GOLD WING ROAD RIDERS ASSOCIATION

Transcription

1 FL-2D HARBOR CITY WINGS BEACON MELBOURNE, FLORIDA August 2009 GOLD WING ROAD RIDERS ASSOCIATION Chapter Director comments: Hello! Due to the Dog Days of Summer, we are a little slow in planning a lot of rides. If it s not in the three digit numbers in the heat department, it s the afternoon storms we have to put up with. We managed to get in a couple of activities this month. We had a short evening ride to St. Cloud for Philly Cheese Steaks. For those of you that have never visited this place, they say this is one of the best around. It s comparably to the original cheese steak up north. The chapter visited FL2N (Cocoa) on Wednesday, the 15 th of July. I want to thank the nine chapter members who showed up to support the chapter on this visit. On Sunday the 19 th, Mike, Ray, Diane and Mo, put on a chapter parking lot practice. There were about 20 people that showed up. Not all participated but we came out with a better knowledge of how to handle and pick up a bike. I want to thank Steve Borrelli for donating the coffee and donuts and Deb Dalton and Pat Duquette for delivering them. In closing I want to invite all members to give our ride coordinator (Harry) any suggestions for a ride they might want to be planned in Meetings - First Tuesday of each Month Currently meeting at : MeMaws on Babcock in Palm Bay. Eat, Chat and Mingle at 6:00pm. Meeting starts at 7:00 pm CONTENTS: Directors Comments pg. 1,2 GWRRA Events pg. 3 Rider Safety pg. 4 Birthdays/Anniversaries pg. 5 Chapter Meeting pg. 6 Trip - Westward Ho pg. 7 Sale Items pg. 17 Advertisers pg 18 Sponsors Ads. Pg 19 NATIONAL, REGIONAL & DISTRICT STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Mellisa Nordeoff REGION A DIRECTOR Bob & Nan Shrader FLORIDA DISTRICT DIRECTOR Ed & Jeannette Carr CHAPTER FL2-D STAFF CHAPTER DIRECTOR Charlotte & Mike Mercer ASST. CHAP. DIRECTORS Mo & Deb Dalton CHAPTER EDUCATOR Mike & Pat Duquette ASST. CHAPTER EDU. Ray & Diane Mercier TREASURER Joanne Davies SUNSHINE LADY Rachel Moyer NEWSLETTER EDITOR Richard Mitts

2 the future. I know Harry has a couple of get togethers in the next couple of months, so keep checking your s for the dates. Ride safe and long, Charlotte & Mike Dat s it from de Director! My Valentine Little David comes home from first grade and tells his father that they learned about the history of Valentine s Day. Since Valentine s day is for a Christian saint and we re Jewish, he asks, will God get mad at me for giving someone a valentine? David s father thinks a bit, then says No, I don t think God would get mad. Who do you want to give a valentine to? Osama Bin Laden, David says. Why Osama Bin Laden? his father asks in shock. Well, David says, I thought that if a little American Jewish boy could have enough love to give Osama a Valentine, he might start to think that maybe we re not all bad, and maybe start loving people a little bit. And if other kids saw what I did and sent valentines to Osama, he d love everyone a lot. And then he d start going all over the place to tell everyone how much he loved them and how he didn t hate anyone anymore. His father s heart swells and he looks at his boy with newfound pride. David, that s the most wonderful thing I ve ever heard. I know, David says, and once that gets him out in the open, the Marines could have a clear shot at him.

3 2009 FLORIDA GWRRA EVENTS 5/11/09 Sept Region A Rally, Dothan, AL Sept FL1-A 15th Anniv. Picnic, Lutz Oct FL1-B Coast to Coast Charity Ride, Brandon Oct Mississippi District Rally, Tupelo, MS Nov. 1...SW Florida Ride For Kids, Sarasota Nov Florida District Rider Ed Fair, St. Petersburg 2010 FLORIDA GWRRA EVENTS Jan FL2-L Rally, Lakeland Just not the kind of thing you want to follow.. GWRRA MOTTO: Friends For Fun, Safety and Knowledge Wanted A group of elementary school students were on a field trip to the local police station. Several of the children were fascinated by the wanted posters on the wall. Little Billy raised his hand and asked the police officer giving them the tour who the people on the wall were. Those are pictures of criminals we are looking for, answered the policeman. We call those wanted posters.. Little Billy looked puzzled. His hand shot back up into the air. Well, he wondered, why didn t you just keep them when you took their picture? Can you hear me now? An old man was wondering if his wife had a hearing problem. So one night, he stood behind her while she was sitting in her lounge chair. He spoke softly to her, "Honey, can you hear me?" There was no response. He moved a little closer and said again, "Honey, can you hear me?" Still, there was no response. Finally he moved right behind her and said, "Honey, can you hear me?" She replied, "For the third time, Yes!"

