Dick Gerbers' Harley Davidson Page

Ride it Dickie!

Got the fever in 1946!
This was taken at the Long Beach Naval Hospital

Nancy and I got our first motorcycle back in 1962. That's the year we got we got married too. I can remember hanging around Fullerton Harley Davidson in those days longing for a Harley. Sadly, the price tag of $1,895.00 was way out of my reach back then. Tom Scott still owns Fullerton Harley, but moved several years ago to a new location in Fullerton California. He still has the original sign from the first dealership on Valencia Ave. I think it's an old Dual Glide neon bike sign.

We stopped in to to see Tom Scott Christmas Eve '04 at his store. He told us that Anaheim PD had just ordered a bunch of new Police Harleys! I say, "Let's Put American Policemen on American Motorcycles!" It was great to see Tommie again! We also had breakfast with a old worn out former Anaheim PD Motor Officer and his wife, Bill and Chris Lowman. Chris isn't worn out, just old Bill!

Anyway, back to our story. We settled for a Honda 50, and I could barely afford that! That was when, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda!", was all the rage. I can remember Nancy and I riding that tiny bike up and down Pacific Coast Highway. We must have looked pretty silly! Maybe so, but it it was the shaky beginning that has lasted us all these 43 years.

Thousands and thousands of great memory miles, and meeting friends that have lasted throughout the years, are just a very small part of the enjoyment we've shared on the motorcycles. Some of the worst rides are now the fondest memories. Funny how that works.

Nancy has has two of her own bikes as well. The first was a Honda 750 Automatic, the other a full boat Gold Wing. She could out ride me on either bike! These days, she's content to ride behind me. Good thing! I'm too darn old to keep up with her now!

First Harley, '76 FLH Second Harley, '77 FLH

Dick and Nancy

Lake Ellsinore ride, 1978

Over the years we've owned a couple of Gold Wings, a Honda 50, a couple of Honda 750's, a BMW RT 100 and six Harleys. The BMW RT100 is the only one we ever went down on, but that's a story for another day. Don't believe Ron Jessers version, he thinks it had something to do with a big hay truck or a flat tire!

The first Harley was a '76 FLH, from Fullerton Harley in Orange County California. That was back in the dreaded AMF history of Harley Davidson. The first thing I did was to get all the AMF signage off the bike. That was followed by another FLH, an FLHT, two Heritage Classics. An '05 Ultra Classic in Vivid Black is my current scooter. Harley Davidson is the only motorcycle that I truly loved. I've been lucky enough to have never had a bad one. A couple of them were "fussy", but still good reliable bikes.

Gold Wing for Harley FLH Her Honda 750 Automatic

Her Gold Wing His FLHT

Hers 'n His

R100 RT '92 Heritage

Looking back, I still can't remember what ever possessed me to get a BMW in the first place. Then again, if I hadn't, we'd have never met Ron and Don Jesser. We joined South Coast BMW Riders and enjoyed a lot of good riding. It just wasn't the same as riding a Harley, and the BMW eventually got sold. We kept Ron and Dot however! Sometimes we are sorry we kept Ron, but we always loved having Dot.

Note: We lost Ronnie Jesser April 20th, 2005 after a two year battle with cancer. We miss him dearly. Rest in peace old friend....

Before moving to "Preskitt", Arizona in 1993, I sold my '92 Heritage, again purchased from Tom Scott at Fullerton Harley Davidson. After a long eleven years without a motor, I picked up the '05 Heritage in September 2004 from Grand Canyon Harley Davidson just West of Flagstaff on US 40. I actually went there to buy a 2004 Road King. I was under the impression it was new, but it turned out I had misunderstood. It was one of the bikes from their rental fleet. Then I spotted the two tone Black Cherry and Black Pearl Heritage Classic. Hot Damn! I remembered that I loved the way I sat in the Heritage, not on it. I must have forgotten the ride! Anyway, the next thing I knew, they were prepping the bike for delivery and I rode it home that day.

Since September 2004, we've made several 350 mile putts without a hitch. The ride has been better after getting rid of that miserable stock seat and replacing it with a Corbin Dual Tour. Harley was never known, IMHO, for having comfortable seats. Even the old buddy seat left plenty to be desired! Corbin seats have always worked for us. Expensive, but top quality with a terrific ride.

The riding in this part of Arizona is outstanding! Miles of beautiful highways, quaint towns and breathtaking views! One of our favorite rides is to pick up Historic Route 66 just out of Ashfork off US 40, and ride the "Grand Old Lady" all the way to Oatman. Seligman makes a great rest stop coming and going. It's a Harley friendly little town that makes it's living remembering and promoting Historic Route 66.

As a kid back in the 40's, I have great memories of traveling the Historic Highway with my parents as they moved from the West Coast to the East Coast and back again. Being a kid, I wanted them to stop at every single souvenir shop along the way. There were plenty of them. There are still some ruins of the places we used to stop in those days. When US 40 was completed, old 66 died and the little towns died with it. That's why we like Seligman so much.

We are fortunate to be within riding distance of Black Canyon City, Congress, Wickenburg, Sedona, Jerome, Payson, Kingman, The White Mountains, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon to name a few. As far as that goes, "Preskitt" offers some pretty spectacular riding as well. All in all, Arizona is a great place to own and ride a motorcycle. It's Harley country for sure!

While the weather is a bit on the cold side during the Winter months, we are still able to get on the road a get a putt in at least once a week year round.

As hard as I tried to "love" the Heritage, I was never able to completely bond with it. Remember, I started out after a Road King. IMHO, the ride on Heritage was harsh. It's really a cruiser. For Nancy, it was sometimes bone jarring. Thing is, that woman never complained once! I had put the word out I was looking for an Ultra. Then, one day out of the blue, the call came in. "Hey Reverend, we just got a brand new Vivid Black Ultra still in the box." I put a money hold on it, and Nancy and went down to take it for a test ride. The rest is history!

Goodbye Heritage, hello Ultra!

We rode home via some back roads out of Scottsdale, up through Payson, down into the Verde Valley and on into Prescott, making it a 200 mile plus maiden voyage. Our next ride was wonderful 325 loop out of Prescott through Williams, Flagstaff, Lower and Upper Lake Mary, Mormon Lake, Cliffs Well and back. What a ride! Other than putting on some new mufflers to give the scoot it's rightful Harley sound, and a few minor extras, it's pretty much stock. Nancy likes the factory seat so well, I don't have the heart to switch it over to a Corbin, so I've ordered a Harley Road Zeppelin Adjustable seat. It should give her about the same position and comfort she enjoys, and give me some relief from that stock seat!

Nancy on the new Ultra at Lake Mary Lake out of Flagstaff Arizona
May15th 2005

I like this Harley and better better every time I ride it! It's called an Ultra Glide, but by many others, it's referred to a a Geezer Guide. Now than I'm an old geezer, it's a perfect match! May 22nd found us out early with a ride up over Mingus Mountain into Jerome, and down into Sedona. We followed Oak Creek Canyon North, stopping for breakfast along the way before picking up Route 66 West. A stop at Planes of Fame Museum Grand Canyon Valle Airport (Valle-Williams, Arizona) where we took a tour of General Doug MacArthur's C-121A Constellation on display there.

We still get out whenever we can as time and weather allows. We've made trips to Laughlin Nevada, Rocky Point Mexico, Oatman and up into the White Mountains of Arizona in the last few months. Fact is, we'll be leaving next week for the 24th Annual Laughlin River Run.