I Quit

I guess you could say it all started when Taylor Swift wrote that song.

Was “Mean” really about me?  I’m just an aging blogger, why did the biggest pop star in America have to pick on ME?  That hurts. You don’t know what it was like growing up.  Everybody knows I’m thin-skinned. I’ve got health issues and doesn’t she know that if I don’t consistently see my psychiatrist I’ll need MKULTRA re-programming.

Yes, I know, bragging that I see a psychiatrist, is a sign of a SIESPD mental disorder: Self-Inflation at the Expense of Sacred Psychiatry Disorder.

But what’s worse are the blog readers. It doesn’t matter what I write.  They only want to read and comment about the reality TV drama The Devils Ride.  Sure I’m “unqualified” to write a motorcycle blog, but I think it was precisely that total lack of journalism training that gave me an edge.  But, it’s doesn’t matter what wisdom flows through my fingers as I throw down editorial so magical—so right—that my fellow bloggers are moved by my artistry.  In a country where everybody’s seems to be on the take, where screenwriters whose job is to feed the character dialogue on “reality” TV, where politicians are indicted on a regular basis, it doesn’t pay to be honest.

So, I’m stopping. Giving up. I quit.  Going over to the dark side.

No, I’m not going to work for Harley-Davidson, I’m not even going to work for Honda, there’s just not enough money involved.  You can’t make it in motorcycles, you’ve got to go where the money is, Technology.

Technology is run by young people challenging all the rules.

Oh, it’s been done before.  You wake up and chuck aside journalistic aspirations and went where the real power was, Technology.

And why not. Everybody thinks I’m wealthy anyway. I make a comment about the Portland occupiers and my inbox blows up with people castigating me for being a one percenter. You’d have thought I was giving away Nike stock. I’m sick of being poor, now I truly am going to be rich.  No, I turned down the Pritikin offer to co-write The Devils Ride scripts.  We might look similar in a black vest, but do you think I still want to be in the public eye after what I’ve been through on this blog?

No, I’m not going to tell you the name of the company.  You wouldn’t know Summly anyway.  They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  And I’ve brought in my black book. I’m tapping every relationship I have for cash. Everybody.  If you’re wealthy, expect to hear from me.  As for the rest of you…it’s payback time.

I’ve sold my email subscription list to so many marketers I can afford a year off in Honolulu. You’re gonna be spammed to high heaven. I’m always accused of selling my list anyway, so why not do it?

I’m all about the cash now baby. I gave you that motorcycle information for free and all you did was bust my chops.  You were so busy drinking at the trough of motorcycle Reality TV that you can’t see that you’ve been sold a bill of goods.

So, I’m leaving you behind.  Going to work for Nick.

At fifteen without a driver’s license, he had a computer, an iPad and an iPhone.  Of course there were good parents that insisted he do well in school and he had a worldly view to know there are winners and losers.  He didn’t want the short end of the stick and didn’t waste time learning the guitar or riding a dirt bike?  No, he developed an app and now at 17 years old he has millions.  A teenager who sits at home and changes the world.

Motorcycling is done anyway.

The Discovery channel ruined it. They “prostituted the patch” in the name of advertising and shilling faux t-shirts.  There’s no money left.  If you’re smart, you’ll follow me.  I’m done with you, I’m going behind the tech celeb gate and throwing away the key, only flying private from now on.

Look, I get it. You can’t have people like me writing whatever they want. If I run too loose I’ll ruin all of powersports…who knows what’s next.  Blogs like NWHOG need to be shut up.  I mean who does this MacRant think he is?  There’s nobody he hasn’t written negative stuff about. He’s just a crybaby loser who is desperate to be close to fame. He’s been doing it for too many years already.

Good riddance.

I hear you. I’m done.

Photo courtesy of Superior Law Office.  Gullible motorcycle blog-lovers gather round, April Fool’s Day is upon us!

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

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iPhone App Of The Week

The times they are a changin’… certainly in the way people get their news.  This is especially true for the youth demographic who live and breathe by their cell phones.

As a result, I’ve been noodling about how to get this blog content onto iPhones given all the web-based tools that allow developers to build an iPhone App.   It seems logical that a blogger would want to create an app for the millions of iPhone users, right?  Sure it’s easy enough to call up a blog site on the Safari browser by typing in the URL, but wouldn’t it be much easier to push an icon button on the iPhone app screen and the like magic the blog content is there on your mobile device?  Complete with rich media.  And while we’re at it how about having the ability to jump to the Flickr photos and then over to Vodpod/YouTube to watch recent video posts?

