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Debut publication for the Birmingham UK Chapter of the Harley Owners Group.
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Issue 1 June 2009 Birmingham UK H.O.G
Well it’s finally here (summer that is!!) we have em-barked on another (bound to be) successful riding sea-son with Birmingham HOG. We have already made an impressive start to the year with a short ride out to Wellesbourne and a great ride out to Ludlow thanks to Dave and Phil. There are loads of ride outs in the Diary and if all goes to plan we’ll have HOGGIN the Rote 11 for the ACORNS charity to name a few but keep your eyes on the website for more events.
Our New look website is looking great thanks to our Webmaster (Mr Steve Manley) and it is filling up nicely with some really great posts. The riding calendar has been prepared by the Road Captains and we welcome any suggestions or ideas that you may have. For additional activities. Some of the rallies to look out for this year:- Nene Valley Chapter – Back to basics Thunder in The Glens - Aviemore SOFER 2009 Cider Rally There’s loads happening on the Charity front too with Bob as our new charity officer pulling out all the stops for Acorns, Air Ambulance and Sparks as our adopted charities. I would just like to take this opportunity to Welcome all of our new members and hope that they feel welcome and want to join us in having fun in the upcoming year.
Ride Loud – Ride Proud but Ride Safe
Jason G
FROM THE DIRECTORS SADDLE
I’m new to the Chapter, only recently moving to the Mid-lands after 24 years living in the Shetland Isles. I was a member of Clyde Valley HOG as that was my nearest Chapter and I bought my bike from West Coast Harley Davidson. I’m looking forward to producing this newsletter but I need your help as I need content…….if you have any news, comments, etc. that you would like to share with the rest of us please send them to me. If you’ve done a trip and have photos we would like to read/see your write up of it. Best to keep the script short as photos say
more than words can and we’re not trying to produce a book. The idea of this newsletter is to keep everyone in the picture as not everyone has access to the website and email. The newsletter will be produced in various ways but a hard copy will be available to those that want one; it will also be in the dealership for folk to pick up. I can be contacted via email at: [email protected] You can also leave articles/photos at the dealership for me, marked for my attention and I’ll collect them from there, meanwhile enjoy your biking I look forward to seeing you on the road.
Carol Fraser
NOTES FROM THE EDITOR
CHECK YOUR LICENSE RODNEY
Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence. They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photo card licence which says it automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed - even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70. The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licenses was issued in July 1998, just as they start to expire...
...Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licenses were for life. A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photo cards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b' They said officials had failed to publicise sufficiently the fact that new-style licenses - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and have to be renewed. To rub salt into wounds, drivers will have to pay £17.50 to renew their card - a charge which critics have condemned as a 'stealth tax' and which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437million over 25 years. Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding. With another 300,000 photo card licenses due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licenses will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine. At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version. 4b: The small print on the back of the driving licence is easy to miss Just below the driver name on the front of the photo card licence is a series of dates and details - each one numbered. Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means. The date's significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'licence valid to'. Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence - that is until his or her 70th birthday. A total of 25million new-style licences have been issued but - motoring experts say - drivers were never sufficiently warned they would expire after 10 years. The DVLA said failure to update the photo card after 10 years fell into the same category as failing to inform them of a change of address. CHECK YOUR LICENCE EXPIRY DATE!!!
Would you (or anyone you know) like a leather clad escort for your big/small event? If the answer is ‘YES’ the Birmingham HOG Chapter can provide one: Prom Night or Wedding we can help make it
special…….a motorcycle escort of a minimum of 4 up to 20+ bikes within a 50 mile radius of the dealership can be yours for an agreed charitable donation. If you would like more details please contact [email protected] us to discuss your requirements.
Hello all from sunny Stratstone Harley-Davidson – proud home to Birmingham Hog and welcome to the first of many action packed newsletters on its way. Congratulations on the newsletter to Carol, Steve and the Committee for an excellent job, very well done. Some of you may have noticed a change in title for me – it stands for ‘Central Market Area’ before you make up your own! I have been given the challenge of running Wolverhampton in addition to Birmingham. Good opportunity for me but keeps me away from you guys who I have made some serious friends with over the years. Trip me up as I run past and remind me to slow down will you! Latest Harley News This section will deal with all the latest shop and Harley news right off the press.
