July 3-6, 2001
11,000+ Gold Wings, Valkyries, and trikes converged on the streets of Greenville, SC to the GWRRA Wing Ding XXIII, and American Modern was there to quote & sell insurance, inform riders, and give away prizes and trinkets valued by Wingers. Gold Wing Chapters from all over proudly displayed their wears, mostly in pairs of matching outfits. No other model has such a high percentage of passengers, and deservedly so with such a plush back seats. No other model can you accessorize more than a Gold Wing. Converting a Gold Wing into a trike is very popular among the aging motorcyclists that don’t want to worry about maneuvering or dropping 800 pounds of motorcycle, yet still want the adventure of touring and riding. I was in the parking lot and a gentleman and his wife took a slow turn too slow and I was able to save one Gold Wing from touching down. The average age of the Wing Dingers had to be in the upper 50’s to low 60’s. Many retired couples hit the road to see America on their bikes and trikes. My RT looked like a squid bike compared to the rest of those Barka-Loungers on wheels
Rally attendees are drawn to the Wing Ding from all over, as the GWRRA is the world's largest single-marquee social organization for owners and riders of Honda Gold Wing motorcycles. Many come for many reasons. Some of those reasons include the camaraderie of other Gold Wing owners, the seminars, the demo rides, the trade show, the poker runs, the rider education courses, the talent shows, the best dressed events, the drill team competition, the field events, some even come to get hitched, the great riding locally, and of course the prizes. This year’s grand prize was a brand new Gold Wing, won by Mike Malone of Birmingham, AL. Mike wasn’t there for the drawing, but there was another Mike Malone who was… what a roller coaster of emotions he must have had.
American Modern’s booth stayed pretty busy the first two days and the last two days were much slower. We gave away three GWRRA jackets as our raffle drawing, collecting names and addresses of those that stopped by. We even sold a policy to a 71year young woman who bought a trike there and rode it home to Florida. We gave out free quotes, kickstand pads, key chains, and pens also. The vendors at the trade show varied greatly from the typical motorcycle accessories, to artwork, to cookware, and even infrared saunas.
For me, it was a great ride and a great time. I got to meet the folks from our Des Moines office and now have a much better understanding of our product offering. Next up is the Honda Homecoming.
The Prez Sez
One of the “big” news items for the club is that we will now start our meetings at 7 PM, on a regular basis. The intent is to give those who have farther to travel a better chance of getting home before they turn into pumpkins! Now all I’ve gotta do is get there in time to start by seven! Should be interesting.
And for the second time is the last three months, there will be a pre-meeting ride. Henry has/was “volunteered” to lead a relatively brief ride around the southeast side just prior to the August meeting. Thanks in advance, Henry! Check the calendar for details. By the way, there were four bikes on the June pre-meeting ride, and Mr. Bill did his usual fine job of getting me all turned around.
I’m looking forward to the club campout in North Carolina this weekend. The humidity is supposed to come down some, so the weather should be a bit more tolerable. I’ve perused Bill’s “suggested” route and it looks nice and crooked. It’ll be a great way to wear some of the rubber off the sides of my tires!
I just heard today that the 2002 MOA International rally will be in Ontario, Canada. The exact info is supposed to be on the MOA website. I took a quick look but couldn’t find anything. No doubt more details will be available soon.
Finally, if any of you are contemplating bringing something of great import before the club, please try to do so at the August meeting, or expect to wait until October. Since our plan is to have a social gathering with the Battle Creek visitors at Tom Raybuck’s in September, I will only have an extremely brief business meeting, if any.
Let’s ride!!
Amendments to the By-Laws
of the
Greater Cincinnati BMW Club Inc.
Point IV.1.C.1, which reads “A prospective member must be sponsored for membership by a current member of the Greater Cincinnati BMW Club Inc.”, is to be deleted.
Points IV.1.C.2, 3, and 4 will become Points IV.1.C.1, 2, and 3 respectively.
In the third sentence of now Point IV.1.C.3, which reads: “The voting will be by secret ballot and will be held in the absence of the applicant”, the words “will be by secret ballot and” are to be deleted. The sentence will then read: “The voting will be held in the absence of the applicant.”
The current Sections 3 and 4 of Article IV will become Sections 4 and 5 respectively. Section 3 will now be “Honorary Membership” and will read:
¶A. Any current Charter, New, Associate, or Conditional Member is eligible to become an Honorary Member. Ownership of a BMW motorcycle shall not be a condition of honorary membership. An Honorary Member shall not be assessed annual dues. An Honorary Member shall maintain his or her voting privileges unless otherwise specified in their nomination. An honorary membership shall have no expiration date.
¶B. The potential honorary member must be nominated for this membership by another current member. A 2/3 majority vote of the members present is required for acceptance as an Honorary Member.
On our way back from vacationing in the Adirondacks, Kim, Kandace and I stopped in Lexington, OH to catch Sunday’s Superbike races. It was so hot Eric Bostram’s tire blistered ¾ of the way into the race. Matt Mladin led most of the race, but it was Nicky Hayden who took the checkered flag as he past Mladin in the last lap. A very exciting race indeed.
Motorcycle Safety Tidbits
FTWO – Tip of the Day
Steer clear of tar snakes in the road. On hot days, hitting one of these can upset traction, even straight up riding. Slow down so you can maneuver around them, continually scanning the road ahead.
Always wears eye protection!
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7/28/01