Archive | April, 2008
Motorcyclist magazine is one of the most thorough and complete magazines on the newsstand today. By complete, I mean that it manages to cover so many facets of what is known as “street” biking, or what I like to call “living with your motorcycle”. There have been articles and other coverage in Motorcyclist about commuting, cruising across town, and destinations for day trips or touring cross-country. Any news in the motorcycle world is covered thoroughly and well in the magazine - you’ll definitely know what is going on! Motorcycle reviews and road tests are another great feature included in the print edition.
There is also an online edition of Motorcyclist magazine. This web site is also quite detailed with lots of information to read through. One of the features that I always take the time to study is the one about motorcycle accessories called Gearbox. Everything that is listed has been reviewed with care, and can give a motorcyclist great insight on what products would work well for their particular circumstances. Reviews range from tires to motorcycle boots, and give the price and the web site address where applicable.
The First Rides section features the latest and most popular motorcycles and street bikes. The staff of Motorcyclist magazine takes a “first ride” on these and then reviews them. They also do comparisons on the bikes. This is very enlightening information for anyone who may be thinking about purchasing a new motorcycle of street bike. These reviews would even help someone who was thinking about purchasing a used motorcycle, as the reviews go back to the year 2001, and every make you can think of from Aprilia to Yamaha is included.
If you click the Road Tests tab, you will see that the results are similar to the First Rides section, with one difference. These reviews are written for bikes that were ridden longer and further than the ones in First Rides. The News tab takes you to a section where selected motorcycle industry and racing news and views are featured. In addition, the Features tab takes you to stories about motorcycle and sport bike racing. There’s a list of dealers behind that Dealer tab, and the Recalls tab brings you up to date on any recalls or safety alerts in the motorcycle world.
Clicking on the How-To tab takes you to an awesome section with - you guessed it- how to articles on repairing, maintaining and servicing your bike. There are also articles about staying safe on your motorcycle, and even articles featuring tips on how to ride your bike like a racer! The Multimedia tab has free downloads for the pleasure of the magazine’s readers. Get your favorite computer wallpaper, and then admire a few photos and video clips in this section. The Community tab will lead you to Motorcyclist’s blogs, message boards, and forums.
Last but certainly not least is the Travel tab. Clicking on this one will give you the opportunity to read about travel information such as road trip destinations for you and your bike, touring routes, and other relevant tips on traveling aboard a motorcycle.
Motorcyclist magazine is a genuinely useful source of wonderful information that more people should take advantage of both online and offline.
Popularity: 26% [?]
Now that the weather in getting warmer, riding season is here again! Some of you most likely have been thinking about and planning your destination for your motorcycle tour sometime this summer. Of course, anytime we are going to be away from home for a few days, we naturally pack some things to take with us. Things that we feel like we have to have. Things that we feel like we just can’t do without.
It’s always interesting to see the items that some people think are necessary, and the amount of …stuff… that comes out of some of those saddle bags or off of the small trailer they are pulling behind their motorcycle. Those guilty of bringing everything but the kitchen sink are not always women, either. Men can be just as guilty of over packing! The thing is, every square inch of space is precious when you are on a motorcycle tour, and it’s really best to try and travel light if at all possible. If you try to haul too much weight across the country, usually it is going to affect the way your bike handles, and that can affect your safety.
If you are planning to stop each night at a motel, this can lighten your load considerably. Most of the articles that you would need for personal hygiene will be supplied by the motel. But, if you are going to camp out each night, then you will need to take everything you need along with you. To save space, you could plan to buy food on a daily basis instead of bringing it along with you. Any cooking at the campsite would require a stove or campfire and something to cook the food in. Investigate the supplies sold for backpackers for some lightweight solutions to cooking. The cooking utensils sold are of necessity small as well, for they are meant to go into a backpack.
Have you thought about shelter for your campsite? Some prefer to rough it and sleep in a sleeping bag under the stars. Others choose a tiny camper that a motorcycle can easily pull which folds into a portable bedroom.
You can use saddlebags, a tank bag, or top case to carry the essentials in. If you are bringing a sleeping bag or perhaps a tent, it can be fastened onto the luggage rack. Packing for a motorcycle tour is all compromise. With some practice, you’ll find that those items you thought you could never travel without will be left behind on your next road trip as you learn to enjoy traveling light.
Popularity: 27% [?]
One of the important things about selling a used motorcycle is the pricing. Many people overestimate the amount that their motorcycle is worth when preparing it for sale, and then wonder why no one is responding to their advertisement. Others cheat themselves out of at least a little profit by pricing their bike too low. It is only after the motorcycle sells very quickly that they realize that perhaps they could have asked for and received more money for their bike by choosing a more competitive price.
