GWRRA NY Chapter T July, 2014 Newsletter.

Transcription

1 GWRRA NY Chapter T July, 2014 Newsletter Chapter T meets at the Vienna Hotel on the corner of Rt. 13 and Rt. 49 on the fourth Thursday of the month. Join us for a bite to 6PM with the meeting to follow at 7PM DIRECTOR of GWRRA: Ray & Sandi Garris Rider Education Director: Tony Van Schaick Region B Directors Tom & Renee Wasluck Region B Educator Al Stahl NEW YORK DISTRICT STAFF : District Director Steve & Katy Nutting Asst. District Directors Gary & Donna Cork Shawn & Dawn Hayes District Educators John & Pam Van Deusen District Leadership Trainer Tim & Eileen Guile District MAD Coordinators-TBA District Choy Coordinators Iggy & Lloyda George District Couple of the Year Bruce & Doreen Krebs District MEC Iggy & Lloyda George District Public Relations Linda Waterman District Treasurer Eileen Guile Newsletter Editor Phil & Tammy Coons District Webmaster: Clark & Linda Clemens NY District Website: NY District Facebook page: Checkout the Latest News from the N.Y. District: & GWRRA National s News Letters Chapter T Staff: Chapter T Director: David & Linda Fletcher \ fletch98@dreamscape.com Asst. Director: Ted & Janice Zamorski \ TJZ653@yahoo.com Treasurer: Jack & Joan Bisgrove \ bisgrove@twcny.rr.com Ride Educator: Jim Thayer \ jthayer12@gmail.com Tech advisor: Dave Secor \ bikerdavy@yahoo.com Asst. Tech Contributor : Lester Bennett \ sawhorse@twcny.rr.com Newsletter editor: Jim & Trish Thayer \ jthayer12@gmail.com 2014 Chapter Couple: Jim & Trish Thayer MEC: Linda Clemens \lmcleme@gmail.com Recording Secretary: Sally Williams \ salandwill@hotmail.com Sunshine Coordinator: MaryAnn Bennett \ sawhorse@twcny.rr.com Webmaster: Clark Clemens \ cwcleme@twcny.rr.com Photographer: Dan Brown \ Au9411@verizon,net Birthdays: July-17 Sweatman, Kathy 4 Cash Points As of 6/14 We have 11 points Monthly Gathering 50/50 Winner Kathy DeGroff Anniversaries: July Clark & Linda Clemens July-15 Sweatman, Bill & Laina Congratulations to All! 1

2 There were 28 members and guests in attendance at our last gathering. A moment of silence was taken by our members for Charlie & Barb Fedeli of Chapter W (Rochester) who were killed in a motorcycle accident on June 16 th. Our prayers are with their family. There was a new face that entered the meeting room and several members rose to meet and welcome him. The new Chapter T member is Raymond Kasirye. Raymond rides a blue 2012 Goldwing. All of us at Chapter T welcome you to the Chapter and hope you ll come to future meetings and also join us at sponsored events and rides. We look forward to getting to know you and your interests better. Our Assistant Directors, Ted & Janice, lead a discussion to see what the membership wanted to eat and do at our Chapter picnic on July 13 th at Forest Park in Camden. The fun starts at 10 a.m. Anyone who wasn t at the meeting and would like to attend should contact a team member so we ll have enough food and gifts for all. Four of our hearty members will be heading to Madison, Wisconsin to participate in Wing Ding 36. They are sure to have fun with the seminars, parties, food, rides and more in a great city. The Chapter Director inquired with the Chapter Treasurer, Jack, about funds so that he could fly to Wisconsin for a photo and qualify for the Dash-For-Cash points. The treasurer s response is not printable. If you looked through/read your latest Wing World magazine, you noticed three pages of District and Regional Events: -The New England District Rally in Sturbridge, Massachusetts (July 24-26) Sturbridge is in central Mass. and a short hop, skip and a jump from Central New York. It should be a great ride. -The NY/NJ Bi-State Rally in Budd Lake, New Jersey (August 7-9). Chapter members who attended this rally in the past have enthusiastically endorsed this Northern New Jersey area for its great riding. The theme this year is Bring Back The 50 s. So head to the attic, put some elastic on those old clothes you saved and, like the Price is Right Come-On-Down. So jump on your bike as it s only a hop and a skip away. You deserve a get away weekend. When members attend the various events and rallys one of their objectives is to re-acquaint with old friends and meet new friends just like the GWRRA motto. As an older Chapter member you will find that friends are more important than ever. The problem is to move past an acquaintance and find some real friends. The last thing you need is to be friendless and alone. No one can make you laugh quite the way your friends can and there s nothing like sharing a few funny jokes with those closest to you to make your day shine a bit brighter. If you enjoy your friends and want to keep them, try this Don t allow small disagreements to ruin a friendship. Handle arguments maturely. When you or your friends have a conflict, don t lash out and yell at them. Instead, talk about your problems calmly and listen to both sides of the story. Don t raise your voice or storm out when you are having a disagreement. Sit down and talk through the problems. Never complain about your friend to other people, especially before you ve talked to them about the conflict. Use I statements when you re talking to your friends. For example, you might say I feel left out when you invite all our friends to go motorcycling but you don t include me. This makes the statement about your feelings instead of blaming them. Apologize if you ve done something wrong. If you hurt your friends feelings, take responsibility and say I m sorry I hurt your feelings. Finally, it s very important to have at least one friend who is in worse shape than you are. *Love is blind. Friends try not to notice. *Give me one friend, just one, who meets the needs of all my mood swings. *Friends are God s way of apologizing for our families. *The best antiques are old friends. Chapter T s Director s Corner ***Ride Safe & Offer More Visibility*** Dave & Linda 2

