SALEM HARLEY OWNERS GROUP #1997SALEM HARLEY-DAVIDSON. 3601 SILVERTON RD., NE, SALEM, OR 97303 PH: 503-363-0634
Sunset Poker Run
Volume 18 No. 10 October 2007
HOG CORRAL NEWS
Inside this issue:Director’s Post, Senior Road Captain’s Corner, Safety Article,
Sunset Poker Run, MDA Hope Ride, Randy Cares, Anacortes, Road King vs. Electra Glide Review, and October/November Calendars
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Director’s Corner Salem HOG Chapter ElectionsWanted: Interestingandhard-workingpeopleFor: Excitingandlife-changingjobPay-off: TheknowledgethatyouareparticipatinginthegroupyoubelongtoStartingtime: December½timeChallenges: WatchtheSalemHarley-Owners’groupgetevenbetter
Wearecominguponelectiontimeforthechapter.Haveyoueversatinthechaptermeetingsandwonderedwhy“they”weredoingitthatwaywhenyouknewabetterway???? Well, now is the time to volunteer to be an officer and do it your way!!!!
Being a chapter officer affords you the opportunity to put into action some of your ideasandsuggestions.Thechapterworkisnotverytimeconsuming.Peoplesaytheywanttobeabletoridemore* but the top mileage people in the chapter are on the board!! So come to the meeting and put your hand up and say,“Iwillvolunteerforthatposition”.
NominationswillbeatthechaptermeetingforOctoberandNovember.Nomineesmustbepresenttoacceptoremail ME to confirm.
This year, the following board members (chapter officers) are open for election: DirectorAsst.DirectorSafety OfficerWebmasterPhotographerSecretary
Thefollowingpositionswillcontinueforthe2008year:Historian,Treasurer,SeniorRd.Captain,Membership,NewsletterEditor,Activitiesdirector.
Inthewind……….. JaneAllen,Director2007
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September Meeting
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Road King vs. Electra Glide UltraA Hands On Review of Two Premium Touring Bikes AcoupleofissuesbackIdidastoryontheUki-ah ride, and I mentioned having made that ride on anew2007RoadKinggraciouslyloanedtomebySalemHarleyDavidson,andforwhichIpromisedtodoaroadtestarticle.Thisisit. I generally ride a 2005 FLHTCUI Ultra which Ilove, but back when I first bought it, I thought I want-edanElectraGlideClassicandIreallywonderediftheRoadKingwasn’twhatIreallyaspiredto.Notallriderslikethesamethings.Iguessthat’swhytherearesev-eraldistinctlydifferentmodelsandsomefairlysimilarmodelsintheHarleylineup.JustbeforeIactuallymademychoice,IrentedsomebikesincludingaRoadKing,acoupleofUltras,anda“Springer.”AnUltrawasthelastbikeIrentedand,Iputabout600milesonitbeforeIdecidedthatIwouldbehappywithone.IthadbeenawhilesinceIhadrentedaRoadKing,whichIalsolikedwhenIrentedit,somycomparisonwasn’t“fresh”whenImademydecision.Sincethattime,IcouldnothelpbutoccasionallywonderwhetherIwouldhavereallyratherhadtheRoadKing. Thisarticleisnotbasedonan“applestoapples”or “scientific” criteria evaluation. It is simply a collection ofopinionsandobservations.MyUltraisa2005thatwasinitiallyaTwinCam88.TheRoadKingwasastock2007withthenew96CIengineandthenew6-speed.My Ultra has been modified since it was stock, but I tried tomakemycomparisonsbasedonwhatitwaslikewhenstock.IdidwaituntilIhadover5,000milesontheUl-trabeforeImadeanychanges,andIthinkIrememberwhatitrodelikepre-mod. First, letmesaythattheRoadKingisasweetride.Itseemstometohaveabitbettercorneringandhandling capability and a little more clearancebeforeyou’re on the “pegs.” This Road King had the cruisecontroloption,whichworkedprettymuchlikethecruisecontrolontheUltra,butthecontrolswereslightlydiffer-ent. At first, I did not have enough pressure in the air shocks,butoncethatwascorrected;theRoadKinghadanicecontrolledbutcomfortableride.ItmightevenbealittlebetterthantheUltrainthatthefrontendseemsto take the roughpartsof the roada littlenicer. TheRoadKinghasaverydifferentseatandhandlebarcon-figuration and has a very different feel from the Ultra eventhoughitisclearthattheyareinthesame“fam-ily.” The Road King definitely has more of an “open”
