After the Liberty H.O.G. 15th Annual Toy Run...The smoke has settled

Guest Blogger - Tom McTamney,
Owner, Liberty Harley-Davidson

I wanted to wait a few days before putting my thoughts about our Toy-Run on paper and share them with everyone. Well, the smoke has settled, and it is now time. Let me start by saying that our first run was maybe 50 or so bikes - a success for the first time. After that run, the Liberty HOG members asked if they could take up the mantle and sponsor the run. It seemed like a natural, and the Liberty HOG toy run was born.

Liberty HOG 1st Annual Toy Run 1999

Over the years our toy run has grown into the largest event my store has had the honor to be a part of. Even when there was snow, rain and blistering cold we managed to still bring out the bikes and always supplied the kids with toys for the season. For that I am eternally grateful.

Let’s fast forward to our 15th Anniversary run. The Liberty HOG Chapter hit it out of the park, so to speak. It was not without a lot of sleepless nights, not only for me, but for my new director, Jack Seals, and my new assistant director Joe Caruso, and my new Treasurer Joe Novak. We have had big runs before, last year almost 500, the year before almost 600, so we were not without experience. But when the Fugawi MC, stars of the History Channel show "We're the Fugawis," agreed to support our run, things rapidly changed.

Overnight, our expectations went from 4 or 5 hundred to quite possibly 1000, and we had to plan accordingly. This required some major changes in the way we worked the run. We needed to provide a safe and fun run for what might be over 1000 sign-ups. This created some serious chaos. The way we did sign-ups, the way we did refreshments, the way we parked the bikes, the way we handled the traffic, and yes, the way we supported the ride itself had to be changed.

Well I have to say that everyone involved, both the new officers, as well as the experienced volunteers, all pulled together and pulled it off. Not only did our HOG chapter pull it off, they made it look easy. 963 signups, 51 law enforcements, and a bushel full of FUGs all hung out in the parking lot and had lots of fun. People ate, drank coffee, and listened to Christmas music. The Fugawi MC did lots of photos with the crowd of people and signed lots of shirts. As I recall, they may have even signed a boob or two. They also brought down a van full of toys and a special gift for the hospital, a handmade doll house which will be placed in the common area of the hospital. It is my pleasure to offer a very special thank you to the Fugawi MC for their generous donation.

When it was time for the ride the HOG volunteers on street patrol, led by Waz, got the ride on the road without a hitch. All the towns cooperated and all the lights were covered as well as any intersections and stop streets. We rode from Rahway to New Brunswick at about 25 mph, and did not have to put our foot down once. It was a fun and safe ride. No bumps, no dings and no downs. Thank you one and all.
We arrived at Robert Wood Johnson hospital, to the waiting eyes and ears of children, and dropped off over 3,000 toys and gifts to the hospital - the most in our 15 years. A Yamaha Internet-Ready Grand Piano, over a dozen iPads, gift cards from Kids R Us and iTunes, and a couple of bicycles from the FUGs. It was amazing. It's always interesting to watch the bikers interacting with the children and their parents; it makes me proud to be a biker. Now that it's all washed out, we know that the Liberty HOGs will be donating $5,000 to the Bristol Myers-Squibb Childrens Hospital as well!

The run ended with a really fantastic pasta dinner, complete with all the trimmings, thanks to the kitchen crew, who, by the way, forgo the ride to make sure a hot meal is ready for everyone. Sitting there at the table enjoying a great meal with friends I couldn’t help but realize that this event could not have been possible without the hard work of all of our HOG volunteers. I owe a boat load of thanks to everyone for making the Liberty HOG chapter, as well as Liberty Harley-Davidson look good. You not only pulled off what might be the biggest HOG event in the state this year, but did it with class, and you made it look easy. Thank you each and everyone.

Harley-Davidson reveals all-new platform to inspire the next generation of global riders; Bikes coming in 2014

(11/4/2013) - Harley-Davidson is continuing its monumental ride, which began with the introduction of Project RUSHMORE in August, by revealing two new Dark Custom™ motorcycles designed for young urban riders around the world.
The Harley-Davidson Street™ 750 and Street™ 500 motorcycles – the first all-new platform from Harley-Davidson in 13 years – are built for urban environments with all-new liquid-cooled Revolution X™ powertrains, nimble agility and the sound and look that lets everyone know they are genuine Harley-Davidson.

“These are the newest motorcycles to join our Dark Custom lineup, which helped make us the number-one selling brand to young adults in the U.S. for the past five years,” said Matt Levatich, President and Chief Operating Officer, Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “Both the Street 750 and Street 500 were designed with thousands of hours of input from young adults in cities around the world. This input guided both the attitude and capabilities of these motorcycles. They are proof that being customer-led continues to be a core driver of our product development process.”

Urban, Authentic Harley-Davidson
The Street 750 and Street 500 from Harley-Davidson are built for an urban environment. Each motorcycle features the new Revolution X engine, designed to match the demands of stop-and-go traffic with nimble agility, while delivering instant throttle response to escape city gridlock.

