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[cuthbertss]

I've been a member of the Harley Owners Group (HOG) since 1999 and have held several officer positions in different chapters. I've become disenchanted with HOG in general and specifically our local chapter. Too much heavy handed, deep in the weeds involvement by the GM taking the chapter in directions I'm not comfortable going. I'm also seeing increased oversight by national HOG. I'm considering not renewing my memberships (local & national) this year and just focusing on getting back to the pure enjoyment of just riding.
I'm wondering how many of our site members are members of national HOG, local HOG or both and how they feel about their membership experience.

Jay:

I am a member local and national...  been to exactly one meeting (guess who I saw there!)...
national has some perks....  i have used the fly and ride option about 4 times to make an otherwise shiitte business trip into an adventure...  that and the atlas make it pretty worthwile..
the local thing...mayhaps you should fill me in?  
I also got the LOH ladies to wrap my xmas stuff this year!

[cuthbertss]

I am a member of the local club and somewhat small [highlight]but we are raffleing off a 07 serk blue in june for $20/ticket and give all the procedes to a local needy family as a hand up.[/highlight]   Like kids with cancer family's and real deal needy folk.  if for that reason and the atlas and coffee  i am for the cause. I still ride where and when I want with whom ...  when ya die with all the money  your sitll dead [smiley=nixweiss.gif]

and we get tickets how?

[Screamin_Beagle]

d00d,
    The pay as you go dickscount is good for the last minute items...........paid for 3 yrs in one shot.........never again.  The HOG thing is the biggest joke running here in SoCal (these guy's really think they belong to an " association of motorcycle enthusiasts.....AKA a 1%er club"....when in reality,  they are the newbie, wannabie's that have $20K+++ to throw at a bike that they ride maybe 5K miles a year........)BTW,  BB's post about the chair was real (down trying to get free lunch today at SDHD......) haven't seen the big man in action for 5 or 6 years now,  but know for a fact.........Big man's still got game!!!!!!  lOOK OUT hOGGIES!!!!



_Beage

[SPIDERMAN]

I'm just gonna say this and I really don't care who I piss off. The whole HOG thing is a the MoCo's nod and wink to the mystique of the 1% clubs. They pretend that they don't want to be associated with that side of things and then they go and start their own version , right down to the style of the patch. Don't tell me for a minute whoever you are that when you're struttin around with your HOG "colors" you don't think you're some big and bad biker. There aren't enough words in the dictionary for me to properly diss this whole bunch of Posers. And yeah Bro, if the SOB that wanted his chair back had the stones to try and take it from me I might just have fed him the effin thing complete with some of Reggies's nacho cheese. I know there are good folks who join for a lot of good reasons. The problem is that 99.9% of all of the HOG officers I've ever seen a the biggest bunch of wannbes that ever pretended to be something they aren't. I've never met a one of em who could have lasted a day as a prospect for a real 1% club, let alone do the whole program AND in case some of you might not know this, earning a 1% patch ( impossibly hard) is just the beginning. Wearing one is a 24/7/365 never let your guard down proposition. So anyone who PRETENDS to have colors really and I mean freakin really gets my blood boiling. I wore one for 15 years in two different clubs on both coasts and paid for it in more ways that I care to remember , let alone talk about.  [smiley=soapbox.gif]

Big B

[ultrafxr]

I have been a National member since getting my SEEG. Last week I signed up for our local Hog membership. During the summer it's hard to make the meetings due to work but I figured I would give it a shot. Especially since Ultrafxr, PHAZE, and MJZ are members along with a few other folks I know, I thought it would be fun to get some rides in with these Fellers! [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]Tonight would be my first meeting but couldn't make it due to a pain in my........neck! Oh well, maybe next time!
                                                                  JR [smiley=banana.gif]

JR we missed you bro.  Was hoping you'd be able to make it.  See you soon. [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]

[ultrafxr]

