Director s Letter.. 3 Jason Wilmoth Interview. 3 Treasurer s Letter.... 4 Wilmoth Interview (cont.).. 5, 6, 10 Lost Highway....... 7 Birthdays, Minutes.. 8 Calendar............ 9 Member Support........ 11 Loma Linda HOG Officers.... 12 Quaid Harley-Davidson Dealership 25160 Redlands Boulevard Loma Linda, CA 92354 Phone: 909-796-8399 Fax: 909-796-8609 www.quaidharleydavidsonlomalinda.com H.O.G. U.S. Phone: 1-800-258-2464 LLHOG Website: www.lomalindahog.com LLHOG Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lomalindaharleyowners
Fellow HOG members, it s March! Spring is here! The weather is Fair! So there is less reason not to be riding. Our numbers are slowly growing, which is awesome. The rides that we have done so far have been enjoyable. If you know of a member or ex-member who hasn't been with us, let them know we are out in the wind and sunshine enjoying our bikes and each other s company. Reminder on March 5th, Saturday, we will ride thru Joshua Tree Park and eat at Pioneer Town. There is a fee to enter the park. Also, reminder, breakfast will be served before the March meeting. Breakfast at 9, meeting at 10. April's meeting is moved to the 24th, the forth Sunday, because the chapter officers will be at training. The meeting on the 24th will start at 9am. Remember, we need volunteers to help with the April Autism Run. Please contact Randy regarding this. In closing, remember to ride safe, stay within your limits and have fun. Hope to do many miles together with all of you. Greg: Tell us a little about yourself and your family. by Gregory L. Robertson Jason: I ve been in the Harley Davidson business for about 18 years now. I ve worked at four different dealerships over that time. I ve been married for nine years; my wife s name is Candace. She is a third grade school teacher. I have two boys, Jake, 9, and Jonny, 5. Two awesome kids who love bikes. They come in here and they think they own the place. I wouldn t say they are necessarily riders yet, because mom s not totally on board with that, but they definitely have a passion; like the picture I have with one sitting here on the bike. My wife will ride with me occasionally, but not too often. It s more of a solo thing, but it s been my thing that I ve always had. I come from a family with a riding background and she knew this was my thing. We have conflicting schedules with her being a teacher and me being in retail sales and working on the weekends. I ve been commuting on my bike for the past 20 years. I ve owned very few cars. I ve owned triple the motorcycles than I have cars, so it s very rare that I ll drive. Continued on page 5
MARCH 2016 This month starts out with the Chapter getting set to host the 2 nd Annual RIDE FOR AUTISM Charity drive in conjunction with the Quaid s Pre Laughlin Open House on the 16 th of April 2016. That s right around the corner. The Chapter Officers except for me will be attending the Harley Officers Training on the same weekend in April so I m expecting the rest of the Chapter members to step up and to help me with the task of making the Autism Ride a very successful one. Gordon Quaid, Randy Kim, and Glenn Quaid with Precious Hearts School Director Autism Ride. We need volunteers to man the poker ride stops as well as the registration table ride escorts and parking control. Let s all pitch in to make this a great ride for a very good cause. Last week Glenn and Gordon Quaid along with me visited the Precious Hearts Academy to see what our donations that we gave them last year were spent on. They now have a Special Education Certified gym equipment room, thanks to the LOMA LINDA HOG Chapter. So LLHOG is sponsoring another RIDE FOR AUTISM and this will help this Academy continue to provide for the Autistic children of San Bernardino. Remember your Chapter dues should have been paid for 2016 by now or you will be dropped from the Chapter Roster. Also on the Calendar for March we will be having a Pancake Breakfast before the Chapter meeting on the 20 th of Mar. at 9:00 am right there at Quaid s. Looking forward to the next meeting for the Pancake Breakfast and to have the volunteers sign up list for the April Open House and Autism Ride. Ride safe and Ride to have fun see you on the road and at the next Chapter meeting. Also, we will be taking orders for Chapter T-shirts, Patches, and Name Tags.... Randy, Treasurer Check presented to the Loma Linda Veterans Hospital
