The Harley-Davidson Auxiliary Brake/Run/Turn Signal Coversion Kit Part# 69462-06A only costs $59.95 and does not change the look of your bike other than changing the signal lens caps from yellow to red. The installation is a piece of cake. For the added safety I think this one is a no brainer.

To install the module you remove your seat and locate where the Main Harness connects to the Rear Fender Harness. This was easy on my bike because the wires had labels identifying them. I disconnedted them from each other and plugged them into the module so that the module was in between the Main Harness and the Rear Fender Harness. I changed the signal lens caps from the stock yellow ones to the new red ones. Reinstall seat. Installation complete!

I purchased the last kit in stock at Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson during the Big Biker Weekend in July. I’ll buy another for Diana’s motorcycle as soon as possible.

Memorial Day weekend 2010 Diana and I rode down to the Fort Washington Pin Stop with our HOG Chapter on Saturday. This was a first for us. Thousands of motorcyclists descend on Washington, DC on Memorial Day weekend for Rolling Thunder. I have never been to the Harley-Davidson pin stop on Saturday or the Rolling Thunder demonstration (which is on Sunday) before. This is a huge event that draws bikers from as far away as New York if not further. It was incredible the amount of bikers that swarm to Harley-Davidson of Washington DC. It was mobbed! It was great to see friends from other HOG Chapters in Maryland and I was impressed with free grub. Our regional HOG manager was there and it was nice to see him. I believe the new CEO of the Motor Company was present as well.

Like many motorcycle events it only took a few minutes to see everything so Diana and I mounted up to check out some roads I wanted to ride. First we crossed the Potomac from Maryland to Virginia on the beltway and immediately exited in Alexandria. I followed the signs to Mount Vernon which took us down to the bottom of the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the plantation where George and Martha lived. We didn’t pay the $15 per person admission to see the grounds, but it was tempting. 

From there we rode past Fort Washington on the Potomac River all the way up the 25-mile scenic byway passing through Alexandria up along to Potomac River past the Ronald Reagan International Airport. We were rewarded with awesome views of our nation’s capital city for a short time before we went under Arlington Memorial Bridge. We passed Theodore Roosevelt Island and again were rewarded with great views, this time it was Georgetown and its impressive university.

At the top of the George Washington Memorial Parkway we were dumped back onto the DC beltway but before we merged on the beltway we just reexited and followed the signs for Rt-193 Georgetown Pike. Georgetown Pike was a nice twisty road through the forest and took us to Great Falls Park on the Virginia side. Great Falls is an awesome place I used to vist when I was younger. Great Falls is a portion of the Potomac that has incredible rapids that are more a cascade than a waterfall but have been described as the Niagara of the South.

I hate to go back the way I came. I prefer to do a loop. Problem is this is a huge loop. So what?! It’s not like we are going to turn into pumpkins if we get home after dark. So we took Rt-7 to US-15 until we could cross the Potomac back into Maryland at Point of Rocks. This was a long traffic light congested crappy ride… until we got into Maryland. US-15 was pretty nice country on Catoctin Mountain Highway. Soon we were in the Frederick area and caught Interstate 70 which I enjoy. What’s better than cruising a nice piece of highway that isn’t all congested with cars and travels through green hilly farmland? When we reached the exit for Rt-32 I let Diana take it from there as she knows this portion of Maryland like the back of her hand. Basically this part of our ride from Frederick to home was the preride of an upcoming chapter trip. Convenient how that worked out!

We put on over 300 miles and got home after 9:00 pm. We had a great ride with our chapter in the morning and then had a fun adventure on our own. It was a mile marker in our riding career. A few years ago we were newbies on HOG day trips dependent on our ride leaders and followed them like baby ducks. Now we have graduated to another level and can leave the pack and venture off on our own. It was agreat day! I look forward to visiting the Maryland side of Great falls sometime soon.

It’s all about creating a special place that differs from “real life”. We have fun, we have spontaneity, we have camaraderie, we have adventure, we have passion and we live our dream. With the exception of placing a top priority on safety, it’s one big alcohol and drug free party. Out there in the “real world” you feel like a cog in the machine. You feel like “the man” has you under his thumb. Out there people don’t connect. They don’t know your name. They don’t know your passion. They don’t touch. They don’t dream. When you show up to a HOG Chapter event you should feel special from the minute you walk in the door. I don’t care if it’s your first meeting, in this time and place you are family! You will be greeted with a handshake, a hug or a pat on the back. There are no newbies, no rubs, and no wannabes. We are all equal because we are all Harley-Davidson owners and we all belong to the same chapter. For a brief time you put aside your woes and share your passion for Harley-Davidson motorcycles with like minded individuals. There should be few rules. Everyone should understand this is not serious business, this is about riding and having fun safely. Ride and have fun, that’s the motto. That doesn’t mean do whatever you want to do. Our members represent the chapter and our sponsor and should always present a positive image and act responsibly. We are sponsored by the local Harley-Davidson dealer and are law abiding citizens.

If one of our members makes a mistake we do not shun him or her. We support our friends. We help them pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get them back on the road. If one of our members suffers a tragedy, we all feel their pain and are there for moral support. We do what we can. If one of our members isn’t pulling his weight or contributing, so what? He pays to be a member of this chapter and has the right to take from it what he wants. Everyone gets out of it exactly what they put into it. We focus on the positive and ride past the negative.

If you succeed at creating this atmosphere, you and your members will belong to something special. With that will come chapter pride. What could be better than belonging to a special group and being proud of it? There is nothing wrong with pronouncing your chapter as being the best or being number one! Sports fans do it all the time. The big difference between us and passionate sports fans is that we are not spectators. We wear our one piece patch and roar down the highway of adventure arm in arm with our fellow HOG members!

After a HOG trip, activity or meeting we go home, take off the leathers and return to the grind. We may not be hard core. We may not live “the lifestyle”. But we get it, we understand it and we respect it! We are 99%ers. We go back to work on Monday morning to our jobs and yearn for the next chance to feel the freedom of the open road. We also yearn for that special feeling we get when we walk in the door at a HOG Chapter Social. We yearn for the camaraderie, brotherhood and sisterhood we only know when we are at a chapter event. We yearn for that handshake, hug or pat on the back.

I feel sorry for riders and citizens who don’t know this camaraderie. I look on with awe at the members of motorcycle clubs who live the lifestyle 24/7/365. HOG is just the right mix of biker lifestyle and responsible living for me and many others who want to enjoy motorcycling as a recreational pastime. 

I also feel sorry for members of HOG chapters who have not created this special atmosphere. From what I read on the Internet you would think a HOG Chapter like ours doesn’t exist. Some HOG chapters and some Harley-Davidson dealers just don’t get it. I’m thankful I get it, our sponsor gets it and our members get it.

The real world sucks! Being a member of a great HOG Chapter makes it all good!

Check out East Coast Biker Online August issue for Part 3 of Diana’s story on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Also find my product endorsement for Ride Like A Pro DVD. Click here.