August 2008 TRUCKER TALK
TRUCKERS AND THEIR BIKES
BY WRITER & OWNER OPERATOR KIM GRIMM
Several friends I know will park their 18-wheeler to take their 2-wheeler for a ride every chance they get. I never really understood it until recently, when I got the chance to take a ride on a bike, and got very hooked myself! Now I understand how my brother has felt for all these years that he has rode. So I decided to start riding, too.
A friend suggested that I take a motorcycle course, and the more I thought about it, the better it sounded, so I agreed. When I got home from that trip, I went to Capital City Harley Davidson in Madison, WI to sign up. Classes fill up fast and the earliest one I could get into was a couple months away, but as it turned out, that was perfect. My instructors were awesome! The first night of class, Steve told us that it wasn’t going to be just about learning, but they wanted it to be fun, too – and in that respect, it was a great success. Talking with other drivers about the experience of taking the course, they agreed with me and thought it was the best money they’d ever spent, too.
The class is limited to only 8 people so that there can be more one-on-one help. My classmates were a great group as well – four of them were young (being in the 17-22 age range), but these “kids” gave me hope for the younger generation! Two others classmates were there to get their license to help save money driving back and forth to work (motorcycle registrations are going through the roof as fuel prices continue to soar). My classmates were Khatera Hakimi (the only other girl), Jerry Gibour, Rick Schulte, Patrick Mahoney, Dan Peterson, Vlad Avesalon and Jason Lochinger. Our instructors were off-duty motorcycle cops – Steve Mueller and Randy Wiessinger are with the Dane County Sheriffs Department, and Bill Murphy is with the Madison City Police. All of them really love riding and it showed in the way they taught us.
One of the days I took my truck to class to show some of the others, who had never been in a big rig, what it was like. They thought it was pretty cool. I told them, “Driving this (the truck) is easy – I’ll need a lot more time on a motorcycle to master riding.” After successfully completing the skills part of the course, all that was left was the written part. We all did well and received our “get out of taking the skills test at the DMV” certificates. All we had left to do was take the certificate to the DMV and then take, and pass, their 25-question written test to receive an “M” endorsement on our license.
On the last day, they passed out awards. They saved my award for last, presenting me with the “Moto-Acrobatics” Award. I earned that when I chose the grass over the pavement to dump the bike when I had a problem. Patrick thought my moves were “really cool” and that it looked like a stunt that you’d see on Mission Impossible. I didn’t get hurt, but I did learn from it. I wish that I could have seen it, too. It really was funny, and everyone had the right to tease me a little.
A few days after the last class, I went to the dealership with the truck and met all three of my former instructors (who were on-duty and in uniform) to take a few pictures of them with me and the truck. Capital City H-D was nice enough to let me sit on a sweet little soft tail for the pictures. I would like to thank Marcia Anderson at Capital City – she was there the day I signed up for the class and was very helpful. She also takes care of taking the class pictures, and was kind enough to take some of the pictures for this story. Part of the class included a tour of the dealership. We also got to talk with someone from the shop and ask questions about maintenance. Keeping your truck properly maintained is important, but I think that it is even more important with a bike.
Driving in a truck, you have to increase your awareness and be more cautious of the motorcycles on the road with you. But when you peel off the protection of a truck and trailer and hop on your two-wheeled vehicle, you have to become extra alert to all of the traffic around you. The most dangerous places on the road are intersections. When someone runs a traffic light or stop sign and hits another car, it can be really bad, but when a motorcycle is hit by a car (or truck), it’s even worse. If you are considering getting a motorcycle endorsement on your license, I highly recommend signing up for a class, either at your local Harley dealer if they offer it (only a few do), or see if you have a technical college in your area offering such a course.
August is the month for the two biggest motorcycle events of the year. This year will be the 68th Annual Sturgis Bike Rally, held on August 4-10, in Sturgis, South Dakota. The attendance for this event last year was 507,234. More importantly, the rally generated some $11,750,000 for the local economy. Clarence “Pappy” Hoel, considered to be the founder of the event, is still honored in various ways every year. The other big event at the end of the month (August 28-31) is the Harley Davidson 105th Anniversary, The Road Home. Twenty five routes stretch across the country with 105 starting points to join the rumble towards Milwaukee, WI – the birthplace of Harley Davidson. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information about the anniversary ride.
Some of my trucking friends, who also have bikes, were kind enough to share some pictures of their trucks and bikes, along with some stories, with me. If you have a bike and drive a truck, I am sure that you know how these guys feel.
Pete Briggs of McFarland, WI drives a 2001 Kenworth W900B painted Red Pearl with Black Red Pearl fenders and rides a Cimarron Red 2004 Classic Harley Davidson. After buying the bike, he changed almost everything but the color to make it the perfect bike for him. One big change was the S&S 124 motor, reworked by Brian Perkins. The bike also has a Baker 6-speed transmission with a Pringle automatic shifter that, when activated, automatically shifts the gears at 6,000 rpm’s. The Bassani pipes sound great, too. Pete’s Harley has custom 18” chrome rims, a painted dash to match the bike and custom gauges that have a red tint. What a ride! Pete has been trucking since 1971 and got his first bike in 1975. Now, he loves to get on the bike every chance he can.
Jack Engbarth of Lincolnton, NC drives a candy apple red 2000 Peterbilt 379 and rides a Jet Black 2005 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic touring bike with a Silver-Green pinstripe. Jack has been a truck driver for 37 years and a motorcycle rider for over 40. The weather is not a factor when Jack rides. In the coldest of winter, he puts on a leather jacket, chaps, a ski mask and a full face helmet to keep warm while he rides. “When I’m not driving the big iron, I’m riding the little iron,” said Jack.
Dave Carson of Wheatland, IA drives a Slate Gray 2007 Kenworth W900L and rides a Black 2003 Harley Davidson Road King. He got this bike during Harley’s 100th anniversary! Dave always rode a Harley. His dad bought him his first bike in 1959 – a 165cc Harley Hummer – that would blow the doors off his friend’s Cushman scooters. His latest bike is the first one that he has ever had that was equipped with a windshield (which was removable if he didn’t like it). But after the first ride with the windshield, all of those previously-buggy trips out west didn’t seem so cool. One night he took it off and rode down a buggy road and decided, “That was enough of that!”
My classmate, Khatera, summed it up best when she said, “I finally got my wings.” There were biker rules in our Rider’s Edge Road Book and a couple of them were really good, like “Only a biker knows why a dog sticks its head out the window,” and, “There are two types of people in this world – people who ride motorcycles and people who wish they could ride motorcycles.” The handbook went on to say, “The riding bug was discovered in 1903 by William Harley and Arthur Walter Davidson. Symptoms of the bug include feelings of complete euphoria and total freedom.” I now know that the only way you can understand it is to do it. Now, when I see a group of bikes go by me on the highway, I know why they’re all smiling. I can’t wait to get out there and do some smiling, too.