The 2018 Calgary Motorcycle Show

The 2018 version of the Calgary Motorcycle Show is now in the history books.

In all it was a well-attended show but the ravages of the economy over the last few years in our industry sure showed.

Harley-Davidson

Businesses that one expected to see there like Torch Motorcycles, no longer exist and businesses that have been present in the past just can’t afford them at the moment.

Attending a tradeshow is a VERY expensive proposition and while it is vital that the business community market itself, many just can’t afford it thanks to the economy.

Harley-Davidson

The Motorcycle Show really doesn’t have many choices as to potential locations they could move to in an attempt to bring down pricing.  There simply are no buildings in the Calgary region that are large enough or provide the equipment that is needed to host it.

Its disappointing really because the community has so many businesses and groups that really need and deserve the exposure that being out in front of 25,000+ eyeballs can offer.

The show itself was well run as always. Laurie and Brittany do a fantastic job and had lots of media of all kinds, which brought the consumers out, but there were a number of members of the Calgary Stampede show staff that let them down.

Honda

There is a new policy the BMO Centre has in place regarding entrance at doorways.  Only one doorway is open in the back hallways where vendors come in and every vendor, regardless of where their booth is located must enter through door 6 – in the dead centre of the hallway/building. Talk about inconvenient if your booth is in a far corner of the building.

The same policy is in effect for the public.

Everyone must come in through the main doors – ONLY.

The policy is not very friendly to either consumer or vendor. Bottle necks & plugged aisle ways means it takes vendors a long time to get back to their booth if they use the vendors lounge for a meal. It’s really a silly policy and as I said before, it’s one more reason why vendors are not returning to the shows. I provided the show staff with the feedback and I hope others have as well.

The show itself had a lot of variety of marques on hand with lots of new products and new models.

A new motorcycle shop in Calgary, Ill Fated Kustoms had a great display on hand and Kenny, the engineer/builder reminded me a lot of Chika. The same unassuming, humble personality that comes to life the minute he starts talking motorcycles.

As always the Ground ‘N’ Gravity Show enthralled all show goers who attended. While watching these athletes perform you will find yourself holding your breath.

Ground 'N' Gravity Show

SHE Rides Night on Friday had 451 women who took provided by Canadian Kawasaki. Betty Jo of Edmonton was the lucky winner.  There were over 1000 entries to the new Kawasaki Double Take draw and a very large excited crowd gathered at 4:00pm on Saturday to hear if their names were called.  Andy from Crowsnest Pass and Chad from Calgary were the 2 lucky winners of the Kawasaki Z125 motorcycles.

The Motorcycle Shows are a much-needed break from winter and the manufacturers and major parts and clothing wholesalers did a really good job of making their booths inviting and having lots on hand to see.

Oh and MINI DONUTS arrived to the Motorcycle Show in Calgary and for some, that is reason enough to get off the couch and come out!

URGENT NEWS for Western HOG Rally Goers

Dear rally participants, it is with a very heavy heart that HOG Canada has decided to cancel our rally. 

I am beyond despair. 

Barnes right now is working out a plan of some kind to have a fund raising event at the shop for the evacuees and the riders that are committed already to attend. Stay tuned for more information.

Good morning,

Thank you all for taking the time to be a part of the phone call yesterday afternoon to discuss the H.O.G.® Western Regional Rally. Your comments and feedback were very much appreciated and were all very much taken into consideration when making this decision.

Regretfully, due to the tragic fires currently blazing in British Columbia, Harley-Davidson Canada is cancelling the H.O.G. Western Regional Rally scheduled to take place in Kamloops, B.C. this weekend (July 13 – 15).

Although the fires are presently located a fair distance from Kamloops, the air quality rating in Kamloops is very poor, and therefore dangerous for many people. There is also significant risk posed to those traveling from outside of the region due to the volatility of wildfire and poor air quality throughout the greater region.

To Barnes Harley-Davidson Kamloops, the Rally Coordinator Margaret and to the entire Rally Committee, please know that this decision was not an easy one to make. The extensive time and effort you have contributed to the rally planning and promotion are widely acknowledged and although not to take place this weekend, we certainly hope that there is an opportunity to postpone the rally until after the fires have ceased.

Harley-Davidson has a responsibility to protect our customers and we take the safety and security of each and every one very seriously.

Noting that some riders are already enroute to Kamloops, we would like to suggest that in place of rally events as planned, a fundraiser be organized instead, to take place on what would have been the opening ceremony night. Hopefully this will mean that dollars invested for that particular function can instead be used to support those affected by the fires and that riders whom have chosen to travel to Kamloops, can at least be received and provided an opportunity to support. Harley-Davidson Canada will continue to work closely with the Rally Committee to support further plans as necessary – both with planning and financial resources. Funds raised by H.O.G. members on this evening will be matched by Harley-Davidson Canada.

