October 2010

President Gene Walker Treasurer Tom Ruttan

5531 Lardon Rd NE 3761 SW Olson Ct
Salem, OR 97305-3248 Lake Oswego, OR 97034
(503) 428-6641 (503) 638-1746
(503) 371-4363 tgruttan@earthlink.net

Vice President Gary Kelley Secretary Shannon Kelley

20000 NE Jaquith Rd 20000 NE Jaquith Rd
Newberg, OR 97132-6694 Newberg, OR 97132-6694
(503) 537-0802 (503) 537-0802
(503) 860-6442 (503) 784-0760
garyk@amcaotc.org shannonk@wildriders.org

I’d like to welcome our newest member, Stu
Stephen. Stu lives in Wamic OR and has been
riding Harleys since 1966. Now retired, Stu rides
as much as possible and spends some of his time
building a 1934 H-D VLD. Welcome to the club
Stu.
Schwingen in Switzerland with OTC!
By Tom Krise
I like to say the reason for our recent European
trip is due to the fact that my loving wife
Stephanie hadn’t thrown me out of the house
after 25 years of marriage. In short, we were
celebrating our Silver wedding anniversary.
Following several months of planning, we were a
few days from our departure when I received a
call from fellow OTC member Vahan Dinihanian.
Turned out that he, his wife Tasha and daughter
Sonja, were planning to be in Grindelwald
Switzerland the same time we were. Vital
information was exchanged.
After seeing the Isle of Man and Dorcet, England
from the seats of motorcycles (which is
altogether another story, along with visiting
relatives in Denmark and Belgium, bicycling
Spain’s Costa Brava, and living large in
Barcelona), Stephanie and I found ourselves at
Knopf Tours in Heidelberg Germany.

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 Oregon Trail Chapter
October 2010
Stefan Knopf, the owner and operator, not only
rents motorcycles, but stores and ships personal
motorcycles worldwide for riders who prefer to
“tour on their own machines.”
While visiting Stefan’s website1 last winter, I was
pleased to discover Stefan maintains an older
BMW R100GSPD in his rental fleet, the exact
BMW model I use for my domestic travels. This
was the bike for me, so we reserved it for our
seven day Swiss adventure.
Tom and Stephanie catch some Sun in the parking lot.
On July 29th we flew the majestic Airhead down
the German autobahn, maintaining an easy
cruise of 130-160 KPH, reining in the big Beemer
significantly once we passed the Swiss border,
with their rigorously-enforced speed limits.
By late afternoon, we found ourselves at the
Gasthaus Bergheim2 our pension perched on a
steep mountainside in the village of Gurtnellen.
Looking at the raw beauty around us, I was
expecting Julie Andrews to come spiraling down
the slope singing The Sound of Music! We chose
this location based on John Herrmann’s excellent
book, Motorcycle Journeys through the Alps3. The
Gasthaus Bergheim is but a few kilometers from
Andermatt, which is a hub city for a half dozen of
the most wonderful motorcycling roads in
Europe. If you are a motorcyclist who can find
God by riding delightfully scenic, twisty mountain
roads, this is your heaven!
The first full day had us sweeping over the
Olberalp Pass loop. Stephanie is a great
passenger, and gave me her full trust in choices
of velocity and lean angles. She was pleased I
didn’t presume we could match the pace set by
the legions of late-model sportbike pilots living
on the edges of their tires and tachometers.
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Having found my sea-legs on these alpen roads,
we cast off to Grindelwald by way of
Innertkirchen and Interlaken on Highway 11. It
would be very difficult to top the scenery we
enjoyed that morning and the day before.
However, Grindelwald takes it to an entirely
different level. This popular Swiss resort town is
nestled amongst three mountain peaks, Eiger,
Monch and Jungfrau.
Tasha, Vahan, Sonja, Tom and Stephanie meet outside the chalet.
We met Vahan and Tasha at the museum in the
center of town, and they whisked us away to
their friend’s chalet. Vahan introduced us to their
hosts, Markus and Natailie Roth and their
handsome son Mike. Minutes later we were once
again off riding. We followed the Dinihanians and
the Roths in their small truck. The truck headed
out on a narrow paved track threading up the
mountainside towards, uh, where did Vahan say
we're going? A schwingfest? A wrestling meet? I
had faith in Vahan to show us something a bit
extraordinary.
After a series of switchbacks, the narrow track
turned to gravel. Thank goodness for the
Beemer’s legendary competence off-pavement!
Eventually, we crested what we later learned was
Grosse Scheidegg Pass (1960m) and rejoined
pavement down the mountain’s opposite side to
Meiringen and Innertkirchen. We traced Highway
11 for a few kilometers east, where the little
truck executed an abrupt left turn up another
narrow strip of tarmac. After several more
kilometers, when it seemed we were heading well
beyond the edge of civilization, we arrived to a
field of parked cars and a stone-walled hotel.

