September, 2016 Volume 17, Issue 9 G.W.R.R.A., REGION H, TEXAS DISTRICT, CHAPTER W Chapter TX-W Director Cindy Harris Greetings, take the class. Hope everyone had a safe Labor Day weekend. Lynn and I rode his 1996 Honda 1500 Goldwing to Florida to deliver to my sister and her husband. They are super excited about getting a Goldwing. It should last them the rest of their riding career. I want to thank Vernon and Sue Neal for filling in for me at the September meeting. I m sure you all had a great time. I did not see anyone list a ride for last Saturday but I know a lot of people were out of town. Now is the time when all the rides start gearing up before Christmas. It seems like there are 4 or 5 rides a weekend if you want to participate in event rides. I believe we have a ride scheduled on September 17 th to New Waverly with Steve Wilkening leading the ride. Hope you come out and go with us. It will more likely be a good portion of the day ride so plan on being gone for a couple of hours that day. On the 18 th we have the tickets to the Skeeter s game so hope some of you come out for that. If anyone has any suggestions for our Planning Meeting that will be on September 15 th please email me. I am always looking for new places to go. I try and keep the restaurant closer to the south side of Katy to give the people on the South side a closer ride to the place. On November 6 th, which is a Sunday, I have planned a Train Ride in Rusk, Texas for us to take for the Fall Foliage. This ride begins at 10:15 am with brunch on the Train. It should be back in around 2:45 pm. My plan is to take a leisurely ride up there on Saturday, November 5 th and spend the night in Palestine or Rusk. This is the menu and cost is $80.00 per person. Non-alcoholic Beverages: water, tea, coffee, soft drinks. $5 each: various beers, wines, Mimosas, Bloody Mary s (Mimosas and Bloody Mary s can be virgin drinks or with alcohol.) 1st Course fresh seasonal fruit w/sweet cream dip 2nd course assorted cube cheese w/heritage crackers + an almond topped devilled egg 3rd course Napoli Salad: fresh cut Romaine with Peppercini peppers, Roma s and spiced red pepper croutons tossed with aged balsamic dressing 4th course Choose One: Option #1: Spinach Quiche w/crispy bacon on the side or Option #2: Breakfast Taquito: scrambled eggs, bacon & cheese wrapped in a tortilla with salsa on the side 5th course iced cinnamon rolls with pecans Well enough rambling on. I look forward to keeping busy with our group the next couple of months and hope to see most you participating. Lynn and I will be teaching a Motorcycle Safety Class on September 23, 24 & 25 in Angleton. If you know of anyone that would like to take the course please email me so I can give them the information if they want to come down and Cindy Harris Chapter Director
VOLUME 17 ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER, 2016 PAGE 2 NORTHWEST HONDA 10102 North Freeway (I-45 @ West Road) Houston, Texas 77037 YOUR ONE STOP TOY SHOP HONDA DUCATI Tuesday thru Friday: 9am to 7 pm Saturday: 9am to 5pm Parts: Service: Sales: Fax: (281) 447-6337 (281) 447-0316 (281) 447-3476 (281) 447-9532 www.lunsfordshonda.com
VOLUME 17 ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER, 2016 PAGE 3 Three-Wheeled Vehicles A few sobering realities By: James R. Davis I suffered from a delusion that many of my fellow riders seem to have - that three wheeled vehicles would be easier to drive because they are more stable as a result of lacking any lean. Yes and no. People have sent me many messages regarding their experiences on three-wheelers and I will use this Tip to share with you what they had to say. There is NO COUNTER-STEERING involved when driving a three-wheeler. If there was no other reason to be careful about these machines, this one should at least tell you that you need to practice driving one before you take it out onto public streets! Front wheel traction is COMPROMISED in turns. You must drive more slowly in a curve than you would with a normal motorcycle because unlike with a two-wheeler which leans and therefore almost always has the front wheel aligned with the bike's body, a three-wheeler must be steered by actually turning the wheel. Thus, the bike's inertia is constantly trying to straighten that wheel, or ride over it. At similar speeds a three-wheeler will lose front wheel traction sooner than will a two-wheeler. Both rider and passenger are substantially stressed during turns. The bike stays level so they are both forced by centrifugal force towards the outside of their seats. Indeed, one person actually told me that he installed a SEAT BELT for his passenger on his trike for this reason! Trike handling is generally superior to that of motorcycles with sidecars, particularly those that do not allow some lean of the motorcycle on curves. Sidecar handling in a curve is typically described as "constantly pulling to one side when accelerating or decelerating, and requiring constant steering adjustments in turns." Changes to a standard motorcycle that are ideal for making a sidecar handle better (such as shortening the trail of the front-end or using a flatfooted automobile tire on the sidecar), make the motorcycle almost unrideable without the sidecar (if detachable - a rather dumb idea, in my opinion) or if there is insufficient weight in the sidecar.