Well…drum roll please….that day is here.  I’ve developed an application and placed it on the blog (under the calendar, right side).  There are a couple methods to get this application.  With your iPhone browser go to NWHOG and click on the app icon under the calendar.  Or go directly HERE.  Once the page loads for the first time, you’ll see a pop-up that instructs you to tap the ‘+’ sign, then tap the ‘Add to Home Screen’ selection, and finally tap the ‘Add’ button, which will add your app icon to your iPhone app screen.  Tapping the icon will start the webapp.  

Some might ask, “What are you trying to accomplish with this, Mac?”  My answer is simple.  I don’t know.  Other than to make it a little easier for mobile users to get to the blog content.  Plus I needed a little science project to fill those rainy evenings — it serves no other real purpose.  But, that could define much of the internet these days…

I do believe this Harley iPhone/blog application is a first.  Who knows if this will take off.  But, I thought it was worth a post and it serves as a reminder to Harley-Davidson corporate that they really should be doing more in the area of application development to promote or connect their customer base.  Try it out and let me know how it works for you.

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

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Tweets To Remind

I’ve posted previously about social activism and how various motorcycle clubs have joined the social networking medium to convene and be heard on legislation which might be anti-motorcycle or anti-biker.

I predict there will be a new wave of protesters over the next year, called “flash activists,” who will use an arsenal of social-media tools — Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs and Wikis to organize hundreds — sometimes thousands — of people to gather at events and express their motorcycle enthusiast views or debate the constitutionality of un-friendly biker legislation.  No longer is social networking just for “pokes” or telling your friends what you had for breakfast.  It has become a virtual grass-roots movement and an effective communications tool to mobilize the motorcycle masses to effect change in politics and fundraising.

Speaking of fundraising… I’d like to bring your attention to ReMIND.org.  You may remember a couple years ago that ABC journalist Bob Woodruff was nearly killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) in Taji, Iraq.  After an extensive recovery program Bob and his family had an opportunity to get to know many of our military injured heroes and their families. They soon realized their unique position allowed them to be a voice that could be heard in civilian and military cultures, across political lines and throughout our nation — a voice that could call for tangible support to assist our injured service members and their families. The Bob Woodruff Foundation was born.

On the social activism side, Tweet to ReMIND is about fundraising and through Twitter “tweets” they aim to raise $1.65M dollars by Memorial Day (May 25, 2009) and demonstrate the power of the social web. It’s an effort to ensure our military heroes return home with the assistance they need to successfully integrate back into society and more often than not, the injuries we can see are coupled with the injuries we cannot. 

ReMIND.org is a good cause and I hope you have an opportunity to look over the information.

Photo courtesy of Twitter

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

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Santa Departs On A Harley

Ever wonder where Santa goes after delivering all those gifts?

  

Well here is a little ecard courtesy of Bikersvision that provides a “Christmas Carol” clue.

  

Enjoy.

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Portland International Motorcycle Show

All the 2008 motorcycles will be on display at the first ever Portland International Motorcycle Show which is set to take place on December 8-9, 2007.

The event is at the Portland Expo Center and if you are in the market for a new cycle this is the show to attend.

There will be lots of sport bikes, cruisers, motocross bikes, quads, scooters, Lehman Trikes and side-by-sideon displays from most manufacturers like Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, plus European brands like Ducati, Aprilia and MV Augusta. Of course Harley Davidson will be there.

The show hours are Saturday: 10:00am – 8:00pm and Sunday: 10:00am – 5:00pm. For more info HERE.

Let’s pull together the posse and head on down for a little bit of look’n, sit’n and talk’n.

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Trying To Ignore That Crashing Sound

I like spirited debate and don’t shy away from conflict and this is a bit longer than many of my posts so, I apologize up front for those of you looking for instant gratification.

One topic where the “elephant” in the room needs to be introduced and brought out into the light of day is the issue of motorcycle fatalities.

