The spontaneity of buying a first motorcycle and riding off toward a distant horizon is gone now that Florida law requires new riders to take safety classes that are hard to come by.

The law, along with the soaring number of people buying motorcycles and scooters for fuel-efficient travel, has jammed area safety schools and those across the state.

Prospective bikers are paying for classes they will not be able to attend for two to three months, said Cindy Hunter, director of continuing and community education at Manatee Community College. The college offers the safety classes at its Venice and Bradenton campuses.

"I have actually hired six rider-coaches in the last three months just to meet the demand," Hunter said.

The 2-month-old law requires new motorcyclists to pass a basic rider course that includes five hours of classroom instruction on safety and 10 hours of riding practice on a certified training range.

A side effect has been a huge backlog at schools offering the safety classes, as more people turn to motorcycles for transportation.

Police say a woman set her husband's motorcycle on fire in Ocean City on Saturday.

Officers responded responded to the area of 105 7th Street, in reference to a motorcycle reported to be on fire around 8:05 p.m.

Ocean City police arrived at the scene and saw a Harley Davidson Motorcycle on fire. Authorities say they saw the owner of the motorcycle, Joseph Lawrence Waskey, 40, of Ocean City, holding a garden hose attempting to put the fire out. Officers used fire extinguishers eventually putting out the fire.

Deputy Fire Marshal Cliff Christello said the fire had been deliberately set. According to investigators, Waskey's wife, Barbara Waskey, 43, of Rogersville, Tenn., had left the area at the time of the fire and eventually returned to the scene and spoke to police.

Investigators say they questioned the Waskey's about the motorcycle being set on fire. Police say Barbara removed the motorcycle's gas cap, stuffed a towel in the open gas tank, set the towel on fire and left the area.

You’d think the freedom of cruising down the streets on their Harleys with leather-clad hot mommas clutching them from behind and the wind flowing through their mullets would make bikers some of the most peaceful, docile creatures around. But, as far as Hollywood would have us believe, these bearded behemoths are violent, speed-loving sociopaths, whether it's the drug-addled duo in Easy Rider or the lethal (and lethally dressed) scooter-riding Mods in The Who’s Quadrophenia. Riding in the sidecar of those classic biker movies is a gang of other great films that are guaranteed to get your motor running. Helmets -- or free-flowing mullets -- are recommended.

The number of motorcyclist deaths jumped in 2007, accounting for nearly one in eight motor vehicle deaths, government safety officials said on Thursday.

Deaths of people in cars and trucks, on bicycles or on foot dropped by nearly 2,000 last year, pushing the overall death rate to a historic low. But deaths of motorcyclists surged 6.6 percent, to 5,154; 2007 was the 10th straight year of increase.

Experts say the trend is most likely to continue, as high gasoline prices will encourage some travelers to use their bikes more often, getting 50 miles for the $4 gallon of gasoline instead of 20 in their cars.

The Obama camp is pushing a new theme in Pennsylvania tomorrow -- it's called the "Buy American, Vote Obama" campaign.
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According to an Obama aide, the new effort dovetails with a renewed push by the Obama team in Pennsylvania to poke fun at John McCain's recent claim that he would rather hear the roar of "50,000 Harleys" than the cheering of 200,000 Berliners.

As the Obama camp was quick to point out, McCain opposed legislation that would have forced the U.S. government to buy American-made motorcycles.
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Obama's Pennsylvania campaign, the aide says, will be hitting the ground this weekend in around five towns around the state with stickers and flyers bearing the above "Buy American, Vote Obama" logo.

The events will feature a few dozen actual Harley riders for Obama that have been recruited for the weekend's events.

"Harley riders aren't typically supportive of Democratic candidates," the aide says. "But we're making a play for them by saying that Obama's economic policies are the true patriotic ones."

Enough is enough! It’s time that the motorcycle take back its rightful place as one of the Greenest, most-economical vehicles ever to burn petroleum byproducts. Let the eco-elites prattle on about their hybrid autos saving the polar ice caps and lowering the oceans, but the fact is that a Toyota Prius’ carbon footprint–what it takes to produce the car and bring it to market–is positively King Kongsian compared to something like the economical, fun-to-ride motorcycles in this story.

We’ve polled the staff of Cycle World to come up with nine motorcycles that would be good choices for beginners, riders who want to have fun getting to work while saving a ton of money every year on gas.
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So ditch that gas-slurping hybrid, wave bye-bye to the bus and check out nine inexpensive, fun and economical ways to get around.

What makes a motorcycle — not some rare collectible, but a new, limited-production model — worth $120,000?

