New instructions !!!

I talked to Adriane and she is going to put instructions on the Club Home Page for those who have difficulty in finding this Blog. Too many times I have asked people if they read the Blog and they have told me they can't find it. Maybe more people will read it with the directions, (Maybe not).

I still have the other ones out there and the instructions won't help them. there are quite a few.

I say "Have you read the Blog?" and they answer, "I can't find it", So I tell them it's under the links section on the website, and they tell me they can't find the website either.

For those people...I ... I don't know.

I have a large area of no hair on my head, maybe I'll have http://www.newlondonmotorcycle.com/ tattoo'ed there. I always wanted a tattoo, just couldn't find anything worth wearing.

klay

Now weather for those who don't know it.

  IT"S HOT OUT

      IT'S HOT IN!!!

                                               

Know anyone who may need an Air Conditioner?

If you do Give me a shout via E-mail or Phone...

Carey has a friend who has one to give away, suppose to be in good shape.

If you need it, I will give you the persons phone number

klay

What's Happening?

From the President


Sun. 07/25/10 Reminder
Rider's of Fire Poker Run & Steak Dinner
10:00am AOB Dunkin Donut's Rte 32 Uncasville
$ 20.00 dinner only, $ 25.00 Dinner & Poker Hand
Dinner is usually awesome and plentiful
We are considering dinner only doing our own ride




Mon. 07/26/10 "The Last Dance" "The Last Chance"

Last group practice session for the summer season
6:00pm at the Club House
Tom will be available for private lessons by appointment
Starting Mon. 08/02/10, we return to Ocean Beach for
Cruise Night's and social gathering of the Club 6:00pm
Park in the Boardwalk roadway with your family

2nd WHAT?

On Sunday April 25th, 2010 a group of us attended the Firearms Training in Columbia Ct. because we are AMERICANS,

And as such we have the right to excersise our Rights and Bare (Bear) arms.

Quite a few of us, received our certificate from the NRA training course and went to their towns to apply for a temporary permit.

Towns like Montville, and Branford and a few in between,

They then filed with the State and received their Connecticut handgun Permit.

Others of Us, took the Course...

and applied with our local Constabulary for the temporary Permit.

But...

We live in the Town of Groton, Ct.

And here it is coming to the end of July, and still, they are evaluating and doing Background checks.

I have heard excuses from having an accident on 95 to a storm...

How long can a Town "Sit" on an application.

It would appear Groton does not believe in the 2nd Ammendment.

klay

No weekend for me

I was asked to have the bike at the dealer yesterday so the adjuster could check it out today, Now I found out he won't be there til Monday..

So no Bike this weekend.

Reading electrical Schematics

When reading Schematics you will find that


America writes their schematics in English

• Blue  (BL) usually not always oil pressure, Alt/Gen lamp
• Brown (BR) Always a ground
• Grey (GR)  rear lights
• Red (RT) Battery, Power
• yellow (Y) Accessory

Japan also is kind enough to write their schematics in English

• Blue (BL) usually not always oil pressure, Alt/Gen lamp
• Brown (BR) Always a ground
• Grey (GR) rear lights
• Red (RT) Battery, Power
• yellow (Y) Accessory

The English write their Schematics...


In Martian

Todays Motorcycle Maintenance Tip

When performing a battery inspection and you need to add water:

According to the book, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle repair"

If you need to add water and you used Distilled Water, it will be good for Six months
If you use Tap water it will be good for half a year.

klay

Where are they?

As of the last couple months, membership attendance at the weekly meetings has been great, Lately standing room only. But what makes wonder, is where are all these people during the rides? I understand that the Thursday night ride is hard for some people because of distance or working hours, but what about Sundays?

Official Club ride day.

There seems to be less and less people showing up.

If you're one of them let us know why...

Is it the distance?
Are the rides too short?
Are the rides too long?
Is it because you've been there before and want something new?
Is it because of the weekend trips?
Is it because you don't like poker runs, and we do too many?
Is it because you like Poker runs and we do too few?
Is it because of Tom?  (Remember he's not the old Tom, he's a newer friendlier version, Hey, he eats beef now and hotdogs, and cake, and ice cream. He's been taken over by a Benevolent Spirit)
Is it that you just want to ride by yourself?
Is it because you aren't comfortable in formation.