I dislike being morbid, but there are motorcycle trends that we should stop and take notice of:

• Motorcycles represent 2.5% of all registered vehicles but 11.3% of traffic deaths.Motorcyclists ages 50 and older who die in wrecks has grown from 14% to 24% since 1997.
• Motorcycle ownership among riders aged 40 and over has increased dramatically, from 15.1% in 1980 to 43.7% in 1998.45% of motorcycle drivers killed in traffic crashes were not wearing helmets.
• Engine displacement of motorcycles involved in fatal crashes have increased, from ave. engine size of 769cc in 1990 to 959cc in 2001.In 2005, the motorcycle fatality rate was 73 per 100K registered motorcycles compared with 13.7 per 100K passenger vehicles.
• Speeding are bigger factors in fatal crashes of Supersport and Sport bikes compared with other classes of motorcycles – 4X higher.

This data connects with the Harley buying demographic and rider assumptions of the boomer generation. Houston we have a problem! From celeb wrecks to average Joes getting older the incidents have jumped, even if little noticed in the media especially here in Oregon. For the last 3+ years all the articles written about motorcycle accidents include some type of statement to the effect of “financially secure baby boomers looking for adventure” are the main cause of serious accidents resulting from inexperienced riders combined with more powerful motorcycles. Blah, blah, blah…

This type of reporting is boring and somewhat irresponsible! There is little to connect the two unless you compare Sport Bikes which attract the below 30 something demographic. And if older people have decreased motor skills then why aren’t there increases in automobiles accidents due to increasing horse power? Yet many media outlets claim riders are killing themselves due to rookie inexperience. Yet the accidents continue…

The latest internet searches provided the following:

• On Friday, October 26th, there was a fatal crash on Oregon 217. It was the middle of the day, clear skies, dry road and in the mid-60’s (which in itself is unusual for a Northwest winter!) when Craig E. Lewis (Camas, WA), 61, motorcyclist rear-ended a car in the south bound lane. The Tigard police (Jim Wolf , spokesperson) stated that the motorcyclist was making a lane change and didn’t notice that traffic had stopped.
• Then early October an organized “ride” to a biker funeral from Medford to Portland turned deadly when three people were injured North of Salem in a motorcycle crash. The large group of motorcyclists were northbound on Interstate 5 as part of an organized ride. Near milepost 265 northbound, 37-year old Patrick H. Lucas of Molalla, was on the northbound shoulder on his motorcycle, waiting to join the ride. According to witnesses, the group slowed down to allow Lucas to fall in the back of the pack, but he instead attempted to merge into the middle of the group. He hit 69-year old Jerry W. Worthington of Butte Falls, Montana and they both went down. A third motorcycle ridden by 60-year old John H. Jensen of Wilderville, Oregon collided with the first two and a fourth motorcycle driven by 56-year old Patrick A Treece of Coos Bay, ran over the wreckage.
• And back in September, a lady died and the passenger was injured on Oregon 219 south of Newberg. Carolyn Caylor, 51, of Okanogan, Wash., was killed and Shel Rae Claddagh, 38, of Canby was injured. The two were found by Caylor’s husband and stepson, who were on other motorcycles in the three-cycle tour, about six miles north of Newberg. The cycles were about a quarter-mile apart and the relatives went back to look for the women when their three-wheel 1994 Honda Goldwing disappeared. They were found down a 40-foot embankment after the motorcycle missed a sharp left curve.

I feel very sorry for all these families. I truly do. I don’t know the situation for sure, but nationally the accident data tells a story that judgement errors are making it more and more deadly to be a motorcyclist. This is alarming to me as I like the open road and it might be something our posse will want to get involved or address?

The Oregonian recently reported that the number of registered motorcycles rose 61 percent from 1995 to 2005, from 3.8 million to 6.1 million. The number increased 83 percent in Oregon during the same period, from 59,468 to 108,958.

This is a useless statistic. More bikes on the roads, more accidents – duh! Stats are a tricky thing. To understand the fatalities there would need to be collision reconstruction to identify crash causation (cause analysis) and recognition experts to help identify if alcohol and/or drug impaired the driver etc., for every motorcycle accident. Things like speed, road conditions, urban vs. rural setting etc. are needed to assess trends. And if the stats are higher for those riding high-performance sport bikes vs. cruisers. The reports don’t do this, rather they measure the broad fatality rates, as measured by deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles and per million vehicle miles traveled. This number has steadily climbed while at the same time the overall motor vehicle fatality rate has fallen. Troy Costales, administrator of ODOT’S Traffic Safety Division, said there are about three motorcycle fatalities in rural Oregon for every one in an urban setting. The No. 1 cause, he said, was excessive speed going into corners.