The Revolution X engine will be housed in a new, narrow and lean chassis built for agility, with a super-low seat height, new suspension and broad handlebar sweep that provides confidence and maneuverability when managing tight turns and fast moves. Both signature Dark Custom motorcycles feature a premium, minimalist style that serves as a blank canvas for riders to customize.
“These new bikes are leaner, yet still have a mean streak – they’re the real deal, made of real steel.” said Mark-Hans Richer, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “They’re designed to handle the abuses of urban environments and provide authentic opportunities to customize.”

The Harley-Davidson Street™ 750 and Street™ 500 will be rolling into dealerships in select markets starting in 2014. More information is available at www.h-d.com/street.
Video of the Harley-Davidson Street platform reveal in Milan, including an in-depth walk-through of the motorcycles, details on their design, and a Q&A with Richer will be available at www.youtube.com/HarleyDavidson.

A BIG Thank You from Tom, Dealer Principal of Liberty

Tom McTamney, Dealer Principal

I wanted to jump right on and post a big "Thank You" Saturday night, after our 15th Anniversary Bash.  I also wanted to post a "Thank You" on Sunday.  But the fact is, after seeing how our event went off, the reason I haven't posted is that, I'm speechless.

We've done a lot of events over 15 years, and all have gone off without a hitch (except for some rain).  But this last one, I have to say as the Dealer Principal, has raised the bar to a new level, a level which may be unsustainable.

Where do I start?

Well, the ribs by Famous Dave's were outstanding.  They delivered food for 700 plates, on time, perfectly cooked.  By our last count, we put out 650 platters - plus 250 hot dogs.  Kudos to Famous Dave's for not disappointing - and for filling our lot with the aroma of barbecue!

Next, I have to thank the City of Rahway.  We routinely host events in our lot, 1 or 2 per month during the riding season, and we do kinda take over Milton Ave., Broad Street, the parking lot - and it couldn't happen without the generous cooperation of the City of Rahway.  Our events would all be more difficult without the help of Rahway's Finest.  For this event, we had two off-duty police, but the event went so well that all they had to do was enjoy the day.

While we're thanking the City, we have to thank former Mayor Jim Kennedy for helping us pull the winning ticket, and Mayor Sam Steinman for his kind words.

The David Alen Band was crazy good - they filled the lot with their sounds with the help of Bob, the sound guy.  Thanks to Frank Provenzano from Pro Sound for the equipment!

Now, to the meat of the situation - special thanks to our outstanding, second-to-none Liberty HOG Chapter!  Our HOGs served 600+ plates of food, cake, and ice cream.  They volunteered to help with security, and a fine job they did.  And of course, very special thanks to the Liberty HOG Road Captains, without whom we could not have run the Demo Event.  Let me expand upon that - our Road Captains, ably led by Woz, provided security and safety for 7 Demo Groups - all riders with different experience levels, through city and highway riding, for 50+ test rides.  It's no small matter to keep 50+ novice riders safe, and they volunteered their time and their own bikes.

I'd also like to give a shout out to our honorary HOG member, Ray Mikell, for all his help with the food, and up on stage representing Rahway.

That brings us to the backbone of our event - our employees.  Events at our store generally fall squarely on the shoulders of Anthony and the Service Department crew.  Charged with setup, breakdown, cleanup, these are the guys you see running around, getting tables, ice, chairs, extension cords, and any other random thing we might need.  They handled the signups for the Demo Rides, the stage setup and breakdown, the Jumpstart, and everything in that lot that happened, happened with the help of our Service Crew.

Our General Merchandise crew also worked hard - inside and out - handling 10-20 times more customers than your average Saturday.  Parts kept the parts flying, and our Sales Team, led by Ryan, spent the afternoon mingling.

Before I run out of space, thanks to John and Patty for THREE Anniversary cakes, all beautifully decorated and as fresh and tasty as could be.  And last, thanks to Piece of Cake for providing the Ice Cream to go with the cake - next time you see Teddy or his son Jim, make sure you thank him!

And now a few words about my observations of the day.  I've been riding over 40 years - exclusively H-D for about 30.  What I see in our lot could not be reproduced anywhere in the word except by H-D.  If you were here, you'd have seen lots of clubs - several HOG clubs, lots of NYC MCs, LAMA, Trike Masters - people separated by club affiliation, ethnicity, race, age, gender - and everyone greeted each other like longtime friends.
 

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The Harley-Davidson lifestyle has this magic that unifies people of vastly different backgrounds in their mutual love of riding.

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Whether it's a bike night, open house, Patriot Guard Ride, Toy Run, or a ride for all the other causes Bikers ride for, no other brand brings us together like Harley-Davidson. 

What is the magic that of brand - the brand we love so much?  Why is it able to transcend something that would otherwise be very difficult to overcome, to unite very different people into one?  No one knows, we just know it is.  I, for one am glad to be a part of it for so long.

 I thank you for your continued support, and I hope we'll all be around for the next 15 years!