What ever the reason...
drop me a line at hotrail13@hotmail.com

klay

NEXT DAY

ow

Everything aches

One of those days...

The day started out o/k, I was traveling on I-95 in my car, wishing I had brought the bike. But going through Old Saybrook Ct a tractor trailer had a blow out in front of me. I dove into the breakdown lane to avoid a three foot length of tire carcass and a few hundred bits of debris. I thought man it was good I wasn't on the bike after all. But, truthfully, if I had been on my bike, I wouldn't have been on I-95 in the first place. I would have been bopping around the back roads.

That was actually the good part of the day.

It got worse....

I came home, fixed the well pump...again, jumped on the bike and headed out. I was traveling up route 12 trying to figure out where I should go, I decided to make a U-turn and head to New London. So I pulled into 591 rte 12 to turn around. You know the place, Submarine Car Wash, Rose's Cantina, Sublime Ink tattoo parlor and a porn shop.  As I turned in the bike went down and did a 180, A lot of people do a 180 then go down, but I was on the ground before the bike finished it's pirouette. I can say I wasn't injured, Well My hip was killing me but then, it always is. I was amazed at how fast it all happened and at the same time how slow. Just before the bike was totally on the ground I dropped off it. It is AMAZING how much scraping noise there is when a Street Glide glides on a street with the rubber side up. It makes sort of a Grinding, scraping Dollar noise.

The Police arrived for the report and informed me that this is actually quite normal. Last year they had 5 or 6 bikes go down there, and a couple this year. The officer said it was actually better I did it coming in because most of the bikes did it and ended up in traffic. One Sport bike even cleared the entire road and ended up in the woods.  You see the problem is that Submarine Car Wash also has a detailing shop right there and all the soaps, polishes, and waxes end up on the ground and run out into the parking lot. If you walk across the area it is slick like Armour all.  The Police have requested the company power wash the driveway, but so far no luck.

Anyway, I called the insurance Company, and they are sending an appraiser to inspect the bike so I can get my toy repaired. Looks right now that the only part of the bike that was damaged was the highway pegs (scraped ends), the foot board (scraped edge), part of the dual exhaust shield (Scraped), the engine case (scraped), the left saddle bag (Bottom edge scraped), and the front fender (twist, kinked, scraped and shredded).

Hey, Jerry damaged his crash bar and broke his Clavicle, I messed up the bike, out of the two I'll choose mine, I can still ride it. 

So to anyone on a bike, Don't turn in that lot and expect to stay upright.


klay

Back to Japan

So back to Fuji, On Friday Sandwich and I stopped there and had dinner, The Hibachi Chef asked if we had Harleys, Where we were from, do we ride (?). he put on a good show and the food was great, so I decided to take those who wanted to, there after the Lobster Operation. The place opens at noon on Sundays, and the six of us were the only people in there, and once again the food was great although cooking for six people there wass less show and more food cooking.

During the preperation the Chef again started asking questions, how often do we ride, where do we ride to? Then he asked if we all had our own Harleys, when told no, he looked at Sandwich and said,"Can I ask you question?, Sandwich said, "sure". The cook asked, "You the youngest in Club?", Sandwich said yes, The cook responded with, "So everyone has Motorcycle and you have bicycle?" , and started laughing. He wasn;'t the only one.

2nd Annual Operation Lobster Dinner Sunday July 18 2010

Six members met at Dunkin Donuts in Montville at 10am, no, 9:30am, no, 9:00am, so that they could arrive at Grossmans, no, Walmarts, at 10:15, no 9, no 9:15, where they were met by four members, so they could wait an hour for the event to begin. You may be able to tell by the above statement that the planners didn't quite have the meet time set in stone, they also had the flag line scheduled on the flyer standing from 11:00am till 4:00pm. Thankfully that too was wrong. The sponsor was hoping for a lot more bikes than what showed up but it was still a fair turn out. Once at walmart each rider was given a photo of a fallen soldier who had lost their lives during the current two conflicts. One of the volunteers held a riders meeting telling everyone to head down 184 and either pull left into the Japanese resteraunt or the Motel parking lot, this would not happen as they all arrived and started driving back and forth in the middle of the road before ignoring the parking instructions and parked in the breakdown lanes on both sides of the road.

