This is a collection of assorted scooter stuff I’ve stumbled onto over the years, some the hard way. Some are dresser-specific and some are generic. If you find something useful or helpful for your kind of riding, I’ll be happy. If you don’t, no sweat - just keep riding your way. Meanwhile, my drill is to tour alone and stay in motels, so some of my tips will reflect that mode of travel.

1. The blaze - part 1. If you ride a dresser, order and install the passing lamp switch that Harley makes for Softails. It’s a little rocker switch (part number 77103-88) that mounts just above the horn and high beam switch cluster on the left side of the handlebars. While you're at it, wire your passing lamps so they’ll work with your high beam. Now your passing lamps can be flashed (or turned off and on) with your left thumb, which is something I do anytime I’m uncertain about whether an oncoming car ahead actually sees me - a candlepower horn, so to speak.

2. The blaze - part 2. This takes two people, preferably three (I wish I had that many friends). One guy straddles the scoot and holds it upright with the passing lamps and high beam turned on. Guy number 2 goes about 100 yards down the road to give hand-signal directions to guy number 3, who stands in front of the bike and aims the lights. First, guy 3 makes sure the high beam is as bright as possible to guy 2 (he’ll need a screwdriver if it needs adjustment). Then guy 2 directs the aiming of each passing lamp until both are also as bright as possible to guy 2. Guy 3 can usually adjust the aim of the passing lamps by bumping them firmly with the heel of his hand - up, down or sideways. Once everything is aimed, you’ve now got the blaze. I keep my blaze lit at all times during daytime riding because the utter brightness distracts oncoming drivers into seeing me. It’s too bright for nighttime, though. Very rarely will an oncoming car flash his high beams at me during the day, although I do get an occasional flash, and I usually kill the passing lamps when I do.

3. Free blind-spot mirrors. This works on dressers, Road Kings and perhaps a few other models that have the turn signals mounted under the passing lamps. I don’t think it works on Ultras with the fairing lowers installed (I’m on my second Ultra and I’ve taken the lowers off both). Get on a divided four-lane like an interstate and check the backside of your left turn signal when a car overtakes you on your left. As the car disappears from your left-side handlebar mirror, you’ll see it begin to fill the left side of the back of your turn signal, precisely showing the car in the blind spot off your left shoulder. This works on the right side, too. That said, I generally follow my never-trust-your-mirrors rule. A quick leftward drop of my chin and glance into the blind spot usually precedes my pulling into the left lane.

4. Windshields - part 1. What’s the correct height for a windshield? For me, it low enough for me to look through the top couple of inches when I’m in my usual relaxed riding posture, but low enough to sit erect and look slightly (very slightly) over the top in the rain. The 12-inch stock Ultra windshield is too tall for me, but the 9½-inch low replacement screen (HD part number 58301-96) is perfect. Trying to see through a windshield in the rain is a losing proposition.

5. Windshields - part 2. So how do you keep it clean? First, steer clear of products like Windex because they will eat the coating off the Lexan. I learned this the hard way, the same way I learned not to use the rubber side of gas station squeegees because tiny abrasives on the rubber scratch the windshield. Here’s my drill. I carry a spray bottle of water containing a little dishwashing liquid in my Tour-Pak. This takes some discipline, but I clean my windshield every time I gas up. Upon stopping, the first thing I do is spray the windshield with my squirt stuff so the bugs can soften while I fill the tank. After the fill-up, I spray the windshield again and lightly mop it with the with the sponge side of the gas-station squeegee. I then re-wet the sponge with water and press it against the upper edge of the windshield so the water floods most of the dishwashing mixture off the Lexan. Then I blot the surface with a hand towel that I carry, doing very little actual wiping of the surface. The hand towel gets laid across the top of whatever is in my Tour-Pak, and in warm weather, the towel will be bone dry at the next gas stop. On long days, once or twice I’ll also do the same drill to any major bugs on the fairing.

6. The pedal. In 2002, Harley finally moved the dresser brake pedal forward so you can use the entire right floorboard for your foot. If you don’t ride an ’02, then do what I did to my ’98 in 2000 at Four Corners. Install the excellent after-market brake pedal made by Walter Crovo of Walter’s Workshop in Salt Lake City. Walter sets up shop at the Rapid City Harley dealer during Sturgis, and in Albertson’s parking lot in Durango during Four Corners. Or go to www.waltersworkshop.com.

