Charlie Brechtel Dies In Crash

Copperopolis, California, USA (April 27, 2020) BSB — Charlie Brechtel tragically died in a motorcycle crash on O’Bynes Ferry Road on Saturday at 5:52 pm near Duchess Drive.

Charlie was riding his 1987 Harley-Davidson motorcycle northbound on O’Byrnes Ferry Road south of Duchess Drive, when his motorcycle crossed the double-yellow line, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Charlie Brechtel

Charlie’s motorcycle collided with the front left corner of a 2013 Chevy Equinox being driven the opposite direction by Briana Mason, 29, and Evan Gorder, 29, both of Davis.

Charlie was ejected from his motorcycle and was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither Mason nor Gorder were injured. No arrests were made, and the CHP accident report states that drugs and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the collision.


Brechtel was a nationally known figure among motorcycle enthusiasts, and was nicknamed “Good Time Charlie.” Charlie Brechtel’s music is in an honest to goodness tribute to the biker lifestyle that he loved. His top notch musical group, the Charlie Brechtel Band, had been featured in many motorcycle films.

Charlie’s music has been featured on the Sons of Anarchy TV series as well as many other biker movies, books and events. Charlie worked with the likes of John Lee Hooker, Deacon Jones, Gregg Allman, B.B. King, Dr. John, Buddy Miles, Aaron Neville, Freddy Fender, Steppenwolfe and much. He had his own stage every year at The Buffalo Chip in Sturgis and headlined every night.


Charlie has opened for artists such as Dave Mason, Foghat, Edgar Winter, Jackyl and a host of others. He was also a Composer, Arranger, Songwriter and Producer.

Brechtel was 62-years-old.

Harley-Davidson Shutters U.S. Plants

 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA (March 19, 2020) BSB — Harley-Davidson has been closely watching the coronavirus situation since January and are taking proactive measures in the interest of health and safety of its employees, dealers and consumers.

The company is temporarily suspending the majority of production at its U.S. manufacturing facilities through March 29 to help support employee health and further bolster coronavirus containment efforts.

Facilities affected are York Vehicle Operations in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin facilities Tomahawk Operations and Pilgrim Road Powertrain Operations.

“We recognize the unprecedented nature of this global crisis. In order to best support our employees and following the social distancing guidance issued by public health authorities, we are temporarily suspending the majority of production at our U.S. manufacturing facilities,” said Jochen Zeitz, acting CEO and president, Harley-Davidson. “We will continue to monitor the situation and take necessary steps to prioritize employee health and safety.”

Harley-Davidson officials said they will continue monitoring the situation closely and make additional adjustments as necessary in accordance with World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The majority of its United States production employees will be on temporary layoff with medical benefits. The company will use this idle time to continue their deep cleaning and disinfecting its production areas and common areas to further protect workers for when they return back to work.

Harley-Davidson closed its Pilgrim Road Powertrain Operations facility after an employee tested positive for coronavirus and is thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the building, per the company’s coronavirus response protocol.

On Monday, Harley-Davidson asked employees at its Milwaukee-area headquarters and Product Development Center, except those business-critical roles that must be done onsite, to work remotely through at least the end of March.

The plant in Springettsbury had about 950 employees in 2018 when the company announced it would add an additional 450 there because Harley-Davidson was shuttering its facility in Kansas City. The Springettsbury plant had about 2000 employees a decade earlier.

Earlier Wednesday, General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler suspended all of their North American production plants to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Additionally, the company is proactively working with its dealers to assess individual impacts and its encouraging dealers to follow the public health guidelines in their communities for the safety of its consumers. In accordance with social distance guidelines, all Harley-Davidson sponsored events have been cancelled until mid-April.

SOURCE: Yahoo Finance

Harley-Davidson President Steps Down

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA (February 29, 2020) BSB — Harley-Davidson, Inc. has announced that Matthew Levatich has stepped down as President and CEO and as a member of the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors has appointed Jochen Zeitz as acting President and CEO, a current board member who has also been named Chairman of the Board. Current Chairman of the Board, Michael Cave, is now Presiding Director.

The company plans to use an external search firm to undertake a search for a new CEO, and a further announcement will be made at a later date.

"The Board and Matt mutually agreed that now is the time for new leadership at Harley-Davidson," said Zeitz in a statement. "Matt was instrumental in defining the More Roads to Harley-Davidson accelerated plan for growth, and we will look to new leadership to recharge our business. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Matt for his 26 years of service to Harley-Davidson. He has worked tirelessly to navigate the Company through a period of significant industry change while ensuring the preservation of one of the most iconic brands in the world."

Harley has been struggling with declining sales in the U.S., its biggest market, as it tries to adapt to an aging customer base while looking to expand markets overseas.

The announcement of the leadership change, made after the markets closed, pushed Harley’s shares up 5% in after-hours trading. They had fallen 2.3% with the broader markets during the trading day.

Harley’s closing share price Friday was down 18% for the year.

Harley reported a net profit of $423.6 million in 2019, but it made only $13.5 million in the fourth quarter.
Levatich will assist with the transition through the end of March. Harley-Davidson, Inc. was founded in 1903.

SOURCE: Reuters

Anti Profiling Bill Passes

Boise, Idaho, USA (February 26, 2020) BSB — Legislation pushed by Nampa Rep. Robert Anderst for the past three years to forbid “motorcycle profiling” by law enforcement — deciding to pull someone over or arrest or search them solely because they’re riding a motorcycle or wearing motorcycle gear — handily passed the Senate on Wednesday.

The 25-9 vote came after similar legislation died in the Senate last year on a 17-18 vote; and the year before that, after passing the House unanimously, it was killed on a 13-22 vote in the Senate. This year’s bill, SB 1292, started in the Senate.

As they have for the past two years, motorcycling enthusiasts and members of motorcycle groups turned out in big numbers to testify in favor of the bill in committee, saying they’ve been profiled by law enforcement officers when they were abiding by all laws.

This year’s bill, like last year’s, in addition to defining and forbidding motorcycle profiling, also states that it’s not creating any new basis for lawsuits. To become law, it now needs House passage and the governor’s signature.

SOURCE: Idaho Press