Do you need a motorcycle license? My name is Donn Loper - I ride a 2001 Fatboy. I happened to be near Walnut Creek this past weekend for my nephews wedding and thought I would pass on some information about an incident that happened while I was there. My family and I were traveling down a road in the business section in the city of Lafayette, much like Scottsdale Rd near all of the biker friendly bars in South Scottsdale. The speed limit was probably 25 to 30. A guy in a brand new Sportster merged from the left on to the street in front of us. No big deal - he did everything perfectly. Being a rider, I slowed down to give him some more room. Not more than 5 or 10 seconds later, a woman driving a silver Passat made the same maneuver, merging from my left - except right in front of the guy on the Sportster. He locked up his tires, billows of smoke from the rubber came from his tires. He tried to get out of her way, but it was too late. WHAM! He slammed into the left rear of her car. The impact ripped off her bumper, the car ran over his new Sportster, and he went tumbling down the street. Fortunately, he was wearing a riding jacket and escaped serious road rash. We had been a witness to a motorcycle/car accident, and I was going to come to the defense of a fellow rider. We had the person driving the car "dead to rights" as the guilty one in this accident. But this is where the story gets interesting. Fellow riders - LOOK OUT! Before the police came, the rider was cussing a mean streak to the driver of the car. F-bombs were flying like you wouldn't believe. I kept trying to calm the guy down - I am 6'6" and weigh 240 pounds. I was finally able to calm him down enough to sit down and wait for the police to come. I know he was mad, I would have been mad too, but being belligerent was not going to make the damage to his bike go away. After a few minutes, the police came, and I explained the whole accident to them. The fault lay squarely on the shoulders of the driver of the car. The police walked over to the rider and asked for the usual - registration, proof of insurance, and driver's license. The first 2 he produced. He confessed to the police officer that he didn't have a license to operate a motorcycle. Game over. That's it. Game, set, and match all at once. You see...........without a valid motorcycle operating license, he was not allowed to drive that motorcycle. Since he was not allowed to drive a motorcycle, he should never have been at that location to get in an accident in the first place. Riders fault. Period. Not only does he have to pay for replacement of his bike, he has to pay for the repair work to the car. To make matters worse - he started throwing F-bombs at the police officer. He was detained and prohibited from leaving the scene. The officer turned to us and told us we could leave. The police officer didn't even take a written statement! Moral of the story - If you have been riding and putting off getting your license, get off your bike and get your license - NOW!!! Another side note. Right after the accident, I called 911 and was put on HOLD for 7 minutes! Can you imagine??!! Only in California.......... There might be another Moral to this Story - Never rely on 911 to help you in California! Regards, Donn Loper 7/16/03