February/March 2009 Vol. 2 No. 2

Chapter No. 7772

In this Issue: !" Christmas Party !" Urban Orienteering !" Frostbite Run And Much More!

Red Rose Chapter gets on the Telly!Red Rose Chapter gets on the Telly! Full Story Inside...Full Story Inside...

Director Gordon Dick director@redrosechapter.com

Assistant Director Keith Wolstenholme assistantdirector@redrosechapter.com Secretary and Historian Jeremy Addy secretary@redrosechapter.com Treasurer Mike Peters treasurer@redrosechapter.com Dealer representative Greg Lockhart dealerrep@redrosechapter.com Editors Martin Wyatt and Pete Haworth editor@redrosechapter.com Head Road Captain Ian Fitzpatrick roadcaptain@redrosechapter.com Activities Officer Kirsty Wolstenholme activities@redrosechapter.com

Ladies of Harley Representatives Maria Lunn and Kirsty Wolstenholme loh@redrosechapter.com

Webmaster Kieron Lunn webmaster@redrosechpater.com Safety Officer Dave Evans safety@redrosechapter.com

Membership Officer Amy Uphill membership@redrosechapter.com Photographers Eric Tomlinson and Chris Sinkin-son photographer@redrosechapter.com

RED ROSE CHAPTER OFFICERS

OFFICIAL STUFF Red Rose Chapter Harley Owners Group is spon-sored by Preston Harley Davidson, .

West Strand Park, Strand Road,

Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8UY

Tel 01772 551800. www.harleydavidson-preston.com

The views expressed in this newsletter are those of its contributors and not necessarily those of the Edi-tors, Red Rose Chapter, HOG, Preston Harley-Davidson or Harley-Davidson Ltd. None of the contents may be reproduced without the written permission of the author.

Check out the Red Rose chapter website at redrosechapter.com

Please send news items for the magazine to

editor@redrosechapter.com

Hello! Hope you have managed to get out on your bike this spring. On one hand we’ve had snow and ice, on the other the roads are thick with salt waiting to corrode your bike, so finding a day that coincides with you having the time and the right conditions so you can enjoy your ride is largely down to luck! Our cover photo this month shows our very own celeb Gordon being filmed for a forthcoming BBC program, which will no doubt be telling gullible viewers how our activities are too un-ecologically sound for the countryside (the film crew arrived in

two cars, one a 4X4!). Apart from all the waiting around for the BBC crew, it was a pretty good day out, with an in-teresting ride back through the National Park to finish the day off. Unfortunately, on the way home my ‘92 Fatboy fried its alternator stator, so I’ve had to dismantle it this week, hoping to get it finished in time for the Rally in a Cha-let at Southport. At this time of year it’s all spend spend spend as you book rallies and travel arrangements for the forthcoming sum-mer. This might leave you feeling a bit out of pocket, but it does give you something to look forward too. Naturally, there are a lot of Chapter ride-outs and events to attend. If you’ve not been to one before, isn’t it time you did? Get to know your fellow members more - we can all learn a lot from each other. Everyone has a road story they can tell, and the more experienced riders are more than willing to pass on tips and ideas for the newer rider. Check out our event calendar (on the back pages). Find out where our members are planning to ride to this year, maybe join them. It’s going to be a great year! Everyone is banging on about the Credit Crunch, and you’d think it was the end of the world or something. If you are worried about the financial world, remember, a ride on your Harley will make everything all right, at least for a while. In the words of the current H-D advertising campaign: Screw it! Let’s Ride!

New Members Welcome to the following new members: !" Francis Unsworth !" Kevin Bainbridge !" David Abrahams !" Brian Martin That brings our total membership to 122. Please make yourselves known at one of our meetings then we can say hello!

This is what Keith gets up to when Kirsty isn’t around to keep an eye on him: Full truckers break-fast at Truckhaven!

We're almost there! Where? - The mysterious summer months of course! I crossed my fingers last June and it looks like it might be working (late I know!) the season has started well. Already this year I've enjoyed a great run to Hawes, a tour of the lakes (thanks Carl!), and a brief entry to stardom! What is there to look forward to this year I hear you ask. Well... for me it starts at the Gathering in Ayr, last year we enjoyed Status Quo and the rumors are good for this year ;-) Other rallies include SOFER and Thunder in The Glens, from the questions and comments I've had I think we are aiming for a massive turn out to Aviemore! I can’t wait! Closer to home we're still working hard on the first Red Rose Rally, I'll keep you posted! Ian Fitz is also planning a Mystery Weekend (passport required?) Until then we have at least 2 Sunday rides and a social night a month to look forward to! Not to mention a visit (invasion) from the home land. Clyde Valley will be landing in force in June. Until we meet again! Ride and Have Fun!