3 NY T Rider Education Page: BEATING THE SUMMER BUMMER Don't Get Tourist Trapped WORDS: Jerry Smith MO: Rich Lee Jim Thayer NY Chapter T Educator MOTORCYCLIST Snowmageddon 2014 is over, and the riding season's in full swing. You've packed away your heated vest and thick gloves, your boss has granted you a brief period of paid freedom from drudgery, and your goal is to cross several state lines over the next two weeks. You're forgiven for being giddy at the prospect of a string of long, warm days riding through new places, but don't let your enthusiasm blind you to the reality of unfamiliar roads, high temperatures, and heavy holiday traffic. Summer is no excuse for riding stupid, but many riders do it anyway and pay the price. Here's how to avoid being one of them. First off, don't skimp on your riding gear, Sure, it's way hotter in your destination of Denver than it is in your hometown of San Francisco, but physics works the same way in both cities; hit the deck in jeans and a T-shirt and you'll be shredded like a block of mozzarella, only this time on a road surface that's hot enough to cook a pizza. Instead of seeking relief from the heat by shucking down (which really only dehydrates you faster), get mesh gear, or a cooling vest (see Gear, page 78), or at least tie a wet bandana around your neck and soak your T-shirt under your jacket. Learn the signs of dehydration; they're sneakier than a motor cop behind a billboard. Stop often to drink water not coffee, iced tea, or soda, which contain caffeine, a diuretic and eat a salty snack to help your body retain the fluid longer. Keep your eyes on the road and not just where it's going but its condition too. Learn to read the surface. Tar snakes revert to their original slithery state in hot weather, often making cornering a little too exciting. The money some states spend on pothole repair goes toward radar guns for local cops in others, leaving holes in the road deep enough to mine for coal. Scan the road surface for sand, dirt, and gravel not only in construction zones but before and after, where dump-truck spillage piles up and passing cars can scatter it. Vacation hot spots might be fun to visit, but they're often the worst places to ride through as clueless tourists slow down to gawk at the sights and condo -sized RVs lurch off of and onto the road heedless of passing traffic. Fight the urge to pass them in risky places; wait for your chance, and do it safely, or you could end up enjoying an awkward roadside conversation with an annoyed statie while Wynn E. Baygo and family bumble obliviously on toward Wall Drug. (Where the hell is that, anyway?) Summer especially summer evenings is prime time for insects. In some parts of the country you don't have to ride far before your face shield looks like a display case at the natural history museum. Pack a small bottle of cleaner and a microfiber cloth in your pocket or tank bag to wipe off the multilegged corpses that accumulate there. If your windscreen is so tall you can't see over it, bring polish and cleaner for that too. Vacation time is precious, and the less of it you spend working on your bike or waiting for someone else to work on it the better. Do a complete service before you leave. If you're not sure your tires will last, get new ones; the same goes for the chain and sprockets. Sign up for a roadside-assistance plan like the AMA offers and know what it covers. Some just get you to the nearest shop that can work on your bike, while others cover your expenses while it's laid up. Find room in your luggage for tool/tire/first-aid kits so you can deal with the unexpected and unpleasant on the spot instead of waiting for help to arrive while your hotel reser vations are automatically converted to no-show charges on your credit card. 3

