1-on-1 with Governor Joe Manchin

AllAbout Bikes Exclusive:

One-on-One with the 111 Governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin

JT - Have you always rode a motorcycle?

JM -  Yes as long as I can remember. Over 50 years, we would ride anything when we were kids. Scooters, dirt bikes, anything we could get our hands on we rode. If it had an engine and wheels we would try.

I love to ride. Even yesterday I went to a meeting locally on my bike, people say “good on you” when I arrive on my Harley, which has the crest of West Virginia on the clutch cover.

JT -  How important is tourism to your state and encouraging bikers/motorcycle enthusiasts to visit.

JM -  Motorcyclists are one of the most important demographics for West Virginia and I have been supporting them for years. It’s shown in the success we’ve had with the numbers throughout the years from motorcycle enthusiasts. Tourism is a 4 billion dollar industry overall for West Virginia.

One of the main reasons for the success is that when a biker decides to go on a trip, it’s not like a car driver; they can’t pack everything with them, they can’t carry all of the provisions. They need to use our services, restaurants, hotels, and shops. They are a very important source of revenue for the state.  We invest back into the biking community by supplying with the services needed for a great trip.

JT Did I read that you have invested 50 million into West Virginia’s roads?

JM -  Yes, over 50 million has been spent on creating and improving our roads to make them the best possible motorcycle friendly routes. A large focus has been on our secondary roads, we have been building new ones and making sure that surfaces are up to scratch. We’ve expanded the edges of the roads to make sure they are biker friendly.

We have also built burns for bicycles so that people can pedal the windy routes.  Roads like 250 and 60 are now synonymous with West Virginia riding, and the tourist board has created various destination rides for people to choose from.

JT -  Should there be an age limit or skill level to riding a certain type of motorcycle in your eyes, just like the CC restrictions in Europe?

JM - It should all be safety driven, and it is to a certain extent by the industry. Insurance companies do a good job of restricting the availability of certain machines to certain types of riders due to premiums. I don’t think there should be a mandatory ruling to stop someone riding a certain machine after they have taken their test. If they are a good rider and can pay the premium to be covered let them ride.

JT -  Do you think that the Government should give a little more freedom to off road riders.

JM -  All public land is getting swallowed; this is why we have Hatfield McCoy. They put agreements in place to let people ride and now you can go over 500 miles on the trails with your dirt bikes, or ATV’s. We saw this years ago as something that was on the horizon, people can ride in West Virginia across miles of trails safely, after purchasing a permit, another benefit of WV.

JT -  What is your take on the helmet law, do you wear one?

JM -  it’s all about being on a level playing field. If a law is imposed everyone has to ride with a DOT approved helmet, and that’s the issue there is a very high percentage of non DOT approved helmets. That’s where the helmet law has an issue. If you wear a helmet it has to be of a spec that it will work and help you in the event of a crash, if it isn’t DOT approved why wear it?

JT -  Do you follow motorcycle sport at all; are you aware that the new kid on the block in MotoGP is an American called Ben Spies?

JM - I don’t have a huge amount of time to follow it but I do think those road racers are phenomenal. How they navigate the circuits at those speeds is really quite something. I love watching it when I get time, and I also like to keep informed about our local events too.

JT -  How do you feel about Buell and the whole Harley Situation with regards the factory closing and everything getting sold off and people losing their jobs?

JM -  I am very surprised that Harley let the brand die. I have ridden some Buell’s and I loved them. American engineering in the sport bike category. I am hopeful that when we come through these tougher than normal times someone will resurrect the Buell brand again. I really can’t believe that Harley will let it go forever.

This last couple of years have been very tough for everyone with the economic downturn. We operate our state government like you would operate your own household, we kept spending within our budgets and are able to keep people working. We didn’t furlong anyone. We keep West Virginia very visible by advertising and supporting our tourism industry, that’s what you have to do in tough times. Now that we are coming out of the recession, it’s time that people come and enjoy our state by riding all of our roads and experiencing what West Virginia has to offer.

Hope to see everyone out riding in some shape or form this summer.