Gordon Red Rose Chapter Director

Gordon’s Bit!

Techno Corner (Left) This is where the stator lives on an Evo engine (in case you were wondering!). The dead one is on the floor, looking a little crispy, the new one in place ready for reassembly of the drive train. Preston H-D were able to get the parts in three working days as it was an emergency. Don’t for-get as a Chapter member you get discount on parts, too! Nitro reports that the hardest part of the job was getting the old gasket material off the chaincase. Fortunately, the bike is now back together and generating loads of volts for the heated grips….

Here are some pics from the Harley-Davidson Winter Dealer meeting in Wash-ington DC this January. The meeting was held over six days in a snowy DC; the first few days are dealer training and the latter part is the new product show. It was a

great show where the XR1200 was released to the US market and we got two great new entry level bikes that will really add value to the already strong model ranges.

The new bikes this Winter are the IRON, based on the Nightster with the 883 engine. This bike looks fantastic and is amazing value at £5375. The other new bike is the Buell XB9 DARK a fully blacked -out version of the popular XB9SX at only £5865, both these bikes are mean and moody looking machines and are great value for money. There were many additions to the Dark Custom ranges too, with additions to the popular Dark Custom line of hardware with more new black accessories. There are two new clothing lines too, HD Ink, and the Black Label line of Dark Custom clothing. H-D Ink is a high end fash-ion line of tattoo base designs, these designs are amazing and we were able to only get a small selection of this limited line, be quick when it’s in! The 'Black Label' clothing is really cool too, loads of blacks and skull logos, some really cool designs and 'Ghost' prints. My favourites were the long sleeve T shirts and Hoodies. I will be getting the Visa card out when they arrive! The weather was strange in DC, cold and snowy but strangely dry at the same time. We had an ice storm later in the week which you have to be walking back to the Hotel in the early hours to really fully appreciate! Droplets of moisture whipped up from the ocean with a small ball of ice in them, really unusual and they sting a bit too! It was good to see the Whitehouse and were fortu-nate enough to witness President Obama returning to the office! You really need to see that to realise how well guarded he is, count the fully automatic weapons!

Greg

W ell, it was the 1st of January and after Jezza’s impassioned plea on Face book that there

would be a ride out come Hail or High Water we decided to go. After getting both bikes back after a 10 week period (a long, long story) Kirsty and I were both itching to get back in the saddle, so even if the temperature gauge read zero as I moved the car to get to the garage we were not to be deterred. Arriving at the Tickled Trout services our hardy band of men (and women) de-cided that we would leave the Huskies and sleds behind and brave the A59 to Southport on motorcycles! Kirsty stepped up to the mark to lead and with Swampy bringing up the rear our hardy

band set off. As we had not used the bikes for such a long time I had forgotten to charge the bike to bike intercom and it’s a good job I did as, reaching the outskirts of Penwortham, the temperature seemed to plummet and I could see K’s expletives condense as they left her helmet. I would have been in for a proper ear bashing had they been charged and working! Reaching the Carousel in Southport safely we all retired into the Pier Cafe for a Mug of Tea and a Chip Butty before the return journey. We tried to keep Eric occupied as he showed us his quick release panniers while we tried to nick his heated grips but to no avail, (I suppose I will have to go and buy Her some). The return journey was equally as chilly, but K’s decision not to venture out until she has purchased some proper winter gear (or wait until summer) seemed a little hasty. Anyway, if you weren’t there, you missed the first ride of the season so next year why don’t you come out and play?

Keith

- Wensleydale and no cheese in sight! Wallace and Gromit weren’t with us. For-tunately... What a start, almost 20 bikes in February for a short ride to Hawes! We're off. Well, only after breakfast at Truckhaven, the third of the weekend! (oops!) We could have gone straight to Hawes, but we always do so it was time for a change. We headed north towards Ken-dal and cross country. A quiet back lane was waiting, past Killington Lake, I know it was because I could see the Wimpy. Still, calm and warm (?) I could still feel my hands, is this really February? On arrival at Hawes we were met by some members of Aire Valley Chapter who looked shocked that there was a group of us.

