Tales from the Riverbank November 2016

Ink On Iron Battle Ready Custom Harleyween Ready To Roll

November 2016

Editor's thoughts Welcome to November's magazine.

Not exactly sure where this year has gone. I've just seen the John Lewis Christmas advert which heralds the race towards the end of the year. Halloween is now a memory (see later in the mag for Harleyween) and the clocks have gone back. It's time to get ready for the Winter.

This time of the year, the Chapter calls for members to join the committe and to help keep this great club going great! There are still opportunities for you to be able to be a part of it. We are also looking for Road Crew. More details on both of these are in this magazine.

This month's cover picture is a great example of one of the tips given in "Better Shooting" from August's issue. CJ's magnificent custom, shows what a good photograph can portray. I am very pleased to have Ink On Iron as our cover shot.

As well as finding out more about CJ's bike, inside you can find out what it took to create Reading Harley Davidson's entry from last years Battle Of The Kings. They are already working on this year's.

I, for one, cannot wait to see what they can create this time around.

Happy reading.

Ride safe and have fun!

Andy ed

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Inside this issue

September/October Birthdays

Front cover

Ink On Iron (CJ)

Page 2

Editor's Thoughts

Page 4 - 7

Director's Update

Page 8 - 9

Ladies of Harley

December

Page 10

Saturday Social

Page 11

Ready To Roll

Page 12

New Members / TV HOG Needs You

Page 13

Windsor Toy Run

Shorty Boothby - 1st Mandy Howell - 2nd Lisa Lovelock - 4th Julie Woodbridge - 6th Don Lawrence - 10th Kevin McLoughlin - 1th Linda Robson - 12th

Page 14 - 15

Calendar

Page 16 - 19

Ink On Iron

Page 20

Road Crew

Page 21 - 23

Battle Of The Kings

Page 24 - 26

Harleyween

Page 27

Reading Toy Run

Back cover

Meet the Committee

November Mike Joiner - 29th

Happy Birthday to you all.

Huge thanks to all who have sent copy in for this month's magazine: Don, Sue, Linda, Nick, Chris, Lee, CJ, Ian, & Hayley :-)

Hi and welcome to the November edition of Tales from the Riverbank.

My God hasn’t the weather changed. Autumn is nearly over, the clocks have gone back and the cold frosty mornings have arrived. It’s time for the winter riding gear to come out as we still have a few more rides planned for 2016.

Halloween at the dealership turned out to be another great day with many of our chapter members dressing up in some crazy outfits.

Mike's team at Reading Harley Davidson decorated the dealership and joined in the fun dressed up in all sorts of Halloween outfits.

Our Ladies of Harley set up a cake stall on what was Adrian’s Desk which they borrowed while he is off sick. Again you ladies came across with the goods in the way of cakes and savouries. Poor Sue and the ladies at one stage were running out of room to store all the fabulous cakes and savouries that had been bought in by so many people.

With tea or coffee and a plate of goodies from the display how could you not be generous with your donation? All proceeds are again going to the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice charity, we have raised an outstanding amount of money again from the cake sale, and I think it’s down to Sue to announce the total in her piece further on in the magazine.

During the Halloween party around fifty members turned up at the dealership to have their mileages verified and signed off ready to end this seasons mileage program. We still have a great many more mileages to collect from members who could not make the it to the dealership. We need to collect these before the end of November.

Please email them to director@thamnesvalleyhog.org ASAP. The first Saturday social took place at the Shepherds Hut in Moss End on November 5th. On arrival at the restaurant the head waitress denied there was a booking for Thames Valley massive and said don’t worry I can always find a space for 6 people. When I explained there would be between 20 and 30 arriving she seemed all of a sudden to need to go and make a phone call for more staff as there was only three people working the shift.

The team at the pub did a great job serving the food with very little waiting time for our orders. Well done to them for managing such a large party even though they were so short of staff. It was also a great sight to see so many bikes in the car park including Gill Major and Paul on their Trike. Well done Gill! Saturday’s social was a great start to the winter calendar with so many more pubs on the list to visit.

Committee application forms will again be available tonight for positions on the committee for 2017. Forms need to be handed in to Sue Moyler or myself before the close of the November club night. We still have positions to fill and would love to see some new blood with some new ideas to bring to the table. If you have any question about positions on the committee please come and have a chat.

In a few days time the road crew meet to plan the ride out calendar for the start of 2017. If you have any rallies or events you would like to visit in 2017 send the information to our activities team to be included in next year’s calendar.

We already have a lot of ideas for next year including a chapter birthday party, chill out week end in Cornwall and Thunder in the Glens in Scotland.