Barnes Harley-Davidson has generously offered to cover the cost of the catering and band if those services are unable to be cancelled and will utilize those elements to host an open-door community fundraiser, with all donations going to the Red Cross.

Although it is very unfortunate that the Rally will be postponed, we hope that this will serve to keep our H.O.G. members as safe as possible and that for those who do make the choice to travel to Kamloops, that much charity and support for the communities of B.C. will be generated as a result of the fundraisers.

Thank you for utilizing all communication channels to inform rally registrants as immediately as possible.

We will provide a further update on registration reimbursement, cancellation communications, etc. as quickly as possible this morning.

Sincerely,
Karen Mayberry

When a HOT motorcycle is NOT cool!

Doc with Love-Jugs

You hear it from Harley- Davidson riders all the time, “damn my bike is hot”, but they aren’t always talking about the way it looks.

Many a rider, especially those who ride Harley’s have experienced that excruciating thigh burn that comes from creeping along in stop and start traffic during high the heat of the summer.

It’s not a pleasant feeling and it’s definitely not good for the engine of your motorcycle.

Extreme heat can reduce the life of your engine significantly.

I got a set of Cool Master Love-Jugs this summer from Konquer Motorcycles in Kelowna BC. They are the exclusive Canadian distributor for Love-Jugs. My husband installed them for me. According to him, the install was very straightforward and was accomplished in about an hour and a half. Unfortunately I was not home when the install took place however he was kind enough to take photos as he went through the process.

As for how they perform and what they do, I am here to tell you that they work well, very well in fact. Anyone who rides an older Harley in particular knows how hard idling in traffic is on the engine and even with the shields, the heat on your thigh can be mind numbing. Riding hard for long periods in high heat is also not good for your engine unless of course you ride hard for a bit and then stop to let the engine cool. But if you are running Love-Jugs on your bike, neither of these scenarios needs to materialize.

Instructions and warranties

I do a lot of highway riding. I’m not one to enjoy stop and start traffic and traffic jams so I tend to avoid the larger centers when I am on my bike. But even in a really poor riding season of only 6,5000 K (thanks to being sick most of the spring and summer), I still found myself in rush hour traffic once and creeping along in road construction zones a number of times.

We here in the north don’t get as much extreme heat as say, the Okanagan, Drumheller and southern Alberta or the deep south of the US, but it does get hot 30-35 C, or about 100 F for a few weeks every summer. And if in the north was the only place I rode, maybe I wouldn’t feel the need to protect my investment. But, in a decent riding season I’ll put on 35,000 – 40,000 KM’s and I ride in places that get hot and uncomfortable. Because the engine in my bike is air cooled, anything that can be done to increase the amount of air getting to the back cylinder in particular is beneficial.



Keeping the engine cooler does a few things:


1) It protects the engine oils from breaking down prematurely.

2) It keeps your fuel burning more consistently, meaning that horsepower is less affected.

3) Bearings and other moveable parts are protected better, making them last longer.


With the frame mount kit and the vibration master installed along with the Cool Master Love-Jugs, my motorcycle has become a new to me ride. (The vibration master & the frame mount kit together helps eliminate the amount of vibration coming from the cylinders meaning that you have reduced vibration on the horn and the fans.)

My 2010 Ultra runs way better in high temperatures now that I have these beauties on and they look good too.

Their nice low profile means that they are out of the way and cause no discomfort.

Hubby wired my Cool Master Love-Jugs into the accessory switch on the dash. It makes using them super easy.

You can shut the fans off manually right on the fans too, though why you would, I can’t really imagine. (Oh and just an FYI, the fans are marine quality and will not short out due to riding in inclement weather.)

As you can see my Love-Jugs are the stainless, high polish finish but you can get them in gloss black and flat black powder coat too.



They are available for Indian and Harley-Davidson motors.

Visit Konquer Motorcycles web site: www.konquer.ca to purchase if you live in Canada.

You can also visit: www.love-jugs.com to learn a lot more about this amazingly cool product. 

I truly love my Love-Jugs and the Harley or Indian rider in your life might just appreciate these as a very thoughtful birthday, anniversary or Christmas present!

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

More Images of the install:

Motorcycling in Canada - A Ride through Our History Part 6

Motorcycling in Canada - A Ride through Our History Part 6

Borne in St. Ulric, QC on December 10th 1879, Jacob DeRosier would move to Massachusetts at the age of four and went on to be one of the winningest motorcycle racers in history.