4 Technical Insights from Howard: Steering Stem Bearings and Clutch By Howard Halasz, Wing World Technical Contributor Steering Stem Bearings TECH CORNER with Dave Secor & Lester Bennett Your Wing's steering stem bearings are the little bearings that your steering stem and handlebar swivel on. The lower clamp and the steering stem make up one single weldment, known as the "triple tree". But it doesn't look like a tree so, in this article, I'll sim ply call it a lower clamp. The 1975 through 1977 Wings use component ball bearings. These bearings consist of upper and lower races that are press fit into the frame. The lower cone is press fit on the stem just above the dust seal. Nineteen steel balls are "glued" to the lower cone with bearing grease prior to assembly. The upper bearing has eighteen steel balls that are "glued" to the upper race prior to assembly. The cone is placed above the steel balls and the adjust ment nut is screwed onto the stem to hold all that stuff together. The Gold Wings use tapered roller bearings at the upper and lower ends of the stem. The 2001 and later Gold Wings have ball bearings that are factory assembled to the cones. The races are press fit into the frame just like the ball bearing races are on the older Gold Wings. The steering stem assembly is similar. Inspection and adjustment of the steering stem bearings should be routine maintenance on all Gold Wings, from the GL1000 to the GL1800. One simple way to inspect the bearings without disassembling anything is to put the Gold Wing on its cen ter stand. Use a floor jack, bottle jack or scissor jack to raise the front wheel up off of the floor. You can put the jack under the front engine cover, but don't put it under the oil filter or air dam. Move the handlebar slowly left and right. If the handlebar feels like it's trying to center itself, sort of like a stop notch at the center of travel, then your bearings are definitely damaged and should be replaced. Move the handlebar slightly off center and release it. If the handlebar flops to either the left or right stop, then the steering stem bearings need to be adjusted. I do not recommend that you adjust these bearings yourself unless you're mechanically skilled and have access to the special tools required. See your Honda dealer or your Honda trained technician for adjustment or replacement. Worn bearings will make your Gold Wing drift left and right, making it difficult to ride in a straight line. Loose bearings can cause your Gold Wing to wobble at speeds between 30 and 40 miles per hour. Adjusting the steering stem bearings will usually dampen deceleration wobble if the swing arm bearings and wheel bearings are in good condition. Proper front tire inflation also keeps low speed wobble under control. 4

5 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat July Nicky Doodles Ice Cream Ride Oneida Carly's Ice Cream Ride GWRRA WING DING Chapter T Picnic & Gathering at Forest Park, Camden, NY Cone Heads Oneida Ice Cream Ride Ride for Kids Utica, NY Chapter T Gathering at Picnic this month Taylor Marie's Ice Cream Ride Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat August IceCream TBA IceCream TBA NJ/NY Bi-State Convention IceCream TBA Chapter T Gathering at the Vienna Hotel Dinner 6:00 pm

6 Condolences & Deepest Sympathy to the family of Charlie & Barb Fedeli. Also to Chapter W and the long list of other friends they had made over their years with us. They were very familiar faces at many of the state and national events that Trish and I have attended over the years and they will be missed by many as the year goes forward. Jim T. / N.L. Editor Thoughts from Trish T. As your Chapter Newsletter editors, we keep you informed of past, current and upcoming events. There comes a time however, when sometimes we feel the need to address a difficult situation and pass along some sad news. By now, most of you have learned of the passing of Charlie & Barb Fedeli on June 15th. They were a GWRRA couple from Chapter W in the Rochester area. Like Charlie & Barb, Jim & I ride a trike. Having 3 wheels beneath me has always made me feel safe. Hey, you don t usually hear of a trike going down! Charlie & Barb s misfortune has given me a new perspective when riding the trike. We are just as vulnerable as the 2 wheel motorcycles as the bigger vehicles can just as easily hit us! I ve always tried to be observant to the traffic around us but now I realize how very important it is to do double takes, especially at intersections and when changing lanes. As a co-rider, it is my responsibility to be that extra set of eyes for the rider as he may be focusing on the traffic light, pedestrians or the hand controls and not necessarily notice traffic approaching us from the side. Again, I realize this overlaps the Rider Education segment of our Chapter gatherings but I did feel it important to reiterate the safety aspects while riding. The responsibility is shared by both rider & co-rider. Let s us all be more observant when on the bikes so that we reach our destination safely. Trish T. / N.L. Editor 6

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8 SATURDAY RIDE TO THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY. BEAUTIFUL DAY,SUNNY 70 DEG. LEFT CAMDEN TO THE GRISTMILL. MET LEADER (WITHOUT GIRL FRIEND). DAVIS (LEAD) DAN (TAIL), FLETCHER, JACK, LES, TED(FOLLOWERS) JANICE (TOKEN ATTENDING FEMALE). WE ARRIVED AT DESTINATION ABOUT NOON. HAD LUNCH ON A SHADY PICNIC BENCH OVERLOOKING THE WATER. VISITED TIBBETS LIGHTHOUSE, CAPE VINCENT, CLAYTON, ALEXANDRIA BAY. GREAT RIDE AND EVERYONE HOME SAFE. Lester B. 8