Sport bikes and ABATE

[mccolo]

Part Three is now up.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3...-common-ground

[mccolo]

And now Part Four is up.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3...ay-sportbikers

Thanks to all of you again for helping me put this together. I'll be visiting again, I'm sure.

[dirkterrell]

Yeah, it looks like the topic of helmets is the big divider. My position and that of many sportbike riders is that wearing a helmet is a wise thing to do but I don't believe that there should be helmet laws requiring their use. The gear I wear for my safety is my business. Do I think people should wear helmets? Hell yes. But I lead by example, not by running my mouth about it or worse, having the government enforce it. And just as I don't want someone telling me to wear a helmet, I don't want anybody giving me shit about wearing one either.

I think there is another point in the article that is important to acknowledge: the importance of advocacy for the rights of sportbike riders in the legislative arena. Sportbike riders tend to be younger and it is well known that the interest of the younger population in such matters is not very widespread. But these things are important. If you aren't involved, then people who know nothing about the subject of sportbikes will be making decisions that affect you. The older among us remember the idiocy of Sen. Danforth and things like requiring seatbelts on bikes!! The AMA does a good job at the national level but we need to ensure that we keep an eye on the local issues too.

Dirk