Over in Oakland they like it loud - so loud that all 45 of the Police Department's Harley-Davidson motorcycles have been equipped with shiny new tailpipes, at a cost of $500 apiece, to rev up their roar.

It seems the cops just didn't feel safe on toned-down bikes.

"There's an old motorcycle adage that you are heard before you are seen," said Deputy Chief Dave Kozicki, explaining the department's decision to toss the bikes' muted factory-issued mufflers in favor of the more high-volume pipes.

Kozicki cited an accident three months ago in which an Oakland officer riding a toned-down cycle was struck by a motorist who said he hadn't heard the officer approaching.

But some City Hall insiders, as well as motorcycle cops elsewhere, said the safety argument is a stretch.

Even the folks at the national Motorcycle Industry Council, which represents all the big bike manufacturers, were unaware of any safety benefits from louder mufflers.

State highway safety officials are asking bikers to dress brightly, paint their motorcycles in brighter colors and add more lights to the machines.

It's not a stylish move for a community that puts a lot of stock in style, but it might make riders more visible and cut a rising number of accidents.

"It's not cool but it's better for me," said Jeff Ward, a biker from Tallahassee. "I feel better about my safety."

"Ride Proud, Ride Loud" is the name of a campaign announced today at a news conference in Tallahassee by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

More than 140 motorcycles are on display at the sparkling new Harley-Davidson Museum, including some of the earliest factory models and bikes that belonged to Elvis Presley and daredevil Evil Knievel.

But the museum, which will open to the public on July 12, is much more than an archival collection of motorcycles produced by the iconic Milwaukee manufacturer.

A variety of interactive exhibits offer a glimpse into the inner workings of a Harley-Davidson engine and allow visitors to custom-make their own motorcycles.

The museum also features a large collection of well-preserved Harley-Davidson artifacts, from advertising posters to board meeting minutes from the company's early days.

"It's unprecedented for a company to have saved so much stuff," said Jim Fricke, the museum's curatorial director.

When Rob Cornelius started riding motorcycles at age 16, Florida law didn't allow him - or any other biker - to rev the throttle without a helmet on his head.

That changed on July 1, 2000, when Florida repealed a 33-year-old law and exempted anyone 21 or older with $10,000 in personal injury insurance from wearing a helmet. At that point, Cornelius, a Lakeland resident, was free to ride without headgear.

He tried it a few times on short treks around town, but he just didn't feel secure. And so Cornelius, who rides nearly every day, quickly reverted to automatic helmet use.

On the eighth anniversary of the change in Florida's helmet law, motorcyclists in Polk County have widely divergent opinions about the need to wear head protection.

Some, noting that even the most careful rider is vulnerable to the errors of drivers, say it's foolish to ride without a helmet. Others, emphasizing the connection between motorcycles and freedom, adamantly refuse to wear helmets.

Traditionally conjuring up images of lawless, leather-clad horsemen rumbling their Harley-Davidsons on the fringes of society, the Hells Angels apparently has softened around the edges. A new, local chapter would rather sell you officially licensed merchandise than start any trouble.

Riding for more than half a century on its outlaw image, the infamous Hells Angels motorcycle club has arrived in Florida, and an ad featuring the club's winged-skull logo has appeared in this newspaper calling for new members.

"We just wanted to let people know we're here; it's no big deal," said Paul Stevens, who is organizing the Florida chapter.

Stevens stressed members no longer are the stereotypical bikers terrorizing the paved landscape.

"We are a political club; we are not a drug club. We're not interested in the Hollywood persona," Stevens said. "The time of the biker being a biker is long gone. We no longer have the drunk, drugged-up, crazy biker. It's a totally different world."

Ann Skinner came up with a great way of saving money: Drive her 28-mile daily commute on a scooter that gets 70 miles per gallon.

She saved even more money by passing her motorcycle tests on Friday, just days before a new law takes effect requiring new motorcyclists to take a safety class that costs $200 to $300.

"I'm happy to save $200," said Skinner, a graphic artist who lives in St. Petersburg. "That was the whole idea, to save money."

The law, which takes effect Tuesday, is meant to keep new motorcyclists alive by putting them in classes tailor-made to teach them how to safely maneuver on roads filled with other drivers who often aren't looking for them. Many motorcyclists say these classes can be great — even some who showed up at the Pinellas Park driver's license office Friday in hopes of avoiding them.

With gas prices approaching four bucks a gallon, and the weather warming up, people are looking at motorcycles.

There are few things to consider when thinking about commuting and running errands on a motorcycle.

"Well you certainly will get better fuel economy on a motorcycle than you would with most automobiles." However, Dave Jenneke with the Madison Area Technical College (MATC) says it's a good idea to freshen-up your riding skills before hitting the road.