Interview with Jason Wilmoth, continued from page 3 Greg: Do you live in the Loma Linda area? Jason: No, I actually live in Riverside. That s another reason I ride, for the commute. I don t like sitting in traffic. Riding motorcycles for so long I get a little impatient. Not that I m riding crazy, but I know that I can split lanes and get through it. Greg: What got you into motorcycles? Actually, my mom rode and that s how I got into motorcycles. My dad was a car guy and my mom was a bike gal. Greg: Did she have an old Harley? Jason: She had different bikes. Not having a lot of money growing up, she would ride metric bikes and stuff like that, but she always rode and was always around motorcycles and did have a Harley at one point. She had friends that rode too and that s how I really got into it. She was tough. She could handle her own and she would ride a Harley too. So that s how it originally got me started. I always liked motorcycles. Out of high school I actually ended up moving out to Phoenix, just to kind of get away. I was going to go to Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI), but it didn t work out because I didn t have enough money to go to school and take care of myself. So after living out in Phoenix for a couple years, I moved back to San Jose where I am from and got a job at San Jose Harley Davidson. When I was out in Arizona, though, I bought my first new motorcycle. It wasn t a Harley. It was a Buell, which is still owned by Harley. Being a young kid, you know, I wanted to have something that was sleek, had the cool factor, and had performance. Even though I liked the Harleys, Buell was the happy medium. So I bought a Buell and had a bad experience at the dealership. As soon as I bought the Buell, I had a few warranty issues. I had some oil leaks on it. So I took it back to the dealership and they said, We don t sell Buells anymore. They were unwilling to help me and didn t want to have anything to do with it. That left a bad taste in my mouth. That fueled my passion to be at a dealership and help people out. I was a young kid and that was my first bike. It was about 1997 when I bought that, the same year I went to work for San Jose Harley Davidson. 97 or 98, it was a long time ago. Right around there. Greg: Were you always in finance? Jason: No, not at all. I never had any finance background. I had never worked in a dealership or anything. Actually, when I went to San Jose Harley Davidson, they saw I was a young kid, energetic, I had a Buell, they didn t have anyone that rode those, anyone who knew too much about them, so they thought it would be a good fit to go with all the other guys. At this time, they had a really small motorcycle shop. It wasn t anything fancy like these new stores that you see. And you had some hard core bikers that worked in the parts department and I came in to work parts. They were great guys. I learned a lot from them. I definitely stood out there, ya know. This young kid amongst all these other guys, but I was used to being around bikers. My bike was still a Harley, even though it was a sport bike. Continued on next page
That dealership expanded and moved into the location they have now, so I got to grow with them as did my passion for motorcycles. I picked up knowledge and so they put me in sales. At the time it was an order basis only. Harleys were so hot in 98, 99 that every bike that came in was pre-sold. So you were more of an ordertaker, but it was still a lot of fun doing that. I learned a lot too. I really loved that dealership because they were kind of grooming me. So I worked the parts counter, did sales and I did some service writing also. Back then they didn t have dedicated finance people. So as a salesman, you would sale the bike and then do your own paperwork. I was there for a few years and then I met Jose, our Parts Manager here at Quaid now. I met him along with some people from Skip Fordyce Harley Davidson at a training seminar. That was out in Phoenix. So I went back to Phoenix and it was called The World Series of Training. It was a week-long training seminar which Harley doesn t do anymore because we partied way too much. There wasn t a lot of learning. It was networking and hanging out with people that are like-minded, that do the same jobs that you do. It was all departments: parts, service, motor clothes, sales and we just partied. I remember meeting Jose. I will never forget that. I had a great time with these people from Skip Fordyce. I felt like I was on top of the world at the time. I was a young guy. I was doing great at the dealership and learning a lot. I actually got a couple job offers from that training. My girlfriend s mom at the time lived in Southern California, so she wanted to move down here. So I called up Jose and the guys at Skip Fordyce and got a job. I started there in 2000. While I was there I did sales, I did finance because I knew how to do both. That eventually put me into finance. I never thought I would be doing paper work. I don t really enjoy paperwork, but I m pretty thorough with it. I think a lot of it goes back to when I bought that Buell and had a bad experience. I never had a good experience buying a car, so I think those experiences molded me into this job. I want to help people. I want to explain it. I want to break it down. I love the product and that s why I don t necessarily agree with some of the other dealerships that are all profit driven. I m not here to make money. I m not here for profits. I m here because I love the product. I m passionate about it. I believe in it. I want to help people feel the same passion and emotion that I feel. Even as long as I have been here, I truly believe that to this day. I was at Skip Fordyce for 14 years. When the new owners came in, I felt it was time for me to part ways. I didn t see eye-to-eye on a lot of the business