Like many others, I dumped the local HOG chapter. Tough clique socially, and I like riding alone anyway. I keep my national membership and pay for the full package of roadside assistance from RoadAmerica. Covers three bikes and two vehicles for unlimited assistance, no out of pocket cost.

 

I belong to the National and the Local Chapter (Miami Valley Dayton Ohio). I've never been on a group ride and have attended only one meeting. But I keep the membership because of the fine people in the Chapter and for the things they do. Each year they raise a pile of money for MD (Jerry's kids) and provide school supplies etc for area children as well as may other activites. The Chapter is a family oriented group and I approve 101% with all they do. I'm not a prude, I just like doing it my way. I like to ride alone. I don't have to worry about anyone but me. I do my thing on my own time. I adaptedto being alone early on. I grew up in an isolatedpart ofKentucky with 3 sisters, no brothers and very few neighbors.Life is good and I wouldn't change a thing.

 

Elgin, Illinoishas an independent HOG group, not affiliated with a local dealership. All the members are part of National HOG.It's agreat bunch of people.

 

I'm still waiting for my 1st issue of Hog Tails after 8 months and I know the check cleared.

 

From what I have seen here unless you are over 55 and have no life what so ever...sure join. Make sure you have 2 vests though because the ammount of decorations ( I refuse to use the wordPATCH for a HOG outfit )and pins they put on them one vestwouldn't be bigenough to hold them all if you stay for more then 3 years..

 

FXST, do the HOG benefits even apply in Australia? I got a free one-year membershipwhen I bought my bike but I don't think I could collect on the free tow or anything else while living in Japan.

 

The HOG benifits do apply here in Australia. I just got an '08 with the benifits. I agree with the patches as stated by FXST. Don't ride with HOG, not allowed to.

 

FALSE... NO "HOG" chapter can exist without a sponsoring dealer. Them's the rules from Harley-Davidson. They may CALL themselves a HOG chapter, but if they do, they are in violation of trade-mark and copyright infringements. They can be a motorcycle club with another name.

 

You are getting a lot of different opinions… imagine that. IMO, HOG is worth it. You can’t go to a state, national, or international rally without being a member. You can’t join a local chapter without being a national member. I enjoy the magazines they send, Hog Tales and The Enthusiast. There are always articles about people taking rides in different places that I wouldn’t know about otherwise. They also keep you updated on rallies. My wife and I have been to 2 national rallies, and 7 state rallies in 2-1/2 years. We are going to 3 (maybe 4) state rallies this year. We always meet nice folks from all over the country, and make good friends.

As far as the towing assistance… unless you break down close to an urban area that has a dealer within 25 miles, I wouldn’t count on it. Get AAA with RV PLUS. My wife and I had a nightmare experience with HOG TOW. They sent the boys from deliverance in a totaled out Jeep (straight from the river bottom) and a boat trailer to come get us!

Finding a good local chapter is key in getting the best experience. Some chapters have social clicks that if you ain’t one of them, you never will be. You’ll know after about 2 meetings. Some are just a social club, and not riders. But I would say that the majority out there are really good groups.

Our chapter is just a little out of the way for you, but check out our website, and newsletter. You can see what an active chapter does. www.cvhog.com

About meeting good friends… my wife and I went to the Hawaii state rally in ’06. We have stayed in touch with our friends over there. We are trying to get a group of them to come over here and stay with us to do some riding in NC and TN. We are going back over there for their Labor Day rally, and staying with them. I joined their local chapter as well… even though we have a tough time making the meetings…

 

Yup. Us HOG people are all posers that live only to have at least 37 pieces of flair on our vests. Sure, 14 piece of flair is the minimum. But we don't want to only do the minimum. We leave that for those three patchers and other organizations that have enough self-esteem and cool points such that they only need maybe three-four patches max, smeared with grease and blood.

Yup, HOG sucks. Don't join. Stay away. The more you perpetuate the negative perceptions the more we can keep the non-starters and trouble-makers out of our flair-addicted organizations.