Lucky U Cycles Wildwood Florida

It all started many years ago when I purchase my first "touring" motorcycle a 1984 Honda Interstate from my brother-in-law. Since the kids were tiny, after less than a year I decided it was just too expensive for it to sit in the garage while babysitting. Years later and after owning a few Mustang GT Convertibles the search was on for another motorcycle. The year was 2003 and Harley-Davidson was ready to celebrate their 100th Anniversary. We have owned four touring HD Models, a 2000 Electra Glide Standard, 2000 Ultra Classic, 2008 Ultra Classic and a 2008 Road Glide "Ultra".

For the past few years I have said, in my opinion the Gold Wing is one of the best touring motorcycles. Who can argue with the 1800cc, six-cylinder engine, making close to 120 horse power, shaft driven, liquid cooled, linked braking, adjustable windscreen, 6.6 gallon gas tank that sits low creating a low center of gravity that equals more stability. Add to these features; ABS brakes, comfort package (heated grips, seat and passenger seat), navigation system, premium audio and you have yourself a top notch touring machine! Not to forget reverse gear! I then thought to myself, "if I feel this way, then why am I not riding one?" Now I was determined to find a 2008 with low miles and all the features noted above.

Ebay has never let me down, so the search started. After looking at many different Wings, I zeroed in on a 2008 Titanium Model having Premium Audio, Comfort Package, Navigation System, ABS Brakes, 7665 miles, luggage rack and extra chrome. Asking price was $17,800. I contacted the owner and a deal was born. I forgot to mention, the bike was located in Florida!

I spoke to Jeremy on the telephone who asked to put me on hold. I later was told he had been talking to an interested party in Montana for the SAME bike! After talking to him, he later talked to me and we agreed upon a deal. Jeremy is the owner of Luck U Cycles a small dealership in Wildwood, Florida (Northwest of Orlando, south of Ocala off of I-75). Jeremy said he would arrange a taxi to pick me up at the airport and then he would get me at my hotel to take me to his shop (In the photo is Shane, Wayne and Owner Jeremy Coon). This is the second time I've been in Florida picking up a motorcycle. The first was in 2003 during Daytona Bike Week when I bought the 2000 Ultra Classic.

I arrived at my hotel in Wildwood (Sleep Inn) at 1:30 AM Thursday morning. Jeremy picked me up that morning at 9:30. At Jeremy's dealership I met his two mechanics, Wayne and Shane. Lucky U Cycles is located in a new strip mall, that rents three side-by-side-by-side store fronts. Jeremy has three lifts in the rear garage area. Lucky U Cycles specializes in buying used motorcycles and selling them for a fair price, in fact their labor per hour rate is...........$50!! Jeremy told me that he barely completed high school, worked at a local Harley-Davidson Dealership from 16-23 years of age and then due to differences in opinion, left to open his own store. By-the-way, Jeremy was 23 when he opened Lucky U Cycles! While I was waiting for my touring machine, many customers stopped in to chat and buy parts. His customers ranged in age and from what I saw many were seniors! You see The Villages, a senior community is very close to Lucky U. Just watching Jeremy work and interact with his customers I felt very much at ease. I was in awe that someone Jeremy's age has a mature business sense, treats his customers with respect, charges a fair and honest price and still has room to make a living; I had to remind myself that he is only 27! Jeremy later ordered pizza for the staff and when it was delivered invited me to have some with them. I felt at home and enjoyed sitting down with Wayne, Shane and Jeremy as we talked.

If you are ever looking for a motorcycle don't forget to call Jeremy at Lucky U Cycles. He will do whatever it takes to locate one for you! My Gold Wing he actually purchased at a car dealership as the previous owner traded it in on a car. The ride home to Watertown.....was wonderful, 1367 miles, no problems, but a wrong turn! Weather when I left Wildwood was 88 degrees and partly cloudy (Thursday afternoon). I didn't see a cloud from that point on all the way home. Stopped in Tennessee at Beans Winery for a few bottles to take home for Cathy (Sweetiest Day). Thought about visiting Jack Daniels Distillery but it was half hour out of my way. Saw many more Wineries along the route home, but can't stop at all of them.

