April 2007 Rat Tales

April 2007
Cascade Moto Classics, Inc R.A.T. Pack
THE LARGEST AND MOST ACTIVE R.A.T. PACK IN THE UNITED STATES
Thruxtons and Tigers and Bonnies—Oh my!
C
By Lee Holzhey, Pack Leader
urrently there are three Triumphs
in my garage: Yes, a Thruxton,
Tiger and Bonneville T-100.
The most recent addition, the T100, has been getting the Lions
share of the riding lately during that all
important break-in period. Leading me
to think: boy, this bike is so impressive
– the sound, the feel, and the look!
However, this afternoon I took my
Tiger out for a ride. The Bonneville and
the Thruxton are a lot of fun. But, I’m
sorry, there is just no getting away from
how awesome the Tiger is; smooth power
that pulls the front wheel off the ground
in first gear, a suspension that eats bumps
for breakfast, and a lean angle that just
seems to go on forever! Not even to
mention a large and comfortable pillion,
and roomy saddle bags. I had this train
of thought not because I wanted to rave
about my ‘03 Tiger (which I will at the
drop of a hat) but because I was at CMC
talking to Mike Butler about the new ‘07
Tiger. Mike has been fortunate enough
to draw the new bike setup test duty and
has ridden several if not all of the new
Tigers sold so far. Now, understand that
Mike is a confirmed Moto Guzzi man.
But today, he commented to me how
the Tiger was really winning him over
and what a truly amazing machine it is.
Knowing how good my ‘03 is, and how
much I like it, I can’t help but wonder
just how good the new ‘07 must be!
After 35–40 years
“it’s
nice to see so
many other makers
doing so well.”
What’s my point you may ask? It’s simply
this: The #1 sport tourer the Sprint ST,
the #1 600 class bike the Daytona 675,
now the #1 standard in the Tiger. It just
seems that Triumph has the Big 4 on
the run. Add in Moto Guzzi, Ducati,
Aprilia, BMW, the new Moto Morini
plus a handful of others and the future
looks pretty darn good for us. After 3540 years of Japanese domination of the
motorcycle market, it’s nice to see so
many other makers doing so well and
bringing us so many more choices. It’s a
great time to be a motorcyclist!
Speaking of a great time to be a
motorcyclist, this summer is packed with
events. Be sure and check our website
schedule for what rides are happening
and when. If you are interested in planning a ride please let me know. All I need
is a date, time and destination, and we
can get it going. Also, last year we had
a Sunday meeting place each week for
riders who wanted to get together for a
Sunday morning ride. Do you want this
again? Did any of you do this? Please
let me know your opinion and I will set
this up again if need be. Contact me at:
Lholzhey@comcast.net
Finally, the Season Opener will be
happening June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Yreka
Ca. There is no fee for this event, just
make your reservation at the Best Western Minor’s Inn in Yreka and show up
for the fun. Gabe and Rick are planning
this event and always have some great
routes set up. This year they will also
have cruiser ride routes, and Bonneville
Bob has promised to buy the first round
of Guinness on Friday night for anyone
showing up on a Bonneville! Contact us
if you have other questions, or come to
breakfast in April and ask Rick or Gabe
in person. Riding season is here!!!
Ride safe everyone,
Lee
RAT PAC
K
July 26th -29 th – Summer Scorcher
Prospect, Oregon
Calendar
Aug 4 – Breakfast Meeting
9:00am – Peppermill Restaurant
17455 SW Farmington Road, Beaverton
Rides, Ev
ents, Fun
!
Aug 23—26 – Sportbike Northwest
Sportbike riding around the Columbia River Gorge
Stevenson, WA - Details To Come
April 7 – Breakfast Meeting
9:00am – Peppermill Restaurant
17455 SW Farmington Road, Beaverton
Aug 25 – Lunch at Sowerby’s, Chahalis, WA
Leave CMC at 10:00am
Details in future issue of RAT Tales
April 28 – Lunch at Sowerby’s, Chahalis, WA
Meet the Lynwood Cycle Barn RAT Pack for lunch at
Sowerby’s Restaurant in Chahalis. Details on next page.