Next year is going to be a bumper year for rides and activities, which I’m looking forward to already.

Getting back to this year the chapter Christmas Party is now fully booked with an amazing fifty eight people paid up to party at the Holiday Inn Maidenhead in early December.

It’s going to be a fantastic party.

On November 27th, the Windsor Toy Run takes place from Ascot Race course, riding through Windsor Great Park and around the town to the Armed Forces Community centre in Dedworth.

Lee is organising marshals to help with the ride on the day, if you would like to help, contact Lee to get your name on the list.

The Toy Run organisers would like unwrapped gifts for children of all ages to be donated on the day.

Hot drinks and food will be

available when we arrive at the community centre in Windsor.

December 4th. The Reading Toy Run will be taking place, travelling through Winnersh and Wokingham to Dr Barnardo’s School. Again, the organisers would like gifts for children of all ages to be donated at the school.

Fancy dress is a great tradition of the Toy Run, so out with the Santa costumes for another toy run. Thames Valley will again be marshalling the Showcase Cinema roundabout in Winnersh. If you can lend a hand, leave your name with Nick, he is looking for help on the day.

Mike has very kindly offered us the dealership for our Christmas club night on December 15th from 7pm. Drinks and food will be laid on courtesy of Reading Harley Davidson.

The results of the Thames Valley Mileage Challenge will be announced and the winners of this year’s Poker nights will be receiving their prizes. December club night will be the last chance to buy tickets for this year’s Christmas hamper. One lucky winner will take away this amazing hamper of food on December 15th.

This weekend is our Remberance day ride, again we are joining up with Hogs Back meeting at Ryker’s Café at Box Hill for a coffee and bacon sandwich before observing 2 minutes silence in the carpark before leaving for Shamley Green to a short service and the laying of Thames Valley’s wreath at the memorial in the local church.

If you are intending supporting the Ride of Respect around the M25 there should be enough time to get from Guildford to Cobham services to join the ride.

Our ride will be meeting at Sportsable 9 for a 9:30 depart.

Ride safe and look forward to a great party season.

Don Director

Ladies of Harley Hi Ladies, Well, the weather has finally turned a tad nippy over the last few weeks, all I can say is Thank Heavens for heated gloves! - After almost fifteen years of riding, I was treated to my first pair last Christmas and wouldn't want to venture out on the bike without them in the cold now!

October was pretty mild weather-wise, I rode "our" Fat Boy to The 3rd National Ladies of Harley Officer meeting at H-D Office in Oxford on 23rd, hosted by Elaine Shepherd and Marjorie Rae. The gathering was well attended by the LoH officers from across the UK & Ireland. A fantastic day was spent sharing all the different Chapters LoH riding achievements, activity ideas for riders/non riders, charity events, sharing communications etc. Along with exciting plans for next year's "Share the Spark" across the nation during the same weekend!

On Sat 29th Oct - for the Chapter Challenge Mileage Program/Halloween party at the Dealership, the Chapter held a cake stall to raise funds for our charity Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service. My goodness, even with such short notice, so many of you wonderful girls & guys baked scrumptious cakes, delightful savories & goodies. Thanks so much to all the bakers, and everyone that came out to support us. Special thanks to the girls manning the stall & for clearing up afterwards, and to Mike and the guys at Reading HD for being such fab hosts.

Last but not least, as ever, Thank You Don for your tremendous support..."behind the scenes." Drum roll...the Chapter raised an incredible ÂŁ397.69 for our charity - Julia Philipson, from Alexander Devine

extends her thanks to everyone for their amazing contributions.

Important - Ladies, if you couldn't make it to the dealership on the 29th, please don't forget to let Don know your finish mileages for the year, thank you.

Ladies, with an upcoming Road Crew meeting this month, please let me, Nick, Don, or any member of the road crew know if there's anywhere NEW you'd like to go, or ride-out you'd particularly like to do again or any rally that you'd like to recommend for others to enjoy.

Don mentioned last club night & in the mag that committee positions are available in 2017 - application forms need to be signed for & seconded, then returned to Club Secretary (Sue Moyler) on tonight's club night for consideration.

Further to my email a few weeks ago, as LoH Officer, due to personal commitments next year, I don't intend on re-applying for the position and would like to encourage and offer support to any interested ladies to apply.

I haven't forgotten a "seasonal" LoH get together meal, however as some have a lot going on leading up to Christmas, I'd like to suggest a New Year's evening meal - like last year. I'll be in touch soon with some January dates - dearly hope you'll be able to make it.

Dates for your diaries Windsor Toy Run - Sun 27th Nov Reading Toy Run - Sun 4th Dec 6th May - International Female Ride Day 15th Sept - 17th Sept - Sparkle Tour for riders/non riders.