I was impressed at the ride quality of the Wing, it is scary fast! It's nice having the power and not having to spend extra $$ to get it. From stock the Wing has over 50% MORE hp than our Harley ever did. The Wing from the factory is a 110 cubic inch motor and that is what the Screamin' Eagle CVO from Harley-Davidson is! Gotta say the Wing is truly a Touring Machine! Thanks again to Jeremy for treating me right, you have a wonderful shop, great guys working for you and the right attitude to go very far! Keep up the good work!

Party Like A Rock Star 8th Annual Mystery Ride

What was 8 months in the making all came together Saturday morning as 27 couples made their way to our house in Watertown for the Annual Tourin' Hawgs Mystery Ride. Twenty-seven couples, but 31 motorcycles! It is always great to see women involved in the sport of riding and this year four joined in! Rita, Belinda, Jessica and Melissa all rode their own motorcycles. Remember I mentioned the theme was "Party Like A Rock Star?" Headbands werepassed out to everyone the coincided with the theme.

This year because of the large group it was decided by our Road Captains (Bill & Rita) and Road Guards (Marc & Chris, Dan & Beth) that we would have two separate groups. After a quick meeting of biker etiquette and a prayer we were on our way. The skies looked rather nasty most of the day and the weather forecast called for thunderstorms with some being rather strong! Each mile into the ride was another mile without rain! The word "Rock" played throughout the weekend as we rode to Rockton for a rest stop then onto Rockford (lunch at Kegel Harley-Davidson). After lunch we rode along the FLOODED Rock River later passing Castle Rock State Park on our way Rock Falls.

We stopped at a Liquor Store as is customary prior to checking into the Hotel for the night. Since ALL costs were prepaid (meals and lodging) when we got to Country Inn & Suites in Rock Falls within 15 minutes all 27 couples were headed for their rooms! After setting up the after dinner entertainment (powerpoint collaboration of the previous years Mystery Rides to Rock Music and Karaoke) Cathy and I joined the other couples for drinks and socializing in the pool and hot tub.

We later met across the parking lot at Candlelight Restaurant where we had a choice of Chicken George (yummy), steak and fish. Dinner included a salad with hot garlic bread-stick, potato, coffee, soda and finally cheese cake. The meal was fantastic, but the service was poor since we had been seated for 70 minutes without our orders even being taken.Afterwards the 7-year collaboration of past Mystery Ride photos were shown with many laughs and remembrances. As for the Karaoke, I guess our guests were not intoxicated enough to allow their inhibitions to lessen and sing to the crowd! Those that did, we thank you!
By the way, not once did we get a drop of rain on the windshields of our bikes Saturday! Sunday morning greeted us with clear sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70's. Rock Falls was host to the last huge gathering of DC-3 (The Last One) planes since World War II. In fact we heard all weekend that John Travolta (who possibly owns a DC-3) was not only in Rock Falls but stayed at the Country Inn & Suites! We didn't bump into him, but Cathy will be writing a letter from the Tourin' Hawgs to the Leader of the Wild Hogs to see who the real "posers" are!

Many of us rode over to the small airport and were greeted by over 30 DC-3 planes! It was truly amazing! Three of the DC-3's later took to the air and flew in formation around Rock Falls. Our timing could not have been better!

We had to say good-bye to Rock Falls, the DC-3's and wherever John may have been hiding to make our way to the final stop of our Music Tour, where else.....Woodstock (Illinois that is). St John's Lutheran Church agreed back in February to host a fundraiser lunch for us. f you have never eaten at a Lutheran Church before, take it from us the ladies can whip up some outstanding desserts, salads and the men grilled some of the best tasting brats and burgers! Thanks again to St. John's for opening their doors and hearts to a bunch of bikers! I had previously asked Pastor Larson to leave a donation basket out (even though we paid $8 per person for lunch). As we left the church it appeared as though there was over $200 in the basket! Thanks to the Tourin' Hawgs for opening their hearts to our "out-of-town" guest church.

Group #2 after lunch and some of Group #1 went to Woodstock Harley-Davidson while the remaining riders in Group #1 headed back to Watertown. In all, about 340 miles were traveled. Of the 27 couples, 8 were new to the Touring Hawgs lifestyle. If seemed as though everyone had a great time and are already looking towards next year's ride! Please keep in touch! Thanks again for all the patience with wrong turns and abiding by a set schedule.

