Working at Harley

The first week back with Harley-Davidson folks at Montana Harley-Davidson, Buell & Ducati went well in my view. I learned their computer system, the layout of the building and personally met most of the staff, except for a few of the technicians in the service department. I got some time to talk about the history of this dealership with a few individuals as well. With Sunday being the exception, I have been able to not spend any discretionary funds there. Sunday and Monday were my scheduled days off, so Sunday I drove out there to pick up a battery charging wiring harness for my Harley as I had the battery out and bench charging. The old trickle charger I had gave up a few years ago and the bike still had the old wiring on the battery for that charger. I plan on getting the Harley model but not yet. I decided to put a compatible charging harness on the battery when I reinstall it, which I did on Monday. The weather was also overcast with light snow, but the bike needed a good washing, and I did THAT on Monday in front of the garage. After washing it, I rolled it back inside to dry it off. I borrowed Geri’s bathroom heater to use out in the garage and that really helped.
I feel a bit bad about not winterizing the bike in October or November but I think it will be OK. All the oils need replacing as soon as I can and I did not top off the gas tanks like I should have. Hopefully there has been no rusting on the inside of them. I would like to do something with my aging leather saddlebags as they have wrinkled and folded somewhat with age. New ones will be pretty expensive and I have considered switching to a hard bag style. Guess we’ll see how the money plays out over the next few months. Geri and I have discussed selling the Heritage Softail and getting a Road Glide instead. There are several advantages to that issue including more power to carry the both of us and all the gear we want to take with us in these higher elevations. Smoother ride with the isolastic mounted drive train. Ability to attach tour pack for added carrying capacity, just to name a few.
Now that we both have new jobs, it probably will be some time before we can both get enough vacation accrual to actually take a nice long trip. There are a lot of day trip or even two day trip places around this area that we will take advantage of this summer.
Valentines Day is tomorrow, and because I was at the store on Sunday, I brought home my sweetheart a dozen long stemmed red roses for her table. It has been way too long since I bought her flowers, and used to do so in Wisconsin regularly. She really liked them. She is working on something special for me for Valentines Day as well in one of the back bedrooms. I will not peak and let the surprise do its thing! I made reservations for us for a play that is put on by the University of Montana on Wednesday evening, and that should be very nice for us. Gets us out of the house and a little more ‘culture’ to our Montana existence!

Looking forward to Tuesday…

YES! Tuesday I start with Harley-Davidson here in Missoula, Montana!
Today Geri and I took a ride out there in the car to check out the sign up for HOG members (Harley Owners Group). Today they were having a sign up day for old and new members. I met the HOG chapter director, Karen, who provided signup, dues and meeting place info. I signed up and paid my $20 annual dues while Geri looked around the store. We ate some free cookies and Geri bought herself a new pair of leather riding gloves and a coffee cup for me. I spoke with Scott, one of the sales people, and he took me out back to see the first Harley ‘XL 1200N Nightster’ that came in. It will be on the sales floor by next Tuesday when I come in. This model Sportster from Harley is a nice unique model from the Motor Co., and I think it will do quite well.

The XL 1200N Nightster features:

• Rubber-mounted 1200cc XL Evolution engine


• Medium Gray powder-coated engine with polished and black treatments


• Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI)


• High-compression, high-flow cylinder heads


• High-performance cams


• Smooth, quiet transmission


• Light clutch lever effort


• 25.3-inch solo seat height


• Low front and rear suspension


• Black front forks with gaiters


• Bullet hole rear belt guard and front fender clamps


• Black, low rise handlebar with brake and clutch levers, turn signals and air cleaner insert


• Side-mounted license plate holder (dealer-installed rear mount option)


• Brake and tail lights integrated with rear turn signals


• Black mid-mount foot controls


• Black-rimmed, Laced Steel wheels


• Chrome staggered shorty slash cut dual exhaust


• Silver Satin finish fuel cap, headlamp trim ring and oil dipstick cover


• Optional Smart Security System
  

This bike has a riders expression all its own!!!

I actually didn’t have to go back to work at DirecTV last Thursday after my 6 days of ‘floater’ time I took starting a week ago last Monday. I went in to work at 6:30AM Thursday intending to work that day and the next (Friday) to finish the pay period, then resign at the end of the day Friday. After arriving at work I looked up my time card status and discovered I had 16 more floater hours added to my balance, so I asked my team leader to schedule me for that time and I would come in on Monday to do the exit interview and turn in my badge. He gave me the go ahead for that so I came on home again. I stopped on the way to pick up a copy of

‘Fly Boys’ for Geri and I to watch. I had a near opportunity to see the premier screening of this movie while at Oshkosh last year. They had a nice display at the Airventure Fly In with several props from the making of the film, and one of the actors was there signing autographs. As it turned out, the evening of the special screening of the film was before I got up there from Pewaukee.
The film was great and the special collectors 2-DVD set has a lot of special features will worth the extra ‘ca-ching’ I spent for it. It is as close to a true documentary as you will see in this type of film about the first fighter pilots. I’ve watched it a couple times already!

So, we’ll see what Tuesday will bring at Montana Harley-Davidson. My friend, Kerry, who works in the Motor Clothes section of the store was confiding that the ‘family’ atmosphere there would be enhanced with my presence and she was looking forward to my starting there. I hope I can bring that type of feeling with me and be accepted as a part of that special family too!

Keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up…!!!

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Moving on...

