Oct 2012

GWRRA

Region H

Chapter AR-E

Director’s Ramblings 1

Calendar of Events 2

Easy Riders to Plainview 3

Easy riders go to Jason’s 4

AR Fallen Heroes 5

New Members 6

Chapter Education 7

Drink Water 8

District Director’s NL 9

District Memorial Picnic 10

By the Book 11

Editor

Valerie Hewett

The month of September was beautiful here in the Hot

Springs area and where Cheryl and I were. As you

might remember Cheryl and I went on a trip across the

southwestern part of the US. For those of you who

haven’t had the pleasure I highly recommend it. The

views and people were just exceptional.

Now back to GWRRA and our Chapter. Some of you

might remember a past member who passed away

recently after a long illness, Don Thayer. Don and his

wife Dixie were long time members of Chapter E and

I’m sure if you haven’t spoken to Dixie she would ap-

preciate a word or note of encouragement ( 9

Resplandor Way, HSV or 501-922-4978 ). Of course

we also have a number of current members that need

your thoughts and prayers including Mike Keesling

and Don & Val Hewett. Be sure to give them a word of

encouragement as well.

The fall riding season is here so I hope all of you are

getting that old bike out and having a great time riding

the hills around Arkansas. We have plenty of activities

planned for the next few months so you have no ex-

cuse for not having a good time. Remember the more

you put into any activity the more you get out of it.

Have a great time in whatever you choose to do, be

safe and I’ll see you down the road.

Highlighted events are GWRRA sponsored

Non-highlighted events are non-GWRRA events

Day trips – Chapter Rides

MTE every other week starting Jan 5, 2012

Jack and Sharon’s Easy Rider ride every Wednes-day

Thursdays with no MTE and Saturdays on weeks with MTE, weather permitting. ·

October

Oct 6 - Chapter J Rally, Hobo Fest, Russellville

Oct 4-6 - Oklahoma District Rally - McAlester, OK Dan Gruben

Oct 13 – Wounded Warrior Ride, Clinton Library @ 8 AM

Oct 20_ – District Memorial Picnic, Little Rock, Burns Park, Pavilion #10.

Oct 27__ – GWRRA Mtg & Chapter Picnic, Blakely Dam 3-6 PM Mike Kessling

Oct 27 – Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway Don, Rick

Oct 30 – 31 Leaf-peeping trip Don

November

Open—May do another Leaf Peeping

December

Dec 1 - Chapter Christmas Party

Dec 8 - District Toy Ride, Little Rock (NLR Honda to Children’s Hospital)

Dec 8 – District Christmas Party

Please go to

www.argwrra.org/Documents/Arkansas_District_Calendar.pdf

To see more of the District Events

Chapter Director

Richard & Jean Penuell

Assistant Chapter Direc tor

Charlie & Cheryl Stock-ton

Diane & Mike Keesling

Treasurer

Cindy Hagan

Chapter Education

Tom Harrison

Newsletter

Valerie Hewett

Ride Coordinator

Skip Klink

Member Retention

Ed Hagan

Event Coordinator

Tom Templeton

Sunshine Person

Joan Klink

Quarter Master

Cheryl Stockton

Meet to Eat

Judy & Jerry Sloan

Web Master

Dave Scott

GWRRA

Region H

Chapter AR-E

As most of you know by now our riders are about seeing the scenery and taking our time.

We went to Debra's for breakfast and then we went to the top of Blakely Dam. The fog was on the river and it was a special sight that comes with the early morning rides.

During the ride over to Plainview we were a little worried about 14 people being served breakfast at such a small place. BUT that waitress was something else! NOT ONCE did she say "Who had….".

We had to work on Bob's muffler (Bob G.) Bob B. pulled out his tool pack and with the wire the waitress gave them he made it home. We were glad to have Dave and Sheila Hill join us again this was the third time they have ridden with us.

Well that 's it for now!

Jack and Sharon EASY RIDERS

We had a beautiful morning to ride over to Jason's. We had time for a nice break at McD's. Then when we all got settled at Jason's we got a Special visitor, Jim Russell. He came to eat with us but of coarse he didn't ride with us. We enjoyed his company and got to see all the goodies he put on his bike. He has air and blue lights and TRUCK horns. Warning!! don't get in

front of his bike!!!

Well that 's it for now!

Jack and Sharon EASY RIDERS

On Sept 29, bikes and trikes met at Mountainside Methodist Church for the AR Fallen He-roes Ride. There were 39 bikes and 9 trikes. It was hosted by the Scenic 7 Rotary Club.

We rode from the East Gate to the West Gate then north on Rt 7 to the Sonic parking lot. We then had a little ceremony celebrating our Fallen Heroes. On Rt 7 by the El Padrino Restaurant, you can see all the flags with the soldiers picture on it. These are the Fallen Heroes from AR.

