MNO Blog – Motorcycles, News, Opinions

Leesburg Bikefest  April 27-29 in Leesburg, Florida will feature a three day Rat’s Hole custom motorcycle show and rock band Quiet Riot Saturday night on the main stage. Announced on the Rat’s Hole web site the Leesburg bike show will be open all three days of the Florida motorcycle event.

Friday April 27th the Rat’s Hole will open with the Leesburg biker showcase. Saturday the 28th will be the Leesburg Bikefest 07 custom motorcycle show and will include a Ratmate contest. Sunday is metric madness day.

The show will focus on metric bikes and get ready to witness the awesome street bike stunts performed by Teem Xtreem.

Leesburg, Florida really does welcome bikers and Main Street is for motorcycles only! Bring comfortable walking shoes though, because once you are parked you will be on foot the rest of the day and into the night as the party continues.

Quiet Riot will be on the main stage Saturday night. Other bands listed to perform during the three days of Bikefest include Confederate Railroad and the Monsters of the Morning just to list a few of the promised 40 concerts on 7 stages. All Free!

Leesburg Bikefest one Florida motorcycle event that you do not want to miss! More information can be found on the official Bikefest web site.

The amount of entertainment crammed into the 3 day motorcycle event includes concerts, 300+ vendors, Hawaiian Tropic/Ms Bikefest bikini contest, Ratmate contest. Biker games, Teem Xtreem stunt show, safety demonstrations and more.

Leesburg Bikefest Hotel Accommodations

Technorati Tags: biker events, florida, leesburg, motorcycle news, motorcycle shows, rats hole

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Melbourne, Florida – The Melbourne Fire Department has completed gathering evidence on the scene of an explosion that happened early Wednesday at the Tucker Heights Apartments, 1101 Mathers St that claimed the life of two people and injured seven others. The victims of the explosion were sleeping in the apartment at the time and are listed as Joshua Leigh Jackson, 18 and 11 month old baby Ja’Miya Jackson.

The Melbourne Police department is continuing their investigation into the explosion and are asking residents who might have taken video or photographs to please contact the Department at 321-409-2200.  Anyone with information is asked to contact the Melbourne Police Department at 321-409-2200 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. 

The investigation continues into the deaths of the residents in apartment D.  The gathering of evidence has determined that the dryer from apt C was illegally removed and found by Detectives in apt D.  The Melbourne Police Department has completed gathering all evidence and will continue with their investigation.  Police will be on scene throughout the weekend providing security to prevent tampering with any debris or resident’s belongings.

Technorati Tags: local news, melbourne, florida, explosion, fire, police investigation

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Viera, Florida – Attorney for chopper builder Billy Lane was to appear in court today and present his “Motion To Withdraw” to Judge Allawas, but Mr. Funk was not present at today’s 9:00 am calendar call at the Moore Justice Center in Viera.

Melbourne based attorney Kepler Funk has been one of the attorneys handling the defense in the criminal case against Choppers Inc. owner Billy Lane. Lane originally faced three felony charges stemming from a labor day crash that left Gerald Morelock, 56 of Melbourne Beach dead. Lane and female passenger, Erin Derrick were hospitalized, but treated for injuries and later released.

Lane was driving a 2006 Dodge pickup promotional vehicle loaned to him by the DaimlerChrysler Corporation while attempting to pass three vehicles in a no pass zone and hit Morelock head on killing him instantly. It was later determined that had been drinking and had a blood alcohol content of .192 and he was charged with DUI Manslaughter. The other two original charges were dropped by the State of Florida back in November of 2006. Mr. Morelock autopsy report revealed that he had a BAC of .133, but witnesses have stated that he was driving correctly when Lane hit him.

Mr. Funk was expected to make his motion to withdraw today because of a conflict of interest, however Judge Allawas stated that there was also a calendar call scheduled for Monday, April 16 and she would hear all motions then.