We had arrived at the Schwing-und-Älplerfest.
The Schwing-und-Älplerfest at the Engstlenalp Hotel
Yes, I was a little skeptical of spending most of
our day at a Swiss wrestling meet, but my faith
in Vahan was well-placed! A carnival-like
atmosphere was apparent in this beautiful green
Swiss valley. Centered around two circular
sawdust arenas behind the Hotel Engstlenalp, the
Schwing-und-Älplerfest was circled by an array of
traditional food and beverage tents, along with
dozens of long tables and chairs. Many attendees
wore traditional Swiss garments and hats. Men’s
and women’s choirs and alpenhorns of various
lengths serenaded the crowd.
Great moving displays, like a parade of previous
schwing champions with their trophy bells, and
dairy cattle lavishly decorated with mountain
flowers and painted bells, were out and about.
Decorated dairy cows parade to the barn.
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Oregon Trail Chapter
October 2010
Then there was wrestling. Schwingen (from
German schwingen "to swing") is the national
sport of Switzerland. Wrestlers wear
Schwinghosen ("wrestling breeches") with belts
used for taking holds. Throws and trips are
common. The first competitor to pin his
opponent's shoulders to the ground wins the
bout. Schwingen is as much a contest of
intelligence and cunning as it is of strength. The
athlete usually wins his match by outwitting and
outbalancing his opponent. Victors receive cow
bells, furniture or livestock.
The latest in Schwinghosen on display at the competition.
A few hundred meters east of the festival
grounds, Stephanie and I hiked up a trail that
took us past the Engstlensee, a beautiful blue
glacier-fed lake. A short walk beyond the
Engstlensee had us at the bottom of an operating
chairlift heading up to Jochpass. We declined to
take this chairlift, and hiked back to the fest to
join up again with Vahan and his crew. Too soon
later, we were saying goodbyes and thanks, while
gearing up for the ride back to Gurtnellen.
Stephanie and I were left with this impression: if
one wants to experience a grand display of Swiss
culture, a Schwing-und-Älplerfest is not to be
missed.
References:
1. Stefan’s Tours
http://www.knopftours.com
2. Gasthaus Bergheim
http://www.bergheim.ch.vu/
3. Motorcycle Journeys through the Alps
http://kingofthealps.com/BOOKS.aspx
 Oregon Trail Chapter
October 2010
The following minutes are from the AMCA Board
Meeting held September 2, 2010. I’ve included
these minutes as provided by the AMCA
Secretary.
Your AMCA Board
By Rocky Halter, President National AMCA
We had eight hours in our Davenport Board
meeting last Thursday, 2 September, with
another 100% turnout of our Directors. Here are
the highlights:
2011 Board
This was at the end of the meeting, but I know
you will want to know the results. Myself, Jim
Moore and Kevin Valentine stood down after 12
years Board service, and Del Schumacher after
eight. We elected Steve Dawdy, Fred Davis,
Lonnie Campbell and Roger Smith to serve from
January 2011.
The first three are Chapter Presidents in Iowa,
Ohio and South Carolina, while Roger, who will
leave his present position as Secretary to the
Foundation Board, hails from Michigan. That
gives us a younger Board, with better geographic
balance and interests in all makes of antique
bikes. As to Officers, Ray Dhue will remain as
Treasurer, but Richard Spagnolli takes over from
me as President, Trudi Johnson-Richards takes
over from Del as Vice President, and Steve
Slocombe replaces Trudi as Secretary. These are
big changes from when I first came on the Board,
and I believe I leave our Club in safe hands.
Judging
Chief Judge Steve Dawdy presented the AMCA
Judging Handbook and Policy and Operating
Procedures for the Judging Committee, and these
were approved. We also approved a resumption
of the Judging Seminar program, with a 2011
session at Anamosa, Iowa, penciled in before the
next Davenport National meet.
We also agreed on new judging awards for next
year which are just as prestigious as the previous
trophies, but carry the judging history on a single
plaque and are less costly to produce. Jerry
Richards, Dave Lash and Don Spence were
promoted to National Deputy Judges. We also
voted to return to our $10 preregistration fee, to
discourage owners from over-registering bikes
which then did not turn up on the judging field.
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Financials and Membership
Our membership is holding around 10,000, and
the economies we instituted earlier in the year
mean we have continued to manage without a
dues increase. We know the economy is pretty
brutal out there, and we’ll continue to make sure
every dollar of your money is spent carefully. The
current membership survey will give us a good
basis on how to prioritize expenditure over the
coming years, and I urge all members to
complete it this month.
Web Site
We saw an early version of the new Website
demonstrated, and were very impressed. That
should be available to everyone now, and I
recommend you navigate the site and check out
all the cool features we have added. Emeritus
President Pete Gagan has volunteered to take on
Kevin Valentine’s duties as our new Webmaster.
Internal Audit
Raymond Dhue runs a tight ship, but wants to
prove it to you, so we are setting up a three
person Internal Audit Committee to show that the
money is spent wisely and that correct
accounting procedures are followed.
Operations Manager
You’ve probably heard me complain that we deal
with a lot of small operational stuff at the Board
meetings, so we have added Operations Manager
to the several hats worn by Bill Wood with help
from the editorial team. This will cost $25,000
per year, which we hope to see back in improved
coordination and more fruitful use of Board time.
Volunteer Group
We are always looking for volunteers to donate
time to the Club, and believe there are many
skilled people we have yet to contact. The
membership survey will give clues, and we plan
for a Director to assess relevant skills and match
Club needs against volunteer availability.
National Meet and Road Run Allowance
We had planned to discontinue these effective 1
January 2011, but heard several representations
that this was a bad idea. We listened, debated
the topic at the Board, and decided to reinstate
the allowance at $500 each for National Meets
and Road Runs (was $400 for Meets and $800 for
Road Runs). While the sums are not large, and
many Chapters are in a comfortable financial
position, we want to continue to emphasize
National support for the Chapters.
 Oregon Trail Chapter
October 2010

