MINNESOTA RED LIGHT LAW
Sec. 42. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 169.06, is amended by adding a subdivision to read: Subd. 9. [AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE RELATING TO UNCHANGING TRAFFIC CONTROL SIGNAL.]

(a) A person operating a motorcycle who violates subdivision 4 by entering or crossing an intersection controlled by a traffic-control signal against a red light has an affirmative defense to that charge if the person establishes all of the following conditions:

(1) the motorcycle has been brought to a complete stop;

(2) the traffic-control signal continues to show a red light for an unreasonable time;

(3) the traffic-control signal is apparently malfunctioning or, if programmed or engineered to change to a green light only after detecting the approach of a motor vehicle, the signal has apparently failed to detect the arrival of the motorcycle; and

(4) no motor vehicle or person is approaching on the street or highway to be crossed or entered or is so far away from the intersection that it does not constitute an immediate hazard.

(b) The affirmative defense in this subdivision applies only to a violation for entering or crossing an intersection controlled by a traffic-control signal against a red light and does not provide a defense to any other civil or criminal action.

If anyone has read it and want to give it a review, let me know.

The Commandments

1. The one true American-made motorcycle is the Harley-Davidson, and thou shalt put no other motorcycles before it.
2. Thou shalt not bow down and worship nor serve the god of chrome; for, lo, he is a false god and will not get thy butt home.
3. Honor thy authorized dealer and thy hog chapter officers, that thy days may be long and fruitful in the land of Harley.
4. Remember the weekend, and keep it open. for it is written, five days shalt thou labor, and for two days shalt thou ride thy Harley, drink beer, and fuck off.
5. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s Harley, nor her manservant, nor her maidservant, nor her ox, nor her cute little ass.
6. From the throne of thine Harley, thou shalt not stoop to wave at sinners who ride jap-crap, for jap-crap is known to be the handiwork of the devil.
7. Thou shalt not pass by nor turn away from thy brother Harley rider who is in mechanical distress.
8. Thou shalt not pose. verily, i say unto you, it is easier for a poser to pass his gold visa card through the eye of a needle than to enter into the true fellowship of Harley-Davidson heaven.
9. When riding thy Harley on the road of life, thou shalt not whine nor snivel, and thou shalt not suffer to ride alongside those who do.
10. Park not thy Harley in the darkness of thine garage, that it may collect dust for want of being often ridden, ride thy Harley with thy brethren, and rejoice in the spirit of the road.

As devoted as I am to my hog, I don’t really agree with all of these…. It’s a little to hardcore Harley. Since I’m no bike bigot, I propose a revised version:

My Commandments

1. Love thy motorcycle as thyself and put no other motorcycles before it.
2. Bow down and worship the god of safe riding; for, lo, he is powerful and will a get thy butt home to ride another day.
3. Honor thy companions and fellow riders, that thy days may be long and fruitful in the land of twisty roads.
4. Remember the weekend, and keep it open. for it is written, five days shalt thou labor, and for two days shalt thou ride, drink beer, and fuck off.
5. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s motorcycle, nor her manservant, nor her maidservant, nor her ox, nor her cute little ass.
6. From the throne of thine bike, thou shalt extend props to all other riders in the form of a wave – down low.  All other gestures are known to be the handiwork of the devil.
7. Thou shalt not pass by nor turn away from thy brother rider who is in mechanical distress.
8. Thou shalt not pose. Verily, i say unto you, it is love of the ride that makes us bikers and allows us to enter into the true fellowship of highway heaven.
9. When riding the road of life, thou shalt not whine nor snivel, and thou shalt not suffer to ride alongside those who do.
10. Park not thy motorcycle in the darkness of thine garage, that it may collect dust for want of being often ridden. Ride with thy brethren, and rejoice in the spirit of the road.

Cheers

Let’s not forget the 11th commandment that the Driftless Riders recognize:  Thou shalt not pass up offerings of cold beer, fresh doughnuts, corn on the cob, and/or full frontal nudity.

CHEERS!

Late last year (2007) I got a chance to ride a Big Dog Chopper in a new TV commercial that they were filming.Even though I didn’t get to crack the throttle on some long twisting road, I still got a feel for what it was like to strap on a Big Dog. I was surprised how comfortable the riding position was. I spent a whole day sitting on the bike, revving the throttle and taking 1 block laps around the set. Finally in the last scene, the storyboard has me driving off into the sunset, which was much appreciated movement after playing the graduation photo game for so long – “Tilt the bike out, shoulders back, chin up – but be natural…”

Whatever…

So here’s the skinny on the Dog:
I love my ride. It’s a 2006 Harley Street Glide. On a scale of one to bad-ass, in my opinion, it ranks pretty high. But the Big Dog…. yeah…. on a scale of one to bad-ass, it’s going to need a bigger scale. It doesn’t matter how much custom chrome I add to my Harley, I’ll never get it to the Big Dog “bad-ass” status without doing some extreme body modification. So I’ve reached a “can’t live with it, can’t live without it” predicament.

I’ve gotta have the bagger to take long trips. I need the stereo to serve up cruise’n tunes. What about a passenger? I don’t think she’ll appreciate a seat that’s the size of a SOS pad.

Son of a bitch…. The only solution is 2 bikes.

Start saving $$$.

Sample (the first 12 songs):

Tip: I have the factory stereo that comes stock on a Harley Street Glide. This stereo can play MP3 cd’s, which allows me to fit approximately 150 songs on a single disc. A problem that I’ve discovered is that certain combinations of my piss poor hearing along with wind noise and crackling pipes can make the audio inaudible. So, before I burn my playlist, I run all the mp3’s through a freeware program called MP3 Gain. MP3Gain analyzes and adjusts mp3 files so that they have the same volume. MP3Gain does not just do peak normalization, as many normalizers do. Instead, it does some statistical analysis to determine how loud the file actually sounds to the human ear. Also, the changes MP3Gain makes are completely lossless. There is no quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly, without decoding and re-encoding. I’ve found that the sweet spot for my bike with Reinhart pipes is 97db.

Here’s a list of some of the song, artist, albums that have made the cut for 2008.