About us
The domain: Hoka Hey ACRG
will cease to exist in about October. We will then be:
and
"Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing."
Helen Keller
Translated in the context she said that,
it means get excited about life.
Attempt things you don't think you can do.
Believe, move forward and live your dream.
Get Your Motor Runnin...
...Get out on the highway
To say I love bikes, is an understatement. When I figured out a way how to turn something I love doing into an opportunity to do some good for local people who are helping our Arizona kids, I have to admit, that prospect excited me as much as bikes and rides do.
Yup, the guy in the photo standing next to his 03, Sportster in the gas station is me, Sam Jeppsen. I turned 59 on this trip and I have 18 grandkids. And yup I ride an 03 Sportster. And yup, I rode it from Florida to Alaska in the Hoka Hey in June of 2010, 26 days on a bike.
It's important that you know that this site, being used for charity fundraising, that all the funds received are donated to the charities they are targeting. None of the collected money is ever used for overhead. Everything goes to where you want your money to go to.
We so Thank the Following Sponsors for Making
the Alaskan Hoka Hey Experience a Reality.
Infusionsoft
866-800-0004
Skunk Motorsports Inc.
480-649-2800
Superstition Harley-Davidson
480-346-0600
Keith Salyer
American Family Insurance
480-969-6404
Joeta's Leather
480-827-1868
San Tan Ford
866-629-5966
It's also important that you know that these exact sponsors were, hand chosen, specifically, not randomly, and not because they were the first to say yes. They were chosen because:
- Each are great organizations with great community spirit
- Each have long and high reputations for being honest and fair
- Each excel in their field and in customer service
- Each have a long history of giving back to the local community
I ask that you support them, because they support the Valley.
For a little insight into me, besides loving motorcycles and loving to bunji-cord my stuff to my bike and take long, adventures rides on seldom traveled roads, I'm a 25 year vet of Law Enforcement. I am a retired police officer for the Mesa Police Department. I also served as a police officer for the Town of Gilbert and I was a Reserve Deputy for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. I served in Police Community Relations for two years, was the first of four Police Resource Officers in Schools and was Max the Talking Police Car for the elementary children. I am very involved in my local community and Church and if all goes well, soon I will be a Chaplain for the largest law enforcement agency in the State of Arizona. I enjoy trying to make a difference in the lives of others and in fact, in my office, thumbtacked to the wall are these words:
"Marca un diferencia, todo los dias."
They mean:
"Make a difference all your days"
(whata way to live)
I've ridden about 200 hundred thousand miles in my life beginning with my first bike, an Allstate 150cc--3 speed on the handlebar shifter. I bought it from Olin, the guy in the picture above. We were best friends when we were kids, now we are brother-in-laws. Here we are eating lunch in Silverton. One of the many little towns we stopped in while on a 10-day ride and camp-out through Colorado.
My first big bike was a chopped 1954 Matchless 500. My first long ride was from Phoenix to Mazatlan, to Mexico City, to Guatemala City, to Belize, Honduras, around the Yucatan Peninsula, around the Gulf of Mexico to Texas and back to Phoenix, on a 1972, Yamaha 650, BSA style twin. I've ridden several long interstate rides, ridden the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) 4 times and I have ridden down the Baja Peninsula to Cabo San Lucas and back with those you you see in the picture below, cooking breakfast. They look rather rasty, but they are great people and we had a fantastic time together, sleeping out every night except for the times we stayed in La Paz and in Cabo.
I've owned several different bikes and I loved them all. And when I travel, I usually travel as you see on this site. I don't travel on beautiful and fancy touring machines with all the latest gizmo's and gadgets, windshields, dashboards, coffee makers and Lazy-Boy recliners, but on mid-size, basic bikes, my stuff bunji-corded to my bike and usually sleeping on the ground as I go. I'm a very basic rider with very basic likes. I have simple friends and simple ways and I love life.
Downtown La Paz.
When I bought my 03, 1200 Custom Sportster, it was the largest bike I had ever owned and it was my first Harley. It now has over 54 thousand miles on it. I've had several dozen 500 mile day-rides, a dozen or more 600 mile day-rides, a handful of 700 mile day-rides and two 800 mile day-rides. Before I went on this Alaskan adventure, my longest day-ride was from Lake Tahoe, California to Queen Creek, Arizona in one day. Over 850 miles, no freeways, all secondary highways and rural routes and it took a total of 21 hours, and it was on my Sporty.
I've ridden almost every kind of Harley, Harley makes, having been a professional test rider for them for just over two years and grateful for that opportunity. In 1969, I graduated from high school. In that same year, the movie "Easy Rider" came out. It was a time of rebellion, resentment toward the Viet Man war and rise of the hippie movement.
It was also the year the Harley-Davidson family sold the company to AMF (American Manufacturing and Foundry) to avoid a hostile take over from a company called Banga-Punta who was wanting to own it. They were going around trying to buy up Harley-Davidson shares.
Afraid of being taken over, Harley-Davidson started looking for their own buyer. AMF made bowling balls, sports equipment, boats, etc. and Harley-Davidson looked at AMF as being their White Knight.