It’s not just Oregon. In Montana more motorcycles are on the roads too. There are now about 80,000 bikes, which is compared to about 50,000 in 2005. This year in Montana 34 people have died in motorcycle crashes which compares to 27 last year. If you look outside the region in Iowa the upturn in Deer movements accounted for 10 deaths in Iowa – 9 of the 10 were not wearing helmets. And in South Carolina they are on a pace to exceed the 106 fatalities of last year. Even Michele Obama (wife of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) campaign van collided with a motorcycle on a two-lane country road in central Iowa on October 9th. Fortunately it only sent the motorcyclist to the hospital.

One notable exception is in Washington State. Motorcycle fatality collisions have decreased as a result of troopers focused attention on motorcyclists who were driving under the influence, speeding and driving negligently. As of August 31, there were 43 deaths resulting from collisions involving motorcyclists. For the same time period last year, there were 61 deaths. From April 2007 to July 2007 (peak riding in the NW), Washington troopers doubled the amount of arrests of motorcyclists who were driving under and influence and increased the amount of citations issued to those riders who exceed the posted speed limit by two-thirds.

There is no easy explanation why the motorcycle death toll continues to increase, but ABATE (A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments) the motorcycle advocacy group believes better training for bikers and educating other motorists will decrease motorcycle deaths. I have to agree. I’m not trying to mandate helmut laws so, save your clicks. You do what you think as I’ve only presented some stats.

Just be very careful out there!

NWhog

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Would You Like a Harley with Those Blue Suede Shoes?

How important do you think the color of a motorcycle is to Harley Davidson? Plenty! About 40% of shoppers say the will leave a showroom if they can’t find the color of their hearts desire, according to Harley research.

Have you notice lately how aggressive Harley has overhauled its color palette? Many of the new motorcycles feature new paint colors. Crimson Red Sunglo…a Red with more sparkle and more depth and punch to it. Suede Blue Pearl that is soooo ice Blue and Firecracker Red are other metallic paint colors being pushed out to the dealers.

The Harley process of developing these colors is cloaked in a lot of mystery and involves consulting dealers, designers, marketing and manufacturing. And, oh yeah they do try and listen to as many customers as possible.

These color efforts come a bit too late for my Vivid Black Road King, as I had had my fill of the sharp colors and bright paint finishes on previous bikes. Sure Black is boring, but it’s not ugly! As my inner fashion sensibility tells me…it might not be the most trendy, but it’s simple and simplistic designs will win out over fashion in the long run.

But not all bikers like Vivid Black or Black Denim or Flat Black. And that is good news for the Harley color teams who need a job and start by looking at the trends in fashion, product design and the economy…basically anything that may influence change so that they can forecast colors that potential buyers may be looking to straddle and ride in the wind.

For example, that blazing Copperhead color for the 105th Anniversary models was launched on all 2008 models and includes anniversary trim/badges. The color cuts across all models and is a high number for such a trendy color. I can’t help but think this is like that Bright Yellow. Very visible, very trendy, but just wasn’t a big seller. The blazing Copperhead was chosen for the 105th Anniversary models because Orange was going to be a trendy, noticeable color, based on Harley’s research in home and product design. It matched what Harley felt was the sporty, fun, vibrant nature of the brand they are working to relay. And though Silver, Smoke, Black have been popular, the Harley team believe a resurging economy along with “other” factors (read younger demographic) mean more people are going to tire of them.

I’m no color expert, but I have to say I’m a bit disappointed in all the research. I don’t think the bottom is going to drop out on Black, but all this talk of customers wanting fresher colors, more colorful reds, blues, greens and golds — something that is more obviously a color — seems to run counter to what I see on the road. I call these new colors “Buzz” colors. Because Harley want’s their motorcycles to appeal to the upscale boomer generation — like luxury brands at Mercury or Lexus — they assume customers want the same “unique” treatment on their motorcycles? It isn’t about exotic colors with names like Mirage Orange Pearl, Firecracker Red, Crimson Red Sunglo, Golden Glow, Purple Haze, Copperhead Pearl and Red Hot, and Suede Blue Pearl.

I’m still trendy as the new deep metallic Vivid Black will glisten like no other black before it! Why? Because they are using a new glass pigment instead of mica flakes. Sometimes remaking a color has a bit of a re-fresh look to it.

And you thought Black was Black and Blue Suede was for shoes!

NWhog

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