Give me a Ticket for an Aeroplane

by John Reblin

The nights are cool and so far, the days sunny and warm but the weather man is saying not much longer for this with a cold front shoving it’s way in. It is still early enough in the year to get some miles on the bike and enjoy the fall color explosion across the state.

I attended the Meeting of The Minds, MOTM, in Harrisburg, PA. and as usual, it was a great event. ABATE of Pennsylvania did themselves proud. The only flaw I had was the flights getting there and back had issues which caused a missed flight and another one canceled but with some discussion with those in charge, they did their best to get me there and back without much delay. With that I am happy.

So, what was new? The talk of the night was BMW stopping all sales of their gas-powered motorcycles new and used from the dealership. There has really been no more discussion since then with the why it happened, but many feel it may be an emission issue similar to the Volkswagen diesel issue a few years ago. So, the conspiracy guy in me says, hmmm this is how motorcycling ends as we know it, with an EPA step in. I am sure more news will be had on it, so stay tuned.

It was interesting to participate in the State of the States and listening to what other states are working on. Many of the states mentioned some sort of profiling issues and legislation to correct that. There were States that discussed Share The Road training and increasing getting time in the classroom to teach this. Along with Share The Road there was some discussion from New Hampshire about raising awareness on the road about motorcycles being able to make sure they make it to their destination safely. Similar to our Ride Your Own Ride, they are also sending a message to riders to ride withing their skill level, not under the influence, and obeying the laws. They are also making sure that proper signage is out for construction zones reminding riders to use caution. They were able to get some help from the government to help pay for billboards and other advertising means, so it should be able to have a great outreach. We in Wisconsin have the same luck getting our Ride Your Own Ride billboards and are able to get the DMS signs and TV and radio time with Share The Road messages.

Bu the increase in motorcycle crashes the last few years has everyone looking for a way to effectively get the message out to riders. It is important to do this, so we have one less reason for the government to look at us as a problem. A group of us got together to discuss what issues we are seeing in our home state with motorcycle crashes and what we are doing about it. We talked about a varied number of issues but I think the consensus was training, not riding under the influence, and licensing.

I had to fill in for Steve Panten and help Dave Dwyer on a topic we are familiar with, Effective Lobbying, due to a conflict of breakouts. We had a great discussion and many people in the room enjoyed what we had to say. I think we did well with the short time we had to prepare for this session. I appreciate the opportunity to do this.

I think the best part of the weekend was a panel discussion with Hardtail, Chris Callen, Editor of Cycle Source magazine, along with Bob Kay who leads the Motorcycle Aftermarket Council. He has been in the motorcycle industry for over 40 years. To hear these 3 people’s take about the future of motorcycling is both scary and inspiring. To hear others speak on how fragile our future is and how close we are to a possible extinction is scary. We all need to work hard to share the message of the future of the internal combustion engine, being able to get parts for them, and to be able to work on them in order to be able to keep our bikes and lifestyle going for us and future generations. We need to be able to be sure we will have a safe and legal fuel available to us and if we have the skills or if we have that independent shop that does our work, that they are able to get the parts and tools to keep them going. It was an hour and fifteen minutes that was full of information that makes me understand how important our jobs are. The next MOTM is in St. Louis MO. September 19-23, 2024. It is a close enough ride or drive if you would like to attend. Talk to Steve if interested in a scholarship or you have plenty of time to save if you want to go on your own.

Two weeks after I got back from MOTM it was the State Meeting. That was a great time seeing members and talking with them about their summer riding experience. It was a weekend of fun, work, and speaking about the future of our lifestyle. It was a privilege to hand out awards to those deserving, and with Duke surprising Steve Panten with a flag that flew over the Capitol in Madison on Lobby Day 2023. We were able to get him up to accept this presentation under the guise of getting an award from me for driving his truck going to the BOD meeting while he sleeps.

I think everyone there was either a past winner of something or really deserves to be. Though they don’t brag about winning, they all work hard to accomplish something for the organization.

I would like to congratulate Danny Stoddard for being appointed to District 3 Director. Those that also ran, Jay, Becky, and Scott all would have been a fine choice. I hope all that chose to run will consider running again in 2024. You all have qualities that will improve the BOD experience.

I want to end this article with something I heard at MOTM. “We have to be strong and united at this point of history or we won’t have a future history.”

Ride Your Own Ride,

John