6 months until the start

It is now 6 months today until I start my tour.

The preparations are on track; the route is set, shipping of the bike is being sorted, dates all known, packing lists being developed, the hotel for Sturgis is booked.

There is snow here at home in London and my bikes are put away for winter. The tour seems a long way away, but the 6 months will go by fast.

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To Cover or Not to Cover?

I am not sure about whether I should take a bike cover with me. Opinion seems to be divided on this with security of your bike being compared to the amount of space a bike cover takes to carry when touring.

Essentially it comes down to this – where are you going to park your precious and maybe beloved bike overnight when on the road? Will it be safe where you leave it? If you think it will be safe, then go without the cover. However, my guess is that you will never really know if your bike will be ok – even parking in what seems like a very safe area doesn’t mean the bad guys don’t go there.

I have bought a lightweight bike cover for my tour (http://eztouring.com/). As can be seen from the photo below, it does a great job of covering the bike. This cover is made of the same material they make parachutes from – it seemed to me that parachutes get packed really tightly so a cover made from the same material should roll and pack into a similarly small space. The first photo below shows the cover packed ready for carrying on the bike – hmmm, this is small, but even this takes quite a lot of space, so I am not sure if I will have room for it. I guess I will make my mind up when I have packed everything else and see what room I have left.
















This photo shows the cover on the bike.

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Which Sat Nav?

Using a Sat Nav on a bike has benefits and disadvantages. Some say it takes away some of the freedom of the road that we all adore so much. Some say it simply helps us from getting lost! I am somewhere in the middle – I use one when I really need to, but leave it off the bike most of the time.


When I do use one is normally when I am on a long trip to somewhere I have never been before. For a few years I have been using a Tom Tom Rider and I have found it OK, but only just. Sure, it is clear with a good screen, the route it finds are normally very good, the speed camera warnings are excellent and it is very easy to use. It is only let down by the longer route planning with many waypoints (places you want to go via on the way). In short, I don’t like its longer route planning capabilities and there is no way to save anything but your currently planned journey. Also, I have never really been happy with the way you connect the unit to speakers / earpieces so you can hear the verbal directions.


For my 13,500 mile tour of the USA I definitely needed a Sat Nav, but I wanted something better than the Tom Tom.


I did some research, checked out what each could do, asked a few buddies (thanks Derek), compared features and prices and decided to go for the Garmin Zumo 660.






















Christmas is coming and guess what is going on my list...... Jackie....... ?

Assuming my wife takes the hint, I will let you know how I get on with it during the tour preparations.

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You Tube Video - The Great Ocean Road

Sit back and watch, get a taste for what its like to sit on the back of a Harley davidson and ride the Great Ocean Road between Lorne and Apollo Bay. This is an experience which you will only appreciate fully - after you have done it!
BTW - this video has been sped up (we don't actually ride at this speed), but it does give you the nearest I can give you to the way it feels - less the wind in

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HOG Assistance in the USA

Many of us Harley-Davidson riders in the UK have taken out a bike recovery insurance policy called HOG assistance. In the event of a breakdown, this covers transporting your bike to the nearest H-D dealer, transport costs, overnight accommodation etc.

I have enquired if the UK cover is applicable if you take your Harley to the States, and the simple answer is yes. The UK and USA organisations have reciprocal arrangements whereby each is covered in the others country. There are two things you should do however – notify HOG assistance in the UK before you go to check exactly what cover you will have in the USA and secondly, get from the UK people the breakdown telephone numbers for use in the USA.

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USA Times Zones

One of the things I will have to think about on the tour is the different time zones across the USA. On the main (contiguous) States, there are 4 times zones which are (from west to east) Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern. These range between 8 and 5 hours behind the UK. The map below shows approximately what time zones are where. Don’t get caught out by the boundaries – they don’t necessarily follow the State boundaries as you might expect!

The USA changes its clocks for summertime normally at the same time as the UK, but sometimes not.

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Top Road Trip Songs

When on the tour, I want to listen to the most relevant music that I can. Therefore I am putting together a list of my Top Road Trip Songs. I have my own ideas about what to include, but I’d like some suggestions, so why not suggest a song or two using the comments link below this post and maybe add your suggestion to my list.

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