Volume Three Number 13
Season's Greetings
We hope you get a
lot of neat stuff for
your bike and want
to express our sincere thanks for your
enthusiastic support
of this newsletter
and The Annual
Mother Road Ride/Rally® during the past
year. The event grows each year and we
remain confident it is destined to be one of
the half dozen or so must do motorcycle
events of the year. And Happy New Year
too!
Parade on Bikes
Parade Magazine - the Sunday supplement - answered a question from Florida. The writer said: "It seems like more motorcycles are on the road . . ." Parade responded by saying: "Sales are up 33% since 1991, with more than 4 million motorcycles on America's roads today . . .The most popular bikes are the "cruisers" factory made descendants of the customized choppers of the 1940s and '50s." (Editor: If the reader had ever visited "Bike Week" at Daytona Beach, they would think all 4 million had come to Florida!)
Rally Has Own 'Web Site
We've moved all the Rally related material - including copies of these newsletters - to a new Internet World Wide Web Site. You are invited to check it out: http://www.hhjm.com/rally. The Route 66 material has been moved to: http://www.hhjm.com/66. We have also opened Route 66 event(s) calendar(s) at that Route 66 site.
CHIPpies Ride Beemers
On November 4th, BMW announced that California agreed to buy 150 police motorcycles for use by the California Highway Patrol. BMW said Harley-Davidson and Kawasaki had entered bids. CHIP has bought Moto Guzzi in the past as well.
Yamaha Trailers
Featherlite Mfg in Cresco, IA issued a news release on November 7th that said they would be supplying motorcycle trailers to Yamaha dealers in the U.S.
Lifting the Large Touring Bike
(We are indebted to the Gold Wing Road Riders Association and their "Gold Book" for learning about this technique)
The major worry most owners of large touring bikes have is: "What in the WORLD am I going to do if I drop this monster?" It isn't an imaginary worry either. The question is not "If," but "When." Here's the system for lifting the bike single handed.
Trying to get the bike up from the same position you ride in means you only have the strength of your arms to use. Not much good when you are dealing with 900 pounds or so.
Turning the
bars all the way
so that you can
grip both handle
bars is the starting point. Then
you lift with the
strength of your
back and legs. As the bike comes up you use
your left leg to bring down the kickstand. If
the bike is down on its right side, then the
kickstand goes down before you lift. On the
'Wing you can lock the handlebars in the
correct position when it is down on the right
side. A smart move.
If helpers show up, be sure you show them
where to grab - not on those expensive
fiberglass panels or chrome accessories, but
rather the handles, bars, etc. And isn't it
terrific how often people do show up to help?
