March 2013

President Gene Walker 5531 Lardon Rd NE Salem, OR 97305-3248 (503) 428-6641 (503) 371-4363 Vice President Gary Kelley 20000 NE Jaquith Rd Newberg, OR 97132-6694 (503) 537-0802 (503) 860-6442 garyk@amcaotc.org Treasurer Tom Ruttan 3761 SW Olson Ct Lake Oswego, OR 97034 (503) 638-1746 tgruttan@earthlink.net Secretary Shannon Kelley 20000 NE Jaquith Rd Newberg, OR 97132-6694 (503) 537-0802 (503) 784-0760 shannonk@wildriders.org

Motorcycle Performance Tuning

When: Saturday, March 16, 2013 10:00 AM Where: NWVCMM Brooks, OR Presenter: Bo Miller More than a half century ago Bo Miller was born into a strict old-world family in Oakland, California. This was a big industrial city at that time. The children knew early that we had to learn a trade and leave home before we were adults, or join the military. Bos choice was to go to trade school to be a machinist and he became an apprentice. Machine work was a bit structured and repetitive for a young fellow, so he stopped doing that and worked as a mechanic. This was something he had done since childhood on my own equipment so he made mechanics my first career. Eventually Bo became a journeyman and later a service department manager. Life was good, then the government printed wads of money to pay Vietnam War and Great Society debts. The resulting stagflation era was very hard on young families. Stagflation would end, but we did not know this at the time. Rose and Bo wanted to have children and be able to raise them in a safe environment. He went back to college and studied engineering. Originally he studied mechanical engineering but graduated with a degree in civil engineering. Now he practices civil and environmental engineering and in a few years he will wrap up a 30-year career with the Oregon Department of Transportation. Bo and Rose are in various stages of raising five children in Salem, a safe place, so everything worked out OK.

Bo will discuss engine building for the street motorcycle rider who is interested in higher performance with an emphasis on fast motors that are easy to live with. Practical advice will be given on air filtration, carburetor choice, exhaust tuning, cylinder head enhancement, valves, camshafts, pistons, and rods. Engine tuning theory is presented with a reference list and a step by step tuning program. Admission to the Antique Powerland grounds is $5.00. Please stop at the Antique Powerland office to pay admission and gain access. For more information, contact Tom Ruttan.

February Meeting Minutes

Gene called the meeting to order at 2:12. Attendees: Gene Walker, Tom Ruttan, Tom Krise, Chuck Hodson, Jackie Colwell, Don Woodard, Paul Wright, Gary & Shannon Kelley, Pat & Carol Smith. Treasurers Report: TomR presented the February report. New Business: TomR has tentatively set up monthly seminars: Nortons, Motorcycle engine performance tuning, Auto adventures in Italy and Australia, and Langlitz Leathers/Portland motorcycle musings. Refer to future Trail Gazette's for details. All seminars will be held at Brooks Powerland, in either the Texaco station or museum. Were waiting for an AMCA board decision on our 2014 bid for a national. The vote occurs in March.

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Oregon Trail Chapter March 2013 Correspondence: Member drop: Lobb Martha's newsletter was returned the past two months. Martha is off the mailing list until her new residence is found. Thank you card and memorial program from Neal B. Tax status changes for the national club. National merchandise is available for sale at our events. Chapter makes 10% on sales. Dennis is looking for restoration help. Gary sent out member email in response. Motorcycle collection for sale. Ask Gary. Las Vegas Auctions Both TomR and Chuck sold bikes at the Las Vegas auctions this year. Impressions were that prices are slightly higher than last year. There was one less auction, so a little less confusing. Refer to the February Trail Gazette for sales info. Riverside Road Run: Harrisburg OR was chosen as the location for this years Riverside Run. Arrangements have been made with the River Bend Hotel and RV Park for rooms, banquet facilities and RV spots. The RV Park is co-located on site and is the central location for our road run activities. We have reserved a limited number of rooms and RV spaces for this event. Tent camping is welcome on the RV spaces. To reserve a room, call 1-541-995-9995 and identify yourself as a participant in the Antique Motorcycle event to receive the special rate. Room rates for this event are $89.00 + tax (Queen Deluxe) or $99.00 + tax (King Deluxe) per night. Rates are based on single or double occupancy. No additional discounts apply. To reserve your RV space, contact Gary. As in previous years, Gary will track RV reservations to make sure everyone has a spot. RV rates are $31.00 + tax per night. RV spaces feature full hook ups with cable TV and access to the resort's laundry facilities, pool and hot tub. Check in time is 2:00 PM, check out is 11:00 AM. Make your reservations before July 13, 2013. You can register for the Riverside Run online, or download the registration form and mail us your registration. Fees are $75 for riders, $50 for passengers. TomK has 3 potential routes. Thursday: Mary's Peak, Friday: Sisters, Saturday: Coast. The longest one is 200+ miles, looping to Sisters. There was a lot of discussion on whether that is too long. Don suggested participants could turn around and head back whenever they decided they'd had enough. It was decided we wouldnt advertise in the national magazine this year. In 2011, we werent able to show any increase in regional attendance attributable to national advertising. Volunteers are needed to help staff the event. Let Shannon or Gary know how youd like to help. Meeting adjourned at 3:00 PM.

