The H-D 21 Virtual Launch

H-D 21 Virtual Broadcast

The H-D 21 virtual broadcast was an all digital event to announce new 2021 motorcycles, parts and accessories.

The new model launch yesterday came less than a year after the motor company reported plans to streamline its product portfolio by 30% while overhauling its launch timing (historically every August) and go-to-market practices for maximum impact.

As soon as the media, dealers and consumers logged into the Harley-Davidson online portal, I knew this year’s product launch was going to be … different.

The event opened with a long video montage on the joys of the motorcycling experience.  I watched Jason Mamoa gush about his Harley family, or “Ohana” — you’ll remember him as Aquaman.

As someone who has served time in the trenches creating marketing campaigns, this was the traditional entertainer-as-a-promotional vehicle initiative.  The idealized figure introduced Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz who teased the audience with a number of motorcycles and projects that he apparently can’t speak about yet.

Huh?

As the motorcycle launch wore on, with a selection of motor company smooth-talking prognosticators from various departments sharing bits of information about updates to Cruiser, Touring and CVO models, the value of an all-virtual Harley-Davidson product roll-out actually became less clear. The new products, which we usually look forward to, felt less exciting. It’s hard to determine the viability of any product by watching a slick video about it in a browser. The discussions about the Harley-Davidson future of motorcycling felt less like revelatory conversations and more like a TED Talk that I’d scroll past in my Twitter feed.

For me the serendipity of discovery was gone. One of the most exciting parts of a product launch has been finding out about something or learning about something new through pure chance. At a virtual H-D 21, that’s a virtual impossibility.

Street Bob 114

But, I’ve digressed.

Cruiser Updates
Harley stated that the Street Bob 114 is the lightest Softail model to be equipped with the Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine. The legendary Fat Boy receives refreshed styling for 2021, getting brilliant chrome instead of satin chrome on the engine and exhaust, the front end, the rear fender struts and console.

Touring Models
The 2021 Touring lineup includes three baggers that feature the Milwaukee-Eight 114 motor: Road King Special, Road Glide Special and Street Glide Special. The Street Glide Special and Road Glide Special get new two-tone paint options, and a choice of a blacked-out or bright chrome styling treatment – a choice between dark and sinister, or brilliant and more traditional.

Fat Boy

Road King Special and Street Glide Special models get a new brilliant Daymaker LED headlamp. All Harley-Davidson Touring models that are equipped with the colour touchscreen Boom! Box GTS infotainment system that now have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. The feature requires a wired connection to a smartphone rather than going through Bluetooth.

CVO Models
Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) motorcycles are the poster child for Harley-Davidson’s styling and performance. The Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-Twin engine is exclusive to CVO models as standard equipment. For 2021, the CVO Street Glide and CVO Road Glide models receive all-new Harley-Davidson Audio provided through an exclusive partnership with Rockford Fosgate.

CVO Limited

The audio systems, featuring speakers and amplifiers, were designed specifically for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. These components will also be made available through Harley-Davidson Genuine Motor Parts & Accessories for 2014 and newer Touring models equipped with a Boom! Box infotainment unit.

The 2021 CVO models (CVO Street Glide, CVO Road Glide, CVO Limited and CVO Tri Glide) all feature new paint options and styling features. All four CVO models are also equipped with RDRS safety equipment, including Cornering Enhanced Electronic Linked Braking, Cornering Enhanced ABS, Cornering Enhanced Traction Control, Drag-Torque Slip Control, Vehicle Hold Control, and Tire Pressure Monitoring System.

Pan America 1250

Pan America Global Reveal
The upcoming and over exposed Pan America 1250 adventure tourer was previewed in the virtual launch broadcast, but the most important details weren’t provided as it’s official launch is set for February 22nd. Mark your calendar and register for the event HERE.

It will be interesting to compare how this virtual launch broadcast performs in attracting potential motorcycle buyers and if it will drive demand for products or make an emotional connection to the Harley-Davidson brand.

It’s been my experience that: “People don’t buy “what” you do, they buy “why” you do it.”  — Simon Sinek

Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson

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Discovery Hustle – The Devils Ride Season 3

The Devils Ride – Season 3

This is the most important thing you’ll read today!  It’s like a twist of color on the tweed surface of life.

Yeah, I’m talking about The Devils Ride.  You know… the “reality” TV show about a couple San Diego motorcycle clubs who are sightseers on a mission.

Season 3 started last week and here I thought the Biker Club ‘rode through the pearly gates’ and was buried, but somehow the show was resesitated for another season.