On the way home we had the usual brief stop at Devils Bridge. The first face we saw was smiling and explaining his Harley is in the garage but it'll be out soon etc etc etc. I'm sure I said I wouldn't say who it was and I won't (just look at the pics!) Then another long lost member arrived to say Hello. Winter’s over! New members, new faces, old faces and the rest of us! We've started well and I hope it continues well into the future!

Gordon

“No Cheese, Gromit!”

FIRST BIKE ON SCENE TRAINING

On Saturday 10th January six members of the Chapter attended a North West Ambulance Service First Bike on Scene training course. The course is designed to provide expertise in the immediate roadside post accident care of bikers and is underwritten by the “Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care” and accredited by the “Royal College of Surgeons”. Suc-cessful participants are awarded a rather impressive certificate of accreditation signed by Professor Keith Porter FRCS FIMC RCS(ED). The one day course was well presented the quality of tuition was good and the venue comfortable and well resourced. The course was a combination of information exchange, discussion and hands on practice. Those of us in attendance thought the information provided and the skills learnt could be life saving should we ever be called upon to act in an emergency. The course fees were £62.00 pounds of which the Chapter contributed half. Chapter Officers are committed to providing an appropriate training programme for members and are happy to commit a reasonable level of funding to this important activity. I am in the process of organising further courses, however, please contact me (Safety@RedRoseChapter.com) if you have any suggestions for courses, of any type, which you think would be useful in maintaining the Chapters enviable safety record. Saturday 14th March is the set date for the next SLAM (South Lancashire Advanced Motorcyclists) one day course. The venue for this riding course is Lancashire Constabulary HQ at Hutton. Please contact me for fur-ther details. David Evans Chapter Safety Officer.

KEEP TRACK OF YOUR MOTORCYCLE Vehicle related crime costs the UK £3.5billion a year, of which motorcycle theft makes up a significant part. Did you know that only 32% of stolen motorcycles are ever recovered? The TRACKER Stolen Vehicle Recovery system is oper-ated by all 52 of the UK’s police forces, and Preston Harley-Davidson is pleased to have recently become approved stockists and installers. Using VHF technology, police can track a stolen motor-cycle even if it is hidden in a van, garage or container. Our prices include VAT, installation and 1 year’s sub-scription to the TRACKER network: TRACKER Retrieve £253.00 TRACKER Monitor £390.00 For more information or a brochure, call Greg or Wully in our Aftersales department or email service@preston-harleydavidson.com IRON HAS ARRIVED The new Harley-Davidson® Iron 883 motorcycle is now

in the dealership. This new model adds to the legacy of Dark Custom™ with a defiant attitude for those who ride true, hard and often. The Iron 883 keeps the rebellious fire burning with re-sponsive handling, smooth clutch effort and durable car-bon reinforced drive belt while pushing the styling of mo-torcycle minimalism to the edge. Decked in black from fender to fender, the new Harley-Davidson Iron 883 brings the best of the 883 Evolution® engine backed up by a combination of gritty features like front fork gaiters and drag style handlebars. Priced at £5,375 on the road. Katie Schofield Clothing and Merchandise Preston Harley-Davidson clothing@preston-harleydavidson.com 01772 551814

It all started with a phone call from Gordon. Actually, no, rewind further, it started when our niece Jenny said she wanted a pillion ride on my bike, and we had set aside February 23rd (Half Term week) for her day out on a Harley. Then, Gordon rang up and asked if we could help out the same day with something he was organising for

