Article by Skip Okamato, President Upstate Touring & Ryding Chapter
September, 2019

Chapter Leadership Suggestions

For some time now, various Chapter Presidents and other officers have asked us how we have managed to build such a successful group.  Kathy and I are very proud of our chapter, but make no mistake, it’s the MEMBERS who make it successful.  NOT JUST THE LEADERSHIP TEAM.  We’ve been asked to put some thoughts on paper as to why we think our chapter has reached the point it has and continues to grow and get even better.  Here are some thoughts:

Basic principals we have always adhered to from the beginning. The Chapter needs members. The members do NOT need the chapter to enjoy ryding.

People join clubs for several reasons

  • To meet people and make new friends while having FUN

  • To participate in something they enjoy doing

  • To be involved in something worthwhile (Everyone has their own definition).

Keep everything you do enjoyable. Our members look forward to our monthly meetings

  • We deliberately meet at a restaurant a full 90 minutes before starting the meeting so people can socialize before getting down to business.

  • Have an outline of what needs to be addressed at the meeting prepared in advance so you can keep the meeting moving. We try to keep our meetings to an hour.

ASK your members for their suggestions frequently. We have always been a member driven group. We try hard to NOT DICTATE what we as a chapter are, or are not, going to do. Let the membership as a whole tell you what they would LIKE to do (or where they would like to go). In other words, KEEP MEMBERS INVOLVED.  People like to be asked their opinion. It makes them believe that THEIR opinion or suggestions have merit and are of value to the group.

Get to know your members. The potential leaders will become apparent to you as you get to know them better. You will probably have some members who want to hold a particular position in your leadership team but may not be qualified to hold that position in your opinion.  Don’t blow him off. Perhaps he or she is better qualified to hold a different position. Talk to them. Perhaps they had never thought of it themselves. Of course, you will always have those who don’t want to be responsible for anything. They just want to participate. That’s fine.

Have chapter activities besides just rydes and a Christmas party.

  • People like to do other things besides ryding and eating. Does anyone in your chapter have a swimming pool? We’ve had 2 very successful pool parties this summer at the home of one of our members. Picnics? Bowling? A movie? A potluck cookout at someone’s home? Get creative.

  • Our lady members, regardless of whether they ryde their own bikes or not, periodically get together to go for a “Girls Night Out”. Once or twice a year, they even go for a “Girls only Weekend” somewhere.

Chapter Rydes

Most MC riding clubs, (GWRRA, Star, etc.) have planned rides ONCE a month. In our opinion, that’s not a ryding club. We have AT LEAST 3 chapter rydes monthly on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays, and the 3rd Sunday afternoon for people who go to church. The fact, however, is that we ryde nearly every weekend day, weather permitting.

  • People have other obligations or things planned in advance. If you only ryde once a month, some folks won’t make it. They’ve already made a commitment or other obligation for that day. They’ve missed their only chance to ryde that month…. bummer!

  • Ryding numerous times a month changes the whole dynamic of the chapter. I.E. – Our grandson’s birthday party is this Saturday, so we won’t be able to make the ryde, but that’s OK because we’ll go on the one next weekend (or 2nd weekend, whatever). The point is to give them as many opportunities to ryde as you can. Have multiple people plan and lead rydes (Ryde Captains).

  • Do you have members who are retired or work on weekends with days off during the week? Plan some weekday rydes.

  • Supporting worthwhile charitable organizations is great. We all do that. But don’t make charity events and rydes the only rydes you do. Good causes, yes, but generally they are very time consuming with comparatively little ryding. Also, people don’t want to have to shell out more money every time you have a ryde. They’ve spent plenty on their bikes already.

 In Summary

Give your members the opportunity to get together often to get to know each other and come to be friends … more like an extended family, really.  Some will always be more active than others, of course. But don’t make the occasional folks feel left out. Just the opposite in fact. Keep welcoming them back. Tell them you’ve missed seeing them and that you’re glad to see them. Some will start showing up more often.

 Unfortunately, every now and then you’ll have someone who causes ongoing problems. Make every fair effort to resolve the situation QUICKLY. If they won’t let it go, remove them. People don’t want any drama in this type of group. It will run off the good ones.

Not long before the “Carolina Spyder Rally” this past May, we ran into a major problem which could well have caused the rally to NOT HAPPEN AT ALL. Very few people outside of our chapter even knew what happened. Our Leadership Team took swift and decisive action to quash the attempted “hostile take-over” of the rally. We then went to the membership at large with the issue and let them know we where going to need a lot of help to make the rally a success. The response was overwhelming. A large majority of the membership, even people who were still Trial Members, stepped up to help. People took time off from their jobs to help us get ready for the rally. The result was that it was an even bigger success than the first one in August, 2018, which was also a great success, even though it was our first with only 3 months to plan it. Our MEMBERS made it happen.

