Harley-Davidson motorcycles aren’t just another way to get to work, they are an invitation to a robust community and lifestyle with deep roots and a long history. For riders in Berks, that history stretches all the way to 1926 when the first local dealership opened. We took a glimpse inside that community with three local guys who own, work and live (and sometimes even eat and sleep) Harley.
Owning a Harley (Dealership)
Tony Kodz raised his twin children – Kevin and Caryn – on motorcycles. Kevin, now the General Manager at Classic Harley-Davidson in Leesport, says, “My father has ridden since I was a kid, and I started riding as a teenager as soon as I could get my license.” Over the years, the three of them have been across the country together several times, first with Kevin and Caryn as passengers, and eventually on their own bikes.
After working for UPS for nearly 25 years in New Jersey, Tony received notice that he was being transferred to Maryland and decided it was time for a change. “Dad didn’t like being out of control,” Kevin explains. “He didn’t like not having control over his future. So, he started looking at Harley dealerships. He would always ask if we would be interested in joining him, and we always kind of brushed him off.”
That was until 1997 when Tony visited the Berks County dealership on Shillington Road. Kevin had recently graduated from college and was working in advertising in Philadelphia when he got the call. “He said ‘I bought the store, but I need your UPS stock as collateral. Congratulations, you’re a one-third owner. Do you want to come work with me?” The rest was history. Today, Kevin and Caryn run Classic Harley-Davidson, and the three family members still ride together, around town and even on the occasional long-distance journey.
It Takes an Iron Butt
Harry Knerr, Parts Manager at Classic, is no stranger to the brand or to long-distance riding. “I’ve never had anything except Harleys,” Harry says. “I never even had a starter bike like some people do; I was just never interested in the imported bikes. When I was a kid, I wanted a Harley in the worst way. It’s the look, the sound. It’s an American icon, and I was just drawn to it.” As soon as he could ride, he did. Harry got his license and his first Harley in 1985 and has been exploring the country on two wheels ever since.
Over the last 20 years, Harry has completed more than 100 Iron Butt Association Challenges. The shortest entry-level Iron Butt challenge ride requires riders to travel 1,000 miles in less than 24 hours. Riders get timestamped gas receipts at the beginning and end of their route to prove they have completed the challenge. Harry summed up the rides by saying, “Basically you just…keep going. You’ve got to keep moving.” Long-distance riding is not for the novice. In fact, it’s something Harry has worked up to over the years. “So far, I’ve ridden up to 10, 1,000-mile-days straight.” One of his greatest challenges was a country-wide circuit. The first leg of his tour took him to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska – the northern-most point of the country. “When you get up above Fairbanks, it’s basically gravel roads for 400 miles up to the Arctic Ocean,” he recalls. From there, he headed to the southernmost point in Key West, Florida, before returning home. He completed the entire 12,000-mile trip in under 14 days.
With more Iron Butt challenges under his belt than there are remaining, Harry has started setting his own goals. February 20, 2019, marked his 365th day of riding in a row. “You could say I get pretty determined,” he jokes. “It if was too bad in the morning,
I would try to get out after work for at least an eight-mile ride. But there were times when I knew there was weather coming the next day, so I’d go out at midnight for a 10-mile ride to get one in on that date.” Even as he finished his daily riding challenge, he was already working on his 2020 goal: to complete at least one Iron Butt ride per month.
Going Back to Basics
Local Harley enthusiast and self-proclaimed “hot rod-er at heart” Kevin Blevins wanted to experience long-distance riding in a different way. With nearly 40 Iron Butt challenges and an Iron Butt Rally — essentially an 11-day, 11,000-mile nationwide scavenger hunt — under his belt, he was looking for something new. That’s when he discovered the Hoka Hey Challenge. “There’s something about being out on two wheels; I don’t ever want to come back. I find a lot of peace. When you’re riding you can see, smell and hear a lot of different things. It’s like being a part of wherever you are.” The Hoka Hey was just the immersive experience he was looking for. “It started as an awareness ride for the plight of the Lakota Indians,” Blevins explains. Each year, the challenge’s objective is to raise awareness, and each rider chooses a charity to raise funds for as part of the experience.
The challenge requires riders to navigate across the country without the help of modern GPS technology, and to sleep outside next to their bikes. The directions for each section of the route, which crisscrosses the entire country while avoiding all major highways, are typed up and handed to the riders at each checkpoint. “The only time I rode on a big road was when I made a mistake. And if you make a mistake you have to find your way back to where you went off the track and start over. If that mistake is 200 miles back and you want to be a finisher, you have to ride 200 miles back and take the right path.”
