Oil Drippings: News and Opinion

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

A Sunday morning ride this past weekend resulted in the arrest of a Florida motorcyclist on a charge of felony child neglect. Jose Nelson Diana of Tampa was spotted going between 20 and 30 miles per hour with his three-year-old son on his lap. Diana was released after posting $7,500 bail.

Predictably, the online comments were numerous and wide-ranging. Some readers reminisced about being taken for similar rides as kids, while others griped that the police should be arresting real criminals and that Diana did nothing wrong.

And that wasn’t the only incident involving a kid on a bike last weekend. A 43-year-old father in New Mexico was charged Sunday with endangering his 11-year-old daughter after he lost control of the bike they were riding. The girl, who was only wearing a bicycle helmet, suffered serious head, neck and leg injuries.

–

There’s more gas in the tank for the FX show “Sons of Anarchy.” The network confirms that the biker series has been picked up for a sixth year. The show wrapped its fourth year in December, which means it will be around for at least two more seasons.

–

Husqvarna is putting a positive spin on its sales for 2011. The company reports that its worldwide market share has gone from 1.09 percent in December 2008 to nearly 2 percent in December 2011. Under BMW’s ownership, Husky set an all-time sales record in calendar year 2011, although specific figures were not released. Its dealer network in the U.S. increased by 20 percent last year.

–

And… Harley-Davidson’s president and CEO, Keith Wandell, has now been given the added duties as chairman of the company’s board of directors.