Well, I don’t normally do this but, I like their products so much I thought I would pass this along. Custom Dynamics has a new and much easier to use website. Something that was long overdue.
If you are not familiar with Custom Dynamics they create lighting replacement and accessories for nearly all cruisers. I have purchased two of their products so far and I am very happy with both. I first purchased their LED Turn Signal Inserts (5 Stars from me) and then their Magic Strobe Brake Light Flasher (5 Stars from me) for the tour pak. I wrote a blog review of the flasher not sure way I did not do one for the turn signals. You can read my post on the flasher here.
The new Custom Dynamics site is a vast improvement over their old site. Now you can more easily search for products by brand. I particularly liked their “new products” section and because of that I am now interested in their vent lighting. SIGH… will this bike ever be finished?!?!
This year Debbie and I chose not to ride into the city to partake of the Rolling Thunder main event. We had went for several years so there was no great interest in doing it again this year. BUT I did attend a pre-Roling Thunder event and assisted our local HOG (Harley Owners Group) chapter with the marshalling of motorcycles for the police escorted ride from Frederick to the Pentagon.
Saturday was the pre-Rolling Thunder event at Washington Harley Davidson. Not only is it a collection of vendors of all types (t-shirts, food, parts and accessories) it is the site of the official Harley Davidson Owners Group Pin Stop. Harley Davidson Pin Stops are a half dozen or so events in which Harley Davidson gives out commemorative pins to the HOG members. Each one is different for each event. If you follow my FaceBook page each week I post one or two dealer or other pins and several of the pin stop pins are pictured.
While this is only a SWAG I think there were more motorcycles at this year’s v. last year’s pin stop. The parking lots were mostly full when I arrived and, unlike last year, still full when I left. The ride to the event was a Frederick Harley Davidson HOG club ride.
STORM CHASER POWERS ACTIVATE! About 15 bikes left that morning from
STORM CHASER!
the dealership under misty, overcast conditions, within 15 minutes the mist turned to full rain and stayed on us for more than half of the ride. Guess what! On the ride back we left a partial cloudy site and again got wet, although for a much shorter frame. Some days, when I ride my motorcycle, I just seem to attract bad weather.
Sunday morning I rolled out of my warm bed, shared by my wife, our dog and myself, and was out the door before 5:30AM. The HOG chapter was assisting the Frederick Harley Davidson dealership with the staging and marshaling of motorcycle going to Rolling Thunder.
There are two groups of motorcycle riders who participate in Rolling Thunder. Those that go to the Pentagon (the starting point for the parade) and those that do not go to the Pentagon. That second group seems to always be nearly identical in size to those that go to the Pentagon. This group typically rides into the city and then parks along the parade route to watch the motorcycle pass by.
By ten minutes after 8:00AM all the bikes were out and on their way to the either the Pentagon or somewhere else. There were just at 300 bikes assembled at the dealership. Nearly every bike brand was represented, I saw Triumph, BMW, Indian, Victory, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki, there may have been others but those are the ones I recall.
It took just a bit over 5 minutes to get all those bikes on the road (see video below). A short while later we have all the signs, coffee, doughnuts and other stuff gathered and put away. The parking lot looked like nothing had ever happened. 365 days until the next Rolling Thunder.
Me … what more could you want?!?!?
A few of the guys I rode with to the Pin Stop
Unfortunately you just do not see a lot of these women any more. 😦
As we all know all the safety gear we wear and all the safety tech on our motorcycles are just not enough at times.Awareness of motorcycles by drivers of cars and trucks is as important as everything we do.
So to help improve the awareness of others (and therefore ourselves) we need to start teaching children to watch for motorcycles.That is why the idea of teaching kids to count motorcycles instead of “punch bugs” is so important.If they are watching for motorcycles as kids they will have an easier time seeing them when they start to drive.Thus our safety as motorcyclist is improved.The payoff is in the future but let’s invest now.
Make a game that has a small reward when they spot “X” number of motorcycles. Ask your non-riding friends to do this with their children.Mention it at events and gatherings, just get the word out.You know when a 6 year old yells “motorcycle” that their parent is going to see it to!!
When I started this blog, and still today, I just write and post about motorcycle “stuff” that is of interest to me and my wife. Our rides, stuff we try out, motorcycle themed media are just some of the items we post about.
I never really thought that a lot of folks, beyond family and friends, would be interested in our motorcycling adventures. But, we have over 6500 folks keeping up with blog, way more than I would have ever expected!
Now we have been selected as one of the “Top 100 Motorcycle Blogs To Follow”! To say we were surprised by this selection would be an understatement. Coming in at #69 means that we still have room to improve!
So what’s next for our motorcycle blog? Just more of the same, LOL. But, if you guys have any ideas for what you would like to see just post a comment.
Struggling to decide where to ride or tour on your motorcycle in the coming season?How about the two following websites to help generate some ideas.
The first site is a repeat of one from an earlier post. A few years ago I wrote about a website that could help you plan some cool motorcycle tours.This site by the Federal Highway Administration (can you believe that the federal government got a website right?) is called the American Byways.America’s Byways is an interactive, map based, website that will provide you a listing of each of the 150 different roads. Those roads are comprised of the National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads. You can select the road from a national or state map to see basic information on the road (length, average time to travel the road and historical background) as well as route maps, directions and photos.
