H.O.G. Members Logged Four Million Miles

On Monday, June 29, 2009, Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) members around the world logged 4,373,937 miles during the club’s second annual Million Mile Monday riding marathon.

“Our members set the bar pretty high after last year’s three million miles, and we are ecstatic to have exceeded that by more than 45 percent this year,” said Benny Suggs, General Manager of the Harley Owners Group. “But more important than the number of miles ridden is that so many of our members joined together on this special day to share the experience of motorcycling.”

To put the cumulative mileage in perspective, 4,373,937 miles is the equivalent of almost 77,000,000 American football fields (goal line to goal line) or more than 70,000,000 100-meter soccer fields.

If you could ride from the earth to the moon, you’d have to make more than nine round trips to log 4,373,937 miles on your odometer.

The world’s three longest rivers – the Nile, the Amazon, and the Yangtze – share a collective length of 12,124 miles. You’d have to travel the length of each river more than 360 times before traveling 4,373,937 miles.

Riding 4,373,937 miles on an average motorcycle compared to driving a standard passenger car saves nearly 109,375 gallons of gas (or 5,609 barrels of crude oil); at $3 a gallon, that’s a $328,125 savings in fuel.

Million Mile Monday is an annual event on the last Monday of June and is open to all H.O.G. members-- riders or passengers. The feat was recorded by logging into the club’s exclusive members-only website (members.hog.com), where participants registered their miles ridden on that day. For more information about H.O.G., log onto www.hog.com.

Founded in 1983, the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) is the official riding club of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. H.O.G. currently has more than one million members and over 1,400 chapters worldwide, making it the largest factory-sponsored motorcycle organization in the world. H.O.G. rallies are held around the globe to celebrate Harley-Davidson motorcycle riding.

Harley-Davidson Showcases Easy Rider Bike

Easy Rider, the classic American road movie, turns 40 today (July 14). The movie, starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, tells the story of two bikers who travel the country to experience the freedom of the open road from the saddles of their motorcycles.

Fonda played “Captain America” in the movie, and his bike is one of the most recognizable motorcycles in history. There were originally two “Captain America” choppers used in the film, created from Harley-Davidson FLH police bikes. One of the original choppers was destroyed in the filming of the movie, and the other mysteriously disappeared from the movie set. A decade ago, to celebrate the film’s 30th, and with the help of Fonda and those who created the original bikes, an exact replica was created and is featured at the Harley-Davidson Museum. It’s part of a hotbed of pop culture goodies with ties to Harley-Davidson. The Museum also features a bike Elvis once owned, a replica of Evel Knievel’s bike from his attempt at jumping 13 buses at London’s Wembley Stadium, and owns bikes used in Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

“Harley-Davidson motorcycles have inspired filmmakers since the beginnings of modern film,” said Curatorial Director, Jim Fricke. “Our bikes have been featured in countless movies to portray the spirit of individualism, freedom and rebellion, and we have many examples of this at the Museum.”

The Harley-Davidson Museum is a celebration of America’s historic love affair with independence and the open road, and the company that has fueled the flame. Riders and non-riders alike will appreciate the Harley-Davidson success story of four young entrepreneurs who created a true American icon that has journeyed through 106 years.