With stock low now in most Soft Tail and Dyna models, we are anxiously waiting for some hot news from the Dealer Show being held in Denver about new product. Incredible sales rates bucking the current climate has made the UK Dealer network run out of its best selling stock driving up the prices of recently owned bikes. This in addition to the influx of European buyers has made stock very difficult to come by. If you know anyone wanting to sell their bike – you know who to call…..
Call 0121 335 7055 for info on this bike
Team news In this section, I will ask for volunteers from the team to let you know what’s going on in their world. Email addresses will be supplied and you can contact them direct for help and assistance in their area of expertise. Tony Evans, Aftersales Leader will be interviewed for the next issue. Email questions to me and I will get them asked. Clothing Review I am in the fortunate position of test riding the latest helmets and clothing. In future newsletters I will give you an update on the gear I am using and if you have any requests, let me know. Currently, H-D Screamin’ Eagle Jacket and the new Schuberth flip up lid. Buell News Buell is moving from strength to strength and if you haven’t had chance to ride the new Café Racer, you don’t know what you are missing. Incredible handling and powerful performance give the new street fighter a market place all of its own. Ask for a ride next time you are in. The Buell Performance Academy is also gaining momentum offering the chance of a Buell track day using manufacturer prepared bikes for not a lot of money. Ask in store for more details. Check out those ‘Road Kings’ – know them personally and what a great bunch of guys even though they look serious in the pics. Let’s make their event on the 24th a great Chapter Party. I am told the Robin has some great beer – so you might want to do a taxi share!! I look forward to seeing you out and about
Ride safe David Kennedy CMA Leader
Call 0121 335 7055 for info on this bike
The County Air Ambulance Trust, Arthur Wor-thington, today 18th April 2009 presented a certificate to the Chapter and dealership in recognition and thanks for raising £252 for the County Air Ambulance trust. The cheque was presented by our Director, Jason and assis-tant Director, Andy. The £252 was raised at the dealerships open day - Good Friday.
The day was wet and wetter and the turnout was moderate. The amount raised was from BBQ and raffle sales. A big thank you to our Stratstone Harley Davidson dealership and Chapter members for prize donations with special thanks to the Chapter members who gave their time to run the BBQ and raffle. In early September we hope to do a charity run up the air base to see the air ambulance helicopter/s and join in with their activities for
A PROUD DAY FOR BIRMINGHAM UK H.O.G
Be bullish about our charity work. Birmingham UK H.O.G is proud to support local charities
COUNTY AIR AMBULANCE—SPECIAL FEATURE
Six Air Ambulance helicopters serve an area of 8,000sq miles, covering 10 Counties and a population of over 7.8million. Avon, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staf-fordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. From their bases the helicopters are available for up to 10 hours a day, seven days a week. The County Air Ambulance Trust, the Midlands oldest independent air ambulance Charity formed in 1993, is bringing new or improved helicopter access to all key Accident and Emergency Hospitals and Trauma Centres with the full support of air ambulance operators and NHS Trust Hospitals in the Region. Agreements have already been reached with Birmingham Heartlands and Oswestry Hospitals where work has already commenced, negotiations are in an advanced stage with the Bristol Royal Infir-mary and the Leicester Royal Infirmary, and discussions are taking place with the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham which have all been identified as requiring improved helipad facilities. A new Helicopter Emergency Landing Pad Appeal (H E L P) has been established to raise all the funds needed to construct or update existing helipads and ensure that all new hospitals have suit-able helipad access in the future. As Tony Bateson, Director of the County Air Ambulance Trust explains: “Air ambulances are by far the most effective way of transporting critically injured or ill patients to the hospital most suited to their needs. However if an air ambulance takes a patient to the specialist spinal unit at Oswestry, the helicopter has to land in an adjacent sports field where the patient was taken more than 80 me-tres over poorly surfaced paths to the admissions area. A complete overhaul of these facilities in-cluding a smooth surface and an under cover route has now commenced.” Wendy Farrington Chadd, Chief Executive, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and Dis-trict Hospital NHS Trust in Oswestry is most enthusiastic about the appeal: “We are extremely grate-ful to the County Air Ambulance Trust for agreeing to overhaul our landing and transfer facilities. It will be of great benefit to patients arriving by air ambulance and will enhance their comfort when they arrive with critical injuries. The covered transfer area, which will be adjacent to our hydrother-apy pool, will be useful for patients generally, protecting them from venturing outside in all weathers. This is fantastic news – thank you!”