the BBC. They were filming a new TV series called “Country Tracks” which will take over the Sunday morning slot from Country Files, and wanted some local Harley riders for a short slot in a program based in the Lake District. Gordon had managed to round up a total of 8 bikes, including Barbara on her Sportster, who all gathered at the Truckhaven café for breakfast on the Friday morning. For February it wasn’t too cold, though not exactly warm so we were all padded up for the ride up to Eskdale where we were to meet the BBC Crew. We waited in the King George IV pub for them to arrive. We waited and waited - then they rang up to say that they had a puncture and would be late. Eventually they did arrive and immediately started to film, starting with an interview with Gordon. The interview was carried out by Ellie Harrison, a tall, blonde ecologist who has presented other BBC programs such as Wild about your Garden, the One Show, etc. As a program about the countryside, their script (which we had a surreptitious look at) was centred around whether the countryside was an ap-propriate place to ride bikes - something of a weird stance, I thought, having been brought up in a South Lakes rural area; it seemed very city-think. There appears to be this idea that the countryside is kind of fenced off from human-ity and only walkers and fluffy animals should be allowed in. Anyway, I di-gress, Gordon emphasised that we always get a good reception wherever we go, and we were just there to enjoy the views, etc. And he didn’t once men-tion that the BBC film crew were driving around in a big 4X4… After the Interview they had us riding up and down the road a little, then it was Ellie’s turn to get a ride on a bike. Kitted out with a well-logo’d up Screaming Eagle Jacket and FXRG helmet courtesy of Preston H-D, she climbed on the pillion of Gordon’s Fatboy and they rode up and down a bit for the camera,

then the whole bunch of us rode a couple of miles down the road to Santon Bridge, fol-

lowing the camera car for some more action shots. Stopping at the pub where Ellie was to interview the World Biggest Liar (amazingly, not a politician), there was more filming of Ellie on the Fatboy. By this time we certainly got the impression she was enjoying herself (as, it seems, was Gordon) as this went on for some time. What’s more, the BBC researcher who came with them just happened to have her hel-met and jacket with her, and she deftly blagged a ride on Swampy’s Heritage. “Best ride I’ve had all day!” she said. Eventually they all dragged themselves away for their next as-signment and left us to continue our ride. By this time we were getting hungry. It was a long time since that truckers breakfast, so Gordon suggested we ride to Ambleside to get something to eat. Hang on, I thought, in be-tween us and Ambleside is the Hardknott Pass. Now being local, Barbara and I had both ridden this somewhat scary road in the past, but some of our guys maybe didn’t know what they were letting them-selves in for. Fortunately, there wasn’t too much traffic around as we approached the steep, bumpy hairpin cor-

Ellie gets kitted up.

Filming at Eskdale

Red Rose Chapter to appear in BBC TV Program. “Fame will not change me” says

Chapter Director Gordon Dicks

ners - you don’t want to meet someone coming down on the narrow bits (i.e. all of it!). All was going well until Jeremy got his V-Rod crossed up on a particularly nasty steep S-bend and stepped off it, fortunately with only minor muscle strain and loss of dignity to himself and cosmetic damage to the bike. He was able to restart OK and managed the rest of the ride, even the worst bend near the top, with no problems. I no-ticed that some of the participants were a bit shaken when we stopped at the top, but as I said at the time, if you can ride that road you can ride anything! The rest of the run was a doddle in comparison, apart from finding somewhere to eat as everywhere seemed to be closed, it being somewhat off-season. Barbara, Jenny and I split off from the rest of the group at Ings and got fed at the Ship Inn at Bowness before heading home. So it turned out to be a very interesting day in-deed. The BBC will be showing the pro-gram probably some time in May - it will be interesting to see how it looks after the editors have had a go at it. Oh, and my 13-year old niece Jenny really enjoyed her ride out. Maybe she thinks this is what al-ways happens on Red Rose Chapter runs - film crews, glamorous presenters, scary roads, crashes, chips…

Nitro

Gordon and Ellie after some motorcycling action

HERE COME THE GIRLS! Virgin Vie Evening. The first LOH event 2009 took place at The Derby Arms on 4th March, where the girls attended a Virgin Vie party.

The party organiser Sarah did a great job of talking the girls through all the make-up, jewellery and homewares.

There was plenty of opportunity to try different samples and buy from the Sale Table (always a good one!).

Sarah also very kindly donated four beautiful raffle prizes, the proceeds of which (along with a % of the sales taken on the night) will go towards Red Rose chapter’s charity, the Air Ambu-lance. If you didn’t manage to make it this time, another event is planned for Wednesday 11th November.

