Sent to us by racer and NHIS Motorcycle Safety Director Jerry Wood, who originally posted this on the Internet in response to New Englanders angry at the AMA for abandoning the Loudon AMA National and seemingly spending time and effort primarily to fight mandatory helmet laws for street riders:

First and foremost, if you are a motorcyclist, then you should be a member of The American Motorcyclist Association. The AMA protects our rights to ride and does a damn good job doing it! The helmet law is only the first step. There have been all sorts of stupid laws proposed like leg guards, even seat belts.

The Danforth bill (circa 1987) would have outlawed sportbikes as we know them. The do-gooder lawmakers have tried banning us from roads, parks, towns and more.

The AMA has full-time representation, many times stopping unfair laws early in the process. Other times it is a long, drawn-out battle.

The insurance is a bonus, many of our riders rely on the ARMOR insurance as all that they can afford. I have Blue Cross with a big deductible and use the ARMOR as a backup, before my insurance kicks in. You can reduce your premium by a bunch by having a large deductible.

The AMA Pro Racing Department has thousands of people angry right now and they deserve it! Just for your information, the AMA did not quit Loudon because of excessive danger. They are pissed at the Bahres for venting anger at them. They don’t understand why they would become so upset just because the customers are screaming mad. Now with the Supercross mess, even more folks are upset. WE ALL can help implement change as members by voting and supporting the candidates for change.

I also belong to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. On September 11th they grounded all of us and there was talk of never letting us fly again. The AOPA fought long and hard to get us in the air again. I have sent them membership money for 23 years and they just made it worth every penney.

In a perfect world our freedoms would be guaranteed but in the real world freedom is fought for and won. None of can go this alone, we need an association.

The bottom line is if you love motorcycling, then you should kick in the $40 towards keeping your freedom.

Jerry Wood