feel to it and provides for better air-flow while riding. Evenwith the lower fairing louversopenand the “batwings”removedfromtheupperfairing,theUltracan’tprovide the Road King’s open air flow. That probably worksbothways. Ineverrodewiththesnap-on lowerfairingsonecaninstallontheRoadKing,butIsuspectthatevenwiththoseon,theRoadKingwouldneverbeabletoprovidethe levelofriderprotectionfromnastyweatherthatthefullfairingsontheUltrado. Thenew96isinmyopinionabigimprovementoverthestock88. Idoubtthatthehorsepowerdiffer-enceismorethana“smidgeon,”butthedifferenceintorque is more than just noticeable. The 96 enginedoesmuchbetteronhillsandpassing.Fueleconomywasfantasticforthenew96.Inevergotlessthan44mpg, and on two tanks, I got well over 50 mpg. Thestocksoundseemstobemuchbetterthanitwasforthestock88aswell. I had mixed feelings about the new 6-speedtransmission.Overall,Ithinkitisbetter.Theratiosarebetterand6thisperfectforusingtheextratorqueofthe96whencruising;however,6thissotallitisreallyaboutuselessunlessgoingatleast65mph.The6-speedhasasomewhatnoveldesigninthatsomeofthegearsarethebevel-cutgearsweareaccustomedtohavingwiththe big-twin 5-speed, and some are straight-cut, liketheywereonsomeolderHarleydesigns. Straight-cutgearsarestrongand functional,but theydon’t soundlikebevel-cutgears.Fifthgearhasasoundtoitthatisverydifferentfrom4thor6th,andbecauseofthe“tall”ratios,onespendsalotoftimein5thwhennotcruisingtheinterstate.Tome,5thgearhadasoundtoitthatwasnotunlikeanoldpieceofrotatingfarmequipment,likeabaler,withbearingsthatshouldhavebeenchangeda few seasons ago but haven’t completely failed yet.DanScrabecktellsmethatoncehechangedtoSyn-3in his new 6-speed, the noise changed such that youcanhardlytellthedifferencebetween5thand4thor6th.OthershavetoldmethatusingRed-Linemakestheoddsoundgoawaycompletely,butthisRoadKinghada5thgearsoundthatwasannoyingevenifwasharmless. I discovered during the one light rain we rodethroughhowmuchImissedthelower-fairingsonmyUl-tra.Laterintheride,thelackoflowerfairingswasap-preciatedinthedryandhotdesert.ThewindshieldontheRoadKingalsogavemeadequateprotectionfromtheroad-windbutnotthemorecompleteprotectionofthefullfairing. I also missed the travel-trunk on my Ultra, al-though I did manage to get all my gear in the saddle
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Know Your Board MemberMarkJohnstonSafety Officer 2006-2007
My first street bike was a Yamaha 750 that I boughtin1984.Ihaditforacoupleofyearsbutdidn’trideitallthatmuch.IalsohadaSuzukiRM370dirtbikethatIboughtin1983thatIrodealot.AftermovingtoSalemtoattendcollegeIsoldbothofthemby1987.Itwasn’t until 2004 that we bought our first Harley David-son.ItwasapoliceserviceElectraGlidestandardthatwebought inBend. In twoandahalfyears Iputover25,000 miles on it. We blame much of our family forus getting one since they had Harleys. You gotta blame someone, right?Thereasonweevenendedupat thedealershiponthatfatefuldaywasbecauseofarainedout tee time at a local golf course. Damn the bad luck! Thoughwejokeandblamethefamily,eversincethenwehaveseenandspentmoretimewithallofthembe-causeofthebikes.NottomentionthenewfriendswehavemadefromtheBendHOGchapter. SowehadourHarleyandwithinafewmonthsCatherinesaidshewouldliketolearntoride.OnChrist-mas that same year I presented her with a very niceHondaShadow.Shedidawesomewith itandwerodea lot. Then she was ready for a Harley. We stumbledacross a gorgeous 2003 anniversary Heritage. It washersbytheendofthenextday.Boywassheproudtohave her own Harley. It was perfect for her. In about five months she put seven thousand miles on it. Then asmostofyoualreadyknowwesoldit,tradedinmineandboughtanew2007UltraClassic.Weenjoyitalot.Itnowhas10,400mileson it. Incaseyou’rewondering,yesCatherinedoeswantherownagainsomeday.
