February 2015 www.mochapterz.homestead.com Newsletter 2015-02 Chapter Z Region E Missouri District Jeffco Wings of Arnold Gold Wing Road Riders Association FUN SAFETY KNOWLEDGE Chapter Directors John & Cindy Ruegge Asst. Chapter Directors...Paul & Cheryl Engelman Rider Educators.. Mike & Barb Bayuk Treasurers.Ed & Marsha Bechler Membership Enhancement Division. Dave & Lisa Arnold Motorist Awareness Division.Vernon & Pat Watts Chapter Hosts....Mike & Donna Sullivan Chapter Historian Paul & Cheryl Engelman Sponsor Relations.Cindy Stewart Ride Coordinator... Dave Ruegge Assistant Ride Coordinator...Tom Braun Technical Coordinator..KZ Zigaitis Newsletter Editor KZ & Carla Zigaitis Webmaster..Tom Stewart Meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at the Ponderosa on Jeffco & Richardson Rd. Dinner is at 6 pm the meeting starts at 7 pm. Everyone Is Welcome! Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 1
Your Chapter Z Staff Chapter Directors John & Cindy Ruegge jhr5374@sbcglobal.net 636-464-4639 Assistant Chapter Directors Chapter Historian Paul & Cheryl Engelman engelman5@sbcglobal.net 314-537-6518 Rider Ed Mike & Barb Bayuk gmbayuk@yahoo.com 314-706-6667 Treasurers Ed & Marsha Bechler moztreasurer@gmail.com 636-586-5930 Membership Enhancement Coord. Chapter Z Couple of the Year Dave & Lisa Arnold lisavolleyball13@gmail.com 314-540-3110 Motorist Awareness Division Vernon & Pat Watts vwatts@foamsupplies.com pjw6755@yahoo.com 314-583-7092 Ride Coordinator Dave Ruegge greenthing110@aol.com 314-640-9168 Asst. Ride Coordinator MO District Individual of the Year Tom Braun tbrn314@gmail.com 314-304-9164 Chapter Hosts Mike & Donna Sullivan ms1ds1@aol.com 636-931-0462 Webmaster Tom Stewart Sponsor Relations Cindy Stewart tcstew1800@sbcglobal.net Newsletter Editors Technical Coordinator KZ & Carla Zigaitis kzzigaitis@gmail.com 314-306-0696 www.mochapterz.homestead.com Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 2
A Word from your Chapter Directors Hey, how does everybody like this winter so for, it has been light, but I still can t wait for Spring to get here. Speaking of spring, Spring Fling is right around the corner. Everyone that is going, should have made their reservations by now, and if you have not please do so. The people who made their reservations last year might want to call and make sure that your reservations are right. We encourage you to come to Spring Fling to support our Couple of the Year, Paul and Cheryl Engleman and our Individual of the Year, Jan Bacon who will be in the selection process to become District Couple of the Year and District Individual of the Year. We want to wish them the best of luck. We also have a Co-Rider seminar coming up on Feb 21 st, Mike Bayuk our Rider Educator, will follow up with more information. Please remember our Missouri District Rally in Branson Missouri. If you haven t made your reservations, you might want to do that at this time before the hotel of your choice is completely booked up. John and Cindy Ruegge Chapter Z Directors Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 3
Awesome Thoughts from your Assistant Chapter Directors Well I guess many of us are wishing that our mild Winter continues, January gave a few of us some nice riding weather, Paul rode the bike for about 8', but since he still recovering with his shoulder that was pretty good!! On January 20th, we had our monthly dinner ride to Pasta House in Affton, we had 25 members present including our youngest member Aiden Bayuk and his mom Brooke. I was lucky enough to win the 50/50 drawing of $18.00, Paul was out of town with work but it sure didn't take long for him to get a phone call letting him know I won some money!!! Have a great month and please watch your emails for impromptu rides!!! Paul and Cheryl Engelman Chapter Z Assistant Directors Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 4
REDUCING THE RISK Mike and Barb Bayuk Chapter Z Educators WAIT FOR IT!!! Folks can you believe it? We have been blessed with 50 degree weather in January! I have seen motorcyclist almost every day riding on the way home from work. It is very uncommon for this in Missouri. BUT alas in the illustrious words of Jeff Dunham s character Achmed the Dead Terrorist WAIT FOR IT! Yes, February may not be so kind. The cold arctic weather that Missouri is so accustom to might just be around the corner. It might be a good idea to get your Goldwing prepared for a slight winter slumber. I have a few suggestions that might help. Give your bike a thorough cleaning. A gentle wash detergent and water will suffice. By removing road grime and insects you will protect the finish of the bike. Avoid spraying water directly into the opening of the muffler. If baffles get wet and are not dried prior storage, internal rust could result. Dry completely with a good chamois. Clean and polish all aluminum and stainless surfaces with the appropriate metal polish. Finally finish up with a coat of good wax polish on all painted and chrome surfaces. Don t forget to add a fuel stabilizer to the gas tank. Fill your tank with gas as full as it can go. This is very important. As fuel ages, more volatile components tend to change, leaving sludge and gummy substances in the fuel system. Run the bike so the gas and fuel stabilizer get to the carburetor and clean the fuel injectors. Oil chemistry changes over periods of extended storage. Old oil can develop acidic qualities, which can corrode engine parts. The newer semi-synthetic and synthetic oils are more stable, but if you are using the dino oils you may wish to change the oil and oil filter. Another suggestion would be to coat the front fork seals with a light coat of oil. Then get on the bike, hold the front brake and bounce the bike up and down to work the front suspension. This will keep the rubber seals from drying out and protect the exposed fork tubes. Keeping your battery at its peak requires some