HOG History ...

Bucks County, named by William Penn in 1681, is one of three original counties in Pennsylvania and enjoys a lengthy tradition as an important region in the state. Langhorne, the alternate name of our chapter, was incorporated as a borough in 1874 although many of its buildings date from the 1700's when it was known as Four Lanes End. The sister borough of Penndel, was incorporated in 1899 as the Borough of Eden. It was a portion of the land grant first settled in 1686-1687 by Thomas Langhorne, a Quaker preacher from County Westmoreland. In 1947 "Penndel" was supposedly suggested by Mary Keating, a contraction of William Penn and Delaware Valley.

In 1983 the Harley-Davidson factory sponsored a club to make new riders feel at home, and so began the Harley Owners Group. At 33,000 members, it was a pastiche of the traditional bike club, with leathers and sew-on patches, but without the oily fingernails and bad-ass attitude. 1985 saw the formation of the first chapters and in 1999 National H.O.G went electronic with the National office introducing their web site at hog.com. Today, no other enthusiats group sponsored by a manufacturer can boast over 550,000 members worldwide.

Brian's Harley-Davidson opens in 1984.

The Harley Owners Group Chapter of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, formed in October 1986. We are dedicated to promoting responsible motorcycling activities for the Harley Owners Group members, through local and national H.O.G. events. Our members are concerned with helping those we share this earth with, as well as the obvious... riding bikes and having fun. We congregate for weekly rides as well as annual rallys, social and charitable events. Membership is open to anyone who shares our enthusiasm for motorcycling. Application and Renewal information is availble on our Applicants Page.

In 1988 Harley-Davidson (Eastern Harley-Davidson Dealers Association) became a major contributor to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Our own Brian Bentley (Owner, Brian's H-D) was instrumental from the inception and the resulting annual "Ride for Life" run. In 1994 RfL was generating $332,000, of which BC HOG was credited for $28,374. By 2001 the amount had grown to $550,000 and $42,000 respectively.

The BC HOG Ladies of Harley formed in January of 1994. In 1995 the first annual "Covered Bridge" Poker Run was established, a theme well aligned to our club and one which would aptly attract visitors. Also in 1995, the L.O.H division was eliminated in order to concentrate on events geared for everyone. L.O.H would reform several years later. BC HOG has also been a long time contributor to the "Penndel" Poker Run, also known as the "Camp Joy" run. Penndel not to be confused with our next door neighbor is a contraction of Pennsylvania and Delaware and the dealers who sponsor Camp Joy.

New Hope began enforcing the "one vehicle per space" law around November of 1996 (SB238 would overrule in October 2002). That was the year of the first club PicNic. Ironically, tickets were $25 the following year which was more than in 2001 when the PicNic was cancelled due to lack of support!?

Club meetings were first held at the German Hungarian Club in April of 1997. Prior to that, they were conducted at the Hilltop Club. The first club Xmas party was also 1997 and tickets were $24. In July of 1998, the new Bucks HOG Hot Line was introduced, although this was not the first hot line the club maintained.

In the late 90's, The Bucks County Homeless Shelter became a benefactor of the Chapter and in 2000, Steve I. made it an annual drive/ride and it was subsequently named the "Charity Begins at Home" ride.

The September 1999 Calendar first lists "Fletch's Wednesday night Coffee run". August 2000 the Sunday Breakfast ride first appears (The Breakfast and Coffee rides are not club rides). We've come a long way since the 1994 Newsletter Calendar which only listed a handful of rides for the entire season!

Terms for Officers and Others (Requires "Chapter Members Only" PassWord) contributing to the longevity of this chapter have varied over the years. In the beginning, terms ran mid-year to mid-year. More recent terms have been based on a calendar year.

In December 2000 the Bucks HOG web site was introduced and in January 2001 we went live with our own domain "BucksCountyPAHog.org". In March of 2001 the format was approved by National H.O.G and we were linked to the National web site. Within six months the site had grown to over forty individual web pages and experiencing over 600 visits to the Home Page alone, per month. To further our 'electronic connection', an "eGroup" (NewsGroup mailing list) was started. This provides for intercommunication amongst the members and to broadcast updates and announcements between meetings (the eGroup is not affiliated with HOG or the BC Chapter). The National Organization features the 500,000th member in the Jan/Feb edition of Hog Tails.

A new chapter sponsored signature event was introduced by Dawn B. on September 16, 2001, to bolster the chapter treasury to benefit members in need. The Fall Finders Observation Run takes it's name from the fact that it will be a combination "Observation" and "Scavenger" Run/Hunt. Besides adding some challenging excitement, the "Scavenger Hunt" portion balances the opportunity for single riders to compete equally with two-up riders. This followed the September 11 attack of our nation, at the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

In December 2001 the original charter members of the Bucks County Chapter (who had remained on the active rolls since 1986) were honored as the first Lifetime Members of The BC HOG Chapter. Roland “Tex” A., Carmine F., Donn J., John K., Chic V., and Mickey W. also received plaques. Photo L to R are; Carmine, Donn and Chic.

