The Lake Express will operate from April 30th through October 31st this year; and for the months of May and June, motorcycles will ride for free, a savings of $38.00 per one-way crossing. That offer applies to standard two-wheeled motorcycles. Keep in mind, there is still a fee for each passenger. According to the Lake Express customer service operator we spoke with, that fee per person is $95.50, which includes the fuel surcharge and the port and security fee. While perhaps not the most frugal method of circumventing the southern tip of Lake Michigan, the approximate 28% discount being offered by Lake Express was certainly worth mentioning and most definitely will be appreciated by the many bikers who will no doubt take advantage of this savings during May and June.

Accustomed to transporting bikes, the Lake Express has space specifically designated so that riders can enjoy the crossing confident that their bike is safe and protected. There are tie-downs provided for riders to properly secure their bike to the vehicle deck, and there is an easy on-and-off "nature" to the ferry allowing riders to go ashore within moments of reaching port. There is a minimum of 12 available slots per departure set aside for motorcycles, but exceptions may be made for larger group bookings. Motorcyclists are asked to be at the ferry 45 minutes prior to departure; and for safety and security reasons, once the Lake Express is ready for departure, no one is allowed on the vehicle deck. There is an open deck available for those who want to enjoy the cruise outdoors. There is also a classic climate-controlled cabin and the L'Expresso Cafe with on-board dining and movies to keep you entertained for those who'd prefer to cruise indoors.  For a slightly higher fee, you can opt to sit in the premier cabin where you will enjoy steward service, complimentary newspapers, non-alcoholic beverages, headsets for movies, and work-friendly table seating with electrical service for those traveling with their laptops. There is lots of good info on the Lake Express web site, such as attraction pages to check out for both Wisconsin and Michigan.

Wondering what's in the area specifically for bikers? Well, the Harley-Davidson Museum is located right there in Milwaukee. You'll want to check out the H-D Museum site for scheduled events that might be going on during your visit. For example, during May, there is a Women Riders Month Celebration in Milwaukee (May 22), and the First Rumble at the H-D Museum (May 27) scheduled.  A little further north in Tomahawk, WI, is the Harley Davidson plant where you can schedule a behind-the-scenes plant tour.  In Milwaukee, you may want to check out the upscale Iron Horse Hotel which caters to business travelers and motorcycle enthusiasts alike. Whether you book a room for the night or just want to drop by one of their restaurants or bars, the Iron Horse would be a fun aside visit for any biker visiting the Milwaukee area. Of course, there are lots of scenic routes through coastal and country back roads throughout southern Michigan and Wisconsin. Don't forget to check out the lodging map on BikerCamps.com. There are plenty of good motorcycle-friendly camping sites to choose from for those interested in camping.

DIY Bike Ramp by Kent Hartland

69th Annual Myrtle Beach Bike Week, Days Away

In the world of motorcycle rallies, the million-dollar question continues to be, "Will they come?" And no one seems to have the crystal ball on this one. Economic woes already were expected to negatively impact turnout to many of this year's scheduled motorcycle rallies, including Myrtle Beach's Bike Week; but with the Horry County council's newly-enacted legislation targeting bikers, while the 69th Myrtle Beach Bike Week event will happen, it's definitely going to be a wait-see as to what the attendance numbers will be. And that goes for other rallies to be held in the Myrtle Beach area throughout the month of May.

Vendors and Businesses Prepare for Motorcycle Rally Crowds

Still several days away from the start of the Myrtle Beach Bike Week, it is reported that there are already far fewer bikers arriving than in previous years. Vendors and business that cater to and thrive on the business that bikers bring to these May rallies, while making some cut-backs on supply orders, are expecting bikers to make their annual pilgrimage and are readying their businesses to welcome those that do show.

Barefoot Landing on the north end and Suck Bang Blow, a biker bar on the south end are already having their vendors set up.  Mike Shank, a spokesman for Harley-Davidson, regarding this year's Bike Week stated, "The feel of it's a little different, but people are excited about being at Barefoot in North Myrtle Beach, because they feel welcome up there and we feel like that people will come north and go south so it will be a good location."  Todd Price of Suck Bang Blow decided to move most of his vendors indoors, even though it will take up more space. Price has said that many bikers will avoid the city because of the new laws, but hopes more people will be inside and outside. Businesses like Suck Bang Blow and Barefoot Landing rely on the spring and fall motorcycle rallies to sustain them financially year-round and are hoping for a good turnout.