More photos will be posted in the coming days. Again any word that is highlighted,click on it as it will take you to a link on the Internet. To the "newbies", Pat & Kim, Todd & Connie, Jeff & Melissa, Joe & Bonnie, Dan & Theresa, Brian & Barb, Mike & Lisa, Russ & Jessica hope you enjoyed yourselves and will become members of the Tourin' Hawgs!

Life is graded on a Curve!

Life is graded on a curve! In 1997 2,116 motorcyclists’ lost their lives operating their bikes; figures more than doubled in 2008 to 5, 337! Part of the increase is due to the age of the rider and engine displacement. This combination of older riders on higher-powered motorcycles is partially responsible for a steady increase in motorcycle deaths from the late 1990s until 2004. Half of motorcycle fatalities in single vehicle crashes relate to problems negotiating a curve prior to a crash—almost 60 percent of motorcyclist fatalities in single vehicle crashes occur at night (List of motorcycle deaths in U.S. by year). The age of those owning motorcycles over 40 years of age has also increased from 15.1% in 1980 to 43.7% in 1998. With age comes slower reflex times, unsteadiness and loss of dexterity. The average age of a Harley-Davidson owner has risen from 38 to 46 in the past decade!

Having said this, in order to lower the risk of crashes, motorcyclists must attend some form of safety education, mainly hands-on training. Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) has two basic classes; the Basic Rider Course (BRC) and the Experienced Rider Course (ERC). Both classes teach students what they need to know to maintain a strategy to minimize risks. Risks associated with age, riding ability, other traffic, road conditions, weather, passenger, luggage, fatigue and drugs; with each of these comes an increased level of risk. Risks are compared to a step-ladder, each step is equal to a risk factor. As with a ladder, the base is wide and stable, the higher you climb, the more risks are being added, with that a higher degree of a crash developing. Riders need to constantly be aware of their surroundings. By keeping their head up and eyes aggressively searching ahead, they can maintain a 12 second anticipated path of travel. By searching well ahead of ones motorcycle and playing the “what-if” game, you stand a much higher degree of reacting to a situation before it becomes a risk and potential for a crash. Many riders know that intersections pose the most dangers for them and other traffic. Vehicles turning left in front of them because these drivers are not looking for motorcycles only cars. The next area where many crashes and/or fatalities occur is in the curves, hence the title of this article. Life is graded on a curve, actually life and death happens in the curve! By properly setting yourself up prior to the curve, you can be safer, see further into the curve and maintain traction control through the curve. How you do this, will result in a Life, yours!

MSF teaches Slow, Look, Press and Roll as the 4 steps to any curve. One must SLOW prior to the curve. This slowing must be enough to allow for a slight roll-on or increased speed in the turn, this is known as Entry Speed to a Turn. Whatever that speed is, it allows for a slight increase in speed while in the turn and helps increase your needed traction control through the turn. LOOK, by looking all the way through the turn, or as deep into a turn as one can, will allow for a smooth path of travel, not like “connecting the dots”! To help oneself Look into the turn, you must start every turn on the far outside portion of your lane. You need to take turns in an “outside-inside-outside” path of travel. By doing this, you will open the radius of the turn, helping to look further into the turn and allow yourself to increase speed, offering that important traction control. PRESS in the direction you want the motorcycle to lean and go. A slight PRESS on the left hand grip will lean the motorcycle to the left and the motorcycle will go to the left and vise-versa. The final step is the important ROLL step. This is the part where you roll-on the throttle or slightly increase speed to help maintain or increase traction control. Four things you NEVER want to do while in a curve is brake, roll-off the throttle, down shift or pull in the clutch. Any one of these four will result in loss of traction control and may result in a crash. Riders who crash during a curve normally enter the curve too fast, thus feel the need to slowdown. By remembering the 4-Step Process of Slow, Look, Press and Roll, you can maintain safety and minimize risks. Life on a motorcycle is judged on a curve. Attend a Motorcycle education safety class to help with judging curves and your right to life! Practice ride within your ability. Maintain your motorcycle. Wear all the gear all the time. Ride free of alcohol and other drugs. Wisconsin Blue Knights Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club has introduced 5=Zero Campaign. By practicing the 5 elements noted above we can get closer to the goal of zero motorcycle deaths in Wisconsin.