HOG WASH Sponsored by: Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson, 10434 Hwy 69, Mayer AZ 86333 928-632-4009 Table of Contents Directors Memo Pg 1 Rides & Activities Pg 1 Officers List: Pg 2 Memories/1st HOG Mtg: Pg 3 Renew your Membership: Pg 4 Safety Corner: Pg 4 Asst Directors Memo: Pg 5 Editor s Note: Pg 6 Tribute to David Owens: Pg 7 Riding for the Long Haul Pg 8 WebMaster s Note: Pg 9 HOG of the Month: Pg 9 Dine Out Pics: Pg10 Dealer Website www.grandcanyonhd.com Yavapai H.O.G. Chapter 1271 www.yavapaihog.com FaceBook: Yavapai AZ HOG Address: PO Box 1035 Mayer, AZ 86333 Sponsor: Manager: Kyle Rose 928-774-3896 kyle@gch-d.com Christina Anderson 928-632-4009 blondie@gch-d.com Directors Memo Hello HOG Members! What a great turn out for our first Dine Out Nite of the year! So glad to see everyone get together and enjoy some great food and even better company! I wish Shannon and I could have been there with all of you, but we had commitments with the family that couldn t be Mike McKibben ignored. Regardless, this monthly event will remain on our calendar throughout the year, and we welcome (aka NEED!) your suggestions for future destinations! On a much sadder note, I m sure you have all heard the news of the tragic loss of one of our own. Long time chapter member & officer, friend and riding brother David Owens, passed away while in hospice care on January 4th, 2019. Final services are scheduled for February 12 th at 1:00 PM at the Ruffner Wakelin Funeral Home, located at 8480 E. Valley Rd. in Prescott Valley. continued on Pg 11 Feb 2nd Feb 2nd Chapter Rides & Other Activities HOG Officers meeting; 8-9am at dealership HOG Members Meeting; 9:30-10:30am Feb 2nd Chili Cook-Off after meeting, 11am-1pm, see page 11 Feb 12th David Owens Memorial Service, see page 7 Feb 14th Happy Valentines Day! Feb 15th Rockabilly Reunion Festival, Bike Show, see page 3 Feb 24th Dine Out Night - Location to be announced Later Events of Interest - - Mar 3rd Riding for the Long Haul, Phx, see page 8 Mar 16th Bike Blessing at Mayer H-D; 9am breakfast Apr3-7 Arizona Bike Week/Phoenix Bike Fest, see page 3 HOG Wash 1
The Official Publication of Yavapai AZ H.O.G. 2019 Officers Director: Mike McKibben director@yavapaihog.com 913-638-2974 Assistant Director: Steve Heck vic0365@sbcglobal.net 949-632-6873 Secretary: Wally Warnke wally.warnke@icloud.com 480-323-5003 HOG Wash Vol 18, Issue 2, February 2019 Treasurer: Shannon McKibben Editor: Linda Carter treasurer@yavapaihog.com 913-904-2747 Activities: Christina Anderson activities@yavapaihog.com Safety Officer: Robert Boykin rboykin9430@msn.com 623-363-1108 Membership: Mike Ammons editor@yavapaihog.com 623-824-1834 Webmaster: Todd Carter webmaster@yavapaihog.com Road Capt: Wayne Schwetje membership@yavapaihog.com 408-679-3695 redlowrider04@yahoo.com 908-347-6763 Publicity: Don Ridlon ezmoneydr58@yahoo.com 602-695-5367 2
Memories of the First HOG Meeting By Carol Dole-Berginger When the Mayer and Belmont Dealerships first opened, we did not have a HOG group yet established. My husband, Terry Dole, and I came from Southern California and were anxious to get a HOG chapter going in our area so we could meet other riders and see our beautiful Arizona area. Dick Dalton was so friendly and welcomed us and several of our friends to the dealership. He asked us all kinds of questions wanting to find out what we liked to do. He sat down with us in Belmont and in Mayer, as well as calling us from time to time. We had our first meeting in Mayer upstairs where offices are now located and had donuts & coffee. There were about 15 people present for the first meeting. Some were riders, others were locals just curious as to what was going to transpire when all these bikers congregated in the same location. We had a few members from the Phoenix area who volunteered to be our officers. I was the first LOH leader. Boy, that was a challenge! Not many women were willing to get involved. We had lots of fun, however, we had some great rides and plenty of chrome to buy and put on our bikes. One of our first rides was into the V.A. Hospital to parade around their little square showing we could be seen and heard. From there we adopted the motto Ride to Eat and Eat to Ride! We had about 20 members after the first few months. The restaurant next door was a local hang out for some of us on Friday nights with food and music. Our first LOH project was the quilt made from donated T-shirts. Our first LOH fund raiser was serving up root beer floats to hot travelers, along with hot dogs. These proved to be good times for us to show up as a club. pg8 Biker Events of Interest Feb 15-17 in Lake Havasu 3 Day Fun Family Event 22 Bands! 150 Vendors Car/Motorcycle Show with over 800 vehicles! More Info Here HOG Wash 3