Well, that's all for me this month.

Sue D x LoH Officer Thames Valley Chapter Well behaved women rarely make history!

Saturday Social Thames Valley Massive was just that.. MASSIVE... 35 members and families turned up at the Shepherds House, Moss End, for the first Saturday Social of the Winter season.

The pub is a Chef & Brewer, so the food was much to all our liking. The atmosphere was loud and very enjoyable.

Ready To Roll Hi all, Just a brief reminder that after our support for the Reading Toy Run, we will have a little while where there may be fewer chances to get out on the bikes. It makes an ideal opportunity for you all to make those repairs you have been putting up with in order to ride your machine.

In the latter part of this season I was sad to witness that a very few of our number took it upon themselves to venture out knowing that there was a defect on their bike which could potentially cause an issue.

Alone, such a problem would only really affect the owner ... but in a group this oversight could lead to the involvement of others.

It is vitally important to keep your machine in a roadworthy state, not just to protect yourself, but also the friends and possibly family around you.

Use the downtime wisely to verify and validate the condition of your bike and to tend to any known issues ahead of the incoming season.

Look out for special offers at the Reading dealership.

Keep the Shiny Side Up !!! Nick Nick West (Safety Officer)

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new members.

Welcome to the Chapter.

Gary Webb Con Spathas Lynn Spathas

Thames Valley HOG Needs You We are still asking for applications for the following committee positions: Assistant Director Ladies Of Harley Officer Merchandise Officer Photographers Safety Officer Web Master Historian Poker Run Coordinator Forms will be available at November's club night. Applications should be given to Don or Sue Moyler.

If you want to find out more about any of these positions, please feel free to ask.

Thursday, 17 November Club Night (closed event) Thursday, 24 November Ace Cafe Harley Night (open event)

Wednesday, 28 December 09:00 Crimbo Breakfast Meet at Toby Carvery, Stafferton Lodge, Maidenhead

Sunday, 27 November Windsor Toy Run Sunday, 4 December Reading Toy Run Tuesday, 6 December Committee Night Saturday, 10 December Christmas Party

Thursday, 29 December Ace Cafe Harley Night (open event) Tuesday, 3 January Committee Night Thursday, 19 January Club Night (closed event)

For all rides, check the website or call the hotline to confirm.

Thursday, 15 December Club Night at Reading Harley Davidson (closed event)

Dates, events, ride-outs and activities.

Details correct at time of going to print.

Please check the website for updates and amendments.

RALLIES 2017 CLUB NIGHTS Blazin' Blitz Hayling Island 29th September - 2nd October

EVENTS Alexander Devine's Santa Dash Sun 27th November

Thames Valley HOG Christmas Party

December

15th

January

19th

February

16th

March

16th

April

20th

Saturday 10th December St George's Day Ride in & Bikefest 23rd April 2017 Portsmouth

See in this magazine, TV HOG website or Facebook for details.

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES

December

8th

January

12th

February

9th

March

9th

April

13th

Check website for details on all events

Ink On Iron

My desire to have a customised machine has been with me a long time. The closest I got was having my MK1V Toyota Supra interior totally retrimmed in red and black Leather with some real nice embroidery in the top of all the seats. The outside paint job never happened, probably due to lack of funds and, or other priorities.

So here I am, with a 2011 Fat Boy which I have had from new, and for me a perfect donor bike for my custom paint job. In late 2015 Di and I visited Image Design Custom after speaking with Mike of Reading HD who recommended these guys.

We spoke to Tom a nice guy who appeared very enthusiastic about my Ideas for a tattooed themed custom paint job, which would be very personal to me. I didn’t just want any tattoo designs painted onto my bike, but my very own tattoos. The

ones I have on my skin. The only difference would be that my tattoos would all be painted in black and grey, and not in colour like some on my skin are.

Tom showed me around his work shop and we discussed the detail of what I wanted and the areas where I was flexible. Tom had some ideas which he thought would work well with my tattoo theme and I was happy with that.

Like a tattooist you have to trust your artist. I sent Tom photos of my tattoos and a diagram / drawing of where exactly I wanted the individual tattoo pieces placed, and the paint shades I liked.

From the start to the finish of this whole process I had this Image in my head of a bike that would look subtle / understated at first appearance, but then drew you in to look some more, and then "Wow" you are met with beautiful art work. So not a bright sparkly bike, the opposite in fact.

The day had come, one December morning I dropped my bike off ready for IDC to get the bike stripped and ready for painting, and then the wait began.

