News Bytes
The Conference convened off with“ Tiger Mike” Revere and Tony Shepherd, NCOM Region 2 Directors, welcoming attendees and addressing“ Freedom of the Road throughout the Nation”, followed by NCOM Executive Coordinator“ Sarge” Matthews covering“ Discrimination among Ourselves / Outlawing our Existence as We Know It”. NCOM Attorney Joey Lester covered Court Case Updates, including judicial victories regarding“ No-Colors” Policies at Fairgrounds where Bikers are ejected because of their Patch Insignia.
After lunch, attendees participated in a forum dealing with“ The Tragedy of Waco”, featuring Joey Lester, TXCOC & I Chairman“ Gimme Jimmy”, and Louie Nobs and Dwayne Gryder from NCOM Christian Unity. A lot of accurate updates were shared to combat the disinformation advanced by the Media and Law Enforcement, and the program to raise funds to assist Waco Victims and their families was outlined. Go to www. onabike. com and contact NCOM Christian Unity for more information. NCOM Christian Unity Texas will be getting a Special Award for their hard work at this year’ s NCOM Convention in Atlantic City, and Christian Unity Liaison to the NCOM Board Louie Nobs is receiving the 2016 Ron Roloff Lifetime Achievement Award for his considerable efforts on behalf of Bikers everywhere over a lot of years.
Also featured at the Conference was“ Gimme Jimmy” talking about the importance of the U. S. Defenders Program in the light of the Waco shootings; and“ Double-D” and“ Twitch” from the Washington Confederation of Clubs, who spoke on“ Anti-Profiling Laws and How they Affect your State”. This was an important topic, since several COCs are very interested in getting this type of legislation passed in their states.
The Conference continued with the Regional Meeting, where Motorcycling Rights representatives spoke of Legislative and Legal Issues in their respective areas; and the Confederation of Clubs Regional Meeting, where COC Officers and representatives in attendance spoke of legal and lifestyle challenges and accomplishments.
The NCOM Regional Conference concluded with the Christian Unity Seminar and Meeting for spiritual riding groups, and following the Spiritual Service and Blessing of the Bikes on Sunday Morning, riders went their separate ways refreshed, informed and resolved to vigorously continue the defense of Biker Liberty into the New Year.”
MOTORCYCLE THEFT STATISTICS The National Insurance Crime Bureau has released its latest bike theft report, and while much of their annual report is predictable, such as most thefts occur in the summer, some statistics reveal some interesting nuggets of information:
Nationally, the NICB’ s“ 2014 United States Theft and Recovery report for 2014 and 2015” is better than in 2013. There were 42,856 motorcycle thefts recorded in 2014( 17,757, or 41 % of motorcycles were recovered) which is a 6 % decrease from the year prior. Considering motorcycle sales have increased 4 % from 2013( 465,783) to 2014( 483,526), this is good news. The number of thefts decreased is a sign of steady decline in motorcycle thefts since 2011, with 8 % fewer thefts in 2014 compared to three years prior. The top three states for motorcycle theft last year were California( 6,355), Florida( 3,981), and Texas( 3,274). The state with the fewest thefts was Wyoming, with a total of 23 last year. There are 16 states that saw an increase in the number of motorcycle thefts in 2014 compared to 2013, with DC having the highest increase( 54 %). There are 35 states that saw a decrease in the number of motorcycle thefts in 2014 compared to 2013, with Wyoming having the highest decrease(-43%).
WEIRD NEWS: RIDER LEARNS HARD LESSON IN JURISPRUDENCE A California man who lost a lawsuit over an erection has had his hopes for justice deflated once again, as a state appeals court in San Francisco affirmed an earlier judgment against him in a 2012 suit he brought against two motorcycling companies.
The plaintiff biker claimed an acute case of priapism, or painfully prolonged erection, due to seat vibrations, and sued both BMW and seat maker Corbin for product liability seeking damages due to negligence and infliction of emotional distress. The biker lost his case but decided to appeal, which turned out to be a big mistake, as the appellate court ruled that he failed to demonstrate any new intelligible argument and failed to comply with the rules of appellate procedure and ordered him to pay the defendants’ costs on appeal, a sum likely to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
QUOTABLE QUOTE:“ If it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves to be destroyed by the truth.” Carl Sagan( 1934-1996) astronomer and author www. thunderroadscolorado. com February 2016 Thunder Roads Magazine ® Colorado 31