Sure every time I mention the show I get hits.  But, I’m not looking for Google pennies because I don’t run ads!  I’ve been consistent.  About the show’s producers, the reality TV “actors” and how the show leaves many of us feeling embarrassed.

For the uninitiated here is a quick recap:
The Devils Ride is a “reality” TV show about “outlaw” motorcycle clubs centered in San Diego.   Spoiler Alert:  In case you didn’t know, reality TV employs screenwriters whose job is to feed the character dialogue.  Viewers get to watch The Laffing Devils and the Sinister Mob Sindicate, two faux enemy clubs battle for the right to dominate the ‘Dago’ turf they call home.  It seems these clubs can’t have a conversation unless they literally breathe on each other.

While most of the club members have blown their chances at any Father of the Year award, they’ve assured themselves placement in the annals of reality-TV history thanks to their affinity for odd behavior and outrage as a form of communication.

For Season 3, viewers will witness even more stink eye stares, and name calling. It’s just some of the many incendiary moments on tap by the producer’s that are staples of this riveting reality TV show.  And don’t forget that male announcer with a deep bass voice employed every 7 minutes from a commercial break — the booming phrase, “in a world where…”

I remember when The Discovery Channel started out as an educational media format and was more polished than PBS.  These days they have put a lot of time and effort into insuring that its credibility is no greater than that of a tabloid seen at the supermarket checkout.

Previous rants on this “reality” show are HERE.

Photos courtesy of The Discovery Channel.  The “Hustle” photo created by editor.

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The Devils Ride Final

David Pritikin Posing

The Devils Ride executive producer, David Pritikin of Discovery Channel has a new diet and exercise regime for motorcycle club reality TV.  It’s call apply more pressure to capture increasingly more dramatic footage.

Could anyone be happier than Eric Bishoff who offered to present viewers with an “inside look” of a Dago MC, but is really selling us counterfeit merchandise?  The last episode of robbing a street corner drug dealer to keep the “heat” off the club house.  Really?

Spoiler Alert:  In case you didn’t know, the show actually employs screenwriters whose job is to feed the character dialogue or create a general storyline arc in hopes that the audience will not tire of the show when the real sequence of events seems too boring.  This occurs on each show to preserve the illusion of unscripted reality TV.

The Devils Ride is a whole cascade of negligence and one has to wonder if the autopsies are pending?

And speaking of autopsies, a recent report by the L.A. Times showed that some reality TV programs cut corners on safety, exposing cast and crew to hazardous working conditions.  A combination of tight budgets, lack of trained safety personnel and pressure to capture dramatic footage has caused serious and in some cases fatal incidents.

The Real Life Sons of Anarchy. Really?!

I’m not implying that The Devils Ride cuts safety corners, but in February an unnamed TV show being filmed for Discovery Channel resulted in a helicopter crash that killed three people.  It was one of the worst film set accidents in recent years.  It’s not clear what caused the crash and it’s being investigated by the FAA and NTSB.  And then last June, Terry Flanell was killed while shooting a pilot for Discovery Channel called “Brothers in Arms” at a Colorado shooting range when two smoke bombs detonated sending a metal pipe toward Flanell.

I see a trend.

Sons of Anarchy

Of course the Discovery Channel is well insulated from the specific filming activity.  The shows are produced by a separate company (example: Eyeworks USA) and they use Film L.A. Inc., to obtain film permits/permission and to pass filming code the L.A. County Fire Department assigns an advisor to the site to provide guidance on any issues.  But, it’s well known in the industry that many incidents go unreported because crew members sign non-disclosure agreements, and many in the show are non-union workers or are classified as independent contractors.

The Channel

The Devils Ride self-promoters are rampant, but what’s stunning is a TV show that most everyone from “clubbers” to motorcycle enthusiasts vehemently dislike is averaging about 1.2M viewers a week (Nielsen Media Research).  The show is capturing about 800K a week for the prime 18-49 adult demographic.  Although the show ranking is typically in the bottom 10% of the cable shows and where both Teen Mom II on MTV and Dinners, Drive Ins and Dives on the Food Network outperform there is obviously a number of people who think it’s the best show on Monday night TV.

This is my FINAL blog post on the TV show.  I’m providing “oxygen” to something that should be pulled off life support.  For those begging to see more, below is additional information I’ve researched on the various cast members and producers.  Twitter accounts are flooded with “fan boy” comments wanting to get closer to the 15 minutes of shame.

