Wish List Have you been Naughty or Nice

Everyone has a Wish List for Christmas. The Way I see it is GO BIG or go home. SANTA or one of his little Helpers can always ride this one to my house and leave it in my Garage for Morning. Visit Kitchener Harley for details ask for Mike Duncan and tell him your friend Harley from RIDER 88 sent you.

Man arrested in gang sweep

Greg MacDonald, Times Staff|Dec 16, 2009 - 5:20 PM| 0
Man arrested in gang sweep

Ray Martin, Times Staff
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The owner of a Cambridge restaurant was arrested Tuesday during a sweep of Hell’s Angels operations in Southern Ontario.

Police arrested Andre Watteel, owner of the Barking Fish and former president of the Angels’ Kitchener chapter. A raid was conducted on a Royal Oak Road home, as well as the restaurant on Beech Avenue.

Watteel was charged with numerous drug offences, according to Waterloo police.
The 56-year-old’s restaurant and a home on Royal Oak Road were just two targets in a three-community sweep, which included concurrent raids in Hamilton and Nanticoke.

The raids occurred mid-morning. Officers were pulling out furniture and other belongings from the Royal Oak Road house Tuesday and also occupied the Barking Fish for much of the day.
Overall, the raid brought in $215,000 worth of drugs along with $875,000 worth of property.

Watteel had previously been arrested on fraud charges in 2006 as part of another Hell's Angels’ raid.

Tuesday’s sweep came after a year-long investigation, said Supt. Gary Askin of the Waterloo Regional Police.

Along with Watteel, seven others were arrested, most from the Hamilton area.

The results served to highlight the dangers of organized crime in the community, he said.

“It illustrated how invaluable (groups such as the Hell’s Angels) are in the drug trade,” Askin said.

“Drug raids and arrests are only one part of the solution. We also need to educate people on what organized crime is all about.

“The public has to be our eyes and ears.”

Watteel has been a member of the Cambridge community for years. His Hell's Angels associations have been known, but Mayor Doug Craig said the city was not worried about them during a 2004 Globe and Mail interview.

Craig also noted the charitable contributions of the gang.

At the time, he was reflecting the information he had heard from the police department, the mayor said yesterday. He said he was not aware that motorcycle gangs were a big issue in Cambridge.

Craig is on a committee that meets with the police every six weeks.

“Most of those discussions have been around street gangs,” he said. “Over the last three or four years motorcycle gangs have not come up.”

That doesn’t mean the presence of the Hell’s Angel is not a problem, Craig said.

“The fact is Cambridge doesn’t have representation on the police board,” he said, adding that all the information isn’t always available to elected officials not on the board.

He hopes to be brought up to speed by the police soon.

The Barking Fish restaurant has been re-opened to the public and has resumed normal operations. Management declined to comment further.

God Bless Shortround

Funeral information for Maria Carter
Calling Hours at 9-10AM, Saturday December 19 at the McDonough Funeral Home at 14 Highland Street, Lowell MA. Phone 978-458-6816 (I had the name wrong before. Don’t go to Highland Ave. which is on the other side of town.
Her funeral mass will be offered at St. Anthony’s Catholic Chur...ch in Lowell at 11AM followed by burial in St. Joseph Cemetery.
E-Condolence site: www.mcdonoughfuneralhome.com.

Shortround

Another Rider has passed this Way

Her friend Renegade, he must stay

Peace for her we will always Pray

And Peace for Renegade on this very Sad Day

God Bless Shortround

Gone but not forgotten

See you on the other side

News H.A.

How it played out

It began with a roar before dawn.

At exactly 6:45 a.m. yesterday, a flash grenade exploded at a west Mountain home on Duncairn Crescent.

Across the city, simultaneous raids were launched at five other properties targeting area members and associates of the Hells Angels. It was the culmination of what police are calling Project Manchester.

THE INVESTIGATION

A 12-month effort involving seven police forces, led by the OPP and its organized crime enforcement bureau and supported by Hamilton, Halton, Niagara, Waterloo and York police and the RCMP.

THE RAIDS

Nine simultaneous raids in Hamilton, Cambridge and Nanticoke. Six of those raids were in Hamilton -- one at the notorious biker clubhouse at Lottridge and Biggar.

SEIZED

* Weapons, street drugs worth $215,000, vehicles and motorcycles.

* Property worth an estimated $875,000 -- one home and three commercial properties.

ARRESTED

Seven alleged Hells Angels members and associates, five in Hamilton.

Pirates and Bikers

RIDER 88 Also posts Pictures of Pirates as well

Keeping an EYE out

The Editor of RIDER 88 wants to thank "Crow" for this shot

New Vaccine For CABIN FEVER already in the works

That is Right! I hope all you RIDER 88 readers and motorcycle enthusiasts are preparing for Newest Vaccine already being prepared for " Cabin Fever " Rider 88 is thinking about a bash to combat those winter Blues sometime in February. When several readers were approached about the idea it raised a thumbs up all around. In order for immunization to be effective Rider 88 must try and get full participation. More to follow, we will keep you posted.

