How About Motor Cycles

Do Not Become Roadkill

2012-01-20T03:07:00.000-08:00

Defensive Driving Tips

If you have been driving a motorcycle long enough you have gone down either from a standstill at a light or hitting sand or leaves in a turn or worse connecting with a car or truck at speed on a city street or highway.

Going down...been there , done that.

Well here is some useful information so that you don't get your self killed by some idiot driver in a car or truck that thinks that you can do miracles to get out of their way even when you have the right of way. Well, that was my tirade for the day.

Do not become roadkill

Learn how to take evasive actions and better riding skills with defensive driving tips.
It's a wonderful thing to ride a motorcycle and feel free and alive just stay that way.

Time to put the bike away for winter?

2011-12-11T22:12:00.001-08:00

You can't just stick it in a garage somewhere and hope for the best next spring.

What will happen is you will have a dead battery and a rusty bike and most likely a clogged carburetor.

If you want to do it right then read the article at this motorcycle website that has a good set of instructions to save you a lot of misery.

In the end you will save a lot of $$$
http://www.motorcycles123.com/winterize_your_bike.html

Does your group have a mailing list or e-newsletter?

2011-11-21T16:08:00.001-08:00

So I was thinking about how to get the newsletter out to the members and not into their spam box.

I asked around and spoke to some professionals.

I learned that most used Aweber.

I clicked on the link ( Aweber ) and read for a few minutes then realized that this is it!

This is how the big companies do it and so can I.

Now I can send 20 emails or e-newsletters or 400 and check the statistics abut who read them and who ignored them.

There is a great spam filter checker that tells me if what I am sending would end up in a spam box or not. So before I send it I test it to be sure, right in the program.

There are those professional templates that you see when you get an email for a big company.

Click of the link here to see for yourself - can't hurt but it really can help.

Buy or sell a motorcycle - nice Bill of Sale

2011-11-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

If you want to sell or buy a motorcycle you ought to have a good motorcycle bill of sale.

Don't forget the title as well but the bill of sale is important.

If you get some receipt written in pencil on a piece of paper on the back of an envelope that most

likely is useless.

It's all free to download and print out a nice blank bill of sale so

that when you sell the bike it won't be a problem.

Or...

If you want to buy a motorcycle bring a blank bill of sale form with

you in case the jamoke selling the bike has no idea what to do.

So in case you haven't noticed the blue words are links to the web page for the bill of sale.

Well click on one already.. and keep the wheels on the ground.

Please click on the +1 button or the F for Facebook or tweet it or....

A trip across the USA and back in 24 days? Part 1

2011-10-13T04:58:00.000-07:00

Across the USA...on a motorcycle. A Honda Goldwing to be exact.

You might have thought about the same sort of trip. Or maybe you have done it yourself.

For me it's going to be back and forth from New Bedford, Ma. my hometown about 50 miles south

of Boston and even more miles for the trip from south to north on the Pacific Coast highway.

Oh!, I forgot about the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone or a quick trip to Tijuana.

I figure I'll have to make some serious miles crossing the mid part of the country.

So as to have some time to see the sights.

The problem is the whole country is interesting...well maybe not the miles and miles of corn fields

that I saw when I traveled to New Mexico by bus many years ago.

I'm thinking about a "Little Guy" motorcycle

camper trailer like the one in the picture.

I like the idea that if it starts to downpour I can

pull over and take a nap without worrying about

finding a hotel/motel room or a campground.

I have seen some nice ones that are similar and are home built.

This whole thing is in the earliest stages of planning. More to come...

Inexperience can kill you

2011-08-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks I read 3 articles about people who were killed on motorcycles.

The first was about a guy who was riding with his friends on sport bikes.
He decided to show off and did a wheely (crank the throttle - lift the front tire off of the ground and ride along on the rear wheel) . He lost it and slammed into a parked car. He was about 30 years old. He was a regular family type guy with a good job and respected in his community.

The second was a guy minding his own and was hit by a drunk driver who dragged his bike and body along the road for a while to boot. There wasn't much the motorcyclist could have done about avoiding that.

The third was a young 22 year old who was all fired up and wanted to pass a car on the road. He was new to riding and his balls were bigger than his brains so to pass he hit the throttle and shifted as fast as he could because he liked the adrenaline rush. His lack of riding experience on bad roads with chewed up asphalt and potholes got him killed .
Two were riders who used bad judgement and one was an unfortunate victim.

You can do something about bad judgement. Follow this link.
Read about defensive driving tips here . It really is interesting if you are a rider.

Camping with a motorcycle and a small trailer behind it.

2011-07-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of fun to be had on the road with a motorcycle and a small trailer towing your camping gear.

I just spent two weeks doing just that.

Check out this short video that explains a few important things to be aware of beforehand

Motorcycles And The Trailers Behind Them

2011-07-23T04:29:00.000-07:00

So many bikers, or shall we say motorcycle enthusiasts become interested in what can be towed behind their bike that there is an industry out there creating small and some not so small trailers for motorcycles to pull.

There are trailers small enough to just load an suitcase or cooler but then there are full blown pop-up campers.

Unless you have a powerful motor say above 1000cc like on a Honda Goldwing or the bigger Harleys etc. stay away from the bigger trailers. You have to balance the load with the power that you actually have.

Motorcycles do not come with trailer hitches so you have to find one that can be fitted to your bike. Honda Honda Goldwings have a lot of after market options for just this purpose.
Honda and most manufacturers do not approve of adding trailers and or hitches but that apparently is to avoid claims if there were a problem.
Some riders like home-built trailers. Once you start looking for them you'll see trailers on bikes and you can get some ideas for your own design. I've seen a motorcycle pulling a hearse wagon trailer.

Let me refer you to www.motorcycles123.com for a ton of good info about motorcycle trailers , safety, camping, gear, training, etc.

Motorcycle Bill of Sale - Free Printable

2011-04-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

You want to buy a motorcycle from some guy that you've never met.

Be sure that you have a good Bill of Sale when the time comes to insure it and register it.

You are selling a motorcycle to someone and you are not a dealer.

Well, how convenient to be able to offer the nice neat Bill of Sale.

www.MotorCycles123.com has the free printable Bill of Sale Form.

Camping with your motorcycle... is it a pain?

2011-04-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

Oh no my boy, it's a joy!

To quote from www.MotorCycles123.com

"The thing about motorcycle camping is that you can't be hauling a ton of stuff with you, so you have to decide what you need and what to leave behind.

There are easy ways to get set for a short trip and carry only basic emergency gear and clothes for rain or shine. Eat in restaurants and carry no food other than a water bottle or and few small items."