I joined my local chapter and go to a few meetings. I'm not really interested in the huge group rides though, too much potential for something bad to happen. I do like getting the e-mail notifications for the different events that go on so I can attend if I want to.

Scott

 

I'm not a member, local or national. However, I do love putting on my day glow vest and taking a slow poke around the country roads.

 

I keep seeing this "too many safety rules" comment. I'm a little confused. You guys don't ride in a staggered formation in groups with 2 seconds between you and the rider in front of you? What happens if you have to swerve to avoid something? You take the guy next to you out? You don't use hand signals? How do you communicate with others around you? That's all the rules I know about except for the alcohol free until the group reaches it's destination rule which makes sense for liability purposes. Most of our rides leave really early in the morning so the only thing anyone is drinking at that point is strong coffee. The safety orange vests serve the purpose of helping riders in the group find the road captains easier in case they need to communicate with them and of course it also makes us more visible (yes people "can't see" a group of 20 - 50 bikes either). I'm not a safety **** or anything, hell I ride without a helmet, but in groups, even when riding with a bunch of our friends, we follow the same protocols.

We have a large HOG chapter here in Jax (over 450 people) and over 200 regularly attend the monthly meetings which are held at our local dealership. I've met some really nice people and we even have little sub groups that go on "unofficial" rides separate from the chapter rides. There is always something going on (usually rides every Saturday and Sunday and "hookie rides" on Fridays) that go to all sorts of places that I may have never been to before on roads I never knew about. I enjoy the comraderie and especially the charitable part of the organization. Tomorrow we are volunteering to work the Lex and Terry Ticket to Ride for Autism. For volunteering, we will get 15% off parts and clothing at our sponsoring dealer. That will be a nice chunk off that tall boy seat my husband wants for his bike. We do a lot of charitable things for kids including stocking stuffer rides, and easter basket rides. We also do rides to the local Veteran's home to bring them basic need supplies that are better than what the government provides (clothing, shampoo, denture adhesive, deoderant, videos, games, etc.)

I find that belonging to a chapter is MUCH more than just going on rides. It is a way to give back to the community, to foster good relations between the biking community and the community as a whole, and we get to do what we love to do most while doing it. It's a win-win thing.

So yes, the long-winded answer to your question is that I do ride with our local chapter, and I am active in it's various charitiable activities. I've met some great people and made good friends. I enjoy it so much that I'm running for Treasurer. Elections are next week. Wish me luck!

Having said that, I also ride with other non HOG members, I ride by myself, I ride beside my husband, I just ride!

 

When I bought my first Harley in 1989 I rode with the local chapter, at that time it had about 100 members and only about 5-15 bikes showed up for rides with any regularity. It was most mostly made up of "core bikers" / riding enthusiasts and the rides were a lot of fun. Somewhere around `94 or `95 (about the time H-D sales started going nuts) the local club started getting wonky with the inrush of RUBS and non-riders. It now has over 500 members and since turned into an overly structured, political social club that is getting to be a parody of itself. When its time for new officers you would think there is a major political election going on. They don't seem to be able to set up a ride unless there's a charity fundraiser attached and they cater to the novices way too much. Can you say safety-****? Your position on a ride is based on social factors as opposed to riding skill, passing is discouraged, and the only challenge is trying to not slam into the rear fender of the talentless drug-store leathered newbie they stuck in front of you. Most only keep their memberships active to get a part discount at the local dealer. Essentially - too much BS and not enough riding.

I'm a lifetime HOG member but haven't ridden with the local chapter in about 10 years. I gave up on the meetings 5-6 years ago, it was like sitting in on a city council session. Most of the people in the HOG chapter are actually decent people but they focus on the wrong things too much so the rides are about as exciting as oatmeal and instant coffee. I remember being in Daytona years ago and watching HOG members get offended when they were asked to remove their colors before entering a bar - they were whining that they are a legitimate club and should be exempt. Just that spoke volumes to me. When the movie "Wild Hogs" came out it cracked me up, it wasn't an Oscar-winner but it highlighted some of the antics I've seen on chapter rides.

The guys I ride with are all enthusiasts and own multiple bikes (H-D's, BMW's, Asian, etc.). We have been on some killer rides both short and multi-state, plus the group size is usually 5-10 bikes vs. a 50-bike parade. Some of our best rides have been last-minute decisions to pack up and head out of state for roads unknown.

Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against HOG in general and I know there are some really good chapters out there. Depending on where you are located your local chapter may be the best group to ride with but that varies greatly with the sponsoring dealer and chapter officers. I would at least go to a few meetings and go on a few rides to give it a chance.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. We joined last November and we just paid for all of 2008 and went to the meetings in November and December and participated in rides and events for free the last two months. I guess it just depends on the chapter.