WejoinedSalemHOGinOctoberof2004.AndthencomesalongJanein2005whosaystome,“Howwould you like to be Safety Officer?” She was all sweet andniceyouknow.Ithought“what?”I’veonlybeenrid-ingforayear.WhatmoredoIknowaboutridingthanthese other people who have ridden a lot more thanme?Butitsoundedlikefunandanopportunityformeto learn more. So here I am finishing up two years of be-ing the safety officer. And though I am looking forward to the break, I think I will also miss it. Overall I haveenjoyeditverymuchandhavelearnedalot.HopefullyIhavesharedsomethingthatwasnewtoyounowandthenaswell. Idescribeservingontheboardasachancetobethemost involvedwith thechapter.So ifyouenjoythechapterandwanttobemoreinvolved,likehelpingothers,andwanttogettoknowmoreofthemembersevenbetter,thenIwouldencourageyoutoserveontheboard.Itreallyisafunexperience.Wehavemadealotof great friends from thechapterandare thankful somany welcomed usin. We look forwardto many more yearsof riding and laugh-ingwithSalemHOG.OhandJane,youstillare sweet and nice!
RIDE SAFE!
bags or bungeed on the Road King. The Road KingsaddlebagsseemtoholdaboutasmuchastheUltrabags,buttheydon’tlock.IlikethelockfeatureontheUltrabagsandon the travel-trunkespecially forocca-sions likeeatingata restaurantwithoutbeingable towatchthebike.Iwouldalsomissthelittle“cubby-hole”storageinthelowerfairingsontheUltra.ThisiswhereIkeepthingslikesunscreen,wheellocks,andgaragedooropenersthatImightwanttogetateasily. Afterover800mileson theRoadKing, Ihavetosay,thatforme,ImadetherightchoicewiththeUl-tra. I find the way the Ultra sits and the shorter reach for thehandlebars muchmorecomfortable fora longride.AttheendoftheUkiahride,mythrottlehandwascramping badly from the unfamiliar riding position. Icould also live without the stereo, CB, weather-radio,etc.onmyUltrabut…Iwouldmissthem.IneverthoughtIwouldwantanyof that“stuff”onamotorcycle,but I
mustbegettingold–I’vefoundthattheyhave“grown”onme.IhavenothadpassengersontheRoadKing,butIsuspectthatmostriderswouldprefertheviewfromtheelevatedbackseatontheUltra,andIalsosuspectthatthebackrestprovidedbythetravelpackwouldalsobepreferredbymost. Bottomline-TheRoadKingisaniceride,andIcanseewhyitwouldbepreferredbymany.TheRoadKing has definite advantages over the Ultra in some ar-eas, but for me and the type of riding I do, I have noregretsaboutchoosingtheUltra. I am going to get some of the air deflector “bat wings”thatareabit likewhatcomesstandardonthenew Ultras. I liked the extra air-flow of the Road King, but I’d like to be able to adjust it to fit the conditions.
RobertGrove
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Training and Practice...Do You?