When buying a used motorcycle, you need to be aware of what a fair price for the make and model of bike you are looking at would be. It is easy to figure out when a motorcycle is priced almost ridiculously low. However, unless you are very much up to date in the motorcycle world, you are not going to know exactly how much a motorcycle is worth. It is always good to know this when looking to buy a bike, as it not only keeps you from paying too much but also give you some negotiation room.
The main factors that should be considered when setting the price of a used motorcycle are the age of the motorcycle, the make and model, the condition it is in, and its location. It also helps to have something that is “official” to go by. Luckily, those who buy and sell used motorcycles have a couple of references they can use which are practically considered the “bible” of buying and selling any kind of vehicle. These references are called the Kelley Blue Book and the National Automobile Dealer’s (NADA) Association Guide.
Most people who deal with vehicles have heard of the Kelley Blue Book, but many do not realize that it also lists motorcycles. It has been published for over 80 years. The prices listed in this book are the price you are likely to pay when buying or ask when selling a certain year, make or model of motorcycle. Many times the Blue Book price is less than what you will see listed in an advertisement. The reason for this is that the person selling the bike added a bit to the price in the hope of making a small profit.
The NADA Guide is also well known in certain circles. It also lists the prices for new and used motorcycles, but gives you more information than the Kelley Blue Book as to how the value of each kind of vehicle listed is figured.
Anyone who wants to make certain that they are getting a good deal on a new or used motorcycle would do well to consult both of these books to get an idea of pricing before you buy or sell. Taking the time to do this could save you some money!
Popularity: 100% [?]
If you travel any at all on your motorcycle, even if it is just across town, saddlebags can be your best friend. They can hold anything you might need to take with you for the day or for a week. Most people choose one of the two most common types of motorcycle saddlebags. These are called “throw over” saddle bags and “hard mount” saddle bags. Their names are pretty much self-explanatory.
Throw over saddlebags came into vogue back in the 1950s. Then, in the 60s, motorcycles became very popular and more people were using them to travel for long distances. They needed sturdier motorcycle luggage that could ride for hours without shifting position. A few innovative riders decided to make a few holes in the back fenders of their bikes so that they could bolt their saddlebags onto them. This not only helped steady the saddle bags a great deal, but looked better, too. These riders were quite pleased with the result. Others noticed the change and decided to try it for themselves. Word spread, and soon most everyone was bolting down his or her bags.
None of this was lost on the motorcycle companies. Two of the biggies in that time period were Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycle Companies, and they noticed this new way of carrying saddlebags. This led them to add struts to the next production year’s motorcycles. With the addition of these struts, saddle bags could more easily be bolted to the bike. This also eliminated the need for drilling holes in the fenders.
Time went by, with the motorcycle companies making various small changes to their bikes to enable riders to carry their saddle bags more efficiently. Then, the companies noticed another trend. They realized that the larger motorcycles were being used for long distance journeys much more than the bikes with smaller engines. They decided to reinforce this trend by developing a saddle bag made of fiberglass and including it with each motorcycle they sold. The idea proved very popular, and many people bought these bikes.
Today, there are several brands and models of motorcycles that come from the factory with their own saddle bags. Some people still prefer to buy their own motorcycle luggage, as they would rather have it made from leather than fiberglass. Recently, saddle bags have come on the market made of leather that blend in with the motorcycle’s design so well that they are not quite as noticeable. There are also saddle bags that are tailor made for each kind of motorcycle there is, and these match the color of the bikes. Saddle bags have come a long way since the 60s!
Popularity: 31% [?]
Many people own and ride motorcycles without the protection of a motorcycle insurance policy. These same people would not dream of even backing their car out of the driveway without having insurance on it. There really isn’t a whole lot of difference in getting insurance for your car or your motorcycle. Even though some states do not require motorcycles to carry insurance, it is something that all bike owners should consider.
Some may try to argue that since their state doesn’t require motorcycle insurance, why should they spend the money needed to take out a policy? Simply put, motorcycle insurance can save you a lot of money if you should cause an accident with your bike. Let’s say you accidently hit someone’s Lexus, or ram into the side of somebody’s house. Who do you think would have to pay for the damage? Hint – it wouldn’t be the car or homeowner!
A basic liability motorcycle insurance policy will cover bodily injury and property damage. These two are easy to figure out. Bodily injury coverage will pay for any injuries to the other party if your negligence caused the accident. Most of the time, it will also pay for any legal fees if needed. Property damage will pay for whatever your motorcycle damaged.
The amount most insurance agents seem to recommend for property damage is $5000 and $10,000 for bodily injury because that is the minimum limit in a lot of states. But… think about it. In this day and age, $5000 for property damage wouldn’t go very far. Remember that Lexus you hit in our example above? Just one replacement tail light for this car is close to $200! If a little light costs this much, imagine what a fender or a bumper plus the labor would cost? The $10,000 for bodily injury more than likely wouldn’t be enough either. As you are probably aware, a hospital bill can add up to a large amount very quickly!