Sept 1 – Breakfast Meeting
9:00am – Peppermill Restaurant
17455 SW Farmington Road, Beaverton
May 5 – Breakfast Meeting
9:00am – Peppermill Restaurant
17455 SW Farmington Road, Beaverton
Sept 6th -9 th – Baker City Rally
Baker City, Oregon
June 2 – Breakfast Meeting
9:00am – Peppermill Restaurant
17455 SW Farmington Road, Beaverton
MOTORCYCLE ESCORTS
NEEDED
June 2 – Cruiser Ride
Leave CMC at 10:00am
Details in future issue of RAT Tales
SATURDAY, MAY 19th
Reach the Beach
Motorcycle escorts needed to help out on the Reach the
Beach bicycle ride on Saturday, May 19th. It starts from
Beaverton or Salem and ends at Pacific City by mid-afternoon.
This is a major fund-raiser for the American Lung Association,
and a great way to promote the motorcycling community to
the general public.
June 1,2,3 – Season Opener
Yreka, California
July 7 – Breakfast Meeting
9:00am – Peppermill Restaurant
17455 SW Farmington Road, Beaverton
Contact: Don Arneson
blkvsn@netzero.net
CASCADE MOTO CLASSICS, INC
R.A.T. PACK
Contact Information
NEW R.A.T. PACK MEMBERS
Cascade Moto Classics, Inc.
Janice & Kelly McCarthy
13705 SW Farmington Road
Beaverton, Oregon 97005
(503) 574–3353
info@cascademoto.com
Ted Walden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiger 1050
Gery Carlson . . . . . . . . . . . Bonneville America
Lee Holzhey . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonneville T100
Steven Borron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonneville
Marty Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thruxton
Lindsay McDiarmid . . . . . . . . . . Daytona 675
Vern Holm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scrambler
David Hachulla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sprint ST
Steven Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiger 1050
William Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonneville T100
Duane Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daytona 675
Joe & Jenny Webster . . . . . . . . Daytona 675
Arie Rodenburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonneville
Kevin Mohan . . . . . . . . . . . Bonneville America
Patrick McKernan . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonneville
Triumph Riders Association of Portland
Pack Leader
Lee Holzhey
LHolzhey@comcast.net
(360) 798–4678
Website Manager
Lindborg Graphics
LindborgGraphics@comcast.net
T.R.A.P. Website
www.rat-pack.com
–2–
This Month’s R.A.T. Pack
Member Photo
Chris Winningstad and his 2006 Triumph Speed 4
Triumph
Men’s & Women’s
Team
Shirts
Saturday, April 28
R.A.T. Ride to
- Black -
Sowerby’s
Now
In Stock at
Restaurant
CASCADE MOTO
CLASSICS
Incorporated
Chahalis, Washington
We will be leaving
Cascade Moto Classics
at 10:00 am and meet
the Lynwood Cycle
Barn Rat Pack
for lunch.
FREE CALENDAR!
2007
Oregon Motorcycle RoadRacing
Association Calendar
12 Months of Great
Racing Photography
(The June photo features
Josh Bryan on His Daytona 675)
Questions? Soren Winslow
E-mail soren.winslow@comcast.net
Phone 503-914-6265
FREE AT
CASCADE MOTO CLASSICS
Incorportated
–3–
fgggggggggggggggggd
11th Annual
R.A.T.
Dinner
at Kell’s Irish Pub & Restaurant
By Lee Holzhey
Photos By Mike Butler
F
or those of you that missed it, our 11th Annual R.A.T.
Dinner was held at Kell’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in
February. Taking up the entire top floor of Kell’s in
downtown Portland, the evening festivities started at 6:00
pm with drinks and socializing. Roughly 125 Rats and guests
were in attendance, and Ireland was the theme of the evening
with Guinness Stout being the drink of choice! Several RATs
even showed up in kilts to help set the tone for the evening.
Kell’s did a superb job of setting up the upstairs for us,
fitting all of us in one room at long tables much like we have
at our breakfasts. In the next room was a bar with two bartenders (they know us well!) and an area for the dinner buffet.