Between the two rallies, we were able to donate over $30,000 to the Road Warrior Foundation in well under 1 year.

When we ryde, or have other functions, it’s with a group of good friends, not merely chapter members. We’re growing every month. At last check, we retain over 90% of our members. Perhaps you can see why.

Download the text only version here

Posted
AuthorDave Van Verth
Tags2019
3 CommentsPost a comment
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TOUR OF HONOR MEMORIAL AWARENESS CHALLENGE

Tour of Honor is a great reason to hit the open road, honor our nation's heroes, and contribute to a few good charities. The event is a season-long, self-directed ride to memorials and monuments around the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii. Beginning April 1, visit as many sites as you want, with any route you choose. Registration opens on December 1.

Click To Register With Tour Of Honor.

Memorial Awareness Challenge

FLORIDA-INDIANA-MICHIGAN-MINNESOTA-MISSOURI-OHIO-TEXAS

Check Us Out On Facebook

Check Us Out On Facebook

The mission behind this "challenge" is to raise money for Tour Of Honor & its charities and also to raise awareness of all the great memorials in our United States.  Even if you register and are not able to visit all memorials the goal will have been accomplished.

  1. Register with Tour Of Honor.  Click to register.

  2. Visit all 7 memorials for the current year in one of these states.

  3. Submit to Tour Of Honor per instructions.

  4. Visit 3 memorials for each year 2014-2018 in that same state.

  5. Go to the Facebook group ToH Memorial Awareness Challenge, create a new photo album, and post your pictures to the album.  Photos should follow Tour Of Honor guidelines.  Follow instructions on the pinned Facebook post.

The Following Google My Maps, GPX Files, & KMZ Files Are Not Official. Check Tour Of Honor (tourofhonor.com) For Official Locations, Pictures, & Maps.

Posted
AuthorJames Gerdes
Tags2019

My perspective for this article comes from almost 100,000 Spyder miles, currently 60,000 miles on a 2016 Can-Am Spyder F3L.

A special thank you goes to Central Florida Powersports and Jason Ennis for
allowing me an extended test ride on the Can-Am Ryker 900. I was able to log
more than 660 miles over 7 days.

Appearance - The Ryker is a unique ride all its own. So what makes it unique? Most obvious is appearance. It draws curious attention from even non-riders. The front skewed A-frame pushes the front wheels forward of the nose. The shaft drive versus a chain or belt drive allows for a lower seat position and a lower center of gravity. The shaft drive also exposes the rear wheel giving the Ryker a low-slung, aggressive appearance. The many color panel options available allows the Ryker to be personalized. Just the appearance makes the Ryker look like a “Ride Like No Other”. The fun factor is built right into the appearance.

Performance - The power and drive train combination alone make the Ryker unique. The performance of the 3-cylinder 900 cc Rotax ACE engine on the model tested backed up the aggressive appearance. There is a great similarity in sound to a Sea-Doo at start up; a quiet but throaty tone. The fully automatic Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) and the direct shaft drive work together to give instant torque to the rear wheel. The power to weight ratio of the 77 horsepower, 616 pound 900 Ryker is .125. A Spyder F3s has a ratio of .128. My experience gives the Ryker a slight advantage in quick acceleration over the F3. With the CVT and shaft drive there is no shift lag or belt flexing. Twist the responsive throttle and you go! Hang on. The Ryker will try to ride out from under you. Engine performance and the drive train makes the Ryker a “Ride Like No Other” and just plain fun to ride.

Handling - Steering on the Ryker is direct, there is no power assist. In my opinion, this gives a better feel and connection to the road. The lower stance of the Ryker also contributes to this feeling. Normal riding is easy, requiring no extra exertion. There is no slop from the handlebars to the wheels. Twitch the handlebars and the response is laser-quick. Riding aggressively in turns and corners requires a little more upper body strength, but the direction is true. With the standard shocks and sway bar on the model tested, there was some front-end roll on hard corners. The low center of gravity helps lessen the roll but it’s still there. Aggressive riders may want to consider a beefier sway bar and/or upgraded shocks. I still found it exhilarating with the standard equipment.  Contrary to my initial concern. deceleration is quick. The weight mechanism in conjunction with the CVT and compression braking unwinds the 900 Rotax in good fashion so less braking is required to slow down. The brake affects all three wheels, same as the Spyder, and are good, but they don’t have the grip of a Spyder due to much smaller rotors and pads.