Executive Producers
Jason Hervey
Eric Bischoff –  or web site
Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment
David Pritikin (Discovery) –  or David Pritikin Filmography

Motorcycle Clubs
Sinister Mob Syndicate MC Club (Sin Mob MC)
Laughing Devils MC

Sin Mob (Sinister Mob Syndicate MC Club)
RRKnockout –  Ralph “Rockem” Randolph
Bubba
Grizz
Diesel
Headcase

Laughing Devils
Danny Boy (Prez) – Facebook
MadMax (VP)
Slider (Tres)
Sancho
Sandman
Bonez
Spyder – or Facebook page
Chris Boultinghouse (WhiteBoi) –  Facebook page  or web site

TV Show MC Women
Melis – Sandman’s ex-wife.
Laughing Devils Ol Ladies – Group of women related to members of the LDMC

Other Notable Bits Of Info
Howard “Rusty” Irvine Coones –  Twitter; Guest star on first season also appeared in episode 509 of SOA.  Previously President of Orange County HAMC chapter.
Attika 7 – Rusty Coones Band; In Oregon prison he picked up the guitar again.
Illusion Motorsports –   Company run by: Rusty Coones, Rodrigo Requejo, Katherine “KO” Coones.
Knockout Motorcycles –  Company run by: Ralph “Rockem” Randolph); former HAMC member.

Reality TV Research
Levin, Gary. “Simple Economics: More Reality TV.” Usatoday.com. USA Today. 09 May 2007.  Web. 2 Nov. 2009.
Booth, William. “Reality Is Only An Illusion, Writers Say.” The Washington Post. Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2004. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.
Ventre, Michael. “Just how real are reality TV shows?” Msnbc.msn.com. MSN. 14 April 2009. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.

Photos courtesy of Discovery.

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The Devils Ride – Twenty Feet From Stardom

In case you missed it, it might have been the untold story of the cast on the TV series called The Devils Ride.

Sure the actors members of the Laffing Devils outlaw motorcycle club have an appearance that is designed to intimidate the general motorcycling community… what with those glove-free hands, unwashed Levi’s, well-used black t-shirts and conditioned leather vests.

The Devils Ride, which started out as a reality TV show centered on the hard-hitting San Diego biker club drama, has really settled into its soapy role.  Each episode is dumb-and-dumber as the audience is told numerous times about what just happened, as if 6-minutes of commercials made us forget that the script and actors are the shows weak spot.

But, the big reveal on this Oscar weekend is this newly uncovered “second-team” of stand-ins performing (HERE).  Could it be the stand-in actors from the TV show?   We know that stand-ins are the unsung heroes of movie making and are picked based on height and body shape similar to the stars of the show.  Stand-ins are helpful to the production process and you’ll notice in the video they fulfilled a rather tedious task in a bar scene which has yet to air on the TV show.

This video is either poetic justice or a bit of karmic retribution from all us viewers who have no time for mediocre and who believe a baseball cap should be worn in the direction that your life is traveling!

As Ringo Star said in the movie “Hard Day’s Night” when ask “Are you a Mod or Rocker?” he replied “I’m a Mocker!”

And guilty I am.

Photo courtesy of College Humor.

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The Devils Ride Gets No Respect

I’m not talking about the comedic belligerent loser, Rodney Dangerfield, who penned It’s Not Easy Bein’ Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs.

Rather my reference is about the TV show called The Devils Ride… which gets no respect.  You may remember it as a TV show with an ambitious teaser ad, but was instead a jaw-doppingly dis-functional motorcycle club (MC) reality train wreck that most bikers have no respect.  It’s a TV show about what happens when you take a testosterone supplement and ride a motorcycle.

To be fair, maybe you’re one of the few who have waited all winter for the MC “reality” series to return and lucky for you it does for a second season in just a couple of days.  Premiering Monday, Feb. 18 at 10 p.m., the new season of The Devils Ride will follow the DAGO biker “war” as it gets EVEN bigger and deeper.  As if that’s really possible!

The San Diego-based Laffing Devils Motorcycle Club (LDMC), was once a growing club.  The boyz got into a tiff over something that no one can remember and split into two separate clubs. Now in the second season viewers will get a sensory overload of club members going head-to-head with the rival club, Sinister Mob (or Sin Mob).  The 2nd season promo states that the Laffing Devils’ leadership is in turmoil: founding member “Danny Boy” and “Sandman” are butting heads not to mention Sandman’s off camera legal trouble with the ex-wife and the original founder, “Gipsy” is missing in action.  Maybe because he also has his own set of off-camera legal issues with a minor.  Meanwhile, “White Boi” — recently released from prison — is causing ripples among the club members.  Yawn.