We would prefer the money be spent on Shown in the photo below are three 1915 Harleys
advertising your event. For small Chapters ridden by Urban S. Hirsch (71), Bill R Price III
holding their first event, and for coalitions of (72), and Drino Miller (73) all from California.
Chapters holding big events, we shall continue on Having just been unloaded from the truck in Kitty
request to front up money for publicity and Hawk, these Harleys had a long way to go to
organization which is repayable when registration reach the finish line.
fees start rolling in.
New Chapters
Your Board gave final approval to a new Great
Lakes Chapter, and to the Motociclette Americane
Harley and Indian Club in Italy. This is an
existing small Club becoming an AMCA Chapter,
and we expect others to follow. First approval
was also given to a potential Roosevelt Chapter
in North Dakota.
Chapter Presidents’ Meeting
On Saturday 4 September, 31 Chapter
representatives met with Del Schumacher,
myself, and other National Board members for a
couple of hours discussion of financial reporting
and other issues. We are now getting used to
each other and I believe these meetings are
Photo by John Welch
starting to improve Club communications as
intended.
Shown below is David Fusiak’s 1915 Harley J-
Registration Process model (17) receiving last minute preparations
Ray Dhue reported that Cornerstone Registration before heading out to the first checkpoint at
are making the Website easier to use when Greenville, North Carolina. David runs a home-
joining the Club or renewing membership, and based restoration busines Flat Out Vintage
these improvements should be finished by Motorbikes in New York. To see some of David’s
October lst. work: http://www.flatoutvintagemotorbike.com

Antique Motorcycle Cannonball Run

This September featured a new event for antique
motorcycles, their own Cannonball Run. A coast-
to-coast adventure spanning the southern United
States lasting 16 days.

Photo by John Welch

Starting at Kitty Hawk North Carolina, the course

covers 3300 miles to finish in Santa Monica,
California.

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 Oregon Trail Chapter
October 2010

For the Indian afficionado, here’s Shinya Kimura’s Year Rider St. Make
(80) 1915 C3 Big Twin Indian pictured here 1915 Jim Dennie NY Militaire
resting before the long journey ahead. 1915 Erik Dunk NY Harley
1915 Douglas Feinsod CA Indian
1915 David Fusiak NY Harley
1915 Scott Hall KS Pope
1915 Urban Hirsch III CA Harley
1915 Jim Hoffman WA Harley
1915 Steve Huntzinger CA Excelsior
1915 Paul James CA Indian
1915 Buzz Kanter CT Harley
1915 Shinya Kimura CA Indian
1915 David Kleptz IN Harley
1915 Fred Lange CA Harley
1915 Mike Madden CA Harley
1915 Ronald R Mattson CA Indian
1915 Rick McMaken WA Harley
1915 Drino Miller CA Harley
1915 Jim Petty SC Indian
Photo by John Welch 1915 William R Price III CA Harley
Listed below are registered Cannonball 1915 John K. Rhodes VA Henderson
participants prior to the start ordered by year of 1915 Cristine Sommer- HI Harley
motorcycle manufacture. Also listed is the rider’s Simmons
home State (DE = Germany) and manufacturer. 1915 Vince Spadaro CA Harley
Oregon wasn’t represented with an entry in this 1915 Buddy Stubbs AZ Excelsior
year’s race. 1915 Wayne Stanfield CA Harley
1915 Kris Thompson NE Henderson
Year Rider St. Make 1915 Dale Walksler NC Harley
1907 Katrin Boehner DE JAP 1915 Paul Watts CA Harley
1910 Edward Zalonski CT Flying Merkel
Here, the bikes are lined up for a group photo
1911 Sean Brayton RI Indian before the start. Only a portion of the entries are
1911 Jon Szalay NJ Harley shown here. It’s clear this ride was quite popular
1912 Dave Kafton CA Harley with antique motorcycle enthusiasts around the
1913 Dieter Eckel DE BSA country.
1913 Bill Nugent NY Sears
1913 Matt Olsen SD Sears
1913 Mike Vils CA Excelsior
1913 Pete Young CA Premier
1913 Bradford Wilmarth VA Excelsior
1913 Larry Wood FL Harley
1914 Victor Boocock CA Harley
1914 Jeffrey Decker UT Harley
1914 Joseph Gardella MI Harley
1914 John Hollansworth AR Indian
1914 Vince Martinico CA Pope
1914 Bill Rodencal WI Harley
1914 David Thompson NE Indian
1914 Alan Travis AZ Excelsior
1914 Frank Westfall NY Henderson
1915 Stephen Barber NY Harley
1915 David Bettencourt CA Harley Photo by John Welch
1915 Bill Campbell MA Harley
1915 Michael Ceklovsky CA Harley

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 Oregon Trail Chapter
October 2010

