Archive for the 'How To's' Category
Avoiding Excessive or Uneven Front Tire Wear
by Jeff “Tools” Sinason - Bikerwares.com
All rubber tires wear down over time, whether they’re on a motorcycle or automobile. However, you want to watch out for uneven or excessive wear, both of which can cause serious problems for motorcycle riders. If you pay attention to the following causes of excessive and uneven wear, you will extend the life of your tires and keep yourself safe:
1. Improper Tire Pressure - We have all heard about the importance of maintaining proper tire pressure at all times. Improper air pressure in your tire is a big reason for many tire problems and failures. Be sure your tires have the recommended pressure in them at all times.
2. Humped Roads — Most roads are “humped” slightly in the middle or banked away from the center to allow rain and water to drain off. However, this hump can have a dramatic effect on one side of your motorcycle’s front tire because the side of the tire closer to the center of the road will wear faster. There’s not much you can do about this, and it can become very visible if you ride a lot. So be aware of this phenomenon and check the left side of your front tire often.
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Avoiding Excessive or Uneven Front Tire Wear
1. Assume you’re invisible
Because to a lot of drivers, you are. Never make a move based on the
assumption that another driver sees you, even if you’ve just made eye contact.
Bikes don’t always register in the four-wheel mind.
2. Be considerate
The consequences of strafing the jerk du jour or cutting him off start out bad
and get worse. Pretend it was your grandma and think again.
3. Dress for the crash, not the pool or the pub
Sure, McDonalds is a 5-minute trip, but nobody plans to eat pavement. Modern
mesh gear means 100-degree heat is no excuse for a T-shirt and board shorts.
4. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
Assume that car across the intersection will turn across your bow when the
light goes green, with or without a turn signal.
5. Leave your ego at home
The only people who really care if you were faster on the freeway will be the
officer and the judge.
6. Pay attention
Yes, there is a half-naked girl on the billboard. That shock does feels
squishy. Meanwhile, you could be drifting toward Big Trouble. Focus.
7. Mirrors only show you part of the picture
Never change direction without turning your head to make sure the coast really
is clear.
8. Be patient
Always take another second or three before you pull out to pass, ride away
from a curb or into freeway traffic from an on-ramp. It’s what you don’t see
that gets you. That extra look could save your butt.
9. Watch your closing speed
Passing cars at twice their speed or changing lanes to shoot past a row of
stopped cars is just asking for trouble.
10. Beware the verge and the merge
A lot of nasty surprises end up on the sides of the road: empty McDonald’s
bags, nails, TV antennas, ladders, you name it. Watch for potentially
troublesome debris on both sides of the road.
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50 Tips to stay alive long enough to become an old biker
Motorcycle Buying Tips For Beginners - Cruiser, Sport-Touring, Scooter, Dual-Sport, or Sport-Bike
By David Mixson
With so many choices in motorcycles, selecting your first motorcycle can be challenging. Here are several tips to help you select the right motorcycle for you.
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Motorcycle Buying Tips For Beginners
This tip comes to you from The Harley Chat Group.
You may also download this checklist direct from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation at the below link to print out & save. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view it
http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/T-CLOCSInspectionChecklist.pdf
With spring upon us for lots of riders it’s time to dig out & get back on the road. We wanted to pass on to you the T-CLOCS Spring Motorcycle Inspection Check list to get you started on a safe riding season.
If you are a winter-weary motorcycle enthusiast, good news! Motorcycle season will soon be upon us and you’ll soon be hitting the open roads on your favorite two-wheeler. After a long winter in extended storage, your bike will likely need some TLC.
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Getting Ready for Riding Season
A Few Great Books on Build Custom Motorcycles
Thinking about building your own custom bike? Maybe you are looking into on of the popular Bike-in-a-box kit? Here are a few books to help get you started.
How to Build a Cheap Chopper
Choppers don’t have to cost thirty thousand dollars. In fact, a chopper built at home can be had for as little as five thousand dollars. The key is the use of a donor bike for most of the components. How to Build a Cheap Chopper documents the construction of four inexpensive choppers with complete start-to-finish photo sequences. Least expensive is the metric chopper, based on a 1970s vintage Japanese four-cylinder engine and transmission installed in a hardtail frame. Don’t look for billet accessories or a fancy candy paint job on this one. Next up, price wise, are two bikes built using Buell/Sportster drivetrains. The fact is, a complete used Buell or Sportster can be had for five thou or less. Now you’ve got more than an engine you have wheels and tires, brakes, hardware, lights, harness, and some sheet metal. Bolt all that stuff to a simple hardtail frame to create an almost-instant chopper. Most lavish, but still cheap by comparison with many of the bikes built today, is a big twin chopper built from carefully chosen aftermarket parts. A RevTech engine and five-speed tranny set in a Rolling Thunder frame. Accessorize from the swap meet and add a simple one-color paint job to create a bike no one needs to be ashamed of.
Building a Bike from a Custom Motorcycle Kit
By Christine Harrell
For many, off the shelf bikes just won’t cut it and a custom bike is the only way to go. For years, the idea of having a custom bike was out of the range of most budgets and most custom motorcycle kits were poor quality. However with the rise in interest in customized choppers, the custom motor cycle kit has become a great option for those who won’t settle for any thing but a custom bike but either can’t afford a Jessie James or desire a more intimate connection with their bike.
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Building a Bike from a Custom Motorcycle Kit
Wasn’t really a problem, more of an annoyance. I love my BDL 3″ open belt drive that I installed on my Heritage. I like the look of it, the sound of the clutch plates clanking together, and the sound of the belt whirling around the pulleys at speed - it is bad ass.
The only real problem I have had is that from time to time I would go to start her and when I hit the starter button the starter would just spin. How often this happened usually depended on the number of folks watching. Not really a big deal, rock the belt a bit, hit the button agian and she starts right up. Like I said it is not really a problem, just an annoyance.
Custom Motorcycle Painting Secrets, Tips, and Techniques
Flame Jobs, Pinstripping, Airbrushing, and more…
Motorcycle Painting Secrets is a step-by-step guide that shows you the inside secrets, tips, and techniques you need to know to paint your motorcycle successfully.
Quickly learn the secrets that professional custom painters have taken years of trial and error to figure out to paint motorcycles with amazing accuracy and creativity. Find out what materials you need, how to set up, how to start, and how to create stunning works of art even if you’ve never picked up an airbrush before.
You’ll learn everything you need to know to paint your motorcycle like a pro and how to set up your paint shop on a shoestring budget!
If you do a lot of in-town riding you may find yourself using your clutch ALOT. If your bike is like mine “was” at times you get off and feel like your left forearm is getting one hell of a work out. If so the “Easy Boy” Lite Clutch by White Brothers is what you need.
White Brothers claim that this product reduces the manual effort required to pull the clutch in by 40%. I am not sure what the percentage of improvement was, but I do know that it made the clutch on my 1992 Heritage Softtail much easier to pull.
Motorcycle Leather Care
By Bob Dolan
Leather Care
Now is the time of year you need to think about your leather, both bags and clothing. Your bags will be taking a beating from the sun and your clothing will be going into storage. The bags on your bike should be done several times a year depending on how much you ride. If they are looking a little dry treat them.
Whether you have a fancy one-piece racing suit or a combination of jacket, boots, pants and gloves, leather is also expensive and worth taking care of so as to extend its life as long as possible.
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