This month, Senate Bill 22 narrowly failed to get the two-thirds votes of the House required to get enacted into law. The vote came down to 282 yes votes vs 144 no votes. That’s a 66.2% yes margin which is about as close as it gets.

The Omnibus bill, which in reality was 160 bills rolled into one and included more than 1,300 pages, was the latest attempt to steam-roll a bill, which none of the legislators had read, through the Congress. Luckily, the AMA, along with other outraged motorcycle groups, were able to scream loudly enough to be heard. They  urged motorcycling voters to get involved and  let their congressmen know how they felt about this law, and the people responded. Luckily, enough of the representatives listened to their constituents to halt the measure before it got sneaked through.

Had the bill passed, it would have banned any motorized vehicles from more than 2 million acres of public land. Despite this bill failing, expect it to come up again. As always the price of freedom is vigilance.
 

Here is the Voting Roll for Senate Bill 22

Check to see how your representative voted, if they voted NAY, you might want to thank them, if they Voted Yea you might want to tell them that they are working hard to lose your vote next election.  If they are one of the six that didn’t vote at all, you have to wonder how they got elected in the first place.

International Motorcycle Rallies in '09

• Speed Fest – Mar 14-15 (Valles, Barcelona/Spain)
• Honda 40th Anniversary Rally – (Queensland, Australia)
• 7th Costa Rica National Rally – April 24-26 (San Jose/Costa Rica)www.harley-davidson.com
• 17th Love Ride – May 3 (Switzerland)
• Harley-Davidson – May 7-10 (Port Grimaud/St. Tropez/ Cote d'Azur/ France
• Skagen Rally – May 21-23 (Copenhagen/Denmark)
• 64th Rally FIM – May 25-30 (Zadar-Zaton/Croatia)
• Swiss 500 Miles – June 6-7 (Zurich Dietikon/Switzerland)
• Custom Bike Show – June 6 (Norralje/Sweden)
• XIX Reunion International HDC-C – June 11-14 (El Vendrell/Spain)
• Helsinki Bike Show – June 13 (Helsinki, Finland)
• Ultimate Rally 2009 – June 26-27 (Marcillat en Combraille/France)
• International Trucker & Country Festival – June 26-28 (Interlaken/Switzerland)
• Swiss Harley Days – July 3-5 (Interlaken/Switzerland)
• H.O.G. Rally – multiple dates in July and August (Cranbrook/Victoriaville/Halifax/Barrie/Calgary/Canada)
• Bulldog Bash – August 6-9 (Warwickshire/England)
• 12th European Bike Week – September 8-13 (Faak am See/ Austria)
• 10th Caribbean H.O.G. Rally – November 6-8 (Copamarina/Puerto Rico)
• The Carole Nash NEC Bike Show – November 27 – December 6 (Allesely, Coventry/England)
• Snowdogs Moto Rally – (Russia)

Many of the websites are not translated into English, so check the details listed carefully before making travel plans. While we attempted to provide the most accurate information about the rally date and location, the rally website will be most reliable. For those that end up attending one of these rallies, send us details of your adventure to share with other BikerCamps.com readers.

Sturgis Chamber of Commerce – New Owner of Sturgis Bike Week

For nearly a decade, the relationship between the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and the owners of Sturgis Bike Week, Inc., have remained strained in a dispute over who would own the motorcycle rally’s marketing rights. When you have an event that has that much notoriety among motorcyclists worldwide, attracting hundreds of thousands of bikers to the venue yearly, it’s likely that trademark and copyright ownership for that event would be worth big bucks. In the world of motorcycle rally games, this tug of war seemed like it would never end. Finally, on March 3rd, 2009, that ongoing dispute was finally resolved.

Happy Campers Only at Sturgis ‘69

The  details of the transaction that put this Sturgis Rally issue to a much-needed rest has not been disclosed, but the news is that Sturgis Bike Week has been purchased by the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and that both parties are happy with the resolution. Francie Ruebel-Alberts, one of the three Sturgis Bike Week, Inc., owners, stated that, "…we just kept coming back to our desire to keep it in the Sturgis community. Despite the fact that we have had our differences over the years, the Sturgis Chamber seemed the obvious choice and to maintain local ownership was very important to us." Gary Lippold and Bob Davis were the other two owners.

