Chaparral Riders Club Meeting

June, 2010

Meeting Minutes

Guests:  John, Jeff, Daryl

New Members:  Welcome!  

Upcoming Events

Big Bear Choppers Ride the Mountain Rally

Welcome back Rudy and Joy

Little John and Pete lost their Mothers last month.  Prayers sent from everyone.

Death Valley Ride:   The ride and stay went nicely.  The weather was actually very tolerable, kind of warm on Saturday afternoon but not terrible.  John Wilson did a great job leading all 16 bikes and was a great tour guide.  We traveled through Shoshone, Badwater, Furnace Creek, Artist Pallette.  Got some great pics and vids.  The Stagecoach Casino was affordable.  A few of us spent some time playing cheap BlackJack, but got plenty of free drinks for our losses.  The weather on the way back got a bit breezy and downright cold in some places.  All in all, it was a good time.  Karen Carter summed it up well.

Death Valley May 2010

A great big Thank You to Ron and Bonn’e Judge for planning and coordinating, to John Wilson for outstanding ride leadership, to Ed Hopper for excellent tail gunning, and to Pete Aker for lead radio communications of the first Chaparral Riders Death Valley overnighter.  John’s knowledge of the area was essential for a safe and fun trip. The group of 14 bikes rode well together. The trip was wonderful with plenty of stops for stretching of the legs and sightseeing.  There were still numerous wild flowers in bloom and the desert landscape within the park was worthy of several photo stops. We stopped at Badwater, Stovepipe Wells, Furnace Creek, and Artist’s Palette as well as a few other scenic turnouts.  We shared the road for part of the trip with a group of about 200 tourists from France, all in rented Mustangs out of Las Vegas, enjoying the park. The weather was good all day, minimal wind and pleasant temperatures with the exception of the lowest evaluations of the park, 282 feet below sea level at Badwater, where the temperature approached 100 degrees. We spent the night in Beatty, a small, non-descript town, at the Stagecoach Hotel and Casino which was suitable appointed for $45 a night.  A walk down the street to a small bar for a view of a MANLY man’s bathroom left all who gazed upon it disappointed Saturday evening.  The urinal sported a set of motorcycle handlebars with the clutch lever as the flushing mechanism. Not as dramatic as the guys were led to believe.  Although dinner was originally planned for the bar, everyone walked back to the hotel for dinner at Rita’s, the hotel café.  The food was good and we all enjoyed breakfast there Sunday morning as well.  After dinner we enjoyed an evening of relaxation, and gambling by some, though no one came home richer than they went.  Sunday morning found us back on the road at 8 am.   The first stop was Scotty’s Castle.  A neat place with an interesting history.  Most of us took the tour through the castle. If you are interested in the history, an internet search will provide you with the details. From Scotty’s we continued through the park, made a few more scenic stops and had lunch in Pinnacle Springs, a blip of a community just outside of the park.  The fare was over priced but that was not unexpected given the isolation of the community and lack of other options.  The weather was pleasant for most of the morning but as we climbed in elevation the temperatures dropped significantly to down right cold, and the afternoon was very windy.  The balance of the ride home from our lunch stop back to San Bernardino and beyond was un-eventful other than the turn in weather.  Overall, it was a great trip. Thanks to everyone for making it such an awesome weekend.

Karen and Robert

Chaparral Monster Block Sale (Oct 2, 2010):  John Wilson stepped up and will be the primary coordinator on this event.  This is a big fund raiser for the Loma Linda Charity.  It would be nice to see as many participants as possible.  All it takes is involvement and a loud mouth!!

On-Line Safety/Sign Test:  Try it, you will learn something.

Yuma Prison Run: Next year marks their 50^th Anniversary.  Sign up early.

June Safety Day: Doug is a GWRA Educator and has donated his time and expertise to assist us in a safety day.  Thanks to Randy H. for setting this up!  He found us a parking lot to work in; they will set up cones and obstacles.  This is open to bikes, trikes and riders with passengers. Proper safety equipment, long pants, gloves, etc. is required.  A $5.00 donation is requested from all attendees to pay for lunch, ice water and Bud’s gas.

New Business

Safety Report: Keep the Shiny Side Up!

Stinky goes to: Well, there was a vote on this one but someone got real lucky.  There were 3 candidates.  Kirby (Grandpa) for leading his group astray on HIS own ride.  He sort of got relieved with his contacting Chaparral MS about the alarm continuously going off during our meeting and getting that fixed.  Thanks Grandpa.  Tom Schwalbe was a PRIME candidate.  During the Death Valley ride he was 2 up with Pat.  All was going well, until it was noticed on the way back that his rear tire was COMPLETELY BALD.  If it wasn’t for it being a tube tire, I think we would have been towing him.  Then there was Aunt Janet.  She did what Bonn’e was famous for but has since learned (well, almost) by leaving her key in the ignition with the lights ON.  First she runs out of gas (even though it was really not entirely her fault), then this?  Is she trying to use her AAA benefits?  Since Tom wasn’t there, and Grandpa got exempt, the vote was (closely) in favor of Aunt Janet.  I think she only won because Tom wasn’t present.

