York, Pa. Sept 29-Oct. 1 2011
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My longtime ride buddy Dar call me a few weeks back and invited me to ride along to the Harley-Davidson York Plant for the Open House this year. I had toured the York Facility back in July of 2009 when rumors were flying that the York Assembly Plant would soon close. Since then, Harley-Davidson and the International Assoc. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers came to terms, and life as everyone knew it in York changed! When I toured the old plant that started out as an AMF facility in the early 70’s, we saw lots of small component in-house manufacture, hand polish and finish, an extended stay in ovens for painted parts and lots of old equipment and processes still in use. I contacted Bill Bish of RidinOn and told him I was heading for York, and he immediately filled me in on the changes there. I was excited to go see for myself not only the new plant, but the events H.D. had in store for us at this 3 day Open House Event.
As the date neared, and BAD weather rolled in, MOST of the group backed out! Dar asked me “if it’s raining, are we still gonna ride?” My usual response is “Heck YEA! It ain’t a Ford Truck event!” So the group fizzled to Dar and I with a last minute addition of Randy. We headed out Friday morning about 8 a.m. and mid 40’s temp, cold but dry, till we stopped in Elyria for Randy, then rain set in and followed us for the next 200+ miles. The next 100 were merely cold, with the last 100 being warm, dry and enjoyable! We arrived at York in time to check in, shower and ride downtown for Harley-Davidson’s Bike Night.
I was curious to see how Harley-Davidson would run a bike night, and was not surprised that it started ON TIME, and seemed to run smoothly! The parade of bikes left the York Co. Fairgrounds and ran to and through the blocked off downtown for an exhilarating show of paint, chrome and thunder! Bikes and people of all genres were in the parade, as were on the streets watching. Saw my very first CUSTOM Honda Ruckus Ride Group! Man, go check them out some time!
As soon as we parked we were asked by a group if they could take a picture with our Harley’s. It was a group with Seeing Eye Dog’s in training. They take them out to crowded events as part of the training, and of course we said YES, as long as I get to take a picture too!
The next person I met was so special that I have to share him with you. Hunter. As I looked for a prime spot to stand, I noticed a wheel chair, and placed myself to the right of it so I would have no obstruction to my left as I shot the parade. Next thing you know Hunter reached up and grabbed my hand and held it. He is a beautiful young man 9 years old that his caretaker informed us was a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Yea, biker’s hearts melt too! I stood and held his hand, and when I had to shoot, buddy Dar took turns with Hunter. The next day there was a fundraiser for Hunter which we could not make, but bikers already had that under control. Visit www.hunterfest.com for more information.
Well the bikes ran FAST and loud, and it was time to roam the streets. It was a very well controlled and run event, bands played, food vendors and such, with a block party at a place called “The HOP” right next to the York Facility afterward. We of course did our best to see and enjoy it all, which is impossible. But the usual vendors and suspects and awesome bikes were all present. We saw only one act of idiocy, a kid doing a burnout in the street grabbed traction and T-Boned his buddies custom V-Rod! Dar helped pick up the bike and pieces while I of course took the pictures!
Next morning we awoke to a dreary cold day. We were at the plant by 8 am for the first tour of the new facility which sets to the east of the old AMF facility, which now sits empty. The same Bar & Shield Logo stands atop the stone pedestal at the new location, so it’s easy to find. The tour in ‘09 was of a plant in full production, this tour was of a shutdown facility making it easier to talk to “The Line Guides.” I took time to talk to most of them, and some of the major changes are the outsourcing of most of the components. Less than 50% of the equipment from the old facility was moved here for one thing. The Fenders, tanks and frames are still made there, but the “Legacy” components are made by independent parts suppliers and shipped in. Some as close as right next door in the same industrial park. All Models now run down the same assembly line mounted on “Robot” dollies which eliminates risk of damage and fallen machines, especially at the final “Roll Test Booth” which is the first time the V-Twin motors shipped form Milwaukee are fired up and run. They are bench tested in Milwaukee, but not run until installed here at York. The new Roll Test booth is set up above ground with the robots rolling into the booth, the operator rotates the bike 90 degrees; it stays strapped to the robot while it is roll tested. This speeds up the process and eliminates the occasional dropped bike.
One of the biggest cost/time saving changes is a new paint process. It’s now a wet on wet process, with the first coat being “Flashed” in an IR Oven and the 2nd coat applied to the still wet first coat. This is obviously a cost saving due to the time saved. The Clear coat is now sprayed on by robot sprayers, and where it used to be 2 ½ Mils thick, it is now only 1 ½ Mil thick. All decals are applied by hand, rolled on wet, pin striping is done by robot, and some lettering stenciled on. I was VERY impressed with the racks of rejected painted parts sitting waiting to be stripped and re-painted. Some of the flaws I saw marked I would never have noticed! All of the Line Guides were very cordial and able to answer all my questions, or direct me to the person who could, making this not only an enjoyable but very enlightening visit.
DON NOT forget to visit the Gift Shop! I had a good sized list from friends, so I elicited help from Udit, one of the girls there. Her family is from Transylvania! She was very patient and kind and even agreed to a picture with me on my “Baby!” I do believe Baby had a little more rowdiness to her afterward!
This was also a H.O.G. Pin Stop, and the people manning that tent were very friendly and helpful. I got my pin, ordered some stickers and took their pictures! Had a very fun visit with them!
One employee at the York Facility recently lost his son, a Navy Seal on the Chinook helicopter that went down a few short months back in Aphganistan. Saturday of the Open House weekend, FOX43 , the local Fox Affiliate co-hosted a “Pride Ride”(www.fox43.com/community/pride-ride) for the Wounded Warriors Project, http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/. The event raised $5000 for this Project this year, and will be an annual event.
Well, the rain did set in Sat. finally, and the ride home Sunday, 400 miles to my house, was about as nasty as it can get. We left the hotel at 8:45 am, hoping it would be warmer by then, and rode in 36 to 38 degrees with LOTS of rain and yes, some snow all the way to Youngstown before we saw temps anywhere above 40, and just 20 miles from my house the rain FINALLY stopped! We stopped every 100 miles to warm up and dry off, spending about an hour at each stop enjoying the wit and humor of other drenched bikers, taking turns at the awesome high volume hand dryers in the restrooms! Did you know, that if you cup your sleeve under the nozzle, and are all zipped up, the heat will EVENTUALLY warm your body? I arrived home about 8 pm, totally exhausted and at the same time exhilarated! Nothing like spending a fast fun ride filled weekend with best friends, making new friends, and getting to see the inside of a Harley-Davidson facility that still has that new Harley smell to it! If you ever get a chance, go see it! Oh, and tell Udit I said HI!
The article above with pictures as it appears in the Nov. 2011
RidinOn Magazine!
David E. Moore