JustrecentlyIfoundoutthatafriendofourswentdownwithherbikethissummer.Otherthana few bruises and scrapes, she is fine. In fact the biketurnedoutnotsobadeither. This person is not new to riding. She hasloggedwellover33,000milesandhasbeenridingfor more than seven and a half years. She hasattendedtwoofTeamOregonridertrainingclasses,thelatestonebeingtheexperiencedrider’sclassthreeyearsago. The scenario is this. She was in rushhour traffic in Seattle. To add to this it was also a construction zone with a grooved road service.Vehiclesweregoing,stopping,going,andstopping.Duringoneofthegoingmomentseveryonecametoasuddenstop.Shehadtogetstoppedorbecomepartofthebackofacar.Shewasgoingaboutfortymilesperhour. Whenthispersonsharedherstorywithmeshetoldmethatsheremembersthinkingwhattodo.Hermindwasrecallingwhatshehadlearnedinthetraining,theproperbreakingtechniqueanddownshifting.Butherbodydidn’tdoit.Herbodyreactedwithnaturalinstinct,nothertraining.Thisdoesnotmakeherabadrider.Thismakesherahuman being. The back tire locked up, the bikefishtailed and through her off. But why did this happen?Shehas taken training.Shehas riddenforyears. The reason why police officers, fire fighters, soldiers,pilots,athletesandmanyotherscontinuetotrainthroughouttheircareersissowhenthoseskill sets are needed, they can react with out
thinking.Sotheirbodyalreadyknowswhattodo
andhowtodoit.Itisoftenreferredtoasmusclememory. Ridingamotorcyclerequiresaskill set tohandletheseheavymachines,tocornerproperly,to maneuver at slow speeds comfortably andsafely, and to react correctly when faced with asuddenurgentsituation. Justbecausewe tookaclassdoesnotmeanwehave theseskills. It justmeansweknowwhattheyare. Sohowdowemakethisknowledgeaskillsowecanreactcorrectlyandautomatically?Iwouldproposewedothisbypracticing.Iknowit’snotasfunasgettingoutthereandhittingthecorners.Infacttosomeitmightbeboring.Butwemusttrainourmindandbodytodotherightthingattherighttime,withoutthinkingaboutit. Sohowcanwepractice?FromtimetotimeIwillgotoanemptyparkinglotontheweekendandpractice. Slow speed turns, stopping, swerving,lookingwhereIwanttogo,etc.Imayevengettomore than tenor twelvemilesanhouranddoarapid stop by hitting the breaks firmly. By doing this wearetrainingourmindandbodythecorrectwayto react. We are building those skills sets. Thenwhenthedaycomesweneedthem,andthatdaywillmostlikelycome,wealreadyknowwhattodo. Iwouldencourageeveryoneregardlessofhowmanymilesyou’veridden,regardlessofhowmany times you’ve taken a class, regardless ofhowexperiencedyoumaybe, tocontinually trainand practice. Your life may depend on it. See you in class.
Ride Safe!MarkJohnston
Safety Officer
Safety Article
Cold Weather Protection Withthecolderweathertheoddsarethatmanyofyouhavebegunwearingleatherchapsandheavierjack-ets.Thoughprettyexpensive,there’sampleproofthattheseprovidefarmorethanprotectionfromthecold. Instudiesof‘survivability’ofvariousgarmentmaterialstoa50MPHrideonasphalt,forexample,denimlastednomorethanFOURFEETbeforewearingthrough.Kevlar,ontheotherhand, lastedEIGHTEENFEET.Butstandard motorcycle quality (about three times heavier than fashion jacket material) lasted EIGHTY-SIX FEET. That’s morethan20timesaseffectiveasyourjeansinprotectingyourhide.
ThetestswerereportedintheSeptember1988issueofCyclemagazine.
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Sunset Poker Run
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Randy Cares Run - 9/15
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MDA Hope Ride - 9/16
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Group Riding Class Schedule for 2007Month Date Day TimeOctober 28th Sunday 12:00Noon
AttendagroupridingclasstobecomefamiliarwithsafegroupridingpracticesandhowSalemHOGrides.Ifyouarenewtoriding,newtoridingaspartofagrouporjustnewtoSalemHOG,thisisanimportantclass.Manyimportant aspects of group riding are discussed to help you and the entire club Ride Safe and Have Fun! AllclasseswillbeheldatSalemHarleyDavidson.Theclassruns60to90minutes.Ifweatherispermitting,therewillbeaonetotwohourrideafterwardstopracticewhatwasdiscussedintheclassandtohelpnewermem-bers feel more comfortable by learning in a smaller group. Ride Safe!
