HarleyAlaskaBlog

How did you start riding? What made you do it? What made you try?

I’d like to be bold and say most people think motorcycles are cool. They like seeing them in movies, they like looking at them more than some other machines with wheels. If they visualize themselves riding, it looks pretty cool. Many people even like the sound they make.

Why don’t more people ride then? Why doesn’t everyone ride?

The most common hot button words I hear at the dealership are: Safety, other drivers, cost, size, bad memories, intimidating…

These are not ridiculous reasons not to ride. They’re real, grounded fears & obstacles. As a dealership, as a HOG group and as a motorcycle community we are obligated to respond to these issues that people have with riding motorcycles.

Why?

• Because it increases driver’s awareness of motorcycles, making roads safer
• It lessens the chances of future “bad” motorcycle incidents in their lives
• It removes bad stigmas about riders and bikes
• It increases ridership, which means more fun and a happier world 😀

So how can we start breaking down these barriers to riding? Obviously not everyone wants to ride but for those who have even a tiny bit of interest, we have some great resources here in Alaska:

The Riding Community: I would encourage the public to visit dealerships, attend public motorcycle shows and events, and talk to riders. Most Bikers are friendlier than people expect!

Harley-Davidson Courses & Events

Motorcycle Boot Camp: This is a no-commitment/no-experience-necessary introduction to riding. An after-Hours event devoted to answering questions, helping people find bikes that fit them, and explaining things like how to get a motorcycle endorsement, the differences between types of helmets, and how to pick up a dropped bike. Participants will ride a stationary motorcycle on our Jumpstart to get a true feel for riding!

Upcoming Motorcycle Boot Camp: http://www.harleyalaska.com/event_list_detail.asp?ecode=602585&smonth=2&syear=2013&emonth=3&eyear=2013&location=0&Submit=Search&inputpage=1

Beauty & the Bike: Similar to motorcycle boot camp, this women only event gives ladies a foot in the door to the world of riding. Workshop style seminars address barriers and challenges unique to women riders. Women riders give their testimonies of how they got started. Participants will ride a stationary motorcycle on our Jumpstart to get a true feel for riding!

The House of Harley will be hosting a Beauty & the Bike on April 28th, 2013

Rider’s Edge: Rider’s Edge is a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Curriculum course designed to get you comfortable on a bike and give you the skills you need to ride with confidence. Offered at Denali Harley-Davidson dealers, the New Rider Course provides you with 25 hours of expert guidance from Motorcycle Safety Foundation® (MSF) and H-D® Certified Instructors. Class includes license waiver if road test is passed.

Rider’s Edge Main Site: http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Content/Pages/learn-to-ride/new-rider-course.html 

ABATE Courses

KICKSTART -For people with no experience, or unsure if riding a motorcycle is really for them. It consists of 3 hours of basic “on bike” riding instruction. Student to instructor ratio is very low. It will give you clutch and throttle practice if continuing on to the basic class.

ABATE Basic Rider Course -Motorcycle Safety classes gives you the fundamentals of operating a motorcycle. It is basic, however it moves at a much faster pace than kickstart. The course is spread over three days, which includes five hours of classroom instruction and ten hours of riding.

The Website for both the ABATE Kickstart and Basic Rider Course is here: www.learntoridealaska.com

If you ride: Help us spread the word! Increase the number of educated, safe riders in this state!

If you don’t ride: Spring is right around the corner and you don’t need to get left behind! There are many resources to help you hit the road as soon as the snow melts.

Tattoos and Booze don’t really mix unless you’re just showing them off to your friends. In that case it never hurts to have a drink fueling your enthusiastic bragging. You know what makes the story of your tattoo even better? Tell it while sitting on or near a sexy Harley-Davidson Motorcycle. This brilliant situation will be made possible on February 22nd at the House of Harley-Davidson.

The House of Harley-Davidson is inviting the entire 21 and older, Anchorage Tattoo Community (and anyone who wants to see some amazing ink) to the third annual Chrome and Ink Tattoo Party on Friday February 22nd!

This is the biggest Tattoo event in the state and the only place to see all of anchorages best tattoo artists under one roof. The Woodshed lounge is bringing the Beer Garden & there will be a multi-category contest where you can win more ink!

The categories for the contest are:

Sleeve: Must be a complete sleeve at least in length or more. Leg or Arm

Mural: Must be a single design covering at least half of your chest or back

Small Piece in color: Any colored, stand-alone (not part of a greater scene) tattoo smaller than your Hand

Larger Piece in Color: Any Stand-alone (not part of a greater scene) tattoo larger than your Hand

Small Piece Black & Grey: Must be a no-color, stand-alone (not part of a greater scene) tattoo smaller than your Hand

Larger Piece Black & Grey: Must be a no-color, stand-alone (not part of a greater scene) tattoo Larger than your Hand

Fixer-Upper: Will be judged on how ugly tattoo is.

