REDUCED SPEED AHEAD ''A voluntary top-speed limitation, spurred by the threat of European regulation, ends the top-speed race for good,'' reports Aaron P. Frank in the August issue of the motorcycle industry publication MOTORCYCLE PRODUCT NEWS.
According to Frank, following the public release of the much anticipated Kawasaki ZX-12R, rumored to top out at 197 mph, independent testing revealed a much slower 187 mph. Meanwhile, the 2000 Suzuki Hayabusa, supposedly unchanged from '99, was 6 mph slower than the previous year's model.
Although motorcycle manufacturers have refused to officially comment on this slow-down, ''it has become apparent that this year's largest-displacement superbikes have been electronically restricted to limit their top speeds. While representatives of the American branches of Kawasaki, Suzuki and Honda declined comment and deny knowledge of any restrictions, numerous sources have reported that the major Japanese and European motorcycle manufacturers have signed voluntary limits and have agreed to end the top-speed race,'' claims the MPN article.
Buckling under to pressure from European safetycrats who threatened to regulate top speeds, motorcycle manufacturers reportedly met and agreed to set the voluntary speed limit at 185 mph for 2001, with further reductions over the next few years leading to an eventual 155 mph limit which is currently adhered to by automobile manufacturers.
Even most motorcyclists would agree that nobody really needs a 200 mph crotch rocket, but groups like the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) have been warning American riders for years of impending European regulations aimed at harmonizing vehicle standards worldwide, and speed governors may be the ''first shot'' in a long battle. Stay tuned, and keep your powder dry.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION UNDER ATTACK It's not just bikes - all motor vehicles are becoming less politically correct. The private motor vehicle is under attack at the national level, as Vice President Al Gore is renewing his 1992 call for the phase-out of the internal combustion engine, and at the state level where a pair of California bills seek to give local governments the right to set draconian speed limits, and on down to the local level where "Traffic Calming" (i.e. intentional obstruction of traffic) is the newest tool to pry Americans out of their cars and off their motorcycles.
Gore's anti-car position is not new, but what's noteworthy is that he thinks it'll sell in the upcoming election. Bush is seen as vulnerable on environmental issues, so Gore is pushing his hatred of cars. It's hard to believe that this guy once owned a 305 Superhawk.
We think his position will hurt him, as most Americans view public transportation as they do public toilets: disgusting. And fuel cells might not be a viable option by 2017, when piston-driven vehicles would no longer be sold, if Al gets his way. CITY BIKE

MOTORCYCLE AIRBAGS ARE HERE! From the land of the rising sun comes the latest in motorcycle safety technology, if not the most controversial, as Honda's fleet of Advanced Safety Vehicles includes a Gold Wing touring motorcycle equipped with an SRS airbag system. The Gold Wing GL1500 Interstate is equipped with a tank mounted airbag system that Honda has been developing for some years.
Theoretically, airbags for motorcycles could reduce rider-ejection speeds through airbag deployment and could lessen injuries to riders caused by contacts against other vehicles or road surfaces in accidents.
But Honda researchers caution that the motorcycle airbag system has both potential benefits as well as some adverse effects, and further research and development is needed.

POLICE SHOOT BIKER FOR NOT WEARING A HELMET An airbag wouldn't have saved the life of an Italian youth who was recently shot to death by police for riding his scooter without a helmet. Seventeen year old Mario Castellano was fatally shot in the back July 20th when he attempted to run a police checkpoint set up in Naples to enforce a new law mandating helmets for Italy's 9 million scooter and motorcycle riders. The young rebel refused to wear a helmet because it ruined his gelled hairdo, and he ran the checkpoint because he didn't want to be ticketed again as he had been repeatedly before the shooting for flouting the recently enacted helmet law.
The killing provoked scattered riots, calls to boycott helmets and several vigils. Upon hearing of the shooting, friends and family of the dead biker stormed the police station, destroyed police vehicles and came to blows with the police themselves. More than 1,500 angry mourners attended the boy's funeral.
Policeman Tommaso Leone was arrested on suspicion of homicide, and is being held without bail in a military prison. He claims the shooting was an accident, but reconstruction of the incident showed that Leone had fired at the teenager after failing to catch him. Interior Minister Enzo Bianco called the shooting unjustifiable and promised to bring the circumstances of the case to light.
Italy was the last country in Europe to pass a helmet law for scooter riders, and since March police have had problems implementing the helmet law as fashion conscious Italian youth refuse to wear them.