I confess to being quite nervous, spending a large amount of money without knowing if I was going to like my bike once it had been finished.

On the day I picked my bike up I had previously had no sneak previews. This was a cold viewing. I needn’t of worried. I was blown away with the results. It was exactly how I had thought it would look in my minds eye.

I have since on my travels had so many compliments from bikers and non bikers alike, which is a real nice compliment to my idea and to the top notch art / paintwork.

Life Is No Dress Rehearsal CJ

Join TVHOG Road Crew Even though the application for TVHOG roles will be closing shortly, we are extending the opportunity for riders to join our roadcrew training programme all year round.

Thames Valley HOG seek experienced, level headed and “responsibility hungry” riders who take safety very seriously. The purpose is to ensure the safe marshalling of organised rideouts which provide the fun factor for our Group.

Ideal Road Crew will be keen to take responsibility for every aspect of a rideout which they will lead. Full training will be given, including coaching from existing crew and formal training, paid for by the Club and currently operated from HD HQ in Oxford.

Successful applicants will be riding an absolute minimum of 3000 riding miles per year, they will be regular participants in TVHOG rideouts and willing / able to fulfill the absolute minimum of leading 2 rideouts per year.

The process for participation is as follows.

1) Potential Road crew Identified - This can be an application by a rider in the group or an approach by the Head Road Captain / Safety Officer to assess interest.

2) Some ride observations (1 to 3 rides) to assess suitability.

3) Appointment to Road Crew as Road Marshall 4) Continued Assessment as crew member, to include coaching 5) Formal Training by HOG Europe 6) Final Assessment (in Club), usually done as a fully organised rideout, led by the RC -in- training.

7) Appointment to Road Captain 8) Road Captains will be expected to take at least 2 rides per year to keep their skills current and active during their tenure. RC’s are also expected to assist rides by tailing and marshalling a similar number of rides during each year.

The Chapter will spend time and money on helping you get to a very high riding standard. This will not only benefit you and your pillion, but it will make for better rideouts, safer routes and altogether more enjoyable riding. In return, we ask that you participate in the required route planning, in calendar sessions (helping decide about rideouts for the year) and in leading a number of rides each year.

The Battle Of The Kings - Anne-Marie On the 18th October the The Battle Of The Kings 2017 was announced. We take a look at how Reading Harley Davidson created last year's custom that made it to the top five, Ann-Marie.

In the autumn of 2014, Harley-Davidson Europe, Middle East and Africa started a competition known as The Battle of the Kings.

Dealerships across the EMEA region were invited to take part in a competition to take a stock motorcycle and following the rules of the competition, produce a custom motorcycle which would then be judged over several rounds of competition.

The winner is crowned King of Customs.

The subject of the First Battle of the Kings was the New XG750 “Street”, unfortunately, Reading Harley-Davidson were unable to enter the competition in the first year as being the newest Dealership in the UK, we were not due to open our doors until 4 months after the competition ended. We were determined to make our mark so we were delighted to be invited to compete in the 2015/2016 Battle of the Kings.

The rules of the competition are simple: • You are told what bike to base the custom work on, in this case an XL883N Iron • You have 28 days to customise the bike before it goes out to the public vote on social media • You must use a minimum of 50% Harley Original Parts • You must be able to sell the bike on completion for a maximum of £12,995.00 • You must be able to replicate the build for the stated selling price if required • You must provide detailed documentation listing the components used, any subcontracted items or processes and the associated cost of each item.

Each Dealership was allowed to order the Harley Original parts in January 2016, and Harley Davidson would hold all parts orders for the Battle of the Kings bikes and release them so that each Dealership received them on the same day.

Having discussed various design options amongst ourselves at Reading HarleyDavidson, several possible designs started to develop. IMI & Harley Master Technician Darren Shilston & prospective International Master Bike Builders Association (IMBBA) member Richard Tegg formed the core of the team that would work on our entry, although everyone at the Dealership had their say in the process.

We realised early on that the current trends towards bobbers and cafĂŠ racers in the UK would probably play a large part in the Battle of the Kings, however, we wanted to do things a little differently. Richard is a lifelong fan of Hot Rods and Hot Rod culture and he came up with the idea of a Hot Rod themed bike. After many ideas and discussing the merits/failings of each, the basic idea for Anne-Marie was formed.

Extensive work was done on the rear frame to cut out the fender rails and a custom made duck tail, bobbed fender chosen to compliment the design. The suspension was slammed with Burley Slammer shocks and custom billet turn signals fitted to the lower shock mounts to comply with legal requirements. Fitting in nicely with the Hot Rod theme is the custom side mount plate and Stop/Tail light styled after the 1934 Ford light but updated to use LED technology.