Interactive map of American Byways
The second website to help you pick some motorcycle rides or destinations is “Only in Your State”. With this website you can find some out of the way or quirky places that you may never even heard or read about near your home.For example, here in Virginia, this website recommends the “Southern Virginia’s Donut Trail Is Everything You’ve Dreamed Of And More”.So the saying “Ride to eat. Eat to ride” fits in well.
There are a lot of other websites like this out on the ‘ole interwebs. If you have one that you like to use when it comes to finding a destination for motorcycle ride, tour or destination please share in the comments below!!!
An advertisement for the Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle, an Indian brand. But, wow, what an advert! Who would have EVER though I would say sumo and motorcycle in the same sentence.
So one would think we would have this the planning process for motorcycle trips and tours down by now.Well we do, step one we decide on a destination.This year is being a bit problematic, we really can’t agree on where or what to do.We have had a dozen ideas but none have really hit a cord.The northeast, Niagara Falls, Canada, Harley Davidson HQ… who knows. And that indecision is the peril as I have to schedule vacation and if we what to see anything that requires preplanning time is running short.
I am sure we will do something… I just do not know what yet!
The first really great motorcycle riding weekend of the year and we got to take advantage of it!It was a bit cool when we started, something just under 50F.But, Saturday, a little before noon, the sun was out, the temperature was rising, the sky was blue and the motorcycle was calling.
I threw on my chaps, Debbie put on her electric jacket liner and we were ready for a motorcycle ride to the US Marine Corp Museum.We had not been there before but had seen its structure many, many time.Anyone who travels north or south on Interstate 95 in the Washington, DC metro area has seen the spire of the museum rising above the tree line.
Iwo Jima flag rising… in Legos!
We rode out, going the long way to avoid the DC highway system, and a couple hours later we were pulling the motorcycle into the parking lot of the museum.The building itself is quite imposing, it was built to give an artistic representation to the Marines rising the flag on Iwo Jima.
It is quite amazing when you walk into the atrium of the building. Hanging from the ceiling are multiple Marine Corp aircraft from WWII as well as a Harrier jump jet.The museum itself is well laid out walking you through the founding of the Corp at Tun Tavern through their current deployments in the Middle East.
If you are in the area of Quantico, VA riding your motorcycle or in your car, you should stop a check out this free museum.It would be worth your time to learn a little more about one part of the American armed services.
As like the previous years, Debbie and I attended the Timonium Motorcycle Show.As always it was held at the Maryland State Fair grounds.
We enjoyed walking around the facilities looking at the 2017 motorcycles from all
Yes, that is a TV, why? Why not?
the big makers.There was one in particular missing though and that was Victory.With the news that Polaris was pulling the plug, now 17 months away, guess there is no real reason to be at the motorcycle show.
But all the other usual suspects were on site.Harley Davidson of Baltimore had the largest display of all the manufacturers, in terms of footprint it was not even close.If I had to guess I would think that the Honda display would have been next largest in terms of bikes.Pete’s Cycles had, what looked like, at least one of every Honda made.
Lois Pryce discussing her recent trip to Iran
One of the busiest sections was the motorcycle travel/adventure area of the show.Lisa and Simone Thomas (2 Ride the World) and Lois Pryce were just a couple of the folks on hand to discuss their global adventures.Other speakers were on had discussed travel techniques and opportunities guided and otherwise.
Several regional motorcycle rallies (Ocean City Bike Week, Mountain Fest, and Thunder in the Valley for example) were on site to remind riders that there were many places to ride to that did not require anything more than a long weekend.
And of course all the custom and vintage motorcycles your heart could desire.Debbie and I really enjoyed looking at all the great bikes, from stock/restored bikes from the bygone years to mild customs to full blown, over the top motorcycles!
As for the crowds, my guess is that in the nearly 5 hours we spent at the event the crowd was at least even with 2016.
As a product of the 1970s I loved CHiPs as the best motorcycle TV show of its time (LOL it might have been the only one)! Ponch and Jon riding their motorcycles to “protect and serve”, it was a lot of fun. Now we have a CHiPs move coming out in March of 2017.
I am looking forward to the CHiPs The Movie but I am aghast at what has to be a horrible, terrible, awful plot hole that, in the end, may ruin the movie for me. It is not the fact that are riding BMWs not Kawasaki. In this motorcycle themed movie based on iconic, beloved characters …..
“Ponch does not exist!!!!!”
In the movie trailer “Ponch” is the undercover name of an FBI agent tasked with finding the bad cops in the highway patrol. “Jon” still exists; he is a rookie cop on this first assignment teamed with the fake Ponch. But I don’t know how there can be a ChiPs movie without a “real” ponch!
Check the movie trailer below and let me know if I a wrong!!!
I will go see the movie but this is almost too much to take! 🙂
There are two groups of motorcycle riders who participate in Rolling Thunder. Those that go to the Pentagon (the starting point for the parade) and those that do not go to the Pentagon. That second group seems to always be nearly identical in size to those that go to the Pentagon. This group typically rides into the city and then parks along the parade route to watch the motorcycle pass by.
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 