  A few members of the club volunteered to be road guards and headed out to get into position, and anyone could see right away that this was not a club formation. the lower road guards took off and as the upper road guards pulled out of the parking lot the leader and entire column followed without the upper guards having a chance to get in place. Another member arrived at Grossmans and waited instead of riding in with them.

The free dinner included lobster, mussels, steamers and baked potato. Entertainment included music by The Rhythm Method, and a moonwalk and other special activities for family enjoyment!

Once at the location and after everyone got parked  the event turned out to be pretty good. Bikes and riders lined both sides of 184 at Grossmans's Seafood's Groton Store as the Veterens were fed. Miss Connnecticut Britany Decker and Miss Outstanding Teen Logan West were on hand greeting the riders along with a small gaggle of others Miss's, Like Miss Waterbury, Miss Litchfield to name a couple.

Once all the Diners were fed the motorcyclists re-mounted their trusty steads, they rode in past the event to the clapping and cheers of those invited, after which the bikes were funneled out onto 184 and set free to go where they pleased.

All in all a good event and there are plans tto make this a every year event.

After the event ended another member arrived and while six of the team headed out to prior engagements, six headed east to rte 234 and Pawcatuck to the Fuji Japanese Steakhouse to indulge in a bit of Hibachi for lunch. After which they headed off back to their homes.

The event was a success, and everyone that was fed had a good time, but next year they should get someone to co-ordinate the Motorcycle end of the show who has a little more experience with leading rides, and he should have more support in carrying it out.

klay

Quite a bit of the Club is in the Adirondacks!!!

Time for the rest of us to RUN AMOK

Ahhhh....Summer

ATTENTION !!! LOBSTER DINNER - FLAG STAND TIME CHANGE !!!

For those of you that are planning on participating in Sundays "Lobsters for Vets" flag duty in Groton Ct.

The time (A.O.B.) has been corrected!!!

We will be meeting at D&D in Montville and departing for Groton at 9:30am!!!

NOT 10:00am !!!

An E-mail should be sent out this evening if not sooner.

Thank you

klay

Not sure what you have planned..

50 is cool

It means two days of

Baked or boiled chicken, no skin

steamed or over cooked veggies,

baked potato with no skin,

eggs, boiled, scrambled or poached,

applesauce,

mild american cheese

white bread with butter

cream of wheat

Then two days of clear fluids like tea, water, coffee, Jello, soda, or green Gatorade

Then you get violated in the name of precautionary health care.

When Aliens use the probe on people they get upset, when Doctors do it...we pay them.

Old Saybrook Diner

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Middlesex invites other membership counties to the Old Saybrook Diner (known to locals as the Parthenon), Boston Post road.

 Meet there 6:00 pm.  Reminder:  All road taxes have been cancelled for the day by Vinny Yannone.  You know Vinny! 

JR

Someone had a Birthday

Happy Birthday Pablo

We should have stayed at Steve's!!!

Sandwich and I were returning from New Haven Saturday night, we came back on route 80 into Centerbrook, ran over to Bokum road and the esses, and as we came to the end of the road it began to rain. We jumped on the interstate north.

The fairing on my bike is great, but the windshield is too tall, Rain and on comming headlights made it difficult to see the road so I sat on the rear seat and rode looking over the windshield. Still not bad though, the windshield pushed the rain up over my head.

Sandwich on the other hand has no fairing, and no windshield, so I kept it around 60mph with him tagging along, unsighted and pelted with water. He did o/k for a guy having rain slam him in the face all the way to New London, but I did hear him say, "We should have stayed at Steve's."

I have to say though, you could see the pride beaming off him after we passed the full dresser parked under an over-pass. Real bikers aren't afraid of riding in the rain, and it only rains in the front.

klay

The Past has returned

I was sitting at my house on Saturday and My old bike pulled up out front. The new owner came looking to see if I had any parts and the owners manual for it, How he found me I don't know.

I couldn't help him with the manual...I have no clue where it went.

He told me he loved the bike and everything I did to it, and that I took real good care of it and spent a lot on accessories...

