The Future of Motorcycling in Wisconsin Summit…and Why You Should Be There

by Steve Panten

On February 17th, ABATE members and friends gathered at the Capitol Building in Madison with one message. Motorcycling as we know it in the State of Wisconsin, needs to be protected. 500 motorcyclists traveled from all corners of the state to meet with every legislative office to bring that message on behalf of the 500,000 licensed motorcyclists across Wisconsin.

Motorcycling in the beautiful State of Wisconsin is a tradition that has brought tourists here from all over the world for over 100 years. The impact of motorcycling on the state’s economy is not only measured in manufacturing jobs, but also gas taxes, registration fees, and tourism dollars spent across the state. Much of the tourism money is spent in rural communities that look for these visitors to support their small business. ABATE of Wisconsin’s Lobby Day was our opportunity to educate legislators on the value of motorcycling to the state. I would like to thank everyone that realized how important this day is and took time out of their life to attend. I would also like to thank everyone that helped make this day a success. Mike Hupy, and Hupy and Abraham, for sponsoring the busses from the southeast part of the state. The AMA District 16 who generously donated money to help make our day successful. Without the support of these people, we would have had a much more difficult time making this day happen. Thank you!

ABATE of Wisconsin is continually watching how decisions made by the Federal Government, or in other states, and even other countries could affect us, and the trends are concerning. The EPA stated that the use of any fuel with an ethanol content above E10 is illegal to use in a motorcycle yet there is a push for higher ethanol. Ensuring that our fuel source will always be available is a focus for us because that is the easiest way to start pushing motorcycles off the roads. When gas stations start putting in higher ethanol pumps, or even electric vehicle chargers, decisions need to be made by business owners on what products they can realistic keep. Requiring gas stations that sell fuel to provide a lower ethanol product will help protect motorcycle engines, but it will also help protect small engines, boat engines and any other air-cooled engines.

Eliminating our fuel supply is just one of the ways that our future is in jeopardy. End of useful life is being implemented for vehicles in other countries as is out-right banning motorcycles from certain roads or in certain areas. These policies are being done for a few reasons including lowering fatalities, noise pollution and vehicle emissions. All this is real and much of these ideas are being discussed now. Lines of communication need to remain open, and our voices need to be heard. ABATE’s Lobby Day is a great opportunity for legislators to learn how decisions are being made that will affect motorcycling in Wisconsin and how it will affect the economy.

On April 24th ABATE will hold its first ever “The Future of Motorcycling in Wisconsin” Summit that will be open to anyone interested in learning more. Hear from the experts that are entrenched in the motorcyclist rights movement in the State as well as in Washington DC. Learn why we are talking about autonomous vehicle technology, profiling, noise laws, higher ethanol blends and EV technology. Learn why motorcycling in this country is in jeopardy and what we need to do to protect it.

The Summit will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield WI and is open to anyone. We will start at noon, and I promise we will not go any longer that 4 pm. Beverages and snacks will be available because, even though it shouldn’t take a full four hours, we want attendees to be engaged in the discussions. There will be motorcycle rights leaders from Washington DC to talk about what’s happening on the Federal Level. We will have someone representing the motorcycle clubs across the country and, of course we will have the people that are sitting at the table with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and our elected officials. With my role at ABATE, I get to speak with many groups about these topics and I frequently hear, “they will never get rid of motorcycling in Wisconsin.” Learn why that may not be true. But most importantly, learn what motorcyclists need to do to help themselves.

The U.S. House of Representatives currently has a resolution being circulated that addresses motorcycle profiling in this country. H. Res. 366 was cosponsored by Congressman Pocan from Wisconsin and so far, has the support of Congress members Grothman. Kind, Steil, Gallagher, and Tiffany. We are asking motorcyclists from Fitzgerald and Moore’s districts to please contact them and ask them to sign on to House Resolution H. Res. 366. This resolution provides direction for law enforcement to offer better training on how to prevent profiling of a motorcyclist. As you may recall a few years ago, the United States Senate passed a similar resolution unanimously meaning it had the support of both Wisconsin Senators, Baldwin and Johnson. If you live in Congressman Fitzgerald’s or Congresswoman Moore’s district, we need your help.

In May, ABATE members will be traveling to Washington DC for the Motorcycle Riders Foundations annual “Bikers Inside the Beltway” event. This is our opportunity to lobby our elected officials in Washington DC. We will visit both Senate offices as well as all 8 Wisconsin members of Congress. If you have been to ABATE’s Lobby Day and would like to see how different it is to lobby in DC, please reach out to me. We still have room for one, possibly 2 or 3 people to join us.

Final thoughts from Steve: Lobby Day is always very stressful for me. Will the motorcyclists show up? Will the busses be on time? Will attendees have the information they need to present it to their elected officials? Will they be able to answer questions about our issues? And again, most importantly, will they show up? I don’t know why that part stresses me out because they always come through. This year I saw more new people than I have seen in many years so that is very exciting. I cannot thank everyone that showed up enough. Because of this day, you made my job much easier, and on this day, you did your part to help protect motorcycling. We THANK YOU.

That’s it,

Steve