However, AMF didn't understand the American passion for Harley's. They put their logo on the gas tank and told the Harley company they were interested in the bottomline profit. As the parent company of Harley-Davidson, they wanted numbers. Lots of numbers. As a result, quality suffered greatly. Not every AMF bike was a poor quality bike, but many were and buyer complaints mounted daily as the bikes were shoved out the doors to meet the demands of AMF.
In 1981 the Viet Nam war was grinding down, a recession was in, bringing with it double digit inflation and low employment rates. With that also came plummeting motorcycle sales. AMF, hoping Harley-Davidson would be a cash cow for them, now considered Harley as a liability and wanted to sell it. The Harley-Davidson family, friends and a few investors put everything they had on the line to buy their company back. In June of 1981 it was theirs again and out came the highly publicized slogan, "The Eagle Sores Alone."
Desert Proving Grounds, Mesa, Arizona.
Some dealers were so happy they didn't wait for new signs in front of their stores that did not have the AMF logo on it. They took cans of spray paint and went out that day and painted over the AMF letters.
In 1983 the last Shovelhead was built and in 1984 came a brand new engine design. The EVO (The Evolution Motor) and Harley-Davidson has never been the same since. I can honestly say that since 1984, Harley-Davidson has made great machines. Gone are the days of the often heard slogan about Harley's, "If you ride--you wrench." And, "If your Harley isn't leaking oil, its because there isn't any oil in it."
I like almost every kind of bike and every brand out there today and I wave at every rider, I don't care if he is riding a Moped. If he rides, I wave. I tell you that to let you know I'm not just another "prejudiced" Harley owner when I say this. The machines that Harley-Davidson is making today, ever since the EVO, are 100 thousand mile machines with very little maintenance or repair needed. Basically keep the oil and filters clean, give it a kiss and a pat and a tweek once in a while and your Harley will run long enough to pass it onto your kids.
For myself, I just happen to love Sportsters and that's why I ride them. Since I have owned my 03, 1200 Custom Sportster, I have ridden over 120 thousand miles. My Sporty has over 54K, my 800 Suzuki Boulevard has over 39K and I road over 26K on Harley proto bikes.
Having ridden 200.000 miles (prior to going to Alaska) through some extremely beautiful country, I have for many years, dreamed of one day, ridding to Alaska. To ride the ALCAN and be one of the very few who have ever done that and to ride to Hope and Homer, down the Kenai Peninsula. When I was in Alaska in 1971 and 72, I bought my 1972, 650 Yamaha. I rode it as much as I could and loved it. Now to have ridden there from Florida, is a fulfillment of a dream I've had since the 9th grade. Or sometime after the TV series "Then Came Bronson" staring Michael Parks. That 1970, one year series, ignited more love affairs with Sportsters and the adventure of the open road, than any other single thing ever has. I know it did for me.
The television series: Then Came Bronson
The movie always began the same way with Bronson pulling up to a red light. Bronson has one duffle bag tied to the handlebars and another tied to the rear seat and sissy-bar. A middleaged gentleman in a suit and tie and a hat in a station wagon, is sitting next to him. Both are waiting for the light to turn green.
The guy in the wagon has his window down and is looking Bronson over and then says,
“Taking a trip?”
Bronson, doesn't’ hear him and replies, “What’s that?”
The guy repeats, “Taking a trip?” Bronson replies, “Yeah.”
The guy in the station wagon says, “Where to?”
Bronson says: “Oh, I don’t know. Wherever I end up, I guess.”
After a short pause the guy says: “Man, I wish I was you.”
Bronson replies, “Really?”
The guy longingly says, “Yeah.”
Bronson gently smiles and says: “Well, hang in there.”
The guy nods, the light turned green and Bronson rides off.
Well I can't say that I am Bronson, but I can say I have probably ridden more miles on a Sportster, and more solo miles, and slept out alongside the road more times than any one you know.
People just don't ride Sportsters a lot and they very seldom take them on trips. Actually, they are an exceptionally dependable motorcycle with very little need for repair and require little maintenance. Unless you're the kind of guy that can tear up a crowbar, you will have very little trouble with a Sportster. And for a 1200cc motor, has the lowest R's of any 1200 I know of. Harley speedo's are at or near the correct speed. Most other bikes are a full 10% off. Five miles an hour at 50, 10 miles an hour at 100. At 70mph on a Harly-speedo, (75 to 77mph on a metric) the Sporty is doing 3200rpm. That's 400rpm slower than your lawn mower. At 75mph, they are doing 3400rpm and at 80mph, they are doing 3800rpm. About a 1000 rpm slower than any other 1200 I know of. They purr like kittens and wear like iron and they are exceptionally economical. It's nothing for a 1200 Sporty to get over 50 mpg.
So whether or not I am a true Bronson, I ask you this as you go through life. Whatever you do, wherever you go, in all the good you try to do, always always ...Live The Dream.
"The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous
and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore."
Vincent Van Gogh
...Live The Dream
Samuel
