ACHOG Weekly Newsletter & Ride Info 9/10/2019
 

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Safety Tip of the Week 
 

Do Two Motorcycles Ever Have Head On Collisions? Article 2


  

Last month I talked about an actual head on collision and how what the paper said happened and what really happened were two different scenarios. Since my purpose for these articles is accident prevention, I felt both scenarios were worthy of an article.

What really happened was a little freaky but there are still lessons to be learned. Two vehicles were headed north on A1A. The motorcycle was also headed north behind the two vehicles. The front vehicle slowed to make a right hand turn so the second vehicle decided to pass the vehicle ahead of him. In doing this, the motorcyclist decided to follow the passing car. Only God knows if the motorcyclist was aware of another motorcyclist coming south in the other lane.  The car doing the passing was really cutting it close and barely had time to whip back into the right lane, leaving the two motorcycles to collide.

In the first scenario, I felt the motorcyclists were looking at each other and was instrumental in causing the crash. In reality, they may have never seen each other until it was too late, so so sad.

There are several take always here, most, obvious. Always be sure you have plenty of room before you make that pass. Never trust a vehicle in front of you to make the decision for you; even a motorcycle. Never ride so close to a vehicle in front of you that your vision is obscured, especially while passing. If possible take advantage of looking through a vehicle’s windshields to see as far ahead as you can.

Lastly, and this is a huge eye opener for me. I’ve had tens of thousands of vehicles coming at me while passing, most of us have. I usually time it so the vehicle has time to get clear of me and I maintain or resume my speed. Honestly, I have never considered there may be a motorcycle so close to it that I couldn’t see it. This is a new item I’ve put in my bag of “what ifs”.

Harley Trivia
 

Buell and Today’s Brakes
 

I feel like when a person tells a history story it is much more interesting if they can throw a little personal experience into the mix. That’s what I’ll do with the Buell motorcycle and what it meant to me.

Erik Buell was a brilliant engineer and successful Formula 1 motorcycle racer. He started his company in 1983 and Harley soon became interested in him because he used modified Sportster engines. In 1993 Harley bought 49% of his company and in 2003, Buell became a fully owned subsidiary of Harley Davidson.

Then with a new novelty Harley on the showroom floors, of course the dealers began offering test rides. I had to see what one of these new bikes was like. These bikes were fun. These bikes were fast! There were faster bikes on the straight away but throw some curves in and nothing could touch the way they handled.

What impressed me the most though was the brakes.  After the test ride and I was asked what I thought, my immediate answer was, “I want those brakes on my motorcycle.”

Harleys kept getting faster and faster but the brakes remained something to be desired. And in those days there were so many performance products on the market, I had friends with Evos with over a hundred horse power. My brother had an Electra glide Sport that was downright scary.

Today we have Brembo brakes on our motorcycles. This is the same Italian company that makes brakes for race cars and race motorcycles. Do you think it is any coincidence that it was after Harley acquired Buell that they changed the brakes? I think not. Thank you Erik!

  
Monthly Meeting

Meeting for will be Saturday,  September 14, 2019 at  the VFW, 6184 US Hwy 1 South, Saint Augustine, FL  Please join us for coffee at 9:00 a.m. and the meeting begins at 9:30 a.m.  A short lunch ride will follow.

Tidbits


National Dues

I'd like to remind everyone to be mindful of your national dues. Technically, your chapter dues expire when your national dues do. This is not about nit picking but it is a liability issue. Probably the best thing about HOG is the insurance they provide when we ride as a group. This is one of those things that doesn't matter until it does. I'd also like to ask you, should you realize your national membership has lapsed and you want to participate on a ride, just ask for a waiver from one of the road captains.
Also, if you have never considered a Life Membership, if you have been a member for a few years they usually give you a tremendous break. When I became a Life Member, they applied 5 years worth of dues toward the Life Membership. For me it was a no brainer. I saw in a forum this morning that they are still doing this. I went to the HOG website and it said to call and the prices vary. It might be worth a phone call.

Local Dues Sale

I would also like to remind everyone of a sale we have every year on dues. Please share this with prospective new members. Between July 1 and October 31 our dues go down to $10 for new members. If they join in November, the price again becomes $20 but we will cover them for the coming new year. To avoid any confusion like last year, remember, a member who joins in November must sign a waiver-application for the rest of this year but another for the following year which we can accept after December1.
    
Up and Coming
 

Grand Opening - October 5 & 6.

We are really excited about our grand opening of the new dealership. We will need all the volunteers we can get. We need people to handle parking and traffic control, ACHOG table for new membership signup and raffle sales, greeting, and door prize wheel. There is a signup sheet link on the website. http://www.ancientcityhog.com/ 

Unity Pink Ride - October 12

Our first event at our new dealership will be the Unity Pink ride, previously, Think Pink. In addition to as much rider participation as possible we also need volunteers to help with registration, staging and parking. Following is a link for the event which also has a signup link. Please mark this on your calendars and help all you can. By the way if you are a volunteer, you will still be able to ride. Don't forget our first meeting at the new dealership will follow the ride. Hopefully everyone will already be there. The meeting will begin at 2:00 p.m.https://unityoutreachstaug.org/get-involved/#ride

 

Mountain Ride


The Smokey Mountain Ride is  October 21 through October 25. I will be leading a ride Saturday the 21 to Milledgeville for the first night. We will go up 441 most of the way and avoid the Interstate. The following day we will go to Helen for some light sight seeing and lunch. Afterward we will head to Tallulah Falls for some incredible scenery of the gorge and water falls. Then its on to Waynesville, NC for the next two nights. Hopefully you will have reservations for the Best Western Smokey Mountains. There is information and phone numbers on the website for lodging at Milledgeville and Waynesville. We will spend the next two days riding the mountains. Friday we will head back home. Plans are at the present to make it in one day via the Interstate.  


Progressive Dinner

One of the chapters favorite activities is the Progressive Dinner ride. After noting a scheduling conflict with the Grand Opening, the new date has been set for Sunday October 20.  A ride that visits three of our members homes for hor d'ouevres, entrees, and then desserts. Julie and Ken are doing appetizers, Charles and Francis are doing the entrees, and Ruth and Scott  are doing the desserts.  There is now a sign up sheet on the website. The deadline for signing up is October 5  
 

Grand Opening

If all goes well, the Grand Opening of our new dealership is scheduled for the weekend of October 5.


Unity Pink Ride and Chapter Meeting Day

The following week after Grand Opening, we have our first event. The Unity Pink Ride, previously know as Think Pink will be staged out of our new dealership on October 12. We are on the hook for registration for that event and if possible, to also help with staging and parking. So we need volunteers. Please set this date aside on your calendar if possible. Details will be available.
Also note that this is also our usual meeting day so we will be having our chapter meeting at 2:30 p.m. after the Unity Pink Ride. Hopefully many of us will already be on site since the new dealership will also be our new meeting place.



Check link below to see our calendar and upcoming rides, events, and meetings.

http://www.ancientcityhog.com/ 
 
Disclaimer - Since being a member of Ancient City HOG is not a requirement to subscribe to this newsletter, it must be noted that all rides posted on this site are closed rides, unless otherwise stated. A closed ride is composed of members and  guests, with guests being required to sign a waiver, and is not advertised; hence the disclaimer. Also guests can't outnumber the members.

Please Share - Send us stories and member info to share with your Chapter Friends and then see it here!  Just shoot it via email to:  director@ancientcityhog.com  

Come Out and Join Us On Our Rides...Hope To See You Soon... Terry    
          

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