Then he asked if I had the original exhaust because it is too loud, if I had the stock seats because the front was too hard and the rear too tall. He also wanted the stock air-cleaner and original jets instead of the Big Baron 65ci air cleaner, and to know if I had the stock risers because the extended were too tall.

Makes me glad he likes what I did to the bike...makes me wonder why he bought a bike with so much on it that he didn't like.

He also wanted to know who I used for service, When I told him it was a private shop not a dealer, he wanted to know if I would give him the shops number so he could have it worked on there also.

I told him the shop wouldn;t be intersted, (Trust me shop, you would thank me).

klay

I know "The Place" to go...

If we have a weekend open, perhaps even a Saturday, we could take a cruise down 80 to the Clinton area then cruise the back roads of Madison, Branford, Guilford and stop for a late lunch at "The Place"

Like Their motto says...Put your Rump, on a Stump.

From there we can take a cruise up East mountain where one Steve went to play as a child and the other went to...

klay

Wild Life

The VP asked if he could ride with us tonight on our way home from D&D,  Then he found out we would be traveling cross country on back roads through the woods instead of south to 95 and east.He turned us down saying something about dancing with deer in the woods. So Jerry, Sandwich and myself ran up 32 to 2a, crossed the Thames river, followed 2a into Poke-your-tongue-out (Poquetanuck) then took Cider Mill to Avery Hill to 214, 214 to Whalehead, Sandy Hollow (Three Racoons playing in the road), then 117, Lambtown rd Extension,  Lambtown road, across Colonel Ledyard, across Pumpkin Hill to Gallup Hill rd extension to Gallup Hill to Shewville to 184 west. We split up at Cow Hill, Sandwich went straight, Jerry went up Cow Hill, I took Packer.

And Steve...you were right about the deer!!! But it wasn't on the back roads in the woods, I cruised up the hill to my house, wheeled into the driveway and found a deer standing in the middle of the driveway eating apples that had fallen off my tree. SURPRISE!!!

Cut hard right onto my lawn (more a collection of moss's and weeds than a lawn) and damn near fell over. The deer trotted across the yard, stopped at the edge of the road and looked back at me as to call me an A--hole for disturbing it's meal then ran up the road.

You never know.

Klay

Dis-respect

It is always a great idea to give others the same respect we wish to receive, Never dis-respect another's club unless you want hard feelings. Talking up your club to members of other clubs is dis-respectful. But beyond Club ettiquette, there are times in life you have to know when and what to say or not say.

Case in point, one of our members spent Sunday on Block Island, anyone who has been to Block Island knows there is not alot to do there. If you are into ocean scenery and sand dunes it is very pleasant, but most younger people go there with two things in mind, one is to get... you know, and the other is drinking. Anyway, he was out on the island  drinking and hanging out with some friends while a few tables away some loud mouth was spouting off. An older woman complained about his language so he verbally abused her. (This is a case of not knowing when to shut up), the guy next to the woman got up walked over to the loud-mouth, rather loudly said, "That's my mother!", and with one swing knocked the guy off the bench and OUT COLD!

So you see, there are time's when you should keep your mouth shut.

Not only can you get yourself cold cocked, but when you wake up, everyone around you has something to say about being stupid.

Makes me wish I was there to see it.


klay

Updated "Oil Pin" suggestion information

Having heard back from a few members in regard to the "Oil can" gift pin, I decided to order one. But it will not be either of the two I suggested.  The oil can pin was too fragile looking and would not last. The  Cushman Scooter Oil pin was my first choice at the time but it turns out that the item is rare and considered a collectible and with that category attached it was going for almost $30.00.


So I went back into search mode.

What I found (and ordered) is, I believe, perfect for a member of this Club. Not only will it remind people of the importance of checking your oil, but with the heritage of this club I don't believe I could have found a more suitable item.

I hope you agree...

Here for your approval is the pin:

klay

Unlike a car

 A little shade by a river, you get off the bike, pull up a piece of dirt and relax,and unlike a car... the bike looks like it belongs on the earth.

Back on the Road

Broken Clavical Healed...

Say's he can't believe how great it is to be back on a bike

Why do we ride?