Their mission is to create, establish, and help maintain hometown memorials in honor of the brave men and women who have lost their lives defending the United States of Amer-ica in the war against terrorism. Known as the “Lest They Be Forgotten” Memorial Pro-jects, each monument becomes a visible testament of appreciation and compassion to the families of the fallen.

125 Fallen Heroes

from AR this year.

GWRRA

Region H

Chapter AR-E

Ric Spearin & Rosalie Lampone were

members of FL1-L2 in Wesley Chapel

Florida & are transferring to our Chapter.

He has a Valcarie Interstate. Rosalie is a

College Dean at Remington College out-

side of Little Rock.

Robert Herring has just joined our Chap-

ter. He has lived practically all his life

around Malvern, AR. Lucky Man! He has

a white 2012 bike and has been riding

20+ years.

My Grand Daughter, Taylor, is practically a member of our Chapter. She comes to the mtgs and

MTE’s. She really likes the MTE’s. At our Mtg Sept 22, Tom Harrison presented her with a Coin

Bank from the Feds. She immediately started collecting quarters from the members. She told

me that now, she liked the meetings better.

Don’t Be Pennywise and Pound Poor!!

In 1959, I begged my Grandfather to take me with him to work. He was the Factory Service Manager for Harley Davidson and was responsible for handling all dealer service complaints. From the time I was a toddler, I fondly remember rides in his Harley David-son sidecar outfit and I became a motorcycle fanatic. After considerable pestering, he finally agreed. I promised that I would sit quietly and not bother him while he worked.

When we arrived at his desk, there were sev-eral unopened packages waiting for him. He opened the first one and found the remains of an engine which had suffered severe trauma………..a piston had blown up and had turned the engine into a mess. The package included one of the engine heads, chunks of piston, a bent connecting rod, and other damning evidence. According to the letter from the dealer, the customer claimed that the engine failure was Harley Davidson’s fault. My grandfather opened his right desk drawer and carefully removed a set of micrometers. He then proceeded to check the di-mensions of the head, carefully examine the piston fragments and all the other evidence.

About 15 minutes later, he picked up his Dicta-phone mike and started to dictate. Dear Sir, Harley Davidson completely backs it’s products from factory defects and also gives the customer the benefit of the doubt. However when aftermarket pistons and cam shafts are used in the engine, the heads are milled .040 inch, aftermarket valves and springs are fitted, we can not back those changes. As such we are sorry to report that we can not give you any rem-edy.

He looked at me and said that the vast major-ity of the complaints he received were the result of using aftermarket parts, unauthorized modifica-tions to the engine, and incorrect fluids (hydraulic, engine oil) for maintenance. He con-tinued by sharing details that the common causes of engine problems include: Using after market parts versus OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts, incorrect heat range of spark plugs, incorrect motor oil (incorrectly contains silicon or is not the

proper grade), aftermarket brake pads, incorrect brake fluid and other aftermarket non original parts.

In the case of the Honda Goldwing, this would in-clude using the incorrect radiator fluid which can cause a reaction with the engines metal (the anti-freeze must be formulated for aluminum alloy en-gines ).

Given that we all have a lot of money invested in our motorcycles, shouldn’t we at least protect that invest-ment by using Honda recommended parts and flu-ids?

OEM Honda Oil filters can be purchased from Wing Stuff for $9.99 ea. Aftermarket oil filters can be pur-chased for around $5 each when purchased in quan-tity. Since Jay at John’s Honda has cut apart 6 differ-ent oil filters for the Honda Goldwing and found them to be internally different, is it worth $5 in savings to take that gamble?

If you use non Honda motor oil, are you sure you are getting the correct specification of oil?? Does the oil you selected contain silicon?

Have you looked at the difference between OEM replacement disk pads and aftermarket? I have and they are substantially different! Also consider this, why do Honda brake pads leave black powder resi-due?? Could it be that they would rather have the brake pad wear instead of an expensive disc rotor? I have heard people taut ceramic brake pads that make less of a mess, but what is the ultimate cost and do they function just as efficiently?

Are you using the correct heat range of spark plugs?…….Honda makes three different ones for the Gold-wing……..make sure you get the correct one!

Are you getting your valve adjusted at the right inter-val?? If not, you could damage a valve or valve seat.

Are you checking your brake fluid, using the correct kind and replacing it per the service manual interval?

I am not here to tell anyone what to do, but think of the gamble versus the monetary reward/safety risk and ask yourself if the trade off is worth it!!!

How many times have you gone some-

place after an event and everyone was

sitting having a beer or drinks with din-

ner or just having a few before you go

back to the room for the night? Over the

last 90 days, motorcyclists have killed

themselves more often than cars turn-

ing in front of them. There were 55

deaths in the state of Arkansas alone

since January first

I’m not saying that all or any in-

volved were alcohol related. I’m saying

we, as motorcyclists, need to take re-

sponsibility for our actions and think

carefully before deciding to have a drink

and then get on our motorcycles and

ride back to home or the hotel. With as

little as one drink, you start to become

impaired. Many of us are not young and

many of us are on medications. Alcohol

can cause a reaction with the meds on-

board to be amplified.