In the 80 years since 26-year-old traffic officer Leigh Metcalfe died in a motorcycle crash, relatives have tried to keep his memory alive.

With his parents and siblings gone, the job of remembering the fallen Grimsby officer fell to his scores of nieces and nephews, though few had ever met him.

Now, after decades of relying on family stories, old photos and dusty scrapbooks, Metcalfe's surviving family is getting a permanent tribute to their long lost but never forgotten ancestor.

Tomorrow, Metcalfe's name will be etched into the granite wall of the Ontario Police Memorial at Queen's Park.

With Memorial Day behind us, the summer driving season is officially underway. You probably heard that AAA estimated a decrease in motor traffic over the holiday weekend for the first time since 2002. But even if gas prices, which climbed another four cents while you were reading the last sentence, are finally beginning to impact leisure travel, millions of Americans who cannot cut back on driving to and from work are being forced to either absorb the high prices or find more creative ways of cutting consumption.

Some people have tried cutting out driving altogether, but most are turning to more fuel-efficient vehicles, including new hybrid models, decade-old Geo Metros and, increasingly, motor scooters with triple-digit MPGs. But heavyweight motorcycles, which still get two to three times the gas mileage of a typical sedan, aren’t enjoying the same sales bump, so one would expect there to be less interest in the heavyweights on the web. Au contraire!

Bikers, bikies, what ever the term, the image doesn’t usually bring to mind the picture of your local librarian hitting road on their Harley.

It may not have been Harley’s they were riding, but a group of bike riding librarians road into town last week on their third annual Biblio Turismo ride, promoting not only the vital role played by public libraries but also challenging the stereotype of librarians.

Japanese police plan to deploy mechanised motorcycle traps to snare teenage bikers who are terrorising the country's other road users.

The sight of bosozoku gangs (literally "violent running tribes") meandering slowly across the road, aggresively revving their engines as they block any traffic that wants to pass, is now commonplace in Japan. The police detained more than 96,000 bosozoku last year for traffic violations, a 17 per cent increase from 1998.

Most gang members are high-school dropouts and delinquents who drift into the gangs in which they become recruitment targets for Japan's yakuza mafia. A few years ago the bosozoku were little more than a noisy nuisance, but recently they have been hitting the headlines for more serious crimes, from assaults to robbery and extortion.

The police have had an inglorious history of combatting the gangs, who can easily outrun patrol cars if it comes to a high-speed chase. Now the police force in the southern prefecture of Fukuoka has collaborated with an engineering firm to develop a device for stopping motorcycles.

Called the MAD (Motorcycle Arresting Device), it consists of a metal ramp fitted with a sprung plate. When a motorcycle runs over the plate, the weight of the front wheel causes a trap-door to slide open in the middle and the rear wheel runs over a heavy-duty adhesive patch which sticks to its tyre. A rope attached to the patch coils around the rear wheel and brings the machine to a halt.

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month was officially launched with a news conference on Thursday, May 1, 2008 on the grounds of the nation's Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Speaking at the event were the co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Motorcycle Caucus, Rep. Michael C. Burgess M.D. (R-Texas) and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), along with Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters, Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) President Tim Buche and American Motorcyclist Association President and CEO Rob Dingman. The gathering of national leaders was organized by the MIC and called attention to the annual spring surge of motorcyclists on America's highways and encouraged responsible riding and driving by all roadway users.

As gas prices creep ever higher, rush-hour traffic clogs the streets and glaciers melt into the sea, I’m zipping through town on my scooter, car- and guilt-free. At least once a week I’m approached by a stranger curious about my scooter; many people, it seems, are looking to escape their cars. For those looking to reduce clutter in their lives, riding a scooter or motorcycle makes a lot of sense.

Although the motorcycle has long been associated with youthful rebellion, a new analysis of federal accident data shows that dying on a motorcycle is becoming a middle-aged phenomenon.

In a sweeping analysis of federal accident reports, Gannett News Service reports a number of alarming trends related to motorcycles. Death rates from motorcycle crashes have risen steadily since states began weakening helmet laws about a decade ago, the news agency found.

Notably, nearly half of the riders killed in 2006 were age 40 and older, and nearly a quarter were older than 50. The average age of motorcyclists killed in accidents was about 38.

There is nothing like the freedom of riding a motorcycle, except for getting stuck at a red light.

Some bikers want to be able to drive through red lights if there is no oncoming traffic.

Motorcycle rider Dave Horta says, "I was at a light one night and a cop was sitting over here, and I sat there and watched it change five times."

Road sensors cut into the pavement at intersections detect vehicles based on a magnetic field.

"They won't pick up motorcycles, the end result is you sit there forever waiting for the light to turn or you turn right and go around."