News

By Tim Anderson

The number of people killed on Colorado roads in 2009 appears to be at the lowest point in three decades according to a preliminary report released by the Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Patrol.

464 people were killed in traffic crashes in 2009, a 15% decline from the 548 people killed in crashes in 2008. The 2009 total also marks the first time the fatality total has dipped below 500 since 1988. Colorado has seen a steady decline in fatalities since the total peaked at 743 deaths in 2002.

The lawsuits resulting from the City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina attempting to implement its own helmet law and other ordinances in an attempt to put an end to the long-running motorcycle rallies there Will be heard by the South Carolina Supreme Court on February 3, 2010.

One of the oldest, if not the oldest, motorcycles in the world will be up for auction April 25, 2010 at The International Classic Motorcycle Show in Stafford, England.

The twin-cylinder, four-valve, water-cooled, 1488cc Hildebrand & Wolfmüller was built in Munich, Germany in1895 and is an example of the first powered two-wheeler to enter series production. It is also the first such vehicle to be described by the name “motorcycle”--motorrad in German. This bike is in all-original, unrestored condition.

The Pueblo, Colorado, man at the center of the events resulting in an accident that killed Pueblo Bike shop owner Gregory “Griz” Robinson May 12, 2009, has finally been sentenced after pleading guilty to charges stemming from that tragic afternoon. Robinson died May 20, 2009, of injuries sustained in the crash.

In late December 2009, Juan Vasquez Maldonado, 48, was sentenced to four years in prison for his roll in causing Robinson’s death. Maldonado pleaded guilty to the sole charge against him, contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in early January that a Wyoming state worker injured in a motorcycle crash in Utah on a workday is not entitled to worker's compensation benefits.

The ruling upheld a Uinta County, Wyoming, judge's denial of Richard J. Shelest's application for benefits.

Court records indicate Shelest crashed his motorcycle in June 2006, after he and two other state transportation workers took a longer, scenic route from Rock Springs to Evanston.

Harry Hurt, one of the world's foremost authorities on motorcycle crashes and their causes, has died. Hurt passed away in early December. He was 81 years old.

Hurt suffered a heart attack Sunday at Pomona Valley Hospital. The cardiac arrest was a complication of back surgery that he had a week earlier, according to Hurt’s eldest son, Harry Hurt III.

Hurt was the principal investigator of the Hurt Report, an in-depth, on-scene investigation of 900 motorcycle accidents in Los Angeles from 1976 to 1977.

This might be a direct link between smoking and human intelligence.

A Newark, New Jersey man found himself in critical condition after he accidentally lit himself on fire with a cigarette.

The unidentified man was reportedly cleaning motorcycle parts with gasoline, and unintentionally splashed himself with gasoline, authorities said in the report.

He then lit a cigarette and—poof! --accidentally lit himself on fire, according to Newark Fire Chief Michael Lalor. Lalor said relatives rushed over and put the flames out.

This is a for-real story, really!

Cable television’s Arts & Entertainment network is on a nationwide search for authentic and unique motorcycle clubs to feature on a new original real-life series.

The program producers say Bob Saget, star of America’s Funniest Home Videos and Full House and stand-up comedian, will host the show.

Specifically, the show wants to hitch a ride to Daytona Bike Week.

Hopefully, Christmas will be merry at Forward Operating Base Herrera, a remote US Army outpost in the mountains west of Kabul, Afghanistan. The members of the Colorado Chapter Thornton Harley Owners Group from Sun Harley-Davidson are counting on it.

The HOG chapter put together 80 different packages, each one shipped to a soldier from the 1-40 (ABN) Cav, an outfit adopted by the chapter, with support from Sun, while they’re stationed in Afghanistan.

Now that the leaves are off the trees, it’s time to start making plans for that mid-winter motorcycle fix. The best way to get that fix, of course, is motorcycle Ice racing.

Harry’s Roamers Motorcycle Club, Colorado’s oldest MC, has announce the 2010 race dates for their annual Ice racing season. Harry’s Roamer’s has put on the five-week race series every winter since 1966, and 2010 promises more great racing action.

The 2010 races will take place every weekend in January—January 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st.