Dinner consisted of hot Roast Beef and Turkey, new Red
Potatoes, Cream Cheese Garlic Scalloped Potatoes, Green
Beans with Bacon, Cranberry sauce and Rolls. Dessert was
either Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake or Chocolate Cheesecake. The food was awesome!! After two hours for people
to visit, drink and have dinner, our evening events began.
While the awards ceremony was being set up, everyone took
10 minutes to group together and try and figure out a pictionary style game where the pictures made up a phrase that
was motorcycle related. One group came out the winners
missing only two phrases out of 16. Once this was done, our
guest speaker for the evening was Josh Bryan. Josh is campaigning a Triumph 675 very successfully on the racetrack
–4–
fgggggggggggggggggd
and spoke for a bit about his racing successes. Our awards
began with Rick Wescott, Gabe Spaccarelli, Rick Chappelle
and Don Arneson receiving an engraved mug for their organization of our Spring opener and Summer scorcher events.
Mark John was also awarded a mug for his organization of
our track days in 2006.
After this Kelly got hold of the microphone and the fun
really started. He gave the Mallet family their own roll of
white prize drawing tickets (we use red), so that we could
identify them and throw them out. It seems Brian Mallet
has a propensity for winning all the time! Elaine Bothe was
declared “Miss RAT 2006” for her posing in a swimsuit on
a Triumph, just barely edging out the runner up, our own
Milan. This is the guy that works on your Triumph by the
way! Clive Machon received a tire tread depth guage (a yardstick) so he won’t ride to Baker City anymore on his Rocket
III with a bald tire and Marty Johnson got a snake bite kit
for the snake bite (aka: a giant staple) he received in his rear
tire in Baker City. Jerry Brooks was given a Triumph hat
and emblem to cover up his “other brand” bike emblem for
when he comes to our events. The guilt must have worked, as
Jerry went out the next week and bought a Triumph! Apparently Dick Winningstad has a desire to give little old ladies
rides on his Triumph at our events, so he received a “buddy
belt” for safety purposes, while Dale Schumacher was given a
janitor style retractable key ring, because Dick keeps making
off with his keys at our overnight rides! And finally, a somber
moment occurred when it was announced that Bill Croft has
been diagnosed with “MBD” – also known as Multiple Bike
Disorder! Kelly had already arranged for the cure, with Nurse
Kara there to give him a shot – with a two foot needle that is!
All in all a lot of laughs and good fun.
Next came our final and more serious awards of the evening.
Our Triumph Booster award was given to Bob Jackson for his
efforts over the year in really supporting the marque, including
selling a bike right on the showroom floor! Our Good Guy
award was transformed into the “Good Gal” award given
to Marilyn Holzhey for all her help at our events over the
year and Dave Harvey won the eager beaver award for always
being there to help out and volunteer whenever and wherever
needed. The Pack Leaders choice award was given to Marty
Johnson for his efforts in helping our Pack leader in activities
for the club. And finally, Soren Winslow was honored as our
“MVR” the Most Valuable RAT for his constant work for our
club in organizing events, work at the shop, and donation of
computers to CMC.
The evening rounded out with a whole assortment of door
prizes including hats, t-shirts, pens, models, gift certificates
and the grand prize, a Neon Triumph sign, custom made for
the event. After our event many RATS continued on at Kell’s
enjoying the nightlife, many choosing to stay at local hotels in
the area. Be sure and make your plans to attend next year!
–5–
Cascade Moto Classics, Inc
Triumph Bike Week Open House
Photos By Mike Butler
O
n Saturday, March 10, Cascade Moto Classics, Inc (CMC)
celebrated Bike Week at Daytona Beach by having an
Open House. Triumph offered free Bell Helmets to anyone buying a new Triumph from May 7-10, and supplied door
prizes for the event – a bike jersey, pens, hats, etc. In addition to Triumph’s participation there was a representative from
PIAA lights with his display of motorcycle lighting. He generously donated some door prizes as well. It will come as no surprise to anyone that attends the R.A.T. Breakfasts that Brian
Mallett (who has the luck of the Irish) won one of the nicer
door prizes from PIAA.