Mark Johnston SafetyOfficer
Rider Training ResourcesTeam Oregonhttp://teamoregon.orst.eduorcall800-545-9944
Ride Like a Prohttp://www.ridelikeapro.com
Motorcycle Safety Foundation Riders Edgehttp://www.msf-usa.org
http://www.speedfreakinc.com/content/articles/riding/roadrashqueen.html
DirectorJane Allen [email protected]
Assistant [email protected]
Activities [email protected]
Safety OfficerMarkJohnston503-585-2381
Membership [email protected]
E-GroupJohnZobrist
[email protected]@comcast.netSenior Road CaptainBobWiro971-259-1019
Senior Road Captain’s CornerRide safe and ENJOY!!!October, 2007. It’s been a great riding year for all I hope! And from what the weather-menhavebeensaying,itlooksliketherewon’tbeanyIndiansummerriding.It’stimetocheck those tires to see if they have the tread for typical fall/winter riding in Oregon!
Upcoming rides: October 13th Willamette Valley Casino Night & Auction NON-HOG Yu-kon Jack’s Steakhouse and Saloon4th & Broadway Veneta, Oregon Gambling 2pm-6pmAuction6pm-8pmLiveMusicWillametteValleyA.B.A.T.E.
Saturday, October 20, 2007 7:00p 2007 SALEM TROOP SUPPORT BENEFIT PARTY Help ussendcarepackagestoOurTroopsinIraqandAfghanistanSalemRedLionHotel
Your Road Captains are also working on some Fall Colors rides.
BobWiro LeadRoadCaptain
New MembersSeptemberColeman,JamesRocha,Ray
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Club Business
BOARD Meeting MinutesSeptember4,2007Treasurer Report ~ Jackie - provided checking account balance and cash flow reports. Shared with us a new pos-sibilityforpokerrunpins.Asst. Director-Dave-GreatturnoutduringStateRallyBreakfastforVolunteersatDealership-Thankyouverymuch! Safety Officer~Mark-Lockingcabinet,Jeffwillhaveonekeyandaboardmemberwillhaveonekeyalso.Bobisgoingtoputoutanemailtotheroadcaptainsforacompletevoteonvestvsbraids.Ifvests,theywillhavethereflective patches on them. It was approved to spend the funds for either vests or braids. Membership~Catherine-NewmemberappreciatedhowwelltheyweretakenofActivities~Sue-absent-WorkingonChristmasParty–Markhasabandhewouldliketoconsiderforthepokerrun.Road Captain~BobW.-Septemberiscovered,willputtogethersomefallcolorsrides.TheLetitRide-willbedrawnforapastridingeventduringthechaptermeeting.Photographer~Keith-lotsofeventscomingupsolotsofopportunitiesforpictures.Webmaster~Bill-willputitemsonwebsiteNewsletter~BobF.-absentCalendar-needtostart-getpicturesMicrophone-WeathersMusic-around$400.00–willsendemailaroundforanyothersuggestions–willaskatgeneralmeetingiftheywanttopursuepurchasingone.Octobermeetingwillbethestartofnominationsfor2008.
Your Chapter T-shirts Are Here!!!!!All Chapter T-shirts will be available at the next two Chaptermeetingsforyoutopickupandpayfor.SeeDaveNicholsfor
detailsorquestions.
Phone DirectoriesThe phone directories are now avail-able.Theywillbeavailabletopickupatthegeneralmeeting.
