Be sure to review the information on helmets for MX riders and required forms for minors participating in riding activities.
Note: June 2nd is the last day to book rooms at the special Hodaka Days rates.
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DEDICATED TO CHUCK SWANSON 8/10/30 to 12/21/21
HODAKA DAYS IS ON JUNE 23-26, 2022!
THE LAST WORD ON HODAKA DAYS ’22!
CELEBRATION OF LIFE OF CHUCK SWANSON – At 1:30 pm Saturday, a celebration of the life of Chuck Swanson will be held in the Athena City Park. The last General Manager of PABATCO, Chuck passed away this past December. We will gather to remember the quiet, gentle friend who is greatly missed. While we can’t distill Chuck’s life and contributions into a short service, this will offer an opportunity for friends and family to share brief personal stories or favorite memories of our times with “Swannie,” the host of more than 20 ice cream socials at Hodaka Days past, inveterate tinkerer and all-around fascinating man. All are welcome.
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HD’22 EVENTS
UMATILLA COUNTY TT AND POKER RUN – Thursday 6/23 – 50 miles of winding rural roads and historic communities for licensed, street-legal, 250cc or less vintage (twin shock, drum brake, air cooled) bikes. Not restricted to Hodakas; passengers meeting legal requirements permitted.
BAD ROCK TRAIL RIDE- 50-mile ride via country roads into the Blue Mountains where the historic Bad Rock ISDT Qualifiers were run for all vintage (twin shock, drum brake, air cooled). Not restricted to Hodakas, special arrangements allow trail bikes (street licensure not required) but USFS approved spark arrestors are mandatory.
MAIN STREET PARADE – Follow a County Sheriff on his one-of-a-kind Hodaka police special, past the assembled citizenry down Main Street Athena, with 100 of your best (Hodaka) friends! Passengers under 14 are OK, with parental consent; sorry, no riders under 14.
BIKE SHOW- 19 classes for Hodaka or Yamaguchi powered cycles only on display in the park. Originals, cool modified bikes, special one-off oddball constructs… see them all, and show off your Hodie!
OBSERVED TRIALS – Novice, intermediate, expert and trail bike classes for Hodakas and Club Members only. AMA membership and waivers required. (see below).
SWAP MEET, SILENT AUCTION AND SALE – Bring your goodies to sell or hunt for rare treasures among vendors, sponsor-donated Club offerings and, who knows what? All in the shade of Athena Park’s giant trees.
BANQUET DINNER, AWARDS PRESENTATION AND AUCTION- Saturday evening dinner, drinks (non-alcoholic) & desert for $15, award presentations for event winners and club service awards, plus a few selected, choice items contributed by sponsors and members will be auctioned off.
MEET THE LEGENDS – HD’22 is a great opportunity to meet some of the fascinating folks in motorcycle - and especially Hodaka - history!
Eric Jensen, (three-time ISDT medal winner, as well as an early Hodaka dealer and manufacturer of the famous Jensen specialty Hodaka parts.) Eric will be hosting a Service Seminar Two Stroke Basics and Troubleshooting Friday afternoon. **Additionally, Eric will be showing (and selling!) a very few newly remade Jensen cylinders, pistons and heads for Hodaka 100s! Power and cooling not available since the 1960s, now at Hodaka Days! **
Lee Fabry (SoCal & Baja, and now our most celebrated and knowledgeable creator of special, one of a kind Hodakas, who has stepped up to take leadership of the Saturday bike show);
Peter Starr, AMA Hall of Fame member, recognized as the top producer of motorcycle pix in the world. Peter’s work includes “Take it to the Limit” and “Bad Rock”, about the ISDT Qualifier in Weston Oregon , which he produced after consultation with Hodaka.
PABATCO/Hodaka staff -Jim Gentry, Parts, Service and Warranty Manager at PABATCO in “the day”; “Jeanie” Trout, original executive secretary and Personnel Manager at PABATCO; and Marvin Foster, Promotion Department Manager (and source of much of the famous Hodaka Humor – “a Dirt Squirt?”) - Foster was the original Hodaka Baja rider, 1000 miles, over 30 days on an Ace 90.
Ron Pomeroy, Bultaco Factory Team racer (Daytona, Hangtown, Saddleback and more).
MX RACING– Classic scrambles style racing in “suburban” Athena wraps up the weekend Sunday! Must be 14 or older, racing muffler or USFS approved spark arrestor, AMA membership and waivers required (see below). Calvert’s Sugar Shack will offer morning sustenance coffee and muffins/cinnamon rolls at the track from 8 to 9:30 morning; with sandwiches and sodas from 11am to 1 pm. .
TRAVEL, LODGING, FOOD, INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS AND THE IMPORTANT, ANNOYING NECESSITIES
(YEAH, EVEN FUN REQUIRES PAPERWORK THESE DAYS!)
TRAVEL - PLANNING ON COMING FOR THE FIRST TIME? AIRPORTS NEAR ATHENA- Pendleton, OR (PDT), about 20 miles south, service by Boutique Air, some rental cars available. Walla Walla, WA (ALW), 25 miles north, service by Alaska/Horizon, some rental cars available. Pasco, WA (PSC), about 65 miles northeast, service by Alaska/Horizon, United shuttle, Delta, car rental agencies. Portland, OR (PDX), closest MAJOR airport, 3.5-hour drive west, via spectacular Columbia Gorge.
