Category Archives: News

As some of you know, my wife and I are moving to Huntsville, Alabama later this month. I wanted to take just a minute to say how much I’ve enjoyed being a part of thisHOG Chapter. This chapter and the Defiance dealership epitomizes what the Harley Davidson brand is all about…riding with great people on an American built bike!

I really wish I could’ve joined a ride before we leave, but as you can imagine life is a little chaotic these days. Please know that if you’re ever going to be in Huntsville or will be passing through you will always have a place to stay. You can contact me at 307-287-9200 or johnjamesbasile@gmail.com.

John

Please take a moment to say “Thanks” to Tom S., who has agreed to serve as our new Head Road Captain.  Tom is no stranger to those of us who have been riding with the Chapter for a while.  Tom will be leading a number of rides on his Tri-Glide, and when he’s “caging it” he’ll probably be driving his Challenger. 

Also, please thank our former Head Road Captain, Bob R.  Bob has a number of calls for his time from work and volunteer activities and has decided that it would be best to allow another person to take over his Head Road Captain duties to someone who can afford enough time to take on this role.  

Thanks Tom and Bob!

The Motorcycle Legal Foundation has published a number of tips for proper etiquette when riding in a group.  Click on the following link to review: https://www.motorcyclelegalfoundation.com/motorcycle-group-riding-tips/

And one more thing with group riding: be polite with other members of the group!  If you have a concern with the way that the Road Captain or other members in the ride are riding, address it with them the way that you would like to be addressed.  With courtesy and respect.  

Angry exchanges of words take the fun out of what this Chapter is all about: Ride and Have Fun. 

How well do you know the common hand signals used when on a group ride?  Here is a refresher for all riders.

It’s always good to have a reminder of upcoming events.  It’s even more important to know when events are cancelled for various reasons.  We had used this text messaging service in the past up until they started to charge for their service.  We cancelled the service and started to explore other services that may still be free.

There weren’t any.  And, as we found out, RainedOut is the least cost service that is available that meets our needs.    So, based on input from our members we are reinstating the use of text messaging.

Our plans are to send reminder messages for Chapter events as well as when rides are cancelled due to bad weather or other factors.  Members have full control over whether they should receive messages.  This service works the same as most other text messaging services.  You can “opt out” at any time.  

To sign up for text messages simply send DHDMEMBERS to 84483 and you’ll start to get messages.  

The 2021 Photo Challenge has been announced, and this one should be easy for everyone to participate in.  For this year we will have members take photographs of their bikes in front of any United States Postal Service office.  Just about every town has a post office, and some towns such as Omaha have multiple.  

Rules:

• One Entry per post office & Bike photo [Yes, you can have one entry for each bike!]
• Contest end date is 12/1/2021.   Winners announced at following year’s Holiday Party.
• By submitting, you give DHDHOG permission to include your photo in our Holiday Party slideshow and newsletter.
• We will be awarding prizes similar to our 2020 contest.  

How to Submit:

Email to Photographer@DHDHOG.com or print & bring to a Chapter Gathering

What to Submit:

1. Photo of the post office with the name visible  AND your Bike.
2. Your Name.

Prizes: 

• To Be Determined

Have fun and good luck!          

I was just reading a Facebook post where someone had reminded other riders to change the batteries in their key fobs at least once a year.  I’ve never changed mine, so it was a good reminder for me. 

That got me thinking about other checks that riders should do before they take their first ride of the season.  Do you remember the T-CLOCK pre-ride checklist?  Now is the time to do a thorough check of your bike to ensure it’s ready to ride when you are.  My insurance company also published a good reminder of what to check as you are getting ready for the riding season.  Check out this Spring Checklist article.  (No, I’m not endorsing this insurance company.  But, a good idea is a good idea regardless of the source.)

Who else has some good tips for getting ready for the new riding season?  Leave your comments here, or share them at our next Chapter meeting. 

An “old” feature from the OCBHOG website is now a “new” feature for the DHDHOG website.  

The mileage tracking database is now available for members to track their mileage for each of their bikes (Harley’s only!) for the current riding season.  By recording your mileage throughout the riding season you can contribute to the Chapter’s annual mileage goal.  The mileage tracker will allow you to see the mileage rankings of each Chapter member so you can see where you stand in comparison.  

To use this feature you must provide a Chapter officer with your odometer reading for each of your bikes at the start of the riding season.  Once a Chapter officer has recorded this in the database you can access the feature by clicking on the Chapter Mileage Challenge link under the MEMBERS ONLY menu on the website.  Enter your HOG number and then simply enter your latest odometer reading and then click on the SAVE button.  

The website is ready, now let’s hope for warmer weather to start putting some miles in the database!

Great rides are not like great fishing spots.  People normally love to share their favorite rides with their friends.  So, what are your favorite rides?  The Chapter would like to hear your suggestions for rides of any length.  One or two hour rides.  All day rides.  Overnight rides.  All ride suggestions are welcome.  Share your suggestion by either responding to this post below, emailing one of the Chapter officers, or just bring it up at the next Chapter meeting.  

 It doesn’t matter how long you have been riding.  There is always something new to learn when it comes to safely riding your motorcycle.  

Check out the new safety question on the Safety Information page to see if you can answer the question at the next Chapter meeting.  Also, if you have safety tips or questions to raise with your fellow Chapter members feel free to leave a comment on this post.  Or, email your tip to roadcapt@dhdhog.com.