Queen of Chrome & Ink: Category winners only. Will be judged collectively, must be female

King of Chrome and Ink Category winners only. Will be judged collectively, must be male.

Tattoos will be judged based on their uniqueness, detail, and quality. For more info call (907)248-5300

Here are photos of last year: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150585669763443.373265.61587568442&type=3

And the year before: http://www.ktuu.com/features/ktuu-photo-gallery-house-of-harleys-ink-and-chrome-tattoo-contest-20110214,0,7986620.photogallery 

I would like to take a minute to reflect on this monumental year…

This year was a big one for Motorcycle Times Inc. (For anyone who doesn’t know, that is the name of our corporation that owns House of Harley, Kenai Peninsula Harley and Denali Harley). For over40 Years my father ran this business with all of his heart and soul. He has done a tremendous job and I have some HUGE shoes to fill! Luckily he will still be around to help me learn the ways of the HD master! I am so thankful for all he has done to build this business and leave a legacy for a true community business. Every day I am reminded of the blessings I have been given from my parents’ dedication to this business and each other. I hope that I can continue to make them proud and grow this business even more.

I am also reminded how important each and every one of our team members are. As we have recently seen, unemployment in Anchorage is exceptionally low, and is pretty low throughout the state. Our team members are talented and hard working which means they could probably find employment elsewhere if they so desired. I am honored that they choose every day to work with me and for our company. It is not easy working in a seasonal business like ours, when your summer in Alaska is the busiest time at work, but they all work so hard. They are the reason each of our stores has its own unique style and personality. A special thanks goes out to both Si Zimmerman from KPHD and Paul Ramage from DHD. They run those stores as if they were their own business! I am so glad they are here to support me. All of our team at all 3 locations is filled with truly unique and We have a fun team and they all feel like family.

It is their attitudes and enthusiasm that draw our customers, like you. Without our customers and employees this place would not exist. I am reminded of how truly unique our business is by the diverse customer base that calls our dealerships home. It is so cool to be in an industry where people are genuinely happy to be here and want to be a part of our brand. Trust me, it is way easier to work this type of retail when you have a brand like Harley-Davidson, a little more exciting than Pampers! Anyhow, I know that your business is more valuable in today’s market than it ever was, and I hope that we will continue to be the place you can hang out and call home.

I am so excited to see what next year will bring. We are constantly working on ways to improve our business. I am so blessed by all of you and what you have done to help build or company. Thank you for your dedication and support.

God Bless and Have a Happy and Fulfilled New Year!

Sincerely,

Dia Matteson

Harley-Davidson motorcycles will always have started as an American legend but the passion for H-D has spread all over the world! It’s always wonderful when travelers make a stop at the House because we all get a taste of how large the HOG family really is.

This week we had the pleasure of meeting Angelo Gaboardi, a world traveler and his trusty steed, a silver 1990 Fat Boy. Angelo belongs to the Emilia Road Chapter in Italy. His journey started a year and a half ago in March of 2011. He has ridden about 300,000 kilometers all around the world on the same motorcycle.

Angelo Gaboardi(left) poses with our service manager Steve Webb (right) and His 1990 Fat Boy

Angelo is a member of the Emilia Road Chapter in Italy. This is his vest – what any motorist behind him will see.

His set up is simple: a brown leather vest over basic riding gear and a mound of black luggage strapped to the back of his bike. The bike has very few fancy accessories but it is decorated with many stickers from the countries he’s ridden in and a rusty bottle opened bolted to the front forks. Marco, himself is enthusiastic and well mannered. He showed us the agenda for this leg of his journey which is written in sharpie on a strip of clear tape attached to his gas tank. He says when he’s ready to move on to the next town he’ll enter the name on the tape into his gps. He mentioned that we could send this story and photos to his HOG chapter but that he doesn’t know their emails because he doesn’t really use the internet too much. He held up his phone and said “I bought this in Mozambique so that I could take nicer pictures”.