Originally planned to support the West Midlands Ambulance Service when it pioneered helicopter emergency medical services in the early nineties, wide ranging fundraising for the air ambulance service by CAAT and other air ambulance charities has ensured, through money donated by indi-viduals and local businesses, that the entire region once serviced by one helicopter now has the benefit of six air ambulances covering an area with a population of over eight million. The sky is full of helicopters but unfortunately there are too few suitable places for them to land. Hospital building programmes, uncertainty within the NHS about the long term use of hospitals and a lack of cash has resulted in delay and deferral and a serious shortage of helipads. Only a small number of hospitals have helipads and a number of these require updating as facilities on the ground now seriously lag behind helicopter numbers. “As a wholly independent charity we are now taking the necessary steps to develop new helipads or upgrades to ensure patients are speedily and directly transferred to the care they need. We have already received enthusiastic support from the public towards the appeal and one thing remains un-changed and that is that we do not receive any help at all from government or lottery funds.” Tony Bateson concluded. History 1989/1990 Initial research confirmed potential benefits from an Air Ambulance Scheme May 1991 Launch of first Air Ambulance, 'Air 5' for a six month trial at Halfpenny Green. Covers the West Mid-lands, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Hereford & Worcester October 1991 Trial extended a further six months. Helicopter relocated to RAF Cosford April 1993 'Air 5' renamed County AirAmbulance May 1995 7 day operation begins. Service extended to Gloucestershire and Warwickshire May 1996 Second helicopter commences operation based in South Worcester May 1997 Second helicopter moved to a Motorway base at Strensham Services Area September 1998 New operational base and visitor centre opened at RAF Cosford November 1999 Third helicopter introduced to serve Leicestershire & Derbyshire - based at East Midlands Airport May 2001 Introduction of new generation helicopters October 2008 HELP campaign launched
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We receive no financial support from government or NHS. We rely on YOUR donations to keep our service running.
SUPPORTED BY BIRMINGHAM UK H.O.G
Sleepy Cotswold villages awoke to the sound of Thunder on Sunday morning 19 April as the Birmingham HOG went through on their way to Upton on Severn. This was made louder than ever as some folk have invested in a new set of pipes! To quote Gordon ‘is there any need for all this noise?’
20 bikes, 26 folk (and 1 dog) enjoyed the lovely weather and the ride out lead by Gary and swept up by Dave.
Leaving the Malt Shovel at 10.35am and taking a circui-tous route we arrived in Upton in time for lunch.
A photo call at the car park and then everyone dispersed to find a drink and/or lunch at the various hostelries by the river. It was a beautiful day for sitting outside enjoying hearing about the plans of other folk for trips abroad and at home on the bike/s……one pillion passenger was saddle sore and hungry and decided the portion of veg delivered to her table, meant for 6, was hers alone and emptied the whole lot on her plate much to the astonishment of the other 5 din-ers! Reconvening at
2.30pm the return was made via Paul’s pub in Studley. Everyone went their own way after this and I think a good day was had by all.
UPTON ON SEVERN—RIDE OUT
THE ROAD-KINGS
‘Sometimes Bikes and Music go together’ The Road-Kings bring to the table original songs in a rich blend of Soul, Blues and West Coast Rock. Their new album ‘Dust and Gasoline’ is a great mix of Bruce Springsteen and Michael McDonald, Verses Jeff Beck and Joe Bonamassa. What’s not to like..! www.theroadkings.co.uk Ride out to the Robin 2 in Bilston from the shop on 24th June 2009 to see the band launch their debut album Dust & Gasoline. Tickets £8 in advance and £10 on the door from www.therobin.co.uk
Putting this issue together has been difficult and we will do our best to give you an interesting and entertaining newsletter but to do this we will need input from as many of the chapter Members as possible. Future editions will contain forthcoming events and rallies plus features on various aspects of the chapter and its members. Cover Photographs We’re looking for cover photo’s for future issues. If you have a suitable photo then send it through!
Carol
FUTURE ISSUES—CONTENT NEEDED
Director - Jason Garey [email protected]
Asst Director - Andy Brown
Head Road Captain - Andy Rooke [email protected]
Safety Officer - Bryn Jury
Charity Officer - Bob Gisevicius [email protected]
Editor - Carol Fraser
Web - Steve Manley [email protected]
Sponsoring Dealer
BIRMINGHAM H.O.G ARE:
