE OVER SPA VACATIONS! MORE WOMEN BUYING MOTORCYCLES TO DE-STRESS

  Female motorcycle ownership increases as women discover motorcycling helps them find balance and peace in their lives Livingston, MT -- (March 4, 2014) -- More women than ever before are choosing motorcycling as their way to unwind and de-stress from their busy lives. Latest motorcycle ownership numbers, just released by the Motorcycle Industry Council, show female motorcycle owners rose to 12.5 percent up from 10.5 percent in 2009. This comes as no surprise to Genevieve Schmitt, founder and editor of the leading resource for female motorcyclists, WomenRidersNow.com. She has her pulse on the women's motorcycling demographic. "More than ever,…
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SAE INTERNATIONAL ADOPTS TEST BASED ON MIC PROTOCOL FOR DETERMINING ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE TOP SPEED

Standardized Method Can Benefit Consumers IRVINE, Calif., Mar. 03, 2014 – SAE International, recognized worldwide for developing motor vehicle standards, has adopted a new top speed test based on the protocol developed by the Motorcycle Industry Council’s Electric Vehicle Subcommittee. Prior to the development of this standardized test procedure, electric motorcycle manufacturers used different methods to calculate top speed, which presented a challenge for consumers interested in comparing various electric motorcycles. “With several brands of electric motorcycles on the market, having standardized testing protocol is vital,” said Abe Askenazi, chair of the MIC’s Electric Vehicle Subcommittee and chief technology officer…
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AMA TO CONGRESS: IRS PLAN WOULD ‘STIFLE NONPARTISAN SPEECH’

  PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- A new rule proposed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service would stifle nonpartisan speech and create a de-facto blackout period around elections, barring some citizens from communicating with elected officials, Wayne Allard, vice president of government relations for the American Motorcyclist Association, told a congressional subcommittee on Thursday, Feb. 27. Allard, a former U.S. senator from Colorado, offered comments about the IRS' proposed guidance to tax-exempt corporations organized under Section 501(c)(4) of Title 26. "The proposed rule the IRS seeks to implement will stifle nonpartisan speech in a manner that leads to a less informed electorate,"…
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