March Business Meeting Agenda

The March Business Meeting is being held at the Texaco station in Brooks Saturday, March 9, 2013. Topics well discuss: Review of February meeting minutes Treasurers report 2013 Road Run Committee Report New Business
River Bend Resort and RV Park

Two levels of accommodation are available for this event, King Deluxe or Queen Deluxe rooms. All hotel rooms are non-smoking and offer guest access to all amenities including pool and large hot tub.

Business Meetings are where we discuss issues important to Chapter operation. Your thoughts are needed to make decisions for the future. We hope to see you there.

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Oregon Trail Chapter March 2013

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Oregon Trail Chapter March 2013

AMCA Presidents Newsletter

Richard Spagnolli, AMCA President Although Punxsutawney Phil, the local groundhog, predicted an early spring this year, it is still cold and dreary in western Pennsylvania. For those of you who live up North, you know what I mean. For those who live in the South, who can ride their old bikes year-round, I'm jealous! But the Sunshine Chapter National Meet in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, is just around the corner, so I guess my wife and I will survive until then. I would like to talk about something other than the AMCA tax situation, which has been the subject of my last few newsletters. I will save that subject until the end. It's hard to believe another AMCA National Meet and Road Run scene is upon us again, but if any of you are like me, you probably can't wait to attend one of these Chapter sponsored AMCA events. Of course, on a local level, your Chapter events will soon begin (or continue if your Chapter is located in a warm weather area). I can only imagine what it is like to ride year-round! On the National Meet scene, it is unfortunate that three Meets occur on the same weekend, June1416. This situation was due to the availability of the venues rather than just a coincidence. Hopefully, it won't happen again. Five National Road Runs are scheduled for 2013, which is an increase from the normal four. Your members should be encouraged to participate, particularly if they have never attended a Road Run. It is a real opportunity to see and ride your old iron in an area where you may not get the chance otherwise. Because of the increased interest in Chapters wanting to sponsor National Road Runs, if your Chapter has an interest in doing so, please contact National Meet and Road Run Coordinator Rick Najera to get your Chapter on the waiting list. The Board will continue to hold AMCA Town Hall Meetings at all National Meets where Board members are present. These meetings were started in 2012 and were well attended after the word got out. These meetings are an opportunity for interaction between the membership and the Board. Please encourage your members to attend one of these meetings if they are able. Fred Davis, Director of Chapters, recently sent your Chapter a questionnaire asking for suggestions about improving relations between Chapters and the National Board.

If your Chapter has not responded, please do so, because your input is important. The Board is aware that some Chapters are not responding to Fred's requests for membership lists. There is an AMCA requirement in the Policies & Procedures Manual that all Chapter members must be AMCA members. Please comply with Fred's request, and try to assure that all of your members are AMCA members, too. The Board elected two new members at its October 6, 2012, meeting in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Ross Metcalfe and Donnie Eatherly were elected to fill the balance of the terms of the open Board positions. Ross is a longtime AMCA member and President of the Buffalo Chapter in Manitoba, Canada. He brings extensive experience to the Board in the administration area as Senior Administrator Superintendent of Schools in the Interlake Division in Manitoba. Donnie also brings extensive administrative and board experience as President of P&E Distributors, an aftermarket automotive supplier, and a Board member of SEMA, a trade organization of aftermarket distributors. Both Ross and Donnie were interviewed by the Board, along with several other applicants. On the judging scene, Don Dzurick is the new Chief Judge, having been appointed at the Board meeting on October 4, 2012. Carl Olsen, Don Spence and Greg Manders were appointed Assistant Chief Judges by the Board. This is a new structure that is designed to add continuity and experience to the administration of the judging program if the Chief Judge steps down. The Assistant CJs will only attend meets where they are needed or required by the CJ. The new judging software should be in place soon. The program will allow easy reference in one place to all of an owners' bikes in the judging system, along with a history of how the bikes were judged. Another aspect of the program will allow members who preregister for judging to check a box that they have read and accept the judging disclaimer. This will avoid the need for the owner to sign the disclaimer at the meet and reduce the amount of paperwork. Owners who do not pre-register will still have to sign the disclaimer at the meet. The Judging Committee headed up by Don expects a more active role this year in reviewing all matters related to judging.