I'm just gonna say this and I really don't care who I piss off. The whole HOG thing is a the MoCo's nod and wink to the mystique of the 1% clubs. They pretend that they don't want to be associated with that side of things and then they go and start their own version , right down to the style of the patch. Don't tell me for a minute whoever you are that when you're struttin around with your HOG "colors" you don't think you're some big and bad biker. There aren't enough words in the dictionary for me to properly diss this whole bunch of Posers. And yeah Bro, if the SOB that wanted his chair back had the stones to try and take it from me I might just have fed him the effin thing complete with some of Reggies's nacho cheese. I know there are good folks who join for a lot of good reasons. The problem is that 99.9% of all of the HOG officers I've ever seen a the biggest bunch of wannbes that ever pretended to be something they aren't. I've never met a one of em who could have lasted a day as a prospect for a real 1% club, let alone do the whole program AND in case some of you might not know this, earning a 1% patch ( impossibly hard) is just the beginning. Wearing one is a 24/7/365 never let your guard down proposition. So anyone who PRETENDS to have colors really and I mean freakin really gets my blood boiling. I wore one for 15 years in two different clubs on both coasts and paid for it in more ways that I care to remember , let alone talk about.  [smiley=soapbox.gif]

Big B

Big B, just speaking from my own personal experience I couldn't disagree with you more.  I'm a life member of national HOG and been very active in our local chapter for almost 10 years as road captain (forever), activities officer, director and treasurer.  Personally I'm not interested in anything that requires 24/7/365 lifestyle/lifetime commitment.  I just want to ride and have fun and that's exactly what our chapter (600 members) does.  Wasn't always that way but I pitched in and helped make it an active, riding (yes daylong 400 mile rides and overnighters too) club where folks are genuine friends and share the comraderie of the road.  I'm not interested in being a 1% but for those that are - go for it.  Just my '$.02 worth.

[TheVgirl]

I am a member of the local club and somewhat small but we are raffleing off a 07 serk blue in june for $20/ticket and give all the procedes to a local needy family as a hand up.   Like kids with cancer family's and real deal needy folk.  if for that reason and the atlas and coffee  i am for the cause. I still ride where and when I want with whom ...  when ya die with all the money  your sitll dead [smiley=nixweiss.gif]

ESJ Jester, how do we get tix for the raffle dude?  Website?  Email?  Etc?  

[hogasm]

I am a national and local member. The local chapter just started about 3-4 months ago. I had visions that this new chapter would be different than the 2 others that the dwner of the dealership has. His influence has ben evident from meeting 1.
I just can't get into rides that go from 1 of his dealerships to another. This is not my idea of riding. It also seems that there are around 5-6 people that are at every meeting and seem to run everything the way that they want or the way the owner wants. For this reason I am not going to accept the bid to become the chapter president. It might be an honer, but I am a doer and not a follower.
On the national level I have friends that have ridden longer that I have been alive. 43 years. They have never been a member of HOG and never will. In their words, HOG has done nothing for them. I did use the fly and ride feature last month in Vegas. The money I spent for membership paid for itself using this feature. Last year was the first year I paid for a membership since I have purchased a new bike each year since getting back into riding. Last year Kathy got the membership.
 Last year was the first year I paid for a membership since I have purchased a new bike each year since getting back into riding. Last year Kathy got the membership.
Will I pay next year for a membership, probably not.

My .02 worth.

[ccr]

HOG Motto is "Ride and Have Fun!"  

Happens to be mine too!   [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]  Jamey and I are both life members nationally, so there is nothing much to think about there.

