Ronald Reagan’s Legacy for Riders

 

Ronald Reagan’s brilliant light graced Bikerdom during a few of our darkest days. In 1966, USDOT and the Federal Highway Act ‘blackmailed’ the States to pass motorcycle helmet laws and stricter licensing standards or risk losing federal highway funds. The Gipper, Governor of the Golden State from 1967 to 1975, flipped the proverbial bird to the feds. California and Illinois were the only two states that refused to succumb to the socialistic nuances of big nanny government.

 

In a 1975 interview with Reason magazine, Reagan quipped, “I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves. I have illustrated this many times by saying that I would recognize the right of government to say that someone who rode a motorcycle had to protect the public from himself by making certain provisions about his equipment and the motorcycle–the same as we do with an automobile. I disagree completely when government says that because of the number of head injuries from accidents with motorcycles that he should be forced to wear a helmet. I happen to think he’s stupid if he rides a motorcycle without a helmet, but that’s one of our sacred rights–to be stupid.”

 

In 1983, Reagan imposed a stiffer tariff on import motorcycles sold with 700cc or larger engines. The move staved off the Japanese manufacturers just long enough for H-D to catch it’s breath. Harley Davidson executives bought back the company from AMF in 1981, introduced the Evo engine and the Softail in 1984, offered common stock to the public in 1986 and in 1987 petitioned for early termination of the five year tariff. Harley Davidson and Bikers everywhere owe an enormous debt to Ronald Reagan.

 

A collection of Ronald Reagan quotes

 

"There's nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse"

 

"I've always stated that the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth is a government program." -- April 1986

 

"Government is not the solution, it's the problem." -- Inaugural address, Jan. 20, 1981

 

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are:'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

 

"This is the issue of this election: whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far- distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan for ourselves." -- Oct. 27, 1964 , televised speech for GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.

 

And from Ronald Reagan’s “Goodbye Letter” written at the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease

“In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

 

John McDonald and friends had an opportunity to view President Reagan’s Flag draped coffin at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley . I’d like to ask someone from amongst our ranks, skilled in professional organization and familiar with the protocol, to contact the library and put together a day in which riders from across the nation could visit and pay their respects.

 

"You can tell a lot about a fellow by his way of eating jelly beans." ~Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004