GoldWings North Wales have joined forces with the local Chester Lions Group, who after experiencing the Llandudno light parade, decided they could combine their charity raising and organisational skills along with the spectacle of a Goldwing light parade and make a considerable sum of monies for their favorite charity. North Wales members approved fully with the idea, seeing as all the hard work of marshalling and organisation is no longer their responsibility.

Meanwhile GoldWings North West have England’s classic resort, Southport, well and truly on board with the September Light Parade due in the seaside town. Once again the Police are offering their full support and the local radio station Dune FM is also promoting the event over the airwaves. Hotel accomodation is said to be amazing value in the Prince of Wales Hotel right on Lord Street.

Both events are set in excellent locations with opportunities to display the bikes and  also to have a good look around the town and explore the locality. Two great light parade weekends, one at each end of the GoldWing riding season, what a good idea that was.

Details of both events and Hotel accommodation can be found on the Federation GoldWing Light Parade website

Read for yourself

Honda (UK) offers some of the finest experiences on two-wheels, catering for riders of all levels. With the Ron Haslam School and Mick Extance Off-Road Experience, whose experience dates are now set for the year ahead, there is no better place to test yourself on two-wheels and improve your riding.

On track, the Honda Ron Haslam School offers a range of one day courses to suit all abilities, from basic motorcycle skills training for children as young as twelve on the Honda CBR125R and CBR250R machines. The ‘Premier’ course provides an introduction to performance bikes on the acclaimed CBR600RR, with the ‘Elite’ day offering even further advanced guidance on the legendary CBR1000RR Fireblade. All levels of courses provide expert and personalised tuition and are designed to improve overall riding or racing skills and bike control, whilst being tailored to the specific needs and abilities of each rider. There are twenty dates available during 2012 between April and October, to visit the school’s Silverstone base. A full motorcycle licence is not required and there are programmes to suit all needs.

The Mick Extance Off-Road Experience offers the taste of a full range of dirt riding disciplines, including Enduro, Motocross and Trials. Whether you’re a seasoned off-roader or complete novice, there are a range of great days available throughout the year. Once again, a full licence is not a pre-requisite, only a desire for a challenge and to have some great fun. Tailor-made packages can also be created for individuals or groups.

The Mick Extance Off-Road Enduro experience is based at a stunning location in North Wales, in the heart of 15,000 acres of Forestry Commission land. Surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK, there is no better place to embark on an off-road adventure on Honda’s world-beating CRF machinery.

Motocross training takes place at Britain’s biggest and most famous race circuit, Silverstone. Although historically known for road-racing, the Silverstone facility also offers an excellent motocross track and training terrain, suitable for all levels. Again the CRF is the bike of choice with the 150R, 250R and 450R all available depending on your requirements.

Finally, the Trials experience is perfect for riders who either have never ridden a bike before, or for those who would like to develop their trials skills. Set in the heart of the Peak District, it’s a great introduction to two-wheels, as the excellent Montesa Honda 4-stroke trials machines used are lighter and lower to the ground than any other type of bike.
For further information about the Ron Haslam Race School or to book a place on one of the 20 available dates in 2012, visit www.haslamraceschool.com or call 01332 883323. Prices range from £189 for On-Track to £389 for the Elite course. A £40 discount is available on courses booked for dates in April and May.

For further information about the Mick Extance Off-Road Experience or to enquire about bookings, visit www.mickextanceoffroad.com or call 07809 464050. Prices start from £199 per day for all three disciplines.

We are hugely grateful to Nigel for the enormous amount of work and personal time he has provided over the past three plus years, and entirely understand his wish to set aside this heavy burden, during which all of the foundations of the Federation’s IT systems had to be designed and built. For this reason all Federation websites will continue to carry an acknowledgement of his design contribution.

His willingness to make a graceful and helpful exit from his role, supporting the handover generously, is also very much appreciated. Rest assured his relationship with the rest of the Federation volunteers continues to be friendly and we are certainly going to miss his interest in photography, and his preferred subject matter.

In the meantime, thanks to his updating of various aspects of our Web presence, and a programme of continued education we are able to keep the show on the road.

Thank you Nigel, we couldn’t have got this far without you.

We are now looking for a suitably skilled web-master to aid in the continual development of the Federation Websites. If you have the necessary skills and would like to know more then please contact us at development©fukgwc•org•uk  (development©fukgwc•org•uk)  

With snow and bad weather in many parts of the country, Honda (UK) is geared up for what is turning into another long winter by offering all Honda owners an attractive Winter Service package until the end of February 2012*.

Winter can be hard on the biking community and for cherished and prized machinery. Whether braving the elements or garaging up, Honda (UK) hopes to ensure that all owners’ machines are in tip top condition for the coldest winter months.