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Oregon Trail Chapter March 2013 The Club continues cooperation with the Antique Motorcycle Foundation (AMF) through the AMCA Grant Program and the AMF Winners Circle Project. The AMF donated $5,000 to the Grant Program for educational use for deserving individuals studying mechanical and other aspects of old bikes. The Winners Circle Project is an invitation to owners of AMCA-judged Winners Circle motorcycles to display their bikes in the AMF display area of the Motorcylepedia Museum in Newburgh, New York. The spring issue of the magazine will have more details on these two very worthy projects. The Internal Audit Committee, consisting of a member with accounting/bookkeeping experience, a general member and a Board member, is expected to meet again in Daytona in March to review the Club's books for 2012. This is not a certified audit, but is designed like all internal audits to review the books for the deposit and disbursement of funds and report any irregularities observed to the Membership and the Board for further investigation. After the Board appointed a volunteer Treasurer, who resigned for personal reasons, and then a volunteer Assistant Treasurer (not a Board position), who did the same, the Board decided, for the sake of continuity and experience, to make the Assistant Treasurer a paid position as it had been in the past. The Board also realized that this position involves a significant amount of volunteer time, which has been a deterrent. Thomas M. Walsh, an accountant and owner of an accounting and bookkeeping practice from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was retained for $700 per month to do the basic accounting. Former Treasurer Jim Graulty will aid in this transition. Once a new Treasurer (Board position) is appointed by the Board, the Treasurer will oversee the Assistant Treasurer and review all bills and sign all checks. Chuck Deluzio, the CPA retained by the Club, will prepare all financial statements and tax returns for the Club. This diversity provides a necessary check-and-balance system for the Club's accounting system. The Treasurer position remains open. If you know anyone with accounting/bookkeeping experience who wants to volunteer for this Board position, please have the person submit a resume to Operations Manager Bill Wood at amcaoperations@gmail.com At its meeting in Daytona, the Board will discuss a possible increase in the number of issues of the magazine from four to six. Although there is some degree of risk by increasing the number of issues, the estimates of revenue from advertising make the increase a viable option for the Club. Since the magazine was listed as the most important benefit by the Membership in the Club Survey two years ago, an increase in the number of issues will be a positive step for the Club. With encouragement from the Board, the Cherokee Chapter in Texas is trying a new "outreach" program to encourage more interaction among AMCA members and other oldbike enthusiasts in Texas and the surrounding states. With a significant population of AMCA members in a very large state and only one active AMCA Chapter, it becomes challenging to get everyone together at one time for a ride, swap meet or other event. The idea behind this effort is to reach out to enthusiasts in different areas of Texas while maintaining a central hub like the Cherokee Chapter. Groups would travel to different locales for road runs, swap meets and events, rather than trying to establish multiple Chapters over a large area. The success of this program may be a model for increasing AMCA membership and offering an opportunity to many old-bike enthusiasts who would like to be part of a group with similar interests but never had the opportunity because of geographical distances. We wish all members of Cherokee Chapter luck in their endeavor and special thanks to Cherokee Chapter Secretary/Newsletter Editor Steve Klein, who is spearheading this effort through the Chapter web page and informative e-mail contacts with interested enthusiasts. This is an example of the strength and continued vitality of the AMCA. The AMCA Chief Blackhawk Chapter membership voted by regular mail on May 15, 2012 to abandon its Charter and leave the AMCA. Although the Board never received official notification of the numbers of the actual mail-in vote, reliable sources indicated that 40-plus members voted NOT to leave the Club. The Board voted to suspend the Chapter's Charter subject to reinstatement with conditions to see if those 40-plus members want to continue the Chapter as part of the AMCA.

