National and Regional News 

Washington, D.C. — The American Motorcyclist Association was honored in the United States Capitol as it celebrates a century of protecting the rights of motorcyclists and promoting the motorcycle lifestyle. The co-chairs of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus, Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) — in addition to Reps. Tracey Mann (R-KS), Carol Miller (R-WV) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) — introduced H. Res. 1391 in the House of Representatives honoring the anniversary. 

Over the last 100 years, the AMA has served as the foremost motorcycle rights advocacy organization at the federal and state levels. The AMA has operated with a permanent government relations staff presence in Washington, D.C., since the 1990s. Throughout the AMA’s history, the organization has worked closely with members of Congress to fight discriminatory healthcare legislation, recreational trails inaccessibility, ethanol concerns and other issues facing motorcyclists. 

In May, the AMA was recognized at the local level. During the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Spring Bike Night and 100th anniversary celebration, Pickerington, Ohio, Mayor Lee A. Gray stopped by the AMA’s campus to deliver a proclamation declaring May 18 as American Motorcyclist Association Day in the city of Pickerington. 

In addition to recognition at the federal level, the AMA was also honored during an Ohio Senate session at the Ohio Statehouse on June 12, in which Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-20) presented AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman with a resolution celebrating the AMA’s centennial anniversary. 

Also — the AMA joined 24 other organizations in support of HR 906, the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act (REPAIR Act), which aims to protect the right to repair one’s own vehicles. In a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee by the Auto Care Association, on behalf of the AMA and other REPAIR Act stakeholders, the group urged Congress to pass the REPAIR Act.

Since November, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL-02) was responsible for negotiating provisions regarding the bill, which included an effort to remove motorcycles from the legislation. The AMA worked closely with Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI-05) and Troy Balderson (R-OH-12) to ensure that all language regarding motorcycles remained in the proposed bill. 

HR 906, the REPAIR Act, is a piece of bipartisan legislation — with 56 cosponsors evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats — which would protect consumer and independent business access to affordable vehicle repair and equal access to the necessary parts, maintenance tools, components and data to complete repairs. The AMA remains committed to protecting the right to repair used motorcycles for all motorcyclists and will continue to work with Congress to ensure these rights are protected for our members and beyond.

Also — The Bureau of Land Management is seeking additional input on public lands that should be made more accessible for recreation. Under the Dingell Act, the Department of the Interior is directed to ask for the public’s help nominating public lands that are ideal places to hunt, fish, ride, hike, or play, but that have little or no existing public access. The American public responded with enthusiasm in the first round of nominations, submitting more than 6,000 suggestions since 2020.  

Lands nominated for the BLM Dingell Act Priority Access List must be managed by the BLM, encompass at least 640 contiguous acres and have significantly restricted or no public access. BLM would then attempt to improve access to these lands through the application of easements, rights-of-way or land purchases from willing sellers. The agency considers the likelihood of resolving access issues before submitting nominations to Congress for funding consideration.  

 As in past years, the BLM has created a new web portal. Valid suggestions must include the location of the nominated lands, total acreage affected (if known), a description or narrative describing the lack of access, and any additional information the BLM should consider. The agency will not include personal identifying information concerning owners or ownership of any nominated parcels in preparing the priority access list or related congressional reports. Nominations will be accepted until Aug. 30, 2024. 

State News 

Sacramento, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) California Desert District Advisory Council (DAC), the Central California Resource Advisory Council (RAC), and the Northern California District RAC are seeking nominations to fill existing vacancies and member terms that are scheduled to expire. The councils provide advice and recommendations to the BLM on public land use planning and management within their geographic areas. 

Nominations must be submitted by Aug. 16.

Individuals may nominate themselves or others. Nominees must be residents of the state of California. Interested parties must belong to one of the following categories:

• Hold federal grazing permits or leases within the area for which the RAC is organized; represent interests associated with transportation or rights-of-way; represent developed outdoor recreation, off-highway vehicle users or commercial recreation activities; represent the commercial timber industry; or represent energy and mineral development. 

• Represent nationally or regionally recognized environmental organizations; dispersed recreational activities; archaeological and historical interests; or nationally or regionally recognized wild horse and burro interest groups. 

• Hold state, county, or local elected office; are employed by a state agency responsible for the management of natural resources, land or water; represent Native American tribes within or adjacent to the area for which the RAC is organized; are employed as academicians in natural resource management or the natural sciences; or represent the affected public-at-large. 