practices and I knew the Quaids. I was close to Brandon through Mike Slagel who worked with me at Skip Fordyce. He was our Sales Manager. Amazing person. He left Skip Fordyce to go to Quaid Temecula and he was their Sales Manager. He fit right in with them. He got real close to Gordon, real close to Brandon. Mike passed away about two years ago, unfortunately. That happened at about the same time that we did the change of ownership at Skip Fordyce. It was a big changing time, so I just felt close as far as for what the Quaid family did for Mike and his family; as far as just their beliefs, their morals and ethics, and so I wanted to be a part of that. So I quit my job and came here and asked Brandon for a job. Glenn and Brandon decided to give it a shot. For one month I was on the sales floor and they put me in here. So now it s more of a supportive role. I really wouldn t say I m just the Finance Manager, I do whatever I can to help. You ve got a lot of Type A personalities around here, but it s a perfect blend. We don t butt heads and everyone knows their role. We support Brandon. It s a good team. You can t put a price tag on that as far as money. It was the first time in my life that I did not negotiate money when I came in. I wasn t really concerned about the wages because I knew it would work. It just felt right, ya know. It felt like it was supposed to happen. And so, here I am. We ve had huge growth for the store. I would say there are about 10 people that came from Skip Fordyce and none of them were let go, they all came here because they wanted to come here. Again, because of the mentality at a bike shop where the people ride bikes, of being with bikers. It s that mentality as opposed to just selling something. Continued on page 10
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Diana Araiza 3/14 Robert Baker 3/19 Lynn Hirtz 3/17 Jan Jackson 3/21 Dave Moneymaker 3/4 Gina Ripley 3/17 Notes of HOG Meeting Feb. 21, 2016 Called to order at 10:04 a.m. Director Report Welcomed guests minutes approval - Bully seconded first by Sonny Need an activities director Need a road captain - Dan handles weekdays Barry is now the safety officer Death Valley on the 11th to 13th May after meeting - rock store and neptunes net with quaid emnployees. Lawrence will pre run and make sure there is parking etc... May 14th - poker run in Ventura Bully asked about Memorial Day in Bishop? Last weekend in May 27th to 30th April - meeting on 4th Sunday due to officer s training Throw out ride ideas - If you even know where a cool rock is, let s go see it Ride to Temecula Chili Challenge was good Need to support other chapters - some don t think we still exist Added January birthdays to the February meeting - sorry for missing it last time. Patches for board members April to October change to 9 am meeting time Anyone wanting patches, get in touch with Lawrence or Randy Next Sunday (February 28th) kickstands up 8:30 from Eddy Scott 3/17 Gary Tulleys 3/26 Darrell Warwick 3/31 goody s - hwy 74 to 371 etc... Secretary report Sign in sheet - if you don t see your name, we don t have a current membership form for you Membership cards will be out next meeting Safety Check your tires Safety class if there is interest - let Barry know Assistant Director Report Nothing Treasurer Report Apologized for missing donuts last meeting 4611.84-140 cash on hand John and Bully approved Next month is last 10 am meeting Planning on a pancake breakfast for the chapter - March 24th Newsletter 100 names on mailing list but only 60 paid members, pay up soon or we have to remove you from the list Costs a lot for 25 physical mailings - bring them to the meeting instead of mailing Terry asked what other chapters are doing. What about showing a member card to get it Available at dealership + bringing to the meeting approved by vote Interview each month as part of the newsletter. Adjourned at 10:42 - Motioned by John, seconded by Richard
March On March 2, 9,16, 23, and 30, every Wednesday, is Dan s Ride. Kick- Stands-Up (KSU) at Quaid s, 9 a.m. 5-12 Daytona 75th Bike Week 5th Joshua Tree Ride 12th Chapter Ride, KSU at 8:30 a.m. 11-13 Death Valley Ride 18th Bike Night at Quaid s 20th Chapter HOG meeting with breakfast (9 a.m. breakfast, 10 a.m. 24 th -- Chapter Pancake Breakfast. April On April 6, 13, 20, 27, every Wednesday, is Dan s Ride. KSU at Quaid s, 9 a.m. 9th, Ride To be announced 16th Autism Ride and Quaid Pre-Laughlin Open House 24th HOG Chapter meeting on 4 th Sunday due to schedule of Harley Officers Training. Meetings begin at 9 a.m. beginning at April chapter meeting. 27th 30th. Laughlin River Run 2016 May On May 4, 11, 18, 25, every Wednesday, is Dan s Ride. KSU at Quaid s, 9 a.m. Dates not established -- Rock Store, Neptune s Net with Quaid Employees 14 th Poker Run in Ventura 27-30 possible ride to Bishop for Memorial Day. June On June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, every Wednesday, is Dan s Ride. KSU at Quaid s, 9 a.m. July On July 6, 13, 20, 27, every Wednesday, is Dan s Ride. KSU at Quaid s, 9 a.m. Saturday the 23 rd, Lost Highway, tickets available at Quaid s (see ad on page 6).