The Itinerary for Angelo’s immediate journey

stickers

I asked him where he thought he was most well recieved as a Harley rider. I was digging for a story of rural people in awe of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle – something only a less traveled american like myself would picture. He said that it made no difference where he was, people we kind and supportive. I tried to explain my question again (his English sounded better than he insisted it was) and he said ” No no, you understand, really, everywhere I have had problems. I have had 4 times with problems, always the same. People have helped me. In south Africa I was 500 or 600 kilometers from a mechanic for service and the first person who sees me took me there. It doesn’t matter skin color, country, everybody helps.” I said that it must be true that  Harley-Davidson motorcycles communicate a global understanding.

safety instructions

dirty tires = good memories

Angelo’s Alaskan experience was a rainy one. Our September storms have not been kind to bikers. This morning when I spoke to him was the first sunny day all week. The wet dawn smelled good, and felt good. The whole indecent was a happy one. He mentioned that he will need to come back to Alaska since he could not really see the glaciers on the day-long glacier cruise he paid for yesterday. His plan is taking him to Tok as I write this. He will loop through Canada and then down the East Coast. He has a crate waiting for him in Houston, Texas where he’ll ship the Motorcycle to Brazil and start on South America.  I wish him safety, good weather, and luck in his continuing travels. Farewell Angelo!

The bike – 1990 Fat Boy

Italian Plate and sticker

We’re a Harley-Davidson dealership so of course we like to party. We party for holidays, melting snow, beer, and mostly we just like to watch the bikes line up around the building. A sea of leather & chrome.

This time of year, we have our own special reason to celebrate known as the new model year. Picture it as Christmas & New Years for the Harley enthusiast. At the summer dealer meeting in Milwaukee, the Motor Company unveils the changes and additions for the upcoming model year. 2013 is the 110th anniversary of  the company. Naturally, we’ll be throwing a party to celebrate this newness when it arrives.

Sounds pretty exciting no? Well, even if you’re not excited about the party, you’ll have to be excited about the 110th Anniversary models. With dusky bronze hues, everything from the bikes to the jackets are radiating nostalgia. Everything is also all extremely limited. Only a few bikes and a handful of each motorclothes item will make it to the dealership. Sometimes retailers throw the word “limited” around a lot as an advertising verb but this time, I promise, we are teary eyed about how briefly we’ll be able to look at the 110th anniversary products. They’re beautiful.

The next thing everyone is talking about is Harley-Davidson’s Hard Candy paint jobs. It started with the 72 Sportster they released about 6 months ago. The wonderful thing about this big flake paint is it gives the onlooker both futuristic and vintage vibes simultaneously. Some people think it’s just too much but whether you love it or not, most will agree that it’s pretty hard to look away!

MMMM…Candy.

They’ve added the Hard Candy paint the Factory Custom options, along with a Street Bob! Just like the original factory custom 1200 Sportster, you can build this beauty from the ground up and have it delivered to Alaska all ready to ride. I find it pretty amazing that we’re able to order motorcycles the same way we order laptops and pizza in this day in age. It’s all about getting exactly what you want for the money you’re spending and every biker knows you should ride your own ride anyway!

The last thing I must mention is the Breakout CVO. Harley-Davidson.com describes it at “slammed and chopped” and I’d have to agree. It’s a striking piece of machinery.

I have no words, so here is their description:

Hope to see you at the launch party!

The 2011 ivory and gold CVO Road Glide Ultra cuts through the air softly, as though in stealth mode. Its rider, Doug Ramstad, also has been in mostly stealth mode during the years he’s been a HOG member.

But more recently, Doug has been involved. He overnighted at Grizzly Bear for the Memorial Day overnighter, and rode the loop with fellow riders Zookeeper, Flounder, Birdie, Maria and Peppermint. It was the longest ride he’d done over a three-day period. And still, he has not yet been run off. He has returned to help with the rally talent committee, and to volunteer at the party in mid-June at the House of Harley. It appears that Doug has come of age, has reached the conclusion that HOG is a good group to be a part of, a special family that’s worth that rare something that only comes with owning a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Who is Doug Ramstad? He’s the tall guy wearing the black leathers. But there are some things that set him apart from all the other guys wearing black leathers.

Doug hails from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He grew up on a farm, which is where he learned to ride a Cushman scooter at the age of 9. He said he has only crashed one time. That was on that Cushman scooter and he was still 9 years old. He had ridden a bit and thought he was good enough to go fast. He wasn’t. He went through some dried up mud holes and that scooter threw him. He landed head first between the blades of a plow. Luckily he sustained only a broken foot and learned a valuable lesson – to respect motorcycles.

After that he didn’t have a bike of his own for a long time. But he partnered up with a friend who had a Triumph 500. Doug’s friend spent the summer teaching Doug to race it. But he never got to race. The day of the first race he was going to run, it got rained out. And that was the end of that as his family moved to Alaska.