Attorney Robert Barry from the newly appointed law firm of Eisenmenger, Barry and Peters stated that he was only present as an observer today. Billy Lane added  Attorney Gregory Eisenmenger back in January of this year. I contacted Mr. Funk in January and he stated that both he and Mr. Eisenmenger were handling Mr. Lane’s Criminal case at that time.

Mr. Eisenmenger was not present in court today, however you may recall that he recently appeared for a hearing in the ongoing civil case filed by the mother of Gerald Morelock against Dodge and Lane for the wrongful death of her son. The civil trial is currently seeing a lot of document traffic, but no court appearance has been scheduled at this time. Judge Moxley had set a date for August for the trial to be heard.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, criminal court, dodge, dui, florida, melbourne, motorcycle news, news, viera

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Billy Lane’s new criminal attorney, Gregory Eisenmenger was present at the 4:15 pm hearing in the civil case filed against Billy Lane and DaimlerChrysler for the wrongful death of Gerald Morelock. Mr. Eisenmenger announced to the court that he was sitting in today because “ today’s hearing touches on advice I have given my client in the criminal case” and “I am here to help answer questions and advise”.

In fact, no questions were answered. The reason for today’s hearing was whether the questions would be answered or not. Also present today, by telephone, Sammy Cacciatore and Sam Cacciatore for plaintiff Dolores Morelock and Jefferey Vernis for Billy Lane. William McCandless, attorney for DaimlerChrysler was on the conference call as well.

Attorney Sam Cacciatore, filed a request for admissions with the court, asking Billy Lane to answer questions that could shorten the civil hearing time in court. Billy Lane’s civil and criminal attorneys agreed that it was in Billy Lane’s best interest to invoke the 5^th amendment and not answer the questions because the criminal trial for DUI Manslaughter against Lane was still on-going. Questions pertaining to venue, such as time, date and place were under objection. Criminal attorney Eisenmenger stated that it was up to the State of Florida to prove that the crash happened, adding that they must also prove where and when, along with the identity of the deceadant, Gerald Morelock in the criminal case against Lane. Eisenmenger later added that answering these questions could be extremely damaging to his client with the criminal charges still pending.

Most of the objections to the questions were sustained by Judge Moxley, as they were read to the court one by one. These questions will all be presented in a later article here on this blog. Judge Moxley did overrule on a few of the objectionable questions. Cacciatore had requested that Billy Lane produce all documents pertaining to any type of lease agreement that he had with Dodge for the Dodge Ram pickup that he was driving the night of the crash. In response, civil attorney Vernis stated that there was no written agreement between Dodge and Billy Lane for the promotional vehicles that Lane had in his possession and control. Vernis called the question very broad for the plaintiffs to ask for any and all documents.

Objections were heard from both of Billy Lane’s attorneys when questions were asked about Erin Derrick, the female passenger with Billy Lane on the night of the crash. Attorney Sam Cacciatore said “ we have no idea what the relationship was” between Billy Lane and Erin Derrick. Eisenmenger, said that Ms. Derrick could be a link in the chain of evidence for the criminal case and had advised Lane not to answer. It was determined by the court that Lane would have to answer the question regarding his driving history by listing all traffic citations prior to the Labor Day crash. I asked attorney Greg Eisenmenger how he felt about the decisions. Eisenmenger stated “ I think the judge ruled appropriately in all respects.

I will elaborate as to all of the questions in a full article tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, motorcycle news, blog, dui, trial, court, florida, celebrity news

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I guess one of the biggest draws to the famed Daytona Beach’s Main Street during bike week is for the cruising. Whether you choose to walk or ride this strip of bars, shops and restaurants that are packed along Main Street beginning at S. Peninsula Dr. that continues up to Ocean Ave., it is a people watching safari. Two and three wheeled vehicles of all shapes and sizes and covered with everything imaginable will appear on this strip at least once during the ten day Florida Motorcycle Event. Men and women from all over the world will visit Main Street to shop, eat and drink will checking out the masses that migrate to Daytona Beach annually for bike week.