The Official Publication of Yavapai AZ H.O.G. Vol 18, Issue 2, February 2019 Renew Your Yavapai HOG Membership You can renew or join for the first time at any of our HOG meetings during the year for $36. Or contact Mike Ammons, our Membership Officer: 408-679-3695. Click to Join or Renew (National Membership) Safety Corner To continue with last months theme,"motorcyles are Fun", here are a few more tips that may interest you. Don t buy more bike than you can handle. If you ve been off of motorcycles for awhile, you may be surprised by the performance of today s bikes. Even models with small-displacement engines are notably faster and more powerful than they were 10 or 20 years ago. When shopping for a bike, start with one that fits you. When seated, you should easily be able to rest both feet flat on the ground without having to be on tiptoes. Handlebars and controls should be within easy reach. Choose a model that s easy for you to get on and off the kick stand easily, if it feels too heavy, it probably is. A Sportster as an example, these models are both smaller and lighter than most others. Using either 883 or 1,200 engine to provide enough power on both highway and city streets. If you plan on doing a lot of highway riding, you might choose one with 1,200 so you can easily keep up with traffic. Invest in antilock brakes. Now available on many of the new models, antilock brakes are a proven lifesaver. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) data shows that motorcycles equipped with ABS brakes were 37 percent less likely to be involved in a fatal crash than bikes without it. No matter what kind of rider you are, ABS can brake better than you, says Bruce Biondo, VA DMV Safety Program. Lets ride! Any tips would like to share with me for publication please feel free to contact me at rboykin9430@msn.com HOG Wash by Robert (Gumbo) Boykin - Safety Officer 4
The Official Publication of Yavapai AZ H.O.G. Assistant Director s Memo Vol 18, Issue 2, February 2019 By Steve Heck Hello Hog Members! Looks like it s going to be a great year for our chapter. Lots of great events planned. Our first Dine Out will have passed by the time you read this. Events include our Dine Outs, Chili Cook-off, and rides as it warms up. I joined Yavapai HOG late last year and was not able to attend the rides held during the week, but hopefully I can attend them now, since being retired allows more time to ride. Since I am new to the group I would like to tell you about myself. I purchased my first Harley in 2007. Before 2007 I rode sport bikes, and dual sport bikes. I really think riding a dirt bike first makes you a better street rider. Currently I ride a 2014 Street Glide. Still enjoy riding dirt bikes which is part of the reason we moved here. My wife used to ride back in Southern California but stopped due to the heavy traffic. She now prefers to stay home with her four rescue dogs. My son rides and has a 1994 1200 Sportster that we have modified. I ll never understand the chopped look he prefers. I ve been a welding and machine shop Instructor most of my working life. I ve taught high school, college, and university students fabrication along with most types of welding. CNC machining and computer design were always one of my favorites. After 33 years it was time to step aside. Everyone asked what I was going to do in retirement? The answer was ride. So I am looking forward to getting to know everyone. Hopefully our chapter will grow as we continue to develop rides and events. See you at the HOG Meetings! ~Steve HOG Wash 5
The Official Publication of Yavapai AZ H.O.G. Advertising Rates Business Card: $10/Mo $90/Yr 1/4 Page: $15/Mo $135/Yr 1/2 Page: $25/Mo $225/Yr Full Page: $50/Mo $450/Yr Ads must be camera ready in JPEG format. Make Checks payable to: Yavapai AZ HOG Chapter 1271 Contact Linda Carter, Editor 623-824-1834 editor@yavapaihog.com Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson PO Box 1035 Mayer, AZ 86333 Vol 18, Issue 2, February 2019 Editor s Note This month my heart is heavy as I say good-bye to my dear friend, David Owens. I only knew him for the last 4 years, so I can t say I knew him well, but what I did know is that he cared. I remember a few years back when he went down hard on his bike, we were in touch regularly as he recovered. And then when I went down on my bike a couple summers ago, he did the same for me. I still have the email where he wrote: What! Are you trying to out-do me!? He wrote and called many times after that to check in on me and encourage me to just take it one day at a time, and that the Hogs missed me. What a blessing and inspiration he was to me. He loved our HOG chapter too. Just read his Softail Story article in the Nov 2017 Hog Wash for some proof. The article on page 8 is a testimony of how he appreciated all of you, with a touch of humor, as always.. I loved that about him! http://yavapaihog.com/wp-content/uploads/ 2017/11/November_2017_HOGwash.pdf Sometimes we don t realize how much we really love and appreciate our friends until they are gone and leave a big empty space in our lives. I know I will see David again on the other side, but that doesn t fill the space in my heart that was reserved for him. Thank you David for your friendship, and keep on riding those streets of gold - we ll join you when we get there! ~Linda HOG Wash 6
