Helping Hand!!
Posted in 360Bikers, Just Plain Cool, Motorcycles, Safety on March 26th, 2009Welcome faithful readers, to another edition of 360 Bikers Blog. The latest blog from the most popular Motorcycle Club in South Florida. The members of 360 Bikers are some of the finest people you will ever meet. Check out our website and follow our visionary leader as he leads a great group in supporting a great cause.
Today I would like to share a helpful tip I picked up in Daytona, during Bike Week 2009. I was actually watching the Harley Davidson drill team go through their paces at the Harley Davidson dealership on Beach Street. If you have never seen a drill team go to work it is something to see. Have you ever seen the fully dressed touring motorcycles in parades? They accelerate and do figure eights all within inches of each other. Chances are those motorcyclists were part of a drill team. The motorcycle units on Police forces have to go through similar training to hone their skills.
My wife, Brandy and I watched the entire show. The entire time the drill team was riding in circles and figure eights, the leader was talking about what they were doing on his headset microphone. At the end of the ride. The leader stopped and invited us all a little closer. As we got closer he got off his 2006 Ultra Glide and proceeded to lower it , as gently as possible, over on to it’s side!!!! As the Harley laid on it’s engine guard, I could only think of the veins popping out of my brother’s neck if he saw his 2003 Ultra laying on it’s side!!! The leader walked over to the crowd and asked us, “how many guys will it take to get this bike upright?’ The general consensus was a minimum of 2, there were calls for 3, if the second was your 98 lb wife. The leader said, “what would you say if I told you an 11 year old girl picked this bike up all by herself?”
About this time I am looking for the angle. My thought was, he doesn’t expect us to believe him so where’s he going with this? Outside of a short, retired, former Olympic women’s weight lifter coming out of a dressing room and lifting this bike, I can’t see it happening.
The leader’s name is Don. Don says, “Have you ever laid your bike down or had a buddy lay his bike down? I’m going to show you how an 11 year old girl picked up this bike and how you can too. I will need a volunteer.” Being the nice guy that I am, I put my hand in the small of Brandy’s back and shoved her into the middle of the circle. She was less then pleased. Eventually though, she relented to being a volunteer. Don began with a few questions for Brandy and then went into the steps she would use to lift the bike. 
“First thing you must do is make sure you are not hurt or your passenger is not hurt. The bike can be repaired. The second thing you must do is make sure the bike is off, power, ignition switch. Next you make sure the bike is in gear, so it does not roll away as you are trying to lift it. Extend the kick stand, depending on which way your bike is laying. Do a little stretching to prepare yourself. Put the small of your back into the front seat and plant your feet about six inches apart in front of you. Use your left or right hand (depending on which way your bike is laying) to grasp the handlebar, under handed. Use the other hand to find a something to hold onto, normally a passenger grab rail. Choose something that won’t brake or bend. You will be using your legs, the strongest muscles on your body. Slowly shuffle your feet backward using the muscles in your legs to push the bike upright. The shuffle motion is like doing Michael Jackson’s moonwalk.”
I am fairly pessimistic, so I’m thinking my 5′ 2″ inch wife will not be able to lift this bike alone. Boy, was I wrong. Brandy lifted the bike ont he first try, all on her own. After her, an even smaller young lady lifted the bike. Then an older lady lifted the bike. Of course, I wouldn’t embarrass myself (and as far as I saw, neither were any of the other men) by trying myself. What if I couldn’t do it!?!?!? 
This was an amazing display and a great tip. Don told the story of one of his female students who wouldn’t go out for a ride unless her boyfriend rode along. She said she was scared she wouldn’t be able to handle the bike if it fell over or something. After being taught how to pick the bike up properly, she turned to her boyfriend and said. “I guess, I don’t need you anymore.”
Finally, this really does work. If you’re ever out with the 360 Bikers, ask Brandy about it. She offered to demonstrate but I won’t allow her to lay my bike on it’s side. Next time we’re out at Fisherman’s village though Hawk, you have nothing to worry about. Until next time, Ride Safe!!!