I’m on the Arkansas Motorcycle

Safety Advisory Committee. We talk

about the motorcycles in our state and

what can be done to make it safer for

them. Below are some stats that we, as

motorcyclists, are more of a danger to

ourselves than cars turning in front of

motorcyclists.

From June to Sept 21,2012:

Motorcycle only fatal crashes.

Lost Control: 4 (Yearly total 9)

Failure to negotiate a curve: 3 (Yearly

total 15).

Motorcycles and Other Vehicles

Involved:

Motorcycle lost control striking vehicle

or motorcycle: 2 (Yearly total 10)

Motorcycle crossed center line: 1

(Yearly total 4)

Vehicle turned left or crossed center

line striking vehicle: 2 (Yearly total 17)

That breaks down to 70% are motorcy-

clist fault and 30% the other vehicles

fault. As you can see we are killing our-

selves and we need to police ourselves

and be safe.

Larry Penepent

Region H

Motorist Awareness Coordinator

GWRRA

Region H

Chapter AR-E

Fall is here!!!! We are really enjoying the cooler riding weather

and the changing colors of the trees. Be sure to watch for the run-

ning deer. October is full of FUN. We start out by going to

McAlester, OK for their district convention. Then back in Arkansas on October 13th we will have

Hobo Stew with Chapter J in Russellville. We are looking forward to that, they have some great

food. Hope everyone can be there. October 20th will be the district picnic at Burns Park, Pavilion

#10 and hope you are planning on attending. Who will take the title of best chili??? Will Chapter C

retain the trophy of winning the games or will it go home with another chapter???? We have a

beautiful American Flag afghan that has been donated for a Chinese auction, so bring your dol-

lars!!!! Sunrise Honda has also donated the new Venture heated gear, either 2 jackets or 1 jacket/1

pants, including controllers.

Man did we have a busy September. Chapter D had a good turnout at their Day Rally. Wesley was

excited that he pulled some good tickets. He was really happy that he “let” Ms. Sherry win all the

money, but next time he wants to win a prize. Robert Graves from Fort Smith took home a trailer full

of prizes. Thanks to Jones, Donna and Chapter D for such a fun day. We want to thank Bobby &

Arleen Webb for your generous donation for the district picnic. We appreciate all you do for the dis-

trict.

Thanks to everyone that came to Sunrise Honda Appreciation Day. It was a rainy day but still there

was a good turnout. Congratulation to Chapter D Jonesboro for having the largest chapter there

and winning a $25 gift card per bike for everyone present. List of major prize winners include: Rich-

ard Austin, Chapter C-V Stream Windshield, Linda Harris, Chapter L-Set Bridgestone tires, Sharon

Davis, Chapter D-Oil Change, Michael Gray, Chapter F-Venture heated jacket, and Sam Lister,

Chapter L-oil change. Of course there were door prizes given all day. Thank you Sunrise!!

We want to welcome Chapter F from Fort Smith to our district!!! They are making their presents

know around the district. Hope to continue to see them all over the district.

There will be an OCP offered November 10 & 11 in Fort Smith. Anyone interested in attending con-

tact Larry Penepent at 479-970-0778 or trainer@argwrra.org .

RIDE OFTEN AND RIDE SAFE!!!! Arkansas District Directors

Johnny & Mildred Glasscock 1109 South Parkside

Blytheville, AR 72315 870-623-4578 director@argwrra.org

GWRRA

Region H

Chapter AR-E

By the Book

By: Jack Wagner

Region H Trainer

Do I Have to Own a Goldwing?

Do you know someone who would be a good fit with your GWRRA Chapter? But they don't have a Goldwing. Encourage them to join. Did a GWRRA member sell their Goldwing and either quit riding or purchased another brand of motorcycle? Encourage them to stick around. Most of us know there are two categories of GWRRA member-ship, full members and associate members. To be a Full Member one must own a Goldwing or Valkyrie motorcycle. Associate members are those who either own an-other brand of motorcycle, or maybe no motorcycle at all, but are still interested in be-ing a part of GWRRA because of all we have to offer.

So, other than not having a Goldwing, are there other differences between being a Full and Associate Member? The short answer is 'not really'. Yes they will have to pay a bit more for their membership and for rally (sorry, convention) registrations, but they can participate equally in any and all activities at all levels – with only 2 exceptions. Associate Members are not eligible to become Directors or Assistant Directors (at any level) and they may not participate in the Couple of the Year selection process above the Chapter level. Associate Members MAY hold other team positions (at any level), even the officer positions such as trainer, educator, membership enhancement coordi-nator or treasurer. And Associate Members may be selected as the Chapter Couple of the Year – they just cannot participate in the District COY selection.

So don't be a Goldwing 'snob'. Embrace Associate Members and encourage others to join and participate as an Associate Member.

Who knows, they may realize owning a Goldwing really IS for them! Its a great

way to grow your Chapter