The wiry DeRosier started his racing career riding bicycles. In 1898m he got the opportunity to ride on one of the new French pace bikes owned by Henri Fournier.

They were large-engined two-wheelers that were used for pacing bicycles in an effort to help the riders achieve faster speeds.  Fournier agreed to let DeRosier try one and he demonstrated so much skill that he was hired to ride the machines at bicycle races in Paris.

In 1901, Jake who was considered one of the top cycle pacers in the US, met the co owner of Indian Motorcycles, Oscar Hedstrom. He was offered a job and a motorcycle to race.

DeRosier worked for Indian for a short time, but ended up becoming a factory sponsored board track racer.

DeRosier had not only won the National Federation of Americas Motorcycles Championship in 1908, but held every FAM speed record there was to hold in 1911.

It is rumoured that his departure from riding Indian Motorcycles was as a result of George Hendee being disappointed in DeRosier's showing at the Isle of Man TT in early 1911.  As a result, Jake DeRosier ended up riding for Excelsior.

Excelsior's V-twin, pocket-valve motor was nearly unbeatable.  At Chicago's Riverview motordrome, in August of 1911 an Excelsior set a record for the mile, burning up the boards at an average speed of 88.9 mph.

By September, the former Indian rider was in the saddle and not only did he win the feature event at Riverview, he set an unofficial world record for the kilometer, at a speed of 94 mph. With DeRosier riding, Ignaz Schwinn's motorcycle company, Excelsior quickly became a serious race contender. Excelsior was being hailed as the fastest bike on the boards! DeRosier's tenure at Excelsior proved brief.
Jacob DeRosier's career, which saw him ride in over 900 races, came to an end on March 12, 1912, he suffered severe injuries to his left leg and thigh at Los Angeles.

Enduring three surgeries, as doctors attempted to repair the damage to his left leg, he succumbed to complications of the last operation on Feb. 25,1913.  Jacob DeRosier was laid to rest in Springfield Massachusetts, the home of Indian Motorcycles. As his funeral procession passed the factory, it was to the flags of the Indian Motorcycle Co., being flown at half mast and all production at the plant was ceased. DeRosier was 33 years old.

Quebec has had it's share of talented riders!

Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki have many things in common.

They all got their start in Japan.  Of the four, Kawasaki was the late entry to Canadian manufacturing. Honda came to Canada in 1969, both Suzuki and Yamaha entered the market in 1973; Kawasaki did not arrive until 1982.

They all proved one thing, very quickly!

They could dominate on the racetracks of the world and one Canadian racer, Michel Mercier, rode all of them, winning many championships on each brand, covering 4 disciplines!

 

Michel Mercier - Pierre Nadeau, LA Tribune

Born in Thetford Mines Quebec in 1953, Michel, like many a young man began his racing career in motocross.  He won many a motocross championship and held the prestigious #1 Canadian National Ice Racing plate 5 times!

During his 18-year career as a rider, he road raced for 10 years, dirt tracked for 3 years, Ice raced for 7 years and motocross raced for 4 years and all of those years and races netted him:

25 Canadian National Titles

5 Canadian National #1 plates in Ice Racing

3 Canadian National #1 plates in Road Racing

People like Fred Deeley and Raymond Greff helped this great Canadian racer when he road dirt track. He was given a Harley-Davidson XR750 to ride in 1978 and he did not disappoint H-D either!

In fact this man, Michel Mercier was one of the first Bombardier team riders – in other words, he rode everything two wheels and did it like a champion!

Today Michel is the owner of Fast Riding School.  He teaches at Shannonville Motorsports Park.

No article on Quebec motorcycling would be complete without talking about the Gref family.
The Gref family is another of those families that has motorsports in their blood.

Charles Gref Sr. was born in 1912. His love affair with the motorcycle began in 1937 and by 1947 he was the Canadian Champion in the expert class of the Canadian Trials. He went on to be a director of the CMA and the president of the Montreal Motorcycle Club.

Raymond Gref - Moto Internationale

His son Raymond, a founding member and the first president of the Club Moto Saguenay spent over 50 years in the motorcycle industry. As a competitor whose racing career spanned 8 years, Raymond was only defeated once.

He went on to be a driving force in Quebec motorcycling. Not only did he found Moto International and Harley-Davidson of Montreal, but he was responsible for organizing many a race and could always be found promoting the sport.

Normand Gref, Raymond's brother won 153 trophies during his racing career. Today, Normand is the used motorcycle sales manager at Moto Internationale.

Like his grandfather before him, Charles Gref Jr., the president of Moto International and Harley-Davidson Montreal had the motorcycling bug, only it found Charles Jr. much earlier in life.