Wet T shirt and bikini contest are almost an hourly event as the bars attempt to draw in thirsty spectators. Beer Tub Babes, half naked, draw the eye of people passing by while every cell phone with a camera is in hand to grab a shot to bring home as a souvenir of the visit to Daytona Beach, Florida.

The motorcycle industries top names also appear in this area. I was lucky enough to catch custom motorcycle builder Russell Mitchell of Exile Cycles working on a build at Automatic Slim’s on Main Street next to Dirty Harry’s saloon. The bike Russell is working on was to be presented to John Mellencamp and will be featured in Motorcycle Mania 4 to be aired in April.

With all the things to see on Main Street, the number 1 attraction? Babes. Biker Babes, Beer-Tub Babes, babes in chaps and bikini babes.

There is always plenty of great looking eye candy on the strip in Daytona.

More Bike Week Babes on my Bike Week Daytona web site.

Technorati Tags: bike week, motorcycle news, daytona beach, florida, motorcycle events

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Staying at home in my bed after tent camping for 6 nights made it hard to get out of the sack early Saturday morning to return to Daytona Beach for the Rat’s Hole custom bike show, but I did. The annual Florida motorcycle event was not extremely busy the first few days, in fact up until Wednesday the bike week scene seemed tamed. Putting aside the nightly party that was happening on our end of the campgrounds, but that is another story all together.

As promised, the weather for the first Saturday was cold and wet and the cold did not give way to warmer temperatures until Monday. The good thing was that out of the 10 days of bike week we only seen rain one day. We postponed our Daytona Loop photo shoot until Sunday due to the in climate weather on Saturday.

It is hard to wrap up nine days of bike week into one article, so I am not going to try. I am still in the process, but closed to finished, of sorting out the pictures that we took during our visit. The final Saturday of bike week was wild and crowded. Running late coming from Melbourne and getting caught in the Daytona Speedway traffic did not help. It took nearly an hour to get from the International Speedway Blvd. Exit of I-95 to the Daytona Lagoon were the Rat’s Hole bike show was being held.

For the first time, the Rat’s Hole featured a V8 Chopper build-off! The bikes and the main stage were set up in the Tidal Wave Pool that normally holds 500,000 gallons of water. The water was gone for the event…. wonder where they put 500,000 gallons of water while the bike show was set up? Any way, the show was held under blue skies and there was plenty to keep our cameras busy. I will do more on the Rat’s Hole later.

Heading down SR A1A to Main Street later in the afternoon to check out the happenings, we found that Main Street was wall to wall. Where there were not bikes, there were people and no room left for either. For the final Saturday of bike week 2007, Main Street took on the look of the bike week of days gone by. It was almost a feeling of “let’s see how far we can take this” pushing the red line on what would get by. It was a good thing and a good feeling to see people having fun, real fun. None of this”I am shocked at all this” looks. For Pete’s sake, if you want family atmosphere head over to Orlando. It is probably too late for the city to revive the entire event back to Daytona Beach, but it looks like they may get a day of the old days.

There were just as many people the entire time of Bike Week, with the exceptions of a lot of Floridians riding in for the day, it is just that they are more spread out now. US 1 has become the new Main Street and a lot of the traffic has been pulled to the North with the opening of Destination Daytona along with other anchor industry leaders like Corbin. New biker bars, custom chopper and motorcycle dealers and tattoo shops are popping up all around the Ormond Beach area. I will get to all this later on as well.

So, I am back from Daytona and will try to get as much information about what happened at the event posted in the next day or so. Keep an eye out for them.

Technorati Tags: motorcycle news, bike week, daytona beach, florida, motorcycle events, bike shows

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You can see by the recent Bike Week webcam shot that Main Street is starting to see some life.

