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GWRRA New York Chapter K

April 2014 Newsletter

www.gwrra-ny-k.org/

Linda and I have been pretty busy with

Chapter Business but it also has been fun! We had

our Chili Cook-Off last month. The Chili was fan-

tastic but the fun had by all that were able to attend

was even better. I want to Thank Ann & Rich for

hosting this event in their home.

On April 5th we had a road captains course and the

following members are now officially Road Cap-

tains. Linda Torres, Greg Jackson and Ed Torres

Congratulation on completing the course.

April 26th is our first Parking Lot Practice. It will

be held at Glen Cove High School

We have maxed out the number of riders that can

participate. If you missed making the cut stop by to

observe. Then you can take it to a parking lot near

your home and practice on your own. Linda and I

are working on making it easier for our chapter

access to this event. I will keep everyone informed

on that status once we get it resolved.

Everyone will be receiving a detailed mailing with

address and times a week or so before the actual

event. On May10th we are holding our First “Kick

the Tires/Garage Day” We will start with each of

us performing a T-CLOCK on our own bike.

Continued on page 2

In this Issue

Whos’ who in GWRRA Page 2

Birthdays Page 3

Events &Dates to remember Page 3

Riders Educator Article Page 4&5

April Meeting Report Page 6&7

MEC Article Page 9

Fun Page Page 13

Come Join Us

Our next Meeting

May 13, 2014

At Bertucci’s Restaurant

881 Walt Whitman Road

Melville, NY 11747

Dinner at 6:30

Meeting starts 7:15

Chapter K Krazy Katz

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If you have any minor service you want done Contact Bill or Rob to make sure we can accom-

modate you. We will help you do the service so the next time you will know how its done.

You will have to bring any supplies or parts required for the service you want done. I should

have all the required tools we need to do most of the work. We will not be installing CB’s or

Air Filters at this garage day. In addition we can spend a large part of the day enjoying each

others company. We will have a BBQ for lunch so let Bill or Linda know who is planning on

attending so we have enough burgers and franks.

Linda & Bill Reichling

Chapter Director

Who’s Who in Chapter K

Chapter Director– Bill & Linda Reichling

Assistant Chapter Director– TBD

Chapter Educator– Rob Bellassai

Treasurer– Jamie Alston

MEC- (incoming) Ann Bullis

MAD Coordinator– Bob Turner

Web Master– Rich Bullis

Ride Coord– Jamie Alston & Linda Torres

Newsletter Editor– Bill Reichling

D4C Coordinator– Linda Reichling

CHOY Coordinator- Bill Reichling

2014 COY: Jamie Alston & Linda Torres

Who’s Who in the GWRRA

International Directors– Ray & Sandy Garris

NE Region Directors– Ton & Renee Wasluck

NE Region Rider Educators– AL & Vicki Stahl

NE Region Trainers– Eileen & Tim Guile

NY District Directors– Steve & Katy Nutting

NY Dist Asst Directors– Gary & Donna Cork

NY Dist Asst Directors– Shawn & Dawn Hayes

District Treasurer– Eileen Guile

District Educators– John & Pam Van Deusen

NY Disstrict MEC– Iggy & Lloyda George

Distict Trainers– Eileen & Tim Guile

Winner of the coveted Red Chili Pepper

Necklace for having won the best chili vote

Congratulations go to Linda Torres !

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April Birthdays

Carolynne Mann

Marc Stein

April Chapter Events

April 5th Road Captains Course

Chapter K Gathering April 8th Dinner 6:30 Meeting 7:15

April 26 Parking Lot Practice

May Chapter Events

May 10th Garage Day

Chapter K Gathering May 13th Dinner 6:30 Meeting 7:15

May 24th Flag Planting

May 31 Flag Pick up and North Fork Ride

Dates to Remember

Americade Lake George NY June 2-7, 2014

Wing Ding Madison Wisconsin July 2-5, 2014

NY/NJ District Convention Budd Lake/MT Olive NJ Aug 7-10, 2014

Weekend at the Opry August 29-31, 2014

Ride Out Diamond Point, NY September 19-21, 2014

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Motorcycle Suspension – Part 3

Rear Suspension

During the late 1970s and 1980s, resulting in increased rear wheel travel, as measured

in how far the rear wheel could move up and down. Before this period of intense focus

on rear suspension performance, most off-road motorcycles had rear wheel travel of

about 3.5 - 4 inch (9 -10 cm). At the end of this period, most of these motorcycles had

rear wheel travel of approximately 12 inch (30 cm). At the beginning of this period, vari-

ous rear suspension designs were used to reach this degree of performance. However,

by the end of this period, a design consisting of using only one shock absorber (instead

of two) was universally accepted and used.

Motorcycles with only one shock absorber are called mono-shock motorcycles, i.e. what

is on our GL1800’s. The performance of mono-shock motorcycles is vastly superior to

twin shock motorcycles. It is important on twin-shock motorcycles that both shocks be

the same, and that if they are adjustable, that the adjustments on both sides be the

same. Otherwise, there can be a torque to the swingarm which may cause dangerous

handling and braking characteristics.

Many motorcycles use twin shocks, one on each side of the rear wheel. With one end of

the shock absorber attached to the frame and the other end to the swingarm. Some mo-

torcycles use only one shock mounted behind the engine to the frame to the swingarm;

or indirectly through linkage that provides the effect of a progressive rate for both the

spring and damping. Others use one or more shock absorbers, mounted underneath the

engine or transmission.