October Birthdays
Bowers,John October17Dudley,Randy October1Lang,Jim October17Macnab,John October2Mattison,Mike October24McKnight,Tim October16Mosley,Nancy October2Nash,Don October20Price,Pamela October22Schuening,Louise October10Smith,Auzenda October13Stine,Patrick October30Wright,Glenn“Grumpy” October6
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WedrovethemotorhomeandhauledthebikeuptoMt.Vernon,leavingFridaymorningabout8:00am. We finally got there about 8:00 pm. Hearing thatI-5wouldbealljammedupwedecidedtotaketheroutearoundSeattleon405--BIGmistake--themotor home was acting like it had a flat tire, although we couldn’t find anything wrong. We finally pulled off inPuallup--BIGmistake,aswewoundupinthemiddleof the Fair and a snarl of traffic. We spotted a Chev-rolet dealer, so stopped there to find out if they could check it out for us--BIG mistake-- first they didn’t know anythingaboutoneandsentustosomeplaceabout20milesaway,andthenwewereallhungupinthelotandcouldn’tgetoutwithallthecarsintheway.Theywounduphavingtomove2or3carsandguideusout.Finallybackon405andbythenthemotorhomedecidedthatitwasok&nomoreproblems.Bythenwe were just in time to catch all the Friday Night traffic. This was supposed to get us away from all the traffic--NOT.OurnewGPSwasguidingustotheRVPark---wellsortof,wewentaroundandaroundanditkepttellingusthatwe“hadarrivedatdestination”exceptthatwecouldn’t find it, well it was about a block farther on & we finally got there. All this and then it had to rain on topofitall. Saturdaywejustrodearoundatallthesights.WeweregoingtogooverontheferryintoCanada,evenbroughtourpassports--whichIforgotinthemo-torhome--somuchforthatidea.WewenttoWhidbyIslandinstead.Thatwasareallyniceride.
Brightandearly,wellactuallyitwasreallyfoggyonSundaymorningoffwewenttoAnacortestoeatoystersandbuyt-shirts.Weluckedoutandfoundagoodparkingplaceinthemiddleoftown.Ithinktheremusthavebeenabout10streetsthattheyhadblockedofffortheBikers,andtheVendorswereup
anddowneachsidestreet.Thesidewalksweresopackedyoucouldhardlywalkupanddownthem,andtherestroomswereanotherstory,alsolonglines,withslow motioned females with chaps!! WemetupwithJim&Nancy,George&Betty,Sherrie&Jim,andDave&Debby.Theyallrodetheirbikes,soprobablyhaveastoryontheirend. Idon’tknowhowmanyBikeswerethere,somesaid20,000butIdon’tthinkitwasevenhalfthatamount.Bikesofeverykind,model,sizeandcolorandmore. WetriedtheoystersattheElks,butweren’timpressed,soLouieateahotdog. TheSeattleCossacksweretheredoingtheirstunts.Theysurearegreat.
Aftereating,drinkingandwalkingaroundalldaywedecidedtoheadbacktoMt.Vernon,andwithallthebikesleavingaboutthesametimeyoucanjustimagine the jammed up traffic. Actually the traffic get-tingoutoftownwasn’tbad,itwasonthehighwaythatthingsgotallbottledupanditwasstopandstartformiles. We came home Monday morning and no traffic jams,guesswehititatabettertime,andwecameallthewayonI-5.Ithinktherestofthemcamehomeadifferentway,maybeonthecoast.Theyweretalk-ingaboutgoingbackacrossontheferry,guessitwasprettyroughwhentheycameoveronSaturday. Wehadarealgoodtime,andmetalotofveryniceandfriendlypeople.
MarleneSchroeder
ANACORTES OYSTER RUN
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ANACORTES OYSTER RUN
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October 2007
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November 2007
Patches and PinsPatches and the Salem HOG Chapter Pin are
availableatallchaptermeetings.Nomatterwhatyour preference, large or small, you will find the variouspatchesondisplaywiththeirprices.Checkoutthedisplayatthefronttablepriortothemeeting,duringthebreak,orimmediatelyafterthemeeting.
LargeNationalHOGPatch $20.00LargeSalemHOGRocker $20.00Large Reflective National HOG Patch $25.00SmallNationalHOGPatch $10.00SmallSalemHOGRocker $10.00
SalemChapterPin $10.00
SALEM HARLEY OWNERS GROUP #1997SALEM HARLEY-DAVIDSON. 3601 SILVERTON RD., NE, SALEM, OR 97303
PH: 503-363-0634