7. Cattle guards, railroad tracks and other bumps in the road. This one is mentioned in Arizona Saloon Rumble - 2001, my ride from May of that year at muthuh.com. Motocross and enduro riders will think this is a no-brainer, but if you never did any serious duty in the dirt, you may not know this trick. As you approach any potential major bump in the road, stand on your floorboards (or pegs) and lift your butt about eight inches above your seat, keeping your knees bent. The scoot will glide across the bump and your knees will absorb about 90 percent of the jolt. This also works on conventional Softails, Wide Glides and other models with forward foot pegs, but you’ll have to pull hard on the handlebars to get your rear off the seat. This can probably also be done in two-up riding, but it will take some coordination between the rider and passenger. Either way, do it diligently and you’ll never again put unintended daylight under your butt.

8. Boots. My best ones are Danner Fort Lewis lace-ups that I bought in Cabella’s markdown department in Sidney, Nebraska in 1999. They’re lined with Gore-Tex, the waterproof membrane, and they’re remarkably comfortable, although I’d be happier if they were pull-ons instead of lace-ups. I paid $170 for the markdown pair; list price in Cabella’s catalog is about $230. I also have a pair of Georgia high-top engineer boots, which are really comfortable, but not winners in the waterproof department, although you can fix that with a pair of gaiters from HD. I’m a sucker for a deal, so I bought a pair of Chippewa biker boots from HD of North Texas at half price ($90) several years ago and, in time, discovered that Chippewa’s last (a shoe word you need to know) doesn’t work with my foot (size 11). A shoemaker’s last is the foot-like wood pattern used to build footwear. Some manufacturer’s lasts will be OK for your foot, and some won’t. Chippewa’s last and the contours of my foot are miles apart. That’s also somewhat the case with a pair of Carolina Boots I bought in 1990 at Sturgis. Bottom-line, decide which bootmaker’s last best fits your foot, and stick with that outfit. I don’t know which manufacturer makes the boots sold by HD, but I do have one pair of rare 1989 HD high-top, side-lace engineer boots that are pretty comfortable. I’ve got boots out the wazzoo!

9. Superboots. I couldn’t resist. They’re called lineman (as in telephone line) boots and they’re tall with brass grommets and black or orange laces up the front. Mine are from Carolina Boots, and that they’re not very comfortable has nothing to do with the last (see previous definition). Comfortable or not, they rock. Put your jeans inside the boots, lace ‘em up and - well - you’re ready to slide into turn 3 next to Chris Carr on the Springfield mile. Strut proudly, dude! At Sturgis in ’98 I spotted a guy with super-lineman boots that he bought in Washington. The damn things came clear up over his knees. Hey, higher is better!

10. Jackets. There are three categories of leather: cardboard, anvils and good stuff. Cardboard is the crusty cheap stuff you see everywhere at rallies, mostly foreign and sucked up by wannabes and first-timers. Expert me, I’ve been suckered into a couple of anvils, great-looking zipper-city, macho jackets that weigh a ton. Walter Dyer, a Sturgis regular sells that kind of megaton leather - nice stuff, but heavy. The Harley line of leather is in the good stuff category, but it’s pricey. Bottom line, if you’re in the market for a jacket, finding the good stuff is a challenge. For the record, one of my go-to jackets is a 1974 Sears, which these days is on its third set of zippers. For the hell of it, I sewed a Neiman-Marcus label over the Sears label below the back collar.

11. Key management - part 1. If you don’t ride a dresser, skip this one and the next one. Occasionally, I’ll see a dresser guy park his scoot, whip out his key, lock his switch knob and turn the knob to the fork-lock position. That’s an unnecessary use of the key. I use my key to unlock the fork lock, but then turn the key (not the knob) back to the locked position. In that set-up, the knob will turn the ignition on and off, which lets me gas up or lock the forks without using the key. This all enables using the key just once at the beginning of a ride segment, not once at the beginning and again at the end. As I see it, the less often I handle my key, the less likely I am to lose it, which takes me to the next item.