Locally, we were happily members of the local chapter where we bought our first bike and we were very active in the chapter prior to moving to Fort Lee area.  Here we joined a chapter where more people went from restauraunt to restaurant - none of them any good - by four wheels than did two.  They appeard to be insulted when I asked at a LOH meeting if any of the girls actually rode their bikes anywhere and would any of them like to go for rides.  They never wanted to go as far as I wanted to go or for as long.  So ---------- we looked for a new local chapter.  We joined the North Richmond chapter and have been members for a couple of great years.  We have a found a couple of folks who ride like us and that is great.  We have just recently joined the South Richmond chapter (go figure - it is 20 miles from home as opposed to 50 miles) and we rode with them yesterday for a 120 mile ride in the mid 70s and had a fantastic lunch with 50 - 60 other riders.  The ride - divided in two groups was really right on.  Not too fast, not too slow, just right.  So between two local chapter we get to have a better chance at finding folks to ride with us.  We had two fantastic Christmas parties to go to where the food and entertainiment was fun and good and we have enjoyed the participation.  We do not support the local dealer usually when they have open houses, mainly cause we just can't stand in a parking lot when riding could be done instead, but the discount and the comraderie are great.  Between the two of us, we have held about every officer position and have recruited many to fill in behind us.  It is a lot of fun, and when we go to the local rallies, we have a lot of friends.  To everyone their own.  

[SPIDERMAN]

Lest anyone think I am disrespecting any of you personally

It's not the people I don't like, it's the make believe colors  If HOG existed without the "colors"  top rocker, center patch ,bottom rocker, pocket patch, life member phoney baloney patches, I'd never say a word. An organization of motorcycle enthusiasts is a wonderful thing. And having a one piece patch isn't all that bad either if you want a way of saying to the world " I belong to - - - "  It's when it gets into the three piece patch and mimicks all the trappings of the 1% world that it goes astray. I do not mean to disrespect all of the good things that many of the local HOG chapters do, but at the end of the day, no one will ever convince me that in their heart of hearts the folks all decked out in thier "cuts" with their " colors "  don't think of themselves EVER, (not for one minute ) as an " outlaw biker" The MoCo with all their advisors and study groups and such knew this when they started HOG and realized they could create a benign version of (name your favorite Big Time 1% club) and capitalize on it. They shied away from it for awhile in trying to compete with " You meet the nicest people on a Honda " and realized they couldn't ever completely erase that image from people's minds , so why not captitalize on it.

B B

[djkak]

You’re right Spiderman, these HOG folks have gotten too big for their Road Zeppelin saddles. I recently heard about a couple arriving at an afternoon luncheon social, riding their Harley-Davidson. These unworthy citizens didn’t bother to ask the Hostess if they could wear their black leather to the gathering. It was satisfying to hear that they were later forced to drink their tea without milk, as punishment for their indiscretion.

Almost makes me want to cancel my 21 year long Life Membership to HOG; I would cut up my HOG card right now if I could find it......BTW, anyone got milk?

djkak

[CVOMOE!!]

I'm a Life member and participate quite actively in our local Chapter.  We have a great chapter and I must say some of my best friends were met through the Hog Chapter.  I like the idea of the organized National Hog rallies and such and will remain active for a long time to come.  Your Chapter is a direct result of what you put into it and how you participate.

Cheers, Moe [smiley=banana.gif]

[naitram]

i have know a number of 1%'rs used to hang/party with a club. were a good bunch of blue collar guys. but they never did much riding, the "lifestyle" didnt allow enough time for it

[SPIDERMAN]

i have know a number of 1%'rs used to hang/party with a club. were a good bunch of blue collar guys. [highlight]but they never did much riding, the "lifestyle" didnt allow enough time for it

[/highlight]

I couldn't agree more Neil which is one of the reasons I'm a walking advertisement for all things Screamin Eagle and H-D these days. My whole point in the above is not to defend or promote the    1%er lifestyle ( I'm more like a reformed smoker on the subject actually) but to point out that HOG is subliminally based on the outlaw image and that one does not aquire an outlaw patch simply by ponying up $50 a year, not does one wear that patch without paying a price not measured in dollars.In the beginning,  it was me and my motorcycle riding somewhere, anywhere just me, my bike and the open road. 40 years later I've come full circle and I couldn't be happier. Just me, my bike and the open road. What's nice is to have good folks like you and this thing you've created with this website to meet me at the end of that road.

B B  

[nidan]

I'm with ya , I've been a member of the local chapter all along , but this year I'm thinking of just staying National. I had WAY more fun with the CVO group in Maggie Valley than I ever had with my local chapter