Greetings to all Indiana and Michigan HOG Members! I want to welcome you to the State Safety pages and to introduce myself. First off, my name is James Yaney, I'm the Safety Officer/Historian for Muncie, IN HOG Chapter #1277. I was appointed by Harley-Davidson in February to serve in the Volunteer State Safety Coordinator Program. I'm one of 14 State Coordinators in the United States. Our job is to attend HOG rallies, meetings and to give talks on safety. We are also to assist HOG Clubs with Rider Education information and encourage clubs to have a Safety Officer.

I am a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Instructor and operate my own school in Muncie, IN. At our school we teach the basic RSS (Rider Course Street Skills) and the ERC course (Experienced Rider Course). I'm a Life Member of HOG and write articles for several publications. I taught myself to ride at age 15 on a 90 c.c. Yamaha in the alley behind my house. Thirty-three years later, I'm still going strong, but not on a Yamaha. Now it's my 2000 Heritage, dubbed `Phoenix II'. This is my third Harley and by far, the best! I average 10,000 miles a year attending events and just riding for fun. The reason I love motorcycles is simple. They're FUN!

There has never been a better time to enjoy motorcycling, especially on a Harley-Davidson! As you may of heard, Harley-Davidson is an active member of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and the new "Riders Edge-Harley-Davidson Academy of Motorcycling" program. It is available at many select dealerships nationwide. For more information log on to www.ridersedge.com

Under Safety News you will find the FACTS about riding safety. Some of the facts will surprise you. They are from various sources, including Indiana and Michigan Highway Crash Data and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. All have one thing in common, riding motorcycles is MORE fun when you ride safe!

In closing, I want to thank you again for taking the time to read this page. I hope to see you at events this summer. I will be at the National Rally in Milwaukee in June and plan to attend the Indiana State Rally in Terre Haute in July. For Michigan I will attend the Toy Run at Sturgis in September and hopefully a couple of HOG meetings somewhere in your great state. In the meantime, if I can be of service or advice, please contact me at my E-mail address.

Until we meet, Ride Safe, Ride Free, but..RIDE!

James Yaney

P.S. Check back at this site for my on-going schedule!