Gone are the stock Harley mid controls, replaced by custom fabricated rear sets with 5� stand offs providing clearance around the unique, hand fabricated stainless steel exhaust system that not only effectively expels the engine gases but sounds fantastic too. If you want exhaust out, you need to get air in and this is taken care of by a low profile Velocity Stack in black anodised aluminium.

Replicating the drilled out pattern on the rear sets, the pulley cover was cropped, shaped and drilled out, making the final drive pulley, painted red to match the tank and wheels, visible.

The whole front end needed to have a strong visual impact and the choice of chunky, vintage style tyres (make from modern compounds for handling and durability) coupled with wide, fat triple trees (Yokes) and 49mm front forks gave Anne Marie the stance we were looking for. Adding to this, custom powder coated, 40 spoked rims from a Sportster 48, in Hot Rod red and replacing the front fender with a drilled out fork brace. Custom drop handle clip on bars and underslung mirrors give the top of the bike that lean, stripped bare look we wanted to capture.

Using the headlight from a Sportster 48 to provide forward illumination, custom billet, LED turn signals were mounted inboard of the fork tubes and are totally invisible unless illuminated.

The instrument panel, speedo and idiot lights were relocated to the left side frame downtube, keeping the handlebars uncluttered and clean looking.

Finally, we enlisted the help of Erik our painter. Erik’s day job is as a painter for McLaren Cars, so you know the quality of the work he produces. After several discussions, the paint scheme was decided upon and that new but worn Hot Rod look was the way to go. The tank was base coated in black then layered with metallic silver and McLaren P1 Red. This was then rubbed through in strategic spots to create the worn and used effect.

Finally, Richard asked his close friend and world renowned pinstriper “Nefarious” to put the finishing touches to Anne Marie, sign writing her name in script on the side panel, of course writing Harley Davidson on the sides of the tank as well as adding subtle pin stripes to various locations.

He also incorporated our Reading Harley Custom Build logo RG6 to the derby and timing covers and the name of our riders club “Busted Knuckles” to the rear fender.

Anne Marie placed top 5 in UK and Ireland thanks to overwhelming public support and went forward to The Bike Shed event held at London’s Tobacco Dock. There, a panel of industry peers and representatives from Harley Davidson conducted their own judging session and the overall winner of the UK & Ireland Battle of the Kings was chosen. Unfortunately, Anne-Marie was not chosen as the winner, however, coming 4th is no small achievement against a field of 29 UK & Ireland Dealerships and we are extremely proud of Anne Marie and the amount of time, effort, blood, sweat and in some cases tears that went into creating this one of a kind, Hot Rod Sportster.

We even managed to get very favourable press coverage in the July/August edition of American V magazine and we are already looking forward to Battle of the Kings 2017.

Bring on the competition!

Harleyween.

A rather misty and murky Saturday morning in October and Harleyween hit Reading HD. We were all invited to dress up and support our charity, Alexander Devine, by drinking tea and eating cake (oh, go on then!). Although the weather wasn't the best, the event was well attended with a steady stream of people visiting throughout the day.

There was some reduced clothing as well as many sweet treats on offer.

Many of you dressed to impress (or kill) for the occasion and the best dressed prize winner will be announced at the Xmas club night....muhahaha!

A big Thank You to those who baked and contributed to the outstanding array of treats to tickle our tastebuds, word has it that the cheese and bacon twists were amongst the favourites! Another big thank you to Pat J, Janet, Shirley and Di and Sue Dodds who manned the stall for most of the day, it is most appreciated.

The amount of money raised from the cake sale will be announced soon.

Plenty of cakes, plenty of ghouls, ghosts and unsavoury people were at the Reading Harley Davidson Dealership for Harleyween.

The LOH should feel very proud and pleased with the selections of cakes and savouries that tempted even the most delicate palate to partake in the event.

Another great day had by all.

2016 Officers & Committee

PRIMARY OFFICERS

Don Wibberley Director

Pat Adams Asst. Director

Nick West Asst. Director CLUB VENUE Grenadier Guards Club Maidenhead Rd, Windsor, Berks, SL4 5EY

Colin Wilkins Treasurer

Sue Moyler Secretary

https://www.facebook.com/ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

Third Thursday of every month 7:30pm

COMMITTEE

Sue Dodds Ladies of Harley

Andy Tunley Editor

Lee White Webmaster

Chris Smith Membership

Sue Knight Historian

Mandy Mussong Merchandise

Barry Adams Activities

Malcolm Poulter Activities

Linda Friend Photographer

Chris Earley Photographer

Email any committee member at (position held)@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk