Whining about Hog? Don't let the door hit you.

[hoofnhog]

Interesting thread........ I used to ride with my local chapter, a lot, at least once a week. Being in my early 50's I was kinda "middle of the pack" age wise, but definitely at the "younger" end of the riding spectrum. Nice bunch, but real "put put" bunch. Same 'ol short rides...... way more concerned with eating than riding. (I swear they don't have a road captain that can pass a damn ice cream stand)! Then I found a "younger" group that rides out of a local indy shop I use. Now I'm the "old dog" of the pack as most of this bunch is 10-15 years younger than I am. At least chronographically. But their riding style fits me and they have no problem 150-200 mile days. Hell, I tried to start a 110 mile "taste the beach pizza on the coast of Maine" ride with the HOG group and you would have thought that I asked them to do the ididarod naked!!!

To each his own..... I just bought a new bike just out of my area that gives me a membership to their local chapter..... I will check them out.....

[1fast2liter]

joined a local club

[gmoney38]

Where do I sign up for this BOOBS club?

[The real gasbag]

I just joined HOG, well sorta. I haven't received my membership packet back yet, been about 3 weeks. I don't know how much I will benefit but it sounds like a good deal to me. As soon as I get my membership notice I will join the local HOG group here at N.W. Harley in Lacey Washington. This is a great group and I am looking forward to having a lot of good rides with them. Just got my bike in December and I am getting a wee bit tired of riding alone. I just missed riding in the Toy Run in Dec. I picked up my bike that afternoon. They had 8000 motorcycles show up. You could feel the earth shake. Coolest sight I have seen in a long time. Next year I will be there.................

[rev383]

Stopped by the local coffee shop a couple of weeks ago and there were three bikes with NV plates parked out front.

One of the bikes was especially nice and I decided to be a friendly local and tell the guy how much I liked his bike. He thanked me and we talked about it for a few minutes. One of the other guys asked me where my HOG patch was and then said "Oh, your bikes too old".

I hope that made his day. You run into all kinds and a lot of Harley riders don't do anything for themselves.

97 FLHR

[newultraclassic]

I used to be in a local HOG chapter. Nice bunch of folks but they drank entirely too much for me. That aparently was a local problem as I'm sure that most don't do that.

They never took a ride longer than 50 miles, however. That sort of bothered me so I finally left and, no, I didn't let the door hit me on my rear end on the way out.

[2blackbelts]

I've been a national member of Hog since day 1, but have never joined a local chapter. Here is my take on the deal.

1. Join Hog if you want to.
2. Don't join Hog.
3. If Hog isn't for you, quit, or join another chapter
4. If you want to ride with a group, or ride solo, do it.

2 bb

[DueceDog]

Over the years I've been a member of several clubs, Vice President, President, Treasurer, etc. So, yes I tend to be a joiner. When I bought the Deuce, I joined the dealers chapter. The first night I went to the meeting, the only people who approached me were a couple of the LOH members.About 1/2 way thru the meeting the pres asked if they had any new members. Myself and another guy raised our hands, and were asked to introduce ourselves. Our pictures were taken by the American flag and that was about what the extent of our acceptance to the club was. No one came up to us at the break or after the meeting to welcome us. I was NEVER asked to join anyone in any activity. Oh yeah, there were club activities. Meet at the dealership and ride 35 miles to a diner, eat, ride 35 miles back to the dealer. Ride to the beach (40 miles) get something to eat, ride back. And that was the riding for the weekend. In the clubs favor, they did do a number of things for/with the local VA home. While that's commendable, it's only 20 miles away. After several months I ran into the road captain at the dealer one Saturday. He asked me what kind of bike I had and would I be interested in joining the club???WTF?? I sat next to the guy at meetings, talked to him about the clubs rules on riding, and even rode with him from the dealership to a meeting.

Many,many times I tried to join in on conversations at the meetings and was pretty much ignored. I was not a part of the 'in group'. In the time that I was there I saw at least 30 new members join up. They all got the same treatment, and we all left within the first year.

I"m sure that there are other chapters that are run in a much better manner or there wouldn't be so many local chapters. Just that this one was not the one I wanted to be associated with. It's a shame, because I like to be part of a group. oh well.

[03flstfi]

Originally Posted by DueceDog

Over the years I've been a member of several clubs, Vice President, President, Treasurer, etc. So, yes I tend to be a joiner. When I bought the Deuce, I joined the dealers chapter. The first night I went to the meeting, the only people who approached me were a couple of the LOH members.About 1/2 way thru the meeting the pres asked if they had any new members. Myself and another guy raised our hands, and were asked to introduce ourselves. Our pictures were taken by the American flag and that was about what the extent of our acceptance to the club was. No one came up to us at the break or after the meeting to welcome us. I was NEVER asked to join anyone in any activity. Oh yeah, there were club activities. Meet at the dealership and ride 35 miles to a diner, eat, ride 35 miles back to the dealer. Ride to the beach (40 miles) get something to eat, ride back. And that was the riding for the weekend. In the clubs favor, they did do a number of things for/with the local VA home. While that's commendable, it's only 20 miles away. After several months I ran into the road captain at the dealer one Saturday. He asked me what kind of bike I had and would I be interested in joining the club???WTF?? I sat next to the guy at meetings, talked to him about the clubs rules on riding, and even rode with him from the dealership to a meeting.