The Hoka Hey takes place every other year, with week-long gatherings for past participants in the off years. This year’s challenge begins in Panama City Beach, Florida, on Aug. 9. The course will remain a secret until the ride begins, but it will cover about 10,000 miles. While most riders aim to finish the route in about two weeks, many riders and organizers will wait at the end until every last one of the approximately 120 riders returns.
Blevins is riding the Hoka Hey again this year and will be raising awareness and funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He has kept in touch with a number of people from the 2018 challenge and plans to ride with some of them again this year. “You can tell who is on the ride with you by the bike numbers, and everywhere you stop there are people to talk to or eat with. Sometimes they move on, or maybe they ride with you for a little while. For me, the camaraderie and the brotherhood and sisterhood of the ride is the draw.”
One Big Happy Family
While many riders hit the open road to find new friends and adventures, novice and local riders can find all the camaraderie they need right here in Berks. “It really is about community,” says Classic’s Kevin Kodz. “When you’re on a motorcycle in general you’re part of a very exclusive community. But only about 3 percent of the population rides Harleys, so it’s an exclusive group of people with a common mindset.”
The Berks County chapter of the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) is where they all come together. H.O.G. is an exclusive worldwide network of riders, and each dealership is encouraged to support a chapter. The local chapter, sponsored by Classic Harley-Davidson, was started in 1990, and the Kodz family has happily continued its support. Kevin says, “You’re not going to find another group with the sole purpose of riding and having fun. Other groups have to worry about supporting themselves financially, but all we have to worry about is getting on our bikes.”
The group schedules a full calendar of events every month ranging from burger and ice cream rides on Wednesday nights to trips to the beach and weekend-long excursions. Although there are nearly 200 members locally, each event typically draws 20 to 30 riders. When the groups get larger, they split up to make sure everyone stays safe. The only requirement to join the chapter is to own a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and to become a national H.O.G. member, which costs less than $50 per year. Membership dues for the local chapter are only about $10 each year.
Harry Knerr has been involved with the group since its inception, including holding several leadership positions. “It’s a family-oriented group with a lot of camaraderie. It’s a very broad group of people – you have anyone from an attorney to someone who works at a car wash – but they have a common interest in Harley-Davidson.” One of Harry’s many contributions to the club was to help Kevin Kodz introduce the Polar Bear Club.
“Polar Bear started as a club my father was in in New Jersey,” Kevin explains. “When I was a kid, I would do those rides with him. So, when we came here, we turned my love for those rides into our Polar Bear Club.” Each season riders attempt to check into at least 12 predetermined locations to earn points towards a patch. Harry has earned that patch each of the 20 years the club has been in existence. In the last two years, Kevin Blevins has taken on the organization of the Polar Bear rides and notes that, even on the coldest days, they still average about 30 people per ride. All three men attribute great gear to getting them out on those particularly chilly days. Kevin Kodz jokes that, “it used to be just that it was different, and I enjoyed riding. I will say, now that I’m over 40, it’s heated clothing that gets me out there.”
Future Riders
Speaking of great gear, Harry shared some sage advice for new riders interested in long-distance or winter riding: “It’s all about comfort. You need to make sure you have a bike that fits you well. If there’s something that bothers you – the seat, the handlebars – make sure you fix it before you take off on a road trip or you’ll be miserable.” Seasoned members of H.O.G. and the experienced staff at Classic Harley-Davidson are always available and willing to help make sure you’re set up for success on your new bike.
For brand new riders who aren’t concerned with long-distance comfort just yet, Classic’s Learn to Ride programming is a great place to start. Program Director Danielle Bauder notes that the friendly program staff works hard to “provide a welcoming environment to help break down barriers for everyone, even those who have never sat on a motorcycle before.” Their Beginner Rider Course offers 16 hours of training over two to three days, including six hours in the classroom and 10 hours of riding time. The course is designed to help the novice rider with little or no street riding experience earn his or her license. They even provide bikes and helmets. Each class consists of up to 12 students and two instructors for a comfortable mix of group and one-on-one training. Courses are available from late March through early November, during the week and on weekends, to accommodate most schedules and are always completely free.
There is more to being a Harley owner than simply having a bike in your driveway. It’s a membership in an exclusive and close-knit community that stretches from Berks County around the globe. The team at Classic Harley-Davidson makes it easy to get involved with a full schedule of events all year long. This summer, be on the lookout for Cruise-In Food Truck Fridays on the first Friday of every month; the Thin Blue Line Ride Officer Wertz, Deputy Pagerly and Jynx Remembrance Ride; and a number of other rides, cook-outs and fundraising events benefitting the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Berks County Veterans, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and Wreaths Across America, just to name a few. Check out the full schedule at classicharley.com.