attention. In acid types of batteries sulfates can build up on battery plates and can ruin a battery during cold storage and inactivity. Goldwing's electrical systems never sleep. The sealed and AGM batteries are always in a draining state. Some folks remove the battery during the winter. Others just keep a Battery Tender type of charger on their battery. Drain, flush and replace antifreeze if necessary. Do not leave the antifreeze level low or empty, this could lead to rust or corrosion of the cooling system. If you are not ready to replaced antifreeze at least check it with a hygrometer. Check all other fluid levels at this time as well. Some suggest storing your bike with all the weight removed from the wheels. A bike stand or some blocking works if you have a motorcycle lift. A center stand and some blocking will work too. Others make sure that tire air pressures are per manufacturer specs. Place pieces of carpet or rubber pads under the tires to prevent flat spots on the tires. Cover your tail pipe opening with plastic wrap and a rubber band. This will prevent any opportunistic pests from making a cozy winter home in your bike. These steps will help to reduce problems and keep your cycle ready to roll if there is an opportunity to ride in the winter months. AS ALWAYS RIDE OFTEN, RIDE HARD BUT MOST OF ALL RIDE SMART! Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 5
Our Motto... Share the Road! Our Mission... To Facilitate A Reduction In Motorcycle Crashes With Other Motor Vehicles. SHARING THE ROAD WITH MOTORCYCLES Some things everyone should know when sharing the road with a motorcycle. * It is not easy to judge the speed or distance. *Motorcycles are often overlooked. *Motorcyclist change speeds and lane positions when encountering bad road conditions, such as manhole covers, diagonal railroad tracks, road debris or in strong winds. Be ready to react. *The motorcyclist needs a full lane never share a lane with a motorcycle. *When passing give a motorcycle a full lane width. Never squeeze past in a narrow area. * Wear a safety certified helmet. SAFETY TIPS FOR THE MOTORCYCLE RIDER *Make sure your motorcycle is in safe condition and always do your t-clocks. *Make sure you are seen by motorists. Wear bright colored clothes and stay out of drivers blind spots. *Make sure you signal before you slow down, change lanes or turn.scan behind and in front of you to be sure your maneuver is safe only move once it is safe. *Be careful when passing to the left of a parked or moving vehicle. Leave 3-4 feet of clearance to avoid an opened door or a car that swerves. *Be extra careful at intersections. Do not assume your right of way when a vehicle is approaching. Be aware that drivers may not see you approaching or may believe that you are moving at a slower speed than you are. *Keep a steady line and be predictable as a courtesy to other traffic and to increase your own safety. Vernon and Pat Watts Chapter Z Motorcycle Awareness Division Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 6
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Dinner Ride to Pasta House Affton, MO Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 8
NOW A BRIEF WORD FROM YOUR EDITOR OOPS! Please see the note below from Len & Cheryl Thoma. It was omitted from last month s newsletter. We want to thank everyone again for the tremendous response to our Toys for Tots ride. We hope everyone had as much fun as we did! We were blessed with good weather this year; what a change from last year. We had two very generous monetary donations. One was from a young couple who gave $100 and said what we were doing was awesome. The other one was from a little girl who earned money by doing chores (vacuuming, etc.). She put her hand in her purse and pulled out a handful of change to put in the donation box. All together we collected $200 and the change from the little girl. Thanks to all who donated a toy/toys at the Christmas party. Your participation also helped to make the toy drive a success. Thanks to Mike Bayuk for his connections to ensure that Santa was there. From the little ones who ran to him with open arms to the little ones who clung to their parent and/or cried, Santa was a hit. We know his schedule is very busy this time of year and we truly appreciate all you and Santa do for him to be there. Len and Cheryl Thoma Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 9
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February 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chapter Z Gathering Jim Kayser Chapter I Gathering 8 9 Sandra Arnold Chapter W2 Gathering 10 11 12 William Gibson 13 14 Ray & Debbie Walker Valentine s Day 15 16 17 Z Dinner Ride (Main Street Cafe) 18 19 Cheryl Thoma Chapter P Gathering 20 21 Ray Walker Seminar CO-RIDER, ELEMENTS 22 Cindy Ruegge John Lehmann Les & Sara Gibson 23 24 25 26 27 28 Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 13
2015 Calendar of Activities February 17 February 21 March 7 March 17 March 21 April 11 April 21 May 9 May 19 June 4-6 August 6-8 August 8 September 2-5 September 10-12 September 17 Chapter Z Dinner Ride - Main Street Café; Crystal City, MO Seminars - Corider/Elements; Festus, MO Spring Fling; Osage Beach, MO Chapter Z Dinner Ride - TBA Seminars - Motorcycle Crash Scene/Team Riding/Trailering; Festus, MO Chapter Z Maintenance Day; Barnhart, MO Chapter Z Dinner Ride - Main Street BBQ; Pevely, MO Multi-Chapter MAD Event - Premier Outlet Mall; Chesterfield, MO Chapter Z Dinner Ride - TBA Missouri District Rally; Branson, MO Region E Rally; Green Bay, WI Chapter I Fun Run Wing Ding; Huntsville, AL Switchback to Arkansas Southern IL Ride In Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 14
Thanks to all of our Sponsors! Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 15
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May 16-17-18, 2014 Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 19