 

hog isnt for everyone. I should know. I was with the local chapter and My OLs was Lady of Harley officer. We bothquit and told em what to do in no uncertain terms. But if your fresh into biking havent any mates who ride or just want to stick a leather vest with a patch on and try and look like a bro when you got to chapter night or ride down the dealership then it might be for you.
In the UK HOG is full of 50+ rich people who now the kids have left home decided to get a bike. HOG is just an extention of the whole Harley franchise and like all their bolt on custom merchandise is just a easy way to get a look buy paying for it rather than doign the hard work and putting the time in to do it right.
Only reason i joined was My OL was in with them when I met her so thought I would make the effort to get to know the people she road with. lol now she rides with My club as she realised how fake they all were in HOG.
I know all about the group riding hell after being with them for 4 months got handed the head road captins job as I in their Directors words " the only real rider in the chapter"
As a HOG chapter you are legal responsible for anyone on a ride out you organise. Now as harley dealers hand out chapter flashes to anyone who walks in and hadns em a few bucks, this means you have riders of unknow ability , hell some have just doen the riders edge course and then show up an a dresser the only road miles thay have ever doen shwon on the clock in 3 digits. Hence the strictness. Whislt I would happily ride at 80 + with My mates in tight formation I know full well they are all good riders and are wathcing to road, on a HOG idea what experience the guys aroudn you have. Also why they insist you sign the waver at the start of the ride just in case you fall of your own bike and try an sue em.

Sadly our local chapter has turned into a swingers ( hell the director is trying to screw ever women with a plse in the chapter be they single or not) and couples social club with a side intrest in owning a harley. Not about riding them. There were always more cars inthe carpark than bikes at any chapter night, hell once summer finished My bike was the only one outside. Like I said if all you want is to own a harley and look like a Bro then join.....if you want to ride and spend time with people who really have bikes in their blood.......look else where.


Can you tell its a touchy subject with Me ))))

 

i know i ride with my local chapter any chance I get. For the most part the folks are friendly and great to ride with. I will say i am the youngest member by at least 5 years, but they still accept me. I've made some good friends fromthe chapter and plan to do some non chapter rides with them this year. Also, I only moved to this area 6 years ago, so I am still learning the good areas to ride around here and they seem to know them.

 

I'm a member of the local HOG chapter, and find a great bunch of people that are all enjoying the same thing, riding. I became more involved this year as a road captain, you get what you put into any group. We ride with the chapter and we ride with some of friends who are not memebrs. One thing most people don't know about the chapters are the charity events that they sponsor. The last weekend we had a poker run for the local Habitat for Humanity, we had 160+ bikes and raised over $6000 for the group.
There are reasons for having safety rules when riding with a large group. Everyone had a great time, riding the country rodes of Virginia. With one exception. We were in a group of about 10 to 12 bikes, which runs the legal speed limit, this due to libility issues, when a Harley rider came upon the group from behind and desided to pass us in the double yellow lines. We accomidated him in between our group as he passed a few riders at a time, no problem yet. But as we were coming up to a stop sign for a left turn, the group all showing left turn signals, well ahead of the stop, this rider was directly in front of me on the left side of the lane. There was a road with right turn, without a signal he turns right directly in front of me. I almost clipped his rear end as I'm slamming on my brakes to avoid hitting him. He speeds off on his way not knowing that he just about took a number of fellow riders out. In all the years riding, I always thought it would be a cage that would get me, never did I think a fellow biker could possibly be the one.

 

If I am not mistaken, isn't that the very place that gave rise to the term "cafe racer"? Pretty cool.


The roadside assistance and rental discounts make national HOG membership worthwhile for me but I have yet to attend a HOG meeting or do anything with a local chapter, including ride. Some people love riding in groups and I hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoy riding alone.

There are a lot of aspects of biker culture that I find puzzling and amusing, one of which is the whole group riding thing, HOG or otherwise. For a lot of people, "going riding" seems to mean something like this:

[ul][*]Wake up to sound of black-and-orange H-D-branded alarm clock.[*]Put on H-D-branded underwear, jeans, dealer T-shirt, socks, leather, etc., etc.[*]Go to garage and remove spotless bike from hermetically-sealed wrapping (how else could they be so spotless?)[*]Ride to designated meeting place and park bike, backing in regardless of whether it makes sense to back in or not[*]Spend an hour or two wandering around bikes jawing about them and their mods (esp. performance mods)[*]Spend half an hour assembling into formation[*]Ride 40 minutes @50 mph (thank goodness for those performance mods!) to designated restaurant for lunch[*]Park bike, backing it in regardless of whether it makes sense to back in or not[*]Spend two hours at lunch[*](Optional: spend even more time at lunch if it's a biker hangout)[*]Ride another half hour then head to watering hole[*]Drink beer for a couple of hours[*]Ride home...whew...worn out...long day riding
[/ul]

 

It's like everything else in life. It's what you make of it. I've ridden with rich urban biker wannabe's and even the president of the local Hell's Angels MC. I always have fun. But, I think it's because that's what I look for.

As for safety........... Safety good. Riding without a helmet -- very bad. I have a DOT helmet with one side all crushed to show you, in case any body doesn't believe that.