On August 10 2005, in Sturgis South
Dakota I attended the inauguration of my close friend and
brother John (Rogue) Herlihy into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. I
was honored to be there and I listened closely as Berry Wardlow
described what Rogue had accomplished and why he was chosen to
be remembered with all the greats of motorcycling.
Barry told of Rogue’s fight to
repeal the helmet law in Connecticut and his fight for biker
rights. With limited time and in front of an audience Berry
couldn’t tell you all the other reasons Rogue belongs with this
crew.
I met Rogue 25 years ago in a
motorcycle shop in Melbourne Fl. Me a motorcycle police officer
and he part owner in a repair shop. When I walked into his shop
the first time, well let’s say, his partner under the influence
of some weird shit got on the floor and barked at me. Rogue to
the rescue, while friends took rover in the back Rogue tried to
explain as only Rogue can, why the dog was off chain and loose
in the shop. Needing to get my tired police scooter repaired I
overlooked the watch dog incident and Rogue was happy to turn
our attention to my motorcycle. After a check of my 1980 FLH
Rogue gave me a fair price to put her back in good shape. In
those days the Police Department didn’t care who did the work as
long as it was cheap. Well Rogue cut some prices and with a
little help in the labor department he got the work. After
seeing Rogue’s tool box, work area and work ethic’s it didn’t
take me long to learn to trust his work. When he said it would
be done it was. If he said it was tired and we needed a new
part, we did. Honest and fair are big words in my book and it
didn’t take long for Rogue and I to become friends. He learned
he could trust me to be honest with him and not always take the
side of the cops and he was honest with me not always taking the
side of scooter riders. Not long after Rouge and I met my
personal ride, 1974 shovel needed some serious transmission work
after someone’s ego exceeded his equipment during a late night
test of speed with a new Evo. Little did I know I was no match
for the bigger motor. The only way to beat the Evo was to out
shift the other guy, I slammed 3 rd gear hard, my bad !!! when
my shovel came to a stop there was a trail of transmission parts
from shift point to stop. This meant some time at Rogue’s house.
The shop had closed and Rogue worked at home. Well when Rogue
gets done with a tranny it shifts like butter. Time passes and
the scooter is long gone but the memory of that smooth tranny
will last a life time. I haven’t had one like it since.
During the first years of being
Rogue’s friend I realized he was not just and outlaw, trust me,
the real deal, ex-prez of a loosely formed group of motorcycle
enthusiasts (Huns) and a person you never wanted to fuck with,
but Rogue was smart he learned the system and used it, most of
the time better than the politicians. Rogue chose his battles
wisely. If you came to Rogue with a problem he would listen, if
it warranted his attention he would address it, if you had a
personal axe to grind or if you tried to bullshit the
bullshitter then you were out of luck.
I look around at all the people
riding Harleys these days and wonder if they realize how close
they came to never experiencing the ride they enjoy today. What
it is that makes them feel free when the straddle that big loud
Harley and at 40+ years old get on the street and act like they
are bad ass. The feeling they get when on Saturday night they
get 5 or 10 of them together and ride into town making lots of
noise. As they rumble down the streets they feel free. I wonder
where we would be today if it weren’t for people like Rogue. The
ones that lived the life most want but don’t have the balls to
live out. Rogue has few rules. If you violate one of those rules
then you pay the price. In return Rogues knows the laws, if he
breaks the law he will pay the price. Over the years I have seen
Rogue pay for his outlaw ways with some timeouts (not just
standing in the corner) and I have seen Rogue dispense
punishment for violating his rules. Most recently while waiting
in line at the county fair to use the bathroom a slightly
intoxicated young redneck walked pass everyone in line and
started in the john. Rogue approached the larger redneck and
informed him of his grave error. The younger man without thought
told Rogue to mind his own business and put his foolish young
hand on Rogue. Lights out!!! When his friends got him up and the
Sheriff’s Department arrived the young redneck demanded Rogue be
charge with battery. Rogue put up no fuss, he has very willing
to accept a written notice to appear for a battery charge but if
he was going to be charged he would only be obligated to return
the action and press charges against the young redneck for
battery. O, by the way, Rogue is over 65 Yrs. old, Battery on an
elderly person, Felony, go to jail, go straight to jail. Even a
drunken redneck figured he was in a lose, lose situation. Time
to go home. By the way Rogue didn’t lose his place in line.