VOLUME 17 ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER, 2016 PAGE 4 Unlike the conclusion that riding a two-wheeler leads you to, a sidecar's wheel can be lifted (dangerously) only when turning TOWARDS it (to the right, if mounted on the right side, for example.) This is the result, as described above, of having to steer the bike by turning the front wheel rather than by leaning it. Note, please, that as soon as the sidecar's tire leaves the ground you will once again be a two-wheeler. Since the bike would at that point be leaning heavily away from the curve you would INSTANTLY get a severe COUNTER-STEERING push in the direction of the lean!!! (Actually, one person advises that this is not really a severe reaction and manifests itself somewhat gradually - depending on the height of the lifted wheel.) Similarly, and just as unexpected based on two-wheel experience, if you take a turn too fast in a direction AWAY from the sidecar you run the risk of actually lifting the REAR wheel off the ground and nose diving the rig (i.e., a highside.) Mounting a sidecar on most motorcycles will void the motorcycle warranty and many (possibly most) dealership shops will not take them in for service. Both acceleration and mileage are less with either a sidecar or a trike rig than a standard motorcycle. This Tip is designed to forewarn rather than to discourage. I know several elderly riders that can no longer manage a two-wheeler who routinely ride three-wheelers without any trouble at all. On the other hand, I know a woman who decided to 'practice' driving her husband's Wing with its new sidecar on the public streets. She put her daughter in the sidecar and her husband rode as passenger. There would be no high speeds for her - this was just a 'get familiar' ride. At the very first turn she had to make at normal highway speeds she lost it. The daughter was flung out of the sidecar and was hurt, but not badly. The husband sustained a broken collar bone. But the motorcycle landed on top of the lady. It destroyed many of the organs in her pelvic area as well as broke many bones. (She survived it - barely.) Thus, the point of this Tip is that three-wheelers do not handle like two-wheelers and RE- QUIRE practice other than on public roads before you should feel confident to venture out among 'em. Copyright 1992-2016 by The Master Strategy Group, all rights reserved.
VOLUME 17 ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER, 2016 PAGE 5 October, 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Upcoming Events for October 6th Chapter Meeting 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 20th Planning Meeting 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23/30 24/31 25 26 27 28 29 Check our web site calendar for last minute events. www.gwrra-txw.org 3 If you re a rider in Texas, motorcycle insurance from Suzanne Sansom Insurance Services Inc. can protect both you and your bike. At Suzanne Sansom Insurance Services Inc., we believe that good insurance is no accident and our dedicated agents will take the time to find you insurance products that are reliable and affordable. We are an independent agency and we will shop for the top carriers in the country to satisfy all of your personal insurance needs. www.sansominsurance.com/personal-insurance/motorcycle-insurance/ 3522 S. Mason Rd., Suite 260 Katy, TX 77450 Phone: 832-437-4180 Fax: 832-772-4325 Email: suzanne@sansominsurance.com Motorcycle ~ Life ~ Auto ~ Home ~ Commercial www.sansominsurance.com
VOLUME 17 ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER, 2016 PAGE 6 September Birthdays Rick Bartle, 4th Dan Vacek, 15th Gilbert Hill, 27th Anniversaries Lynn & Cindy Harris, 11th Our Meeting Place and Time GWRRA Texas Chapter "W" holds its chapter meetings on the first and third Thursdays of the month. The first currently at Rudy s BBQ, 21799 Katy Freeway, Katy, TX 77450 (I-10 just east of Mason Rd.). The second will move month to month so see our calendar. The first is our regular chapter meeting while the second meeting is an informal planning meeting/social gathering. Meetings are held at 7:00 P.M. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. Come early and enjoy dinner with the chapter.
VOLUME 17 ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER, 2016 PAGE 7 FLEXING OUR WINGS A LITTLE TEXAS HISTORY Some September Texas Events
VOLUME 17 ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER, 2016 PAGE 8 Katy home of the 2016 Goldwing and the Can-Am Spyder 22515 KATY FWY Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon HOURS Closed Closed KATY, TX 77450 Phone: 281-392-8850 Fax: 281-392-6162 www.wildwestmotoplex.com About Us Located in Katy, Texas since 1983. Wild West Honda is an authorized dealer for Honda, Kawasaki, BMW, YAMAHA, KTM, Sea-Doo, & Can-Am. Click, Call, or Come on by! Chapter W Officers Position Name Phone Number Chapter Director Cindy Harris (386) 846-8521 Assistant Chapter Director Vern Neal (713) 295-9150 Treasurer Cathy Hood Membership Enhancement OPEN Newsletter Editor Steve Wilkening (713) 899-6855 Chapter Educator OPEN Chapter Historian Jim Vardaman (281) 495-2748 Ride Coordinator Roger Caron (832) 868-8976 Webmaster Steve Wilkening (713) 899-6855