‘We want to make motorcycling safe for everyone.’

Chris Beckhans, Centereach

“I started riding back in 1978, when I got my first dirt bike. My father was supposed to get me a horse, but he brought me home a dirt bike instead. And I rode it all the time. It became a really intense passion. I was about 16 or 17 when I got my first street motorcycle. It was a 1982 Suzuki GS 850 I bought off my friend, who was a co-worker. And he became my riding partner.

“Then I put down riding for a few years … but in 1998 I had a bug: I wanted to get another bike, so I bought a 1971 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead, and I rode the heck out of that.

“While riding that bike, a friend who was a motorcycle rider asked me to check out a meeting of Long Island ABATE, that’s American Bikers for Awareness, Training and Education. My first meeting was at Cathedral Pines County Park. I liked the meeting, I liked the people, I liked the purpose.

‘In July 2020, I became president … The newest thing we’re doing is in the schools. We go into high school driver’s ed classes with a 90-minute presentation.’

“Then I was asked — or I should say I was ‘appointed’? — sergeant at arms, not sure exactly what year that was. The more I got involved, the more it engulfed me. We do a lot for motocyclists, and we do a lot for the community. So far, $1.168 million has been raised for the veterans community — and 100% of the money goes to veterans. It’s for different programs, like Blue Star moms, AmVets. Whatever they do, we help them do that. We also do a holiday food and toy run for St. Mary’s Church in Hampton Bays — we’ve raised over $250,000 for them. And we’re working on a legislative agenda … to advocate for motorcycle riding.

“In July 2020, I became president … The newest thing we’re doing is in the schools. We go into high school driver’s ed classes with a 90-minute presentation. It shows various motorcycle crash situations, like the seriousness of misjudging a motorcycle’s path. We talk about how the crash could have been prevented. The biggest thing that has happened in the past is left-turn crashes — and drivers misjudge the speed of the motorcycle. We’ve done over a hundred classes, which is at least 3,500 drivers, since 2022.

“I like to say, ‘Together we can make a difference.’ We want to make motorcycling safe for everyone. When you’re out there driving down the road with the wind in your hair, it’s nice. But you have to ride smart.”

Interviewed by Rosemary Olander-Beach