The Official Publication of Yavapai AZ H.O.G. Vol 18, Issue 2, February 2019 Tribute to David Owens 5/17/1942-1/4/2019 Memorial Service Ruffner/Wakelin Funeral Home Navajo and Valley Rd, PV Feb 12th at 1pm Procession to Nat l Veterans Cemetery to follow. HOG Wash David Owens was born David Edward Ohenkowski in NY, NY, on the 17 of May 1942. His mother changed his name to Dennis Edward Owens, but David is the name that stuck. He left high school after 2 1/2 years., and enlisted in the Marine Corps in Oct 1959. He served 4 years, and was released from active duty Sept. 1963. He was a jet engine mechanic while in the Corps and was stationed in Japan, He attained his GED while in the Corps in 1961. After the Corps. he was employed with a number of different aerospace companies in both Phoenix and California. He had a private pilots license. He had a series of high performance sports cars; Italian, German, and domestic. He also had a series of motorcycles both foreign and domestic. He retired to Prescott Valley in 2006 and was involved with the citizen's patrol, American Legion/ALR, Full Throttle Biker Church. and Yavapai HOG. He has two sisters, three sons, and a daughter. 7
Memories..continued from pg3 T h e n J o e l S w i r s k y suggested doing the Tip-A-HOG at Golden Corral. The 1 st Tip-A-Hog meeting we all worked hard bussing tables, getting coffee, and Rick Zodrow was the main plate scrapper in the back. Boy, was he working hard! I think he was too tired to eat after that. Everyone realized this could be a fun way to raise money, give back to the community and get a free meal all at the same time. Glad the club still has this event. It s great to see all the wonderful participation after all these years. Dick and Bev Dalton have been a great support for the HOG chapter ever since it was started back in early 2001. Thanks to everyone through the years for keeping the Yavapai HOG chapter going and making it a great club today! (Reprinted from 2015 article) Carol Dole-Berginger 1 st Ladies of Harley Officer Happy Birthday! Get a special treat when you shop at Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson during your birthday month! HOG Wash 8
Call Gage for Appointment (928) 583-4039 WebMaster s Note If you are organizing a ride, please send your ride or event info to me to get it posted. Name of Ride or Event Ride Date & Destination Meet up location and time Departure (KSU) time Ride Details (length, meals, costs) Send all pictures and calendar info to me at: webmaster@yavapaihog.com Don t forget we have a Ride Suggestion form available on our website: http://yavapaihog.com/rides/ Ride Safe! Todd Carter, WebMaster HOG of the Month - Wayne Schwetje The first person to be featured in our HOG of the Month series is our long time member, Wayne Schwetje. He is possibly the longest running member in our club today. 1) Tell us about how & when you started riding motorcycles. I started riding Harley s thanks to my wife Jeanie and a good friend that I worked with. We had gone to the bike show in Manhattan just for something to do. I sat on this black 2003 Fat Boy and she said you look great on it. Well at the end of the year we bought a 2004 Dyna Lowrider. I had to wait till April to take the Motorcycle Safety Course in New Jersey to get my license. 2) Tell us about the bikes you ve owned. So the first was the Dyna which in 2005 we rode to Sturgis. It was a bit hard on Jeanie s butt. We had done a demo ride on a softail Heritage while in Sturgis and thats how we bought a 2007 Heritage Softail Classic. In 2010 I added to the stable a 2010 CVO Softail Convertible which I loved but Jeanie didn t find it comfortable. Keeping two bikes in the garage was a little rough so we sold the CVO and later the Softail to buy a 2015 Road Glide Special. Im sure there may be another one in our future. 3) Tell us about your favorite ride. As far as my favorite place to ride has to be the twists. As far as a road it s the Dragon route 129 in Tennessee to North Carolina with 318 turns in eleven miles and no intersections. The best ride Jeanie and I took was a cross country run of 28 days and 9000 miles which covered 24 states. We have so many great memories from this ride and all the other ones we have done by our selves and with H.O.G...continued Pg 11 HOG Wash 9
Dine Out Night! Jan 17th at Arturo s Chino Valley HOG Wash 10
Directors Memo continued from pg 1 Services will be followed by an inurnment at the Prescott National Cemetery. It is my hope to stage a ride to the services as well as the cemetery. More details to come on that. Our friend Monty Packard has already reached out to Lorie Roberts Hill over at Good N Tensions to have a simple patch made up in honor of our lost brother, and I have one that I can share with everyone over the next couple of weekends if you re interested in getting one. They come with a small cost of $10 each. David always seemed to be happiest when on his bike, or anywhere around the motorcycling world, so it is only fitting that we put together a David Owens Memorial Ride that I hope will become an annual event where we can celebrate his life. Please keep an eye on our chapter calendar and on our Facebook page! We ll soon have lots of riding opportunities and activities posted for your enjoyment! We hope to see many of you participating throughout the year! As always..have fun, and please ride safe out there!! ~Mike HOG of the Month - Wayne Schwetje continued from page 9 4) How long have you been involved with HOG, and what positions have you held? As far as positions I held with H.O.G., I started my first year in 2004 as Safety Officer, then Assistant Director, then on to four years as Director, and three years as State Rally Coordinator. Now I m Head Road Captain and Photographer. HOG Wash 11