Many,many times I tried to join in on conversations at the meetings and was pretty much ignored. I was not a part of the 'in group'. In the time that I was there I saw at least 30 new members join up. They all got the same treatment, and we all left within the first year.

I"m sure that there are other chapters that are run in a much better manner or there wouldn't be so many local chapters. Just that this one was not the one I wanted to be associated with. It's a shame, because I like to be part of a group. oh well.

Each chapter is different, though they are all supposed to be based off the HOG handbook.

HOG discourages riding UI. After the end of ride however, its a different story altogether.

Being a member in more than one chapter, as well as being an officer in more than one chapter brings to light personality conflicts from those who feel they must be in control.

[RKTony]

Im a national HOG member, and havent been a part of a local chapter for awhile. With my local dealer changing hands, and ole Rossmeyer coming in, it looks like I will be joining my local again since there seems to be more going on, and more events. Plus the discount on part is nice as well.

As for the national membership, one Friday night leaving work a couple summers ago, mid rush hour, my clutch cable broke. Out came my cell phone, and on the phone to the number on the back of my HOG card. They operator set me up with a tow company, and kept calling me back with updates on its ETA, especially with the time of day on a Friday.

After being loaded onto the flat bed, the driver started down the road and I asked him if it was possible to drop me and my bike at my house, rather than the dealership like they usually would do. The dealer was closed, and I wasnt paying anyone to change out a clutch cable anyway. My house was 5 times the distance than the dealer was, so the driver called in, HOG agreed and my bike and I were delivered to my doorstep...no charge.

The HOG operators were professional and gave a damn about getting me home...made sure a certified bike capable flat bed was dispatched...and the tow driver got some cash in his pocket to boot for his great service.

We had trouble with my wifes Sporty up in NH one year, and HOG got her to Meridith HD in a flash, got her bike into a service bay and out the door as quick as possible. We actually got preffered service over other bikes due to the HOG operator.

So, as for me, its been all good.

[ultraplusrotax]

Proud HOG-life-member, member of an active Chapter, visiting HOG-rallies.
But I posted "HOG - Europe is worthless". Why? because they cannot fullfill their promises, probably lack of capable personnel, this gives me the right to whine about the HOG.
After 5 months I am still awaiting the pin &badge of "ABC of Touring". They rose the prices of Euro Festival in St-Tropez France by 66%, they lie about the participants ( less visitors but the declare more than last year) They change rules for the ABC according the the country, all european countries should have the same rules ( image that they had different rules according the state in the USA.) I attended the Benelux-HOG-rally in Leersum, the Netherlands; what a waste of time, in the middle of nowhere, far from everywhere, bikes parked in an underground dark garage, impossible to look or photograph the bikes, no animo, ... damned, who organized this? But they took our money!
Maybe they can blame it on the wordwide crisis.

[ADVNTR]

Originally Posted by claydbal

i elect to not participate in HOG. to each his own, i just like to ride faster than 45, dont want to get killed by the slinky effect, and dont like stopping every 10 minutes to regroup. your group may be totally different, but the local has one mindset---------meet at 9, leave at 10, stop at every crossroads, ride to another dealer, buy a shirt, be home by noon. its a slow moving train of idiots.


now, how do i join the BOOBS???????????

I could not have said it better.

HOG ride = rolling roadblock while holding hands

[Faast Ed]

Originally Posted by ADVNTR

I could not have said it better.

HOG ride = rolling roadblock while holding hands

Waaaay too much time wasted standing and talking about riding, not enough riding.

[Traakon]

Interesting thread to read and I must respond to:

Originally Posted by hdbikerperson

If your first question when joining any organization (not just hog ) is “what will they do or offer me?”


Ok put this into perspective looking into your future wife’s eyes say “what is in it for me?”
Or how about your future boss at a job interview. ”if I take this job what is in it for me?”
I could go on and on but if you don’t get it by now….you never will.

When I was the director of several chapters over the years if someone asked me that my answer (and believe me more than on %#&^% asked me) my answer was always the same. “NOTHING”
I think Kennedy said it best.

That’s quite a perspective on things. So in your view, H.O.G. is ONLY about taking from its members?

Look, everything in life is about a give and take. If I interview for a job (or I am interviewing someone for my company) and I do not ask or get asked some version of “What’s in it for me?” then I believe there is an issue. If I have something to offer an employer I want to know what my efforts for them will get in return. This is certainly more than a salary issue as someone who will work only for a paycheck will chase which ever check is bigger and, as the employer, I would not be assured of sustaining my investment in them i.e. training, experience etc. On the employee side, I know what my skill sets are, I know what my work effort is and will be and I want to know if by “giving” these valuable assets into the service of the company (or H.O.G.) that there is a return. In business, it could be chances for promotion, increased education or training or achievement bonuses. In a H.O.G. (or any such club) it should be a sense of “Family”, the joy of like-minded fellowship, the pride of participating in projects and events that benefit the community and mostly, the wonderment of being with a group of like-minded enthusiasts to share a common passion.

If this perspective makes me a “whiner”, then point me to the doughnut shop because at least there, if I give something, I get something in return.

As to misunderstanding the Kennedy quote, lets try this one:
“Hmmmmm, Doughnuts!!!!!!” Homer Simpson.

This is just one mans experiences, your experience may vary.

[FX-Rider]

HOG is for people that like to be told what to do & how to ride.. boring..