Club Funds:   General $1,744.49                           Loma Linda $666.86

50/50 Drawing:  $71.00 was raised, $35.00 goes to the club and $18 each went to winners Dave and Ted!

Loma Linda Funds:  $49 was raised; Don’t remember who won. (Temp Secretary)

Ride Captain: PLP (Parking Lot Practice)

Meeting adjourned 8:45am

 

Stinky

Well, for a little critter I have had a long life.  I was introduced to the Chaparral Riders over 14 years ago.  Those that are honored to escort me have provided special events for other members to smile about, learn from, or simply want to share my company.  I would bet that I have more miles under my belt than any single member in the club.  I have been, heck, I can’t remember them all.  But here is a peek.  Umm, probably all of the major bike events out here like Sturgis, Vegas, Hollister.  Been to Colorado, 14 different states on the west coast, and even been out of country in Canada.  I have cruised, and toured, and ridden on the back of just about every kind of bike.  I am still going strong though and want to do a ton more miles and smiles.  This month, it really does look like I have an Aunt who really likes to take care of me.  Aunt Janet won’t admit it out loud but I heard her whisper it once, that she secretly likes me, although she made some embarrassing comment about my private parts.  So, we showed her that I do carry some covers to make me “presentable”.  But I was afraid that the brown streaks might not go well so we decided not to wear them.  I gotta find a washing machine, or a lake.

                                                                                        Yippy Ki Ya   

Stinky S Chaparral

Captain Report    May, 2010

 

Safety Article
How to Avoid Running Out of Gas on a Motorcycle

Fuel planning tips you can use on your next ride

By Basem Wasef, About.com Guide

Don't blame the Sportster's tiny fuel tank: in all but the most extreme cases, this type of situation is avoidable.

Photo © Basem Wasef

It's a heck of a lot easier than you think to run out of gas on a motorcycle; believe me, it's happened to me more times than I care to admit. But for all my moments of roadside frustration, I can also say that many of those instances were avoidable—even when I was riding long distances on bikes with small tanks.

Here are a few tips on how to avoid the buzzkill of getting stranded because your motorcycle ran out of gas.

Don’t trust your gauges

As much as onboard technology has improved over the last few years, it's still not quite perfect; during more than one instance of riding a modern bike from a major manufacturer with a sophisticated system that displayed an estimated range, I've had the motorcycle sputter and die just a couple miles before it said it would. Even less accurate than digital "distance to empty" displays are analog gauges—and even more vague than that are warning lights that illuminate when you're running low on fuel. If there's anything to be learned from all this technology, it's that trip computers are there to offer a rough—not precise—guideline of how much we can eke out of each tank.

When in doubt, refuel

Especially when you're riding roads you're unfamiliar with, it's a good rule of thumb to not push your luck with riding range. Gas stations may be found on nearly every corner in a big city, but as you get to the outskirts they become increasingly sparse; even if you've got a half tank of fuel remaining but think you might not encounter another gas station soon, take the extra five minutes to top off your bike.

Use a GPS

Most navigation systems can locate the nearest gas station, and some even have advanced fuel planning capabilities that can sort stations by price and/or distance; if you ride with a GPS, get acquainted with its features and use them to your advantage.

Pack a siphon, or even better, stow your own extra fuel

If you're riding across rural stretches where gas stations are few and far between, you might consider carrying a siphon in case you become stuck and need to draw fuel from another rider.

Lots of long distance motorcyclists go one step further by carrying backup fuel in a jerry can or a plastic jug; needless to say, you'll need to exercise caution while traveling with auxiliary fuel. Careful with those ciggies!

Retrofit an extra capacity tank

If you've got long distance ambitions but don't own a touring bike, look into the aftermarket before you trade-in your ride. There are plenty of reputable companies that manufacture higher capacity tanks; investigate your options and find out if you can retrofit your ride with a bigger tank.

What to do if you run out of gas

Some motorcycles are equipped with petcock valves, which enable you to switch to a reserve portion of your fuel tank for a few extra miles of range. They're usually located on the left side of the bike below the tank (so your right hand can stay on the throttle.) If your bike has a petcock valve, it's a good idea to acquaint yourself with its position ahead of time so you can quickly switch to reserve if your engine starts to sputter.

If you don't have a petcock valve and you run out of gas, you'll have to act fast. Your immediate goal is to get to the shoulder or median—whichever is closest. Use your turn signal as well as your arm to signal that you're changing lanes. Surrounding traffic may not be able to anticipate your urgent need to get off the highway. If you don't take initiative when your bike shows signs of fuel starvation, you'll be caught stranded in the middle of the road—a very dangerous situation to find yourself in.

Once you've successfully coasted to a stop on either side of the road, activate your hazard lights, step away from your bike, and stay as far away from traffic as possible while you use your cell phone for roadside service or signal for help.

If you decide to abandon your bike and walk to a gas station, ask for a fuel container you can fill up and take back to your motorcycle. If the station doesn't sell fuel cans, buy a bottle of water and drain it. You won't want to let a drop of water into your fuel supply, so rinse the empty bottle with fuel before filling it up; that way, you can ensure nothing but gas gets back into your tank.