4 Safety Educator So You Want to Fix Your Bike Here are some reasons why we work on our own bikes: Because we want to, or because we have to. Because we want to: Its job we can handle, and rather than bring it to a shop and have them do it, we do it ourselves, because we want it done right. Because we have to: We don't have the money it would cost to have the job done at a repair shop, with the cost of parts and labor, we buy the parts and do the job ourselves. Here are some tips for making repairs for the do-it-yourselfer: Quality control: When you work on your own vehicle you have to make sure the motorcycle is safe, and you have to be happy with the outcome of your work. Care about what your doing. Make whatever your working on as clean, strong, smooth, and sound as possible. As you gain experience with every job you do, your standards will go up. Have A Clean Work Space: The most important tool you need, is a clean secure work space you can work on your project. You need a space where you can keep all your tools and parts together. You want to have the ability to leave these tools and parts (securely), should you not be able to finish the job in one day. And do yourself a favor, sweep your work area every day, and wipe up any fluids that spill immediately. Keep Records: Keep all your receipts for the parts you buy, and if a warranty card for the part is included make sure you register it with the manufacturer. Keep all your receipts in a clean and dry area, so you can get at them should you need too. Have an Assistant: Having and extra set of eyes and hands makes every job go smoother. Sometimes installation instructions for parts are not that great, and being able to bounce ideas off someone else helps. Also you have someone to run for parts, food, and if things don't go as planned, call paramedics. Ideally your assistant knows more about fixing your bike than you do. A learning curve presents itself here, in that you can learn it much better when someone who knows what he or she is doing, can point you in the right direction so the repair is done right the first time. in the Chapter. When you take apart a Goldwing using the repair manual, it s usually straightforward, but you never know. Shortcuts: Taking shortcuts on a repair is never a good idea. This also cost time and money. Never do so unless you've done a certain repair many times over, and you know the tricks of getting the repair done quickly and done right. Trying to make repairs without first moving something in your way might seem like it will save time, but it usually doesn't. Save the shortcuts for the second and third time you do a repair. Seek Expert Advice: Before doing a repair, or part installation on your bike, seek out other people who might have done these repairs and installations before. Friends within the association, online forums, etc. Getting all the information you can before you do the job, again can save you money and time. Mistakes: Everyone makes mistakes when they do mechanical work. But you should learn by these mistakes, and the next time you do a repair, you'll do it better. And when you do it better, you save time and money and you gain peace of mine. Don't Be Shy: I for one don't have the mechanical aptitude that others in the association have. I have what you could call mechanical dis-apptitude. So remember if you need help, ask for it, and good luck with any repair or installation you do on your bike. Mike and Pat Duquette, Senior Chapter Educators Ray and Diane Mercier, Asst. Chapter Educators Take Your Time: Working on your bike should be relaxing. Remember, you re working on the bike because you want to. Follow the directions, and proceed slowly, and allow yourself enough time to get the job done. You know what happens when you rush a job, something always goes wrong, and you end up doing the job again. That cost time and money. Rent Specialty Tools: The way manufactures make bikes today, you re sure to run into a repair that will need some type of special tool. If you do, you can always rent it, or borrow it from someone

5 Birthday s Anniversaries 8/16 Joanne & Charlie Davies 8/18 Charlie & Maureen Smith 8/6 Gale Furthmiller 8/12 Pat Repper 8/13 Bob Bickman 8/22 Paul Dane 8/22 Jean Andelsen 8/22 Kathy Lee 8/30 Trish Rudden Pa is Gonna Be Mad A farm boy accidentally overturned his wagon load of corn. The farmer who lived nearby heard the noise and rushed right over. Hey Willis!! the farmer yelled. Forget it for now. It s dinnertime. Come eat with us, and then we ll come back and I will help you turn the wagon back up. That s mighty nice of you, Willis answered, but I don t think Pa would like me to. Aw, come on, the farmer insisted, you have to eat! We ll get back to the wagon soon. Well okay, the boy finally agreed, and added, But Pa won t like it. After a hearty dinner, Willis thanked his host. I feel a lot better now, but I know Pa is going to be real upset. Don t be foolish. the neighbor said with a smile. By the way, where is your Pa? Under the wagon.. Excuse Me! One night at the dinner table, the wife commented, "When we were first married, you took the small piece of steak and gave me the larger. Now you take the large one and leave me the smaller; You don't love me any more..." Nonsense, darling," replied the husband, "you just cook better now."