I made a post the other day on how to watch bike week from the Wise Guys Watering Hole web cams and I just captured this shot from their bike week webcam looking down on Main Street Daytona Beach. The weather is looking better, but the winds are still high.

Look for us! We always take pictures on the road, Cindi will have camera ready as we head up to the Cabbage Patch Bar to set up the tent.

Look for this sign that the Naked Cowboy is holding and your picture may appear on www.daytonamotorcyclerally.com or our 2007.bike-weekdaytona.com web site. Don’t forget that we shoot on the Daytona Loop as well. If you are interested in getting any private work done while you are in town for bike week, give me a call on my cell 321-961-8936 and we will try to work you in.

Bike Week Hotels are still available and with no minimum stay. Click here to check out popular bike week destinations.

This will be my last post for a couple of days until I return home to do updates. I’m out of here, see you on the road. Ride safe and enjoy!

Technorati Tags: bike week, travel, hotels, motorcycle news, daytona beach, florida

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As we make our final preparations to leave for Daytona Beach the winds here in Melbourne Florida are kicking up and the sky is threatening. The image above is from my web site Ride Weather and it stays current updating the Daytona Beach weather hourly.

Looks like Bike Week will be getting off to a windy and cloudy start with chances of scattered thunder storms today and tomorrow. As of yet, we have not seen any rain, but be very careful riding in this wind. Wind gusts of up to 35 mph have been recorded as a front moves along the Florida peninsula.

This is a screen capture of the sky cam located in Daytona Beach on the WESH Channel 2 tower. The picture shows the cloud coverage, but no rain.

This picture was captured form the web cam located on the Daytona Beach Pier looking down the Florida coastline, you can see the cloud build up. Here is the extended Daytona Beach weather outlook:

Friday…Mostly cloudy with numerous showers and thunderstorms. Breezy. Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.

Thursday…Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.

Source:

http://www.wesh.com

http://www.daytonavisit.com

http://www.rideweather.com

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I love to camp, but nothing beats camping in a tent during bike week and other motorcycle events. Waking up to the sound of a motorcycle starting up, then another and on to almost a continuous roar of engines gets me revved up for the days work.

We camp and base our bike week operations out of the Cabbage Patch Bar. Camping is very reasonable,  $10.00 a head, per night for tent camping only. This works out well because Cindi and I do a lot of the photo work for the bar web site. Here you can party and walk home!

Bike Week Camping is a lifestyle where you can make new friends and see old friends from the years past. The camp ground gets packed pretty fast, but there is a lot of room in the wooded area across from the bar.

Wednesday by 10:00 am this is what the place looks like! Motorcycle parking overflow is pushed into the camping area for the world famous cabbage patch coleslaw wrestling. Make note: The women’s coleslaw wrestling is now held on 2 days at the cabbage patch bar. You can now catch all the action on the first Wednesday and second Saturday of Bike Week at the Cabbage Patch Bar, Samsula, Florida.

Come join us!

Technorati Tags: bike week, blog, camping, daytona beach, florida, motorcycle events, motorcycles

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 (Titusville, Florida) James E. Bremmer, 53, of Titusville has had his driver licensed revoked for more than 5 years for arrests on 3 DUIs back in 1998. The charges were enough to mark him as a habitual offender, yet he was driving a borrowed pick up truck on Sunday night and veered into the path of 52 year old motorcyclist Dennis Bestwick. The pick up truck that Bremmer was driving side swiped Bestwick while riding his motorcycle northbound on US 1 killing him.

Bremmer has been charged with DUI manslaughter, driving with a suspended license, violation of right of way and DUI with property damage. Trooper Kim Miller also noted that if someone lent Bremmer the truck on a revoked license, that person could face fines for allowing an unauthorized driver access.

Because, Trooper Kim Miller, the public information officer for the FHP does not recognize me as a news source, I have to refer to a story just released to the mass media published in the Sun Sentinel for this post.

Source:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com

Technorati Tags: motorcycle news, dui, drunk driving, florida, titusville, blog

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