The offer applies to all on-road Honda motorcycles serviced at authorised and participating Honda dealers. To take advantage of this offer, simply book in for a service between now and the end of February 2012, upgrade to Castrol Power 1 Racing oil (optimised for year-round protection and performance) and receive 12 month’s complimentary Roadside Assistance (worth £100).

Honda technicians only use Honda Genuine Parts, to ensure that every Honda stays a Honda. Every dealer also offers a full Health Check as part of every service, to ensure your machine can remain in the best condition possible. And with the additional peace of mind gained with a year’s complimentary Roadside Assistance with the AA, Honda owners can rest easy knowing that their machine is looked out for when out on the open road.

For further information about this offer or any products in the Honda range from motorcycles to cars and power equipment, visit www.honda.co.uk , visit you local Honda dealers or call 0845 200 8000.

Read Press Release here

Message:

Hello From Oklahoma, USA, I was hoping you all might be able to provide me with a point of contact for a company that will ship my Wing from the USA to England and Back to the USA? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Rich

PS: Just returned from a 4,000 Mile ride mostly in Florida chasing those 70-80 F degree temps.

Richard Marshburn

fishing2009©yahoo•com  (fishing2009©yahoo•com)  

Steve Corbishly and the guys at GoldWings North Midlands are overjoyed with their new website.  As part of the start up package they receive from the Federation, they now have a top of the range site which is being populated with details of planned ride outs, tours and images quite nicely.

Their inaugural meeting takes place on February 12th 2012 at Moorville Hall Hotel, to find out more visit the GoldWings North Midlands website and post them a comment.

The team of volunteers who actually manage the day to day business of the Federation have been working hard now for over three years and having a lot of fun in the process. However it’s become obvious that a few changes and fresh blood was needed to help steer the organisation into the future.

The Federation was set up to act as a service providing organisation for the GoldWing community within the UK with no rules or constitution as such, and this has served the several member clubs well in the past few years. We have no intention of changing that and we strongly believe this policy is as valid today as it will be in the future. The volunteers who make up the management team have specific roles within the Federation only, with no authority outside the organisation whatsoever.

The Federation Team is a small and adaptable group rather than the usual sort of club committee and it looks to refresh itself on a continuing basis by recruiting new talent as well as other changes, including making sure that no one gets stale in the same role. It was identified that new input, in addition to what was already in place, would be helpful to the team as a whole and to the Federation in general. To this end a few enquiries were made to recruit a suitably experienced addition. A few names were offered up in conversation but one in particular was prominent from several differing sources. The current Chairman of GoldWings North West was approached and Ian Duxbury, who we feel can bring a lot to the organisation, agreed to come on board and lend his style of management in the role of Chairman of our volunteer group.

Stuart Ormerod now plays more of a background role and that is one of development rather than secretary. We see the building of relationships with GoldWing Dealerships, Honda UK and other GoldWing Clubs as being key to our future success and Stuart fits into this perfectly. Our Website interest is still in the capable hands of Nigel Mackintosh whilst Bob Summers picks up secretarial duties and Dave Turvey keeps his eye on the purse strings. Dave Partridge at AwingAway, although not part of the volunteer structure, will continue to provide his technical support service on all things Goldwing. All in all a reasonably well balanced group for the coming future.

This doesn’t mean that we are no longer looking for qualified and enthusiastic volunteers to become involved with the Federation, if you feel you have any skills to offer and wish to get involved then let us know.

Happy New Year to you all and have a great GoldWing season for 2012.

The dates  are 21st -23rd September and the venue for the weekend is the Prince of Wales Hotel right in the middle of town on Lord Street. The accommodation package is an amazingly good deal with rooms costing £77.50 per person for Friday and Saturday nights (two nights) and include your breakfast and evening meals. Single rooms are also the same price. Wingers can extend the weekend break and add further nights to the package at £30.00 per person per night.Ring Maria Broderick at the Hotel on 01704 536 688 and book your accommodation, quoting booking code GOPR2109.

The usual format of parade and best lit bike competition will take place along with a static display during the day. There are still a couple of locations to be finalised but the Police and Marshalling is already arranged with the full support of the Council.

Click on the image for an enlarged view

Elite Wings has had its own website since the Club was formed in 2001 and this isn’t the first time they’ve updated it.

This time however they’ve elected to adopt a completely new and different (and free) Federation club website which will allow them direct control of all the content.

As with the recently launched GoldWings North Midlands site, which you probably notice has similarities in layout etc, the club users are able to write their own articles directly into the website, which works much like a simple word processor for that purpose.  they can also add photos and other images themselves, both to illustrate articles and to build up a photo gallery to record their past events.

They have kept the same domain name and the new website is theirs to keep too.