Wheels Of Grace Magazine

Volume 12, Issue 1

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26 | WheelsOfGrace.com | #53 HANDLEBAR NEWS NAVY CHIEF PLEADED GUILTY TO VIOLATING PENTAGON GENERAL ORDERS "BY WRONGFULLY AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING" IN THE THUNDERGUARDS MOTORCYCLE CLUB B Y G E O F F Z I E Z U L E W I C Z A chief culinary specialist was busted down to E-6 this summer a er he pleaded guilty to being part of a "biker gang," according to recently released Navy records. Then-Chief Culinary Specialist Damitri S. Green, assigned to California's Naval Base Coronado, pleaded guilty in July to viola ng Pentagon general orders "by wrongfully and ac vely par cipa ng" in the Thunderguards Motorcycle Club. Green's Navy a orney declined comment via a service spokesman, and Green did not respond to social media messages seeking comment. An entry for the club on the "One Percenter Bikers" website states they are "an all black outlaw motorcycle club" founded in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1965. They have strong es to the Pagans Motorcycle Club, according to the website. Green faced several other charges that were withdrawn as part of a plea agreement, records show. Green's convic on follows the case of another San Diego- based Navy cook convicted for his Thunderguards affilia on last year, court records show. INDIAN MOTORCYCLE BIDING ITS TIME ON FUTURE ELECTRIC MODEL I N D I A N M O T O R C Y C L E WA I T I N G T O G E T ' C O S T D O W N A N D T H E R A N G E U P ' B E F O R E U N L E A S H I N G A N E L E C T R I C B I K E B Y S I M O N H A N C O C K S AFTER Indian Motorcycle filed for the trademark EFTR, the internet has been awash with rumors and hearsay regarding a future electric model from America's oldest motorcycle manufacturer. Then the news broke last month that Indian's parent company, Polaris, had teamed up with Zero to make snowmobiles and ATVs. And many within the motorcycle media put two and two together – an Indian motorcycle with Zero electric power was on the way. Sadly, the only electric machine we've seen from the brand is the EFTR JR, a ba ery-powered children's dirt-bike – don't get me wrong, it looks awesome – but it's not going to rival a LiveWire… Indian though does have an eye on the electric future, its just biding its time for when the market is ready, and the bike can perform how it needs to. In an interview with Yahoo! Finance, Scott Wine, Chairman, and CEO of Polaris, has confirmed that the brand will jump on the electrically powered bandwagon, just not until the timing is perfect. In the interview, he confirms why Polaris felt Zero was the perfect partner to help the American move forward in the electric sector. The first electric model from Indian turned out to be a bit smaller than expected! "Zero has proven that they know how to do this. They've had the best-selling electric motorcycles in the world. And certainly, we've had discussions about motorcycles. But we see such an opportunity right now in off-road vehicles and snow. We said let's put that aside for a while." He went on to talk about how Polaris would pitch an electric machine, naviga ng its way past some of the problems that have affected its compe tors. "What our friends in Milwaukee experienced with the LiveWire is really the reason that we've stayed away from electric because we didn't see the opportunity to get the cost down and the range up and the performance level where it needed to be. (OUCH!) And ge ng that triangle right, Zero's figured it out. We're excited to partner with them." In the interview, Wine also gave a rough meline as to how Polaris (and the brands within it) will join the electric race. Firstly, the company will move into the off-road electric sector, building ATVs, quads and snowmobiles with the help of Zero Motorcycles, that's before it even considers an on-road electric motorcycle. BLUE KNIGHTS MOTORCYCLE CLUB HELPS WITH TEDDY BEARS B Y E D E R N S T E S Beacon Health System provides a special service for kids at the hospital. They hand out teddy bears to help comfort them, however the supply is running low. That's where the Blue Knights motorcycle club is stepping in. A number of riders and motorcycle-related businesses have partnered to help with the urgent need. "We had heard from both of our nursing leaders at Memorial Hospital and Elkhart Hospital that they were in need of teddy bears for kids who are coming in our emergency room or on the pediatric unit," said Beacon Health Founda on President Susan King. Ben Norton is a Memorial Hospital police officer. "Those bears do a lot to assist individuals, to just feel comfortable in those situa ons. Right now we are desperately low on teddy bears. We give away approximately 8,000 bears a year." As it turns out, officer Norton is also a member of the Blue Knights, a law enforcement motorcycle club made up of area police officers. He turned to Elkhart police officer Jim Ballard, president of the Blue Knights. "As everyone knows, some of our main charitable organiza ons we like to support are children's chari es, and this fit right in. We're thrilled to team up with the Memorial Hospital," said Corporal Jim Ballard. They kicked off a collec on drive for new teddy bears, as well as raising money to buy new ones. All involved say the response for the teddy bear campaign has been phenomenal. Within the last couple of days, they've go en more responses of people who want to help. Teddy bear drop-off boxes have been set up at Hoosier Harley Davidson, North End Cycle and Elkhart Indian Motorcycle. "We have had a great network of local community partners and business partners jump on board," said Ballard. The more teddy bears, the be er. The collec on campaign runs through next Friday.

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