12. Key management - part 2. There is yet another way to avoid using your key on a dresser. Tape a little square of plastic (not quite as stiff as a credit card) over the square latch hole inside the front of the gas door opening. There is a photo of this at the end of my September 2001 ride report on Muthuh’s Web site. The gas door will still open and close. Open it by pressing down on the door at 6 o’clock; close it by pressing down at straight-up 12 o’clock. No one will ever know your gas door doesn’t lock, and you’ll avoid handling your key when you gas up. With so many pay-at-the-pump gas stations, I’ve also tried carrying a just-for-gas credit card inside the gas door, and it works but will warp the card slightly.

13. Maps. Conventional state highway maps can be a bear to mess with because of all the folds. There’s a cheap and easy solution. Buy a Rand McNally Road Atlas for $5 at Wal-Mart and cut out only the states you need. Fold the pages in half and you end up with good, one-fold maps that are detailed enough for 95 percent of your navigation needs.

14. Saving big bucks. When I bought my ’98 Ultra I decided to adopt a no doodad rule: don’t spend money on any accessory unless it adds something practical or improves engine performance. A Tour-Pak rack and highway pegs are functional. Engine work adds legs. This all means that I’m no longer in the chrome and light bar business. Compared to one previous dresser, a parade of Softails and my ’93 Wide Glide (with a 160-spoke Pat Kennedy front wheel) and ’84 shovel in my garage, I’m saving a lot of down-the-drain money. When I traded the ’98 for an ’02 Ultra in October 2001, I renewed my no doodad vow. I’d rather spend my money on gas and cheap motels than on trying to differentiate my scoot from someone else’s. Read on.

15. An Ultra? So, you’re thinking item 14 senseless because Ultras are all chromed up with lots of passenger amenities. You’re right. But I traded for another Ultra mainly to be eligible for the fuel injection big bore kit, which I couldn’t have added to an Electraglide Standard. For the record, the only Ultra-specific gadget I really use is the cruise control, and it is pretty wonderful.

16. Alarming. This one is too long to describe here, so here’s the short version. Home Depot’s doorbell department sells a $30 wireless gate alarm (or $25 at Lowe’s) that is easy to rig as an alarm that will ring a doorbell in your motel room if someone messes with your scoot. Over the past couple of years, I’ve received more inquiries about the alarm than anything else I’ve described on Muthuh’s Web site. I’ve got an e-mail message that describes the alarm and includes a couple of photos, so if you’re interested contact me at dvdallas@pobox.com and I’ll forward the message to you. Motorcycle Consumer News plans to do an article on the alarm in 2004.

17. Adding capacity. At Sturgis in 2000 I bought a T-Bag Dekker, which is a big cargo bag made specifically for the Harley Premium Tour-Pak Rack. The bag is slick. Pockets on either side zip off to become individual fanny packs. A pouch on the front of the bag contains a built-in rain cover that deploys in less than a minute. And the inside of the bag is generously padded (1-inch foam walls), making the bag stiff (vs. flaccid) and suitable for camera equipment or a laptop. I’ve increased the capacity of mine by replacing the top and bottom foam with thinner substitutes. The T-Bag catalog now shows a Dekker Supreme (list price $154.95), which is my bag on steroids (three more external storage pockets). Ask T-Bag for a catalog at (800) 957-6288 or go to www.t-bags.com.

18. More good bags. Another good bag source is Rev-Pack in New Cuyama, California - (800) 766-2461, www.revpack.com. I formerly used their 2,000 cubic inch standard seat bag on the passenger seat of the dresser. Muthuh carries his camera and voice recorder in one of their tank bags. Their bags are very well made. Another good bag is the $200 Full Dresser Bag by the billet outfit, Kuryakyn (http://www.kuryakyn.com/harley_home.asp), which I currently use on my passenger seat. If you consider buying one, contact me because there are some modifications that can make the bag a lot friendlier.

19. Scribing. Even if you’re not interested in putting your rides on the Internet, try keeping a journal of your exploits. They can be fun to read years later, especially on days it’s too cold to ride or, ultimately, in a nursing home. Here are a couple of tricks. Muthuh and I both carry small digital voice recorders that we can access to store notes while riding. I also carry a small scratch pad, which I use to log gas purchases and make other notes - riders’ names, barmaids’ names, e-mail addresses, etc. I carry a small stock of business cards with the scratch pad, including some blank business cards so someone who doesn’t have a card can make one for me. Using the recorder and my notes, I’m pretty diligent about transcribing my notes into a journal every night while the day's action is still fresh in my mind. Here’s an Arizona journal entry from July 1994: “Then the foursome at the table by the window asked their waitress for a fly-swatter, which she brought and handed to the lady in purple polyester, who swatted away - on the window, the windowsill and their table.”