The shock absorbers consist of a sealed damper unit with a coil spring over the damper

body. Oil and damper units inside the shock provide the damping. Some are adjustable

for damping and spring preload.

Most all shocks are adjustable for spring preload by use of a rotating collar with ramps of

different heights around the collar. Some shocks use pressurized gas (or even air) to

augment the spring. The pressurized gas is usually nitrogen and pressures are in the

300 psi range. Some even have a piston in the shock or in an external reservoir to keep

the gas and oil separated. The latter are known as DeCarbon type shocks.

Continued on page 5

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Ride height Consider your bike as just a frame and subframe hanging in space. Ride height is a measure of how high the steering head (front) and subframe (rear) are above the ground, and changing front and rear ride heights will change your bike's geometry. Tipping the bike forward with less front ride height will reduce rake and, more importantly, trail. This will quicken your bike's steering, but reduce stability. Raising the front of the bike or lowering the rear will lengthen trail, slowing steering but bene-fiting stability. You can change front ride height by moving the forks in the triple clamps, and rear ride height can be altered by lengthening or shortening the shock. Adjusting the Suspension When making suspension changes, it's vital to work in a me-thodical manner. You need to work from known base setting and work in increments making one change at a time. To begin you will need the bikes basic took kit and owner's manual. If a special spanner or wrench is needed to adjust the rear shocks preload have it in hand. You will also need a tape measure preferably a metric tape measure, possibly a calculator, your owner’s manual. Having a couple of friends handy won't hurt either, you'll be getting on and off the bike several times in full riding gear; extra hands to steady the bike and take measurements can make it a lot easier. It's also necessary to take notes on the changes you make. Mental notes won't be much use to you later, so write your changes down; you can always go back to the starting set-tings if you go too far. The first item to address for any good suspension setup is setting preload for static sag. Static sag is the amount your suspension compresses from full extension when you sit on the bike. Stay tuned for Part 4 next month!! Rob Bellassai Rider Educator – Chapter K

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March 2014 Meeting We had three GWRRA Members attend their first Chapter Gathering this month. I

hope they enjoyed themselves and learned a little about Chapter Life. We are

looking forward to getting to know Gary, Lisa & Dave better.

Rob Gave a GWRRA seminar on Night Riding. Very enlightening

for sure. Did you know the first responsibility of the co-rider is

to clean the bike? Everyone got a big laugh especially the

co-riders who were present. I don’t think that’s going to happen!

We also reviewed the Road Captains Course which was held April 5th. We have 3

new road captains. We had some cancellations for this class so we will be holding

another one sometime in May. We will keep you informed once it is firmed up.

The facilitator scheduled for the 4/26 Parking Lot Practice recently had shoulder

surgery. We will not know until the week before the PLP, we might have to

reschedule in May. If this happens you will receive notification of the changes.

Our 2014 Couple of the Year was announced.

Congratulations to Jamie Alston & Linda Torres!

Our MEC gave her report of some of our planned events. Later this year September

or October Chapter K will be holding a fund raiser in the form of a Chinese Auction.

We will be looking for volunteers and donations to help with this event. Please

contact Ann if you are able to help. Then there is the progressive dinner/ride that’s

in the planning stages for sometime in June. This is in addition to our rides which

will be announced on a monthly basis.

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Alfredo won this month’s 50/50

Remember Friends-Fun-Safety-Knowledge

Our Web Master Rich gave a presentation of the

changes he is making on our web site. Make sure you

stop on by and visit us on the web. There is a lot of

information available at a click of the mouse. Links to

our newsletters, rides, events, forms , flyers, other

chapters, almost too much to write in our newsletter.

A good time was had by all!

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Congratulations to Chapter N

Chapter N took the Gold winning NY

District Chapter of the Year. Chapter K

took the Silver while Chapter H took

the bronze.

There were 6 Chapters that submitted

Paperwork in 2013 for this program

Remember May is

Motorcycle

awareness Month.

Spread the word

Watch out for

Motorcycles and

Share the Road

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MEC Newsletter

I am very excited about the upcoming events that Chapter K has planned for this year

and hope that you can be an active part. The chapter can only be as strong as its

members. As in all of the events, we need to coordinate as a team. No matter how big

or small, your opinion is important and I look forward to hearing from you.

You might be wondering what my position is. I had to do some research myself. The

MEC works in keeping communication open between active and non-active members

of GWRRA in our district. I email, make calls and send flyers to all members making

sure that everyone knows about meetings, rides, and educational activities that are

planned for the chapter. I also update member information and send out kind remind-

ers to those members whose membership has lapsed.

Membership is an important part of any organization and recruiting new members is

always a challenge. Please boast to your riding friends about Chapter K and let’s help

Chapter K grow.

I look forward to hearing from you seeing you at many of the events and rides.

Sincerely,

Your MEC

Ann

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We had 3 Guests attend our

March Meeting

We had one new member

stop by for his first taste of

Chapter Life.

Rich, Bill and Greg enjoying

more than one bowl of Chili

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Members Buy or Sell

For Sale: GL1800HPNA

2007 Burnt Orange Gold Wing Level 3 non airbag Model. Premium Sound, Comfort Package,

Navigation and ABS. Lots of extra’s. No CB or CD player. Original owner 10,500 miles

Asking $16,500.00

Located in East Northport area

Call and ask for Bob 631 922-2550

To see all the flyers for up coming events

make sure you visit our web site

www.gwrra-ny-k.org/

Click on the Flyers tab for latest

information

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Please support those who support us

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