Cycle Update

Tough off-road law considered
The House Resources Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee is considering a proposal to crack down on people who willfully damage public land, reports the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The bill, HR 3247, is called the Trail Responsibility and Accountability for the Improvement of lands (TRAIL) Act. It would create consistent standards for law enforcement on federal land. Also, the proposal substantially increases the penalties on recreational users of the land who willfully cause damage to public land.
Larry Smith, executive director of Americans for Responsible Recreational Access, recently testified in a committee hearing that, “Clearly the present-day response of closing public lands is a flawed policy. All this policy does is penalize all Americans for the misdeeds of a few. Fortunately, HR 3247 seeks a different solution.”
The AMA decided to endorse the legislation, in part, because another measure —HR 751, commonly called ROVER — targets only motorized vehicle users, and doesn’t provide for consistent penalties among the various federal land agencies.
LEVATICH promoted AT H-D
Matt Levatich has been named vice president, material management, at Harley-Davidson. He is responsible for purchasing, logistics and distribution, as well as the relationships with key suppliers.
AMA MARGARET WILSON
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has named Margaret Wilson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the latest recipient of the AMA Bessie Stringfield Memorial Award for Superior Achievement by a Female Motorcyclist.
The award, presented to Wilson for more than 50 years of active involvement, leadership, and excellence in motorcycling, recognizes individual women who have been instrumental in showing other women they can be active participants in the world of motorcycling. Margaret and her husband Mike currently both serve on the board of directors of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.
HONDA GOLD WING RECALL
After the welds failed on the lower crossmembers of an unspecified number of bikes, in some instances causing the rear suspension to collapse, American Honda began conducting a safety recall on a specific group of 2002 and 2003 Gold Wing GL1800 motorcycles. Rather than a problem with the aluminum frame’s design, the recall is to reinforce two frame welds that may not meet the original manufacturing specs. In other words, some bad welds slipped by QC that month.
No rear-wheel lockups, crashes or injuries were reported. About 7,000 of the 55,000 GL1800s in operation are affected by the recall. In addition to notifying owners, Honda will send its dealers a complete kit for each bike recalled.
DODGE BUILDING 10 TOMAHAWK CUSTOMS
Months after Dodge showed its radical V-10 powered Tomahawk show bike, the company has announced it will build a small number of the 500-hp machines. A Chrysler spokesman said Dodge will build as many as 10 Tomahawks. The $555,000 four-wheeler “bikes” can’t be licensed for the street, but one of them is being built for sale in the Neiman Marcus 2003 Christmas catalog.