Anytime a television show is promoted for being hard hitting or “smart,” someone’s laughing all the way to the bank — some company called, Discovery Channel and Bischoff Hervey Entertainment.

This is garbage TV.

Let me tell you how I really feel.  All you have to do is take a couple steps back and you’ll quickly realize that we’re looking at blended baby food made out of corn syrup. It’s just a blob of tasteless, high-calorie paste that will work well with the LIPITOR ads.  And the Discovery Channel medium dispenses the paste to people who can’t feed back, can’t change it, who only get it in 17-minute bite-sized chunks interrupted by 14-minutes of commercials.  It’s written by a team of writers who all have one thing in common: They’re not allowed to say whatever they’re thinking! They’re not allowed. We’re definitely not getting motorcycle club insight or truths; we’re getting lies and acting so heinous they should issue a police ticket.

You might disagree and call me out for not being a credible TV critic.  To be one, I’d have to write a 50-page review of each episode which would take longer to read than it does watch the show, while espousing in a pseudo-intellectual way, the show details so that the masses can talk about it over a latte at the water cooler with their new devil horned t-shirts.

The conversation we’re not having is: there’s a couple hundred million of us watching an average of six hours of TV a day… a one-way transmission that only tells us we have a lot of physical and mental ailments… there’s 5-hour energy drinks to perk us up, Lunesta to put us to sleep and our clothes will look brighter with Tide detergent as we recline in the lounger to watch the TV show.  The one conversation no one is having, not a single one of us is having is a debate about whether or not liking The Devils Ride makes us smart or stupid.

It’s my judgment that the show is a full-on assault of our intelligence by “actors” who have taken a faux role way too serious.  It should be noted that the crap troop breeding this ignorance is executive producers Eric Bischoff, Jason Hervey and Steve Stockman along with Discovery’s David Pritikin.

I will say props for riding some some nice motorcycles!

Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel and Bischoff Hervey Entertainment.

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Domestic Drama Lands Laughing Devils “Sandman” In Jail

Robert Joseph “Sandman” Johnston

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream.
Make her the cutest that I’ve ever seen.
Give her two lips like roses in clover.
Then tell her that her lonesome nights are over.

It’s ironic how this song, which was most notable in the movie “Back To The Future“, mimics the reality behind the reality TV show called The Devils Ride.

I’m referring to Robert Joseph “Sandman” Johnston, a member of the Laughing Devils MC and one of the more popular characters on the reality TV series.  He was arrested for attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a man during a burglary just prior to Christmas.

Mister Sandman’s Melis

There is some speculation (HERE) that Mister Sandman wanted to surprise his ex-wife? — SATIRE ALERT — with a belated Christmas gift.  After realizing that he’d misplaced the house keys he let himself in and then discovered another man in the bedroom, and became concerned… came to her defense by stabbing the “assailant” three times in the back.  The police somehow misunderstood his good intentions.

I’m sure the show producers are salivating over all the possible plot twists for a second season.  This is all just another sad chapter of reality TV – salacious, exploitative, celebratory violence, abusive and predatory behavior – not to mention an extraordinarily colorful life of a motorcycle club member.  Not only do we have to turn the channel to avoid the “vast wasteland” called The Devils Ride, we have to endure nit wits like Kim Kardashian and Jessica Simpson, uneducated goofs who are followed around, their every activity plastered on magazines and online, who’ve got nothing to say.  They’re not entertainers, and to keep it real there isn’t much reality in reality TV.

And before you fire-up the keyboard to tell me that I don’t get The Devils Ride or am stupid or there is something inferior about me or I’m just not as far out there on the motorcycle outlaw frontier as Sandman is…  Keep in mind that The Devils Ride is the creation of the Santa Monica production company Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment and that show producer, Eric Bischoff is the author of the acclaimed memoir Controversy Creates Cash.

There are a number of things I am looking forward to in 2013 and high on that list is that The Devils Ride implodes and gets cancelled.

Previous posts: Laughing At The Laughing Devils; Laffing Devils Are The New World Order;  The Laughing Devil Tickle Monster;

Robert Joseph “Sandman” Johnston photo courtesy of Discovery Channel.  Melis photo courtesy of Twitter page.