More of the fun factor. Decelerate to go into a corner at the right speed and approach, throttle up in the curve, then gun it coming out of the apex and you feel like you are shot out of a cannon. Here’s a quote from Hal BikerDoc after a ride we did over some of the curviest roads we could find in Lake County Florida:

“I rode my F3 and Dave Van Verth followed me for 90 miles on the Ryker. I hit every curve at double the posted speed and every start up from 0 to 60 or 80+ as fast as the F3 would go. Congrats to Dave and the Ryker. They stayed right on my tail for every mile in spite of my test to shake them. I no longer harbor the illusion that the F3 can run away from the Ryker. It appears to be quite a machine for the money.”

VSS and Modes - The Ryker is equipped the Vehicle Stability System (VSS) like the Spyder. The VSS consists of the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Traction Control System (TCS) and the Stability Control System (SCS). The Ryker 900 has the ability to select from three different riding modes; Standard, Eco and Sport. In Standard Mode, the VSS systems operate as set up from the factory giving a good balance between ride performance, stability and economy. The Eco Mode reduces fuel consumption by limiting throttle response and maximum throttle opening making for a smoother cruising speed. The rear wheel will spin quite easily in either the Eco or Standard on a quick throttle as long as you go straight. Turn the handlebars and the Traction Control System kicks in to reduce the rear wheel spin. Sport Mode allows for significantly more rear wheel spin and a higher handlebar turning angle giving a drifting-like experience. The road type and surface condition determine the amount of drifting that can happen. Of course, consider where you may be using the Sport Mode and the surrounding conditions. I did most of my test riding in the standard mode and found it more than adequate for my style of riding. Note: The Ryker 600 does not have a Sport Mode and the Rally Edition has an additional Rally Mode for use on loose gravel or unpaved roads. These handling and mode options make the Ryker a “Ride Like No Other” and even more fun to ride.

Display - The 4.5-inch display on the Ryker has good visibility both in daylight and at night. It is straight forward to operate using just two buttons on the left side of the display. Fuel and temperature gauges are on the left and right side of the display respectively. On the right side, next to the temperature gauge are the mode selection, the transmission setting (P – Park, F - Forward or R – Reverse), the VSS icon and a passenger icon if riding with two up. The clock, Trip A, Trip B and Total Miles are displayed at the top left. Pressing the top left button will cycle through these functions. Pressing and holding will reset the Trip miles. Miles per hour are displayed in the middle. Pressing the bottom left button will change the display in the bottom center. Each press will cycle through RPM, Fuel Statistics, Autonomy (mph or km) and Settings. When Settings appears, press and hold to enter into the available setting menu. Press and hold the bottom left button at any time to select driving modes. Note that the Sport Mode will automatically turn off when the Ryker is shut down.

Features - The tool-free U-Fit system lets you adjust the driver foot pegs, brake pedal and handlebars to accommodate just about any rider.

A manual parking brake is on the left side. When turned down, the brake is disengaged. Flip it up to set the Parking Brake. Give the Ryker a little rock and you will hear the brake engage.

Reverse is also a manual operation. The shift lever is on the left side just below the service cover and is used to change from Forward or Reverse. You can reach the lever with your left hand, or with a little practice you should be able to use your left foot. The lever moves back to engage reverse. Push to the front for Forward. Flashing turn signals and audible beeps indicate that reverse is engaged along with the R on the display. If you turn the Ryker off while in reverse, you will hear the beeps on the next start up to alert you that reverse is still engaged.

More Features/Info

  • Self-canceling turn signals

  • Recommended fuel is regular unleaded gasoline

  • Fuel mileage – ranged between 27.5 and 32 during the test

  • There are no 4-way flashers (only when reverse is engaged)

  • Stock seat is comfortable for the first 75 miles on a trip. Then it’s not

  • Recommend the adjustable sport windshield option for highway riding

  • Glove box is just that. Not enough room for rain gear

  • Two USB outlets in the glove box

Click for Can-Am Ryker website.

Click for Can-Am Ryker website.

Summary - Did I say I had fun on the Ryker? The Ryker is unique, FUN, and definitely a “Ride Like No Other”. Can-Am and BRP have created an affordable vehicle for the young and young at heart consumer. The Ryker 600 starts at $8499, the 900 at $9999 ($10,549 as tested) and the Rally Edition at $10,999. A leasing agreement is also offered for additional financing flexibility. The Ryker is a lot of bike for the money. It’s a great, fun machine to rip around on roads or take on weekend adventures.

Posted
AuthorDave Van Verth
Tags2019
4 CommentsPost a comment