Recent Entries

• Legislative Strategy Session at Meeting of the Minds

  by RevBigJohn Oct 16
  One of the most important events at Meeting of the Minds is the legislative strategy session. Each year, during this session, state motorcycle rights groups develop the federal legislative priorities for the following year. Items are discussed, debated and eventually voted on, with each Sustaining S...

• Chainsaws, Golf Carts, Lawn Mowers... What's Next?

  by RevBigJohn Oct 11
  Over the weekend, California Governor Gavin Newson signed a bill into law banning the sale of all off-road, gas-powered engines, including generators, lawn equipment, pressure washers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and even golf carts. Under the new law, these machines must be zero-emissions, meaning th...

• Congress Kicks the Can...

  by RevBigJohn Oct 2
  30 day Highway Bill Extension Passes With the failure of Congress to pass a new highway bill, by the September 30th deadline, nearly 3,700 United States Department of Transportation staffers were furloughed on Friday. Most of t...

• No Vote... Deadline Passes

  by RevBigJohn Sep 30
  Late Thursday night, Congress failed to pass a new Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act by the required deadline of September 30th. This piece of legislation, known sometimes as the highway bill, or simply the infrastructure bill, provides funding for numerous road building and safety programs...

• HIGHWAY BILL MOVING FORWARD?

  by RevBigJohn Sep 24
  On September 30th, numerous highway funding programs will expire unless Congress acts. Currently, there are two separate and dramatically different highway bills in Congress.  These bills go by many different names but are often referred to as infrastructure bills by the news media.The first bi...

• Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2021

  by RevBigJohn Sep 17
  Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2021 This week Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Joe Manchin (D-WV) reintroduced the Recognizing the ...

• What’s the price of Freedom

  by RevBigJohn Sep 4
  WHAT PRICE FREEDOM?  YOUR MOTORCYCLE? What’s the price tag you’d put on freedom? Your motorcycle?  Your rights?  Your lifestyle? What’s the price tag you’d put on motorcycl...

• Meeting of the Minds

  by RevBigJohn Aug 21
  MEETING OF THE MINDS 2021 – FREEDOM ISN’T CHEAP, FREE, OR EASY!!!   THE PRICE IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE Freedom -- promoting and protecting the rights of all motorcyclists – that&rs...

• MRF Flash Alert!

  by RevBigJohn Aug 16
  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wrote, in a document released Monday, that it has identified 11 crashes since 2018 in which a Tesla vehicle using the company’s driver assistance system, struck one or more vehicles involved in an emergency response situation. Four of ...
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• Deborah Butitta Inducted

  by RevBigJohn Aug 12
  Deborah Butitta Inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame The Motorcycle Riders Foundation would like to congratulate board member and ex-officio Deborah Butitta, on her induction into the Sturgis Motorcycle&n...
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• Highway Bill Passes the U.S. Senate

  by RevBigJohn Aug 10
  Tuesday morning, the U.S. Senate passed a $1.2 trillion dollar highway bill by a vote of 69 to 30. The bill includes increased funding for roads, bridges, safety programs and of interest to motorcyclists, the reestablishment of the Motorcyclists Advisory Council (MAC) at the U.S. Department of Trans...
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• MRF 2021 HOF Inductee Announcement

  by RevBigJohn Aug 7
  The Motorcycle Riders Foundation announces the 2021 Freedom Fighter Hall of Fame Inductees.The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) is pleased to release the names of the 2021 class of Inductees to the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Freedom Fighters Hall of Fame (MRF HOF). These will be presented at the...

• Fact Or Fiction - Helmet Use:

  by RevBigJohn Jul 30
  On a nearly annual basis the media in this country is inspired to report stories about motorcycle fatalities on our nation’s roadways. Invariably, these stories paint motorcycle rider deaths as a product of irresponsible riders who live in states that have some level of...
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• Proposed Transportation Bill Amendment Fails

  by RevBigJohn Jul 28
  Late Monday night, three Congressional champions for motorcyclists’ rights asked Congress to add language to a massive spending bill that would help protect motorcyclists from profiling by law enforcement. The amendment to a Department of Transportation funding bill would have prohibit...

• MRF Flash Alert!

  by RevBigJohn Jul 22
  Next week the House of Representatives will vote on a bill to fund several transportation related agencies, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), for fiscal year 2022. To ensure the federal government protects the rights of all motorcyclists, three members of the Hous...