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The Laughing Devil Tickle Monster

Thomas “Gypsy” Quinn – Laffing Devils Motorcycle Club

Pardon me, but your character is showing…

Companies that support reality programming are a bell weather of the culture.  Reality TV programming is an expansive industry label, and runs the gamut from Michael “Mike” Rowe (Dirty Jobs), Adam Savage (MythBusters), Jake Harris (Deadliest Catch) to Thomas Quinn (The Devil’s Ride).  The one consistent characteristic of these type of TV shows is the dramatization of “real” events and occupations.

And in The Devils Ride dramatization, there includes an element of criminality and deviance which is posed as “entertainment” and is a constant factor in their so-called everyday motorcycle club life.

Speaking of lifestyles and the failure to realize the impact on other people…  Thomas “Gypsy” Quinn (age 43 ), ex-president of the Laffing Devils Motorcycle Club (now disbanded) and star of Discovery’s – The Devil’s Ride, was arrested August 28th on suspicion of committing a lewd act with a minor.  Specifically he was arrested on suspicion of having oral sex with his minor stepdaughter.  Mr. Quinn was arrested at 10am outside Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, CA. and bailed out the next day.  I don’t have independent confirmation, but it’s been reported in motorcycle forums that the stepdaughter is a child of his ex-wife and that she was 10 years old at the alleged time of this event.

As all the facts come to light and if the arrest results in a conviction – I point this out because Mr. Quinn and his ex-wife have been in a contentious battle for custody of children (different children than the alleged victim), and this could be an attempt to pit one parent against the other through the kids “crying wolf” prompted by the ex-wife.  Crazier things have happened and as of Sept 5th Mr. Quinn still has not been charged. He was supposed to be arraigned on that day, however San Diego’s District Attorney is still mulling over charging him.  So, it’s prudent to maintain the innocent until proven guilty theme.

But, speaking of guilt — when a publically traded company Discovery Communications (DISCA) maintains tacit support (by its silence) of a reality TV actor accused of child molestation – its sending a powerful message.  I’m not cutting Discovery Channel any slack on this.  It’s my viewpoint that David Zaslav, CEO Discovery Communications or David Pritikin, Discovery Channel Executive Producer of The Devils Ride missed the opportunity to build a meaningful and authentic connection with its viewers.  The company should have released a formal response about the arrest/allegations, but as is often the situation the economic incentive, and publicity has them instead remaining silent.  SILENCE from the very same company who just released an award winning documentary, “Sin By Silence” to raise awareness of domestic abuse!  In this post-Sandusky era of saying nothing to avoid bad publicity… that is shameful.

The lines between culture and commerce mean companies, their Reality TV programs and the actors often blur the lines between reality and representation, where the ability to determine what is real and what is not is increasingly brought under question.  There have been a lot of critics about whether the Laffing Devils Motorcycle Club is real.

Child sexual exploitation be it fabricated or real is serious.   I don’t know how this will ultimately play out for Mr. Quinn, but clearly it’s a sad family tragedy.

References: Sin By Silence movie trailer; Fox 5 San Diego; Channel 10 News;  Channel 6 news; 

Photo courtesy of Discovery and Quiet Little Place Productions.

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Laughing At The Laffing Devils

Gipsy On The Devils Ride

It wasn’t all that long ago that most biker shows on TV were about building obscenely expensive and nearly un-ridable custom motorcycles.  Viewers of these shows could pretend that they were skilled enough to build a custom bike and somehow like magic become a rich and famous celebrity or join the elite club of A-listers who love to flaunt their fabulous machines.  I described it HERE as too much of nothing!

But, American infotainment marches on to find even more drama and action so now we have the Laffing Devils MC on a Discovery TV show called The Devils Ride, which is like watching the Wildhogs movie except they were funny!

The show’s executive producer, Jason Hervey told Realscreen, a webzine about the global business of factual entertainment that “They are not a gang, but I will tell you they are a fierce group of individuals.”  Hervey also told Realscreen that the Laffing Devils initially scoffed at his invitation to become celebrities. They reportedly told him, “We aren’t the Kardashians, brother – we’re the real deal.”  “They take a lot of pride in their club,” Hervey said. “There is a lot of respect and protocol that goes into interacting with them. Essentially there was a big process about trust, because they didn’t want to look silly or do a ‘typical reality show.’”

Well on the respect front they over promised and under delivered.  I feel disrespected for having watched 2 episodes thinking the show would develop into something of interest, but now all I want is my time back!