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Oregon Trail Chapter March 2013 The Virtual Library project is continuing to be reviewed but is at a critical junction. Volunteers Mark Hunnibell and Larry Barnes are working with Bill Wood to address the very real logistical challenges faced by this project. Hopefully, these problems can be addressed and overcome soon. Anyone wanting to help is encouraged to contact Bill Wood at AMCAoperations@gmail.com The AMCA Senior Member Program, designed to record the verbal histories of the Club's senior members, has yet to get under way because of a lack of volunteers. The requirements for this volunteer position are simple: Using recording equipment supplied by the Club, record short histories from senior members. The histories would then be uploaded to the Club website for access by anyone. Please advertise this worthy project in your newsletters and verbally spread the word. Interested individuals should contact Bill Wood. The Old Iron Volunteer Program continues slow development and member involvement. Thanks to all those who have volunteered, but we still need volunteers for those areas advertised in the magazine. Again, please spread the word within your Chapters. Now for the tax information. As I stated in my last President's Newsletter, the Club has agreed to pay for the tax return preparation fees for all Chapters sponsoring National Meets and Road Runs in 2012 and offer a free one-hour consultation for all other Chapters. The Board approved a fee of $450 for tax preparation and $100 for the consultation with CPA Chuck Deluzio. If a Chapter that hosted a 2012 National chooses to use another tax preparer, the Club will pay the Chapter $450 upon receipt of a bill from the tax preparer. Only the consultation will be provided to all other Chapters if Chuck's services are utilized. This program will continue each year subject to Board approval. Please remember to send in your Chapter financial statements to Chuck if you haven't done so already. Reach Chuck at: CPA Charles A. Deluzio Deluzio & Company, LLP 351 Harvey Avenue Greensburg, PA 15601 724-838-8322 chuckd@deluziocpa.com Since the Club retained its tax-exempt status for 2012, each Chapter is required to file a financial report with the Club as requested even if you chose to use another tax service. Chuck will advise each Chapter as to the type of tax return it must file based on the Chapter's financial statement. Thanks to all the Chapters that have cooperated on this request. The AMCA was audited for 2010 by the IRS on October 3, 2012, after receiving a routine audit notice. CPA Chuck Deluzio and I attended the audit meeting, which was held in Chucks office. The meeting went smoothly, with the auditor making various requests for records, asking questions about the Club's operation and its relationship with its Chapters, and making calculations to determine the Club's compliance with IRS regulations. Although the auditor determined the Club was in compliance, he did comment on the Club's growing magazine advertising revenue and its implications for the Safe Harbor calculation that affects all 501(c)(7) organizations like the AMCA. No action was taken because the Club was in compliance for 2010. The Club was assessed a tax on its investment income for 2010, which was not included in the Club's 990 tax return. It was clear to Chuck and myself that the IRS was interested in general about auditing tax-exempt organizations to determine compliance and payment of all taxes due on investment and unrelated business income. It was also clear to us that the auditor was appreciative of the Club's proactive reporting of certain Chapter unintentional non-compliance for prior years. The Club received a compliance letter from the IRS as outlined above. I want to convey the Board's appreciation to all AMCA Chapters and their members for making the Club one of the finest organizations dedicated to the preservation and restoration of old motorcycles. Without all the volunteers who ask nothing in return for their time and devotion to their Chapters and the Club, the AMCA would not exist as it does today. I have stated several times that, in spite of the tax situation faced by the Club and the Chapters, nothing in the Club's culture has or will change. The Board and I firmly believe that the Club's stated purpose continues to be the driving force behind the participation of Chapter and individual members in the sport/hobby we all love so much. Thanks again for listening. Please e-mail comments or questions. Richard rspagnolli@aol.com

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Oregon Trail Chapter March 2013

Upcoming Events
Check out these upcoming antique and vintage motorcycle events. See our Events page for additional information.
Date March 3 Event Victoria Motorcycle Swap Meet Luxton Hall, Langford, BC OTC Business Meeting Brooks OR @ 2:00 PM Motorcycle Tuning Seminar Brooks OR @ 10:00 AM ABATE Motorcycle Swap Meet Columbia County Fairgrounds, St. Helens OR Vintage Motorcycle Show & Swap O'Connor Fieldhouse, Caldwell, ID Monroe Show & Swap Meet Evergreen Fair Grounds, Monroe WA OTC Business Meeting Brooks OR @ 2:00 PM WVM Mt Vernon, WA Swap Meet (see cover page) Classic & Vintage Show & Swap Tsawwassen, BC

Editors 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. Deadline for articles, advertisements or other submissions to the Trail Gazette is the 20th of the month. Send submissions to garyk@amcaotc.org

March 9

March 16

March 23 - 24

March 23 - 24

March 24

April 13

April 20

April 28

OTC Forum Classifieds

By Our Members 1951 FL, 3 speed and reverse 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. 2 Scouts for sale. 45-inch in a 741 frame. Needs finishing with wiring and misc stuff to get it running. Painted a beautiful, $1500.00, 2-tone blue. 52-inch in a 741 frame. Has vertical twin front forks and wheel, TT warrior rear wheel and Jr. Scout tanks. Contact Ben Beberness, bbeberness@aol.com

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Oregon Trail Chapter, AMCA 20000 NE Jaquith Rd Newberg, OR 97132-6694