SCRC Loudoun VA Featured Member - February, 2009
Name: Alli Littleton
Nickname: Wetspot
Marital Status: Yes, to Greg, but I only claim him when he behaves!
Location: Manassas, VA
Hometown: Born, Eureka, California. Grew Up in Medford, Oregon.
Children: Two, but they are teenagers so we are thinking about putting them up for adoption!
Age: Now that is getting a little personal. I am 38, I keep telling myself as I find more gray, that I will do this gracefully without a dye job. Then I remember I am total klutz and have never done anything gracefully in my life, so my hair dresser dyes the back of my hair purple. Strangely, people don’t seem to notice the gray so much when you do that.
Occupation: Government drone, mother, wife, mistress of the dark, and smartass extraordinaire.
Current motorcycle(s): 2006, Harley Davidson, Dyna Street Bob named Black Betty.
How did you hear about the SCRC and when did you join?
Why do all of my good stories start with, "I met this guy, ."
I met Roger Gaffey in September of 2008 (that in and of itself is a story.) Greg and I got together with Marnie and Roger, and the Little Biker Girls to go on a couple of rides together as summer was turning into fall. They invited us to a couple of SCRC parties/events then Roger commented on the fact that we were showing up in a lot of pictures. DUH!! Roger and his camera! The suggestion was made that maybe we need to join the club, try it on for size. Like a great pair of your favorite Levis that you need to stretch when they come out of the dryer, we found that SCRC fit just fine!
How long have you been riding?
I don’t have that many fingers and toes to count. I learned sometime when I was a teenager; my father always had a bike when I was growing up. I started at a young age personally on a 150 Yamaha dirt bike and the rest is history.
Have you ever taken a motorcycle safety course?
Yes, of course. You can never have too much practice or training. It always comes in handy in an emergency situation. And when you have an Italian in a FIAT aiming for you, you need to know how to be a defensive driver.
What was your first bike?
2002, 1200 Harley Sportster. It took me 12 years of marriage to talk him into that bike!!
How many bikes have you owned?
Two
Why do you ride?
Explain religion or God and you will have the answer to that question. It is what it is.
Have you ridden with an organized group before?
Can we loosely define organized group? A bunch of crazy Italians with a few American’s thrown in does not always constitute organized. Somehow we could always manage a meal or a ride but a formation, that is another thing all together!
Greg and I took part in the Polar Bear Ride with SCRC on New Year’s Day. WOW!! Safe and tight formation, almost to the point of unnerving, time for us to tighten our shot group and learn a new way of doing things.
What modifications have you done to your bike?
First thing I did was ripped the mid controls off and put on forwards. Yeah, screwed that up, someone at Harley needs their butt kicked for the Street Bob design. Ask me about that phone call!
Pulled the pipes off and replaced them with Thunderheader black ceramics that are currently tape wrapped. Sooner or later I will get the heat shields. Right now without electrics, that is the only thing that keeps me warm in the winter!!
Betty also has a pair of pretty bags and a new paint job. By the way, I HATE Chrome, it looks great on your bike, but has no place on mine. I spent two military deployments trying to keeps Greg’s Dyna Wide Glide from rusting to pieces because we didn’t have a place to store it. That means chrome gets rusty and a military wife gets cranky.
What accessories do you want to add to your bike?
Betty is the ultimate Accessory.
What is your dream bike?
That is like asking me which shoes are my favorite. You are going to make me pick? Wrong, just wrong!
What kind of riding do you like to do — straight-aways or twisties?
DUH!! Twisties, although straight always have their place in my world.
If you have a nickname, how did you get it? Tell the truth!
You would never believe me if I told you. I have pictures though. I believe there were some Cosmos involved. Those were Tanks fault. I remember Gutter, Mongo, Doc and Dave in being in the room and me having a bruise on my butt afterwards. Wow this sound REALLY naughty, so I am shutting up now.
What is your favorite riding route?
Anywhere in the Alps on the Northern Italy and Austrian border.
Do you ride your bike to work?
Depends on my schedule.
What is the fastest you’ve ridden?
Stateside or Europe? Miles or Kilometers?
What is your favorite time of year to ride?
I love Fall, not to cold/hot. The leaves are turning and things are golden, red and orange. There is just enough of a breeze to compliment the colors that are everywhere. The smells as you ride are intoxicating and the rain hasn’t started so the temps are just right.
Have you ever been down? If so, how were you hurt and what did you learn from the incident?
A few minor scuffles of stupidity but thank goodness nothing serious. *knocks on wood*
Have you ever done an "Iron Butt" ride?
Nope, at least not by American Standards.
If not, what is the furthest you’ve ridden?
I am good for between 300 and 600 miles or 1000 KM a day. I ride without a windshield so that is about all the abuse a body can take in a day.
What was the worst weather in which you’ve ridden?
I remember there being snow, ice and a lot of Italian roads that weren’t banked right; I was on Greg’s bike. All I was thinking was, "don’t lay it down, don’t lay it down." Boys get really pissed off when you drop their bikes, even if you were going to get it tuned up because they were coming back from a deployment!
Do you know how to work on your bike?
Depends, I had no problem ripping my Sportster apart, but Betty’s fuel injection scares the living day lights out of me after the movement of controls from mids to front debacle.
What is your favorite road song?
On the Road Again, Willie Nelson. And yes I know it is about playing music but music comes in many forms.
What was your most adventurous ride?
Any road in Italy as a girl on a Harley, I swear they aim for you, either to get a better look at the bike or because they were pissed off because a female had the audacity to get on a bike or own a Harley.
Did the ride from Vicenza, Italy to Garmisch, Germany to a conference once now that was a beautiful ride!!
What rallies or events do you like to attend?
Any event where I can meet and talk to new people; learning and seeing things I have not experienced before. Throw in a cold one and great friends and I am there with bells on.
Is there someone who rides "two-up" with you?
Not generally, when I had my Sportster there was something about that damn bike that every military man wanted to get on the back. No comments necessary! I tried to tell them they would lose their "Man" card for that but they didn’t care! So when I got Betty I made sure she didn’t have a passenger seat, so it makes it a lot easier.