RIDER 88's Editor

Mark T. Davidson

It's Crazy I ReallyOught to give'm Up

I remember my first encounter with “Biker’s” was in or around 1969 as I recall I was around nine years old at that time. "The Crew" and I were meandering down the railroad tracks throwing stones at the factory windows pushing each other around, goading each other on about one thing or another trying to out do one another, as we always did. Riding the freight cars as they rolled down the track, running up and down the tops of the freight cars that were bound for all over the continent bound for who knows where. We certainly were “Adventurers” in our own minds back then to say the least and foolish about the risks we took more so, as I now look back at it. The “Crew” consisted of Skippy Anderson, Wob, Shzzam and Nardo just to name a few, however there were probably a few more kids there I just can't recall. Nardo, who was several years older than most of us, had brought a couple of cigarettes along that he had ripped off from his older sister Sylvia's stash (Vava, va Voom that is what we called her when Nardo wasn't around) . Never smoking before and knowing that I could get in to deep trouble “if” I had ever gotten caught, I was in there like a dirty shirt man. Thats just around when Nardo also mentions the fact that he had cigarettes, however he had, NO, matches. Great, just picture it, several kids all huddled between freight cars, already to take a puff off this stogie for the first time ever, and not a one of us has a match. I distinctly remember the degree of dissention that took place amongst us upon our most recent discovery of not having a light for this butt and the clamor and chatter that went on until eventually someone some smart kid mentions that they had passed the “Biker’s house” on their way to meeting us at our location and that there were a bunch of “Biker’s” outback of what was later deemed "The CLUB HOUSE", all drinking and smoking and that they thought that if any adult was to give a kid a light for a smoke it would be a “Biker” as they had this distinct reputation of being real rebellious, that is what our folks always said anyways. Isn’t that odd, hmm I was always known and described by my parents as being somewhat rebellious myself. Isn't it funny how birds of a feather eventually flock together. Well you could guess who was elected to go ahead with the approach due to just such a reputation. The act seemed perfectly reasonable to me at the time, especially after all the coaching that I had received for at least an hour before hand from my own intentuis “Crew” You know the ones that were supposed to be looking out after all, my, best interests. Anyways, I remember slowly approaching the back yard through the long grass moving toward the tall wire fence where, sure enough, there they were alright, there where a whole bunch of pretty hard tough scary looking people partying and carrying on just like that kid said that they would be. I no sooner got to the fence and I was wondering what the f… I was going to say once I got there when all of the sudden I heard this angry loud voice hollering at me, and the voice says, “Hey what the fuck are you doing there kid?” I froze right there man and I am sure I looked as white as a sheet standing there and I certainly remember I was just about to crap my pants right then and there. I managed to spit out or at least mumble the words, “I was wondering, well if you had a light for my Umm smoke" I said. This grumpy hard voice yells at me again and say’s “come here kid” as he walks hastily toward the fence. I just stood there as he approached. As if my feet could move anywhere’s anyways. I was so f..king scared. When he got to the fence he said, “who are you kid and what’s your name? Are you from around here?” I again, in a mumbled voice said my name. “Come here kid,” he said, “give me that smoke I ‘ll give you a light”. Of course I handed him my smoke through the fence right away. I was going to do, whatever this guy said, as he looked like if I didn’t do as he said, he was going to rip my head off and eat me for breakfast. I mean this guy looked like he ate nails for a snack. I will never forget what that guy looked like, he was sure some ugly and looked like one hard looking son of a bitch. Anyways, he takes the smoke from me, pulls out a Zippo lighter, puts the smoke in his mouth, draws the flame up to cigarette and looks at me through the bellowing smoke between the fence and I, with the smoke curling around this mean stern looking stare says “Kid don’t you know smoking is bad for you! Now get the f..ck out of here and don’t let me see you smoking around here again or I will kick your f…ken ass”.

Now I didn’t know it way back then, but I have since learned and now understand that, even though that tough old bastard ripped me off (I was just a kid), he was really just telling me the way it was and that he really was just trying to save a kid from having to try to quit someday as he so often tried to do himself so many times in his life, as I had later learned.

You see, I met that scary old bastard in my travels and adventures later on in my life. His name was Chris. They called him “Crazy Chris” and he was a well-known tattoo artist who in my world, had great insight. Don't get me wrong he was no angel or anything but hopefully something good can come out of something so sad. Chris unfortunately, later on in his life after a long and arguous struggle, circummed to the Grim Reaper lung cancer. I will always remember Chris. Gone but not forgotten

Hindsight seems to always be 20, 20 doesn’t it.

I really ought to give the dam things up!!!