VIRGINIA HELMET REPEAL EFFORT UNDERWAY ABATE of Virginia is now in the midst of a full on fight to repeal the mandatory helmet law with the introduction and passage of a bill in the 2001 Virginia General Assembly beginning January of 2001. Sponsors are in place and Governor Jim Gilmore has stated he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk. Getting the bill out of committee has been the biggest obstacle in the past and will be the most difficult task this coming session. It is believed from past attempts that there is adequate support for passage from the members on the floor of both houses of the General Assembly.
In February a helmet law reform committee was established to mobilize the troops in the ABATE chapters. A petition drive was launched just over a month later and signatures are pouring in from around the State. The Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists and NCOM have both pledged to support the bill. The membership is fully mobilized, preparing to work with legislators in each district to make sure they have the true facts concerning helmet use, not just the medical and insurance lobby facts. Support exists from the leading organization of law enforcement bikers, the Blue Knights. ABATE OF VIRGINIA/MCNW

KEYSTONE STATE LAWMAKERS TO CONSIDER HANDLEBAR HEIGHT REPEAL Today, August 10, a step forward in Motorcycling Freedom has been made in Pennsylvania where Representative Mario J. Civera Jr. has confirmed that he will sponsor legislation to repeal the current statute, Title 75 of the Motor Vehicle Code, pertaining to handlebar height.
Handlebar height restrictions limit motorcycle owners from being able to constitutionally express themselves and impairs the operator's ability to be as comfortable as possible while riding. This is a personal choice issue, not a safety issue, argue concerned PA riders.
''The Eastern Pennsylvania Confederation of Clubs and NCOM Member Groups in Pennsylvania applaud Representative Civera, and thank him for his past and future support of motorcycle issues such as this and our continuing effort to repeal the helmet law,'' said Rocky Gambale, Confederation Liaison and NCOM National Council member.
Restrictions on handlebar height evolved from the original laws written to use as a tool by law enforcement to selectively stop and harass bikers who chose in the 50's and 60's to wear club jackets and colors, explained Gambale.
''Our Eastern PA COC has taken the stance that Constitutional freedoms are at risk with this statute, as are the risks of being forced to ride outside the comfort zone for those riders who prefer these types of high handlebars,'' he added.
Handlebar height laws have been repealed or modified recently in Iowa, Arizona, Oregon and Washington. EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONFEDERATION OF CLUBS

NOISE PROPOSAL TARGETS LOUD MOTORCYCLES If Town Councilman John Hickey gets his way, Narragansett, Rhode Island, will take on a bit of the flavor of the Old West someday soon, with police telling those with loud motorcycles to ... get out of town.
''If they're from out of town, it would be okay with me if police take them to the town line and tell them to go,'' Hickey said, discussing his amended motion on the July 17 council agenda aimed at controlling the roar from some motorcycles.
For residents, the penalty would be different. The motorcycles would be impounded until the mufflers were brought back to factory specifications. Hickey said the loud ones are modified to make more noise than they normally do.
''They want to show off,'' he said.
Councilman David Crook Sr., a retired policeman, said two separate approaches by police might not be legal.
''Are we getting into selective enforcement?'' he asked the council. Councilman George Lenihan Jr. asked, ''Couldn't we just cite them?''
''I don't want to fine them,'' Hickey said. ''I want them out of here.''
Town Solicitor Mark McSally said he would have to do some research ''to see if we have authority to do'' what Hickey suggested. The council voted 4 to 0 to ask McSally to look into the matter. RON CASSINELLI, JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

KAWASAKI MARKETING TO WOMEN ''The show's much better when you're sitting up front'' is the campaign marketing message that Kawasaki is using to target the women's motorcycle buyers market.
Kawasaki hopes to identify with female riders who have abandoned their roles as passengers and are taking to the road riding their own machines. In 1998, Kawasaki owner surveys revealed that women represented 32% of purchasers of 600 cc and under Kawasaki street motorcycles.
Apparently, however, Kawasaki's new ad campaign didn't go over very well in Nigeria. Read on...

MOTORBIKE RIDERS FLOGGED FOR CARRYING WOMEN A pair of Nigerian motorbike-taxi riders have been flogged with 20 lashes each for carrying women on the back of their bikes. An Islamic court in the northern state of Zamfara found them guilty of breaking a by-law banning women from riding on motorbike-taxis.
Authorities in the state that introduced strict Islamic Sharia law last year say the practice is indecent.
A large crowd watched as Maniru Abdullahi and Jafaru Isah were flogged, the South African Press Association reports.
The women were not flogged because they are both married, officials said. Since Sharia law was declared, alcohol has been banned, mixed schools have been closed and men and women are not allowed to travel together in public.
But look on the bright side, they don't have to contend with a helmet law. From Steve Garcia's STUFF, ABATE of California

FIT FOR A KING When motorcycle enthusiast King Abdullah Bin Al Hussein of Jordan visited San Francisco in June, he requested to go on a scenic ride around the Bay area. To accommodate the King, the San Francisco Police Department let him dress in a police uniform and ride one of the city's Harley-Davidson police bikes. According to the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, King Hussein was escorted by three motorcycle officers and a member of the Secret Service, also on a borrowed SFPD motorcycle.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: ''If there is anything which it is the duty of the whole people to never entrust to any hands but their own - that thing is the preservation of their own liberties and institutions.'' ABRAHAM LINCOLN