To prove the point about it being faux at every turn just go to the sweepstakes or Facebook page and you’ll notice that they’ve reversed most or photoshopped the photos of Gipsy’s motorcycle.  I guess the devil head shifter just looks too cool on the wrong side!

Shame on Discovery producers of The Devil’s Ride for trying to cash in on the biker niche market.  This  is about as big a dud as the Facebook IPO!

Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel

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The Daytona Bike Week Road Signs

Dave Zien

Florida’s warm breezes welcomed the motorcycle community to what most consider the grand opening of the east coast motorcycle season.

I’ve been to Daytona Beach for the Daytona 500, but unfortunately never able to visit during Bike week.  Something to add to my ‘bucket list’ I suppose as Bruce Rossmeyers Harley Davidson at Destination Daytona and New Smyrna Harley Davidson play host to tens of thousands of bikers from around the world.   There are a number of biker venues like, Main Street’s Boothill Saloon, Iron Horse Saloon, Cabbage Patch, Gilly’s Pub 44, Broken Spoke Saloon, and Froggys to keep a person occupied.

The official stats have yet to be released, but antidotal media reports suggest that attendance is a bit mixed.  Some merchants blamed the economy and/or high gas prices for a less than spectacular attendance record this year..  One attendee interviewed by the local paper said:

“People just don’t have as much discretionary money to spend on a bike. And let’s face it, this is a frivolous vacation,” said Phil McAllister, pausing before adding, “But it’s still a lot of fun.”

I’m not sure if this is a predictor of the 2011 riding/rally season across the U.S. or not.  What do you think?  Will you be attending more, same or fewer motorcycle rallies than last year?  I’ll be attending fewer this year due to scheduling issues.

But, there were a couple of other notable items that will mark this years Bike week in the history books.  One was a sonic boom as the space shuttle Discovery began its rapid descent over the Atlantic Ocean and skillful final landing. After 39 missions, the space shuttle Discovery landed for the last time March 10th at Kennedy Space Center, about an hour from Daytona Beach.  The other and one that is most unfortunate was former Wisconsin state Sen. Dave Zien and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer was seriously injured on Sunday in a motorcycle accident in Florida.

The accident occurred at 6:15 a.m. Sunday on eastbound Interstate 10 near Marianna in Jackson County.  Mr. Zien was driving in the inside lane when a Ford SUV crossed over from the right lane and into the median. The driver lost control of the vehicle and it rolled, flipping onto its side on the interstate facing north.

Zien attempted to avoid the crash scene but was unable to, clipping the back of the SUV. Zien was thrown from his 2009 Harley-Davidson bike where he was reported to have lost part of his left leg, and was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Medical Center, where at last report he was in stable condition.

Mr. Zien is best known as an AMA Hall of Famer, for defending motorcyclists’ rights while serving in the Wisconsin Legislature and true to his words he was not wearing a helmet in this accident.  Mr. Zien served as vice president of the Wisconsin Better Bikers Association and was known for riding around on his Harley-Davidson with a full-size American and Wisconsin flags on his bike. In addition, back in 2005, Zien was the main author of the Wisconsin RURA (Roadway Users Responsibility Act) 466.  That bill provides for increased penalties for vehicle operators who violate the right-of-way of other roadway users.  And in my opinion I hope there is a similar law in Florida because the driver of the SUV, Ryan G. Matheny of Marietta, OH., was charged with failure to maintain lane and driving with a suspended license.

Here’s hoping Mr. Zien a speedy recovery.

Photo courtesy of AMA.

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Catching No More

Captain Phil Harris

Phil Harris passed away yesterday at the age of 53.

Very sad and my thoughts are with his family and especially his sons (Jake and Josh).

Many of you know him as Capt. Phil Harris from the reality TV series Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel.  He was the Cornelia Marie captain, a 128-foot fishing boat that carries 180 pots and the capacity to hold 312,000 pounds of crab.  Phil celebrated 16 years on the fishing boat and his 30th year in the crab-fishing industry.  It was just two weeks ago he suffered a stroke while off loading a load of Opilio crabs in St. Paul and seemed to be making good progress.

During parts of the off season the boat was moored in Seattle and Phil lived in Lake Stevens.  There were numerous reports of Phil riding his Harley-Davidson on Washington highways during the warmer months.  Last year he had purchased a new bike from Titan Motorcycles (The Black Widow).

I’ve never been a fan of reality TV, but this show pulled me in and I enjoyed watching Phil on a number of episodes.  It was like you got to know him personally.

Rest in peace.

Photo courtesy MySpace (Phil Harris) site

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