6 JULY Me..Maws

7 Westward Ho For our 2009 vacation, Sharyn and I planned a trip out west with stops in Memphis and Des Moines to see relatives. During the trip s planning stage, I investigated numerous routes including through Texas on up to via Ohio. The final route took us to Memphis then west through Oklahoma City and Albuquerque to Zion National Park in Southwest Utah. From there we were to turn north and go through Bryce Canyon National Park, Salt Lake City and on into Jackson Hole, Wy. Day maps were printed, reservations were made, and the Garmin Zumo 550 was programmed. As you can see from the map below; we did not make that trip; maybe next time. More about the route change later. North Bound Route South Bound Route On our first day, Thursday, July 2 nd, Sharyn and I started on our riding adventure into the Wild West. After working a half day, we packed up the Goldwing and Hannigan Trailer and rode to Tallahassee for the first night. Our stop on the second day was Memphis to visit my family. The 537 mile, July ride from Tallahassee to Memphis went up through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and then into Tennessee. This portion of the trip was very hot. Later Sharyn said she didn t think she could make it all the way to southwest Utah (Zion National Park) in this kind of heat. We had some of the evaporative neck bandannas and stopped at Bass Pro Shop in Memphis and picked up a couple of the new Frog Togg evaporative towels. From here on we used the towels when ever it got warm. We also went to Plan B, cancelled a lot of reservations and plotted a more northern route. I carried my laptop with me; and each night I would upload the next day s route into my Zumo GPS.

8 The revised trip was very similar to our trip in 2006; except during that trip we towed the bike between cities and then did day rides at our destinations. This time we did all 6100 miles on the Goldwing in 16 days. My 2005 Goldwing now has miles (and I bought it new). The original and revised itineraries are shown in the following table: Date Original Destination Revised Destination Comments 7/2/09 Tallahassee Tallahassee 7/3/09 Memphis Memphis Family 7/4/09 Memphis Memphis Family 7/5/09 Oklahoma City Tulsa Hot Springs, Fort Smith 7/6/09 Albuquerque La Junta, Co Dodge City 7/7/09 Zion NP, Bryce NP Steamboat Springs, Co Dinosaur NP 7/8/09 Salt Lake City Jackson, Wy 7/9/09 Jackson, Wy Jackson, Wy Bar-J Chuckwagon 7/10/09 Jackson, Wy Yellowstone NP Grand Teton NP 7/11/09 Billings, Mt Billings, Mt Beartooth Hwy 7/12/09 Rapid City, SD Rapid City, SD Sturgis, Deadwood 7/13/09 Rapid City, SD Norfolk, Ne Mt Rushmore, Custard State Park 7/14/09 Stuart, Ia Stuart, Ia Family 7/15/09 Des Moines, Ia Des Moines, Ia Family 7/16/09 Nashville, Tn Nashville, Tn 7/17/09 Dublin, Ga Melbourne Rex & Vickie were in Florida 7/18/09 Melbourne The third day was the fourth of July and we spent it with family in Memphis. We got up early on the fourth day and headed west to Little Rock and then on to Hot Springs. Hot Springs is a pleasant detour from the direct Memphis to Tulsa route. It is an interesting town to visit with many of the old Bath Houses restored to their previous glory. There are lots of shops with unique gifts for your biker babe. We next traveled through Fort Smith (where I had seen Gene Autry in a rodeo as a kid) and then on into Tulsa. This was the last day of Wing Ding but the vendors had all packed up early and were gone when we got there. Day five, we headed north out of Oklahoma into Kansas where we stopped at Dodge City. The original town had burned years ago, but they built a replica to help the tourist leave more money. We had no destination for this day,

9 just get as far as possible. We thought we might make Pueblo Colorado but the Hampton Inn in La Junta Colorado looked a lot better (plus it was 65 miles closer). Day six we left southeast Colorado and headed up to Colorado Springs where we bought Sharyn a new helmet. After some shopping in old town, we rode through the Garden of the Gods. This is one of the most beautiful places and should be a must-see for anyone visiting Colorado Springs. Leaving Colorado Springs, we headed west around Pikes Peak and on up to Leadville. Leadville has the highest airport in the US at over 11,000 ft. After lunch, more shopping, we headed for Avon/Vail and then north to Steam Boat Springs for the night. This would be my first visit to Steamboat Springs. Day seven, we took a quick tour of Steamboat Springs in the day light and then headed west to Dinosaur National Park. The park was a big disappointment. There are two entrances to the park; one in Colorado and one from Utah. We stopped at the Colorado entrance. There was very little to see. The Utah entrance has a large museum with interesting displays but the building started cracking over 10 years ago and they have never gotten it repaired. It is still condemned.