Have you ever had someone ask you what is so great about being on a motorcycle, or why do you ride. Well I woke up this morning and thought the same thing. I know most of the Club went to the Parade today, either watching it or participating, I wanted to ride. I knew another member was not going to the parade so gave him a call, He asked where I was going and I told him I didn't know, he said he'd rather do something “fun”. Something fun? A lot of us use our motorcycles everyday to go places and that's o/k. Myself I just like being on it and I don't care where I'm going or if I'm going anywhere at all but is it...fun?

The Club runs two official trips to New Hampshire a year, one for Laconia Bike Week, and one just for the roads, ride up, ride around, stay the night, wake up ride around, stay the night, wake up, ride around...you get it. But why do we enjoy riding?

I made a call yesterday, and called someone else about today and he agreed to the trip, the person he invited also didn't make it so the two of us met at friendly's in Norwich Ct. before heading out. Not deciding on where to go we just figured we'd ride and see if we could get lost.

We rode up 32 through Yantic, Franklin. Lebanon, North through Willimantic, Mansfield, Willington, and into Stafford Springs. West on 190 through Somers, Hazardville and across the Connecticut River. Through Suffield and onto 75 to Granby across 20 to 179 and south through Barkhamsted to 44 and 219 to 202. east on 4 through Harwinton and 69 south to Bristol then east on 72 through Plainville and on the highway to New Britain and 9 south to Middletown 16 east through Portland, Cobalt and East Hampton to Colchester where we split up and I headed home 11 to 85 and 95 to 184.

A ride to nowhere, and yet it was great. So why do we ride, is it the wind in our face, the changing temperatures between riding in the sun and diving through heavily shaded areas where the air is cool and smells of green. Is it the feel of the wheels on the road, or the thrumming of the exhaust behind us, is it the feeling as the bike climbs and leans sweeping through corners not fast, but a constant speed. Could it be the 360 degree view of the world around us, incomparable with life in a automobile. Maybe the fact that a ride to nowhere is just that, a ride to discovery, seeing places you haven't seen before and things which go by UN-noticed in a car. A ride to nowhere means no time schedule just you the bike and the road and since you weren't anywhere in particular then everywhere you go is a bonus. Someone told me you are more relaxed on a bike, I don't believe that, if anything you are more alert, everything you encounter reacts with your consciousness, I have never fallen asleep on my bike, (I have come close), but in a car I often find myself drifting off.

I believe the reason we ride is because in a car you are disconnected from your surroundings, on a bike you are part of them. The reason we cannot tell someone who has never ridden why we ride is because it is all those things wrapped together, the smells, the sensations, the wind on your skin, the sounds, the feel of the bike as it handles the road, even the simple things like watching your shadow pass under you from one side of the road to the other. Have you ever just looked at your hand on the throttle the changed focus to the scenery passing by, you are truly part of the trip, not just a passenger in a glass enclosed isolated cage.

What ever the reason...it is better to be riding than parked.

So keep riding.
 
klay

What's your opinon?

We had a member run out of gas last year and since then the poor S.O.B. has been riding around with a upside down gas pump pin on his vest.

He waits every day for some new unfortunate schmuck to do the same so he can pass that pin on.

just recently another one of our members (and a Memebr of the E-Board) had an issue with his bike. Do you think we should perhaps come up with a pin for his plight?

let me know...

I came up with a couple choices...

Airshow Pix from Vinny and Linda P.

I have been told that bright shirts make me look fat... I don't agree...the FAT makes me look fat...shirts like the yellow one in this foto just accent the issue.

Cape Cod 2010

I apologize for the delay in posting this, I had Jr save this on my computer at work and have not had the time to work on the blog there. klay

Cape Cod 2010 was definitely a unique (I guess that is the best word to use) trip, indeed. My mother, my father, and I left my house on Friday, June 25th, 2010 around 9:50 am., for a 10:00 am AOB, for Dunkin Donuts on Route 32 in Montville. When we arrived to Dunkin Donuts, we were greeted by the Woodhalls, the Henrys, the Scarritts, the Natales, and Craig Wormald. Mark and Doreen Lloret met us later at the hotel in Provincetown. About 20 minutes or so later, we saddled up and we were off to the Cape. Hey, when has this club ever left on time?