If you’re reading this on your computer and have September Meeting Minutes
the latest software, click the image below to view By Shannon Kelley
a short clip of the Ballers on their way to the
Gene called the meeting to order at 2:19 pm on
Chattanooga Tennessee checkpoint. If your
September 11, 2010. The meeting was held at
sound is turned on, you can hear the bikes as
the Powerland Texaco Station. Attendees: Pat &
they pass by.
Carol Smith, Jane Edmiston, Gene Walker, Ben
Beberness, Gary & Shannon Kelley, Tom Ruttan,
Paul Wright, Don & Gail Woodard, Chuck Hodson,
Jackie Nonae and Nils Olson.
The August minutes were read and approved.
Correspondence/Business/Reports
I received the September 2nd National meeting
minutes from Trudi. These were sent out via
email and included in this edition of the OTC
newsletter.
Please complete the 2010 AMCA Member survey
Video by Phil Kopp available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/amca or
View additional videos and photographs from the in the magazine. Complete your survey by
Coker Tire Checkpoint in Chattanooga at Phil’s September 30, 2010.
website: http://phil.micapeak.com/mc/mc1.html Treasurers’ Report
Antique Motorcycle Cannonball Results Tom reported road run results. Tom suggested
Listed below are Cannonball competitors who we consider costs vs value on future events.
were able to complete the course (3179 miles) to Treasurers’ report approved.
Laughlin NV. Laughlin is the last stop before the New Business
finish in Santa Monica CA.
NWVCM Museum is hosting an open house
October 16th, 1-4 pm. Ken Austin is the guest
Year Rider St. Make
speaker. His rare model K Ford will be on display.
1913 Bradford Wilmarth VA Excelsior OTC members are invited to attend. Please ride
1914 Alan Travis AZ Excelsior and display your antique bikes!
1915 Rick McMaken WA Harley
1915 Fred Lange CA Harley 2012 National Road Run
1915 Wayne Stanfield CA Harley Ben talked to Mike Brown at Tenino. John
1915 Steve Huntzinger CA Excelsior Crawford was also there. Evergreen wants to get
1915 David Kleptz IN Harley together and discuss a joint national run.
1915 Mike Madden CA Harley Splitting the work/cost would be nice. Ben
1915 David Fusiak NY Harley mentioned a new resort at Carson as a possible
1915 Steven Barber NY Harley location for a combined run. Pretty riding, and a
nice area. Shannon will check with the national
I’d like to thank John Welch for sharing his organization to make sure two groups can
photos from Kitty Hawk NC and Phil Kopp who combine to do a national event. Gene and TomR
caught up with the race in Chattanooga TN to volunteered to meet with the Evergreen folks to
capture the video. You’ll find the final results and discuss the division of responsibilities for a 2012
a lot more on this year’s Antique Motorcycle National Run.
Cannonball Run at: 2011 Chapter Road Run
http://motorcyclecannonball.com
Jane suggested two locations to add to the list of
possible 2011 Run locations, McMinnville and
Yachats. A majority of those at the meeting
expressed their desire to go somewhere other
than McMinnville next year. Yachats was met with
approval and was added to the destination list for
2011.

