COWTOWN COURIER FEBRUARY 2021

1 Cowtown Courier 1 The best in the wesT Fort Worth HOG Chapter #1260 FEBRUARY 2021

2021 CHAPTER OFFICERS Michele Wilfer Director Paul Michael Asst. Director Kristen Washok Secretary Katherine Amerine Membership Jimmie Martin Head Road Captain Tiffany Myers Photographer Tanya Martin Ladies Of Harley Brandon Osborn Webmaster Jim Manley Activities Harry Wilfer Editor James Washok Safety WISHING ALL FORT WORTH HOG MEMBERS A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR!

DAYTONA BIKE WEEK March 5-14, 2021 BIKE WEEK PARK AND RIDE Click here for a list of participating dealers

Viginia Beach, VA to St. Augustine, FL Austin, TX to San Antonio, TX Little Rock, AR to Rogers, AR Glendale, CA to Santa Fe, NM Lexington, KY Cumberland, MD Ludlow, VT El Paso, TX to Missoula, MT Escanaba, MI Durando, CO Lake Placid, NY Battle Creek, MI to Milwaukee, WI Portland, OR to Medford, OR Maryville, TN

BRAKING DISTANCES James Washok Safety Officer One of the things that I’ve had drilled into me is the concept of CBT – Clutch, Brake, and Throttle. So today, let’s talk about braking. How long does it take the average rider going 60 mph to come to a complete stop in an emergency situation? 120 feet, 180 feet, 220 feet, or 240 feet? If you guessed 240 feet, you’re right. Now, with today’s ABS and “super sticky tire” options (Shinko), we can reduce that, but some of you may recall, that there are two components to stopping…thinking and braking. At 60 mph, it takes about 60 feet (at best!) to THINK about what is happening in front of you. This distance is actually about 1 foot/mph you are traveling, so at 20 mph, that thinking time is 20 feet, 30 mph, 30 feet, etc. So, at 60 mph, you will travel about 60 feet PRIOR to even thinking about engaging the brakes. Now, we get to the actual braking distance itself. Look at the chart below… SPEED THINKING BRAKING OVERALL COMPARISONS DISTANCE DISTANCE STOPPING 20 MPH DISTANCE Full length of 30 MPH 20 feet 20 feet tractor/semi-trailer 40 MPH 40 feet 50 MPH 30 feet 45 feet (USA - 60 MPH 75 feet “touchdown”) 70 MPH 40 feet 80 feet 6 semi-trailer 80 MPH 50 feet 125 feet 120 feet 60 feet 180 feet 175 feet 240 fet 70 feet 245 feet 315 feet 80 feet 320 feet 400 feet At 60 mph, with PROPER braking engaged (both front and rear), you’re going to travel about 180 feet. Adding that to the time it took to process (think) what was going on and you have traveled about 240 feet before you came to a safe stop. So, why mention this? The average car, going the same speed, takes about 120-140 feet to stop. Do the math!! If a car going 60 mph stops suddenly, it will take them almost HALF the distance to stop as a rider on a motorcycle. That extra 100 feet we have to travel is going to place us solidly in the rear of that car. This is why tailgating, especially on bikes, is so dangerous. Cars can stop quicker than we can on average, and the distance, along with the other forces involved (mass, velocity at impact, angle, etc.) all equal a bad day for someone! So, let’s be careful out there, ride safe and smart…and give those cagers some room up front! James

FEBRUARY CHAPTER MEETING



Jim Manley - Activities Officer Eleven hearty souls braved the cold and wind to make the ride through Parker and Palo Pinto counties to enjoy lunch at The Café in Graford on Sunday morning, January 17. The ride started at the dealership and looped around Lake Weatherford with a quick stop at the Valero station at the corner of FM 730 and Highway 180. We picked up two additional people there and then proceeded north out of Weatherford on FM 920 then west to Graford on FM 1885 and TX 254. The weather was crisp and clear but a bit windy. After sating ourselves on a variety of meals (meatloaf, chicken fried steaks, burgers of all kinds, etc.), we continued west out of Graford then south on FM 4 to Palo Pinto where we turned back east on Hwy 180 to Mineral Wells. After a quick, unplanned stop in Mineral Wells to deal with an equipment issue, we looped around Weatherford on Ric Williams Memorial Highway to I-20 then east back to the dealership. While the weather had warmed up some, it was still a bit chilly. Ride Stats: ● One Group ● 10 bikes ● 11 riders ● Lead: Brandon ● Second: Michele ● Drag: Katherine ● Sweeps: Jimmie, Paul ● Distance: 130 miles



If you are interested in doing this ride on your own, I have a combination map/cue sheet (.pdf) I can send you. I can also provide the route in various formats (.fit, TCX course/history, GPS track/route) that are compatible with most GPS units and the H-D Navigation system. If you are interested, email me at the address below. If you have a special route / ride that you enjoy, send it to me at the email address below. Who knows, it may end up in the rotation and become a chapter favorite. Until next time, [email protected] Jim

This unusual story begins in the UK with the 1921 Safeguarding of Industries Act, which placed a tariff of 33.3% on 6500 items, which included American brands which were perceived as a threat to their domestic motorcycle industry. This kept Harley-Davidson motorcycles out of British Commonwealth countries, including Australia, which happened to be some of the Motor Company’s largest overseas markets. So Harley looked to Japan in an attempt to recoup their losses. Alfred Rich Child arrived in Japan as a Harley salesman, and he founded Harley-Davidson Company of Japan in 1929. A 1932 Harley-Davidson report stated “Alfred Rich Child, the Japanese rep, sells for $32,320, the blueprints, tool and dies and machinery to Sankyo to produce HD motorcycles under the name Rikuo. Royalties were to be paid to HD.” Rikuo began production of a licensed Harley copy in 1929. 1931 saw the establishment of the Dabittoson Harley Motorcycle Company Limited, and the motorcycle they produced was a 72 cu. in. (1200 cc), 28 HP side-valve V-twin that was capable of 60 MPH. Harley, through Alfred Rich Child, sent tools and personnel to Japan to produce the VL flathead bikes in the mid-1930s. The parent company of Rikuo refused to buy the license to produce the new EL overhead-valve Knucklehead, and Harley-Davidson ended their affiliation with Rikuo by 1937. The Rikuo, which translates to “Land King”, “Continent King”, or “Road King”, manufactured around 18,000 motorcycles from 1937 to 1942. Most of those went to the military or civilian police. After the war Rikuo produced 46 cu. in.(750 cc) and 74 cu. in. (1200 cc) VLE flathead bikes. These were almost exact copies of the 1934 Harley-Davidson. Rikuo production ended in 1960.



to SWEETIE PIE’S RIBEYES In Decatur From Fort Worth Harley Meet at 10 AM Leave at 10:30 ALL RIDES BEGIN AND END AT FORT WORTH HARLEY-DAVIDSON

Come out and support Fort Worth H.O.G.'s Award Winning Campfire Chili Chef, Phillip Farmer, as he represents the chapter at the Southwest Regional H.O.G. Chili Bowl. This year the event is being hosted by American Eagle Harley-Davidson in Corinth, TX. Tasting and voting begins at 12:30pm. We will ride as a group from the dealership to American Eagle H-D. Meet: 9:00 am Leave: 9:30am