10 Leaving the park we headed west into Utah and then turned north into Wyoming. The first part of the ride was enjoyable as it followed a river and crossed a large dam. Later on we were crossing a prairie and had a steady 50+ mph cross wind for over a hundred miles. This was the worst part of the trip. Eventually we traveled up to Northwest Wyoming and into Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole with the Grand Tetons Mountains along the west side is one of our most favorite places. We usually get a motel within walking distance to the town square and enjoy taking in all the local shops. On Day Eight, we did more shopping, I washed the bike, and later on we went to see our favorite Chuck Wagon Band, the Bar-J Wranglers. These guys have perfect harmony as they sing many of the old cowboy songs and put on skits. From June through August, for 7 nights a week, they feed and entertain 600 to 700 people a night.

11 Day Nine we toured the Grand Teton National Park on our way to Yellowstone, 70 miles up the road. Within the Grand Tetons are two rustic log cabin churches. I have visited the Church of the Transfiguration many times starting in the 1950 s as a young boy. This church is famous for its picture window over the altar with a spectacular view of the Grand Tetons. The second church, which I had never visited, is near the north end of the park and is called the Church of the Scared Heart. It replaces the picture window with a beautiful stained glass scared heart. Yellowstone was an extra stop we added since we had not gone as far west as originally planned. After getting our room, we toured Old Faithful, the adjacent geyser basin, and the Old Faithful Inn. While at the Old Faithful Inn, I positioned my bike to get a picture of it in front of the Inn (not seeing the sign post near by). Sharyn took a picture of me beside one of the old restored touring buses from the 1930 s. Next we rode over to the Upper and Lower Falls.

12 Day ten we left Yellowstone through the Northeast exit. I have been to Yellowstone many times but as far as I can remember, this is the first time I have left through this exit. The northeast section of Yellowstone, called the Roosevelt Section, is beautiful and actually had more animals than the other parts. We even saw a mother bear and her two cubs. This route takes you on the Beartooth Highway up to Billings Montana. The Beartooth Highway has been called the most scenic highway in America. It winds forever up higher and higher, giving you a beautiful view of the valley below and the mountains beyond. The highway is only open about 3 months out of the year and even then snow sometimes falls in July. Day eleven started the trip home. We headed east out of Billings over to North Dakota. From North Dakota, we headed south into Sturgis. This route brought us into Sturgis through a back road. Large tents and stages were already being erected in hay fields for the August event. We bought a couple of tee shirts and then headed 20 miles over to Deadwood. Deadwood now has gambling and we left them a few dollars to continue running their town. Of course, Wyatt Earp was killed here in Deadwood. He and Calamity Jane are buried in adjacent plots in the local cemetery. One thing that amazed me is how someone like Wyatt Earp was able to ride a horse from Tombstone, Az to Dodge City, Ks and onto Deadwood, SD. They didn t exactly have GPS or AAA maps in those days. We left Deadwood and took the back way into Rapid City. Rapid City, SD is a biker s dream. There are so many things to see and do. These include Sturgis, Devil s Tower,

13 Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer s State Park, and the Bad Lands. Day Twelve saw us leaving Rapid City and traveling 20 miles over to Mount Rushmore. We planned to just stop for a few pictures and then continue on. After a couple of hours, lots of gifts and $1000 poorer we finally got out of there. When leaving Mount Rushmore, if you exit to the right, you get a rare profile of Washington as you come around a bend. Last trip we did Crazy Horse and the Badlands so this trip we did Custer State Park. The Northwest portion of this park is still in the Black Hills. The road goes through three very narrow tunnels that are only a little over 8 feet wide. This is an interesting ride. Later as we came down out of the mountains, we took the wildlife circle route. There are thousands of buffalo in this park along with deer, antelope and prairie dogs. Near the end of the loop you come face to face with the fierce panhandling donkeys. Just like their Democratic icons, these guys don t take no for an answer and demand a handout in order to pass. We donated almonds and saltwater taffy. I am not sure they knew the difference. Leaving the park, we headed south into Nebraska and then turned east to see how far we could make for the day. After a few stops, we managed to get to Norfolk, Nebraska for the night. Day Thirteen, we headed east into Iowa and stopped in Stuart, Iowa to stay with Sharyn s family. That night we drove to the adjacent (east) town to have dinner and then back to the other adjacent (west) town to see the painted rock. This was also the day that my expensive, 6 months old, Zumo 550 GPS decided to totally quit. Out came the backup maps,