See you on the other side someday Brother

MTD

Let's Remember The Military

Military Might

When is a Harley-Davidson not really a Harley-Davidson? When it's an Armstrong, of course! The military motorcycle plot thickens on both sides of the Atlantic: Allan Johnson stirs the soup...

There's some rather interesting background history to the origins of the Armstrong MT500 and 350, which also explains how H-D got back into the military motorcycle field.

These bikes originated from the Italian SWM Tornado in the early 1980s, in an attempt to make a street-legal model to go with their competition line-up. It was also developed in a military version, but the firm was in financial trouble and, in the collapse, the design went to Armstrong-CCM.

CCM at that time (1982-83) were just taking over manufacture of the Can-Am line of competition motorcycles which had been built from 1973 to 1982 in Canada. This shift in production site was arranged by Jeff Smith (of earlier BSA fame), then with Can-Am. Can-Am had produced the 250cc Bombardier motorcycles used by various NATO forces. Engines in the Bombardiers, Can-Ams, the SWM and the Armstrong MT500 were all Rotax units made in the Bombardier-owned Austrian factory.

By 1984, the production of the Armstrong MT500 manual start model (I think about 2500 of these were eventually made) and some electric start versions for the Jordanian and Canadian military was well under way. The Canadian Army took only 90 of the electric start version, known to them as the Armstrong M50. These were in service until the early 1990s with the result that some bear H-D labels on the side covers instead of Armstrong ones.

In 1987, production of Can-Am motorcycles ceased at Armstrong and the military motorcycle business was sold off to H-D at around the same time. One of the factors in this is not so much that H-D wanted to be in the military motorcycle business, but the fact that they were using the Rotax engine in their dirt-track racing team effort. The idea of using a 'foreign' engine, even though very competitive, was no doubt a bit galling to them. H-D did have connections with the US military, having been saved from bankruptcy in the 1980s by the award of a munitions contract.

The MT350E is a development of the M50 and shows, in its use of the large front panniers, one of the current problems which the military face with vehicle design. That is the fact that infra-red technology is so developed now that engine heat becomes a giveaway at night. No doubt the move to a 350 engine is an effort to reduce heat radiation and the side panniers are a further attempt to block radiation. The Canadian Army has gone to Kawasaki KLR 250cc motorcycles for its general use and these are water-cooled and have the usual radiator shrouding to reduce side radiation profile.

One of the other problems with military motorcycles is the fact that they are one of the few military vehicles in most modern armies which do not run on diesel fuel. This has been a supply inconvenience for a long time and has limited the acceptability and role of motorcycles in many armies. This fuel type problem has been studied for many years, (there was a diesel Norton ES2 in the 1950s) but I understand that the Canadian army has been looking at a diesel version of their current bike. I wouldn't doubt that the British Army and NATO have been doing the same. (Diesel experiments with Enfields abound, too. RH).

H-D was a large producer of military motorcycles in WW2 with their WLA (American Army), WLC (Canadian Army) and US (South African Army) models being the best known. Not many were used by the British military, except some WLCs which were used by the RAF, but lots of WLCs and WLAs were sold surplus in Britain after the war, as were the 500 and 750cc Indians. The WLC differed in many respects from the American version, most notably in having an auxiliary hand clutch in addition to the rocking pedal foot clutch.

While the old WLC Harley would certainly let your feet touch the ground, I think the Harley-Davidson MT350E is probably the more practical choice -- in this day and age, anyway.

Happy Birthday Sassy

Rider 88 wants to wish fellow rider Sassy (Sandra Stevenson Wojteczko) a very Happy Birthday

Collector's Item

These Special Eddition Jack Daniel's replica's where presented to Randy Parent on his 60th Birthday Party Nov.28 2009 at the Crow Bar Hotel by The Davidson Family and Rider88. Thanks to the producer Dan Bailey for making it possible. Special thanks goes out to the Entertainment Commitee, Shelly the Belly Dancer and Debbie the shooter Girl.

Motorcycle Queen of Miami

Like Dot Robinson, Bessie Stringfield was also instrumental in breaking down the gender barriers, as well as racial stereotypes, of society. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, this female, African-American motorcycle legend took eight different solo rides across the United States, including Southern states. The trips were not always easy due to the racial prejudice sometimes prevalent during those times. However, rather than quitting, this motorcycle hero kept her determination and persevered, eventually becoming one of the most famous female motorcyclists in the U.S.Stringfield also worked as a civilian motorcycle dispatch rider for the U.S. Army during World War II. After serving in the Army, she moved to Miami and founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club. She also was known for her antics, which earned her the nickname "Motorcycle Queen of Miami," such as winning a bike race disguised as a man and standing in the saddle of her bike while riding through Miami. This famous motorcyclist owned 27 Harley-Davidson motorcycles throughout her lifetime.