At the age of 13 he had already won a number of trophies. He won the Miller Trophy, which in trials riding is the top honour in Eastern Canada, in both 1976 and 1977. His first win of the Miller Trophy came exactly 26 years AFTER his grandfather had won it!

Charles Jr. excelled in motocross, enduro, acceleration competitions and snowmobiling and the experiences he gained from being a competitor has helped him continue the tradition of Moto Internationale and Harley-Davidson Montreal being consistently top dealerships in Canada.

Quebec has produced so many inspiring motorcyclists, Yvon Duhamel, Duc du Four, Marc St Laurent, Pierre Corbeil, Paul Noiseux and many, many others.  It is no wonder that Quebec has one of the highest concentration of riders in Canada.


I hope you enjoyed our little ride through Quebec's impressive history of motorcycling.

Next time we begin exploring Atlantic Canada!


Interesting Historical Tidbits:

1901 - The Montreal Canadians are founded

1912 - Louis Cyr, born in Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville QC the world's strongest man dies of Bright's Disease (Kidney Disease)

1922 - The first prototype snow machine called the Snowdog was engineered by Joseph-Armand Bombardier

1928 - Women became recognized as legal "persons" by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

1929 - Montreal QC becomes home to the third oldest motorcycle club in Canadian history, The Sports Motor Cycle Club (SMCC).

1931 – Canada's first television station, VE9EC, begins broadcasting in Montréal

1936 – Air Canada founded on August 11 as Trans-Canada Airlines.

1940 - Quebec is the last province (of the time period) to grant the vote to women.

1940 - Canadian, Fred Moffatt of General Electric invents the electric tea kettle

1941 - Legislation is changed to allow women to enlist in the Canadian Forces.

           45,000 + women volunteer for full-time military service other than nursing. All three services              establish women's divisions. 

1941 - Elizabeth "Betty" MacRae, Canada's first female neurosurgeon is born as is activist and folk                singer Buffy Sainte-Marie.

1942 - Montreal celebrates it's 300th birthday

1942 - The Women's Royal Canadian Navel Service (WRENS) is established.

1942 - Genevieve Bujold, a Canadian actress best known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the                    1969 film Anne of the Thousand Days is born in Montreal

1947 - General Electric invents the electric washing machine

1948 - Barbara Ann Scott becomes the first Canadian woman to win the World Figure Skating                         championships.

Research for this article
Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame
Charles Gref Jr.
1909, The Great Motorcycle Invasion by Mark Dill
American Motorcycle Hall of Fame
FirstSuperSpeedway.com
Findagrave.com
Indian Motorcycle Classics
Chronologie de l'histoire du Québec Canadian Encyclopedia - Women in the Military

Fastridingschool.com

LA Tribune



Disclaimer:

All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. The Belt Drive Betty Blog makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site & will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.

Motorcycling in Canada, A Ride Through Our History - Part 1

1895 Roper Steam Velocipede - thevintagent.blogspot.ca

Throughout the centuries, man has endeavoured to expand his world through the use of machines.

Man’s ever-innovative and inquisitive mind, coupled with his need to find new thrills and adventure, means the development of the motorcycle was inevitable. The early years of motorcycling are fascinating as they offer up some of man’s most bizarre experimental machinery!

Sylvester Howard Roper built the first motorcycle in 1868. It was powered by a steam engine, and was demonstrated at fairs and circuses.

Many modern motorcycle features, including the twist handgrip throttle control,  evolved from the innovations on this machine.

By the late 1880s, motorcycle development became influenced by the internal combustion engine that had arrived on the scene.

Hildebrand & Woflmuller developed the first production motorcycle in 1894, and theirs was the first vehicle of its type to use the term “motorcycle”.

Hildebrand & Woflmuller
Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition

Hildebrand & Woflmuller
Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition

In 1901, Royal Enfield revealed its first motorcycle; it came with a 239 cc front-mounted engine and a belt drove the back wheel.

From 1901 on, the burgeoning sport of motorcycle racing fueled innovations at a fast and furious pace and as a result, hundreds of motorcycle companies sprang up around the world.

Even Canadians got into the act of producing motorcycles.

The CCM (Canadian Cycle & Motor Company) produced the Lightweight Motor Cycle from 1908 to 1911, there are only three known left to be in existence and one of them is at the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition in Vancouver.

Canada Post

In 1912, Toronto's Mercer Street was home to the Hendee Mfg. Co production plant. (In 1928, Hendee Mfg. Co. became known as Indian)

During the First World War, motorcycles began to replace horses on the battlefield. Dispatch riders carried communications pouches and performed reconnaissance missions.