Kirsty

SAM MANICOM VISITS PRESTON Motorcycle Traveller, Author & Speaker If you have ever watched any travel documentary, National Geographic or Adventure programme and said “I wish I could do that”, then come and meet the man who has! Sam gave up his job, sold most of his possessions, and bought a motorcycle to spend a year travelling the length of Africa. From Africa, the rest of the world beckoned and Sam has since travelled through Asia and South America. For a superb eve-ning listening to Sam relive anecdotes of his trips, bring your friends along to:

Derby Arms, Treales, near Kirkham, PR4 3SH on Wednesday 25 March 2009 for a 7pm start. Entry is strictly by ticket only at £5 which includes entry into the raffle to win Sam’s book. For ticket information, please contact Kir-sty on 07906 086233, or via activities@redrosechapter.com, or at PH-D.

editor@redrosechapter.com… Going to the USA this year? As you may or may not know, The US Homeland Security has brought in a new requirement of completing your immigration paperwork on line in advance of your trip. The good news is that once you complete the paperwork it is valid for as many trips as you want for 2 years. However, beware! There are web sites out there that are clones of the official site then try and charge you for the service, which is, in reality, free. Make sure you use the following web address: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html Screw it! Let’s Ride! "Over the last 105 years in the saddle, we've seen wars, conflicts, depression, recession, resistance and revolution," reads the ad, which shows a helmeted rider on a Harley silhouetted against what appears to be the red and white stripes of a slightly tattered American flag. “We've watched a thousand hand-wringing pundits disappear in our rear-view mirror. But every time this country has come out stronger than before .... If 105 years have proved one thing, it's that fear sucks and it doesn't last long. So screw it, let's ride." Check out the “Screw It!” advertising campaign on the H-D website at http://www.harley-davidson.com/screwit Speculation Corner Is Harley to introduce a small capacity motorcycle to the world? Currently, the Motor Com-pany offer the Buell Blast (500cc) via US dealerships. However, there is speculation in the US Press that with the acquisition of MV/Cagiva they may offer the Cagiva Raptor 125 (Right) as a variant badged as a Harley-Davidson in an effort to attract new, younger riders. All speculation, of course, but who knows? They’ve done something similar before when they owned Aermacchi.. Actually, Andy Hornsby of American V thinks this is all, er, cob-blers! He reckons that in the current financial climate Harley are likely to just stick with what they know and put “the Italian Project” on the back boiler for a while, and he’s usually right… Still, it’s always nice to speculate... Driving Licenses…. Did you know that your plastic driving license expires after 10 years? Did you know you can be charged with driving without a license if it has expired!? If you look at the front of the plastic photocard you’ll see the expiry date in section 4b - it is not the same date that your green paper license expires! If you find you do need to renew it (which can be done via the Post Office or the DVLA website) it is recommended that you keep a photocopy of both sides of the old licence before sending it of because some riders have found that their qualification to ride a motorcycle has been omitted. Check your license NOW! Watch Out for Bikes Peter Latus sent in the photo (right), showing what looks like the latest Steampunk-style custom bike, but is in fact made entirely from watch parts and is only a few inches long. Now I’m sure I have some room in my display cabinet for one of those… Aviemore Aye Thinking of going to Thunder in the Glens? Looks like there will be a big turnout from Red Rose Chapter. This August Bank Holiday event is huge and definitely not to be missed. See our Calendar for details, and if you are going, the Four Sea-sons hotel is where most Chapter members are staying. Don’t forget you get a discount if you have got your rally tickets... Harley’s American Diner. Yes, now fully open again, the Café at Preston H-D offers a variety of fresh-cooked food, coffee and cold drinks. I stopped off there the other day and had their Hot Burger - pepper steak in a bun - and it was fantastic! Super Sundays Preston H-D Kicked off their Sunday Openings with the first Super Sunday event, in preparation for the summer season. There was a terrific turnout, with sales being reported as “busy”. Let’s hope we actually get a summer this year, but if not, don’t forget to stop at the shop on Sundays for a warm up and look round.

NEWS BRIEFS

R ed Rose’s Christmas and New Year party was held at the Shireburn arms hotel near Clitheroe in Janu-

ary, and very good it was too. Food was excel-lent, and of course the com-pany superlative! Trophies were

handed out, games were organised to keep us busy, and everyone had a great time. What’s more, the venue was terrific and you can be sure Kirsty and co will build on the success of this years event to stage an even better one next year. There is talk of it being Black Tie (i.e. posh clothes!) and even some home-grown entertainment being laid on! Meanwhile, enjoy these photo of this years event...

February’s Urban Orienteering Event at the Taps Pub, Ly-tham: what can you say about it? A load of chapter mem-bers went on a pub crawl, and everyone had a good time - not much else to add! Here’s the evidence...

Dates, times and venue are subject to change: Check website for latest news. NOTE: hyperlinks in this document are not live: use Chapter website for links.

Continued Over….