• Ethanol in the Courts and in Congress

  by RevBigJohn Jul 16
  Ethanol in the Courts and in Congress In the last few weeks, the ethanol industry has suffered two major court case defeats. Earlier this month, the D.C. Court of Appeals struck down the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule allowing for year-round sales of E15.  In May 2019 ...

• MEETING OF THE MINDS 2021

  by RevBigJohn Jul 14
  MEETING OF THE MINDS 2021 -- Sixty days is cutting it close September 10, 2021, the rapidly approaching cut-off date for hotel and registration for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s 37th Annual Meeting of the Minds ...

• House Passes Highway Bill – Biker Priorities Included

  by RevBigJohn Jul 1
  Thursday morning the full House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684 the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act or the INVEST in America Act. This bill is more commonly referred to as the highway bill. The bill is over 1,500 pages, spends $715 billio...
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• Autonomous Vehicle Crash Data

  by RevBigJohn Jun 30
  This week the federal government took an important step in the oversight of autonomous vehicles on our nation’s roadways. Under an order issued Tuesday, manufacturers of autonomous vehicles must disclose data about crashes involving this new technology. The Motorcycle Riders Foundati...

• Know Your Numbers!

  by RevBigJohn Jun 25
  May was Motorcycle Awareness Month but every month should be a month for motorcycle advocacy!  Whether you were in D.C. for Bikers Inside the Beltway or working on issues back home, it’s a great time to advocate for bikers’ rights.One of the most important numbers any biker rights a...

• Highway Bill Passes First Hurdle in the House

  by RevBigJohn Jun 11
  Legislation authorizing roughly $547 billion for highways and other surface transportation over five years advanced in a House panel, despite opposition from Republicans who objected to what they called Green New Deal climate initiatives.The legislation (H.R. 3684) would auth...
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• 2021 Highway Bill Unveiled

  by RevBigJohn Jun 7
  Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure unveiled its 2021 highway bill, titled the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in American Act. As you may remember, every five years Congress is required to re...

• Want to make a difference in D.C.?

  by RevBigJohn May 26
  Responsible and law-abiding motorcyclists across the country continue to report instances of being harassed and singled out by law enforcement simply because they are riding a motorcycle or wearing motorcycle-related apparel. Understanding this, in 2018 the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolutio...

• Taking Back the Hill

  by RevBigJohn May 19
  For the last 15 months the halls of Congress have been silent. Health and safety restrictions have all but eliminated the normal atmosphere on Capitol Hill. However, this week things began to return to normal.  Bikers from over 25 states made their way to Washington D.C. and spent Monday and Tu...

• What are we going to Lobby for?

  by RevBigJohn May 14
  Bikers Inside The Beltway
What are we going to Lobby for? A successful Bikers Inside the Beltway is days from happening.  This one-of-a-kind hybrid event has raised questions that the MRF is here to answer.“I can&rsq...
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• We Are Not Alone

  by RevBigJohn May 11
  Moving Forward With Motorcycling Members of Congress & Making It Happen The Motorcycle Riders Foundation proudly works with both the Senate and House motorcycle caucuses to achieve legislative victories for our community. The b...

• AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEMS

  by RevBigJohn May 10
  Background: Motorcyclists believe that automated driving technology in other vehicles could yield substantial safety benefits for riders by helping to eliminate “human error” which, on average, causes over 90% of the crashes each year. However, motorcycles must be considered in any re...

• Ethanol 15 (E-15) Can Kill Your Motorcycle’s Engine

  by RevBigJohn May 9
  CONSUMER PROTECTION AND FUEL TRANSPARENCY ACT Background In the summer of 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule that aims to require 19.88 billion gallons of biofuels to be blended into the U.S. fuel supply in 2019. Later in the fall, the EPA allowed a year-rou...

• A New Definition For Motorcycle

  by RevBigJohn May 8
  New vehicles entering the roadways with little resemblance or operational characteristics to that of a motorcycle, have been arbitrarily classified as motorcycles. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation has drafted language to put an end to the confusion. When identifying bill numbers are attached to this...
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• BIKERS INSIDE THE BELTWAY 2021

  by RevBigJohn May 6
  Bikers Inside The BeltwayMeeting With Congress To Stop Profiling H.RES 366 – your MRF is moving forward and making it happen. Profiling is not going to go away without your immediate action. See the attachment for more de...