LODGING – Hotels - There are no motels in Athena. The Red Lion Hotel in Pendleton is the official hotel of HD’22. Call 541-276-6111 and ask for special Hodaka Days rates. Special rates must be booked by June 2nd!
Camping is available at the Athena City Park, which has a pool house with showers which will be available for campers. Please, no camping in the grass on school grounds.
For RVs, parking is available just across a footbridge from the park. There are a limited number of electrical and water hookups for RVs; no waste water hookups are available. There is a small RV park in Athena and several full-service RV parks within reasonable driving distance. Mountain View RV Park - 1375 SE 3rd, Pendleton, OR 97801 (approx. 20 miles from Athena) Exit 210 off I-84 (next to Red Lion) 541-276-1041, 866-302-3311 www.nwfamilyrvresorts.com Centerville RV Park - 213 W. Sherman, Athena, OR 97813 (Near the old PABATCO building) 541- 566-9246. Wildhorse Resort & Casino - 72777 Highway 331, Pendleton, OR 97801 (Approx. 18 miles from Athena - right next to I-84 just east of Pendleton) 800-654-9453. Trails West RV Park - 1420 S. Main, Milton-Freewater, OR 97862 (approx. 12 miles from Athena) Phone: 509-301-2400 509-200-9796
FOOD - There are a limited number of food options in Athena, so you may want to bring some snacks and breakfast food, especially if camping.
We have a new caterer, Calvert’s Sugar Shack on Main Street in Athena. They will be open from 7 am - 2 pm Saturday; from 7 am – noon Sunday. They will also prepare sandwiches, salads, muffins and drinks, which will be available in the park Saturday 11 am- 1:30 pm.
They’ll be catering the Saturday evening awards dinner at the Athena elementary school cafeteria and courtyard. Dinner will include pulled pork or chicken sandwiches, coleslaw, roasted potatoes, desert and iced tea or lemonade, tickets will be $15 each. In light of covid-19 concerns, if you want to be assured of outside seating, you may want to bring your own chair & folding table.
BAD ROCK SIGNUP- Worried about the difficulty of the big, bad, Bad Rock trail ride? Although we do get to cover some of the “sacred ground” as the original ISDT qualifier from the ‘70’s, this is not meant to be a test of endurance for you or your bike. Don’t let the name scare you off. Today’s version will be a 50-mile ride with “social stops” to relax with fellow riders, through country roads up into the Blue Mountains. Street legality is not required, though spark arrestors are. Registration is now open to the public, so pass the word to your friends, neighbors, and fellow dirt bike enthusiasts. The link to the signup is:
http://hodakaclub.org/event-4759626 , and, if haven't signed up already, do it now. While the number of riders is limited, space is still available.
STILL SEEKING AUCTION DONATIONS – For both good fun and to help finance HD’22, the Saturday swap meet and evening awards banquet include auctioning off contributions from vendors and participants. Got cool parts (used, in good condition is OK), Hodaka memorabilia, a special Hodaka project, or services you are willing to donate? Bring them to the Club booth in the park Friday or Saturday morning, so we can display and auction them off. Donors will be credited as sponsors, and help us keep going!
HELP, HELP, HELP! – “Many hands make light work” is so true. We’re always in need of volunteer helpers at Hodaka Days. We need help managing waivers, installing banners, moving tables & chairs, moving parade barriers, putting up track fencing, serving ice cream… You get the picture! If you can offer some help, our highly paid (occasional free beer) executive staff really appreciates it. Let us know when you arrive and/or check in at the Club Park booth. A few hours of volunteer time enable all of us to enjoy the week more.
IMPORTANT DETAILS & PAPERWORK! Hodaka Days insurance is provided by the American Motorcycle Association, which requires:
HELMETS- If you’re planning to race MX – or even just practice – per AMA requirements for racing. you must wear a full-face helmet, no one will be allowed on the track without one! Open face helmets are OK for all other events.
WAIVERS FOR MINORS– Waivers must be signed by both parents (if applicable). There is one waiver for recreational events (poker run, trail ride, and parade); MX and Trials each have a separate form. If you need a waiver and both parents – with legal custody – won’t be at HD’22, the needed forms can be downloaded at www.hodakaclub.org and must be notarized if signatures can’t be witnessed at the event! If no legal guardian will be attending the event, we’ll need a notarized letter authorizing an attending adult as a guardian for the event.
AMA MEMBERSHIP– Required for trials, track practice or racing. Membership can be renewed on-line at www.americanmotorcyclist.com. Forms for single event membership ($20) are only available at the event; an annual membership (available in advance from AMA) is only $9 more than two (trials and track activity) single‑event memberships and covers both trials and track activity, as well as other AMA events.
EVENT ENTRY FORM – All participants in the poker run, Bad Rock ride or parade need to complete an “Event Entry Form”, which provides demographic information we submit to AMA. The form can be downloaded at www.hodakaclub.org.One form covers all events; once we have a completed form at HD’22, you’ll receive a gold wrist band and won’t need to complete another one for additional events. If you can fill out the attached form in advance and bring it to the event, it will save you time during registration.
HODAKA CLUB MEMBERSHIP– Save yourself and our volunteers time and renew your club membership online at http://www.hodakaclub.org/Join_or_renew_Online .
So… June 23-26, 2022… be in Athena or miss all the fun!