Everyone in line made sure of that.
Rogue, now like always fights for
our rights, some we don’t even know are being violated or
abused. Rogue continues to monitor what goes on with the legal
system. He adapted with the times and today writes and
distributes information on his website, bikerrouge.com.
Over the years Rogue and I have
endured the good, the bad, and the ugly. We have both lost
friends, good scooter tramps and good cops. During those times
we demanded respect from our colleges toward the other side. We
survived over zealous cops and out of control scooters tramps.
There were times when our own didn’t quite trust us, but Rogue
never told me anything that could hurt someone and I never told
Rouge anything that compromised our trust. If I had told Rogue
something confidential or he had ratted on a friend neither one
of us would have been able to trust each other. It was a lesson
we both learned the hard way. In 1999 after one of Rogues
confrontations with the legal system I was called into my bosses
office and told that under no circumstances was I to have any
contact either by phone or in person with Rogue. It seems our
friendship had made to many people uneasy. One of the hardest
things I have ever done was to stay away from a friend and
brother. With the exception of his sons wedding and two other
casual meetings were both abided by the rules. On February 4th,
2003 at 10:37 A.M. I retired from the police department. On
February 4th, 2003 at 10:41 A.M. I made a phone call
to my friend and brother and said “Howdy”. It was like we had
never stopped having contact. Now that’s a brother!
The life of an outlaw is not always
an easy one. In the early years Rogue’s fight for biker rights
conflicted with his outlaw ways. No mater how many times you hit
a senator or legislator in the face with your fist it always
ended up the same, you lose and no one changes anything. Rogue
learned and adapted to the new battle field. He learned to hit
those people in the face with a different fist, the written
word. He started writing his thoughts and belief’s down on
paper. He read what other people wrote and chose allies with
skill. In Rogues world you had better be able to read your
opponent quickly then use their weakness against them. Rogue
learned that most changes came after large public outcry and
when the (people) learned why foolish laws were made they would
respond in large numbers. Now with all that in place you get a
large crowd of bikers to assemble in front of an elected
Politician. You be very, very outspoken, bring the press and
make sure the Politician hears you and magically things change.
One battle after another and pretty soon you get good at their
game.
Rogue has never forgotten his roots
and today at 67 years old he has mellowed just a little. With
grandkids around the house now there is a lot less swearing and
drinking but the lessons of life go on. Rogue still demands
respect from those around him including his children, just ask
his daughter if she would take Rogue’s last bag of gummy bears
again, NOT, or see how long his grandkids act like brats around
his house, not long. More active than ever with biker rights
Rogue quickly learned the power of the computer and internet
Rogue has become way more dangerous now than he ever was as an
outlaw biker. He operates his website: bikerrouge.com and spends
countless hours sifting through information and passing along
information that will affect all of us that ride today and
tomorrow.
Don’t think for a minute I’m
implying Rouge isn’t as tough as he’s always been. Even today he
is a hardcore biker. For his inauguration into the Motorcycle
Hall of Fame in Sturgis this year his 36 yr old son and I took
the 2100 mile ride from Florida to Sturgis in my Dodge truck
pulling our motorcycles in Rogue’s trailer while the old man and
his crazy brother Berry Wardlow rode their scooters. Not that
lots of people didn’t ride long distances to get to Sturgis but
I don’t think there are many (like none) that can say they rode
an 1100 mile day. Yeah, one day 1100 miles at 67 yrs old. I
don’t know what your description of tough is but in my book that
ride makes you one tough old man.
In the future people will look at
Rogues name incrusted with a select few people that have made
motorcycling what it is today. They will read about his success
in helping abolishing the helmet law and how he fought for
biker’s rights. I just wanted to put down on paper the true
reasons John (Rogue) Herlihy belongs in this group. His honesty,
his dedication and his love for the freedom he feels when riding
his motorcycle. John Herlihy has stood the test of time and
wears the name Rogue like it was meant to be worn. After all
these years and all these fights he still strives to protect our
right to ride free.
Thanks Rogue we wouldn’t be here if
you had quit.
---Blayne
