New Harley Davidson Ride Atlas-review

[BamaRider]

I took delivery of my new HD road atlas, and I gotta say I'm impressed. The map is by Rand Mcnally.

 

Nice thick vinly cover, slick pages, good color and easy to read, with ALL the good backroads in special color and easy to find.

 

It has special page for petrol availability. A joker can take a glance at the area he will be riding and instantly find out if gas is gonna be few and far between.

 

Also noted are long term construction areas (quite handy) and (won't do us any good)where all the HD dealerships are located.

 

Lots of handy mileage charts and just about anything else you can think of a Long Rider might need.

 

A very useful section on suggested riding in each state. I managed to find a few scenic routes I was MISSING in states like Wisconsin. These scenic rides are quite detailed with suggested things to see and places to stop along the way. The atlas has excellent photography.

 

Kind of pricey at 34 bucks but a useful tool. I bought it to spend the winter planning my rides for next season. A guy has to use his down time wisely.

 

I ordered it online at the Rand Mcnally Travel store. I goggled "Harley Davidson Ride Atlas" and found the URL.

[g_nuse]

I have found the online HD travel planner to be very user friendly also.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the atlas.

[marcopolo]

Guy, at the risk of asking a dumb question, is this the 2006 edition, or is there a 2007 edition?

[BamaRider]

I'm gonna say 2007, the only item the cover reads is "First Edition." I can't see them putting out a 2006 edition this late in the year.

[marcopolo]

I'm gonna say 2007, the only item the cover reads is "First Edition." I can't see them putting out a 2006 edition this late in the year.

 

Thanks for the quick answer. I can tell you're retired.

[g_nuse]

I'm gonna say 2007, the only item the cover reads is "First Edition." I can't see them putting out a 2006 edition this late in the year.

 

Thanks for the quick answer. I can tell you're retired.

 

.......if he is retired why would he be spending winter (in Alabama at that) planning riding next year.

 

It's mighty nice riding in Georgia these days!

[BamaRider]

Well I am retired, and usually ride everyday to somewhere, but I was referring to my looooooong rides. I like to sit around lookin at the atlas on how to get to far off places.

[g_nuse]

I completely understand the term and afflication called "wunderlust".

[TEWKS]

Don't know if you will find the humor in this. Myself & three coworkers were on our way back from the west coast & two of them were harley riders. So using the road atlas the guys were stoping to get dip dots at dealers along the way. The honda rider had to use the rest room at this one shop & he stunk up the place so bad that customers were running for the door. Pat

[g_nuse]

Don't know if you will find the humor in this. Myself & three coworkers were on our way back from the west coast & two of them were harley riders. So using the road atlas the guys were stoping to get dip dots at dealers along the way. The honda rider had to use the rest room at this one shop & he stunk up the place so bad that customers were running for the door. Pat

 

Some BMW riders might not know what "dip dots" are.....you might want to explain.

[NoHeat]

Questions about the atlas:

 

Do the map pages have any kind of topographical indications of elevation changes?

 

Latitude & longitude markings useful for GPS users?

[BamaRider]

No relief shading to indicate elevation, I find the best atlas for that is the American Map, found in most bookstores.

[g_nuse]

I think the most amazing maps are the Delorme Gazetteer. If you haven't seen one, do. They are great.

[Gregori]

I happened to run across one for sale on Craigslist this morning... (I have no affiliation with or recommendation of the seller, just passing along the info...)

For $20 (sealed) it seems like a fair enough deal.

 

http://amarillo.craigslist.org/mcy/232594713.html

 

Also available online, (also no affiliation) for $24.

3 copies at: http://www.bookbase.com/book-data/004172@abella

1 at: http://www.bookbyte.com/product.aspx?isbn=0528935151

 

(According to the ISBN, the "First Edition" seems to have been printed in May 2006)

 

G

[NoHeat]

I think the most amazing maps are the Delorme Gazetteer. If you haven't seen one, do. They are great.

 

I've got a DeLorme map book for Iowa. Nice topo features to help you find what might turn out to be twisty roads, but I think it's far from ideal.

 

Unlike a state highway dept. map, DeLorme provides no indications of highway numbers or whether a road is paved. I'm not sure who DeLorme's intended customer is, but it doesn't seem to be drivers/riders.

[szurszewski]

I've been "looking" at this Atlas since summer, but haven't actually seen/touched one (went to two HD dealers in the PacNW, in June, but neither had even heard of the atlas - one did point me towards their selection of HATS...that was weird). Do you think it would fit well in a tankbag map window?

 

The online info gives the size and something about how it fits easily in a saddlebag, but...

[NoHeat]

The online info gives the size and something about how it fits easily in a saddlebag, but...

 

Actually, you can zoom into a sample page and see how it looks in great detail. I would give a direct link to the page, but it has a weird URL, so just do this: google "rand mcnally motorcycle atlas", click the first URL, then beneath the image of the black atlas, click the "See more detail" link. Use the zoom feature, and again, and again.

 

one did point me towards their selection of HATS

 

Funny. I can think of all kinds of irony that can be developed on this theme, but I'll refrain.

[BamaRider]

The atlas is thick, but ht and width are nice. It would depend on the tankbag. But I'm gonna say you'll need bigger than average. But it definetly goes in the saddlebag well, and its nice cover keeps the pages from being trashed.

 

I really like mine, and the featured rides are good. Most I've aleady done, but still good to find a few I'm missing.

[szurszewski]

There's the info I was looking for - the listed height/width would theoretically fit either of my tankbags' (dying bagster, "new" used big mak) map windows, but I wasn't sure if this would work in the real world because of the thickness/binding. (ok, so I still don't know, but I have a little bit clearer picture...if anyone has both this atlas and either of those bags, and wants to test it out...).