This wasn’t the first newsworthy dealing to take place in Sturgis this year. The Glencoe Campground and the Rock’n the Rally Amphitheater also changed ownership this year. Gary Lippold, again co-owner of those properties, participated in a little official paper inking a few months back that finalized that $8.6 million real estate transaction. These are just a couple of  Sturgis behind-the-scene details we thought might interest you. The 69th Anniversary Sturgis Rally countdown is still ticking down to its scheduled August 3-9, 2009, date with plans for a great motorcycle rally still in the making. Aerosmith and Toby Keith are just a couple of the top-named musicians you’ll find on the ‘09 event calendar along with lots of other great motorcycle rally activities.  

Moto Honda da Amazonia LTD., a Brazilian subsidiary of Honda, has announced that beginning sometime in mid-March 2009, the CG150 Titan Mix, which introduces the new flex fuel technology, will become available for purchase in Brazil.  This will be the world’s first motorcycle to be equipped with a mix fuel injection system, a technology independently developed by Honda. By blending gasoline-based fuel with bio-ethanol fuel, often produced from sugarcane and wheat, Honda anticipates a reduction of CO2 emissions along with customer fuel costs.

So why Brazil as the venue to launch this new motorcycle? Well, turns out that while the CG 150 Titan Mix will be the first motorcycle in the world to offer this new flex fuel technology, around 90% of new automobiles already being sold in Brazil now use this technology. So the Brazilians already have ample supplies of this fuel mixture already available.

Commuter Bike – Clean & Affordable

Honda is expecting that because of the lowered fuel costs and cleaner emissions of the CG 150 Titan Mix, it will be an ideal form of transportation for commuters. In 2008, there were approximately 1.91 million motorcycles registered in Brazil. Of those bikes, 1.326 million (about 72%) were Honda’s. So brand recognition among the Brazilian people is already in place. Another feature that Honda hopes will be attractive to commuters is the starting price for the CG 150 will be 6,340 Real. Converted to U.S. dollars, that would  be 2758.32, a price that Honda believe commuters will find affordable. They’re hoping for annual sales of about 200,000 units.

2009 Tax Credit for Motorcycle and RV Purchase

The recent stimulus package that was signed into law on Tuesday (2/17/09) had a last minute inclusion for motorcycles and recreational vehicles. Cars and light trucks already had dibbs on their dollar share of the stimulus billions, and with the successful lobbying from the AMA, Harley-Davidson, and other industry groups, along with the support of four senators from areas most affected by a struggling motorcycle industry (Bob Casey, D-PA, Christopher Bond, R-MO, Russell Feingold, D-WI, and Herb Kohl, D-WI), motorcycles and RVs quietly squeaked there way into the bill. This is not an industry-saving piece of legislation, as we understand it, but may be a gentle purchase incentive for certain buyers. The cost to include motorcycles and RVs to the stimulus is estimated at around $100 million.  

Section 1008 of the Stimulus Plan

Section 1008 in the stimulus bill allows taxpayers purchasing a motorcycle or RV under $49,500 to deduct state and federal sales tax paid in 2009 when filing their ‘09 tax returns. It is important to understand that this is a tax deduction and not a tax credit.  A tax deduction reduces income reported and not taxes owed. To be eligible for the tax deduction, a single person’s annual modified adjusted gross income for that tax year cannot exceed $125,000 or $250,000 for a joint return.  The effective date for this deduction, according to the language of the bill itself applies, "to purchases on or after the date of the enactment of this Act in taxable years ending after such date." We interpret this to mean that for any bike purchased after the date the Act was signed until one year from that date.You may want to check with the dealer on that if you are purchasing close to the beginning or ending date.

What does that mean to me?

Let’s say you were buying a bike that costs $20,000 and you pay 6% sales tax where you live.   The sales tax wold come to $1,200 and is deductable from your taxes next year.  So if your tax bracket is say 30%, then that would be a savings of $400.  Not a lot, but every little bit helps.  If you were thinking of buying a new motorcycle anyway, that’s $400 worth accessories that you won’t have to shell out the cash for.

The March Motorcycle Rallies Calendar is starting to kick into gear, especially in the southern states where hints of Spring have bikers more than ready for some nice riding weather and a little rally action. Daytona Bike Week, which started on February 27th, is one of the first major rallies of ‘09, and continues until March 8th. Some of the other rallies scheduled for the month of March include:

• Arizona Bike Week – (March 27 – April 5) – Scottsdale, Arizona
• Rooster Rally – (March 12 – 15) – Delhi, Louisiana
• Thunder in the Hill Country – (March 27 – 29) – Bandera, Texas
• Thunder on the Colorado – (March 20 – 22) – Smithville, Texas

There are lots of other motorcycle rides, runs, rallies, and other events scheduled throughout March, so visit the Motorcycle Rallies page to view a more complete list.