Interesting Times We Live In…

At the end of October, Congress sent a letter to the Acting Administrator of NHTSA expressing concerns about the safety of Tesla’s full self-driving and autopilot software being used on public roadways. The letter was signed by 12 members of Congress, almost all Democrats. Seeing as how Tesla is owned by Elon Musk and Elon has become a friend and ally of Donald Trump, suddenly the Republicans aren’t so eager to support our stand on “safety first” when it comes to autonomous vehicles. Sure, there are other manufacturers out there, but Tesla is definitely the most well-known. So, this puts us in an interesting predicament. The MRF is more concerned with freedom and safety than political parties, but we all know that, in recent years, politics has taken precedence, and political parties have overruled common sense more than once. If you have a republican member of Congress willing to step up and assist us with ensuring public roads remain safe for everyone, please reach out to me. We truly need to be able to work with both sides of the aisle if we are going to get anything accomplished in the coming years.

Nov 7 had a scheduled public hearing to consider approving on-road motorcycle emissions regulations in the CARB standards. The focus was on an electric motorcycle initiative that would require half of new motorcycles sold to be electric in the next 10 years. Less than 90 minutes before the hearing was to start, they postponed it. Again. They postponed it in January of 2024 also. Currently, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has an exemption for motorcycles. This hearing could have changed that. It’s been brought up several times and we will continue to stay vigilant on this, in order to protect our preferred engine plant, the internal combustion engine (ICE).

The Independent Motorcycle Aftermarket is continuing to gain members. We have new flyers available for distribution, plus you can go directly to their website, www.imamembers.org to sign up yourself or your favorite shop or bike builder. As we work on bill drafts for Right to Repair, protecting the internal combustion engine, and protecting our fuel source, those topics are the life blood of the independent shops and builders.

We are continuing to search for Assistant State Reps to grow our team, particularly in the Northwoods. If you are interested in helping out, reach out to myself or one of the Assistant Reps.

If you need to schedule your work vacation time early, or you like to plan things well in advance, here’s the dates for the major events in 2025:

April 4-5, Heartland S.T.E.A.M. in Bettendorf, IA

May 19-20, Bikers in the Beltway, Washington, D.C.

September 25-28, Meeting of the Minds, Shreveport, LA

This holiday season, be thankful for your biker family and friends who always have your back.

Stay vigilant, my friends!

Jen Abraham