issue 184

You are now in the 119th year of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. That means the huge 120th Anniversary year is 2023. So right now is the time to start planning for next year’s Anniversary parties.

Whether your plans start here in Australia, Budapest, or in Milwaukee for the Harley-Davidson Homecoming festival, or ending in Sturgis in August, I suggest that you better start planning your year right now or chances are that you will miss the boat. It’s only every ten years that Harley puts on the big show in Milwaukee.

If you want to keep it simple for yourself, just join Viv Brumby and the Heavy Duty Tour Group for the time of your life! Viv and the team will cover every detail in your dream ride in the USA.

With Viv there are six options this year. The hamburger with the lot option is the full 55-day tour that includes Las Vegas, Arizona, Texas, New Orleans, Memphis, Milwaukee, Tail of the Dragon, Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, Sturgis, Yellowstone, Colorado, Utah, the Grand Canyon and back to Las Vegas. Important to mention is that Viv and the team can cater to anything else in between.

The Heavy Duty Tour Group has expanded with the addition of experienced tour organisers Sue Taylor and Alan Longmore, and now has offices in Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast.

PRE-PLANNING

In this issue I will start by telling you a few secrets about Las Vegas. I have spent many days there with family, friends and even leading the 2008 Heavy Duty tour to Sturgis. In coming issues, I will update the details of the 2023 Anniversary events.

But what you need to do right now is figure out how much time you will have and what is most important for you. Next the number one thing to do is get your passports, visa and shots up to date. Second on the list is to book your flights and transportation, and the third thing to do is sort out accommodation. Keep It Simple Stupid or let Viv-do-it-for-you.

HANDY FREEBIES

Now I’m going to give you some freebies starting with Las Vegas and travel in general. 

Your first freebie is to go to harleydavidson-roadtohomecoming.promo.eprize.com and sign up for The Road to Harley-Davidson Homecoming Challenge. As soon as you’ve joined, you can start earning Harley virtual badges, win daily and monthly prizes, and even enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a grand prize trip to Milwaukee for the 120th Homecoming. 

Keep it simple, just download the Harley-Davidson App from your smartphone’s maker. Everything should be there for the 120th et al.

My second freebie is to use your chosen search engine on your smartphone or computer. Mine is Google. You may not know that by using Google Maps instead of search on your smartphone, you can zoom in on your map location or city. When zoomed in, type within the map search app what you are looking for, like “mexican food” or “harley dealer.” Then hit the direction icon or word go. You can choose to go by car, bus or even walking. Use this in Las Vegas at your hotel and you can find the best way to the Las Vegas Harley-Davidson dealer which is across The Strip from the Welcome sign and near the Mandalay Bay hotel.

Third freebie is to learn to use the Harley Ride Planner for the Tourer infotainment system, or buy a cheap US car Garmin GPS to suction-cup onto your bike. Your mapping on your smartphone will work, too, with the right mount. But GPS devices don’t always work in big cities with skyscrapers and in the mountains. Neither do smartphones in the mountains or vast deserts.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE LAS VEGAS

Most people think of Las Vegas as The Strip … and it is. If you have only one or two nights stay, I recommend going to the bottom of The Strip to Old Town Fremont Street Experience which has it all. vegasexperience.com There is even a public Deuce bus for about $2 that takes you up and down The Strip.

At the top of The Strip is Las Vegas Harley-Davidson lasvegasharleydavidson.com. They have t-shirt outlets all over the place, from the airport to Fremont Street. You can even test ride your dream Harley on the riders training track behind the store. I like the view out the back of all the parked private jets. Just ten minutes on the Deuce bus from Las Vegas Harley is Town Square Las Vegas, which is where the locals go and my favourite place for great food and shopping in Vegas. mytownsquarelasvegas.com.

Fourth, you will need a USA service provider or sim card in the States for your smartphone. Some providers are cheap but don’t work outside a big city. I used Verizon because in the old days it was 3G which worked in the mountains.

Oh and two last freebies. If you are riding with your mate or partner on separate bikes, don’t get separated in a big city like Las Vegas or Denver. Or one of you will end up in Kansas with Dorothy. Buy an Apple AirTag or package of four. One for your bike, one for your partner, and two for your bags that will get lost at the airport.

One last thing as a challenge for you to learn to Google. Find what happened to the million-dollar sign in front of the Harley-Davidson Cafe in Las Vegas when it closed in 2016.

Don’t dilly-dally, book now or you’ll miss out.