Triumph Motorcycles provided the allies with over 30,000 of its newly created Type-H bikes in World War I. Dubbed by many as the first “modern” motorcycle, the Model H by Triumph was the first motorcycle to be produced without pedals.

1922 Triumph Model H Yesterdays Antique Motorcycles

By 1920, Harley-Davidson had become the largest manufacturer of motorcycles with dealers in 67 countries, although it lost that spot for a number of years to German owned DKW in early 1930.

After World War II, as part of the reparations for the war, Harley-Davidson in the US, BSA in the UK and MMZ in Soviet Union were given the plans for the DKW RT125.

In the US the motorcycle became known as the Hummer, in the UK as the BSA Bantam and in Soviet Union as the M-1A Moskva.

Although many manufacturers in the US had sprung up to build and sell motorcycles, by 1931, only Harley-Davidson and Indian were still standing.

From 1931 until Indian closed its factory in Springfield Mass., and Royal Enfield took over the name in 1953, Harley-Davidson and Indian were fierce competitors.

From: harleyhummer.com

Here is a short list of some of the oldest American motorcycle marques:

• Indian (1901-1953)
• Pierce Arrow (1901-1913)
• Curtiss (1902–1910)
• Harley –Davidson (1903-present day)
• Excelsior (1907-1931)
• Iver Johnson (1907-1916)
• Henderson (1911-1931)
• Ace (1920-27)
• Crocker (1936-1941)

The early 1900’s were an exciting time for the fledgling motorcycle community in Canada and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles played a huge role in that excitement and the growth of motorcycling as a sport and a pass time.

In 1907, Vancouver BC became home to the very first gas station in Canada; it was an Imperial Oil station. This would prove to play a significant role in the growth of motorcycling in Canada, and BC in particular, as the lower mainland of BC and Vancouver Island became hot beds for the sport.

• In 1912, the Victoria Motorcycle Club became one of the first motorcycle clubs in Canada.
• In 1913, Fred Deeley Sr. moved to Vancouver from Bromgsgrove England. In 1914 he opened a bicycle shop. He began importing BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Co) motorcycles.
• In 1917 he began importing the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. It was around 1922 when the bicycle and motorcycle portions of the Deeley business became separate entities.
• Fred Deeley Jr. founded the Lions Gate Motorcycle Club in 1922 and took over operations of the motorcycle division of Fred Deeley Motorcycles in 1925. Today the Lion’s Gate Motorcycle Club is known as the Greater Vancouver Motorcycle Club.
• In 1935, 15-year-old Trev Deeley joins his father’s business as an apprentice mechanic.
• In 1953, he takes over the business. Today, Trev Deeley Motorcycles is the fourth oldest Harley-Davidson dealer in the world.

Without a doubt, motorcycling in Canada would not have evolved into what it has today if it had not been for the Deeley’s, Fred Sr., Fred Jr. and Trev.

Some historical tidbits on the expansion of motorcycling in Canada:

• 1919, the first retail dealership in Alberta opens up in Edmonton
• 1936, Prairie Harley-Davidson opened up in Regina Saskatchewan under the helm of Grant Budd.
• 1945, London Ontario becomes home to a Harley-Davidson dealership thanks to Percy Poole.
• 1949 Laurent B. Groulx opened Pont-Viau Motorcyclettes in Ville de Laval, Quebec, Quebec’s first Harley-Davidson dealership.
• 1969 was a year that would change many things in the Canadian Motorcycle Community. It was the year that Honda Motorcycles officially entered the Canadian market!
• 1973, both Yamaha Motors Canada and Suzuki Canada are founded.
• 1973 is also the year that Deeley Harley-Davidson became the official importer and distributor of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Canada

I hope you enjoyed this little history lesson.

I also hope you will join us as we begin the quest to find Canada's MOST Rider Friendly Community.

Community Futures of Alberta, 

Belt Drive Betty Media, EastLink TV and a whole host of motorcycle media sponsors have gotten together to create over $60,000 in marketing packages to be shared by 12 communities!

The Grand Prize is a $35,000 marketing campaign!

It truly will be a contest of Exploration, Discovery & Community Pride! 

Belt Drive Betty

Editor & Rider

Resources for this article:
The Vintagent
Wikipedia
Wilson, Hugo (1995). The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle. Dorling-Kindersley
Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada
Hope 1842 dot Com
Harley Hummer dot Com
Honda Canada
Yamaha Canada
Suzuki Canada
Ian Chadwick dot Com
Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame
Allan Johnson, CVMG
Terry Rea, Motorcycle Historian





Disclaimer:
All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. The Belt Drive Betty Blog makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site & will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.