GR
Well here we are 2 weeks since the start and end of Bike Week 09 and I already miss it. I’m actually late with this, as we got back home on the last day of Bike Week. Some of us had to get back to the job we last saw 9 days ago.
What can I tell you about Bike Week? If you haven’t been you need to go and if you have been, then you already know. Bike Week has something for everyone. Old bikers and new bikers, you are guaranteed to find something that fits you. It really is like your local bike night, times 100,000. The amount of bikers and bikes is really overwhelming and I never get tired of seeing it. You will definitely see your model and make, in many different styles and colors here and steal ideas to make your ride fit you and your personality. I can always find something to add to the bike. Which is just as it should be. If you go to a venue like this, you should expect to find the best possible prices. If you search around long enough you will find a great deal at bike week. 
It may have been just me, but I thought I noticed a few less of everything this year at Bike Week. A few less bikers and a few less vendors. This shouldn’t come as any big surprise, given the economy. I’m sure the final numbers on attendance will show a difference. I did see an interesting report on Destination Daytona while I was there. The evening local news reported they were selling 45 Harleys a day through bike week. I was surprised but if you did the math, 45 X 9 days is 405 bikes for the week. If you have several hundred thousand extra people in town to ride motorcycles I don’t think it’s out of the question. So good for them and great for bikers everywhere. 
There were some great shows at bike week as well. If you’re inclined, you can pay to watch the AMA races at the track. There were a number of custom bike shows. Endless bikini, T Shirt and shorts, shows. We missed the Cole Slaw wrestling but we did catch the Monster Energy “Dome of Death”. They weren’t to be confused with the “Wall of Death” at the Iron Horse. These kids were free and much more dangerous. We missed “Little Kiss”, midgets who dress up, make up and all, like the original Kiss and have concerts, but we did see the house band on Main Street, rock some of Ozzy’s “Crazy Train”. I heard ”Little Kiss” sounds just like the original. We miss the Brawl in the Cage at Destination Daytona but we did see some Evangelists crusaders versus Strip Club Choppers. This was interesting for several reasons. The crusaders were pretty much protesting everybody and everything. The guy hanging out at the Strip Club Choppers tent, looked amazingly like “Kid Rock” just taller. The crusaders had a guy with a bullhorn, one guy with a pole that had signs listing those being denounced, and 2 security guys standing behind him. Kid Rock was drinking beer after beer and blaring death rock at the crusaders. I thought Kid Rock and Strip Club Choppers got a raw deal because about 1/2 a block away, there were 2 beautiful young ladies having a “bikini bike shine”!?!?!? They definitely deserved some protesting.
We saw the shows. We bought some shirts. We took some photos. We acquired some ideas and new parts for the bikes. The real essence of Bike Week though, is the riding. I saw many country ride tours and saw some obvious tourists/vacation motorcycle groups along the roads. I know they had a great time. We are lucky enough to stay about 58 miles west of Daytona when we arrive for our vacation. I say lucky because by now we know every different way to get back and forth into town. Here are a couple of country roads you must find and ride, while at bike week (CR309, CR308, CR308B, US17). I call CR308B, the “little dragon”, those of you who have visited Tennessee and US129, you know what I am referring too. I often wonder how the locals feel about their backroads? I mean, I travel here at least once or twice a year just to ride. I wonder if I would be more apathetic if I lived here year round? Every morning and every night we had a great ride. After 9 days and about 2,000 miles it was hard going home. 
Finally, I did catch up with Mike & Debbie and Mikey from the 360 Bikers, so we did officially call this a 360 run. As the most Popular M/C riding group in South Florida, we had a responsibility to show up at Bike Week. Of course I will continue to provide myself as a guide whenever anyone want to find some country roads during bike week. I’m so selfless, it’s the least I can do. Until next time, Ride Safe!!!