It’s time to make the move!!!
I decided several weeks ago that I no longer enjoy sitting on my ass to make a day-to-day living. My 90 day tenure with DirecTV was a great learning experience and added a lot of depth to my career path as a customer service expert. I excelled at the position and the training that was afforded me allowed me to work well in the position. There are other training and coaching opportunities that would have come along for me, but I grew impatient for those openings to appear.
I have several years of sales and customer service in the motorcycle industry, including a stint as a certified instructor with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation in Missouri. When an opening in the parts and accessories department with the local Harley-Davidson dealership was brought to my attention, I got my updated resume into them on the off chance I would actually get an interview.
It was only a few days later when I got the call to come in and speak with the parts and accessories department manager. I felt the ensuing interview went very well and was hopeful. I have a friend that I met at DirecTV during the training phases that owns a couple Harleys, and she left DirecTV and ended up in the Motorclothes department at the dealership. She told me, on the afternoon before I was called about accepting my application for the position, that I had as good if not a better chance at the position than any other applicants.

I accepted Harley’s offer to join their team and worked out many of the details to come on board with them, and am now working my strategy to extricate myself from DirecTV. Since I had some accrued time off, I decided to apply for and take the time off with pay that I had prior to submitting my notice. Not knowing exactly what the policy is with my employer (and believe me, I looked through all my employment manuals and online sources) regarding termination of employment and whether I would be allowed a two week notice time or that they would require me to leave immediately, I chose to burn the few days of ‘floating’ days with pay allotted me now. I also have some PTO (Personal Time Off) accrued that will be paid to me at 100% of my pay rate upon termination.
Funds are still a bit tight with my income, so I will try to enjoy the few days off relaxing around the home, doing some chores, catch up on some hobby issues as well as computer time.

I feel strongly that this move to a new employment will serve several needed changes in my lifestyle and health including more exercise (needed with my health condition), more diversity and people contact (get to work with people face-to-face), higher wages to start with (YES! A much needed raise!), comparable medical and retirement benefits (still looking at all the details of these issues). Most of all, a lot more interaction with the type of motorcycle enthusiasts I am familiar with!

Please stay tuned for further adventures of the team of ‘Don & Geri does Montana’!!

Happy Christmas Eve…eve!

Yea, it is December 23rd, and we are getting a little dusting of snow. We do have a little left on the ground from several weeks ago. We do get a little sun from time-to-time but it is not enough to warm us up or melt the snow all that fast. We expect to get our biggest amount of snow after the new year. All the ski slops around us are open and doing great business. Not being of the active ‘snow type’, I cannot attest to the quality of the ski slopes as I have not ventured forth for many, many years.
Our Christmas tree is all decorated nicely with a few presents underneath. We have several decorations around the home as well. Geri likes to decorate and ‘junk up’ the place during the holiday. I shot some images out the back yard of some of the snow and tried to capture the new stuff falling out of the sky.
We didn’t do the massive amount of Christmas cards this year as we have done in the past. Just wasn’t into it I guess.
We’re spending Christmas day up on the hill in Lolo at Geri’s sisters place, and will have quite a few family members up there for the celebration.
Hope you enjoy the photos…

School Bus 41 Essay

I decided to do a short essay on this old 1940s era school bus I came across out here in Montana along a country road.

See the whole set of photos in the link to the right "Dons Albums".

Jim Wahner - A Tribute

“OK, now give it some right aileron and bring it around over the field and YOU try it this time…” Jim would say. ”OK Don, now lets see your loop” Jim would whisper to me as he gazed up at my trainer, hands steady on the trainer transmitter and thumb pressed on the take control switch. Up and over the top of the loop then down to straight and level flight. “Good, good” he would say “that was nice and smooth. Now land her and we’ll take a rest”.
Jim Wahner was like that to all his student pilots. Knowledgeable about people and considerate of their emotions under those stressful times learning the hobby of R/C flying. He gave me consistent advice and full follow through with each training flight. I learned quickly about the basics and he would gently coax me into the advanced techniques of Immelmans,, split-S and roll maneuvers. He would throw a Cuban eight in for good measure from time-to-time.
Our friend and fellow pilot, Mr. Jim Wahner has been stricken with a massive stroke and does not have the capacity to be with us, joke with us and command to “stiffel yourself” to his closest compadres.
He was always there to help with all activities in our club when many would not or could not step forward. I think he was the best bar-b-quer I know. The man knew his way around a Webber with out a doubt. I, as many others can attest, our mid week Chicken Squadron meetings were graced with his ubiquitous effervescence and jovial humor only at its best. He is a consummate friend.
I remember our Christmas parties all to well as there was always some issue surrounding Jim’s flying prowess that had to be specially noted during the evening. He either did something very well, or he accomplished something else quite poorly. It usually centered on the demise of one of his favorite combat plane creations and was duly eulogized.
Jim enjoyed combat flying online with several fellow club members and I know they miss that competitive side of this otherwise gentile man.

I know when I speak for all those that know Jim Wahner, and love this man for what he has done for our club and individuals, that we wish him God Speed and hope he returns to the skies soon.

My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday, and my sweet life partner Geri made me a wonderful steak dinner with all the trimmings as well as a scrumptious chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, MY FAVORITE!!!!!

She also presented me with a wonderful card, all dolled up from vast selection of sticker enhancements...

Ok, so the card reflects an aura of age about me... I am not yet quite a 'senior citizen' although I have noticed that I am prone to a 'senior moment' more often than not... Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!!

Still feeling the effects of being super full from overeating, but it was a special occasion and the food was oh so good! Yum. With plenty of leftovers as well. Still working on the cake however.

So, for the next couple of weeks Geri and I are the same age, then I get to prepare something special for her as well....

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