The only route I can remember we used is Route 32 to I-95 North. While on I-95, we were greeted with bumper to bumper traffic Tractor trailer tanker accident in Mystic. After 10 minutes of that, we got off Exit 88 and tried back roads. After about 20 minutes or so in traffic, off the highway, we were able to get onto Route 184 in Groton. We then proceeded to head towards Mystic. My mother, who grew up in the area, took over the lead and took us on all these backroads until we found the I-95 ramp in Mystic. (Yes, I did know where I was.) We got back on the highway, and the traffic was clear. After that, I wasn't paying attention to the directions, I just followed like usual.(Ever play Lemmings on Nintendo?)


We didn't arrive to our hotel in Provincetown, Chateau Provincetown, until about 4:30 pm that afternoon. We would have been here earlier if we didn't spend about an hour trying to get out of Mystic. We checked in, unpacked and relaxed for a little bit. About 6:00 pm, we went off for the two important essentials an Irish guy needs, food and booze. We left for the package store, people bought what they wanted, dropped it off and headed for Shea's for food. Shea's was a second choice. The first place we were going to try was packed. We decided Shay's wasn't too far away and decided to walk, seeing our bikes were already parked.


We ate, and then walked back. When we arrived back to the hotel, people got settled back in and met outside for a cocktail hour. From there, we all went back to our respected rooms. The next morning, the AOB was 10:00 am to go downtown. About 10:30 am, we leave. And no, this time I wasn't left behind. So off we went. When we arrived to downtown Provincetown, some went to go on the whale watch, while the rest of us did a little shopping. The whale watch people were scheduled to return by 3:00 pm, so the plan was to meet for the parade. Well, that never happened. The shoppers decided the parade wasn't interesting enough to stay for, so the shoppers went back to the hotel around 2:30 pm. The whale watchers came back in off the boat, and the parade had already started, so they had to stay for the parade whether they liked to or not.


Later on, the whale watchers made there way back to the hotel where they met up with the shoppers, already back at the hotel. We left about 7:00 pm that night, in search of food. In the process of finding food, we found RAIN! Not bad amounts of rain, but enough to annoy you. We arrived ato the restaurant and the food was OUTSTANDING! We ate and headed back to the hotel. When we got back, everyone went to their rooms for the night...which means no partying for Junior. The next morning we left for 9:00'ish am for home. While enroute to home, my bike decided, “I don't feel like running anymore.” The bike died and I had to use evasive maneauvers to get off the highway, and also not get hit by other people in the pack. I found out, your bike needs oil to run. The oil light had been on since Friday, but it wasn't on at high speeds so we just thought it was idling too low, to the point the light was coming on.


Ok, back to my bike. We had put a quart of oil in the bike that Craig happen to have. I started the bike, and now it made a knocking sound. We got the bike off the highway on the next exit. We stopped at a gas station, bought four more quarts of oil, and put two more in the bike. We went inside to Friendly's to eat and let the bike cool down with the oil inside. Of course, myself being very impatient, couldn't wait until everyone was done eating to go check on my bike. Started it up, still knocking. Let me remind you, a Yankee bike broken down in the middle of Massachuetts (Sox Country.) Anyways, we established the bike is not runnable, so we called a tow truck. Everyone went home at that point, expect my father, the Woodhalls, and myself. The tow truck cames two hours later, and off we went. My bike and I didn't get home until almost 5:00 pm Sunday evening.


Moral of this story is: Apparently, you don't have to have a Harley for it to fall apart on you. But you do need oil to keep one alive.



JR

IT's Thursday Again!!!

Remember to be at David's on route 85 in Chesterfield tonight before 6pm

It's Mystery ride night!!!

It's meeting night!!!

It's Dunkin Donut's Bull session after the meeting night!!!!

(Doe's that last one count towards membership?)

Three in one night!!!

Anyone seen Jr?

Hire a guy...

He takes days off to go to Americade...

He takes days off to go to Laconia...

Trys to leave 3 to 4 minutes early from work...

Now he sleep in and come in when he wants...

Damn Bikers

Ride Idea!!!

A Block Island ex-resident suggested a ride, He says we should get around 40 bikes together, load them on the boat and head to block Island. We can ride around all night long making noise and panicking his old neighbors.
Do you think maybe...he has issues with them?