Our 2002 officers went to new extremes in order to generate more interest in riding and more rides to absorb that interest. The Activities Director now has a Ride Committee staff, including an Inter-Club Representative to coordinate events with other local clubs. On July 21 we joined other chapters for our first Inter-Club Rally at Knoebels Park.

We continue to make greater use of the internet in 2002. In January we began urging members to opt for receiving their NewsLetters by downloading them from our web site. In March we similarly posted the first Members Directory on-line. In April due to the increasing unreliability of Yahoo, the eGroup was shut-down after our webmaster developed a proprietary NewsGroup system (eBCHog) now operated from the BC HOG web server. On the first anniversary of our web site, it is now over seventy individual pages and averaging over 2,000 visits per month!

Spring of 2002, Brian's H-D breaks ground for their new dealership facility.

July 12, 2002, marked the official period of the H.O.G. 20th Anniversary. The celebration will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company and end January 31, 2004.

Our chapter continues to grow. With an active database exceeding 300 throughout 2002, the membership votes in November to increase the number of Board members from six to eight, effective 2003.

The year 2003 promised to be monumental. We already know it's The Motor Company's 100th.. and the international organizations 20th., but the Bucks Chapter calendars are brimming with activities, as well. In March Brian's Harley-Davidson / Buell opened for business in their new Flowers Mill Rd. facility, with a Grand Opening on April 5. Regretfully in April, John K., one of the chapters charter members and the first presiding Director passed away. It was also one of the worst riding years in recent history, considering the seemingly never ending rain.

In August 2003 more than 37 BC Chapter members journeyed to Milwaukee to join 1/2 million other Harley enthusiast for the anniversary celebration. By September 2003, helmet laws in Pennsylvania were relaxed and we could ride free (of helmets) again.

The year 2004 set several records for Bucks County H.O.G. Our membership broke 500 this year. As if 500 was a lucky number, our famous Covered Bridge Poker Run drew over 500 participants and once again Burlington HOG was the best represented club. So it was only fitting that on July 11, we reciprocated and took the trophy for best represented club at the Burlington Poker Run. The Motor Company also set a record by surpassing 5 billion in sales by years end.

June 2005 is Brian's Harley-Davidson 20th. Anniversary.

A new annual award was unveiled in December 2005. The "Hummel Spirit of Riding" award was presented first to Harold H. for his years of instilling the true spirit of riding. The annual award was appropriately named in his honor.

The year 2006 commemorates the 20th. anniversary of the Bucks County, PA Chapter. Tom B. and others recollect the first 20 years of our chapter. It was also the year the International Organization topped the one million mark! World-Wide 130 countries, 1,400 Chapters.

Early in 2007, Committee Members of Bucks County H.O.G., in cooperation with other local Chapters presented their plan for a State H.O.G. Rally. The plan was accepted and in 2008, the PA State Rally will come to Valley Forge, PA.

Harley-Davidson Customer Profile (2005):

• Average age between 35 - 49 years old.
• Median income between $75,000 - $99,000.
• 74.4% are educated beyond High School.
• 96.7% would buy another Harley-Davidson.
• Many are executives and middle managers in a large variety of business fields.
• Own an average two automobiles, a pickup truck, plus motorcycles.
• Adding custom parts that enhance the look of their bikes was the number one choice for Harley riders (73%), while adding performance equipment was the top choice for those who ride sport bikes (44%).
• The percentage of female ownership has increased from 6.4 percent in 1990 to 9.6 percent in 2003.
• Women prefer to ride with their significant other (58%), while men choose to ride with their friends (63%).
• Harley riders are more likely than those who ride sport bikes to plan rides around where they'll eat (32% versus 23%)
• Sport bike riders are three times more likely to eat at fast-food restaurants (18% versus 6%), while riders of Harleys are nearly four times more likely to pick restaurants with the nicest looking waiters/waitresses (11% versus 3%).
• An overwhelming majority of riders (88%) donate time or money to charities. Two-thirds of Harley riders (67%) and one-third of those who ride sport bikes (33%) participate in at least one charity ride each year.
• 69% of all riders daydream at work each day about riding their bike.
• 18% of all riders call in sick to work at least once a year to go riding.

Other histories such as the BC Hog Poker and MDA Ride for Life runs can be found on their respective pages of this web site.

Contributors to this History page are:
"Capt'n Win" M., CJ C., Tom B., Dawn B., MDA, Brian's H-D

We need your help in creating a better documentation of our history. Please forward your historical notes and past chapter Officers (and dates served) to the WebMaster.

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