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 Oregon Trail Chapter
October 2010
Gary volunteered to lead the 2011 Road Run
Committee. Gary and TomR, will gather
information on site accommodations, facilities,
pricing, and availabiliy.
OTC 20th Anniversary Celebration
Ben suggested we have a member’s only event
for our 20th anniversary. The 2nd Saturday in
September was agreed as the event date.
Shannon volunteered to organize the event, send
invites, track reservations, find a location and
report progress next month. Mark you calendars.
Ben motioned, Jane seconded. Motion passed.
Meeting adjourned at 3:10
October Business Meeting Agenda
The October Business Meeting is being held at
the Powerland Texaco Station on October 9, 2010
at 2:00PM. Topics we’ll discuss:
Review of September meeting minutes
Treasurers’ report
2011 Road Run location discussion
20th Anniversary Party planning
2012 National Event planning
Solicit new business
Our Business Meetings are where we discuss
issues important to the operation of the Chapter.
Your thoughts are needed to make decisions for
the future. We hope to see you there.
2011 Chapter Road Run
Road Run dates are July 21~23, 2011. These
locations are under consideration:
Silverton (Oregon Gardens)
Yachats (Adobe Inn)
John Day
Gary is looking for volunteers to help with these
Road Run tasks:
Meal Chairperson
Greeters and registration staffing
Registration packets
Run advertising and collateral
Route selection / Road Captains
Awards
Chase vehicle
Visit us online at amcaotc.org
If you are unable to attend our Business Meetings
you can still help plan next year’s run. Contribute
your thoughts, suggestions or even better, sign-
up for one of the opportunities above by email
garyk@amcaotc.org or by phone 503-537-0802.
I’m looking forward to working with you to make
next year’s run an enjoyable experience for
everyone.
Granny’s Giggles Childrens Books
By Rosie Singhose
I've got eight more kids books online now. What
a job that has been! I put them all out at the
same time as it's a series with my favorite
squirrel. I think I'm going to give the motorcycle
journal a rest for a bit and work on another book
I've had in mind for awhile. It's a collection of
short, funny stories based on our rides but not so
much sticking to the facts.
Until October 15, 2010, you can purchase
GRANNY'S GIGGLES books with a 15% discount
(maximum $10 savings) using coupon code
FALLREAD305 at checkout http://www.lulu.com.
OTC Forum Classifieds
By Our Members
1951 FL, 3 speed and reverse transmission with
1941 sidecar. Very nice outfit, runs great, fresh
rebuilt Linkert, interior of sidecar in nice shape,
spare tire on the sidecar. Email
gene@roguehawg.com for more information and
pictures or call 541-944-7641.
1940 Knucklehead Frame, uncut, with sidecar
loops, tool box strap etc. The tool strap has some
extra holes drilled in it by previous owner. There
is a small fork stop, which would be easy to
remove, under the neck. For information or
photos, email gene@roguehawg.com
3 Scouts for sale.
1 1938 Scout with rebuilt motor and matching
frame.
2 45-inch in a 741 frame. Needs finishing with
the wiring and misc stuff to get it running.
Painted a beautiful, $1500.00, 2-tone blue.
3 52-inch in a 741 frame. Has the vertical twin
front forks and wheel, TT warrior rear wheel
and Jr. Scout tanks.
All three motors rebuilt by Ken Edmiston. Contact
Ben Beberness, bbeberness@aol.com
 Oregon Trail Chapter
October 2010

Original 1973 FLH Electra Glide. Acquired last fall

from the original owner. It’s a great runner, has
new Oregon tags, new Dunlop tires, and new HD
battery. For information or photos, email
gene@roguehawg.com. $8000.00
Note: OTC Forum Classifieds are available to all
AMCA members registered on the OTC Forum.
Advertisements posted on the forum are listed
here when space is available. Please remove your
ads from the forum as soon as possible following
the sale.

Halloween Word Find

Jaguar

Sir William Lyons, shown on his Harley-Davidson

in 1922, worked as a salesman for the Sunbeam
dealer in his hometown of Blackpool, Lancashire
England. William Walmsley opened a shop next
door in 1921, converting military motorcycles for
civilian use and building sidecars.
The two motorcycle enthusiasts met when Lyons
bought a sidecar and on September 1922, the
two men founded Swallow Sidecar Co.
Swallow Sidecar Co. began to manufacture
automobiles in 1927. In 1928, Lyons changed the
name of the company to SS Cars Ltd. In 1935,
SS Cars Ltd. introduced the Jaguar SS 100
Saloon. It was the first model to bear the name
“Jaguar.” SS Cars Ltd changed its name to Jaguar
after WW2 for obvious reasons. This September
Jaguar celebrates 75 years of the marque.

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 Oregon Trail Chapter, AMCA
20000 NE Jaquith Rd
Newberg, OR 97132-6694
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Don, Roy, Ken, Lydian and Vahan team up at the Beavercreek Bust 9/9/93