Here’s the rub. If the amount for either the property damage or bodily injury is more than the limit you are carrying on your policy, you are responsible for paying the difference. If you don’t have the money to pay up, the accident will go to court. This is when things can get sticky. If you own your home, own stock, have a savings account, real estate… anything of value, really – you can be forced to sell it in order to pay for the medical bills or damaged property.
The thing to do is not only have a basic motorcycle insurance policy, but when you take it out, speak with your insurance agent about raising the liability limits to a higher amount. Yes, it will raise your rate a little, but that is far preferable to having to pay out a huge sum of money in case of an accident!
While you’re at it, you might want to think about adding some extra coverage to your policy to protect yourself, too.
Have you heard of Uninsured Motorist Coverage? Since not everyone has insurance, what would you do if someone without any coverage was to hit you, and in the process, they damaged your bike and fractured your leg? Obviously, with no insurance, they would be unable to pay for your medical care and repairing your bike. If you had coverage for Uninsured Motorist on your policy, it would pay your doctor and hospital bills and take care of your property damage.
How about Guest Passenger Liability Coverage? If you sometimes have someone else ride on your motorcycle with you, this is a good choice. Your basic coverage will only pay for the medical treatment and property damage of the people in the other vehicle – not on your own. If one of your passengers should sustain an injury or rip an expensive leather motorcycle jacket, they would have to pay for everything themselves – or take you to court for the money. It’s much easier to add the Guest Passenger Liability Coverage to your policy. You just might save a beautiful friendship!
If someone were to steal your motorcycle out of your garage, or from the parking lot, you would be out a lot of money, wouldn’t you? Or, if your bike should become damaged in an accident that only you were involved in, the addition of Collision and Comprehensive Coverage would replace your bike with another one that is worth up to the book value of the damaged one. In the case of a stolen motorcycle, it would be replaced in the same way. What would you do for a motorcycle if someone should steal yours? True – with this particular type of coverage, you normally have to pay a deductible. This can affect your premium rate, but in the long run, most people find that this type of coverage does pay for itself.
This coverage is really more for convenience than anything else, but I think you will agree that it would be nice to know that you wouldn’t have to worry about these things any longer. Roadside Assistance and Towing Costs will pay for towing your motorcycle, jumping a dead battery, replacing a flat tire, or other assistance you might need when away from home on your bike.
Popularity: 20% [?]
If you’ve never thought about what the chances could be of your motorcycle becoming just another statistic in the fight against motorcycle theft, maybe you should. Do you own one of the top five most popular makes of stolen bikes? Here they are, in order:
- Suzuki
- Honda
- Yamaha
- Kawasaki
- Harley-Davidson
Statistics have shown that in just five years time, motorcycle theft has risen 137 percent. There are organized crime rings in most major cities that have discovered that stealing bikes is much easier than stealing cars, and a lot more profitable, too. All the thief must do is roll the bike into the back of his van that he has more than likely outfitted with a ramp to facilitate the ease and speed of this unlawful transfer.
It seems that the more popular motorcycle riding becomes, the more theft of these expensive machines is reported. Thieves see them as a way to make easy money, and do a brisk business selling bike parts as well as the motorcycles themselves.
Unfortunately, if your bike is stolen, the chances of you getting it back in one piece, or even getting it back at all are fairly slim unless you take the necessary precautions to protect your investment. Some of these are simply common sense, like making sure your bike is stored in a safe, concealed area, preferably locked, when you aren’t riding it, parking your bike in a well lit area when you are away from home, remembering to always take your keys out of the ignition, and err on the side of caution when it comes to who you allow to ride your bike.
Of course, most everyone who owns a motorcycle uses care in parking and storing it. Sometimes these common sense precautions aren’t enough. Many people lock their bikes and use kill switches or alarm systems. Thieves nowadays are pretty sophisticated, and can figure out most deterrents like these very quickly. If someone with even a little experience in thievery decides they want your bike, it’s pretty hard to figure out a way to stop them.
If you want to make sure that you will be able to get your bike back if it happens to be stolen, about the only thing you can rely on is what is known as a recovery system (like LoJack). These innovative solutions to motorcycle theft are not easily seen on your bike, as they are small enough to conceal quite easily. Thieves usually don’t even suspect when a bike is equipped with a recovery system.
These systems use radio frequency, which allows law enforcement to be able to track their location with much success no matter where it is located in the United States, Canada, and even Mexico. Since it is estimated that motorcycle thieves swipe someone’s bike every seven and a half minutes, you can see just how important it can be to protect your own bike at all costs.
Popularity: 23% [?]
Sunday, April 27, 2008
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