The Bike Week theme was reinforced when CMC installed a
large 70” TV screen in the showroom so customers and friends
could watch the Daytona Motorcycle Races live during the
day. It was the perfect place to view the races – surrounded by
motorcycles and fellow enthusiasts. CMC now records all the
GP and Superbike races and replays them in their showroom!
Visitors were not only able to celebrate Bike Week with the
Open House, but also an early celebration of St. Patty’s Day.
After the races, there was a wonderful Irish band playing lively music in the upstairs balcony to help everyone get in the
celebration mood. Along with good Irish music, visitors enjoyed some wonderful sub sandwiches from the Sub Station in
Beaverton.
What would an Open House be without some good bargains? Each person who made a purchase was able to spin the
Wheel of Fortune to see what discount they would receive. Customers could receive anywhere from 10% - 50% off. One lucky
person hit the 50% off spot!
For those who rode their bikes, the weatherman cooperated
almost the entire day, only unleashing some rain towards the
end of the day. It was a great day, with races, music, good food
and lots of fun. The next Cascade Moto Classics, Inc Open
House will be in July – don’t miss it!
–6–
Off-Ramp Get-Offs
STREET STRATEGIES By David L. Hough
Used by permission: STREET STRATEGIES, A Survival Guide For Motorcyclists, By David L. Hough, ©Bowtie Press 2001
Quick Stops in a Curve Require
Both Knowledge and Skill
Y
ou’re using the bike more and more to commute to work in order to
use the carpool lanes. There’s an increased hazard of riding during the
rush hours, but you always look as far ahead as possible, cover the front
brake, and wear full protective gear. This morning, traffic is heavy but moving
along nicely. With your exit coming up, you signal and change lanes toward
the right-hand off-ramp. There’s a gaggle of aggressive commuters taking this
exit and other cars attempting to enter the freeway at the same point, but you
are able to merge into line and make your turnoff.
The trees next to the off-ramp limit your view, so you don’t see the brake
lights suddenly come on until you’re halfway around the exit ramp. Closing
rapidly on the car ahead, you roll off the throttle and squeeze hard on the front
brake to make a quick stop. But with the bike leaned over into the curve, the
front wheel loses its grip, the bike crashes on the low side, and slams out into
the guard rail. Fortunately, the drivers behind you see what’s happening and
avoid running over you.
Since risks are higher in heavy traffic, it is smart
to wear protective gear for commuting. And its also
a good habit to cover the front brake lever in potentially hazardous situations where you may need to make a sudden
stop. But you shouldn’t allow yourself to get so close to the
car ahead of you, especially where the view is limited. Braking while leaning over requires considerable skill, even if your
bike has ABS. Rather than attempt to brake hard while still
leaned over, you can quickly swerve the bike upright and then
attempt a maximum-effort straight-line stop.
Formotion
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•Citizen and Swiss movements in clocks.
•Waterproof ratings between 3-10 ATM (100-300 feet)
Now Available at
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Moto Classics
Cascade Moto Classics
Incorporated
–7–
13705 SW Farmington Road
Beaverton, Oregon 97005
­­
Breakfast
Meeting
Saturday, April 7th
9:00am
Peppermill Restaurant
17455 SW Farmington Rd.
Beaverton
This is the official gathering of Triumph owners each
month. Plan to arrive a little early, admire the bikes in
the parking lot and chat with fellow owners. The nohost buffet breakfast starts promptly at 9:00 AM, and
even with all of the talk we are always done by 10:00
AM. Just in time for Cascade Moto Classics to open,
so many (most) of us head over there to admire the new
Triumphs, talk bikes and enjoy the company of fellow
enthusiasts. When the weather is nice we frequently
have day rides leaving from the dealership. Have a
friend who rides but doesn’t own a Triumph? Invite them
to join you. They are sure to catch the Triumph bug. The
Peppermill Restaurant is at the back of the shopping
center on the northeast side. And, they serve a great
breakfast. You won’t leave hungry!