Doug continued his growing years and decided to go to college, went to the administration and registered. By the middle of the first semester the administration realized he wasn’t qualified and wasn’t supposed to be there. But they gave Doug a conditional acceptance since he had a great grade point average.

In Doug’s senior college year he was an intern for a fuel storage tank manufacturing and steel fabrication company where he worked as a draftsman, in sales, on quality control, as a project manager and anything else they needed him to do. The company wanted him to leave college and offered him a good wage. So he took the money and ran with it. That was probably a good thing as he has not one child, but five girls and a boy, with most of them living in Alaska. He also now has seven grandchildren.

Doug was in his mid-30s before he rode again, going nearly 20 years without a bike. In those 20 years, Doug was a welder, a hairdresser and then a college student, going back to complete college and study engineering.

He finally got a full-size motorcycle, a 900 cc, 3-cylinder forgettable-name bike. He and his family were living out of state at the time, in the year 2002. But the lure of Alaska was deep in his heart and soul, and in 2003 he decided to move home, and sold off everything to get here. The bike whose name could not be remembered wouldn’t fit in the truck, so it, too, was sold.

Doug bought another motorcycle in the spring of 2004, this time a Yamaha V-Star, but only kept it for one season. Before he knew it, he had, and still has, a 2005 Softail Deuce, Limited Edition, Number 42 of 200. It was a gift from Santa in December 2004, and has the distinction of being the first bike sold out of the Denali shop in Wasilla. The Deuce sits in his garage while he rides the CVO, but it’s in pristine condition, shiney, beautiful and ready to ride anytime Doug needs to blow some cobwebs out of his head. It looks fast, mean and ready to hit the road at full speed.

Doug currently works at ARCTEC Alaska, which is part of Alaska Radar Systems. He is a computer-aided drafting and design technician. Doug is married to Natasha, who is originally from Siberia. Natasha rides with Doug on occasion, and has helped with the rally talent committee. Between them there have come some good ideas, as well as a lot of support for the group.

As we were finishing up the interview, Doug was reminded of a story of his long-term relationship with Barry and the House of Harley-Davidson. Doug remembers Barry’s shop located at the corner of 36th and Spenard. The shop looked like an old gas station, without the pumps, but retaining the service bays. Doug bought a box of parts from Barry as he wanted to build a chopper.

And some chopper it turned out to be. Doug traded a CB radio for a 4-cylinder Honda and took it apart, cutting it in half with a torch and hacksaw. He then welded on a Harley front-end, used the box of parts he’d purchased from Barry, and begged, borrowed and maybe bought other parts from whatever brands of bikes he could to get it built. So, it was a Harley/Honda, who knows what. It reminds me of that song Johnny Cash sang, “One Piece at a Time.”

Just so you know, Doug never did say if that bike ran.

As diverse as the men and women who picked them, the license plates of Alaskan bikers offer everyone on the road a peek into the language of Hogs. Some are earned road names, some stated road names, some are funny, some are stupid, some are just clever. Each one becomes a part of the bike and it’s owner’s story when the final screw is tightened.  Enjoy this gallery collected by the Queen Patti Bogan:

My personal favorite: CYIWRK

On June 14^th, Barry and Dia Matteson sat in the third floor conference room signing the final paperwork for a monumental change of hands. After 40 years of business in the Alaskan motorcycle industry, Barry Matteson has sold Motorcycle Times Inc. to his 25 year old daughter, Dia Matteson. Motorcycle Times Inc or MTI, includes the House of Harley-Davidson in Anchorage, Denali Harley-Davidson in Wasilla, and Kenai Peninsula Harley-Davidson in Soldotna.

Dia and Barry Seal the Deal

Most Alaskan bikers have a story or two about Barry, but not everyone knows Dia. Here is a mini autobiography by the youngest female Harley-Davidson dealer in the world:

Some of my earliest memories are walking around the House of Harley in Spenard. My dad spent most of his time at the business which was easy to do since we were all living upstairs in a modified apartment built from a few rooms of a bed and breakfast. Hog Heaven, “here’s your bed…get your own damn breakfast!” the coupon said that we provided the guests in our small B&B upstairs of the House of Harley. They would take their coupon across the street to Gwennies to enjoy an oversized meal that would slam shut an artery. Eventually the business expanded and the upstairs was renovated to be more display space for the Motorclothes department. Before I was old enough to work there, I was old enough to clean. I would come in with my sister and clean the break rooms and floors and anything else that needed cleaning. Eventually I was old enough and eager to enter the working world at the ripe age of 14. I started upstairs in the clothing department where I would sell clothes and cashier. I always took pride in my work and did the best I could to make my father proud. I continued to work during the summers and on weekends during the school year through my High school years learning different parts of the business. After we had the major remodel done in 2001 we had a cashier station separate from the clothing department so I worked both of those positions. I worked with some fun characters who taught me some of the ways of the world as I worked in parts learning more about the bikes and eventually landing in Service the summer after my junior year in high school. I found I loved the challenge of the fast paced and always demanding service world. I liked to learn about the bikes, the mechanical aspects and how to sell parts and accessories at the counter. I actually enjoyed figuring out how to calm down the upset customers and help them get what they really wanted. It is amazing what you can learn in a shop full of men! The techs were all very kind to me and gave me more confidence in my riding ability. They encouraged me to try new bikes and be a better rider.

I got my motorcycle license at 16 and was riding a Buell Blast that summer. By my Senior year in Highschool I was sure that I wanted to be in the Harley business. I had met a boy from South Carolina, so like many young people I decided to attend college out of state, to spread my wings and see if I could make it on my own. By then I had been riding a lot of different bikes and had purchased my first “big” bike a XB9SX Buell City Cross. I had it delivered to the dealership in Anderson, South Carolina where I was attending Anderson College (later accredited to University status) and studying Business Management. The school was small and very Baptist, not too many biker chicks with tattoos to say the least. I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot about myself and how to live on my own. During the summers I would continue to work at the shop in Sales and wherever I was needed. After my second year down there I decided I was ready to move back and finish school at UAA where the tuition was a little cheaper and the Business School was accredited and a better program.

I eventually finished up my Bachelors Degree and was working as the interim Service Manager and running a small booth on the weekends at the Downtown Market when I was promoted to General Manager. As the GM I found myself eager to fix all the problems I had seen over the years in the business, but quickly learning that some things aren’t so easy to fix. During my first year as GM I got to go on the ride of a lifetime. I was thinking about getting my Masters Degree but decided to take one semester off. During that August I rode down to Milwaukee from Alaska for HD’s 105^th Anniversary. I had a 2007 Street Glide and mostly inadequate gear. I had never ridden any significant distance probably the farthest ride was a few hundred miles. I was about to ride across the country!

The ride to Milwaukee was amazing despite the shit weather the whole way through Canada. I was challenged every day to keep a smile on my face as I froze my ass off and struggled through long construction areas with horrible road conditions. I never dropped my bike and made it through Canada without a scratch. I celebrated my 22^nd birthday on the road with a pop tart at a gas station! I made some lifelong friends and some great acquaintances along the way. We rode every day until we finally arrived in Milwaukee where the streets were filled with thousands of bikers! Freeways would be moving at a snail’s pace as thousands of bikes flooded the roads to attend the hundreds of events that were taking place during the Anniversary Party. It was hotter than hell as the area was having unusually warm temperatures for this time of year. But after the crap we rode through in Canada I welcomed the heat. The constant rumble of Harleys and the packed streets with bikers was awe inspiring and I was so proud and excited to be a part of this culture. I haven’t gone on a ride like that again, but we will be riding down next August for the celebration of Harley-Davidson’s 110^th Anniversary and I am sure it will be an even better experience!

The next spring I enrolled in the MBA program at UAA and started my journey to be the first in my family with a Masters Degree. Surprisingly my father didn’t really want me to go back to school. He was eager to keep me at work full time and thought I would be too overwhelmed. I continued to work full time and only went to school part time so I could focus on our business and learn as much as I could from my dad. During the past four years I participated in our 20 Clubs and learned so much from other HD dealers from around the country. We compared financials and I started to see the ratios, trends and numbers that were clear indicators for our business. Business in Alaska is unique, but the Harley-Davidson business in Alaska is especially unique! Throughout the years it became even more obvious that the scenarios that we studied in class were nothing compared to real world experience. Managing people is challenging and still the area I want to focus on the most. I feel that an organization is only as strong as the people working in it and that the work environment starts at the top.

As a business we focus on providing our customers with a premium but fun experience every t me they come through the doors. Our store has become somewhat of a social hub where folks come in just to hang out and have a cup of coffee! What other retail store can say that?! As a business we have always invested in our company with improvements, gains in technology, employees and programs to benefit our customers. We are not about doing things the cheapest way possible to earn a fast buck. We invest in the relationships we build with our customers to keep them coming back and enjoying doing business with us. Although the economy hasn’t been the best we use times like these to really streamline processes and improve the way we do business. This year has seen some growing pains and changes as we begin the transition into my position as owner, but we are building a strong team and looking into the future.