The BLM will evaluate nominees based on their education, training, experience and knowledge of the geographic area of the RAC. The nominees should demonstrate a commitment to collaborative resource decision-making. 

Visit the Call for Nominations for additional details. 

Virginia City, Nev. — The 2024 Nevada OHV summit will be held on Sept. 3-5. The three-day event is designed to bring all stakeholders in motorized outdoor recreation together to share the concerns of all off-roaders. It is a networking opportunity for the community to put faces to names and more. 

The OHV Summit also affords grant recipients the opportunity to present on their projects, their successes, and any hurdles encountered while achieving their goals. The Summit also breathes new life into older ideas and helps promote funding opportunities for those ideas. 

Best of all? This is a FREE event that is hosted by the Nevada Offroad Association. Registration is required and opened on July 1.  

Visit nevadaoffroad.us/ohv-summit/ for more details and registration information. 

Industry News 

Milwaukee — Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle business, LiveWire, is getting an $89 million boost to support a five-year project to increase production of zero-emissions motorcycles for its zero-emission motorcycle production plant in Pennsylvania.

The funding comes from the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant program, part of the Inflation Reduction Act. It will support Harley-Davidson’s efforts to scale up production and refine its electric motorcycles, including models under the Harley-Davidson and LiveWire brands.

The grant will enable the Milwaukee-based company to expand its 650,000-square-foot facility in York County, Pa., enhancing production capacity for electric motorcycles. LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle business, uses an entirely American supply chain and is the nation’s largest electric motorcycle manufacturer. 

AMA News 

Pickerington, Ohio — For three days, a large collection of racers from across the country competed for the titles of AMA Vintage Grand Champion and AMA Vintage Senior Grand Champion at 2024 Permco AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days presented by Yamaha. Compiling points from the AMA Vintage Grand Championship, which consists of motocross, hare scrambles and trials competition, Quinn Wentzel of Canfield, Ohio, collected his second-consecutive AMA Vintage Grand Championship — his sixth overall — while Mark Murphy from Geneseo, N.Y., claimed the AMA Vintage Senior Grand Champion title.

With previous AMA Vintage Grand Championships in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2023, Wentzel raced his way back to the top of the leaderboard again during the three-day event. Capturing second-place finishes in the Vintage Vet 250cc A class in hare scrambles and Vintage Open A class in motocross, in addition to a class win in Vintage Old School trials, Wentzel ran away with the overall title while clearing second-place Chris Arnold by 23 points. 

While Wentzel dominated the field, Murphy eked out the AMA Vintage Senior Grand Championship by just one point. Murphy had a second-place finish in hare scrambles while landing a pair of fourth place finishes in the Vintage Senior 40+ class in motocross and Vintage Factory Expert in trials competition to earn the overall title. 

For more information about the AMA Vintage Grand Championship and Permco AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days presented by Yamaha, visit vintagemotorcycledays.com/racing/. To ensure you stay up to date on the 2025 event, sign up for the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days newsletter, follow the official event Facebook page, follow the AMA VMD Instagram page and stay tuned to vintagemotorcycledays.com/. 

Also — Following weeks of voting, the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame announced the five inductees who will be honored during the 2024 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Oct. 10 in Pickerington. The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2024 is Mike Lafferty, Debbie Matthews, Mat Mladin, Rob Rasor and Kevin Windham.

The Induction Ceremony will headline the AMA’s Hall of Fame Days, which is set for Oct. 10-13, and will include an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Bike Night and open house at the Hall of Fame Museum. The Induction Ceremony will take place at the nearby Violet Township Event Center on Oct. 10, followed by a cocktail reception at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. 

Tickets for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Induction Ceremony are now on sale and can be found at AmericanMotorcyclist.com. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact AMA Business Development Manager Michael Kula at (949) 466-7833 or mkula@ama-cycle.org. 

Hall of Fame inductees are selected from eight areas of influence: Ambassadors/Industry, Design/Engineering, Dirt Track, Leadership/Motorcycle Rights, Motocross/Supercross, Off-Road, Road Racing and Specialty Competition. 

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AMA News & Notes is a monthly publication compiled and edited by the American Motorcyclist Association. Designed to inform motorcyclists of rights-related issues and events in the United States and around the world, AMA News & Notes welcomes your input. Suggestions and editorial contributions can be sent to AMA Director of Communications Matthew Miles at mmiles@ama-cycle.org.

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