 

Either way, I think I'll add this to my gift list - my old atlas has just about had it.

 

thanks!

[jfremder]

They've just started a 20% storewide sale intil 11/28. I already received my atlas, but now you can get it for $27.96

[bmwsoldat]

i dont know whats worse? when i walk into pet stores to get my critters something and see HD products or now that they are into making maps that too . it might be a nice map and it might not. just more tactical product placement on thier part. can BMW find out who does the marketing and hire these guys????

i always felt that the bike spoke for the company. i guess it doesnt anymore.

[marcopolo]

Thanks to Guy's original tip, I ordered my copy of the H-D Ride Atlas today. I ordered it online and it was 20% off the $34 list price at Wide World of Maps, 1444 W Southern Ave, Mesa AZ 85201, 602-279-2323 ext 202, 800-279-7654.

[TomLombardini]

Well, curiosity has gotten the best of me. I came over to BMW from H-D but do not know what Dip Dots are. (Do I want to know?)

[UberXY]

Thanks to Guy's original tip, I ordered my copy of the H-D Ride Atlas today. I ordered it online and it was 20% off the $34 list price at Wide World of Maps, 1444 W Southern Ave, Mesa AZ 85201, 602-279-2323 ext 202, 800-279-7654.

 

$1 cheaper at Amazon. Full price but free shipping.

[marcopolo]

Thanks to Guy's original tip, I ordered my copy of the H-D Ride Atlas today. I ordered it online and it was 20% off the $34 list price at Wide World of Maps, 1444 W Southern Ave, Mesa AZ 85201, 602-279-2323 ext 202, 800-279-7654.

 

$1 cheaper at Amazon. Full price but free shipping.

 

Not where I live!

[TEWKS]

Well, curiosity has gotten the best of me. I came over to BMW from H-D but do not know what Dip Dots are. (Do I want to know?)

Dip Dots are little round tags that has the dealers name & location on it. They stick on the top of your oil stick cap. Some people collect them on their travels for souvenir's. Pat

[ChrisA]

Well, curiosity has gotten the best of me. I came over to BMW from H-D but do not know what Dip Dots are. (Do I want to know?)

Dip Dots are little round tags that has the dealers name & location on it. They stick on the top of your oil stick cap. Some people collect them on their travels for souvenir's. Pat

 

Well you really do learn something new everyday. I rode HD for 7 years all over different parts of the country, joined internet groups, etc. and never once heard of people collecting those, let alone the name "dip dots".

[NoHeat]

My book review:

 

I checked out the HD Atlas at the Harley shop in the Denver airport this week. (It is the ultimate HD dealer business model - just high-margin clothes and trinkets sold in a high-volume location, with one lonely bike as a prop and not for sale.) They have a nice display case of shrink-wrapped atlases marked for sale at $37.95, which is above the $34.95 list price (apparently HD dealers can get more than MSRP not just with bikes, but books too). On the countertop they had one opened copy available to inspect.

 

The atlas has a nice binding and brightly colored pages. If you want to find a HD dealer while on the road, they're clearly marked.

 

However, I was disappointed with the yellow-highlighted markings of roads that are good for motorcycle rides. They were too few.

 

For example, in the two pages of maps for Iowa, they highlighted just one ride: the Great River Road National Scenic Byway, which borders the Mississippi River, not just in Iowa but other states as well.

 

Just one road. Okay, so Iowa isn't Colorado, but OTOH it is easy to find roads that are much better than most -- just look at the Iowa state transportation dept's map, which you can get for free at rest stops on the interstate, or by sending for a copy. The local BMW dealer in Iowa City keeps a stack of them on their parts counter. This free map indicates several "scenic byways" designated by the state. They're nice rides. If you're traveling through the state, or living here, it would be good to know about them.

 

It would have been so easy for the HD Atlas publisher to include these rides -- they could have just asked for a free map and copied its scenic byways. Apparently they didn't bother.

[Long_Haired_Rider]

Well, curiosity has gotten the best of me. I came over to BMW from H-D but do not know what Dip Dots are. (Do I want to know?)

Dip Dots are little round tags that has the dealers name & location on it. They stick on the top of your oil stick cap. Some people collect them on their travels for souvenir's. Pat

 

Well you really do learn something new everyday. I rode HD for 7 years all over different parts of the country, joined internet groups, etc. and never once heard of people collecting those, let alone the name "dip dots".

 

I too am a long time Harley rider, 27 years, even spent 6 years working in a performance shop building the fastest Harley's in the world and I never heard of dip-dots. I have however seen hundreds of them over the years and never gave them much thought. I always figured it was the dealers way of putting their name on the bike, kind of like those annoying stickers car dealers use.

 

When I bought my BMW the dealer was kind enough to put a tag frame with his advertisement on the bike. It didn't fit the paper tag very well but it seemed to help secure it. In the end it didn't fit my permanent tag and ended up in the trash.

 

Dip-dot, who woulda thunk, the name makes sense though.

[PaulBach]

For a few bucks less one can buy Microsoft Streets and Trips. It has everything the atlas does and much more. But I will stop by the Harley Dealer and take a look.

[marcopolo]

For a few bucks less one can buy Microsoft Streets and Trips. It has everything the atlas does and much more. But I will stop by the Harley Dealer and take a look.

 

I've got a Garmin GPS (with Mapsource mapping software for my PC). I use the GPS on my bike all the time, but nothing beats hard copy maps for planning, and seeing the "big" (bigger?) picture.