14 Day Fourteen was spent in Des Moines with Sharyn s son, his wife and Sharyn s grand kids. Grandma came a riding up on a Goldwing bearing gifts ah..life is good. Day Fifteen was a full day as we tried to get from Des Moines to Nashville using back roads and no GPS. On the way to St Louis, we decided to stop in Mark Twain s Hannibal Missouri. We had lunch, toured the town and then headed for St Louis. We got on the interstate in St Louis and continued on it to Nashville where we got a room in a Hampton Inn over by the Opry Land Hotel. Day Sixteen we headed south. Originally we were going stop and see fellow Goldwinger s Rex and Vickie Meyers at their new home in Dublin, Ga; but, a call the day before found them down in Melbourne working on rental property. We did stop in Atlanta and have lunch at the Varsity. We tried to drive around Ga Tech but the roads were all under construction so we continued to head south. We had two options; stop in Valdosta or continue on home (755 miles). We stopped in Valdosta for dinner and then headed home. Unfortunately, while we were eating, the sky opened up. This was the only significant rain we had the entire trip. We rode for 2 hours in this rain before finally leaving it for good. Except for the up-leg through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, we had exceptionally cool weather the entire trip. Temperatures out west were 10 to 20 degrees below normal. We arrived home around 10 pm and slept most of the next day. The trip was wonderful. We had some minor Goldwing problems (nail in a new tire & a stripped engine cover plate), but we adapted and made the entire trip without incident (except for that time when the 20 ton truck hit us from the rear). Would we do it again? I guess it depends on which of us you ask. I recommend that if you have the time and energy, take this trip while you can (are still young). We wished we had taken it 10 year ago. If the ridding is too much, then drive or fly but definitely visit Jackson Hole and Yellowstone some time in your life. Bill Harris

15 Personally, I think it would be smarter to replace the rearview mirrors.

16 Never Tell a Lie A clergyman was walking down the street when he came upon a group of a few boys about 10 years of age, surrounding a dog. Concerned that the boys were hurting the animal, he went over and asked them what they were doing. One of the boys replied, This dog is an old neighborhood stray. We take him home with us sometimes, but since only one of us can take him home we re having a contest: whichever one of us tells the biggest lie can take him home today. Of course, the Reverend was shocked. You boys shouldn t be having a contest telling lies! he exclaimed. He then launched into a 10-minute sermon against lying, beginning, Don t you boys know it s a sin to lie? and ending with, Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie. There was complete silence for about a minute while the boys all looked at each other and lowered their heads. Just as the Reverend began to think he had gotten through to them, the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and handed him the leash. Alright, reverend, he said, You win. You can take him home.. Ok, what happens when you come to a curve or maybe you have to park it? A special thanks to our members who submit articles. We love the support and the good information. Send them to Richard Mitts rm32904@yahoo.com Word documents are preferred. Pictures should be in jpg format. May I have your attention please!... A Very Special Thanks to Charlie Davies and Joanne Davies. They take this publication, make it web ready, and then put it on our Web Site. Without them, we would not be able to enjoy this on our computers. Many thanks for a fantastic job.

17 MEMBER ITEMS FOR SALE For Sale: New, Black Saddle Bag Mats (set 2) for Honda Goldwing $20.00 Bike was Triked. Call Harold Brown or NEW 2008 Goldwing 1800 Triked. The following parts are now for sale: (Color-Pearl White, Color Code NH 452 P) Swingarm (list $524.60) $150 Dosco Guardian Weatherall Plus Trike Cover, Like new $50 Call Harold, or Neosho Bike Trailer For Sale: Base Price $ New with Extras: Door Shocks $35 Cooler Holder $50 Swivel Hitch $60 Carpeting $150 Wood Slats $35 Color $550 Spare Tire & mounting $30 ASKING $800 Garry Wunderlich Suzuki Burgman mpg/90mph, Great Condition, Garage kept, OEM Backrest, Suzuki Cycle Cover, Throttle Lock (cruse ctrl), Handgrip Comfort Pads, Battery Charger/Tender, 3300 miles. $4250 Call Wayne or Debi Storey Goldwing Trike 50k miles, Ring of Fire, Floorboards, Heal toe shifter, Running lights, Diamond Seat, Ford rear end, Trailer hitch, and much more. Show room condition, Garage kept. $16, Call George,

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