Greg: After your Buell, what was your first Harley Davidson? Jason: I ll try to rattle through the bikes that I ve had. I had the Buell and that had just come out. So, a little back story. You know there s a saying that whenever something new comes out, you never buy it, let the bugs work out in it? I would go against that because I had so much brand loyalty that I would buy the first thing that came out. So, in the summer of 1999 the Twin Cams came out and the Softails. They were already out previously in the Dynas and the Touring, but they came out in the Softails. I bought the very first one that came in the door. That was my first regular Harley. Before that I had had a bunch of metric bikes, ya know. Hondas and stuff like that. So I always rode. My first motorcycle was a Yamaha 250 street bike. It had a big banana seat with a rack, like a book rack. And there would be three of us riding on that bike. I would ride my buddies around on it. Ya know, jumping off curbs. I treated that thing like a bicycle. Just throw it up against the wall kind of thing. No respect for the bike at all. But I actually learned how to ride before I learned how to drive. That s just how much I loved motorcycles. It came also from a BMX background. I loved riding bicycles and pretended I was on a motorcycle when I was a kid. That transitioned into my first motorcycle. I can t even tell you how many bikes I ve had. As far as Harleys are concerned. I had the Buell White Lightening right when that came out. I had the Softail Standard right when that came out. After that I had a 2002 Heritage Softail Classic. So I wanted to try something a little different. Beach bars, lowered, long pipes wasn t my style. I had an 81 Sturgis for a little while, which was a Shovel. It had both a kick and electric start. I had a 2006 Heritage Springer Classic which was very cool. That ended up kinda my business card. It was all powder coated, black and red. Total tear down and build up. That was a fun bike. Sold that to get married. So that paid for my wedding. Then I had a 2010 Road Glide. After that I had a 2006 Dyna Super Glide. I had that for a long time, until recently. That s when I did all my performance stuff. I really was getting into more of the performance, more aggressive riding on the Dyna, which was perfect for that. Suspension, motor, my buddy, Josh, pulled up a 115 horse power motor for me, and that was a lot of fun. I loved that bike. I didn t think I would get rid of it. Then the 2016 Dyna Lowrider came out. That s my favorite now because that is what I have right now. I do like the Dyna best, just because it suits my needs. For riding around town it s nimble, it s agile, it s easy to get around on. Riding on the freeway, it has great suspension on it. I can ride it from here to Vegas effortlessly. I have no problem being in the seat. It s very comfortable, and it s good for splitting lanes. Greg: Is there a favorite ride or group of rides you have been on? Jason: That s a tough one. I would say, probably my favorite ride that stood out was when a friend of mine, on my birthday, wanted to take me to lunch. He said he knew a good seafood place. So we rode and he took me to San Luis Obispo. We did not take the short route! We went up through the desert, through Tehachapi and took the 58. We basically went across California. I think we did 600 miles on that day. I had a 2002 Night Train and I rode that. It was awesome. We made sure we took the longest route. One of the things that is both good and bad about riding motorcycles with me is that I get lost very easily. It s bad, because you re lost! It s good, because you re on a motorcycle and it s part of the adventure. Like they say, not all wanderers are lost. It s fun going out and exploring. I enjoy that to this day. I m just a real simple person that loves this product. I couldn t imagine doing anything else, I really couldn t. It s become part of my identity, I guess. It makes ya feel real patriotic to love the brand. I would take it over anything, any car or anything else, ya know. End
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LOMA LINDA HOG FREEDOM FLYER QUAID HARLEY-DAVIDSON 25160 REDLANDS BLVD. LOMA LINDA, CA 92354 PHONE: 909-796-8399 VISIT US @ WWW.LOMALINDAHOG.COM OR ON FACEBOOK @ LOMA LINDA HARLEY OWNERS Director Lawrence Tubbs 909-200-7089 HDRider1963@hotmail.com Treasurer Randy Kim 909-831-9431 hwni@aol.com Road Captain Dan Hirtz 909-961-7427 danslmc@hotmail.com Photographer Darrel Bedwell 909-882-1975 berdoohog@gmail.com Assistant Director Butch Araiza 909-644-2417 Butch.araiza@gmail.com Activities Officer Barry Valdez 909-578-2902 barryvaldez@msn.com Safety Officer Bryan Hartnell 951-205-0016 bhartnell@hlmlawyers.com Secretary Rick Anderson 909-794-6754 jetta01@hotmail.com LOH Officer Sandy Lopez 909-553-0586 rubensandy@aol.com Membership Lynn Hirtz 909-260-3622 danslmc@hotmail.com Newsletter Editor Greg Robertson 909-856-8031 HOGwildDeuce@gmail.com