20. Laundry. An easy way to carry laundry detergent that doesn’t require a container is to use Wisk Dual Action Tablets. They’re plastic-wrapped in pairs (two per load), and carrying them saves the hassle of the expensive detergents sold in vending machines or the space required for carrying a container of liquid detergent. The space occupied by Wisk tablets gets smaller every time you use them. When I stay in Spearfish during Sturgis, I splurge and drop off my laundry for wash-and-fold service at Queen’s Wash & Dry, 712 Canyon Street.

21. Street food at rallies. Several years ago there was an excellent Minneapolis barbecue outfit, Famous Dave’s, in a big tent on Lazelle Street in Sturgis. In 2003 they were in a big bar on Main Street. Their baby back ribs rivaled any I’ve had in Texas (a difficult admission for a Texan like me). Problem was, if you had lunch there you spent the rest of the day with barbecue sauce in your cuticles and under your fingernails (hand-washing places are scarce at rallies). Plus, inevitably you ate with hands that were dirty from whatever you fondled all morning. The solution to both dilemmas: latex surgical gloves. Put ‘em on while you’re waiting for your order; toss ‘em after you eat.

22. Your personal bellman. I prefer motels where I can park by the door to my room so I can take my stuff into the room (or load the bike) in several small batches. But occasionally I end up in places like Super 8, where all the rooms open into an interior hallway. The trick here is having a way to carry everything in or out of the motel in just one trip. I bought a semi-huge black mesh laundry bag at Wal-Mart and added a 1-inch-wide shoulder strap. The bag wads up to about the size of your fist, so it requires minimal space when not in use. Now I’ve got a way to tote everything in one trip.

23. Toting Tastelessly. If you’d like a great way to tote spirits for an occasional day’s end refreshment, hit a camping store and buy a one-liter collapsible Platypus water jug. The plastic has no taste whatsoever, and the amount of space required is little more than the volume of liquid therein.

24. Hand warmers. Your fingers get frosty pretty quick in cold weather riding. I’m getting good results from Harley’s electric gloves. They got even better after I added a thermostat, which eliminates having to turn them on and off every 20 minutes or so. The bike has a 12-volt pigtail with a polarized connector coming off the battery, and I use it for the gloves and sometimes for a battery charger or voltmeter.

25. Fixing AC units. Have you ever been awakened by a motel AC unit that keeps coming on and off during the night? I prefer fan motors that run continuously, but some units aren’t rigged that way. Here’s the fix. Carefully lift the big housing on the unit up and off. If the housing is stubborn, look under the bottom of the unit and you may find one screw that’s easy to remove. With the housing set aside, look on the right end of the unit and you’ll probably find a tiny fan switch that you can move from cycle to on. When I do change the fan switch, I put it back where it was before leaving.

26. Light in the night. I admit, this is definitely a senior citizen item. I carry a small GE automatic neon night-light that I stick in a bathroom receptacle at bedtime. The light puts a soft glow in the bath area in case I have to navigate there in the middle of the night.

27. A real wuss. If you’ve got some serious high-speed distance riding to do and are wearing something less than a full-coverage helmet, try using earplugs. What they’ll do is soften the exhaust rumble and completely eliminate wind noise. Granted, the exhaust sound is a give-up, but the buffeting and noise from the wind, I think, is tiring on long hauls.

28. The spare key. I carry my spare key on a split ring that hangs from one of the small lace-up D-rings on my boots. It’s pretty invincible there.

29 Another light in the night. Long-time friend Bill Larkin (Dallas) suggests carrying one of those flashlights that strap to your head for unloading your bike in the dark. Makes sense to me, except at my age (b. 1938), I usually unload my bike before sunset.

Your turn. I’m always in the market for ways to improve my touring experience. This list is just a beginning. I’d appreciate your help in adding to it, so please send me your tricks, time-savers, convenience enablers and other tips. I’ll add your name and hometown to any Making it Easy items I add to this list. Reach me at dvdallas@pobox.com. Thanks.